Luke on the Loose

by Amanda M. Lee

  “You seem to know a lot about bikers,” Kade said dryly.

  “I spent some time around them when I was on the streets in Detroit as a kid,” Poet admitted. “Bikers are ... interesting. Some groups aren’t so bad. In fact, they’re awesome. I figured out right away that not all clubs are created equal. This club has a few glaring issues.”

  “So, what do you suggest we do?” I asked. “I could go back inside by myself and feel them out. They seemed fine with me. You were the two they didn’t like.”

  “Oh, get serious.” Kade made a face. “The only reason they didn’t attack you is because they didn’t see you as a threat.”

  The comment rankled. “Oh, I’m a threat.”

  “Of course you are.” Poet patted my arm. “You’re a big, bad wolf. They simply don’t realize it. Although ... I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a few shifters in there. Like I said, they were unusually good at shuttering. I picked up a few stray thoughts, but most of them were from the women ... and they legitimately don’t know anything.”

  “So, what’s our next move?” Kade was serious. “Should we go back to the fairgrounds and close ranks?”

  “No.” Poet shook her head. “We’re going to the store to stock up on groceries because that’s what we usually do. By the time we get back, Dolph and Nellie should have taken care of the body. Those guys won’t come back in the middle of the day. If they move on us, it will be at night.”

  “She’s right.” I knew that in my heart. “If they really are in the mood to mess with us, they’ll wait for the cover of darkness.”

  “And they’ll be in for a rude awakening,” Poet added. “They have no idea who they’re messing with. All they saw when we strolled through the door was a guy with a lot of machismo, a guy in a paisley shirt and a mouthy woman. We have much more in our arsenal than that.”

  “I would rather not get in a fight with the local bikers if we can help it,” Kade complained. “That would be hard to explain to the police if we start dropping bodies.”

  “I very much doubt it will come to that.” Poet patted his arm. “We’ll need to stick to our routine. We can’t let them think they got to us.”

  AKRON ISN’T OVERLY LARGE ... or picturesque. It didn’t have much in the way of touristy draws or particularly pretty vistas. It was simply a normal city. Oddly enough, given the current circumstances, that was good for us. It was easier for us to hide in normal cities.

  “What do we want for dinner tonight?” I asked when we hit the grocery store. We had returned to the fairgrounds long enough to tell the others what was going on and to take Kade’s truck so we could mount a supply run. Raven and Max promised to hold down the fort — and serve as protection — while we were gone. Despite that, I remained antsy after our visit to the bar.

  “Let’s go simple and do burgers, corn and potato salad,” Poet suggested. Kade was ahead of us in the bread aisle, choosing buns, which gave us a moment to ourselves. “How do you feel?”

  I recognized what she was really asking. “I’m okay, Poet.” I meant it. “You don’t have to get worked up.”

  “I’m not worked up. I just ... okay, maybe I’m a little worked up.” Her smile was sheepish. “You got lucky last night, Luke. The incubus clearly could’ve gone into your trailer and then we would be dealing with a much darker scenario.”

  “Basically you’re saying you’re not that upset because Calamity was a clown and not part of our group.”

  “No, I’m saying that I would’ve been crushed if it were you,” she corrected. “You need to be careful. In fact, while we’re here, maybe we should get some additional security for your trailer. That way alarms will go off if your windows or doors are opened once you retire for the night.”

  As much as I loved her, the concern she was showing grated. “Are you going to increase your security?”

  “Oh, I can guarantee Kade will increase security.” Her expression momentarily darkened. “Even though I’m not at risk like the other women, he won’t be able to stop himself.”

  “How do you figure you’re not at risk?”

  “Because I don’t sleep alone.” Her answer was matter-of-fact. “An incubus would be stupid to go after me. Kade is always right beside me when I sleep. He’ll wake up if someone tries to enter our bedroom. Even if the incubus managed to enthrall me, Kade would kill him — or at least sound the alarm — before he ever got close enough to touch me.”

