by Lynde Lakes
Dad had already selected a replacement from a list of security people he kept on staff at his L.A. offices. She shivered when she saw no sign of the new guy, Ret, or his car.
Brian touched her thigh and made little circles with his thumb. “It’ll be okay, Val. I’m here,” he said in a husky voice.
While reveling in his tone, she realized he’d only called her Val once before. Somehow the intimate use of her name combined with touch was even more moving than the word alone. The snugly nickname calmed her while his touch and vibrating tone sent little tingles spiraling up her leg to her core.
She blew out a gust of air. “I know. But I still see a vivid image of poor Gordon lying sprawled on the floor with his throat ripped out.”
In spite of their rule of no physical contact at work, when Brian reached over and drew her into his arms, she felt only relief. She rested her head against his firm, strong shoulder. Before she got too settled in, he lifted her chin and wouldn’t let her lower it again. She felt the warmth when his lips touched hers and the taste of coffee on his breath.
She allow him to delve into her mouth with his hot tongue and caress her curves with skilled hands for an instantaneous-eternity, then she forced herself to wriggle out of his arms. “The others will arrive any minute. I need to make sure the police, forensic experts, and the cleanup crew erased all signs of the bloody mayhem.”
She slipped from the car before he could stop her and rushed to unlock the double wrought-iron gates. He joined her immediately and helped her push them wide.
She took a deep breath and stepped into the building, Brian following close behind. The glass picture-windows allowed in the gloomy grey of the cloudy morning. She yearned for even a trace of sunlight.
She flipped on the main switch and florescent lights blinked on. She lifted her chin and headed toward the hallway where Gordon had been brutally slaughtered. Brian grabbed her arm firmly as though he thought she needed supporting on her edgy journey along walls that still carried the scent of death. She glanced up at his strong, invincible-looking features. “Thanks for being here, Brian.”
He nodded. His eyes narrowed in intensity as he looked about, seemingly listening for any sound, watching for any movement in the shadows. They rounded the corner and she sighed, seeing only gleaming floors and newly painted walls. She smiled. Her dad was behind getting everything done so quickly. It was amazing what a powerful man and money could do.
She looked up at Brain. “Well, we can’t just stand here all day admiring the cleanup. Let’s finish inspecting the building, including the basement.”
Finding everything secure brought another wave of relief surging through her. Then her bones chilled. “You, know, we still haven’t seen hide-nor-hair of a security guy. The day time man was supposed to relieve the night time guy at six a.m. One of them should be here.”
She lightly stroked her lower lip. Until late yesterday morning the foundation building literally crawled with the authorities, then in the afternoon the cleanup and painting crew arrived and stayed until after midnight. Then, according to Dad, the new security guy, Ret Simmons, secured the building and would remain on site until replaced at six a.m. by Mike Burns. She glanced at her watch. “It’s almost eight so the replacement, Mike, should be here. In any event, one of them should be here.”
“Let’s check the time clock and determine which one. While on duty, each man should have recorded their rounds.”
“Right and if there’s a break—” Valerie gasped as an image of Gordon lying in a pool of blood flitted through her mind.
Brian touched her arm and she gave him a grateful smile. Buoyed by his support, they checked the time clock and it verified that Ret had checked-out after his shift and that Mike had checked-in. She called Mike’s home. His wife said her husband was at work.
Valerie thanked her, and promised to call her back when they found him.
Brian shook his head when she hung up. “But we covered every inch of the building—”
“But not the grounds. What if he’s outside the building somewhere, maybe hidden in the bushes?” She closed her eyes briefly. “We’d better look.”
They secured the building and then slowly and painstakingly searched the outside perimeter. After combing every inch of the site, checking under every bush and finding nothing, she hugged Brian briefly and said, “Okay, let’s go to my office and start the day. I have lots of calls to make and you can help. You can start by checking the security tapes. Maybe something on them will give us a clue as to what happed to the missing guard.” Not finding him dead gave her hope. “I’ll call the wife back and alert the police that he’s definitely missing.”
“All righty, Boss Lady. But you’re still a bloody slave-driver.”
