“In here.” He pushed open the door and roughly thrust her inside.
Layla looked at the less than sanitary commode. The men here were obviously not interested in keeping this bathroom clean. She ignored the suspicious splatters on the floor and looked around for the toilet paper.
“Use your shirt.”
She glared at the guard, but swallowed her tongue and walked further into the room. The guard eyed her. “Um, excuse me?”
He shook his head. “You are not leaving my sight. So, go ahead and squat, sweetheart, I’ll be right here watching.” He grinned at her discomfort.
The downside was that she actually had to pee now and this pervert was going to watch her do it. The upside was that he was already in the room. She didn’t have to waste time dragging his large bulk into the bathroom. She straddled the toilet and lifted her shirt out from her thighs and stretched it around her knees to add some privacy. No way in hell was she going to lift it up. The guard watched her movements avidly and she disgustedly looked the bulge in his pants.
As she finished relieving herself, she used the hem of her shirt to pat dry. The guard licked his lips, his eyes fixed on the bottom of the shirt. She leaned forward slightly, careful to aim in the opposite direction of the ‘stains’ and slipped. Instantly, the guard was there. Just what she wanted. Before he could right himself, she slammed her elbow into the back of his neck. As he leaned forward, she reared up and delivered a vicious knee strike to his chest.
He fell like a stone.
She stepped over him. “That’s what you get for calling me a bitch. Bitch.” She stared at him to memorize his features. Besides transforming into her wolf, she had only used her transformation powers during her practice runs with Martin and once when she was tracking Brett but she could not copy someone of the opposite sex accurately. However, she didn’t need to fool anyone up close, she simply needed to get off this damn boat.
Although not a tiny girl, she was still only half his size, she thought as she stared at his large body. Perhaps, from far and with his jacket, she might be able to pull this off. She leaned over him and worked quickly, transforming into her wolf and broke off a piece of metal pipe which she bent around his hands like cheap handcuffs after removing his jacket and secured him to the sink.
Once he woke up and transformed, he could easily break free, but she would have a bit of a head start. She briefly thought about grabbing the fiber off her bed, but then thought better of it. Her room had a camera and it would take too much time. If someone just happened to watch her walk back in without the guard, she would never escape.
She ran her hands up and down his body, getting a feel for his shape and size, his smell, even the bit of stubble that covered his chin and then glanced at herself in the mirror. Man, was she ugly. The transformation worked, kinda; she looked like him, but with breasts and…she glanced down, no dick. She was a scary-looking woman.
With a grin, she threw his jacket over her shoulders and gathered her long hair in one hand, tying it in a knot and stuffing it down the back of the garment. Glancing over her shoulder, she delivered another blow to the side of his head, just in case. She wanted to make sure he stayed out for a while.
She opened the door and peeked out. So far, so good. The corridor stood empty and she ambled her way toward the door marked exit. She moved quickly, passing through without incident and moved to another door. She could smell the sea. She was so close. Just as she was about to slip out into the night air, a voice shouted behind her.
“Bro, wait up!” Another guard called out. Layla paused as he ran towards her. Shit. Shit. Shit. She was going to get caught, she thought and slipped into the shadows as he got closer.
“Bro, I need you to cover for me for a few minutes.” The man slowed to a crawl, his breathing slightly labored. He too was new at this. “The boss had to leave to finish some last minute stuff, so…” He trailed off as he neared her, his nose wrinkling. “Hey, you’re not—!”
Layla’s hand or rather the guard’s hand slammed into the other man’s throat, effectively stopping his speech and he slumped to the floor. She quickly grabbed him and propped him in the darkened corner. She didn’t have time to drag him all the way back to the bathroom and she didn’t know who were in the rooms in this part of the ship. It was good news that Kuruk was not on board, though. That gave her just enough of an edge to actually make it.
