by Chloe Cole
She’d made it good for him, she knew she had, and if this was their last time together, at least he would remember it.
He pulled away gently, his breath still coming in harsh gasps. “That was amazing.” He pulled back against him again and wrapped his arms around her. “Totally amazing.”
Her heart gave a squeeze, his words adding one more dash of sweet to the bitter. She’d just have to hope it would be enough to last her a lifetime.
They stayed wrapped together until the water grew cool, and when she stepped out, he was waiting with a giant, fluffy towel. She tried to take it from him, but he resisted, using it himself to dry her from head to toe. The gesture made her throat ache with unshed tears and she stepped back, pasting on a smile that she hoped would hold long enough for her to get out of the room.
“I’ve got a couple things to do,” she said softly. “And Ryan will be back soon.”
A frown creased his forehead and his gaze searched her face. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s great.”
She wasn’t going to have a conversation with him about wanting to end their arrangement right after they’d had sex. Especially not with him standing there, still naked. She’d be far too easily swayed, even if he wasn’t trying. Tomorrow was soon enough, when they were both dressed and there was a little more distance from the last time he’d been inside her.
“Seriously, all good. I just don’t want to get caught sneaking out of your room. I’ll see you in the morning, all right?”
He eyed her dubiously but then nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
She donned her clothes quickly with her back to him and then rushed out the door before she could change her mind. Guilt pricked at her hard, but she pushed it aside.
At least she hadn’t lied about everything. She did have a couple things to do before the night was over. Number one on her list?
Getting a quick look at those security tapes before Liam got back and deal with Amber Jansen.
Chapter Seven
As she stepped into her little Victorian home, Amber made straight for the light switch and checked every corner of the room. She couldn’t shake the eerie feeling she was being followed. Interacting again with the angry woman at Jax’s that morning had been uncomfortable enough, but what she’d thought she’d seen after that?
Freaked her right the fuck out.
She set her bag down on the table and made a cup of oolong to soothe her jangling nerves. While she waited for the kettle to boil, she went upstairs, scrubbed off the makeup from that night’s show, and changed into jeans.
Back in the kitchen, she sat and sipped her tea, glancing at her watch. He’d said he’d be there by eleven, but it was going on quarter after now, and with every tick of the clock, she was regretting her decision more and more.
When Tobias Wheeler had first approached her at The Naughty Kitty a couple of weeks before, she’d been skeptical. But once he’d produced half the money up-front—five thousand dollars cash—she’d put aside her reservations and tried to listen with an open mind. The burlesque business was booming, but she was in a jam and five grand would go a long way to getting her out of it.
Wheeler had explained that he was a private investigator hired by a coalition of victims in a string of large-scale burglaries over the past year. Millions of dollars in of paintings, antiques, and jewelry had been stolen, and he had finally found the culprits. Unfortunately, there was no concrete evidence. He needed someone on the inside to get some information, get a look at the property, maybe snap a few pictures to start building a case to present to police.
He’d given her a picture of Jax, told her where he liked to hang out, and said that her job would be to get to know him and wrangle an invitation to his house. If he didn’t take the bait and wasn’t interested in her, as long as she’d given her best effort, she could keep the five thousand. If she got in, managed to get a look around and some basic information, maybe a few pictures, he would follow up with another five.
At the time, she’d ignored all the risks. All she’d seen was a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. With the creditors and tax collectors breathing down her neck, threatening to take the house her beloved Nana had left her, it was a no-brainer. Besides, he’d assured her no one would get hurt. In fact, she was doing her civic duty.
But as she waited for Wheeler, she was second-guessing herself, big time. First off, Jax had been really sweet to her. Even though they hadn’t slept together—the original plan had been for her to feign passing out, but his chivalry had made that unnecessary—he’d still offered her his bed, given her cab fare, and treated her with respect, despite her playing the blonde bimbo routine to the hilt. Usually guys took that to mean it was okay to treat a woman like trash.
But not Jax.
Humiliation burned the guilt away as she recalled the look of disdain on the redhead’s face. Chandra. The other woman wasn’t a fan, so clearly Amber’s act had been convincing, but for some reason that didn’t make her feel any better.
She gave a snort of self-disgust. What did she care if some cat burglar thought she was stupid anyway? Just because Jax had been charming and seemed genuine, that didn’t mean he was innocent. He could have been as insincere as she had been.
Then there was Chandra’s behavior when Amber had asked her a few, simple questions. She had gotten jumpy at the mere mention of their living arrangement and business interests. That, combined with the staggering amount of expensive art and furniture in that house, did make Wheeler’s story seem plausible.
Even as she reviewed the evidence over and over in her head, she couldn’t quell that niggling feeling in her gut. The one that had her wondering why, if the items had indeed been stolen, they would be stupid enough to leave them out like that for anyone to see. Sheer arrogance that they wouldn’t be caught? Then again, who knew what people were capable of? She only had to turn on the news to be reminded of that.