She pushed down the worry and laughed. “What happened to the nickname Val?”
He flashed his blinding smile and winked. “I’m saving it for the vulnerable Valerie. It doesn’t fit Ms. CEO.”
Like soldiers going to battle, they re-entered the building and headed for her spacious wood-paneled office with the picture window. She glanced out. The day didn’t seem quite as dark. Soon, the building would hum with activity and clients would be checking in.
When she arrived at her desk, she froze and a chill ran down her back. Right on top in the center laid an application for Rory. How did it get there? Had he been in the building? But how? When?
She waved it at Brian. “Look what I found on my desk. Did you put it there?”
He glanced at it and frowned. “Are you kidding me? You realize what that could mean, don’t you?”
She rubbed her arms. “Following that scenario of opportunity with all the police around for the last few days, he could only have left it when he planted the bomb.” Or when he kidnapped the security guard, she thought, fearing it was possible.
“I’m calling a locksmith. I’ll get all the locks changed and bring in more security.”
Brian went to the picture window and stared out. “Since your dad hired the security, you’d better inform him what’s going on.”
“I will as soon as I call the police and report Mike missing.” Dear God, what will the authorities think about more trouble at the foundation and the fact that the Lamont family is somehow involved again?
He frowned. “I’d call your dad before you bring the police in.” He turned and headed out of the office, lightly touching her shoulder as he passed by, his hand strong and comforting. Although feathery, his touch was like a brace to a broken chair. God, maybe this job is too much for me, she thought, feeling overwhelmed by fear and need to take action—the right action. Then another thought hit her—didn’t Brian think she was up to the job? Was that why he said to call Dad? Her gut made her want to show them all that she could handle this without his help, but her brain told her this wasn’t the time to get her back up. She had to keep a cool head.
Chapter Twenty-One
Valerie jumped when the grandfather clock out in the hallway struck midnight. The open drapes at her bedroom window batted in the breeze. She slid out of bed and went to the sill and stared up at the full moon. She’d tried to sleep, but the question about the missing security guard echoed in her skull, harsh and bruising. They hadn’t found him. Was he lying dead somewhere with his throat ripped out?
Since Reeves, alias Lazar and now probably Rory, had tainted their property with mutilated bodies in the past, perhaps—
She rushed down the dimly-lit hallway to Brian’s room, her wispy lace nightgown trailing behind. She tapped on the door. The empty sound echoed back at her. She placed her ear to the wood and heard nothing. Then it hit her—there was a full moon—he was still a werewolf.
Oh, no. It would be impossible for him to fight its call and he’d be vulnerable out there alone. Her heartbeat speeded. If she tried to find him, without her wolf powers, she’d be stupid and begging for trouble. And perhaps she was worrying about Brian for nothing. Maybe he was out there with Uncle Hugh or even Victoria. P
lease, Lord, protect him wherever he is.
Uncertainty curled around her, shaking her faith as she walked slowly back to her room. Shedding the curse had turned out to be a double-edged sword. Until Brian returned, sleeping would be out of the question. Although nothing could ease her concerns and sense of helplessness, she wondered if perhaps some hot chocolate would relax her. She thought of the lonely kitchen and the door to the hills beyond. Fearing she’d be tempted to open the door and look out, and knowing the hot chocolate wouldn’t really help, she returned to her room and stepped into the moonlit darkness.
Cast out like fish netting, a mesh prison closed around her. Before she could scream, a hand on the outside of the net clamped a cloth over her mouth and whole face. Memories of her traumatic kidnapping experience and the barrio encounter with the acrid smell of chloroform shot through her. She attempted to twist her head away—the steely grip of the hand prevented movement. She kicked out, held her breath, and tried not to breathe in the evil smell, but finally, she had to take a breath…
****
Valerie blinked open her eyes. Her head hurt and her nostrils burned from breathing in the toxic chloroform. Dizzy and mentally off-balance, she tried to move and discovered the werewolf had bound and spread-eagled her across a huge flat boulder, highlighted by the full, mocking moon. She shivered as a chilling breeze wafted over her nude body. Her urge to scream was thwarted by the gag in her mouth. She wriggled her fingers, searching for a sharp place in the rock to saw the ropes cutting into her wrists. She flinched when she touched the tips of calloused fingers. Her skin prickled when she glanced over at the body spread-eagled next to her. Dear God, it was a nude man with his throat gapping and bloody.
Tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t stop trembling. Although she’d never met Mike the new security guard at New Beginnings, she strongly suspected it was him. What a horrible way to die. Based on the amount of blood around his head, she speculated he was slaughtered while helplessly tied to the boulder. Then the black-hearted werewolf, apparently unsatisfied with the horror of the execution, striped the guard nude to steal his last visage of dignity and humanity. The cruelty of the carnage had all the earmarks of Reeves. Was that what her evil uncle had in store for her? Ripping out her throat and then leaving her nude to be eaten by wild wolves or found by her parents. She recalled he’d raped Kit and the other women. No, Lord, please not that, she cried silently into the encroaching shadows.
Another bone-chilling awareness hit her. It was clear now why he hadn’t killed her in her room. She was alive only for one reason—she was the bait to draw Brian into Reeves’ vindictive and violent clutches. Stay away, Brian, stay away.
****
Unaware of Valerie’s imprisonment and believing she was still safely in her room, Brian fought lust and a driving urge to leave the mansion. But the call of the full moon was too strong. Craving air, freedom—and the unknown, he raced through the darkness and thick underbrush, silent as the night. He despised the relentless call as much as it excited him. He sniffed the wind and caught Valerie’s scent. Without slowing his pace, he melted into the shadows, feeling the compelling lure of her scent tugging at his feral soul.
At first, he reveled in it—then an icy awareness slithered over him. It wasn’t in the direction of the mansion as it should’ve been but deeper into the Mt. Baldy foothills. What did that mean? Did she risk the night to come to me? Other scents came from the same direction—including the scent of evil. This was bad, very, very bad.
Brian curled his lip and let out a long howl. The cruel-toned, hungry bay that ricocheted back came from the direction of the scents. He rubbed together his incisors, now as sharp as ivory tusks, readying himself for battle. From the hills came that husky howl again, beckoning him, daring him. Feral instincts overpowered his sense of reason. With sharp teeth and claws, he headed deeper into the wilds and the subtle scent of Valerie. Within the fragrance of her, he detected the acrid scent of fear and cold desperation, warning him that he was racing full speed into a trap.
In the shifting shadows, he slipped through the dense foliage, his jaws open wide, baring his sharp fangs in readiness for a surprise attack. In the past Reeves had proven to be formidable opponent, his greater weight and thirst to kill was an advantage that he must overcome with swift-alertness and skill.
With his intensified wolf-hearing, he detected the snap of a twig. His animal sight focused ahead and picked out the shape of a huge, black wolf crouching in the shadows. If I have to die in this battle, he prayed, at least, let me save Valerie. Brian skulked closer until he spotted her and a nude man spread-eagled on a huge, table boulder highlighted by moonlight. Valerie’s lemony blonde hair shone like rich silk in the luminance. A wispy, white lace nightgown lay tossed across her ankles.
He growled and narrowed his eyes at the cruel display of her graceful nude curves. He paused mid-step, stunned to see she still wore the filigree cross he’d given to her for protection. It rested like armor; its gold glowing between her lovely breasts in the deep shadow of her cleavage. The fact that Reeves hadn’t removed the valuable jewelry meant something. But what?
****
Valerie shivered when her wolf-man skulked into view. In spite of the situation, her breath caught at his dominant, feral beauty. The luminous glow from the full moon highlighted his silvery-gray coat and startling, bold markings that extended from the neck all the way along the spine to the tip of the tail. His piercing stare, attack posture, and resolute attitude gave this creature of the night a fierce power, but would it be enough?
She suspected Reeves crouched nearby, waiting for Brian to get closer before he pounced on him.
