“I have to get the headache? That’s borderline sexist.” He glared and then motioned for me to get back in the car. “Okay let’s go in,” I said with an irritated frown. We walked over to Harry who grinned at us and moved out of the way. He smelled like wet dog. I noticed him taking a whiff of us as we passed by.
After entering through the double door, the music assaulted our sensitive ears with its heavy drumbeat and shrieking guitars. Bridgett and Frank were by the bar having a soda, but Darren and Sherrie were already moving with the crowd on the dance floor. I looked around and wasn’t surprised that the place had a rustic 1950’s feel about it. There were large natural oak beams across the ceiling, windows with wooden shutters and old fashioned vinyl booths along with a few scattered wooden tables and chairs. On the dark green walls were photos and some paintings by local artists of the mountains and the town back in the 1960’s and earlier.
There were a few empty tables near the bar so Ethan and I sat down at one of those and motioned for Bridgett and Frank to join us. We were as far away from the stage and the music as we could get, hoping that we’d be able to talk without screaming at each other.
Ethan kept the conversation going while I sent out my magical sensors. The weres were all older teens and most seemed to be dancing with everyone else. There were a wide variety of shifters: leopards, black leopards, bears, lions, snow leopards and cougars. I passed over something else and then stopped and went back. A human male, but no—not completely human. I felt powerful energy wrapped around this one, but not fae magic. A sorcerer? I shivered and couldn’t stop myself from looking toward the corner where I’d sensed the magic. According to Kyle, sorcerers didn’t have the best reputation and many used blood magic to increase their abilities. Blood magic always involved a death, often human.
He was standing in the corner, staring at me and smiling. I could feel him pushing against my mental wall, not in an aggressive way, but almost like a teasing caress. He was in the shadows and wearing black so he was difficult to make out clearly, but as if on cue, he started walking in my direction.
“Do you know this guy who’s walking toward us from the right?” I quickly asked Bridgett.
She looked and turned back. “Yeah, that’s just Angel. He’s a friend of my dad’s.”
“He’s a magic user, maybe a sorcerer.”
“Yeah? No shit. He’s always seemed harmless.” She turned to look at him again so I grabbed her arm and shook my head. “Okay, I won’t act like I know,” I sighed in relief. I didn’t want to have to worry about protecting her on top of everything else.
“Bridgett, introduce me to your new friends.” He was standing next to her, directly across from me, so I could see him very well now. He had rich chestnut brown hair, large dark brown eyes, a strong jaw and lovely light coppery brown skin. His slight accent matched his handsome Latino features. Although he didn’t have the grace of the supernaturals I'd come in contact with so far, he had a strong charismatic presence that made you want to look at him, which most women would probably enjoy doing very much.
“Sure Angel, this is Frank, Sammy and Melanie. Melanie is Sammy’s sister. They’re from Sacramento. Guys this is Angel, a friend of my dad’s.”
We all said hello politely and then Angel looked at Bridgett and smiled. Bridgett smiled back and then her eyes glazed over. “Let’s go dance, Frank.” They went out onto the floor and started to move around with the rest of the crowd. I’d felt a small shift in the energy flow of the room when Angel had locked his gaze on Bridgett. His magic didn’t flow like mine, or surge powerfully like the fae. Instead it was very subtle, making it harder for others to pin point its origin.
Next he shifted his gaze to Ethan and smiled that same friendly smile, but before Ethan suddenly decided he had to hit the men’s room, I grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard, hearing a surprised gasp. ”If you want to talk to me then it’s in front of Sammy.”
“I can live with that, Jacqueline,“ he whispered. He sat down slowly and leaned back in his chair looking smug. His dark eyes took in my red hair and my brown eyes and saw right through the superficial disguise. I tapped into the lines and was not surprised to see his wall up and reinforced. His eyes narrowed when he felt me give it a nudge so he nudged back at mine, but was just as unsuccessful. We continued to size each other up.
“I’m Melanie.”
