by Nora Snowdon
“But he didn’t try to commit suicide and you know it.”
“Lonely, has-been TV star, sailing through a red light into a crowded intersection? Sure sounds like a suicide attempt to me. There’s even a law suit against him for his reckless endangerment.”
“I hadn’t said he was lonely, just that he was looking for love. There’s a difference. And the law suits only sprang up after you printed that story.” Jeez he’s going to hate me even more than when he found out I was a cat. “And what happens if he comes after me and LoveLifeStyle for slander, or libel, or… whatever?” Damn, I wish I ever remembered which was which.
“Great publicity. It’s a win/win situation either way. If he sues us we get great press for however long the suit goes on. And if he doesn’t, then we look like we scooped our competitors on the story.”
“But it’s a lie! I mean, it’s not like the Has Jennifer Lopez Had Surgery? articles, or the Look who’s gained weight! pictures. You just made up the whole suicide thing and it could cost him millions and even make other TV shows not hire him because he’s ‘unstable’.”
Dani rolled her eyes. “Drama queen much? And hello? Where’ve you been working for the past few years? We’re an entertainment magazine, not the New York Times. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you start looking for work elsewhere.”
Damn it, I wasn’t getting through to her. I took a deep breath and tried a calmer approach. “Okay, I get that we’re fluff. But I don’t see where that gives us the right to ruin lives just for better circulation numbers. Who Katy Perry dates, which celebs are flashing in wardrobe malfunctions is different.”
“Only because you got too close to your interview subject. This is ridiculous. I’m not going to argue anymore. If you’re that incensed, quit.”
“Okay, I quit.” Storming out of her office, I wondered if that had been her intention all along. God, what a fool. I should’ve gotten another job first before quitting. Still it wasn’t as though LoveLifeStyle had ever been a good fit for me. Fresh out of NYU and new to the west coast, I’d jumped at my first job offer, worried no one else would want me. Now I could stop and think what I really want to be when I grow up. Aside from taller.
I packed up the junk that had accumulated in my cubicle. She wouldn’t expect a letter of resignation, would she? Or two weeks’ notice? Crap. I’d never quit a job before. Was there an etiquette book for how you’re supposed to deal with it? That’s when I noticed Derek from the front desk, standing at a discreet distance watching me. Was he checking I didn’t copy any files or steal office supplies? You’d think they’d know me better than that. Or maybe it was one last power play by Dani to drive home the fact that I was no longer “one of the team.”
Kaity glanced from across the room and then swiftly back at her computer. Had she overheard Dani and my fight or had she just surmised what’d happened from watching me pack up under Derek’s supervision? She didn’t come over to say goodbye. Arnold popped his head over his cubicle divider then ducked down in silence. Wow, not like I’d considered them friends, but as co-workers I’d have thought they’d at least pretend to care. It’s not like quitting was contagious or anything.
It felt way worse than any walk of shame as I hurried out of the office with my box and two shopping bags filled with spare shoes, back rest, stiletto tape dispenser, books and knick-knacks I’d gathered over the years. Still, the fact that there was no Edward R. Murrow journalist award, no Pulitzer, and not even an “Employee of the Month” certificate made me realize this probably was a good move.
So why did I feel so lousy?
****
“How the hell did he get by your security system?” Robert held the blood splattered note gingerly between his thumb and forefinger. From the smell, he gathered whatever animal it was, had been killed a couple of days ago. And the teeth marks on the envelope indicated the donor had been in animal form during some part of delivering the threat to Lucas’s back door.
“If he didn’t try to actually break into the house, the alarm wouldn’t go off. And the high fences and dense woods keep most people out of the back yard.” Lucas wiped non-existent crumbs from the breakfast table. Rosie had already cleaned after breakfast before heading out to meet with her friend Eva for coffee. “What I want to know is, how did he know you were here?”
