by Lisa Emme
I had almost forgotten about Tomas, he had been sitting there so quietly. Not so now. He jumped up from his seat and took a menacing step towards me. From the corner of my eye I saw Nash tense as if ready to jump to my defense.
“Why should we deal with you when we can simply take what we want?” Tomas sneered at me.
The memory stick disappeared from my hand, leaving me gasping in surprise. Tomas held the stick up triumphantly. Either he was really fast, or had some sort of telekinetic gift.
“It seems you no longer have anything we need,” he mocked.
I shrugged to convey how unconcerned I felt at his threat. “Perhaps, provided you know how to decrypt a 128-bit password. Or, you could cancel the debt and pay for Bryce’s funeral and I could give you the key to the encryption. Your call.”
Tomas frowned and then grabbed a nearby laptop. He inserted the key. A few moments later he looked at Salvador and shook his head. Salvador clapped his hands and laughed heartily. “Ah, Miss Russo, well played. Well played indeed.”
Chapter Eight
I managed to get the hell out of there several minutes later. We settled on a handshake and a promise that I would courier the encryption token first thing the next morning. I figured it was better to just take Salvador’s word rather than press the issue. He was after all the Magister and a vampire, and vampires could get pretty uppity about someone breaking their word. Besides, the atrocity that had been captured on the video had to be stopped before anyone else died. Even if Salvador hadn’t agreed to my terms, I would have ended up giving it to him.
Tess rushed to my side the moment I exited the stairs. “Omigod! What took you so long? I was totally freaking out, especially when I saw Nash go up behind you.”
I grabbed Tess’s arm intent on making a quick getaway, until what she’d said registered. “Wait a minute. How do you know who Nash is?” I looked at her and her eyes darted away. There definitely was something she wasn’t telling me about a certain surly cop, but at this point I really didn’t care to hang around and find out what it was. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Outside the club, the line had gotten considerably longer and the night felt a lot colder on my bare skin. We were hurrying along the sidewalk towards Tess’s car, when a hulking shape stepped out of the shadows.
“You and I need to talk.”
“Shit!” I stopped with my hand already reaching for my katana, until I realized it was Nash. “Damn it, Detective! Are you trying to give us a heart attack?”
Nash continued to stand and scowl, arms folded across his chest, blocking our path. “I mean it, you and I need to have a conversation,” he practically growled the words at me. “And you,” he pointed at Tess, “what were you thinking?”
Tess practically cowered at his words. What had happened to my feisty Chihuahua and who did this guy think he was yelling at my friend? “Look, it’s been a long day and I’m tired and just want to go home. You can bawl me out tomorrow.” I grabbed Tess’s arm again and started to go around him.
“Bawl you out? I should…” He stopped and looked around then lowered his voice, “I should arrest you for withholding evidence.”
Was he serious? This was getting out of hand. I held my hands up to him, fists clenched, wrists together, daring him to slap the cuffs on. “Fine. Arrest me. Maybe I’ll get a nice, quiet jail cell to sleep in. You have nothing to charge me with and you know it.”
Nash grabbed one of my hands and pulled me closer. “I’m not going to arrest you, but we are going to talk. You ride with me.” He started to pull me the opposite direction from where I wanted to go.
“Listen you Neanderthal, I already have a ride.” I wrenched my hand from his and gestured to Tess, expecting her to chime in and come to my defense. Instead, she shook her head and looked down at her boots.
“I’ll deal with you later,” Nash growled at Tess. “Go home.”
Tess quickly turned and scurried off towards her car. “What the hell, Tess? Thanks a lot,” I called after her. I couldn’t believe she had just abandoned me.
Nash reached for my hand again and twined his fingers with mine. He seemed to have calmed down a little. “Come on. I’ll take you home,” he started walking back towards the club, dragging me along, “and then we’ll talk.”
We walked back past the entrance to the club in silence, Nash still holding my hand. I don’t know whether it was because he forgot he was doing it or he was afraid I might bolt, but it felt kind of nice, so I didn’t complain. We came to a side street and Nash stopped in front of a motorcycle. It had a split 2-up seat with a tiny little grab bar over the back fender.
“Oh no, you don’t expect me to ride on the back of that?” I gestured to the bike.
“What’s the matter….chicken?” Nash grinned. “You obviously have a death wish. This should be right up your alley.” He straddled the bike and fired it up. “Get on.”
Not seeing much of an alternative - my ride had deserted me and there was little chance of hailing a cab at this time of night - I kicked down the foot peg meant for the passenger and climbed on. To say it was awkward is an understatement. I mean are all biker chicks short or something? I felt like I was all knees and elbows as I tried to find a way to hang on for my life without actually touching Nash.
Finally, having lost what little patience he had left, or maybe he just took pity on me, Nash grabbed my arms and pulled me close, wrapping them around his mid-section. I tensed, but then he growled, “you’d better hang on” so I let myself relax against him. I barely had a moment to appreciate the heat coming off him or the flat, washboard abs I could feel beneath my hands, when the bike roared to life and took off down the lane. I’m not ashamed to admit it, I squealed like a girl in surprise.
