The Werewolf Upstairs

by Ashlyn Chase

  Merry’s side of the line went eerily quiet. At last she said, “That explains how he and Sly managed to save my life the night I was attacked.”

  “He what? Saved your life? What attack?”

  “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want it getting back to my father, and the fewer people who knew, the better. It happened the day after I moved in. I had just returned home from work, exhausted, and wasn’t paying much attention when I walked from my car to the back door of the building. Somebody jumped me, and Konrad and Sly rescued me from a would-be rapist. He had a knife to my throat. They tossed him off me like he was a sock puppet.”

  “Dear God! Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “As I said, I couldn’t risk my father finding out about it. He’d have dragged my ass back to Rhode Island faster than Jason can throw a baseball.”

  “How did they save you?”

  “I thought it was Sly who did it, but now that I know about Konrad…well, it could have been either of them. One of them picked up the guy by the belt and flung him several feet away, like he was a big blow-up doll. Well, maybe that’s not the best description, but you get what I mean, right?”

  “Yeah. I do. Konrad’s lifted and carried me like I was a blow-up doll. And come to think of it, that’s a very apt description.” At last she was able to chuckle, remembering how his strong arms cradled her or tossed her over his shoulder, and the phenomenal sex they’d had. The sadness descended again. “I…I don’t know how I’ll ever replace him, Merry. He was so kind and gentle. And he made me feel almost petite. It’s the first time a guy has ever made me feel so…so feminine. Oh, damn.” The tears broke through, and she let them flow. Eventually she sobbed from deep in her gut.

  “Roz, it’s okay. Let it out. I’m here.”

  Merry’s quiet voice crooned words that were meant to be accepting and comforting through the sobs, but Roz felt no better. She wanted nothing more than to run up the stairs and throw herself into her lover’s arms, wolf or no wolf, yet the rational part of her wouldn’t allow it. She knew nothing about what he was. And if everything he said was true, what about that—what had he called it? Toxin? Had he exposed her to something? Was it sexually transmitted?

  “I have so many questions, Merry. But I don’t dare ask him about any of it. I don’t know if I’m safe with him.”

  “I’ve always felt safe with him. Has he done anything to make you feel unsafe?”

  “No. In fact he made me feel very safe. Completely protected, loved…even treasured.”

  “Well, there you go. You probably are all those things. How would you feel about leaving a child in his care?”

  “Before I knew? I’d absolutely, totally trust him with a child. I even saw him run into traffic, risking his own life to save a toddler.”

  “That’s the Konrad I knew. What’s changed? Other than your knowing his secret. Anything?”

  “I know he lied to me. I don’t know if I can believe anything he tells me now.”

  “How did he lie?”

  “The first time he was arrested for attempted theft, I represented him. He allegedly lifted a one-ton freezer full of frozen meat, carried it out of a restaurant, and dropped it onto the sidewalk. We got the case dismissed by saying it wasn’t humanly possible to do what he was accused of doing.”

  “That’s probably true, Roz. But if he’s a werewolf—”

  “Then either he lied or he’s not human. I don’t like either of those explanations.”

  Merry took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Roz, there are all kinds of things in this world I never knew existed until I moved to Boston, specifically to our building. Welcome to wacko central. Now that you live there too, you should probably know all of it.”

  Roz gulped. “There’s more?”

  “I’m afraid so. You’re sitting down, I hope.”

  “Yes.”

  “Where are you, exactly?”

  “In my bedroom, on my bed.”

  “Good. You might want to lie down in case you faint.”

  “Merry! What the hell?”

  Merry chuckled, but it sounded like a nervous laugh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it worse than it is. Just take a few deep breaths and try to relax.”

  Roz did, and it helped. “Okay, I’m ready. Lay it on me.”

  “Okay, here’s the thing. Even though we live in a building full of paranormals, I feel safe, maybe even safer, than I would in a building full of human strangers. How well does anyone know their neighbors, anyway?”

  “Apparently not that well.”

