by Lynde Lakes
Uncle Hugh beamed under the praise. His incisors had lost most of the dagger-like appearance and he looked quite handsome again. “I sniffed you kids out to urge you to leave the building in case I messed up.” He shot a look at Brian. “Then, to thank me, you knocked me out.” He grinned. “But I heard your explanation and it’s copasetic with me.
****
Brian’s explanation might be copasetic with Uncle Hugh, Valerie thought, but I’m not ready to forgive him or Dad for kidnapping me. I’ve said enough about it for now, but just wait until I get each of them alone. With effort, she shoved the bundle of negativity to the back of her mind.
At her Dad’s request, Kyle had magically pulled together a fabulous buffet-breakfast with various fruits, salads, breads, and sinful homemade rolls. The aroma of breads and cinnamon rolls, hot from the oven, wafted in the air along with the scent of Brazilian coffee. The appetite stirring smells drew everyone swiftly to the dining room on the first call without the slightest coaxing from Kyle.
He usually disappeared after setting up a buffet meal, but this time he hovered close by. Valerie squirmed at his relentless gaze. She gave him a halfhearted smile, served herself, then quickly sat down between Brian and Uncle Hugh who had completely morphed back into his own skin. She captured her mother’s gaze. “Mom, where is Kindra?” She tried to curb the worry in her tone.
“When I learned what happened at the foundation, I decided the poor child didn’t need to be drawn into our complex situation and dropped her by Grandma’s house. Grandma was delighted and has planned a tea party for Kindra and the girl next door who is about her age. Don’t worry. She’s in good hands.”
“Good thinking, Mom. Kindra definitely doesn’t need more trauma in her life.”
Valerie tried not to look at Kyle or her dad who sat across from her. Suddenly she needed to pretend life was normal. She shot glances to Victoria and Rick. “How long before you guys have to leave? I’d like to take you to the play Made for Each Other at the Pomona Playhouse sometime next week. It’s been getting great reviews. Or maybe you’d like to see The Phantom of the Opera at Lowell’s Chinese Theatre.”
Victoria rolled her eyes. “Definitely not the Phantom of the Opera. We have enough of the specters wandering around within our home walls.”
Dad cleared his voice as though planning to chastise Victoria.
“Made for Each Other, then,” Valerie said quickly to cut him off. Before she could say more, she heard the screech of tires in the driveway. She ran to the arched picture window and pulled back silken drape slightly. “It’s the police. Remember, no matter what our differences, we must present a united front. And since you like to assert your authority, Dad,” she said, glaring at him, “you prevented me from handling what needed to be handled—when it needed to be handled. I suggest you weave some of your in-command magic with those men-in-blue storming our driveway.”
“Valerie!” Mom said in a stunned voice. “What happened to our sweet, soft spoken daughter? Did the serum change your personality?”
“Ask Dad. He has all the answers.” She winced inside the minute she gave her mom such a flip answer. Mom didn’t deserve the disrespect.
Dad shook his head. “I guess I deserve her anger. I’ll take care of the police. The rest of you keep quiet, especially you, Valerie. You and I’ll sort this out later.”
Valerie rubbed her arms. “Let’s hope it’s not from a jail cell.”
A moment ago, she’d sensed Kyle watching her and listening to the exchange. She risked a glance in his direction. He’d disappeared. With all he’d heard, he could give the police an earful. She had to get to him first.
While her dad headed for the front door to invite the officers inside, she went looking for Kyle. He wasn’t in the kitchen, his quarters, or anywhere else in the house. He’d totally vanished.
****
Valerie returned to the room and heard her dad shout, “My God Haywood, what would you do in my position? With a bomb inside ready to explode any second, I had to get my daughter the hell away from there. Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing. If you’d let me into the building to get her, I’d have handled it differently. But when you tied my hands, I reacted like any father would.”
“So, if I buy that story,” Haywood said, “how do you explain the watchman with his throat ripped out and the fact that you’re always nearby when the wolf strikes?”
