Double Trouble (Taz Bell Book 5)

by Sharon Green

  "We're on our way to bed, Shell," Eric said, showing a weary smile. "I returned the cream to the fridge, not knowing if you'd want it left out. If there's any coffee left in the urn once we're done, it's all yours."

  "And you're all also rinsing your spoons," Shell said with his brows high. "I think I'm in the process of being spoiled by your bunch. Any other roomers my partner and I get will have to match up to your example, and I don't know if they'll find that possible to do. Have a good night's sleep, and in the morning you'll be able to sit down to breakfast."

  I waited until my teammates were ready, and then we made another parade upstairs. We wished each other good night again before entering our separate apartments, and I couldn't keep myself from locking the door behind me after turning on the light. Habit made me use the lock, even though I knew that anyone wanting to get in would have little or no trouble doing it. It was the principal of the thing…

  Carrying my cup over to one of the chairs opposite the door and sitting down took only a moment, and then I was able to pay attention to feelings rather than doings. I now knew that Eric's apartment was two doors down from mine to the left, just beyond Freemont's, and that bothered me in a strange way. On the one hand I wished Eric was in my apartment instead of his own, but on the other hand I felt an odd sense of relief that he wasn't with me. These apartments weren't really private, not when anyone with ears would be able to know just what his neighbor was doing in the next room…

  Even though part of me really wanted to be doing something for them to hear. I might have pushed the point if I hadn't exchanged a glance with Eric, which gave me the impression he felt the same way I did. We both seemed to want a lot of privacy for our first time together, but getting that privacy might take some effort. Maybe, after we found the people determined to see us dead, Eric and I could find a motel room or something…

  Pushing away thoughts of what we'd do in that motel room wasn't easy, but I unpacked a book to help me do the pushing away. I also unpacked my sleep shirt, so after a few minutes I was able to strip and shower, then take my book to bed. There's an old saying that claims readers never go to bed alone, and to a certain extent that's true. But this time, as I turned out the light, I didn't consider the saying all that amusing…

  * * *

  It felt strange to have spent so much time playing with the colts and fillies Mr. Calder had brought, but the feeling was good-strange rather than bad. The young horses were nervous at first, but after we stuffed them with apples and oats and other goodies our newest village members were now content. We might have smelled different to them to begin with, but they'd learned the difference wasn't one that would cause them harm. And once the colts and fillies were grown, we would have horses to ride just the way the other people in our area did.

  Since it was still early enough in the afternoon I was now headed for the place I'd decided to build my house, a project that had had to be put off until the barns were put up for the horses and calves. We'd have the calves tomorrow or the next day, and once they were settled down I'd be able to get back to starting on my house with the help of my father and brothers.

  I took a shortcut to the area I wanted, which gave me a surprise when I passed a small clearing. The sound of someone moving around in an odd way caught my attention, so I stopped and moved silently toward the clearing. Odd things needed to be investigated, just to make sure the "boys" from the town nearest us weren't back to cause mischief. But when I carefully parted two bushes to look into the clearing, the person I saw had nothing to do with the people who disliked us so.

  The person in the clearing was Regina, the girl Mr. Calder had brought to us some weeks ago. Elder Joe had taken the girl home, and he and his wife Annie had worked wonders with their new daughter. Regina had responded quickly to the loving kindness of her new family, and had even managed to join us during the last full moon. At first Regina had been unsure and shy, but after a few minutes she'd joined in the games we younger wolves played while the adults took care of providing deer for us to eat.

  But right now Regina was doing something other than playing a cub game. In point of fact she was holding a branch as if it was a sword, while the rest of her went through the latest exercises Tom and I had been taught during sword practice. Truthfully she was doing really well with the exercises, so I moved forward silently, then sat down to watch. It took her a few minutes to notice she wasn't alone, and once she did she stopped to stare at me.

  "I expected to see you making at least one mistake, but you didn't," I said to her with a smile, doing nothing to stand up yet. "I don't think they've ever had a girl in the Sword Watch, but they might make an exception in your case. Unless you're doing this just for the exercise."

  "No," Regina answered, still staring at me. "I'm doing this so that I can go hunting the people who killed my family once I grow up. Are you going to tell on me?"

  "You mean tell the elders what you're doing?" I asked as I finally got to my feet. "That would be intruding on your personal business, something I have no right to do. If you want the elders to know about your practicing, you'll have to tell them yourself."

  "You really mean that," she said, now staring at me in a different way. "But I don't understand why you're here. Were you following me?"

  "I was taking a shortcut to the place I'll be building my house," I returned, still speaking gently and calmly. "I need to have the house finished along with the furniture I'll want, and then I'll be ready if a girl asks me to marry her."

  "I didn't know girls did the asking here," Regina said with an odd expression on her pretty face. "Where I used to live it was the men who did the asking."

  "Different people, different customs," I quoted, what the elders always said to us. "Different doesn't mean wrong, it just means … different."

  "I think I like that idea," she said, now looking thoughtfully pleased. "Maybe I'll ask you to marry me, another idea I kind of like, but I have a question. Will you answer a question for me?"

