“Okay.”
“I won’t let Jac know you have new information. You and I can talk first. Then we’ll decide what to tell her.”
“That’s all I ask.” Selene exhaled shakily. “Thank you, Eve.”
Eve hoped she hadn’t just agreed to something she’d regret. She’d do anything for more information about her stalker, but she wasn’t exactly ready to have her heart stomped on again. Whatever Selene needed to tell her, she hoped it was worth the risk. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you later.”
Disconnecting their call, Eve took a deep breath before pulling up Jac’s number and clicking the Send button. Jac answered on the second ring. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” Eve said. “I wanted to make you aware that I have a visitor coming over this afternoon.”
“Okay. Who?”
Eve hesitated. “Selene.”
She didn’t have to see Jac’s face to know she was scowling. “Oh, really.”
“She wants to talk.” Eve bit her lip, committed to keeping her promise about not telling Jac everything. Not yet. “Don’t judge me.”
“I’m not.”
Eve knew that was a lie. Whether or not Jac knew the real reason for Selene’s visit, Eve didn’t like Jac thinking she was foolish. “You are. And I’m asking you not to.”
“Okay,” Jac said in a tight voice. “I just care about you. You don’t need her bullshit right now.”
“I’ll be fine. I just wanted to make sure you knew I was expecting her.”
“Of course. If you need anything, you know how to call me.”
Eve barked out a humorless laugh. “Come on, Jac. Talking to Selene is hardly panic-button material.”
“You never know.”
Rolling her eyes, Eve said, “I’ll see you later, Jac. Enjoy your Saturday.”
“You, too.”
Eve hung up, tossing her phone aside. She eyed her cereal, but her appetite had vanished. She was going to see Selene again. Groaning, she slumped on the couch and turned up the sound on the television, hoping to drown out her anxious thoughts.
She didn’t know what she wanted to have happen. Actually, that was a lie. Though the strictly rational part of her brain rebelled at the girlish, fairy-tale notion, Eve wished for some kind of happily-ever-after, no matter how improbable it seemed.
*
Less than an hour after Eve hung up with Selene, she heard a knock on her door. She didn’t need to look through the peephole to know who it was. She could feel Selene’s presence in her belly, a strange curl of electricity that hadn’t been there since the night Selene lied about being out of town—the last time they were together. Eve had imagined feeling that same spark of connection numerous times since their breakup, but that had been pathetic yearning. This was the real thing.
Eve walked to the door on rubbery legs, steeling herself for the sight of Selene’s face. She knew it would hit her hard, seeing Selene again, and she worried she would lose her head and leap into Selene’s waiting arms. Two weeks hadn’t been sufficient time to build a wall around her heart strong enough to keep Selene out. Despite the pain Selene had caused, Eve still missed her desperately. It would take everything she had not to surrender her anger to her desire to be wrapped up in Selene’s warm embrace.
Calling up an image of the blond woman who had disappeared into Selene’s house the night she was supposedly leaving town, Eve took a deep breath and checked the peephole, just in case. Even distorted by the fish-eye lens, Selene looked stunning. Eve’s heart thundered as she undid the chain and pulled the door open. The instant Eve’s eyes met Selene’s, every bit of Eve’s willpower dissolved.
“Eve—” Selene stepped forward then jerked to a halt. She fisted her hands at her sides, clearly holding back. “You look beautiful.”
Cursing the trembling of her fingers, Eve whispered, “So do you.” She stepped aside and gestured for Selene to enter. “Come in.”
As Selene walked past her into the living room, Eve inhaled deeply, savoring her scent. She followed Selene inside, working hard to keep her expression neutral. Judging from the rapid rise and fall of Selene’s chest, Selene saw the desire in Eve’s every movement. To her credit, she didn’t seem to take that as an invitation to initiate physical contact.
Eve almost wished she would.
“Sit down.” Hurrying to take a seat on the far end of the couch, Eve sighed in relief as soon as she got off her feet. Weak-kneed and dizzy in Selene’s presence, she felt like a ridiculous, lovesick schoolgirl. This was what got her into trouble in the first place—letting her emotions overrule a healthy sense of caution. Eve already knew Selene was a liar. She couldn’t forget that just because she smelled good.
