by Laura Hysell
Kirk nodded and his eyes darted to Jared beside him. “Who’s this guy? What’s going on, Izzy?” He shivered and scooted close to me, pulling the blanket tighter around him. He took a quick look under the blanket and turned to me, whispering. “Where are my clothes?”
Jared piped in then and I wanted to smack him. “You and Izzy were getting frisky and you threw your clothes out the window. Don’t you remember? I think you drank a little too much. Man, that was a wild party!”
“I don’t feel drunk, just cold,” Kirk muttered, before turning to look at Jared again. “You seem vaguely familiar. Do I know you?”
“I’m a friend of Justin’s. We met last night, at the party. Ah, well you passed out and then the truck broke down,” Jared added. I glanced at him and he grinned at me mischievously. “I can give you my coveralls if you’re cold. But then I’d have to use Izzy to get warmed up.”
Kirk put his arm protectively around me. “That’s my fiancée you’re talking about,” Kirk replied angrily.
“I’m hurt,” Jared replied. “I thought after last night the three of us had really bonded, if you know what I mean. Izzy is absolutely multi-talented.”
“That’s enough, Jared,” I snapped.
“What’s he talking about, Izzy?” Kirk asked angrily.
I turned back to Kirk and stroked his face, smiling at him. “Jared’s just playing around.”
“He’d better keep his hands to himself,” Kirk retorted, glaring at Jared and scooting away.
I rolled my eyes at Jared. Kirk had always been a jealous boyfriend and hot-tempered as well, and I really didn’t need Jared egging him on. “Kirk, Jared’s just joking. He does that a lot.”
Jared snorted and shook his head. “Hey, I’m cold! I was just hoping to get warmed up a little.” Jared stood up and moved to the other side of me, squeezing in between me and the edge of the seat. “Ahh, warmer already!”
Kirk glared over at Jared and wrapped an arm possessively around my shoulders. He pulled me closer to him and further from Jared. “Jared, stop it!”
Jared leaned over and whispered in my ear. “He’s his old self, isn’t he? Jealous to the core! At least he’s remembering, Izzy. I say we do what we can to keep him from turning back into a pet.” He paused, frowning in thought. “Although, I am a little hurt he doesn’t remember me.”
Why didn’t he remember Jared? “Kirk, how long have we been together?” I asked.
He turned and looked at me, frowning. “Is this a trick? You know I’m not good with dates, Izzy.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not a trick.”
“We’ve… it’s been…” he trailed off and looked away, a frown creasing his forehead.
“Kirk, how long has it been?”
“I…I don’t know,” he muttered. His arm dropped from around my shoulder as he stared out the window.
Crap. “Kirk?” Kirk turned his face toward me, but his eyes were distant. “Kirk? Rover?”
“Master?”
“Damn it!”
“Try kissing him again,” Jared said helpfully from the other side of me. “Or maybe if I kiss you, he’ll get jealous and come back.”
“Then he’ll punch you,” I retorted, turning back toward Kirk.
I took Kirk’s face in my hands and pulled him in for a kiss. My lips landed lightly on his, but I got no response. I kissed him again, harder this time, but he just sat there staring at me. “Kirk, remember me,” I whispered softly as I kissed him again, pulling him toward me.
Kirk responded finally, moving his mouth with mine. His tongue pushed into my mouth in an exploratory kiss. My thoughts drifted away from Kirk, toward Mark. Mark’s kiss had been amazing and intense. This kiss felt like I was doing a chore, which I supposed I was. Kirk’s hands began moving across my body and I pushed back, holding his hand at bay.
“Car,” Jared said suddenly and I looked around Kirk to see a truck pulling over on the other side of the road.
“Kirk, back up,” I ordered, pushing at Kirk with my hands.
“No,” he said.
I was briefly surprised, staring at him with my mouth hanging open. Kirk ignored me and moved across my body, straddling my legs with his as he began kissing my neck. “Kirk, there’s a car here. You need to stop, now.”
“Izzy, there’s no one here but us,” Kirk whispered into my ear. His hands had found the buttons on my jacket and were deftly unbuttoning them.