  She sounded sure of herself, but that didn’t stop me from being agitated. “I don’t know that I was enthralled.” I thought hard about the dream. “In fact, maybe what happened last night in my head had nothing to do with what was happening across the fairgrounds.”

  She shot me a pitying look. “Luke ... .”

  “No, I’m serious.” I refused to play the victim. I hated that. “I can take care of myself. Besides, the incubus is unlikely to go after me. You said yourself that they’re most often straight. I wouldn’t be high on the seduction list.”

  “You wouldn’t,” she agreed, clearly choosing her words carefully. “The thing is, there aren’t many options for him if he comes sniffing around a second time. Raven sleeps with Percival. The pixie twins are immune because of what they are. I’m with Kade.

  “I’ve made sure to warn Mark about keeping his women covered and I’m sure Max will reiterate the point,” she continued. “Mark might not want to listen to me, but he will listen to the big boss. The clowns will double up to protect their women. You’re the one who will be exposed.”

  I wanted to argue with her assumption, but she was right ... and it galled me to the point I had no choice but to continue arguing. “Then the incubus will just move on to another location to hunt. He won’t change his sexual preference just to feed.”

  “That would be nice — not that I want random people to die, mind you — but I don’t see it happening. We’re isolated and on the edge of town. We also didn’t report Calamity’s death. The incubus won’t be able to stop himself from at least checking out our group again.”

  I caught on to her line of thinking relatively quickly. “Ah. You want to set a trap.”

  “I do.” Poet didn’t bother denying it. “Once we get back to camp, I’m going to get Raven, Nixie and Naida together. We’ll strengthen the dreamcatcher with an incubus in mind. I want to be sure we nab him if he dares return.”

  “So ... why are you getting so excitable about me if you plan to kill him tonight?”

  “Because you’re still my best friend and I would be traumatized for life if something happened to you.”

  Her concern was touching ... and it gave me a few ideas as we caught up with Kade. “Would you be so traumatized you’d never be able to have sex with Colonel Sourpuss ever again?” I asked, enjoying the way Kade jerked his head in my direction. “I think that would be a fitting tribute to the part I’ve played in your life. You should become celibate in honor of me if I go before you.”

  Poet chuckled as she accepted the hamburger buns Kade shoved in her direction. “I will give it serious thought.”

  “No, you won’t.” Kade was firm.

  “She’s going to have to honor me with a big sacrifice if I die,” I pressed. “I think it’s a grand idea.”

  “And I think I’m going to punch you.” Kade’s voice was low and full of warning. “There will be no celibate mourning. Besides, nothing is going to happen to you.”

  “That’s what I told her. She still insists that I’m a target.”

  “I think you’re a target.” Kade turned serious. “We’re going to get a few things from the hardware department for your trailer. I know I would feel better if we covered all our bases.”

  The fact that he was serious caused me to still. “I know you’re new to the paranormal game, but there’s no reason to get all worked up. I mean ... an incubus is only dangerous if you’re alone and on its sexual radar. This incubus clearly likes women. I’m fine.”

  “We’re going to make sure of that.” Kade
slung his arm over Poet’s shoulders. “It’s not just because she would be devastated to lose you either,” he added. “I would miss you, too.”

  “You would?”

  He nodded. “You entertain Poet while I’m working and that makes you worth your weight in gold. I like not having to worry about her because you’re always around.”

  “Oh, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” I meant it. “Give me a hug.” I moved toward him with my arms outstretched.

  “I’m good.” Kade quickly evaded me. “No, seriously. We’re not hugging people.”

  “You don’t know that if you don’t give it a chance.” I was enjoying myself. “Come on. Give me a kiss, too.”

  “Don’t push it.”

  AS USUAL, OUR SHOPPING TRIP lasted a full hour. We’d filled two carts and were double-checking to make sure we hadn’t forgotten items from anybody’s list.