  "Sure," I said, doing nothing to show my inner amusement. Regina was a pretty girl with her reddish hair and blue eyes, but she seemed too young to be thinking about marrying. I had no idea if she'd gone through puberty before coming to join us, but if she hadn't…

  "If I'm really different from you and everyone else, should I tell Joe and Annie?" she asked. "And would my being really different make you refuse if I asked you to marry me?"

  "I don't know how to answer that," I responded, seeing how very serious she'd turned. "I'd have to know what you mean by 'really different,' and that's the problem. You'd have to tell me without knowing how I'd take the knowing. I would suggest you think about the matter for a while, and then talk to Elder Joe or Annie. They'd know more about things than I do."

  "You know, you give good advice," Regina said after a moment of thought before smiling at me. "What's your name?"

  "I'm Mykel," I told her, then found the change of subject I'd been looking for. "Would you like to see where I mean to build my house?"

  "Yes, I think I would," Regina answered before tossing aside the branch she held. "And while we're doing that we can get to know each other better… Mykel, I like that name."

  I led her off in the proper direction, trying to understand why I very much wanted to get to know her better.

  Chapter Twelve

  I woke up late the next morning, but still lay quietly for a few minutes thinking about the dream. That seemed to be the second time Mykel found an odd attraction to Regina, and I couldn't help wondering if that feeling meant something … special. I also wondered what Regina's secret was all about, but that was a waste of time. Either she'd get to the point of talking about her secret, or it would turn out not to be anything important. Instead of lying still any longer, I got up and used my bathroom.

  After washing I got into clothes, noticing that it was definitely time to do some clothes washing too. I'd have to take care of the need once I had a bit of caffeine in my bloodstream, but first I
had to go hunt up the caffeine. I'd rinsed out my empty mug the night before, so I grabbed the thing and headed downstairs.

  Three of my four teammates had obviously gotten up before me. Only Oldon wasn't at the table in the dining room or in the kitchen, which was perfectly understandable. The vampire meant to go with us when we went to buy those electronic toys, so he was probably getting as much normal sleep – normal for him – as he could before it was time to go. I headed straight for the coffee pot, of course, where Freemont was just turning away with a filled mug.

  "Good morning, Taz," my partner said with his usual smile before gesturing to the third person in the room. "This is Jack, Shell's partner. Jack, this is my partner, Taz Bell."

  The man was fairly tall and lean, with light brown hair and blue eyes, and his smile was warmer than you'd expect from a stranger.

  "Nice to meet you, Taz," he said, his hands busy with something being cooked on the range. "Breakfast will be ready in just a couple of minutes, but first I'd like to give you my thanks for what you did for Shell. I've already said this to the rest of your team, so it's your turn to be thanked for saving Shell's life."

  "Actually, it was Amiol who saved Shell's life," I pointed out mildly as I returned his smile. "If not for the way Amiol's spell slowed down the intruder, we would have been too late to help Shell. But right now I'm in caffeine withdrawal, so I hope you'll excuse me if I head straight for the coffee urn."

  "Yes, please help yourself," Jack said as I walked to the sink first to rinse my mug before going over to fill it with black lifeblood. "And I agree with Shell about the way you folks are spoiling us. Your teammates also brought down clean mugs, then rinsed them to be used again instead of looking for new mugs. Instead of finding the mess I expected when I came in here last night, everything was so clean I was able to go straight to bed."

  "We're used to cleaning up after ourselves," I told him, turning away from the coffee urn to see that Freemont had already gone into the dining room. "If we start to turn into slobs instead, please let us know. That isn't a good habit to get into."

  Jack made a sound that was clearly amused agreement while he took a large pan off the range, which meant I was free to take my coffee into the dining room. Freemont had taken a chair next to Amiol and opposite Eric, so I took the chair next to Eric and sat down. The table was set with plates and flatware, not to mention small glasses that were probably meant for juice. A jug of orange juice was also on the table, along with butter, croissants, and a jar of maple syrup.

  "Those croissants are really good," Eric said as I reached for the sugar and cream. "Amiol and I, being loyal team members, tasted them to make sure they weren't poisoned or anything."

  "I'm delighted to hear that the croissants aren't poisoned," Freemont said with a laugh while Amiol and I grinned. "I was wondering, of course, but didn't want to spoil anyone's appetite by asking if anything was poisoned. Now I don't have to worry about it."

  "Not a problem, Freemont," Amiol said with what was probably supposed to be solemn assurance. "Teammates do look out for each other with things like that, so there's no thanks necessary."

  The silliness probably would have continued, but that was when Jack came through the door from the kitchen, carrying a large tray.

  "Okay, the food's finally here," Jack announced as he moved to the end of the table to rest the tray there while he began to move platters to the middle of the table. "Shell and I have already eaten, so whatever is here is all yours. Right now Shell is on the phone, ordering more provisions for all of us, which he'll have delivered. It didn't seem like a good idea for him to go out shopping in person."

  "Good thinking," Freemont answered with clear approval. "There's no knowing how many of those fanatics are left, so it's best for you men to stay here until we find the one sending out assassins and kidnappers. We'll do our best to make the time as short as possible."

