by Dannika Dark
When I opened the door, April rushed by me. “Oh my God, I hope you’re not naked,” she said, running in short steps down the hall. As she used the toilet, she left the door open so she could talk to me. “I’m so sorry. I went to those portable outhouses and I can’t. I just can’t! There’s no telling what kind of cooties are in there.”
“That’s okay, I understand completely.”
After another minute, April emerged, her expression more relaxed. “I feel so much better,” she confessed, taking a lazy stroll toward me.
“How did you know we weren’t in here knocking boots?”
April raked her blond hair away from her face. It fell to her shoulders in an angular cut that was shorter in the back and longer on the sides. She took a seat at the tiny table. “I ran into Wheeler earlier and he told me you were by yourself.”
“How did Wheeler know Jericho left?”
April pulled off her shoe and shook out a pebble. “Wheeler saw him get in the truck and drive off.”
My stomach did a flip-flop. “Drive off? He left the festival?”
“You didn’t know?”
I glanced at a clock and noticed over an hour had elapsed. “Was there an emergency with the pack?”
“Not that I’m aware of. Denver’s still at the bar, and we think Ben took off an hour ago. I can’t find Reno,” she said irritably. “He’s always forgetting his phone. The last time I saw him was by the fireworks. I went to get water, and when I got back, he was gone. He probably went looking for me when I told him to stay put. God knows where he is! I should have stayed where I was, but I had to go, and I knew Jericho’s trailer was parked over here. Holy smokes, he’s going to kill me.”
“Doubtful. How did you know which trailer?”
“Trevor pointed it out when we were walking around. Joker told him the band always rents a trailer during these outdoor events in case one of them wants to take a nap or get away from the crowd.”
“Well, maybe you should go back to where you were standing by the fireworks,” I suggested. “I’m sure Reno will find you. If not, maybe you can talk one of the singers into paging him.”
She laughed. “He’d really kill me if I embarrassed him like that.” She pulled a tube of lip gloss out of her purse and ran it over her lips. “Wandering around is only going to keep us separated, so it’s better if I stay in the spot he last saw me. Maybe I’ll call Lexi and see if she and Austin can keep me company.”
I stood up and pulled a can of soda from the fridge mounted in the wood paneling. “It’s cold. I don’t know how the power works out here.”
She cracked open the can and gulped down several swallows. “Mmm. I love orange soda. Reno said the guy who runs the property got it all hooked up with power. I think he wants to do this every year because he’s making good money. Tickets went on sale weeks ago for a limited time, and he tacked on a parking charge per night. I can only fathom what he’s making off these things,” she said, tapping her fingernail on the wall of the RV.
I settled in the seat across from her. “So… you’re human? And you live with the Weston pack. How’s that working out?” I didn’t want to be rude about it because I’d heard of interbreeding between couples of different Breeds, but not humans.
“Love takes you strange places. I know it’s not conventional, but his family accepted me like one of their own. That’s not to say we didn’t hit a few bumps in the beginning, but I think once they saw how much I love Reno, none of the other stuff mattered as much. The boys can be a pain in the rear, but I really like our life and wouldn’t trade it for anything. He takes good care of me. The only thing I’ll miss is working with Lexi every day. She’s going to open up a new store pretty soon.”
“I heard. Jericho asked if I might want to work there,” I admitted with hesitation.
“You should!” she exclaimed. “I’ll make the suggestion. It’s not going to tip like the bar, but maybe you could just part-time it for a while.”
“Maybe.”
“I’m sorry about what happened,” she said quietly. “With Hawk, I mean.”
“Me too.”
“It’s a good thing you got out of there. I’ve heard horror stories about what they do to Shifters on the black market. No one would care about a human, but Reno still keeps a close eye on me. There are a few packs around here that give me the creeps.”
April was right about that. You could always spot the ones running something illegal. A glint of sin reflected in their irises.
“Jericho didn’t tell you where he was going?” she asked suspiciously, slurping on the rim of her can.