  “Right. But I’ve gotten to know everyone in our building very well. You, Dottie, Joe Murphy, and I are the only so-called normal people there.”

  Roz took in the information and ticked off the names of the other residents out loud. Okay, I know about Jason, Nathan, and Konrad, so Ralph?”

  “Another falcon.”

  “Gwyneth and Morgaine?”

  “Witches.”

  “What do you mean? They’re not supernatural, just regular women who practice Wicca, right?”

  “I guess so, although I’m not totally sure. Sly asked Morgaine to put a spell on the newspaper ad I answered, advertising the apartment. He said the spell made the ad visible to me and my family, but no one else could see it. That ensured I’d be the only one to answer the ad.”

  “By Sly you mean the guy who turned out to be your biological father, right?”

  “Right. Sylvestro Flores is his real name, but he likes to be called Sly. He’s in the building too.”

  “He lives here? I didn’t know that? Which apartment?”

  “None. He’s in the basement.”

  “The basement? There’s no apartment in the basement, just a laundry room and a dark, dirty storage area and utility room.”

  “Uh, yeah. Sly doesn’t have a lot of stuff, and he doesn’t need fancy digs, although I’d love to see some kind of fixed-up space for him. He is my father, after all.”

  “Of course. Let me get this right. If you, Dottie, Joe, and I are the only guaranteed humans—”

  Merry interrupted. “No guarantees.”

  Roz groaned, but continued her inventory. “And Gwyneth and Morgaine are witches, and Jason and Ralph are shapeshifting falcons, and Nathan’s a shapeshifting raven and Konrad’s a werewolf, that would mean Sly is a—”

  “Vampire.”

  Roz froze in shock. Her throat constricted, or she would have yelled, “A what?” Merry must have interpreted her silence, though.

  “He’s a vampire. Don’t worry. He doesn’t feed on the neighbors.”

  Roz’s head spun. Finally, she understood why Merry wanted her to lie down.

  Chapter 13

  Roz had invited Morgaine to her apartment for a cup of tea, hoping to get a little perspective on the wolf-man in apartment 2A.

  She carried an antique silver tray to the living room and set it on the coffee table. Two bone china cups filled with Constant Comment tea steamed and scented the air with a fragrant orange aroma.

  “What a beautiful tea set,” Morgaine commented.

  “It was my grandmother’s. I’m happy to finally have a use for it. No one has fancy teas anymore.”

  “Well, I’m glad you brought it out. I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble.” Morgaine lifted her cup and blew on the hot liquid.

  “No, don’t worry. I’m not the kind to make watercress finger sandwiches.” Roz stuck her pinkie finger out as if to make the point.

  Morgaine chuckled. “No, I’m not either.”

  Roz couldn’t get over the change in her friend since her makeover. “Are you getting used to your new look?”

  Morgaine took a sip of her tea and smiled. “Sort of. I’m used to getting negative attention for the goth stuff. Now, because I’m a blonde, I’m getting the opposite kind of attention. It’s weird.”

  “Oh, really? Sounds like a good thing to me. Maybe I should have gone even lighter.”

  Morgaine grinned.
“How did Konrad like the highlights?”

  Just the mention of his name sent a knife through Roz’s heart. She set down her teacup. “He…um…he liked them, but we’re not…” She took a deep breath and forced the words past her lips. “We’re not seeing each other anymore.”

  Morgaine gasped. “What? My Goddess! What happened?”

  Roz was unprepared for such a strong reaction. “Morgaine, I had to call it off. He lied to me.”

  Morgaine stared at her, open-mouthed. When she finally spoke, she didn’t ask what he lied about, as if she already knew. “Well, of course he did!”

  Roz blinked. “What do you know about it…and how?”

  “Duh, psychic, remember?”

  Roz had to chuckle. “Okay, so if you know what he is, maybe you know what I should do about it.”

  Morgaine reached over and squeezed Roz’s hand. “Put yourself in his shoes. If you had the kind of secret he has, would you blab it to everyone you knew right off the bat?”