***
Ever heard the expression ‘like a bat out of hell’? The person that coined the phrase must have ridden on the back of a motorcycle with Cian Nash. He drove as if speed limits were more like suggestions and the right of way was his. Always. I finally just buried my face against his shoulder and held on for dear life.
When we arrived at the firehall, I practically fell off the bike in my haste to get my feet on solid ground. My hair was a windswept mess and my cheeks were numb with the cold. The parking lot was empty except for my beat up old Chevy truck. No surprise that we beat Tess home with the way Nash, the maniac, drove. I shot a quick “thanks for the ride” over my shoulder and sprinted up the stairs to the second storey entrance.
My hopes that Nash might just drive off and leave me alone were dashed when instead of the sound of the door slamming behind me, I heard the clomping of motorcycle boots as they followed me inside. I scowled at Nash and he scowled right back, but seemed to be opting for the silent treatment. Fine by me.
Nash followed me further into the apartment and did the one thing everyone did when they saw it for the first time. He walked over to check out the fireman’s pole that had a prominent place between the kitchen and the dining area. The pole ran up to the third level through a circular hole in the ceiling. Actually the pole ran through all three stories, from the third floor right down to my shop below, but we had sealed up the floor around it on the second level. The pole was more a conversation piece than anything, although I admit that both Tess and I used it on occasion as a quick way to get from the third floor hallway to the kitchen.
I pulled off my leather jacket, feeling slightly uncomfortable at how much bare skin was revealed, and unclasped the harness for my katana. Nash’s eyes widened at the sight of the two foot blade.
“Do you know how to use that thing?”
The condescension in his voice set my teeth on edge, but I ignored it, turning my back on him to hang the precious blade on the wall. I grabbed a hooded sweatshirt from the hook by the door and pulled it on. Walking to the kitchen, I deftly unhooked and
removed the leather contraption underneath the sweatshirt as I went. Only when it and the dog collar were piled on the kitchen counter and I felt much less restricted, did I reply.
“I can hold my own.”
“Hold your own?” The condescension had been replaced once again with anger. “You are so over your head.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Do you even know what you’ve done?”
“Done? I’ve brought a dangerous and horrific act to the attention of the proper authority and I’ve helped out someone who needed it.”
“No, what you’ve done is brought yourself to the attention of the most dangerous man in the city. Do you realize the danger you put yourself in tonight? Not to mention breaking and entering a crime scene earlier today.” Oh, so he had somehow figured out I had been there at Bryce’s.
“I can take care of myself. I knew what I was doing.” I came to stand in front of him. He had a good eight inches on me, but in my Doc Martens, I at least didn’t have to strain my neck to look into his eyes. “Look, I appreciate your concern, but I had everything under control.”
As I turned away from him, his hand shot out to grab my arm. “You’re not as smart as I thought you were, if you think you stand a chance against a vampire.”
That was it. Enough was enough. Just who did this guy think he was? Drawing on my six plus years of martial arts training and double that in self-defence techniques, I grabbed his hand by the thumb and used his own momentum to twist it around. With just my grasp on his thumb, I had him helpless and kneeling on the floor, his arm twisted painfully behind his back in two seconds flat. It was the same move I had used on Neville. “I told you I can hold my own.”
I released him almost immediately, turning my back on him, only to find myself swept off my feet and pinned to the floor, my breath knocked out of me.
“Never turn your back on your enemy.”
Winded, I looked up into his eyes, surprised to find not anger but genuine concern. “Are you my enemy?” I asked a bit breathlessly.
The moment was broken by the sound of steps outside the door. I used the distraction of Tess’s arrival home to escape. Pulling my arms to my sides and then pushing up on his chest, I scissored my legs up and knocked him to the floor beside me. I quickly straddled him and threw an open-handed palm to his face stopping just before I would have made contact and broken his nose. I jumped to my feet and backed away from him.
The three of us stood staring at each other until Tess dropped her eyes and looked away. Nash continued to stare at her angrily.
“What the hell is your problem?” I turned to glare at Nash. “She lives here. There’s no need to growl…” I paused, my eyes going wide as the pieces fell into place. I looked from Tess and back to Nash. “That’s it, isn’t it? You are practically growling…growling like a big, angry…”
“Harry…” Tess pleaded.
“… dog. You’re one of them,” I went on ignoring Tess, knowing the dog comment wasn’t going to do me any favours. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. If there was ever an alpha male, it was Cian Nash.
“You told her?” Nash took a step towards Tess, who cowered even more.
I stepped between them and pushed at Nash with my hands on his chest. “Of course I know. We live together, grew up together. It’s a little hard to hide the fact that you go all furry with the full moon.”
Nash scowled at my furry comment. That’s another thing werewolves don’t like, being reminded that no matter how much control they may have over their shape change, all bets were off at the full moon.
“I had permission to tell her,” Tess mumbled, not looking up.