“Jared?” I pleaded, leaning away from Kirk and pushing at him unsuccessfully.
“There are two trucks here, Izzy, and a couple guys are coming this way,” Jared replied. He turned and looked at me, a small smile on his face before he grabbed Kirk and pulled him off me.
Kirk fell onto the floor of the truck and glared angrily at Jared, but the passenger truck door opened at that moment and we all froze. “Izzy?” Mark said and I breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Mark,” I said, pushing past Kirk and Jared to climb into the front seat.
Mark grabbed me out of the truck and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly several inches above the ground. I pulled my arms around his neck, snuggling against his warmth. “Izzy, oh thank God you’re all right,” Mark murmured in my ear. He held me tight for several moments as the rain poured down on us. I heard him breathe in deeply then his nose began sniffing at me. What did he smell? He set me down on the ground and held me at arm’s length to examine me. My coat was unbuttoned, revealing more skin than I would normally show, but thankfully the sash was still held tight. I pulled the pink trench coat tight and redid the buttons.
Mark’s eyes met mine and they were golden yellow wolf eyes. He looked over my shoulder and straightened to full height, his arms pulling me tight to him. I turned my head as far as I could to see Jed helping Kirk and Jared out of the truck. Jared moved first, trying to hold Kirk back, but as soon as Kirk jumped out of the truck, he moved straight toward me.
Mark pulled me behind him and glared down at the naked man. Both men were tall to me, but Mark towered over Kirk by several inches. “Get your hands off my fiancée,” Kirk said angrily.
“Your what?” Mark asked, his eyes darting to me briefly.
Jared ran over to us and placed himself in between Kirk and Mark. “You must be Mark,” Jared said, holding out his hand.
Mark stood still, one hand still held out to keep me back while his other hand was clenched in a fist. The testosterone was so thick I could practically taste it. I gently pushed Mark’s hand down and stepped forward. “Kirk, it’s okay. Calm down.” I stepped toward Kirk and pushed him back, my bare feet slipping in the mud.
Kirk let me push him back until we were next to the Blazer again. His eyes darted around, taking in all the people milling about. Jed was beside the Blazer with his arms crossed, watching everything silently. Hugo towered behind Jed, his eyes focused on the road. The twins were also there, one grinning the other frowning, but both obviously enjoying the show. I ignored them all and grabbed Kirk’s face, forcing him to look at me. His eyes were wild, darting everywhere. “Kirk, stay with me. Remember who I am.”
Kirk’s eyes widened as he looked past me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Mark towering behind me. “Back up, Mark,” I said softly. Mark growled, but he took two steps backward.
I looked back at Kirk, but his eyes were downcast. He lowered himself to the ground, bowing at my feet with his arms stretched out. “Damn it!” I yelled, squatting down beside Kirk. “Kirk, who am I?”
“Master,” he replied immediately as he rested his face in the mud.
“Fuck!” I screamed, slamming my fist into the side of the truck. “Rover, stand up,” I ordered and Kirk immediately stood. Mud covered Kirk’s face, hands, chest, and lower legs when he stood, but it slowly washed off with the cold rain.
I turned on Mark, ready to lash out until I saw the confused look on his face. Mark’s eyes were on Kirk and they were receding back to their soft brown state. He glanced at me, a frown creasing his foreh
ead. I swallowed my anger and walked back to Mark, resting my head on his chest as tears welled in my eyes. Mark’s arms wrapped around me slowly and I grasped his shirt as I tried to hold down the tears. I was tired of feeling useless, and I was definitely tired of crying.
“We should get off of the road,” Jed said softly.
I nodded my head and looked over at Jed. “Does anyone have some clothes or something for Kirk?” I asked, glancing around at the werewolves.
“He can wear my sweatshirt,” Hugo said, removing his large black sweatshirt in one quick movement. Hugo lumbered over to Kirk and held the sweatshirt out to him, but Kirk stood still, unmoving.
“Kirk, Rover,” I ordered, “Put the sweatshirt on.” Kirk took the sweatshirt and pulled it on. Hugo was a much bigger man and the sweatshirt went to Kirk’s mid thighs.