“Maybe someone is setting me up. As far as Valerie is concerned, she followed all the right procedures. She called the police, the bomb squad and intended to stay. But I couldn’t risk a foul up and the bomb going off. I had to get her to safety.”
Haywood turned to Valerie with narrowed eyes. “What do you have to say about all this?”
Valerie straightened her stance. “I have nothing to add to Dad’s explanation.” To distract Haywood and bring the important answers into the light, she asked, “Did you contact Gordon Whilhite’s family?”
“We’ll contact them later this afternoon. How do you think the wolf got in?”
“Don’t you know, Detective Haywood? I was just going to ask you that.” The red crawling up his neck warned her to sweeten her tone. “Another thing puzzling me is how the wolf took down our ex-prize fighter night watchman. Gordon had mace, a stun gun, and a nightstick in his belt.”
“None of those things were on him when we got there,” Haywood growled.
Oh great, Valerie thought, the werewolf probably added them to his arsenal.
“Now,” Haywood, said, eyeballing her menacingly, “what can you tell us to justify your leaving the scene of a murder?”
“It’s like dad said, fearing I was in danger, he insisted I go with him.”
“It was more than just insisting, wasn’t it? Officer Morales’ report says it looked like the man with your dad took you forcibley.”
“What can I say? My assistant is a forceful man, like my dad. I’m thinking of firing him for insubordination. Unfortunately, I can’t fire my dad.”
Officer Morales’ attempted to hide his smile behind his notepad.
Haywood’s eyes darkened. His reddening face growing scarlet suggested he was close to his exploding point. He looked first at Rick then settled his gaze on Brian.
“You the assistant?”
“Yes, Sir. Until she fires me.”
“Full name?”
Brian stood military erect and gave his name while couregeously meeting Haywood’s gaze. Valerie couldn’t help but be proud of how he handled himself.
Haywood shifted his weight. “What’s your take on all this, Mr. Jones?”
“Sir, I really can’t add anything to what’s already been said. Miss Lamont is precious to all of us and her safety had to come first. But I’m sure she’ll see that I pay dearly for my part in the rescue.”
“I ought to arrest the whole bunch of you,” Haywood said.
Dad met Haywood’s gaze and said in a pleasant, friendly tone, “May I ask the charge? I’d like to call my attorney.”
Haywood folded his meaty arms. “I’ll get back to you after I list all of them. I don’t want to leave any out. First, I need to view the medical examiner’s and bomb squad leader’s reports thoroughly. One thing I’m certain of, Lamont, it’s no conincidence that you’re always entangled in the werewolf attacks in this community.”
Dad shook his head. “How many times do I have to prove my innocence before you finally accept it and go after the real killer?”
****
Twenty minutes later, Valerie paced the floor of her dad’s in-home office.
“Dad, it was cool the way you dealt with Officer Haywood, but I could have handled the problems on site and alliviated suspicions if you’d just trusted me.”
“Trusting you wasn’t the issue. Reeves is out there running loose and no matter how capable you are—and I find you very capable—you can’t battle that devil’s protégé alone. And you shouldn’t have to. This is a family matter that’s been going on for ge
nerations.”
“Well it’s time one of us puts an end to it.” She trembled inside with fear and anger but refused to back off. “I’m willing to be the bait. So, let’s think of a plan to draw this unearthly beast to me. We’ll need a strong metal cage and a mixer full of fresh cement. We’ll kill him, all of us sticking knives deep into his evil carcass. Then we’ll bury him in concrete and drop him in the deepest part of the ocean.”
She hadn’t heard Brian slip into the room. “Who is this brutal, blood thirsty woman, Sir?” he asked.
Dad shook his head. “Maybe the serum has side effects.”
Valerie whirled and faced Brian. “You….you…caveman,” she sputtered. “Don’t even start on me. And I’m warning you both. I’d rather be dead than live the rest of my life wondering when that unearthly blob of evilness is going to strike.”