  “I think that’s everything,” Poet said, her eyes busy as she scanned the overflowing carts. “There were a lot of staples to get today. I guess that saves us down the road.”

  “We forgot Raven’s Worcestershire sauce,” I said after a beat. “She’ll melt down if we don’t get it.”

  “I don’t even see why she eats that,” Kade complained. “It tastes horrible. Back when she was trying to coax me into being her love bunny because I was fighting with Poet she made me special burgers with that sauce and they tasted terrible.”

  Poet made a face. “Love bunny?”

  I chuckled. “Oh, I love it when you bring up the dark days of your relationship, Kade. It makes me feel intellectually superior.”

  “Poet, you know I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” Kade complained. “I just ... I blame you.” His eyes were full of fire when they locked with mine. “I would’ve kept my mouth shut if you didn’t mention the Worcestershire sauce.”

  “Yes, it’s on me,” I drawled, shaking my head. “You guys head toward the checkout and I’ll get the sauce. It shouldn’t take long.”

  “Fine.” Kade forced a smile for Poet’s benefit as she pouted. “I much prefer being your love bunny. That should be obvious by now.”

  “I’m done talking to you.”

  I was still chuckling to myself when I found the aisle with the sauce and started searching for Raven’s favorite brand. I found the telltale bottle right away thanks to the brown wrapper and was already turning to head back when I caught a hint of movement out of the corner of my eye. There, at the end of the aisle, was one of the bikers from the bar. I recognized him thanks to his strong cheekbones and ridiculous eyes.

  For a long moment, we stared at one another. He didn’t make a move to run — or close the distance between us — and I remained rooted to my spot with a pounding heart. He didn’t wave or acknowledge me with one of those manly chin bobs. He just stared ... and I returned the stare.

  “Did you find the sauce?” Poet appeared behind me, causing me to jolt.

  “What?”

  “The sauce.” Her eyes fell on the bottle in my hand. “What’s taking you so long? We should get going.”

  “I just ... .” I broke off and licked my lips, my eyes shifting to the end of the aisle. The green-eyed man was gone. I wasn’t surprised, but I was unnerved. “One of the biker guys was here.”

  “What? Where?” Poet was instantly alert as she glanced around.

  “You look like a chicken having a seizure when you do that,” I complained. “He was down there.” I pointed toward the end of the aisle.

  “Did he say anything?”

  “No. He just watched me.”

  “Are you sure he was at the bar?” Poet remained unconvinced. “Maybe he just looked like the sort of guy who would go to that bar.”

  “No, he was definitely there. He was one of the faces that stood out to me.”

  “Why?”

  “He had these green eyes and cheekbones.”

  Poet made a face. “Oh, you thought he was hot. You should’ve just said that.”

  “I didn’t think he was hot. He wasn’t un-hot. He was more ... okay, he was hot.” She knew me too well to argue. “There was something about him that spoke to me at the bar. I don’t know how to explain it. I looked at him a few times. It was ... weird.”

  “It sounds like flirting.”

  “That’s not how I flirt.”

  “How do you usually flirt?” She looked more amused than curious. “No, seriously. I want to know. How do you flirt?”

  “Forget what I said.” I was too annoyed to maintain the conversation. “Come on. We should get out of here.”

  “No, I’m not done hearing about your flirting technique,” Poet prodded, adding a little wiggle to her steps as she moved beside me. “Do you drop a handkerchief on the floor and bend over to pick it up? Or do you do that eyelash thing? You know, the one where you lower them and talk to the man of your dreams in a demure fashion. Is that how you plan to talk to him?”

  “You’re a laugh a second. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy these precious moments we spend together.”

  Instead of continuing her teasing, Poet sobered. “I’m sorry.” She held up her hands in mock surrender. “I don’t mean to give you grief. I’m sorry if you felt a ... thing. Now is not the time to engage it, though. You might’ve felt something because he’s the incubus.”