She passed through another door as she felt the Transformation start to slip. No matter, she was almost there. Once outside, she looked around. Sure enough, she was in a part of the Port of Tampa that housed industrial ships; it was not busy enough at night to really draw attention, but not desolate either. She knew how to get back to her house from here; she just had to get off the ship.
Spying a ladder, she quickly climbed down, still a ways from the actual water. Glancing up, she hugged the ship as one of the guards came rather close to her location and prayed that he did not breathe deeply…or look down. Finally, he moved away and she lowered herself feet first and clung to the last rung of the ladder. She let go, pointing her toes and held her body straight to cut through the water. She landed with barely a splash.
*
Brett revved the engine as he flew down the interstate. The car responded and leapt forward. He didn’t care if any cops had speed traps, he would simply have to outrun them. Focused on the road ahead of him, he deftly swerved around a minivan doing less than the speed limit in the fast lane.
Layla was still missing.
He’d called her cellphone after Susan had called him, hysterical. Not surprising, the call went straight to voicemail. According to Susan, Layla had been in out with a few friends and had to spend the night. Then all hell broke loose. Someone had kidnapped her. And there had been blood. Layla’s blood. Just a few drops, but that was all it took to make him race home.
He was supposed to be her protector. He was supposed to guard her, keep her safe and now she was missing. His heart lodged in throat. He loved her. She was his everything and she might be gone. In the short while they had been together, somehow she had slipped through his defenses. She was his life. He had not been able to tell her that before he left, but damn it, when he found her, he would tell her then. It was more than ‘I love you’, it was more,’ I can’t live without you’.
Traffic was light, which was good. He shifted gears again to skillfully move behind and around, another slow-moving vehicle. He hugged the edge of the lane determined to use the emergency lane if possible.
His phone rang and he looked at the caller ID. Martin. “Any word?”
“Not yet.” The usually unflappable man sounded worried and that worried him even more. “I tracked her from Orlando back to Tampa, but then I lost her scent.” Martin sighed. “What I wouldn’t give to have Layla’s gift right now.”
Brett understood perfectly. Layla had an amazing sense of smell. When she used it. She saw the scent trails of Weres in color. About a month back, she had been able to follow him when he had tried to trap Suzette and his trail had been days old and miles from where she had been.
“I’m about 30 minutes out,” he told the older man. “Do you want me to meet you somewhere or just back at the house?”
Martin paused. “Meet back at the house. I don’t want to leave Susan and Nali alone for too long. We can rendezvous there and formulate a new plan. She has to be either in Tampa, or St. Petersburg. Hell, even here in Gulfport. Either way, she is running out of time.”
Brett released a pent up breath. When he found her, he didn’t know if he was going to kiss her first or kill her. She should know better by now. They were on the run, for Christ sakes! Not from the cops, but from werewolves. Why would she risk going into the open like that?
“One more thing.”
Brett steeled himself at the fret in the older man’s voice.
“There were other Weres there. One of the smells I picked up was Kuruk. I wanted to wait until you were closer before I told you. I think he i
s the one who has her.”
Shit. Kuruk was the one Were he didn’t want Layla mixed up with. The gangster was a formidable foe in the Were world and in the human one. He also had the means to spirit Layla away anytime he wanted. Martin was right. Time was running out.
“I have a few contacts at the police station looking into his assets right now,” the older man continued. “If he owns anything around here, not matter how deep it’s buried, we will find it. We will find her.”
Brett echoed the older man’s statements and hung up the phone. It rang again almost immediately. He snatched it up. “Yeah, Martin. What did you forget?”
“Brett?”
Layla’s hushed voice caused him to grip the steering wheel to keep from running off the road.
“Layla?” he asked incredulously, his hand shaking. “Layla! Baby, where are you? Are you okay?”
“Not so loud.” He heard the pain in her voice as she exhaled loudly. “I’m fine. I’m at a gas station near Brandon, close to the Port.” She laughed suddenly. “I need a ride. Tried calling Martin but got a busy signal. Are you back in Florida?”