“And did he tamper with my brakes, or is he just using my accident to scare me away from Ella?” Robert stretched his arms back to ease his shoulder muscles. After four days of confinement indoors, save the short bursts of running in wolf form in the backyard, he felt like a fat slug. Well, a fat, tense, slug. He read the note again. “You’d think after living in the States for twelve years his English would’ve improved.”
“We’ve got bigger problems than grammar here, Robert.”
“I know. I’m just saying…” He rubbed the muscles between his eyebrows. “Why would he even send this? I haven’t seen Ella since last Thursday at the coffee shop.”
“But she has been phoning. That must be how he guessed you were here.
“So he’s either got a trace on Ella’s phone or access to phone records. Great.” Robert slid his empty cup over to Lucas to clear as he seemed to be in a straightening mode.
“I’ll get a burner phone and call Ella to warn her.” Lucas washed the cup. “This guy is sick and scary.”
“Hell with that. Get me some hair dye, ugly used clothes, eyeglasses and I’ll go see her.”
“What? No! He just warned you not to.”
“This asshole’s had it his way for too long. No one threatens the woman I love and gets away with it.” Robert shook his head slightly in surprise. Ella is my one true love. Now that he’d said it, he wondered why he’d taken so long to admit it even to himself. He stared down Lucas. “You going to get me a disguise, or should I also risk running into someone with a cell phone camera and a direct line to TMZ?”
“Okay, I’m going. Don’t do anything stupid at least until I return.”
Robert rolled his eyes. Despite his pride that Lucas had stepped up as pack leader, it still irked when his little brother told him what to do. Never mind that, he had a bigger cat to catch.
****
Maybe I can get a job as a food taster for frozen entrée makers. I’ve eaten enough of their crap to be an expert. The microwave plate slowly spun my package of fisherman’s pie, letting out intermittent hisses and squeals. Someone must vet the stuff. Or maybe as a writer, I could be a food critic. Then I’d get paid to taste more expensive food.
I’d been unemployed for six hours and already panic mode had set in. Reporting hard news might be too depressing. Could I be an advice columnist? Not that I could figure out my own life, but I’d be better at running Leanne’s life than her. Or I could work as a temp until I decided what I wanted to be.
The spicy fishy smell eked from the microwave and my stomach growled in response. At forty-nine seconds remaining, the doorbell rang. Frig. I turned off the microwave so I could heat my dinner later without overcooking it, and crept to the front door. A man dressed in rumpled, beige pants and a red flannel shirt with spiky blond hair stood on my porch. Something about the way he glanced to the left twigged my recognition. Robert? But why…? I opened the door, my curiosity overriding all other considerations.
“What are you doing here? And what—?”
“May I come in?” His face was half covered in a scruffy beard and he even wore glasses for crying out loud.
Damn. Even with his weird get-up, I still wanted to throw myself into his arms. I backed away, let him pass into the living room and then closed the door. “You decided to do the dating show after all, just incognito?”
“Ha, ha.” He shot me a withering glance. “No, after my suicide attempt, I can’t be seen in public in case people notice I healed up too quickly.”
“Look, I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t write that part—” I waved toward a chair but he remained standing. “I tried to get my editor—”
>
He shook his head. “Save it. We’ve got more important issues to discuss.” His brown eyes narrowed and he stared at me as if determining if I would tell the truth. “Are you in love with Jerzie Kamil?”
Who? What? Oh, that was his name. Jeez, I hadn’t expected that. “How do you know about him?”
“My question first.”
“No. He was the jerk my mom tried to set me up with twelve years ago. What’s he done?” Cold streaked through my body anticipating Robert’s next words.
“He sent me a threatening note and he might’ve tampered with my car.”
“Oh God, I’m sorry.”
“Does he know about my family?”
“What? You mean did I tell him you were a werewolf? Of course not! I haven’t talked to him in over a decade.” I took in a quick breath. “You didn’t tell anyone about me, did you?”
“No.” He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced away. My stomach dropped; I sensed a confession coming on. “Well just Lucas, but he swore not to tell anyone. Even Rosie.”