That was news to me, but I’d go with it. “Yeah, she had permission so stand down. You. Big. Bully.” I accentuated each word with a push against Nash’s chest, none of which made him budge an inch. I’d never seen Tess so cowed. Of course I had never seen her with another werewolf except her uncle. His gym was mainly used by humans, not werewolves, and when it was used by the pack, it was closed to the public. On a whole, most werewolves didn’t bother to work out. I guess getting furry and running around on all fours chasing rabbits once a month was enough to keep you fit.
I crossed my arms and glared at Nash, who in turn glared at Tess. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and I threw up my hands in disgust. I stomped over to the computer and grabbed the copy of the video I had made.
“Here. I made you a copy. Take it. Maybe there’s something on there you can use, but good luck explaining it to the norms you work with.” I grabbed Nash’s hand and pushed the memory stick into it. “Now, will you please just leave?”
Nash shoved the memory stick into his pocket. “Fine, I’m going. But this conversation isn’t over.”
“Yeah, whatever. Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.”
Chapter Nine
My body felt like it was on fire. His mouth moved along my abdomen, blazing a trail south. My back arched in anticipation. Kisses rained down on my skin, setting every molecule alight. I writhed, my hands skimming my body until they reached my breasts. Cupping each mound, I rubbed my nipples with my thumbs. Aching for more, my hand slid down between my legs to join his.
“What the hell?!”
I jolted awake and sat up in bed, flicking on the light to find an almost solid Bryce standing at the end of my bed.
“Whoa. I didn’t even know I could do that.” He held his hands up to look at them but they were quickly becoming more and more translucent. “How did I do that?”
“More like, what the hell did you think you were doing?” I grabbed a t-shirt from the end of the bed and pulled it on to cover the fact that I was sleeping buck naked.
Looking sheepish, Bryce shrugged. “I…well, you….”
“You don’t just sneak into women’s beds and start feeling them up, you pervert.”
“But you looked like you were having such a good time.” He wrapped his arms around himself and started to rub his shoulders while cooing, “Oooo, yeah. Ohhh baby…”
“Shut up. I was not doing that.” I pulled the covers up over my legs. “What are you still doing here anyway? Didn’t you see a light or something? I took care of your problem. You should be gone.”
“I don’t know. I was just here and you were sleeping…”
“So you decided to watch me? That’s just creepy.”
“Well, now that we know I can do more than watch…” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“No! That’s just so wrong. Forget it, Bryce.” I threw a pillow at him. It sailed right through his less than substantial body. “Why can't you just make yourself useful and try to remember who killed you?”
“I’m trying, but it’s just not there. I can remember that I accidentally left something at a job and I went back to get it, but then,” he bumped his fist on his head in frustration, “I just don’t know. I can’t remember anything after that.”
“Okay. It’s all right.” I looked at the clock. Four thirty a.m. Great. I’d only been asleep for an hour and a half. “I’m going back to sleep. We’ll try and figure it out in the morning.”
Bryce took a step towards the bed. “You know I could…” He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers, a cheeky smile on his face.
I leaned over and gestured for him to come closer then zapped him with 1200 volts from the Taser I grabbed from the bedside table. Unable to withstand the power overload, he instantly evaporated into thin air. “No means no, you pervert.”
***
Hours later, I still couldn’t get the dream out of my head. Sure it was sexy and a girl has needs, but I was having a hard time understanding why the co-star of my own personal mind-porn had to be Cian Nash. Okay, so the guy was hot, sexy hot; gorgeous green eyes, tousled hair, washboard abs and chiseled biceps hot. But he was also a jerk, a great big, A-one, alpha
jerk.
As if I needed more proof of that, Tess arrived home from the gym for lunch with a pronouncement.
“Tonight? The Triad wants to see me tonight?” I asked incredulously. After years of being barred from werewolf affairs, suddenly the Triad, the pack’s ruling council, wanted to see me. This couldn’t be good. “It’s Nash, isn’t it? He ratted you out and now you’re in trouble or something?”
“No, of course not.” Tess looked uncomfortable. “Look, the Triad just thought it was time. They want to meet you.” She turned away and started fussing with her gym bag. “I’ve got to head back to work. Don’t worry, it’ll be fun. You and Holly have been wanting to come to The Lodge and now you’ll get your chance.”
There was definitely more to it than what Tess was letting on. We were close, like sisters, except when it came to all things werewolf. It stemmed back to the year we turned sixteen. Gran had passed away and just when we needed each other the most, Tess disappeared from my life for six months. I knew it had to do with the fact that her first change had occurred, werewolves don’t shift for the first time until after puberty kicks in, but it still hurt to suddenly be shut out. It was a big part of her life - it defined who she was - but she wasn’t allowed to share it with me or Holly and it put a strain on all of us. Whatever it was that was bugging Tess, I let it slide. I’d find out soon enough when I met the Triad tonight. Besides, she was right, Holly and I had been dying to see The Lodge, the infamous werewolf bar.
With no deliveries needed for the shop and Holly and Tess both at work, I had spent my time staring at the computer watching the video over and over, hoping to find some clue to the identities of the men. There was also something different about the knife they used. It looked like some sort of ceremonial dagger and I wondered if it might provide a lead. The video was just too grainy to be much use though, because of the low lighting, and I didn’t know how to fix it.