I touched the wolf ring I’d taken off his hand and placed on my finger. The festival had everything we needed from food to clothes because of the vendor stands. Why would he just take off?
An errand.
God, please don’t let it be drugs. I knew addicts were compulsive liars and I wanted more than anything to believe Jericho was on the straight and narrow. But what if I had been duped once again? How could I not question my judgment after Hawk? I had no doubt Jericho cared for me deeply, but maybe he was ashamed to tell me he hadn’t completely stopped. No, that couldn’t be right. If that were true, he would have caved in Hawk’s basement. No user could resist that kind of temptation, could they?
“Izzy?”
“I’m sorry, just thinking. He didn’t tell me where he was going. Maybe he forgot a guitar he wanted to use in the show later on.”
“I didn’t think about that. You’re probably right.”
A hard knock sounded at the door.
“Reno,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“Wait,” I whispered, stretching out my arm. I quietly moved toward the door and peered out the window. Hell’s bells. It was Handlebars.
I looked at April with my index finger pressed to my lips for silence. He was only a human, but so was April, and she could easily get hurt.
“Go hide in the bathroom,” I whispered. “Now!”
“I can’t leave you,” she whispered back.
“April, I’m a wolf. If I shift, I could accidentally hurt you, and Reno wouldn’t be able to deal with that. I wouldn’t be able to deal with that. Go!”
She made fists with her hands and her brows knitted. The moment of uncertainty passed and April hurried into the bathroom, locking herself inside.
Handlebars beat on the door again. “Open the goddamn door. I know you’re in there.”
“What do you want? Hawk is dead.”
“Yeah, so I heard,” he said in a gruff voice. “But there’s one small problem.”
I paused. “What?”
“Delgado still wants his money and his drugs.”
“Did you check his house?”
He hammered his fist on the door. “Yes, bitch. We checked his house. Now open up.”
“There’s no money or drugs in here.”
“No, but your ass is in there, and your ass is going to show me where they are.”
“I don’t know where they are!” I screamed. “We split up and he tried to kidnap me. I had no clue he was selling drugs!”
He violently pulled on the door and it shook. These doors were not meant to keep strong men out. I turned around to find a weapon when the door wrenched open.
“There you are.”
I widened my arms. “Here I am. Sure you want to tangle with me, Handlebars? I bite.”
“That ain’t my name.”
I stood my ground as he entered the small room and ducked to avoid the low ceiling.
“How did you know I was here?” I asked.
He laughed once and it died just as fast as a mouse in a trap. “Coincidence. I just happened to be strolling by. Now tell me where the stash is, and I’ll be on my merry fucking way.”
The music blasted outside, and the crowd in the distance cheered. “I’m not playing stupid with you—I really don’t know. Do you think I enjoy all our run-ins? I’m telling you I have no idea where that stuff is. If you’l
l get off my back, maybe I can help find what you’re looking for. The only problem is Hawk told me he had other homes, and I have no idea where they are.”
“Hawk wasn’t stupid enough to keep valuables out of reach. He would have kept his money and stash close by. I had one shitbag who hid the drugs in the floorboard of his wife’s car. You know why? Because if it’s found by the law, it won’t be in his possession. But I ain’t the law.”
“Then give me time to look.”
“Time’s up.”
I stepped back as far as I could. “You can bark at me all you want, but nothing is going to make that money magically appear. Or the drugs. Which one does Delgado want?”
“Both. All.”
I heard something clatter in the bathroom, and April quietly cursed.
“Who the hell’s in there?” he said, already moving his way toward the back.
I stepped in front of him and pushed. “No one. Go outside and let’s talk.”
“Get the fuck out of my way,” he said, shoving me.
“If you touch me again, I won’t be so nice,” I said through clenched teeth.
Handlebars smirked and cocked his head to the side. With one finger, he foolishly poked me in the chest.
