by Lynde Lakes
“Victoria, how did you morph back so quickly?” Damon asked.
“I found some moon poppies and ate them.”
“Moon poppies?”
“Yeah, the Internet claims the remedy works for a day. I’ve tried it twice with a counting technique that Valerie and I have been practicing. The combined efforts seem to work.”
“Hmmm. Maybe I should give you a job in the lab. You may have hit on something that our scientists failed to tell me about.”
Victoria laughed. “Why not? I relate well to wolves and I look pretty good in white.”
“One problem. Your mother would never allow it.”
Victoria laughed again. “Never say never. Isn’t that what you taught me?” She tilted her head saucily. “By the way, you need to fire Rick. He’s a lousy bodyguard.”
Rick jerked his head in her direction then looked up at the ceiling and shook his head without commenting. Damon felt sorry for him. His daughter could be a handful. “Hmmm. Really? Why do you say that?”
“He isn’t one of us and doesn’t understand our special needs. Your hot shot bodyguard tied a rope around me and dragged me home like a naughty pup. Can you believe it?”
Damon snorted. “Naughty pup, huh? So he turned down one of your childish advances, did he? Good work, Rick. Keep it up.”
Victoria threw a pillow at Damon’s head. “Thanks, Dad, for the support. When he ravages me, it’ll be your fault. Don’t forget that.”
“And don’t you forget you’re a virgin and I expect you to stay that way until Mr. Perfect comes along.”
She laughed. “If it were up to you, no one would ever fit that category.”
“Wrong. It’ll be a piece of cake. He just has to pass our scrutiny and then be brave enough to marry a handful like you.” His thoughts darkened again and he turned to Rick. “As you know, we have an emergency situation going on. My wife’s friend was attacked and killed by a werewolf. I have to take every measure to prevent my girls or my brother from getting blamed for it. Whatever I have to do to clean up this mess, I’ll do. And I need and expect your support. I’m trusting you like family.”
As Damon left the room and headed down stairs to grab a few hours of shut-eye on the den couch, he recalled that Madam Nola said he gave his trust too easily and someday it might kill him.
* * * *
Damon wasn’t surprised to see Deeto at their front door the next morning. He looked tired, hungover and desperate. “Have you seen, Kat?” he asked. His voice was, husky, ragged. “She hasn’t been home all night.”
Damon closed his eyes a moment and then invited him in. He had to face this. It would be better just to let him think she’d finally run off, but he couldn’t do that to a man who’d stuck with her for so many years through all of her affairs. Dear God, the lovesick biker had even proposed a number of times. He needed to be told so when the grief dimmed, he could move on. He took him to the den and closed the door. He poured Deeto a straight bourbon and handed it to him.
“What the hell is this? Bourbon for breakfast? I like my booze, but even for me this is early. What is it, has she left me? What?”
There was a knock on the door. It was Hugh and Rick. “We thought you might need some support,” Hugh said.
“No. I can handle this.”
Deeto cursed, using coarse biker vernacular and said, “Handle what?”
Hugh and Rick filed into the room. “We’re staying,” Hugh said. “Angela’s orders.”
Damon shook his head. This was hard enough without a damned audience. “Stay if you must. But keep your mouths shut.”
Deep red climbed up Deeto’s neck. He balled his hands into fists. “I didn’t bring my posse. I thought we were all friends, here.”
“We are. Just ignore them.” Damon raked his hand through his hair. “It’s only because we are friends, Deeto, that I’m going to tell you what I’ve done.”
Deeto jumped to his feet, his eyes blazing. “What? You slept with Kat?”
“Good grief, no. Sit down, will you?” Damon counted to ten and then said, “Deeto, I think you are aware that for a long time people have tried to close down our lab to stop us from finding a cure for lycanthropy.”
“Say what?” He scratched his head. “Spit it out in English. I only have a sixth grade education, man.”
Damon shook his head. Deeto had gotten a GED and was taking courses at SBVC. Maybe he still thought of himself as an underachiever. “It’s a werewolf affliction.”