Her beautiful, silvery-gray alpha wolf stood in the center of the clearing, deadly still. He lifted his head, his ears thrust forward. He crouched low and issued a throaty growl that cut through her. The timbre was low, yet as sharp and jagged as splintered glass. He stepped closer, and a ray of faint moonlight fell across his wolfish face, highlighting that strong jawline, a slender nose, and full, sensual lips that revealed terrifying protruding fangs. His intense-brown feral eyes glowed like hot coals.
With his sleek, alert, four-footed posture and thrust-high chin, he waited, undoubtedly his impatience rubbed raw by a breeze sizzling with tension.
Suddenly, the black wolf leapt from a nearby shadowed boulder onto the back of the slivery-gray wolf. With animal swiftness, the gray wolf rose upright and erect and reached back with hairy, muscular arms. He lifted the black wolf upward, using the creature’s weight, and slammed him to the ground. The black wolf righted himself, kicking up gusts of loose dirt, and then stood upright on his hind feet. Immediately, the rivals circled, raised hackles around the neck and shoulders, lips curled, incisors bared, and growling, low and throaty with increasing intensity. Brian splayed his ears sideways.
With defiance apparent, he crouched into a karate stance, leaning forward, arms and clawed hands rotating in exacting yet deceptive motions while his beautiful muscles flexed. The equally muscled black wolf assumed a similar stance and gestures. The deafening rumble of the two werewolves growling echoed through the hills.
She had wanted her loved ones to stay away, but now she wasn’t so sure. Would Uncle Hugh or Victoria hear the roar? Would they come to help? Is that I want? No, stay away family, stay away. She tugged at her ropes until her wrists bled. If only I could get free to help.
The werewolves whirled, kicked, and thrust at each other. Her alpha werewolf moved smoothly and effectively while looking confident. The full force of his powerful aura hit her—tall, dark, and dangerous. The light of the moon reflected the fierceness of the battle. Brian went for the throat. The evil wolf twisted and Brian bit into his shoulder. Blood gushed out. But this time the evil wolf didn’t run away. This was a battle to the death. Was Brian still opposed to killing? He’d better not be because Reeves lived to kill.
Fear, frustration, and fury rose so quickly in Valerie she felt she might explode. She wriggle
d and tugged against her bindings frantically, while keeping an eye on the battling werewolves.
The black wolf lunged for Brian’s throat. She tried to scream out, but the gag muted all sound.
Brian dodged, and counter attacked. With a riveting sense of rising panic, she struggled to get free. The black wolf curled his lips, his gleaming incisors bared, and leapt at Brian again. He missed clamping them onto his throat by millimeters. Inside, she was screaming, but all she could do was watch. She struggled again to get free. Brian thrashed about to stop the crazed wolf from closing his jaws on his throat. God, protect Brian and end this perpetual reign of terror.
Suddenly, Brian made the sign of a cross, rose on his hind legs, and charged, jaws wide open. The black wolf dodged and rushed at Brian again. Brain eluded the neck-clamp, but as the black wolf lost his balance, he closed his jaws around Brian’s leg. Blood gushed forth like a fountain and her wolf man went down hard.
Valerie cried inside, fearing Reeves would finish off her alpha love while he was down. Instead, he whirled and jumped up on the boulder next to her. Highlighted by the dawning sun, he loomed over her, casting a dark, threatening shadow. He opened his jaws. Warm, sticky blood dripped from his incisors onto her breasts. He narrowed his crazed, glowing eyes. Oh, dear God he’s going to tear out my throat and make Brian watch.
She stared up at Reeves’ wide open jaws, dagger-like incisors and prayed for her everlasting soul. Also, please, God allow Uncle Hugh and his backup to rush to the rescue and save Brian.
Reeves mounted her, touched her, and uttered a lusty low growl like he might rape her. Bending and retreating, he tortured her, opening and closing his bloody jaws, teasing and threatening to take the deadly bite that would end her life. God, please don’t let him rape me.
Suddenly a growling force yanked him off of her and slammed him to the ground. Brain wielded a spear-like branch. He darted a fleeting glance at her as if to ask her permission to break a commandment.