Chapter 19
When Jericho pulled into the festival grounds and got the call from Austin, he broke into a hard run as soon as he parked the truck. A few drunks called him an asshole as he plowed through a group of spectators. The trailers were on the opposite end of the grounds, and the crowd was dense because people were dancing in large groups. He bumped into an immovable Vampire who eagerly showed him his fangs.
Jericho ran around him.
“What’s going on? Where’s Isabelle?” he shouted, slowing down.
Austin stood outside the trailer, his arms folded and his eyes alert. “We’ve got a human down,” he confirmed in a low voice, eyes scanning the crowd in the distance. “This is bad news, Jericho. A dead body in your trailer. If a Chitah doesn’t sniff us out first, a Vampire might have heard.”
“Not many Vamps are here,” Jericho said out of breath. “I’ve only seen a handful. They have to concentrate harder to block out the loud music, and do you mind telling me what the fuck they would have heard? Isabelle!”
Austin shoved him back and blocked the doorway. “Calm down. Her wolf is in there, and that’ll get ugly quick.”
Jericho paced in a nervous circle, forced to obey his Packmaster. “Don’t call me with a level-fucking-red and stand there telling me to be calm.”
“Be calm.”
The sound of Reno’s motorcycle rumbled and slowed down like a heartbeat as he pulled up. He cut off the engine, opened the kickstand, and swept his leg across the back to get off. “Move outta my way. I’m going in.” He reached inside his button-up shirt for the gun strapped to his chest.
“The hell you are,” Austin said, moving toward him.
“Let me at that bitch.”
Jericho swung at Reno and almost knocked him off his feet. Reno was a big guy, so that was saying something, but Jericho was taller and not intimidated by anyone.
“That’s Isabelle in there, not some bitch,” Jericho bit out, pointing his finger at the trailer. “I’ll take your ass down if you lay one finger on her.”
“Take your best shot, Jerko.”
“Pull it together,” Austin said impatiently in his alpha voice. “Here’s the situation: We have a dead human in Jericho’s trailer we can’t get to because Izzy’s wolf won’t let anyone inside. It’s pretty clear what went down, but not why. April shut herself in the bathroom and would have called you on your phone, Reno, if you had it with you,” he said with a scowl. “She can yell out information, but that just riles Izzy’s wolf up.”
“Where’s her wolf?” Jericho asked.
“Lying on top of the dead body.”
Shit. That sonofabitch must have pissed her off something fierce to make her wolf take claim of his body like that. “Her wolf knows me, Austin. She trusts me. I can get close to her and get her out.”
“I don’t want her out,” Austin said calmly. “Out means trouble. She’s covered in human blood, and we got Shifters out there looking for a reason to shift. There’s already talk about how unfairly we’re being treated, while the other Breeds get to practice their magic. If she runs into the crowd, that’ll be like the gun they fire off at the races. It’ll start a riot if everyone starts shifting. Lexi and Ivy went to find a crate. If you want me to lock your ass up in there, then I have no problem with that. But if she doesn’t shift back, we crate her home, and you’re going to be the one to put her in there.”
“We need to get April out,” Reno said, his voice caged with fury.
Austin tossed him his phone. “Call her up. She’s fine.”
Reno turned around with the phone pressed to his ear.
Jericho stepped forward, locking eyes with Austin. “Let me in.”
“You sure? She could go wild on you. Izzy has blood in her mouth, and you know how hard it is to come down from that. I went in and tried to force her to shift, but I have little control over the human inside. She bit me,” he said, holding up his left arm. Dried blood streaked down the back of his forearm from a set of puncture marks.
“Why don’t you stay out here and shift to heal up. I’ll go calm her down.”
Austin stepped aside. “Be my guest. I may have control over my alpha enough to shift here, but I’m taking the stitches on this one. Don’t shift, Jericho. I’m warning you. I want everyone to keep their animal in check. I have a big fucking mess to clean up here, and I’m only doing it because it took place in your trailer. Do you realize what kind of trouble she’s caused by killing a human? This involves all of us now, and I don’t need this kind of trouble surrounding my pack.”