“What’s the deal?” Mark asked, jutting his chin toward Kirk.
“It’s a long story and I promise to explain it later. For now, can we get Kirk and Jared somewhere safe?”
“Just Kirk and Jared?” Mark asked, catching my omission immediately.
I sighed. “I need to get my brother. I’m too close to just go home.”
“You know where he is?”
“I think so,” I said hesitantly.
“You think so?”
“Can you order Kirk into the truck so we can get on the road?” Jared asked, coming up behind me. “Either that or wake him back up like you did last time. Just get him in the truck so we can go. It’s getting dark.”
I glanced over at Jared, not expecting the look of fear on his face. Jared had been coping so well that I kept forgetting he’d been a prisoner of a sadistic vampire. Perhaps his joking was part of his coping mechanism. The darkening sky was making him nervous. I looked over at Kirk, who stood where I’d left him with Hugo’s big sweatshirt on.
“Rover, go with Jared. Do what he says,” I added as Jared grabbed Kirk by the arm and drug him behind him across the street with Hugo and the twins.
“The older vamps will be waking up any minute now, if they’re not already up,” Jed said softly, his eyes glancing my way briefly. “Get in the truck.”
Mark pulled me with him to the first of two Suburbans and we climbed in, with Jed following quickly and getting into the driver’s seat. Kirk and Jared got into the second truck with Hugo and the twins. Mark and I climbed into the very back seats, past two werewolves I’d never met before and John in the passenger seat. We buckled in and both trucks turned around on the road and headed back toward Walla Walla.
“My brother is the other direction,” I said softly to Mark, but I forgot I was in a truck full of werewolves and everyone else could hear me as well, no matter how quietly I spoke.
“It’s too close to sunset,” Jed replied as he drove us down the road. “We’ll head back to Walla Walla, get you and the other humans safe and formulate a plan. I need more information before I go chasing vampires down.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Mark put a finger to my lips and shook his head. No arguing with the Alpha. I sat back in the seat and crossed my arms. My feet were caked with mud and my hair was dripping wet. The truck was toasty warm, but I was still shivering. Mark pulled off his jacket and hung it on the corner of the seat in front of us, letting the rainwater drip off it. He reached over the back seat and rifled around before coming back with a small shop towel, a shirt and a pair of socks.
Mark set the clothes down and took my feet in his hands, wiping the mud off them with the towel until they were mostly clean. He rubbed my feet with his hands, warming them up before putting the socks on. I smiled at him and curled my feet underneath me to keep them off the wet floor of the Suburban.
“Here,” Mark said, grabbing his coat and holding it up to block me from view of the others.
I untied Sarah’s trench coat and undid the buttons, but I held it closed and looked at Mark. While he had blocked my view from the rest of the truck, he was still watching me. He grinned and held the coat closer to me, turning his head away. I watched him as I quickly removed the coat. I still had dried blood all over my body, but I didn’t have any way to clean up. I grabbed the shirt and hurriedly pulled it over my head. As soon as my head had cleared the shirt my eyes darted back to Mark. He was grinning, but still facing forward. I suspected he had taken a look, but I didn’t say anything.
The t-shirt was loose fitting and I was sure it belonged to Mark. It was black with a picture of the Millennium Falcon on the front. I touched Mark’s hand and he looked back at me before lowering the jacket. “Thanks,” I murmured.
Mark nodded and hung his jacket back up to dry. He took the pink trench coat and sniffed it briefly before tossing it into the back of the truck. “Smells like vampires,” he muttered when I frowned at him.
“That’s because it belonged to a vampire,” I replied.
“So, you want to tell me where you’ve been and what happened?”
I sighed and sat back, looking toward the front of the truck. I met Jed’s eyes in the rearview mirror and John had turned around so he could see me. The two werewolves in the middle seat didn’t move. The man on the left had close-cropped brown hair and had a military vibe about him. The man on the right had long black hair pulled back into a low braid and appeared to be of Native American descent. I focused my attention on Mark and tried to ignore the others. It wasn’t easy, since I knew they were eagerly listening to my every word.