I folded my arms over my chest, tempted to pretend I’d told Leanne about him. Yeah, like she’d believe me. Then it hit me. “Did Jerzie leave a dead animal on your porch with a note?”
“No, just a bloody note. Is that a cougar thing?”
I raised my eyebrows at him. Jeez. “Is that a wolf thing?”
“Of course not.”
“Ditto, buddy.” I turned away to quell my urge to hit him. His hand landed on my shoulder and I jumped. I hadn’t realized he’d moved that close to me. Close enough for his fabulous scent to send my hormones into overdrive. I licked the corner of my mouth—please God, don’t let me start drooling.
“Sorry. I’m just trying to make sense of this all.” His thumb gently massaged the back of my neck reminding me of our first date/interview in his car. It still felt good, but I moved out of his reach.
I needed to keep this meeting impersonal, otherwise he’d rip my heart out again. “What did your note say?”
“’Stay away from Ella Wilton. Car was warning, next be death.’ Or something like that.”
“Jesus.” I rubbed my left eye to stop it from twitching. “I didn’t know it was him, but just after I met you, someone left a dead animal in a gift bag on my back porch. I wondered if it was some sort of werewolf initiation present, or something.”
Robert recoiled as if offended.
“Well how would I know what you guys did? I didn’t even know werewolves existed until you transitioned in my living rom.”
Robert looked down at his shoes. “I saw him leave you a gift bag and thought the dead animals were a feline type of romancing.”
“Eww.”
He shrugged.
“Should I call the cops? They’ll wonder why I didn’t report it earlier.”
“I don’t think the cops are an option.” Robert pulled some folded papers from his back pocket and handed them to me. “A relative checked up on the man, and I gather he’s got friends in high places. Not exactly diplomatic immunity, but someone is protecting him.”
I skimmed through the faxes. “Holy crap. Who is this guy and what does he want? I mean he can’t think all this intimidation will make me want to marry him. And he’s already got his green card, so… I just don’t get it.”
“Seems like a controlling psycho. His last violent incident was seven weeks ago, so whatever that was, might’ve triggered a recollection of ‘the one that rejected him.’”
I glanced down at the faxes. “Which incident was that?”
“I didn’t bring that one.” Robert rubbed his jaw, seeming reluctant to continue. “The woman was in hospital, but we couldn’t gather more info, even her name.”
“What?” My stomach wanted to toss something. Probably lucky I hadn’t eaten yet. “So if I can’t call the cops, what do I do? Run?” I didn’t want to. Leanne was really my only good friend, how could I leave her? And despite his rejection, deep inside I didn’t want to move away from Robert. Masochistic, or what?
Robert shook his head emphatically. “Running won’t help. We figure he traced your phone when you were calling me. His connections can find you. It’s nearly impossible to move without leaving an electronic trail.”
“What?” Jeez, a twitch started up in my other eye. “What sort of connections?”
“Looks like both FBI and PSIS.”
“What’s PSIS?”
“Another spy level the government doesn’t admit to.”
“Wow.” And this was the guy mom wanted me to marry? My head went fuzzy. I plunked down onto my couch wondering how my life had spiraled so far out of my control. Having no job now seemed the least of my worries.
The couch cushion tilted as Robert sat down beside me. “Hey. It’ll be okay.” He put his arm around me and I let myself be pulled against his warm body. More than let myself, I snuggled against his chest and closed my eyes, even knowing it was wrong.
****
Robert let the breath he’d been holding slowly escape. Ella hadn’t flinched away from his touch. God it felt good to hold her again. He inhaled her intoxicating scent. He could win her back. Well, as long as he didn’t get them both killed.
CHAPTER 9
“I won’t let you do this. It’s too risky.” Lucas perched stiffly on the squishy leather couch in Robert’s office.
Robert moved to the window overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Whitecaps danced in the bright sunlight as a couple of scows meandered into port. Usually the serene scene outside his window calmed him. Instead he had the urge to violently break something. He took a slow breath. He’d pushed Lucas to lead; he shouldn’t resent his brother for doing his job. On the other hand, there were times you couldn’t follow orders.