Jericho glanced back at Reno, sitting in the grass with his knees pulled up, talking on the phone and clearly stressed out. He was holding his palm out and moving it in a motion that looked as if he were calming someone down.
That someone was April.
Jericho opened the door, and a low growl rumbled from the left. “Easy, girl. It’s just me,” Jericho said, stepping into the trailer.
Her lips peeled back and she bared sharp canines. She had beautiful white fur that made her ebony nose stand out. The same nose that was sniffing the air as he slowly took a seat on a bench to the right.
The scene was gruesome. Jericho’s eyes roved around the room at spatters of blood everywhere—visible even in a dim room lit by a small lamp with low bulb-wattage. She must have latched on to his jugular. What the hell did that bastard do that had made Isabelle’s wolf lash out so ruthlessly?
It looked like he’d tried to run away. His arms were contorted in a peculiar manner, and Jericho couldn’t see his face—only a pool of crimson surrounding his head like a halo. Isabelle’s wolf had snuggled up beside his chest as if she were claiming her prey.
“Isabelle, you were always one badass wolf,” he said coolly, half smiling. The ring she had taken off his finger was sitting on the counter, and her clothes were in a pile right below. “Why don’t you shift back now? It’s over.”
She growled, telling him it damn well wasn’t over.
“Jericho?” April said in a weak voice from the bathroom. Isabelle’s wolf lunged at the door and made her scream. Her wolf had never met April, and that was a common reaction.
Jericho stood up and reached for the door, expecting Reno to come barging in. Instead, he heard his brothers arguing outside.
“Shut up!” Jericho yelled. “You’re pissing her off.”
Her wolf growled with each breath. Jericho knelt down and crawled toward her fearlessly—head first, neck extended.
He looked her square in the eyes. “You know deep down I’d never hurt you, baby.”
Isabelle’s wolf snorted and released a high-pitched whine. Her tongue swept out a few times, and she looked around, confused by her surroundings.
“That’s just April in
there, and you’re scaring the piss out of her. Come over here, baby. I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. If you want to stay in control and keep Isabelle sleeping, then fine by me. But we’re going to put you in a crate and take you home where you can run around the property and roll in the dirt all you want. Yeah, that’s right,” he said, watching the light glimmer in her eyes. “I know you’re a dirt roller. I still remember the time you went rolling in the mud back in Seattle. Poor Isabelle woke up covered from head to toe like some kind of swamp creature.”
Her wolf staggered to her feet and paced forward with her head down. They’d bonded a long time ago, so he didn’t have second thoughts when he reached out and ran his fingers through her coat. He knew exactly where she liked to be scratched, and it was on the back of her neck.
“Yeah, that’s my girl.” He smiled as she sat down and shook her head.
A light knock sounded at the door.
“Open the door slowly,” Jericho said, keeping his eyes on Isabelle. “Don’t come in; just stand at the door.”
As the broken hinge creaked behind him, Jericho kept methodically stroking the sides of her face and rubbed her ears to keep her calm.
“Jesus. You’re crazy, anyone ever tell you that?” Austin said. “Lexi brought the crate. Hurry up; we need to get rid of the body and get this trailer off the premises.”
Austin slid the crate in and shut the door.
Jericho pulled the crate next to him and ignored her disobedient groans and growls. He opened the front and patted inside. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home.”
***
“Careful!” Jericho yelled, banging his fist against the back of the truck window.
Austin had hit a pothole in the private road that led up to their house—one Reno was supposed to fill in last week. Isabelle wasn’t doing well in the crate. He had tried to steady it with his own body, but the bumps in the road and sharp turns had her biting the wire door.
When the truck stopped, Jericho stood up and looked down at Austin. “Unlock the front door and I’ll get her inside.”
“You can’t bring her in the house. Lynn and Maizy are in there.”