“The vampire from my dreams, Patricia, showed up at the house. She said she knew where my brother was.”
“So you just went with her?” Mark asked incredulously. His eyes flashed with barely suppressed anger. “After what we told you about the vampires, you willingly went with one? She says, ‘I can take you to your brother’ and you just jump at the chance, despite the consequences!”
“She had people attacking you!”
Mark shook his head and looked toward John and Jed in the front, but they said nothing. He took a couple deep breaths before turning back to me, anger still evident on his face and the set of his jaw. “Those vampires were nothing. John killed one within minutes of their initial attack. They couldn’t come in the house without invitation, so you were safe there. All you had to do was stay inside.”
I nodded. “I know it was stupid, but between you getting hurt and the possibility of rescuing my brother…” I trailed off, not sure what to say. Mark was going to be mad no matter what. What had I accomplished? A sadistic vampire had beaten me up. I’d been drained of so much blood I’d almost died. I’d watched a man be tortured before my eyes. Oh, and I’d watched my ex-fiancé have sex with my brother’s ex-girlfriend-turned-vampire. Despite that, I still had failed to rescue my brother. I wasn’t even sure where he was.
Tears welled in my eyes and I silently cursed myself for being so weak. I sniffled and turned away from Mark as I tried to get my tears under control. He put an arm around my shoulder and I immediately pushed it off. I didn’t want to cry and if he comforted me I’d be blubbering like a baby. Crying didn’t do me any good. I tried taking deep, calming breaths with my eyes closed.
When I finally had my emotions under control, I turned back to Mark. “Sarah, my brother’s old girlfriend, is now a vampire and she has Justin somewhere. When I was with Patricia, Sarah kept moving him away so I never saw him. In the town I called you from there’s a big warehouse building that Sarah was using. The whole area is abandoned and Jared remembered Justin being there, but he was always housed in a different location. We didn’t have time to look around much, but I’m sure she was keeping him close.”
“How sure are you that your brother is being kept there?”
“She’s keeping him close, and protected. I don’t think she’d have him far from her. Now that I think about it, I bet he’s in her room.”
“Why do you say that?”
I paused, not sure what I should convey to Mark and the truck full of werewolves. It was a gut feeling, but I didn’t think they would go for that.
What about what Henri had mentioned? How my brother had started this game. What did that mean anyway? I had been silent too long and I immediately looked up at Mark. “Sarah and Patricia both want Justin for something. I’m not sure what, but I think it has to do with his research. Maybe it has to do with the expedition.”
“Your brother was only a junior researcher. Why him? What makes him so special?” Mark asked.
I didn’t know the answer to that one. I shrugged, “Maybe because the other researchers are either dead or crazy vampires now?”
“What about your old boyfriend and the other guy?” Mark asked and I heard the tightness in his voice.
“You mean Kirk and Jared? Neither of them were researchers.”
“That’s not what I meant, Izzy. Where do they fit in?”
I sighed. I knew that wasn’t what he was asking. Mark wanted details, and I wasn’t ready to give them to him. “Kirk and Jared were Sarah’s pets.”
“Pets?” asked John from the front seat.
I looked at John; remembering he was the resident vampire expert. “She kept them as pets and made up dog names for them. She tortured them… until they broke,” I stopped, not wanting to continue. The memory of my short time at Sarah’s hands was sure to leave a scar on me permanently. I couldn’t even imagine how Kirk and Jared would come back from this.
“How did you wind up with Kirk and Jared? Did your vampire friend lead you there?”
“Patricia and I got separated,” I said softly.
“Separated? I thought she was leading you to Justin? Is she partners with this Sarah vampire? Damn it, Izzy, we need to know what we’re walking into. What happened?” he asked, his voice strained.
I swallowed hard and looked out the window. We were entering the town of Walla Walla and Jed had slowed the truck down. The sky was dark and the rain had returned in full force, bringing with it a fierce wind. I felt Mark’s hand on my shoulder, and I finally turned back. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell him everything. I’d been avoiding thinking about what had happened, trying to push it to the back of my mind so I could concentrate on Kirk and Jared, and finding my brother.