He scoffed, disappointed he had been her number two, but she had a good reason. “Yeah, I am and I know where you are. Don’t worry, baby. I am there.”
*
Layla sat in Brett’s lap, her head pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around her. For once, her aunt didn’t complain. Instead the older woman bustled around the kitchen, her hands flying in her haste to brew Layla a cup of tea. Nali was in bed sleeping. She had kept her eyes open long enough to see that Layla was truly okay and had promptly fallen asleep. Layla was wrapped from head to toe in a blanket with Brett snuggled underneath it to help warm her.
She burrowed closer, her teeth still chattering. She hadn’t realized how cold she was until Brett showed up. Tears had fallen from her eyes when the car screeched into the gas station parking lot. The attendant had stared at her in disbelief and looked back at the newspaper he was reading, certain he had just witnessed a victim escape the Tampa serial killer. Without a backwards glance, she had jumped into the car as it took off.
“You okay, baby?”
Layla nodded at Brett’s whisper. She was more than okay. She was right where she wanted to be. With her family. In his arms.
“I’m fine now.” She leaned into him, his chest expanding with his sigh. His lips brushed the top of her hair and she closed her eyes. This is what she had missed. This feeling, this caring. She had been so selfish she didn’t realize how much he cared for her and felt so damn guilty. As she should . Tears threatened again and she hugged his arms tighter.
“I’m sorry,” she sniffled.
Brett stilled. “It’s no big deal. It’s okay.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand. I shouldn’t have been there at all.”
He brushed her hair away from her face with his hand. “I understand. You’re here alone and sometimes you want to hang out with friends. That’s okay.”
Layla shook her head again, something in her desperate to explain to him. He needed to know. She was tired of the half-truths and lies. “Brett, let me finish.”
She lowered her eyes. This was harder than getting off that damn boat. “I wasn’t in Orlando with friends. I was there with a guy.” He stiffened, but she had to tell the entire truth. “On a date.”
Martin stood up. “Susan.” He pulled the older woman away from the stove. “Perhaps we should go and check on Nali.” He led the other woman away as he glanced at Layla, his eyes unreadable.
The silence was broken only by the ticking of the clock on the wall. Brett stared straight ahead and Layla waited for him to speak. His arms were still tight bands around her and his heart pounded against her back like a drum. She glanced up at him again.
“You cheated on me?” The words were quiet, his hurt palpable.
“No,” she said truthfully. “This was the first time I had even gone out somewhere with someone else.” She touched her hand to his face and he closed his eyes.
“Would you have cheated?” He looked down at her. His eyes were bright with hurt, pain clear in his gaze.
“I-I don’t know.” She looked at her hands. “I didn’t know it at the time, but it was one of Suzette’s goons. His gift is to charm and that’s what he did.” She swallowed. “I don’t know if would have done it or not. It may have been partly charm, but I was also mad at you.”
He scoffed. “Mad at me? For what?”
She hugged her arms around her own body. It was time for the truth. “You seemed so distant and unapproachable. I felt like I couldn’t talk to you. Like you weren’t here and most times you weren’t.”
“But I’m here now. Every time I’ve left, it’s been because of you.”
“I know that now! But you have to talk to me; you have to tell me these things.”
“Do you still want to cheat? Do you still want someone other than me?”
Layla shook her head. He was so clueless sometimes. “No, you stupid, wonderful man. I don’t want anyone else but you. That’s why the charm didn’t work fully. Even though I imagined it, I still couldn’t go through with it because I wanted you.” She threw her arms around him, not caring if he rejected her or not. “I don’t ever want anyone but you.”
He smiled. Good, cause you’re not getting anyone else. Ever.”
She smiled and leaned in to kiss him.
He met her halfway.
*
“So you’re saying that Kuruk also thinks you’re the Hania?”
Layla frowned at Brett. “What do you mean also?” She looked over at Martin. “You don’t believe this, do you?”