“I’ll be happy to call you whatever you wish, but I know who you are and I have a strong idea as to who Sammy is as well. I think we’re in this out-of-the-way town for the same reason. Someone—special has gone missing and we want to return her in good condition. Maybe we can help each other out.” He’d spoken very quietly, despite the fact that the music was blaring loudly, and yet we’d heard him perfectly. An interesting bit of magic, I had to admit.
“We don’t know you.” Ethan’s eyes were suspicious.
“True, but Roberto, Liam and Garrett do. My specialty is finding people and returning them, for a price. Garrett and Rob sometimes do this kind of work for free, but unfortunately, I can’t afford to be so generous. My time on this planet is much shorter and I want it to be as pleasant as I can make it. Plus I enjoy the hunt. Lord Argon pays very well.” He lowered his voice almost to a whisper. “But not as well as Lord Kennet.”
Ethan started to stand, his fists clenched by his sides, his eyes glaring at Angel. “If you..”
“Sit down, young cougar.”Angel’s voice was as soft as goose down but the power behind his words had Ethan slowly sitting again.
“I’m not an idiot. I know that if I took you to Kennet I'd have Garrett and his nest, Caelen and his brood plus half the shifter population of Northern California after me. I’m only telling you this so you know that there is an enormous bounty being offered to bring you to him in perfect condition. Lord Kennet is offering double the amount of gold for you that Lord Argon is offering for the return of Brina, and Argon's figure is quite large. I'm curious to know why Kennet wants you so badly.” His eyes glittered mischievously.
I decided to keep my mouth shut and just wait to see where he was going with all of this. He continued, ”Of course, when I heard about it I decided to do a little digging of my own. According to a fae acquaintance of mine, all of his former wives have had light hair and similar builds to yours. I understand that he’s tried for many years to conceive an heir. Perhaps that’s what he's after?” I managed to keep my expression neutral, although I was starting to get irritated by his smug attitude.
He spread his hands. “Kennet is used to getting what he wants.”
The anger that I'd been holding back broke the surface as I glared at him and leaned forward, pulling up my sleeve to show him the mark on my wrist. Ethan, always thinking on his feet, covered it quickly with his hand and then glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed. I mouthed sorry at Ethan, when I realized how stupid I'd been.
Having seen the mark and understanding it's meaning, Angel's dark eyes continued to burn into mine. “I've heard from various sources that Garrett has found an extraordinary mate: a cheetah, a healer, and a very powerful magic user.” He leaned forward. “Did you truly kill that scumbag, Antoine, in a duel?”
I wasn’t sure what to make of Angel, so I remained cautious. “Maybe you’ve been listening to too much gossip.”
“Some gossip rings true." His expression changed as he whispered with an icy longing, "I wish I could have seen you defeat him. I hope his death was very painful." Emotions ran the gamut in his expressive eyes, as I glimpsed some pain of his own connected somehow to Antoine.
Right then I decided to trust him, so I whispered back, "I can guarantee that it hurt."
He relaxed into his chair and smiled in his sexy Latino way. “I believe that I will live a much longer life if I do not side with any of your enemies, Melanie.” He turned to Ethan. “Is it true that you two are enrolled in the high school for a summer class?
Ethan shrugged in an offhand way, but his attention was totally focused on o
ur smug, yet charming guest.
“It's in our best interest for the three of us to cooperate. Our target is definitely at the school. I sense her power, but I don’t know who she’s impersonating, just yet. She’s here on some secret mission of her own, which I believe has something to do with this particular pack of wolves.“ He glanced over at Bridgett who was talking to Sherrie. "Bridgett knows something about what’s going on. I’d keep my eye on her if I were you.“
Angel slipped a card across the table. “If you decide you’d like to work together and split the bounty on Brina, just give me a call. Otherwise, good luck to you both. You can trust me to keep my mouth shut about your identities. I value my skin way too much to cross Garrett or Caelen. Senora, Senor, I hope that we meet again soon." Angel stood and walked back to the far side of the club, sitting in one of the empty booths.