“Oh, yeah. One of those werewolves almost killed Kat once. She said another werewolf saved her.” He shrugged. “Guess there’re good and bad ones.”
Damon rubbed his aching head. “We’re getting off subject. Let’s go back to the werewolf that almost got Kat.” Damon’s stomach was a mass of knots. “This is so hard, Deeto.” His throat felt tight. He couldn’t pussyfoot around anymore. “This time, he got her. She’s dead.”
Deeto’s face paled. “That’s not funny, man. Tell me this is a joke. Tell me she’s trying to get even with me for staying out late at the bachelor party. Tell me anything but that some bastard werewolf murdered her.”
“I buried her, Deeto.” He held his breath and waited for Deeto to explode.
“You what? Who the hell said you could do that?” Deeto glared at him. “If you’re messing with me, you’ll regret it.”
“I wish I were. It would’ve been easier to let you think she’d left you. But that would’ve been unfair to you and to her memory. She loved you.” Damon almost added, in her way, but thank God, he had better sense. “The thing is, the police haven’t done anything about the attack on Madam Nola and I doubt, even if they knew about the attack on Kat, that they’d do any better job. If we report this, the police could actually get in our way. Because of your special interest in getting this crazed fiend and your ability to keep quiet, I’ve decided to bring you in on this. We’ll do our own investigation, find the sadistic monster responsible, and quietly and swiftly deal out our own retribution.”
Damon’s stomach knotted. He felt guilty about misleading Deeto about his real motive for keeping things quiet—his family’s affliction. But this was war and secrets had to be a part of it to protect those he loved.
Deeto’s eyes filled with moisture. “Damn you, Damon. I’m starting to believe you. I want to talk to Angela,” he said, his throat tight. “Now.”
Damon sighed. “Rick, would you please find Mrs. Lamont and ask her to please step in here for a few minutes?”
Rick was gone less than three minutes and returned with Angela. Damon wondered if she’d been listening at the door. “Angela, Deeto wanted—”
Deeto stood and cut in, “I wanted to know if this is on the level. If Kat’s really dead. But one look at your red, swollen eyes—” His voice broke.
“I’m so sorry, Deeto, about everything.” Angela let out a sob and rushed to him. They hugged for several seconds, lost in their grief.
Damon knew when she said about everything, she was refering to him burying Kat with no regard to anyone’s feelings. Except it wasn’t true. He cared. He just didn’t know any other way to protect everyone.
“Do you agree with Damon about all of this?” Deeto asked.
Damon’s heart sank as Angela met his gaze and stared at him for a long, measuring moment. “I seldom agree with everything my husband does these days. But I know he thinks he’s doing what is best for all concerned. You’ll have to make your own evaluation of his judgment.” She sent Damon a narrow-eyed look. “I need to speak with you for a moment in our bedroom.” With that, she turned and left the den, leaving behind an icy chill that froze his bones.
“Excuse me, I’ll be back shortly,” he said. “You guys make yourselves comfortable. Kyle will bring you anything you’d like. Just ring for him.”
When he entered the master bedroom, Angela was standing by the terrace slider, looking out. He approached her from behind. Her rigid stance screamed that she didn’t want him to touch her. But he
need the contact. He wrapped his arms around her and waited for her to shake free. She remained stiff, not moving a muscle. That was worse than if she’d ducked away from him. He kissed the back of her hair. “Honey, I’m so sorry.”
She turned in his arms and glared up at him. “I want you to fire Lazar. This isn’t negotiable. He killed Kat.”
“A werewolf killed Kat.”
“She had a date with Lazar. Now she’s dead. And thanks to you, I can’t even go to the police about it.”
“I’ll talk to Lazar.”
“I don’t want you to talk to that pompus two-headed snake. I want you to throw him off this property. If you don’t, I will. I don’t want him within five-hundred miles of our girls.”
“I know you’ve never liked the man, but he’s a Nobel Prize winner and top in his field. We’re so close to a cure for our girls. Do you want to throw that away?”
“Let your other scientists find this magical, perhaps non-existent cure.”