Selene sank onto the other end of the couch, shooting Eve a nervous look. “I’ve missed you.”
Eve bit back the urge to confess just how much she’d missed Selene, too. “You said you had information about the Golden Gate Park killer.”
Swallowing, Selene said, “Yes.” She twisted her hands in her lap, looking so anxious that Eve’s stomach roiled in sympathy. “I have a lot to tell you, but I don’t know where to start.”
“Why don’t you start from the beginning?”
Selene opened her mouth then shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m…I’m really nervous.”
“Okay.” Having Selene so close—and wanting her so badly—was starting to wear on Eve’s patience. Especially when it seemed more and more like maybe Selene’s involvement in this case went deeper than Eve wanted to believe. “Why don’t you just tell me what you know about this guy? We can go from there.”
Exhaling, Selene reached into her pocket and withdrew a folded sheet of paper. She passed it to Eve, watching her face for a reaction when Eve unfolded it and read the elegant lettering inside. Kevin Pike, 106 South Third Street, Apartment 12C, Burlingame. Eve gasped as the enormity of what Selene had just given her registered. The last thing she’d expected was a name and address.
Eve looked up and met Selene’s worried gaze. “What’s this?”
“The name of the man who’s after you.” Selene’s accent seemed more pronounced than usual, her words coming out brittle and clipped. “The address is an apartment building in Burlingame, near the airport.”
Eve’s stomach sank. The man on the phone had said his name was Kev, and now Selene was giving her the name and address of a Kevin. Not one to believe in coincidence, Eve immediately accepted that Selene was telling the truth. Sickened by the thought that Selene had known something that could have led to this man’s capture weeks ago, that she’d sat on information that could have saved lives, Eve glared at her in anger.
“Jac interviewed you almost two weeks ago. Why didn’t you give her this information then?” Unable to tamp down her rage, Eve’s voice rose. “Another woman died, Selene. If you’d just come clean when you told us you made the phone call, she’d still be alive.”
Selene flinched. “I didn’t know who he was then.”
“Really? What, so this is the result of some detective work on your part? You were able to crack the case the entire San Francisco homicide division hasn’t been able to solve?” Aware that she was swiftly losing control of her temper, Eve shouted, “Is that your big secret, Selene? You’re a crime-fighting superhero?”
Selene wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Maybe I should just go.”
“No.” Eve fingered the charm she wore around her neck, Jac’s panic button. “If you’re involved in this mess, you’re going to be held accountable. I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is.”
Finally Selene looked her in the face, eyes blazing. “Involved? You think I had something to do with your attack? With those murders?”
“I don’t know what to think.” Eve waved the piece of paper in the air. “If you’re not involved, how in the world did you get this?”
“I followed him.”
“Followed him when? How?”
“Last night he came to your apartment a
bout two o’clock in the morning. A dog scared him away from your door.” Selene swallowed convulsively. “The detectives didn’t see him because he entered the building from the roof, then escaped the same way.”
Eve’s breath caught. She’d heard a barking dog in the hallway about two in the morning the night before, but she hadn’t seen anyone else. When she’d called the detectives who stood guard down in the lobby, they assured her that no one had entered or left the building. A subsequent sweep of the hallways hadn’t turned up any sign of the dog, either. Eve didn’t understand how Selene could know any of this. More important, she couldn’t fathom how Selene could have slipped into the building without alerting anyone to her presence. Or why she would have done so in the first place.
“I wanted to make sure you were safe,” Selene said quietly. “When I realized I had the opportunity to follow him and maybe find out where he lived, I had to take it.”