I turned toward Ethan, feeling a little shaken. To try to take my mind off of what Angel had said, Ethan grabbed my hand saying. “C’mon Mel, let’s have one dance at least.” I reluctantly followed him out onto the floor and stood there feeling uncomfortable. Ethan took my free hand and put it on his shoulder then put his free hand on my waist clasping our other hands between us. He grinned and pulled me closer and then started to sway to the music. I was really tense at first but Ethan was a great partner, giving me gentle nudges to move left or right and lots of words of encouragement so that by the time the song ended I felt like I’d done okay. The band played a faster song next and Ethan grinned his most evil grin. He pushed me away from him and then pulled me back and twirled me under his arm then spun me in another direction only to pull me back to him again and then start us swaying together. It was actually kind of cool that he had so much control and that I just had to relax and trust him. When the song ended I was a little dizzy but giggling from the rush. Ethan laughed and let go of me and I stumbled backwards knocking into someone.
I turned around to apologize but the words got stuck in my throat. The person I’d knocked against was a werewolf, tall and definitely not a teenager. He was around 6’3” with light brown hair and beard, and a muscular build. His eyes were dark brown and his mouth was set in a stern expression. He was the pack leader we’d killed, or his twin brother.
Ethan moved to stand in front of me, his body tense, but I pushed him gently aside and said to the wolf, “I’m really sorry, I must have gotten dizzy from the dancing.” He raised an eyebrow but didn’t speak. I tried to relax and kill the fear flooding my body, because this guy was going to smell it and get suspicious.
Bridgett ran over. “Hey Dad! These are my new friends, Melanie and Sam. They just moved up last week from Sacramento. This is my dad, Kent Brownlow.” Kent smelled to me like the redwood forest floor: a combination of sorrel and moss. His eyes met mine as he took in a whiff of my scent.
Ethan, seemingly recovered from the shock, held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Brownlow.”
“Nice to meet friends of Bridgett,” he shook Ethan’s hand with a firm grip. “Cougar, huh?” Ethan nodded and he turned to me. “Can’t really tell what you are Melanie, and my nose is usually pretty good.”
“She’s a Jaguar, dad. Melanie’s really nice. She’s invited me over to her house to hang out tomorrow. Is that okay? They’re both taking summer classes too and she said she’d help me with my calculus.” Bridgett rattled on, making it obvious that she was nervous around him. Was it because he didn’t want her hanging out with shifters, or was there something else? I played along with what she’d told him about our study date, thinking that it would be a good opportunity to find out what she was nervous about.
“I invited her to come over around 1:00 if that’s okay, Mr. Brownlow.”
“That should be fine, as long as I have your phone number so I can get in touch with her if she forgets her cell phone. She manages to do that a lot lately.” He smiled at her and I was happy to see that it was genuine.
“Sure I’ll call tomorrow with it. I don’t have my new home number memorized yet.”
“You could just give me your cell number.”
“I’m not allowed to give that out to anyone.” My cell was under Garrett’s plan and I definitely did not want him linking us together. I was getting a little stressed responding to Kent’s third degree.
“Well, just make sure you call before noon.” He was about to ask something else, when we were interrupted.
“Mr. Brownlow?” All four of us turned to see a young werewolf standing beside Ethan. “I was wondering if I could have a private word with you.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Jason Garner.” Kent shook his hand and nodded, then indicated a booth in the back of the club. Out of curiosity I sent out a gentle mental feeler toward Jason only to come up against a wall. This was unexpected, because weres were not magic users, so I took another look, trying not to be too obvious. Other than the solid wall around his mind, there was no hint that anything was off about him. He smelled like a wolf and didn’t have the telltale golden aura of a fae. Still I couldn’t discount his use of magic, so it would make sense for me to keep an eye on him when school started.
As Kent and Jason walked to the booth in the rear, I felt Bridgett nudge me. “I’m really sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t have to come over. I can just go to the mall or something.” She looked like the girl we’d met that first afternoon, not the confident one who’d left us in the parking lot earlier this evening.” My dad is kind of against me hanging with shifters these days. He’s okay with Sherrie, but I wasn’t sure how he’d react with you two so I had to think of something quick.”
