Mellizo Wolves

by Lynde Lakes

  Damon looked up when he entered the room. “Valerie told me,” he said. “She saw you morph from a werewolf and you saved her. What’s the rest of the story?”

  Hugh scanned the room for micro bugs and, finding none, said, “It’s true. I’m your half-brother, Hugo.”

  Doubt flickered and died in Damon’s eyes. “That’s why I felt so close to you and brought you into my home. From the first, I felt like you belonged here. How the hell did all this come about? I saw your throat ripped out—and I buried you.”

  Hugh told him his story of resurrection, watching for signs of doubt. “Afterwards, I had to work my way into your confidence. I counted on the fact that you trust people until they disappoint you. Have I disappointed you by not being forthright, my brother?”

  “Yes and no. But when you saved Valerie, it made up for your lack of faith in me.”

  “My lack of faith in you? What do you mean?”

  “You didn’t trust me to believe you. But, I can forgive that because I might not have years ago. Since you moved in here and became the girls’ surrogate uncle, I felt your love for them. Now I understand why I wanted you to be part of our family. You are their uncle in every sense of the word.”

  When Damon got up and hugged him, Hugh felt like he was home at last.

  With choked voices, they then discussed the dangers facing the family and possible solutions.

  “I don’t trust your scientists,” Hugh said. “Especially that Dr. Lazar. But I’m willing to give my blood to help the girls. No one must know it came from me, though. You’ll have to be the one to extract it. And to do it while I’m morphed could be dangerous, even deadly.”

  “Danger means nothing to me when it comes to my girls’ well-being. However, let me do some investigating before we do anything rash. And I need time to break all of this to Angela.”

  Later that afternoon while Angela and the girls were picking up books at the library, Damon heard Rick’s motorcycle roar up the driveway. Eager to talk with him again, he rushed out to meet him and escorted him into the den. He wanted to get their little talk over before the girls returned.

  “Rested up, Rick?” he asked, ignoring the tension and mixed feelings jetting through his psyche.

  “Yes, sir. Everything’s back to normal.”

  Damon gestured to a chair and watched Rick sit down, his posture erect. Damon sat on the edge of his desk and leveled his gaze slightly downward and met Rick’s intense look.

  “Maybe things are back to normal and maybe they’re not,” Damon said, playing his cat and mouse game. “I’ve done some checking on you.”

  Anger flared in Rick’s eyes. “Why would you do that, sir? I’m sure your girls told you I treated them with respect.”

  “Right. But I like to know more about the men I’m thinking of hiring.”

  Rick snorted and shook his head. “Hiring? Excuse me, sir, but I don’t recall filling out an application. I’m pretty content with my present job.”

  Damon intensified his gaze. “Oh? Did I read you wrong? I got the impression you were a trustworthy, capable man on the first rung of the ladder, intent on equipping yourself for much more.”

  Rick shook his head again, as though he couldn’t believe the conversation they were having. “When you put it that way, sir, maybe I should hear you out. What do you have in mind?”

  “That’s the problem. You have to accept the job and swear to secrecy without knowing the details up front—other than that your salary would be a hundred thousand a year to start. In advance.”

  Rick wrinkled his brow. “I won’t do anything illegal.”

  “If I thought you would, I wouldn’t hire you.”

  “As crazy as your offer is, you’ve peaked my interest. When would the job start and when do I get to know what it entails?”

  “Here is how it would go down. You’d sign a legal binding contract to never reveal anything I’m about to tell you and accept the job on faith.”

  “I’d be crazy to sign a contract like that—and maybe you’re a little nutty to expect me to.”

  “What if I told you it’s a bodyguard job? Would that appeal to you?”

  “Keep talking.”

  “If you do the job well, at the end of the year you’ll become a partner in The Lamont-Tanner Protection Agency. This specialized position requires that you live in my home. I want you to guard my girls without their knowing exactly what you’re doing. All they’ll know is you are my new security advisor, hired to protect our family. You’ll become like one of the family, meeting their friends, watching for enemies.”

  “What about when the girls split up like last night? I can’t cut myself in half.”

  “I’ll hire Hugh to help. Perhaps later, if the business warrants it, you can bring an assistant on the board.”

  “What’s the catch?”

  “No matter what, you must forever preserve all of our family secrets.”

  Rick shifted in his chair. “Sir, perhaps it’s the secrets I should be concerned with.”

  “Absolutely. Because they’re secrets you’ll have to carry to the grave.”

  “Sir, let’s clarify this. Are you suggesting that once you tell them to me, you’ll have to kill me?”

  Damon swallowed a laugh. “No, my statement was not meant as a threat. I just need your irrevocable promise, honorable man to honorable man, that you won’t ever reveal any family secrets.”

  “So, I’ll be like an attorney who can’t reveal his client’s secrets.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Can I think this over and get back to you tomorrow?”

  “No. I need an answer now.”

  Rick inhaled. “So, in essence, I’ll be a bodyguard who keeps family secrets, and for that you’re willing to give one hundred thousand in advance for the year. And if I produce results, you’ll make me a partner in your new company?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Oh, hell. I’m not a risk taker, but this sounds too intriguing and too good to pass up.” He stuck out his hand. “You’ve just hired yourself a closed-mouthed bodyguard.”

  “Just one other thing,” Damon said. “No monkey business with my girls.”