  "Shell and I know you will, so please don't worry about it," Jack returned with a smile. "And you also don't have to worry about our other guest. When she wakes up and comes down for her own breakfast, I'll make something for her then."

  He gave us a friendly nod and turned back to the kitchen with his empty tray, leaving us alone with the scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes he'd brought. We all took turns helping ourselves to the food, then happily began to eat. We'd only just started the eating when Jack reappeared, carrying a large carafe.

  "Extra coffee, to keep you from having to come into the kitchen for refills," Jack announced as he gestured with the carafe. "If you want thirds, that you will have to come to the kitchen for."

  He put the carafe down on the table then disappeared again, his face creased into a smile. He must have noticed that we didn't stop eating just because he turned up again, and that the lack was a definite comment on how good the food was. The four of us continued to stuff our faces until there was nothing in the way of food left, and then we all sat back with our coffee.

  "Personally, I can't wait until suppertime," Freemont commented after sipping at what was left in his cup. "I doubt we'll have appetites for lunch, but tonight will be a different story. In a few minutes I'm going to start some clothes washing, which the rest of you might be wise to join me in."

  "There are two washing machines and dryers, so I'm right with you," I told my partner. "We still have time before we have to leave for our appointment with Falk Instruments, so wasting the time would be foolish. And I think I'll check in with Allison right now."

  Everyone thought that that was a good idea, which meant they watched as I chose Allison's number in my phone and then pressed the call button. The phone rang twice, and then Allison was on the line.

  "Morning, Taz," Allison said, sounding a bit on the depressed side. "I wish I could say I had all kinds of new information to pass on, but I don't. The four you got us yesterday don't know any more than the assassin. My people are trying to track down the source of the emails all these tools are getting, but so far no luck."

  "We never expected it to be easy, Allison," I reminded her, trying to get rid of some of that depression. "The team and I are going shopping in a couple of hours, but after that we'll see if we can pick up any clues. If we do, you'll be the first call I make."

  "I'd really like to get that call, so please see if you can oblige me," Allison answered, faint amusement now in her voice. "In any event, have fun with your shopping."

  I assured her I would, then exchanged goodbyes before disconnecting. Glancing around showed me that everyone had been able to follow the conversation even without hearing Allison's end, so I looked at the phone for a minute then chose Art's number. Dr. Arthur Lamdell was a shapeshifter and one of those in charge of getting shapeshifters organized, and he needed to know how things were going.

  "Hi, Taz," he said when he picked up on the second ring, sounding worlds better than Allison had. "How are things going for you and your team?"

  "Life-wise, things are going well, Art," I answered with what had to be an odd smile. "We're back in Atlanta, and we've accepted the government's offer to house us if we made Atlanta our home base. They found a really great residential hotel for us, and that's where we are right now."

  "That's wonderful, Taz!" Art exclaimed, his bright enthusiasm perfectly clear. "If you'll tell me where the hotel is, I'll come and visit as soon as my schedule clears up."

  "I'll be glad to tell you where we are, but you'd better hold off on visiting for a while," I responded, not quite sighing. "Remember those phony guides who tried to attack us during the awards ceremony? Turns out they've got company in wanting to see us dead, and they're willing to take out anyone on our side. When we track down and eliminate the ringleaders and the rest of their loyal followers, we'll be able to get together and actually enjoy ourselves."

  "I hate this, you have no idea how much," Art said, a faint growl to be heard in his voice. "Twisted people raise twisted children, but no one makes any effort to protect those children from parents who have no busine
ss raising so much as goats. There's got to be something we can do about that, and I'm going to look for that something."

  "There's something else you'll also need to look for," I said, deliberately changing a subject that really needed looking into. "We met a large group of shapeshifters while we were in Mexico, and they all loved the idea of a community of shapeshifters to live in. You haven't by any chance gotten started with that, have you?"

  "Actually, we have gotten started," Art answered, less upset now in his voice. "We're checking out locations, trying to find a spot that will let people get to their jobs easily, and we may have found the perfect one. Can you get in touch with those who are interested in joining us?"

  "They'll call you or me when they get to being able to make a move," I told him. "Most of them are professional bodyguards, so you won't have to worry about defending the community if trouble comes up. But you might also think along slightly different lines. Everyone being in one place makes for an easy target for the sick-minded, but with all of us in different places, coming together for meetings and joint fun… That scenario might work out better."

  "I'll have to think about that, but you might be right," Art said, now sounding thoughtful before his tone changed. "And by the way, I've had two silver headbands made up. Won't be long now when we'll be able to test them out."

  "I'll be using one of those headbands, of course," I said, feeling strangely ambivalent about the decision. "Do you have someone else in mind for the second headband?"

  "If no one turns out to 'need' the thing, I just might be the one to join you," Art said, the words slow and just as thoughtful as his previous ones. "By 'need' I mean someone desperate in some way, but so far there doesn't seem to be anyone like that around. Well, we still have a few days to go, so we can talk about this again. If you'll give me your address, I'll make sure to stay away."