  That thought stopped Roz for a moment. “I’m not just anyone, Morgaine. I’m his…I mean, I was his girlfriend.”

  Morgaine shook her head. “You were a lot more than that, sweetheart. You were his mate.”

  There was that word again. “He’d said that a couple of times. Well, not when he thought I could hear him. It…confused me.”

  Morgaine’s lips thinned, and anger brewed in her eyes. Her expression made Roz uncomfortable.

  “If he’d chosen me for his mate, I’d be damn grateful. He’s one of the few men who never judged me. Instead, he picked you. And it sounds like you’ve judged and condemned him and tossed away any hope he ever had of a happy life.”

  “What?” Roz frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “Wolves mate for life. Or didn’t you know that?”

  “N…no. I didn’t,” she said in a small voice.

  Morgaine placed her hand on her hip. “Well, at least you know he’s monogamous.”

  Roz straightened. Merry had said the same thing about falcons. Would knowing that information have made a difference? “But there’s still the physical danger, isn’t there?”

  “Clearly you know nothing about wolves. They don’t attack humans unless they’re protecting themselves or their families. Tell me what you do know,” she demanded.

  “I…uh, well—”

  “That’s what I thought. You didn’t bother to find out, did you?”

  “It…it was such a shock. How often does a girl hear that she’s been dating a werewolf?”

  Morgaine took a deep breath, as if finally remembering Roz’s point of view. “Look, it couldn’t have been easy, but I pushed him to tell you. I don’t know how he went about it, but I guess he wasn’t all that tactful. What did he say?”

  Roz felt tears forming. Yes, she had jumped to conclusions. No she didn’t know the first thing about it, but a werewolf? What was there to know?

  “Well?”

  “Huh?” Roz looked up and realized Morgaine had asked her something. What was it? Oh yeah. She wanted to know how he’d told her.

  “We went skydiving, and his parachute failed to open properly. He came down in the trees so hard, I thought he was dead. Honestly, my heart was in my throat. He was bruised and bloody, but thank God he was alive. Only a few hours later, I caught him naked in the hallway without a mark on him.”

  Morgaine leaned toward her. “And that’s bad, because—?”

  “Well, because he lied to me. He pretended to be a normal guy.”

  “So it would have been better if he’d crashed and died.”

  “No! Look, I’m more confused than ever. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Does he turn into a monster at the full moon? Am I in danger? What if we had kids? Would they be normal? Would they be in danger if he shifted?”

  Morgaine’s look was cold. “And you never bothered to ask him about any of that, did you?”

  A sudden ruckus in the hall alerted them to trouble. Roz stood, but didn’t know if she should get involved or not.

  Morgaine strode to the door and opened it wide. Two cops had Konrad in handcuffs and were wrestling him down the stairs as he tried to explain some kind of mistake.

  “Look, I don’t know what kind of evidence you think you have, but I’m innocent, and I can prove it.”

  “Tell it to the judge, buddy,” one of the cops said.

  “I don’t want it to get that far. There’s got to be something I can do to convince you I didn’t do it.”

  Roz stepped into the hall. “What are you accusing him of, officers?”

  “Look lady, it’s none of your business.”

  Konrad froze and stared at Roz. The cops couldn’t budge him another inch. “It might be her business. Roz, is…er, was my lawyer.”

  “Great, you saved a phone call,” the other cop said.

  Roz tried to stay calm. “What are the charges?”

  Konrad didn’t wait for the cops to provide details. “They’re accusing me of the 1991 Gardener Museum heist, Roz.”

  Her head jerked. “What?”

  Morgaine stepped into the hall behind Roz. “That’s impossible. He’s been helping me solve the case.”

  “So?” One of the cops said as he tried to push Konrad toward the door. “Ever heard about criminals returning to the scene of the crime?”

  Morgaine grabbed Roz’s arm and shook her slightly. “Do something. I know he didn’t do it. I’d have picked up on that in a heartbeat.”