Damon felt himself losing ground. “Victoria found something on the Internet about moon poppies that—with a mind over matter ritual she and Valerie have experimented with—actually produced a quicker trip through the morphing experience, and it’s also supposed to produce a temporary cure for a day. Don’t you see? It’s only a few more steps to find a complete cure. We have a duty to see that our girls get their chance to shake the curse and be normal young girls, free to enjoy life to its fullest.”
“I warned you, Damon. Now get out of my way. I’m going down to clean house in your no results lab.”
Damon followed her down the stairs. “Use your head, Angela. This isn’t the way to do business. The man has a contract.”
“Okay. We’ll talk first, then fire.”
He wished she’d keep her voice down. He knew she was acting irrationally because of her overwheming grief over losing her close friend. It was up to him to stay calm and not let this escalate. “Honey, let me talk to him.”
“Not alone. I want to hear how that snake slithers out of this mess.”
Hugh, Rick and Deeto came out of the den. “What snake?” Deeto asked.
“See what you started,” Damon said in a hushed voice. “It’s nothing, guys. Just a little difference of opinion between husband and wife. I’ll get back to you after I handle it.”
“You’re not handling me, if that’s what you think. We’ll talk to Lazar together now, or I’ll spill my guts to Deeto. I’ll bet he and his biker gang would be glad to run Lazar out of town.”
“He wouldn’t run him out of town. He’d kill him. Do you want that on your conscience?”
Her direct stare represented a challenge. Her eyes glinted with the threat, the promise. “Are we talking to Lazar now?”
“All right. But we can’t accuse him of murder. As far as everyone outside this family knows, there’s been no murder. A woman has merely disappeared.” He looked at the nosey trio standing just inside the den door. “Hey, guys, can you stick around for lunch? I just had another emergency come up. After lunch, I’ll give you a briefing and we’ll come up with a plan.” He hoped he lived through this showdown. With Angela on her high horse, anything could happen.
* * * *
Rick, Hugh and Deeto wandered out by the pool. It was good-sized, eighteen-by-forty. It was fenced with natural stone columns with wrought iron inserts to afford an unobstructed view of the valley below. While it was a top-notch pool with a great view, Rick’s gaze zeroed in on the girls. The shapely imps attacked the pool as though they were conquering it, making it their own water haven. Their exuberance as they splashed and romped about made him think of carefree wolf cubs. When Victoria noticed him, she lifted herself up onto the poolside with muscled arms and got out of the water. Her cascade of dripping, long, onyx ringlets swished across her back. He watched the ripples of water slide down her golden skin, caressing it like a lover’s touch. The slight sway of her hips in that red bikini—clinging to her curves, exposing gorgeous tanned and very shapely thighs—stirred memories of her slender, firm body in his arms as he rolled in the soft grass with her.
He didn’t have to imagine a thing about her body. He’d seen her slim form when he caught his first glimpse of her, hiding in the bushes at the side of Mt. Baldy Highway. She’d been a goddess then and was a goddess now. She sent him a sly smile as though she’d read his thoughts. Then, she bent slightly, turned on the hose and put it up to her mouth like a bubbling fountain and drank deeply. It seemed it required a large quantity to satisfy her thirst. He wondered if she was that insatiable in bed. Oh, God, if this job didn’t kill him in one way, it would in another.
He found himself moving toward her, unable to ignore the lure. Her gold-flecked eyes were ablaze with amusement. A trickle of water slid between her breasts. “Hi, Victoria, looks like you’re back to normal and enjoying the beautiful sunny day.” The huskiness in his voice probably gave away his forbidden desire. She reached out and touched his bicep. When her fingers traced down his arm, heat rushed to his lower extremities.
He knew she was toying with him, but he didn’t really want her to stop. He wanted to play, too, and see how she liked it. He bent toward her and paused inches from her lips. He ached for the dangerous pleasure of her warm, searching mouth on his. He hovered there, certain that his breath was caressing her lips, tantalizing her.
The satisfied glint in her eyes for what she expected to happen made him determined that it wouldn’t. Not today. And if he was smart, never.