She pushed down her doubts and rifled through the stack of pictures and notes she’d compiled that morning. Not for the first time, she found herself particularly drawn to the images she had taken of the interior of the barn.
Why would anyone have a dozen outdoor showers? Maybe to wash off any evidence, change their clothes, and burn anything related to their crimes?
Again she gave herself a mental shake. None of it mattered to her one bit. Her job was complete. All she had to do now was hand the information over, collect her money and move on. No point in dwelling after the deed was done. She shoved the pictures into the bag in front of her and zipped it closed.
If only she could keep herself from dwelling on what else she had thought she’d seen…something way stranger than some outdoor showers.
She pushed the disturbing thought from her mind. Lack of sleep and a few drinks the night before had made her disoriented. That was all.
Before her goose bumps had subsided, a noise by the door caught her attention. She looked up with a start as the kitchen door swung open, heart careening out of control as her eyes lighted on a familiar but unexpected face.
Shit.
***
Chandra walked into Amber’s house as if she had every right to be there. As she crossed the threshold, though, she wondered again if she should call Jax or one of her other pack mates. Not that she’d need the backup to deal with one, miniature-sized human, but she might need them to keep her from murdering her.
Amber started visibly when she saw Chandra, and her freshly-scrubbed cheeks went pale.
She was afraid. That was good. Hopefully this little Q & A would go quickly.
Chandra grabbed a fussy little teak chair across from Amber, flipped it around and plopped down, straddling it backward. “Hey, there, toots. Mind telling me what the hell is going on?”
“Wh-what do you mean? And what are you doing here?”
“Look at me.” Her voice echoed like a whip crack in the tiny kitchen.
Amber met her gaze and tried to look brave, bu
t Chandra could smell her fear.
“I am going to give you one chance. One. Chance.” She held up her index finger, irritated to note that it was shaking. She only hoped Amber realized that it wasn’t trembling from fear, but from barely suppressed rage. “If I don’t like your answer, I swear to you, you’re going to wish you were never born.”
Chandra indulged in a feral smile as Amber’s throat worked furiously.
“Let me tell you what I know so far, that way you don’t waste your one chance on a lie. I know you didn’t really leave in the cab this morning. We have cameras that run the perimeter of the property. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the security footage from today and saw you walking out of the driveway and getting into a different taxi parked on the street. That was more than an hour after the first cab had left, supposedly with you in it. Strange, isn’t it?”
She tipped her head and shrugged.
“Needless to say, I was curious…thinking maybe you’d left and then come back for something you had forgotten. But when I rewound the video further, I was surprised to see that the car I watched you get into was empty when it pulled onto the street, save for the driver. So you pretended to leave this morning, got out of the cab and basically trespassed on our property without informing anyone of your presence. That seems like highly suspicious behavior. Now, I’m going to ask you once again-” She stopped short as a faint scent tickled her nose. She began to rise as Amber cut in.
“Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t…” Her voice trailed off as her gaze flicked to something over Chandra’s shoulder. “Wait, no!” Amber called out, but before Chandra could turn, a sharp pain registered in her neck, and her world went black.
Chapter Eight
Amber stared incredulously into the face of the man who had hired her, chilled to the bone. “What did you do to her?” she asked in a strangled whisper.
“She’s fine,” he said as he walked across the room, a dart gun in his hand. “It was just a sedative.”
He crouched in front of Chandra, who was slumped over in her chair. He stared at her for a long moment, then turned to face Amber, his eyes burning with an almost feverish light.
“She followed you. I had hoped, but I couldn’t be sure… Oh, what a specimen.” Sweat had broken out on his upper lip despite the cold, and he stroked Chandra’s hair. “She’s perfect,” he whispered.
Amber’s body began to shake uncontrollably. “No, no, you can’t do that to someone,” she muttered through chattering teeth as she tried to make sense of it all. “I’m calling the police.” Like she should have done when he’d first come to her with his crazy offer.
She reached into her purse for her cell phone but froze when she saw the expression on Tobias Wheeler’s face as he straightened, pointing the gun in her direction.
“Go ahead and call the police the second I leave. Make sure you tell them about how you trespassed on their property, took pictures, and spied on them. But she and I will be long gone by the time they get here, and you’ll be the one in the cell. You’re knee-deep in this.” He screwed his flushed face into a twisted smile. If it was meant to reassure her, it failed miserably. “Or you could just let it go, forget we ever met, and everything can go back to normal for you. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but I’m the good guy. You don’t know what you’re dealing with. Don’t you see? I’m not the monster here.”
He stood, gun still trained in her direction, and grabbed the tote bag from the table. As he rifled through it, she took the time to look around the kitchen in search of a weapon. He stood directly between her and the wooden block that held all the knives, but if she moved quickly enough, she might be able to grab the cast iron skillet on the stove.
Her heart hammered wildly in her chest, and she was on number two in her mental countdown to three when he faced her again.