  Honestly, that possibility hadn’t even crossed my mind. “Oh, well ... .”

  “Maybe he’s following you because he recognized that you were vulnerable last night,” Poet continued. “You need to be really careful. That’s why I’m glad that Kade got the sensors for your windows and doors.”

  “I’m not happy about that,” I countered, returning to an earlier conversation as my eyes remained in search of the green-eyed man. “That will severely limit my dating options over the long haul. I can’t have sensors going off every time a window opens. That’s distracting.”

  “How is that distracting? Just make sure you turn the sensors off when you’re opening the window. But you can’t open the windows at night until we catch this incubus.”

  “Oh, you know how much I hate sleeping with closed windows,” I complained. “It gets stuffy.”

  “Would you rather sleep in a stuffy room or die?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll have to give it some serious thought.”

  “If you’re not careful, I’ll make you come and sleep in our trailer,” Poet warned. “It will be cramped, but I’ll make it work no matter how much you cry.”

  “Oh, well, Kade will love that.” I pictured his face when Poet told him the news. “We should definitely do that.”

  “Don’t push it. I would like a few days of peace between you and Kade if I can wrangle it. This has been a long few weeks.”

  “I’m sure something can be arranged. In fact ... why don’t you sleep in my trailer with me and leave him to sleep alone for a few nights? That way we’ll cover each other and he’ll be fine because he’s straight.”

  “I don’t think I want to do that,” she hedged. “He might get lonely.”

  “What about me?” I continued looking for the man, but he appeared to be gone. “Don’t you care if I’m lonely?”

  “We’ll work on it. I’m sure we can figure out something that makes everybody happy.”

  I had less faith in that than she did, but I was willing to watch her give it a try.

  Five

  The drive back to the fairgrounds should’ve been easy. Instead, I kept craning my neck because I was almost certain we were being followed. Poet, who sat in the front next to Kade, called me on my actions as we were pulling into the parking lot next to trailer row.

  “What is your deal?”

  I gestured toward the dark sedan that was right behind us. It slowed a bit and then seemed to increase its pace and take off when our eyes turned in its direction. If I had to guess, the driver realized we were staring.

  “What about it?” Poet asked blankly.

  “It was with us from the s
tore to here.”

  “So?”

  “So ... I think it might’ve been following us.” I realized how ridiculous I sounded, but that didn’t stop me from continuing. “We made seven turns. I kept count. The car made the same seven turns with us.”

  Instead of ridiculing me, Poet focused on the vehicle’s tail lights. It was almost to the end of the street. “Did you see who was driving?”

  “No. The windows are tinted.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you,” she said after a beat. “It’s possible it was a coincidence.”

  “What if it’s not?”

  “I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out once we set our trap. The only reason I tend to lean toward the coincidence idea is because we’re fairly certain our incubus is hanging with a bunch of bikers. I doubt he would be driving anything other than a motorcycle under those circumstances.”

  She had a point, which I hated, but that didn’t stop me from fantasizing about the absolute worst possible scenarios. “I don’t know many killers who would use a motorcycle. They aren’t stealthy vehicles. They’re loud by design.”

  “That’s true.” Poet craned her neck and stared at the now-empty road. “Do you think it was the guy you saw in the store? The one with the chiseled cheekbones and dreamy green eyes?”

  I shot her a withering look. “I didn’t say he had dreamy eyes.”

  “I’m pretty sure you did.”

  “I did not!”

  Her grin was impish. “Maybe that’s just the word I picked up from your head. You were thinking the same thing over and over.”

  “I’m going to wrestle you down and sit on your head if you don’t stop that,” I warned.

  “At least we won’t have a dull afternoon.”

  LIFE IN THE CIRCUS IS never easy. I’ve heard countless stories from people over the years and there’s a common theme to all of them. People tell me how they wanted to run away and join the circus as teenagers (or even adults tired of responsibility) and enjoy a carefree life on the road.