The flash of fear in Dad’s eyes when she said she’d rather be dead told her she’d hit a raw nerve. Her words were hard-hitting and cruel considering all the family loved ones he’d lost to suicide. But laying her issues on the table was the only surefire way to force these two men she adored and sometimes resented to understand that she’d had it.
Their stunned expressions energized her. She was on a roll. “Get it through your heads. I’m no longer willing to play vulnerable Valerie unless it produces the end result—the death of the evil that has plagued our family and the whole community every day of my life. Now, dammit, set it up.” She whirled, leaving them speechless, and ran from the room.
****
“I’ve got to follow her, Sir,” Brian said, feeling a sense of panic.
Damon nodded. “Bring her back when she settles down. In the meantime—”
Valerie’s Dad was still talking, but Brian didn’t hear the rest. He was already halfway out the door behind Valerie. She ran across the lush green grounds toward the brown scrub-brush hills. The wind lifted strands of her lemony blonde hair while the sun danced golden highlights through it. Each flowing strand reminded him of sunlight on the desert horizon. He imagined running his hands through the silken spun gold and—
With his natural-born wolf-speed, he caught up to her with ease. Before she could fight him off, he grabbed her arms, drew her close, and arched her slender, well-formed supple womanliness into the hard angles of his body.
Staring into her incensed cactus-green eyes, sparking with fiery flecks of silver, he lowered his mouth slowly toward hers until he felt her breath on his lips. He hovered there, yearning to taste her sweetness, yet, savoring the tension building between them as they glared into one another’s eyes. An invisible current of acute awareness, feral and primal male-female consciousness, sizzled in the air between them like a taut wire humming in the breeze.
Her eyes darkened with smoky passion. Unable to stand the escalating torture a second longer, he captured her lips and plundered her mouth, putting his whole heart into the blissful scrutiny. He trailed a hand to her waist and tentatively caressed the curve of her hip before sliding downward to her thigh. He tangled the fingers of his other hand into the beautiful mass of silken, golden hair, fulfilling at least that yearning before she rebelled—and he knew she would rebel.
He explored her mouth, stroking her curves, hoping to block her ability to feed her resentment. His nerves tightened close to the breaking point, knowing that any moment she’d break away. The almost imperceptible rigidness beginning in her shoulders was a slow, insidious journey toward that rejection. He stood it as long as he could, then abruptly ended the kiss. “All right, dammit. Let’s clear the air. What can I do to fix this madness?”
“Help me persuade Dad to set a trap with me as the bait.”
“Do you remember what happened in the barrio?”
“That was different. My only goal was to save Kindra.”
“And your goal now is?”
“Identify the evil werewolf, draw him out, and with you and Dad’s help, kill him.”
“And what if he goes after your dad? Will you sacrifice yourself for him the way you did for me? When you grabbed the syringe and injected the serum into your veins you weren’t following the plan. How can I convince your dad after that episode that you won’t do something impetuous again?”
****
Damon paced the master bedroom he shared with his wife, thinking about his daughter’s words. He glanced at Angela who watched him with a questioning expression. “Valerie said she’d rather be dead than living in constant fear of Reeves. Already too many in our family took the fool’s way out. How do I make her see she’s thinking wrong?”
“What does she want you to do?” It seemed his wife always cut to the chase.
Damon frowned and shook his head. “She wants us to let her be the bait.”
Angela gasped. She rubbed her head. After a few tension filled moments, she rose and came to him, drawing him down on the bed. Her intoxicating flowery scent wafted around him. He swelled with desire and then felt guilty. Now wasn’t the time to give in to his trigger urges.
“Can it be done safely?” she asked softly.
“Safely? Hell no! All we could do is take as much risk out of it as possible. But it’s out of the question. I refuse to put her in that kind of danger.”
Angela lowered her gaze and picked at a loose thread on the bed’s coverlet. “Do you think she meant what she said?”
“Dammit, yes.”
“Then, we’d better consider her suggestion and come up with the most risk free plan that’s humanly possible.”