Though some aspects of the story rang true, Eve couldn’t believe that Selene had been able to not only sneak past her protective detail, but also follow her stalker all the way to Burlingame without being caught. It sounded impossible. Shaking her head, Eve said, “I’m sorry, this just doesn’t make any sense. Let’s say you managed to get into my building without any of the cops on the street or in the lobby noticing. And let’s say that this guy broke in via the roof-access door—which is supposed to be locked from the inside, by the way—again, without anybody noticing. Even if I believed all that, I can’t imagine how you could have managed to trail him not only across the roof, but then all the way to Burlingame? Without him noticing?”
To describe the look on Selene’s face as that of a deer in the headlights would be unfair to the deer. Never before had Eve seen such excruciating panic on display. Selene bent at the waist, swaying as though she might be sick, and exhaled shakily. Then she shot to her feet, tugging her shirt over her head and tossing it onto the floor.
Startled, Eve held up her hands. “Whoa. What are you doing?”
Selene walked to the window and drew the blinds, then reached behind her back to unhook her bra. She turned to face Eve, mouth set in a grim line. “I need to show you something. Because if I just tell it to you, you won’t believe me.”
Eve shielded her eyes, irritated by her body’s instant reaction to the sight of Selene’s bare breasts. “Is it really necessary to take off your clothes?”
“Well, yes. Kind of.” Selene cleared her throat. “Eve. Look at me.”
Sighing heavily, Eve lowered her hand and swallowed hard at the sight of Selene’s gloriously naked curves. “You’d better not be messing with me, Selene. I mean it.”
Selene looked intensely serious. Holding her arms at her sides, she took another deep breath, clearly gathering her courage. “I was able to follow Kevin Pike that night because he never saw me. Well, he did, but he didn’t realize it was me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know,” Selene said quietly. “You will in a moment. Just…promise me one thing?”
“What?”
“Please don’t freak out. I swear I’ll explain the best I can, but…” Selene shook out her hands. “Just don’t panic.”
Tired of the dramatics, Eve propped her head on her hand and feigned boredom. “I promise I won’t freak out.”
And then the impossible happened. Selene simply disappeared as her body seemed to melt into a different shape. One moment she was there, and the next, she wasn’t. In her place stood a brown dog with sad, serious eyes.
Eve freaked out. Screaming, she leapt up from the couch and scrambled backward, nearly losing her balance in her haste to put some distance between herself and the dog that used to be Selene. Heart thundering, Eve shook her head in disbelief. That couldn’t possibly have just happened.
The dog startled, then smoothly grew upward and morphed into Selene. The process of transformation was so bizarre to witness that Eve’s scream died in her throat as her scientific mind took over. How did Selene’s skeletal system handle that type of dramatic change? What happened to the extra body mass when she became the dog, which was far smaller than her human form? Was her ability the result of a genetic anomaly or some environmental agent? What the fuck was she?
A heavy pounding shook the apartment door on its hinges. “Eve!” Jac’s voice boomed out, deep and commanding, but tight with fear. “Open the door or I’ll open it myself.”
Standing naked in the middle of her living room, Selene appeared terrified. She looked down at her body, then up at Eve, as though imagining exactly what Jac would make of this situation. Torn out of her stupor by the sense that Selene was about to vanish again, maybe for good, Eve picked up Selene’s pants and tossed them into her arms.
“I’m fine, Jac! Just give me a moment,” Eve shouted toward the door. In a lower voice, she said, “Get dressed. Go in my bedroom and stay there. We need to talk, but first let me get rid of Jac.”
Fear flashed across Selene’s face. “You’re not going to tell her?”
The terror in the softly spoken words tugged at Eve’s heart. Selene clearly expected Eve’s hatred, not loyalty. “I’m not telling her anything until you and I have a chance to discuss this. Now go.”
“Eve.” Jac banged on the door. “If you don’t open this door immediately, I’m using my key.”
Flustered by Jac’s persistence, Eve gestured at Selene’s discarded bra. “Take your clothes.”
Selene gathered her clothing and rushed out of the room without speaking, closing Eve’s bedroom door behind her. Eve dashed over to the apartment door and opened it, unsurprised to find Jac with key in hand. “I’m sure the neighbors appreciated that,” Eve said, managing a tense smile. “What’s wrong, Jac?”