He turned to face Lucas. “Unless you can figure out a better way to neutralize the bastard, this is my plan. I could use your assistance, but if you’d rather not then I’ll go it alone.”
Lucas scowled. “Hell, Robert, how can I justify exposing the pack to help out a damn cougar?” Lucas broke eye contact first and shook his head in annoyance. “Are you sure Ella’s your mate?”
“Even if she wasn’t, I still couldn’t leave her to deal with this psycho alone. But yes, I’m sure.” He rubbed his jaw line, still unaccustomed to the three day beard. At least Lucas had finally agreed that Robert could roam freely if he was discreet. The press had lost interest in him and it wasn’t as though anyone in his office would out him. They were all relatives. “This should also solve all our problems with the animal conservation officers.”
“If it works.” Lucas picked some invisible fluff from his pant leg then stood, his shoulders slumped with resignation. “I’ll let Darryl and the guys know.”
“Thanks.” Robert slapped Lucas on the back and walked him to the office door. “You’re the best.”
“I know. But be careful.”
“I will.” Closing the door behind his brother, Robert let his bravado slide. Now he just had to convince Ella.
****
“It’s a terrible idea! He’s faster, stronger and mean as hell.” The relief when Robert had revealed he had a plan, had dissipated swiftly as I saw so many ways for it to go wrong. He stood firmly rooted in the middle of my living room and I was reduced to pacing fitfully around him, just narrowly missing taking out my knee cap on my coffee table, twice. His family portrait still hanging over my fireplace made me think. “Maybe if you got your whole wolf pack against him…”
Robert exhaled loudly. At least he didn’t seem angry I’d pointed out Jerzie’s superior abilities. “I won’t be responsible for encouraging blood-lust in the younger male wolves. If you let them hunt as a pack once, they may assume justification in other situations.”
“I don’t think Jerzie will worry about the morality of killing you.” I glanced at the darkening evening outside the living room window. Frig. I was running out of time to convince him. Unless… “I could go with you. He probably won’t attack two of us.”
&nbs
p; “No.” His lips settled into a firm line. “If you get caught, there’ll be no way for us to free you. I’m sure the authorities wouldn’t buy that you were just an oversized house cat.”
“Then I’ll run with you just to the outskirts of the park. That’ll give Jerzie less time to maul you.” Now I didn’t give a damn about wounding his ego. Better that than having his innards eviscerated.
“No.”
I crossed my arms and stood immobile. I could be just as stubborn as him.
A resigned smile crept onto his face. Phew, I was getting through.
“Okay, as long as you don’t enter the park. Deal?”
“Deal.” It was better than nothing.
“It would help if we knew his schedule. As it is we may have to do repeat performances until he notices. Hope you don’t mind.” He glanced over his left shoulder. That seemed to be his default gesture when he felt uncomfortable.
“I’m as eager to get rid of him as you are. It just sounds dangerous.” Both physically and emotionally, not that I could tell Robert that. I cringed inwardly as the damned ubiquitous blush crept up my cheeks. Yeah, pretending to be in love with him wouldn’t be much of a stretch.
“It’ll be fine.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll pre-type the text message so we’re ready to hit send if he turns up. When I leave you at the park entrance, you zip back and call Lucas in case anything changes in the plan.”
“Shouldn’t we know that before we head off?” I eyed him with suspicion. Was he just making sure I kept my word about not going into the park?
“Yeah. We’ll verify as much as possible, but I’d like everyone to keep communicating.” His eyes had a tautness around them; was he scared? It didn’t seem possible.
“We don’t have to do—”
“Yes, I do.” The hint of fear was replaced by a steely resolve. “Are you ready to do some acting?”
“Sure.” I lead the way to my back porch, stopping only to pour a couple of glasses of red wine and hand one to him.
As we lowered ourselves onto the back stoop, visions of the poor sacrificed animals that had been left there, flashed in my brain and a shiver of revulsion ran through me. If this worked at least there’d be no more disgusting gift bags.