Damon pulled Angela into the circle of his arms again and kissed her forehead. “Honey, you’re overlooking a few important facts. Number one, Valerie’s known to act impulsively to save others. Look at the dangerous shenanigans she pulled with the serum.”
“Aren’t you willing to give her a chance to prove she can learn from her mistakes?”
“Not with a life or death result hanging in the balance. A mission like this would require strict adherence to the plan. Without her wolf defenses she’d be totally vulnerable, like a downed, crippled dove. Actually, Victoria would be better for the job. But I refuse to put either of my girls in jeopardy.”
“Our girls,” she corrected, her tone soft but firm.
He glared at her. “Maybe you’ve forgotten the monster we’re dealing with and all the people he’s killed, people we cared deeply about.”
Tears rushed to Angela’s eyes. “I could never forget. How could you even think that?”
He pressed his hand to his forehead—she’d lost her best friend, Kat. “I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated. No matter what choice I make there’s a big downside. Perhaps living in a world with the walking dead has paralyzed my brain or dimmed my courage.”
Angela took a deep breath and blew it out. “Damon, you can be extremely aggravating.” She roughly wiped the tears from her eyes with her wrist. “Hugh is also one of the walking dead—a new and improved model. He’s no longer a hunchback, in fact he’s exceeding handsome.”
Damon rolled his eyes. “And your point is?”
She gave a sly smile. “Right, I got carried away. My point is, he should know how this walking dead thing works and be a help to us.”
“He and I have talked about it in the past and he only knows his own journey from the bowels of the Earth. He was resurrected by an angel but figures that Reeves must’ve been resurrected by the devil. Even if we’re lucky enough to identify and kill Reeves, Hugh doesn’t know how to fix it so he stays dead. And neither do I.”
“We have a big problem, but I believe in you and think if anyone can solve this, it’s you.”
“Valerie’s threat reopened old wounds and dredged up a past I’d like to forget.”
“We’d all like to forget it. But perhaps once you let go of how you think things should be, you’ll start feeling satisfied with where you are right now.”
Damon shook his head. “Good advice under ordinary circumstances, but—”
“Our girls are safe so far.” Angela
interrupted him, like she often did when she was frightened. “They’re smart, healthy, and not warped by the past. And if it was the serum that cured Valerie, you may have found a cure. The girls have a right to want to end the backlash from the curses.”
“In our present situation, my love, I can’t be satisfied where I am right now.
The night watchman lost his throat to a werewolf attack in our foundation and the police are considering arresting me. In addition, my foundation was almost blown to bits with my daughter inside, so forget the fantasyland advice.”
Angela recoiled as though he’d slapped her.
Regret washed over him. “I’m sorry, Honey. Forgive me. This has been a hellish day and I’m having trouble coping.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “It’s okay. And know this, Damon Lamont, I have faith in you and know you’ll work this out the best you can.”
He kissed her, wanting to believe, at least for now, there might be hope. As he deepened his kiss, he let the problems go and made love to the woman who could always make him feel like a million bucks, even when she didn’t agree with his methods or way of thinking.
Chapter Eighteen
Brian felt uneasy about trusting Valerie. She was like the dynamite left in the foundation basement, trigger-ready to explode. But then, there was the shiny side of the coin. He recalled the scripture Momma Maggie used to read to him from Ecclesiastes 11.4 If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. He couldn’t wait. This evilness had gone on far too long. “I’ll look into this for you…for all of us… and the community. But you must promise not to make a move until I get things set up.”
“Brian, if you help me, I’ll be in your debt forever. Forget my past impetuous act.”
“I’ll never forget it for several reasons. But I’m still waiting for your promise.’
She rolled her eyes. “All right. I promise.”
“Don’t glower at me. If you want a future open to possibilities, you’ll have to trust that I’ll use every weapon available to identify and destroy the evil in our lives. Only your unwavering faith and God’s help will give me the knowledge, courage, and strength to seek out our enemy and defeat him.