Martin shrugged. “The evidence suggests it, Layla.”
She stood up angrily, the blanket wrapped around her. “You can’t be serious. I am not some warrior chick sent to kill my father!” She paced the small room.
“What is a Hania?” Susan asked Brett gently.
Layla whirled around. “Apparently, the guy you know as Micah is also the wolf god Mai-coh. He is the creator,” she paused to make quotation marks with her fingers, “of all the Native American werewolves and is stuck on earth until one of his daughters, according to these morons, me, releases him.”
“Werewolves?” Susan looked uncomfortable and confused. “What are you talking about?”
Shit. Layla turned to Martin as the older man made a strangled noise in this throat. “You didn’t tell her?”
“There was never a good time.”
The other woman looked from Layla, to Martin, and then to Brett with incredulity. “Are you trying to tell me that you are Werewolves?! That something like that is real?!” She lurched to her feet, her hand on her chest at Layla’s nod.
Why had Martin neglected to tell her? She approached the other woman cautiously and carefully. “Aunt Susan, this is why my mom was killed. This is why Suzette is still hunting me. She was the one to kill my mom and she wants me dead too because she didn’t do it when I was a kid.”
Susan swallowed thickly, her eyes wide. “Oh my God,” she whispered over and over. “This has to be some cruel joke.”
Layla shook her head. The best way would be to show her. “Aunt Susan.” When Susan looked at her, she allowed a light dusting of fur to cover her skin and the woman’s eyes widened in alarm.
“Oh my God!” She pressed a hand to her mouth and Layla admired the other woman’s restraint. She would have been a basket case by now if the situation were reversed.
“This was Micah’s gift to me. Werewolf genes.”
Susan fell back against the chair and looked at Martin. “Are you all…” Her voice trailed off as if she couldn’t bear to finish.
Martin nodded. “All of us except Brett, but he has…abilities of his own.”
“Oh no, he’s not like a weird vampire or something, is he?”
Brett laughed. “No, no vampire. As human as you, just slightly…enhanced.”
“Nali is a Were too.”
Susan gasped, her hand a trembling mess as it covered her mouth.
“That’s why we brought her here, Suzette murdered her family like she did mine.” Layla reached forward and patted the woman’s shoulder, encouraged when she didn’t move away. “I know this is a lot to take in and you probably don’t really believe us, but this is why we are doing so much hiding. Not from a gang, but from creatures who really want to kill us.”
“Martin?” Susan’s voice was tired and weak, her face pale. “I think I need to lie down.”
He nodded and she gripped his arm as he helped her to her feet and out of the room.
Layla collapsed into the space Susan had just vacated on the couch. “Okay, that was just awkward and crazy.”
Martin walked back into the room as Brett nodded and she opened her mouth to chastise him about her aunt.
“We will discuss it later.” His voice was curt as he answered her unspoken question. “Right now, we have more important matters to discuss.”
“It doesn’t matter, Martin. I am not doing it. Discussion or not. Just because you said it and Kuruk said it and some weird, werewolf-power-sucking woman out in the middle of nowhere said it, doesn’t mean it’s true.”
Brett pulled something out of his pocket. “Look. This is the bracelet she gave me and my dad left a journal. He said that I was a Protector. That my job was to protect the Hania. The old woman said it too. And the only people I’ve ever felt fiercely protective of are my mom and you.” He handed the jeweled piece to Layla.
She covered her mouth with one hand. “It’s just like my dream,” she muttered.
“Your dream?”
Her eyes met Martin’s. “Yeah, I had a dream right before Brett left. It was a guy in an Indian village, like back in the day and he was wearing one. A woman was next to him and she was wearing one as well. It was like I was looking down at their life, you know.” She clutched the bracelet to her chest. “But he saw me and he called me Hania.”
Martin glanced at Brett and Layla jumped up.
Maikoda: Power of the Moon (Blue Moon Trilogy Book 2) Page 13