“You tell me.” Jac shouldered her way past Eve into the apartment. Her visual sweep of the living room was anything but subtle. She walked to the kitchen and glanced inside as Eve closed the door behind them. “Selene gets here and five minutes later you’re screaming bloody murder. Where is that bitch?”
“Wait a second, were you standing guard outside my door?”
“Where is she?”
Eve waited until Jac turned to look at her. Then she folded her arms over her chest and tried to act casual yet annoyed. “She’s in the bathroom. I screamed because a rat ran across the floor.”
“A rat?” Jac gave her a skeptical once-over. “Since when are you the kind of chick who screams about rats?”
“When it’s in my apartment, I scream. He surprised me.”
Jac studied her face carefully. Then she relaxed, even as her gaze kept straying over Eve’s shoulder, to the master bedroom. Stepping closer, Jac dropped her voice to a whisper. “Just tell me. Did she hurt you?”
“No.” Eve planted her hands on her hips. “Selene and I have stuff to work out, definitely, but she would never lay a hand on me.” Obviously Eve had a lot to learn about Selene, but she felt confident about that. “Seriously, Jac. I’m fine. And you need to go.”
Studying her for a few moments longer, Jac nodded and walked stiffly to the door. “Sorry I bothered you.”
“It’s fine.” Eve forced a light chuckle. “You’re right. I’m not really much of a screamer. I’m sure it sounded pretty crazy.”
Jac didn’t join in her laughter. “It sounded terrifying.”
The genuine concern in Jac’s voice warmed Eve, gentling her tone. “I’m sorry.” Eve patted Jac on the back as she walked out the door. “I do appreciate knowing that you can get to me quickly in case something really happens, though.”
Giving her an expression of resigned sorrow, Jac said, “Fine. Use your necklace if you need to.”
“I will. Thanks.” Eve closed the door behind Jac, then turned around, slumping against the cool wood. She pressed a hand to her forehead, stunned by this sudden turn of events. Knowing that Selene was waiting for a reaction beyond pure, noisy astonishment, Eve walked to the bedroom on shaking legs.
Selene sat on the foot of her be
d fully dressed, holding her head in her hands. She glanced up when Eve entered the room, then quickly got to her feet. “I should have prepared you better than I did. I’m so sorry…I never meant to frighten you.”
Eve cut Selene off with a shake of her head. “Selene, even if you’d told me, ‘I’m going to turn into a dog now,’ I still would have screamed. That was…unbelievable.”
“I know.” The sadness in Selene’s voice was palpable.
“Will you do it again?”
Eyes widening, Selene opened and closed her mouth before whispering, “Seriously?”
“I need to see that again.” Eve gave Selene a sheepish smile. “For the sake of scientific curiosity.”
A single tear rolled down Selene’s cheek. “So you’re not disgusted?”
“No.” Hating that her earlier panic had led to the uncertainty that now racked Selene’s tense frame, Eve took a step forward and touched her arm. “I’m surprised. Dumbfounded. Intellectually challenged. But I’m not disgusted. I see horrible things every day, Selene. Man’s inhumanity toward man. What you are isn’t disgusting. You’re amazing.”
Selene’s lower lip trembled. “Yeah?”
“Absolutely.” Eve sat on the bed, focusing on Selene. Now that she knew what to expect, she wanted to pay more attention to exactly how Selene changed shape. “Now do it again.”
Blushing, Selene undressed in silence. Despite Eve’s attempt at reassurance, she seemed to have trouble making eye contact. “Do you want to see a dog again, or something else?”
A shiver of excitement ran down the length of Eve’s spine. “You can…you can change into whatever you want?”
“I guess so.” Selene shrugged shyly. “I haven’t tried many different things, but I’ve been able to become whatever I’ve wanted so far.”
“When you…when you change, do you retain your human consciousness and instincts?” Unable to help herself, Eve swept her gaze over Selene’s nudity. Now that anticipation had replaced anger, it was hard not to allow her old feelings to take over. She still wanted Selene, badly.
Selene shuddered. “Yes.”
Wild Page 25