“We want you to come over, Bridgett.” Ethan nodded and smiled. He knew that Bridgett needed watching and that we’d get more information from her if she was where we could question her more fully.
“You do?” She seemed so relieved that I almost felt guilty about our ulterior motives. “Is there anything I can do for you guys? I mean, to help?”
“We have to leave now, but if you can find out what that kid who’s talking to your dad wants, that would be great.” I suggested.
“He wants to join the pack. I heard him talking to another were about it earlier.”
“Thanks, Bridgett. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Ethan scribbled our address on a napkin and we left. As we were pulling out of the lot, another SUV pulled up and four wolves got out. Ethan and I were quiet on the ride home.
Chapter Twelve
After arriving back at the house, we ate and rested, knowing that we had a lot to take care of in a very short amount of time. I fed Samson, then let him out while Ethan put in calls to Rob, Sinc and Kyle to keep them in the loop. Sinc said we’d have a land line in an hour and that she’d bring over the phone when she came to get Ethan. Ethan would be back by dawn when Garrett left for the day. Then Kyle would bring over the new weapon he’d developed around noon tomorrow.
When Garrett arrived at midnight we both sat down with him and told him everything that had happened that day, and also what I’d left out about my weakness after the bowling tournament. He sat silently for a few moments and then asked some questions.
“Did Bridgett’s father seem suspicious?”
“No, but he was hard to read. Bridgett is nervous around him.”
“I’d be really cautious about what you tell her. Don’t trust her just because she seems to be a victim herself. Help her if you can, but don’t get her involved with the Brina situation or any of our team business. Her dad could force her to talk.”
We agreed and then Ethan asked, “Do you know this Angel guy?”
“Yes, he won’t be a problem.” Garrett smiled crookedly. “I’ll have a talk with him.” I raised my eyebrows with a questioning look. “No, I’m not going to threaten him. I just want him to know that I’m watching the situation closely. If he finds Brina and can convince her to return to her family, then that’s fine with me: as long as she gets back safely.”
He looked serious when he turned to Ethan, “I’m not going to tell you how
to run your team, Ethan, but I’d stay out of “The Wild” and away from the Brownlow weres as much as possible.”
“He wanted to leave at first.” I defended him.
Ethan shook his head. “It was my decision so I'm the one responsible for putting us both in a dangerous situation.”
“But we met Angel and we got a lot of information.” I crossed my arms and lifted my chin. Garrett must know that we were right to go into the club.
Garrett gave me a wry smile, then spoke to Ethan.“Don’t let her sway you against your instincts. Female shifters are extremely persuasive. They can make it very hard to say no.”
“Ya think?” They both laughed at the shared joke and I glared, thinking that this male bonding moment had gone on long enough.
Sinc knocked at the door, which apparently made the moment even funnier—at least to them. She’d parked her car down the road so we hadn’t heard her approach the house. One of Sinc’s strengths was her ability to move silently when she wanted to. Ethan jumped up and opened the door. She was carrying a large shopping bag, which didn’t stop her from jumping on him and kissing him enthusiastically.
"Get a room, guys." I teased as they pulled apart, not embarrassed in the least. Garrett and I were happy for them. They'd both been through some tough crap in their lives and they seemed to balance each other in exactly the way the fae had sung about at their celebration. Garrett and I were more alike, maybe because we were both cheetahs, but Ethan and Sinc could have a great future if they decided to commit to each other.
The bag turned out to contain three landline phones, so Sinc and Ethan put one in my bedroom, one in Ethan’s and one in the kitchen since there were lines already set up in those rooms. We added the number to our cell phone contacts and then Sinc sat down with us for a few minutes.
“So tell me about Angel, Jackie. What did he look like? He’s Latino, right? I’ve heard that he’s handsome.” She gave Ethan a wink. Sinc loved to gossip so I told her about our experience with Angel, and what my impressions were. “I hear that Ethan got you out on the dance floor. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that ten minutes.”
Stalked (Rogues Shifter #2) Page 9