Then she laughed in his face and dived into the pool. Damn her.
* * * *
Damon put his arm around Angela as they entered the lab. “Remember, let me do the talking.” Lazar was surrounded by labeled vials in varied sizes and shapes. Damon detected the smell of blood and the scent of wolves as they paced their cages.
“Excuse me, Lazar. We need a few minutes of your time. It’s important.”
Lazar looked up and met Damon’s gaze, his piercing ice-blue eyes masked.
“Angela’s friend Kat is missing and she mentioned that she had a date with you last night.”
He sighed. “Unfortunately, she stood me up.”
“Did she call?”
“Not a word. She must have chickened out at the last minute and was ashamed to tell me. I think she’s living with a guy with an anger management problem and was nervous about cheating on him.”
“Where were you supposed to meet?”
“Her pick. She was supposed to call me and let me know.”
Damon had the address of Lazar’s apartment complex and planned to check it out.
“Lots of luck finding your friend. Since I haven’t heard from her, I’m afraid I’m of little help. You might check with her hot tempered boyfriend.” Lazar went back to recording his findings. When they just stood there, he said. “I’m pretty busy. Is there something else?”
“Yes, have you heard of the moon poppy cure?” Damon asked.
“As a matter of fact, I have. It’s a temporary cure. It’s good for a day on some people, only hours on others. But I’m working on a blood extract that, combined with the poppies, might lead us to the permanent solution we seek.”
Damon folded his arms across his chest. “I’m thinking of moving the lab into my industrial park in L.A. We don’t really need to be here on site anymore and my family is looking forward to its relocation and to regaining their complete privacy.”
“I understand fully.” He glanced at Angela for the first time and met her gaze with those icy eyes of his. “If you can just allow me three more weeks, I can achieve my goals…our goals,” he corrected himself. “And guarantee unparalleled success.”
“Don’t disappoint me,” Damon said. “Because a month from today, this place is being relocated. I owe that to my family. They’ve been extremely patient.”
Lazar’s smile didn’t meet his eyes. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, Mrs. Lamont. But I’m grateful for the extra time. If I work diligently, I may bring your discomfort to
an end even sooner.”
Angela’s glaring, narrow-eyed expression told Damon she wasn’t buying any of it. The best thing he could do was get her out of there before she let loose on Lazar. Damon took her arm and headed out the door. At least there wouldn’t be a full moon out for another month—unless a freakish moon phase happens and a blue moon appears After all the elements that had gotten out of balance in the last sixteen years, nothing would surprise him.
* * * *
Angela closed her eyes in frustration, feeling the blood pounding in her temples.
It took everything in her power to wait until they were back in their bedroom before she let loose on Damon. He tried to draw her into his arms. She desperately needed to be held, but she couldn’t weaken on this. “Nothing is solved,” she said, as her simmering rage consumed her. “I didn’t swallow one word that slimy, white-coat weirdo uttered.”
“Look, we struck a compromise and kept him off guard. Now we can check out his apartment and keep an eye on him without alerting him to our doubts. Please, Angela, for our girls’ sake, and in Kat’s memory, work with me on this.”
She stiffened. “Don’t you dare use our girls and Kat to soften me up. I watched Lazar’s eyes and every sense in my body tells me that he lied about Kat not showing up. And that phony louse trying to switch the blame to Deeto is ridiculous. He’d never harm Kat, even if she walked across his chest wearing razorblade heels and carried a whip. And she’d never let Deeto stop her from anything she wanted to do. And he liked their set up too much to rock the boat. No, I’ll bet you a trip to Paris that she showed up and that they got it on. Then he killed her.”
“Even if part of what you say is true, don’t forget a werewolf killed her.”
“Maybe Lazar is a werewolf or somehow used a wolf to rip her throat out.”
“What’s the motive?”
“Give me time. Damn it. I’ll find one.”
Damon’s expression tightened and his eyes blazed. “No! You’re staying out of this. I mean it, Angela. Hugh, Rick, Deeto and I will find the fiend who did this. And because you have such strong feelings about Lazar, we’ll start with him.”