  Roz shook her head. “There’s nothing I can do if they have a warrant.”

  The first cop said, “We have a warrant, all right, and if your client doesn’t come with us right now, I’ll add resisting arrest to the charges.”

  Konrad’s gaze dropped to the floor. He could probably break out of the handcuffs and toss the officers aside easily, but he wasn’t even trying to do that.

  “Okay, I’ll go, but you’re making a mistake.”

  “Roz, for the love of God, if I ever meant anything to you at all—”

  Even though she still had plenty of unanswered questions, she could answer one of them easily. Yes, he meant something to her. She might wish he didn’t, but she’d be lying.

  “I’ll meet you at the station,” she said softly.

  ***

  Konrad hung his head and rested his clasped hands on the small table in front of him. It seemed like he’d been waiting an eternity for his lawyer to show up. Had she decided not to represent him and had to find someone else? If so, could he blame her?

  At last the door opened, and Roz walked in. She wore her professional gray suit, tortoise-shell glasses, and her pretty highlighted hair was gathered in a bun. Their gazes met briefly, but she quickly shifted it to the papers in her hands as she sat down.

  “Mr. Wolfensen, we’re looking at a high-profile grand-jury case. More seasoned lawyers may offer to represent you. Are you sure you want a public defender?”

  “I want you to represent me. I need someone I can trust.”

  “Then I’ll need to ask you a few questions.”

  “Of course.” Do we have to be so formal?

  She shuffled the papers, as if trying to organize them. “Konrad, don’t respond to my telepathy out loud. As you can imagine, we’re being watched.”

  She folded her hands and raked her stare over him as if sizing him up. “I think I may have an idea about what happened. I’ll have to get you out on bail so we can talk privately with each other and with Morgaine.”

  He sat quietly, trying not to react.

  “According to this, the Gardener Museum’s curator was made aware of some new evidence. Upon following that lead, you were named as a suspect, or at least someone who might be complicit in the robbery.”

  “I’m curious what that evidence could be.”

  “Where were you at the time of the robbery?”

  “Newton, Massachusetts, I suppose. I lived and worked there. I was probably sleeping in my apartment.”

  “Tha
t’s still close enough to have been involved.” “Damn. I wish you’d said Australia.” “Do you have an alibi for that night? Was anyone with you?”

  “I…I’m not sure. That was a long time ago. Why would anyone suspect me out of the blue?”

  “I need to know more about this so-called evidence before I answer that. The state wants to obtain some of your DNA. I’d like you to refuse that for now.”

  Konrad cocked his head. “But wouldn’t that make me look guilty?”

  “I need to stall for time.” She licked her lips. “Right now, all that needs to happen is your arraignment and a bail hearing. In one month there will be a pre-trial conference where the prosecution and defense will compare notes, and I’ll have a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”

  “Bail, huh? How much will that be?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll find out tomorrow.”

  “So I’ll have to stay locked up tonight?”

  She nodded. “What can you afford, so I can get bail reduced to something you can manage?”

  Shit. He couldn’t afford much. He had only a few thousand left in his savings and stock portfolio. “Well, I’ve had a lot of unexpected expenditures recently. If I liquidated every investment I have, I might be able to scrape together fifty thousand dollars.”

  She jotted down the number and rose. “I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

  “Wait!”

  She turned to him, eyebrows raised. “Whatever you do, don’t say anything that might connect us as lovers.”

  He looked down at his hands. “Never mind.”

  “Yes, well, if there’s nothing else, I need to make some calls.”

  She paused with her hand on the doorknob. “I’ll do my best for you, Mr. Wolfensen.”

  I know you will. He looked up at her anxiously. “What are my chances?” Is there any chance at all for us, angel?

  She smiled sadly as she passed through the doorway. “I’ll have to get back to you on that. We have a lot of work to do.”

  Work? Did she mean on their relationship or on the case? It didn’t matter. He’d work his nuts off to make things right in both areas.