“You did a good job with the pictures,” he said with an approving smile, “So I hate to have to do this, but it seems like we’re at an impasses.” He opened his briefcase and extracted a length of rope and a piece of cloth.
The window of opportunity had closed, and panic made her stomach pitch. He leaned toward her, making short work of tying her to the chair. The sour stench of his sweat filled her nostrils and bile rose to her throat.
“Please, don’t do this,” she begged, terror coursing through her in icy waves.
He continued binding her as if she hadn’t spoken, even whistling as he worked. He tested the ropes a few moments later and finished by tying a length of cloth around her mouth.
As he stood back to survey his handiwork, Chandra began to stir from across the table. Wheeler moved fast, extracting something from his pocket as he approached her. Amber screamed from behind her gag as he jabbed the barely conscious woman in the neck with an obscenely large syringe.
Surely a needle that size would kill her.
Sick with guilt and dread, Amber watched helplessly as the madman half-lifted, half-dragged Chandra to the door. She struggled against her restraints as the door closed behind them, only one thought in her terror-filled mind.
This woman could die, and it was all her fault.
***
“Sounds like we’re all on the same page,” Liam announced, slapping his hands on his knees before rising. “I’m about ready for bed, though.”
Jax stood with him and stretched. “I’m right behind you.”
Too bad he’d be sleeping alone. Chandra had left his bedroom only a couple hours before, but he found himself every bit as hungry for her as he’d been the before. He briefly entertained the idea of stopping by her room and asking her if she was interested in a sleepover, but then reality set in. Friends with benefits didn’t do sleepovers.
So maybe you want something more with her, asshole.
He pinched his eyes closed, fighting off the headache that had been plaguing him for the past twenty minutes. It had been an eventful day, packed full of revelations and introspection. He’d made great strides with his son, and had his first—and second—sexual encounter with a woman since Sara died. Maybe it was better to let it all marinate for a day before making life decisions.
“I’ll call the lumber place and make sure they have what we need to get started ASAP,” Billy said from his perch on the back of the couch, derailing Jax’s wayward thoughts.
The three of them had been discussing a lucrative real estate deal that they’d locked up that evening, adding to the sense of well-being Jax had been feeling. All in all, things were right and tight and he was looking forward to waking up the next morning, a feeling he’d been missing for a long time.
As he crossed the room to the stairs, the low-level throb in his temples turned into a blinding flash of pain and a vision flickered in his mind, stopping him in his tracks. It was so very faint he could hardly make it out. He tried to bring the vision into focus, shutting out the conversation behind him, but it was blurred, fading in and out.
Strange. It looked like Amber. Tied to a chair. Again the image dimmed and he grappled mentally, struggling to grab hold of the link, but it was no use. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it might explode. He could only see what one of his brethren was seeing when they linked with him, which meant one of his pack members was in a room with Amber and they were trying to tell him that something was very wrong.
Chandra.
He felt her then, her essence trying to touch his mind. Her fear and confusion rippled through him, but it was unfocused, disoriented. For a single moment, he sensed a male presence, heard a low, muffled voice. The image flickered once more, like the tail of a firefly, and then she was gone.
“Hey, man, you okay? You look a little pale,” Billy asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
All-encompassing rage rocked him to the core and he could feel himself shifting, barely riding the line between man and beast. He moved like lightning, heading to the door, letting out a roar so loud it shook the rafters.
“Someone took her,” he growled. “Someone
took Chandra.”
***
Chandra opened her eyes and groaned. The room was spinning. Even the dim light of the bulb swinging overhead intensified the throbbing in her head. What had happened?
She tried to focus, taking in her surroundings. Nothing looked familiar. She tried to sit up straight but couldn’t. Despair momentarily paralyzed her as the realization hit: she was chained. The animal in her throbbed, the bone-deep hatred of being trapped stirring up a dangerous concoction of fury and fear.
She gathered every ounce of self-control she possessed and clamped down hard to control her panic and stave off the impending change.
Taking a deep breath, she assessed what had happened. The last thing she remembered was talking to Amber. She had scented a human male nearby but before she could turn around, she was shot by something in the neck. Judging by the way she was feeling, she must have been tranquilized with an elephant gun or something. How long had she been out? She twisted to glance at the watch on her wrist. Quarter after midnight. So just under an hour.
Chandra tested the thick chains at her wrists, then her ankles. They didn’t budge.
Titanium.
Even in her weakened condition, she was pretty strong by human standards, but not that strong.
She briefly contemplated unleashing her beast, then dismissed it outright. While the change would increase her strength and agility to some degree, she had no idea if she would be strong enough, even as a wolf, to break the shackles. She could end up in worse shape than she was right now, with her large paws mangled by the too-tight shackles in the wrong position.
Even if she was willing to take that risk, her assailant could be watching her right now. To change form in front of a human was a violation of Supreme Law. The penalty for such a crime could range from a serious physical punishment to exile or even death. Worse, allowing humans to know of their existence could potentially put all of her brethren in mortal danger.