  As they shook hands on it, Damon knew they both were going forward with trepidation and blind faith. Now came the hard part, telling Rick about the Lupine heritage and the family curse so he wouldn’t flip out when the girls started morphing.

  “Our family is unique,” Damon said. “Do you believe in werewolves, Rick?”

  “No, sir. But I’ve heard of the lycanthropy studies going on here in your lab and that you’re catching wolves and testing them.”

  “That’s right. Lycanthropy is an affliction suffered by werewolves and our scientists are searching for a cure. Do you believe in curses?”

  “No, sir. I’m pretty grounded in this world, not in the world of witchcraft, werewolves, and vampires.”

  “I must warn you, my doubting friend, you’re going to see things while employed here that’ll test your beliefs—and your honor. Are you up to that?”

  “For the deal you offered me, I think I can learn to live with your secrets, whatever they are. But like I said before, just don’t ever ask me to do anything dishonest. With that, I draw the line.”

  “The best way to explain our secret is to show you. Be here tonight just before moonrise.”

  Damon checked on the girls, then located Angela pacing in front of the fireplace in the master bedroom. He had so much to tell her he didn’t know where to start. He drew her into his arms. “I have a bombshell to drop on you about Hugh.”

  She closed her eyes. “Damon, sometimes I feel like I can’t take one more of your—”

  “Shall I keep it to myself?”

  Her eyes flashed. “Don’t you dare! What is it?”

  “Hugh is the reincarnate of Hugo.”

  She shook her head, her eyes brimming with sympathy. “You may want to believe that, but—”

  “I swear, it’s true. He�
��s still suffering from lycanthropy. While he was with Valerie last night, she saw him morph from a werewolf into a man. He came to me today and explained everything. I have my half-brother back. And his blood may help our girls.”

  Angela stared at Damon. “What you’re telling me is impossible, but so are so many things that have happened in our lives. What makes you believe him?”

  “Valerie backed up everything he said. He saved her last night from a hunter’s stun gun and stayed with her until daylight. He was bringing her home when Rick discovered them out in the hills.”

  She sighed. “Okay. Let me digest all this a while. What can we do to stop the girls from running off again? I recall all too clearly the wild, crazed madness and passion between us while in our wolf states.”

  “I hired that biker, Rick Tanner, to keep an eye on them, and Hugh has offered to help, too.”

  “You hired that biker—a wild-looking stranger off the streets—the kind of guy who young girls flip over? After what I just said to you? You’re crazy.”

  “Are you forgetting he brought both girls safely home to us?”

  Lazar felt restless as he headed down the hill from the lab. He had to get away from the intensity of the work for a while. And he needed more lupine blood. The jerks he’d hired hadn’t come back with even one wolf. It looked like this was one more chore he’d have to attend to himself.

  Heading toward Foothill Boulevard, he spied a car stopped at a turnout on the uphill side of the road to Mt. Baldy. The car was attended by a shapely woman with the trunk open. Whoa. This could be interesting. She leaned into the trunk, displaying a firm, sexy fanny, and pulled out a jack. He found a place to turn around, headed back up the hill, and when he pulled up along side the hot damsel in distress, he recognized her. Well, I’ll be damned, he thought as an old possibility became a new opportunity. “Hi, Kat. Can I give you a hand?”

  She looked him up and down. “Do I know you?”

  He looked at her long, lovely neck, hungering to sink his teeth into her throat. “I’m the head scientist at the Lamont Lab. I’ve seen you coming and going at the mansion. Mrs. Lamont speaks fondly of you.”

  “Oh, yeah. Well, I was just headed up there. Their girls were missing and I’ve been worried about them. I’m sort of their surrogate aunt.”

  “Well, surrogate auntie, let me be the first to tell you, they’re back and none the worse for their little adventure.”

  She raked her gaze over him. “How did a brainy guy like you get those bulging muscles?”

  His blood heated when she touched his biceps. Her gesture made it clear she was interested. Rather than grab her like he ached to do, he laughed. “I often run for miles and regularly lift weights.” He took the jack from her hand and said, “Please allow me to help you. That gorgeous clinging red dress wasn’t designed for dirty work.”

  After he changed the flat, she said, “There must some way I can repay you.”

  “How about fixing me a simple dinner at your place? I’ll bring the wine and dessert.”

  She looked into his eyes. “You know, you remind me of someone, but I can’t figure out who the devil it is. Anyway, I feel I know you well enough to have you come to my place, but my temp fiancé, Deeto, might not like it. And he pays the rent.”

  “What is a temp fiancé?”

  “A boyfriend with hope of something that will never happen.”

  Lazar grinned at the vixen, wanting her more now than before.

  “This is a challenging problem. Let’s see if we can figure it out. I’ve got it. How about meeting me at my apartment and make dinner there?” Before she could answer, he was already writing down the address and phone number for her. “Is five-thirty okay? We can watch the sunset together. It’s breathtaking from my terrace.”

  Chapter Eight

  Angela walked Kat to the door. “You stayed less than fifteen minutes. What’s your hurry?” Angela asked, exhausted and secretly glad her friend was leaving so she could grab a nap before dinner.

  “I only dropped by to make sure the girls were safely home. I can’t stay.” She wriggled her arched brows and winked. “I have to get ready for my early date.”

  “Oh, is Deeto taking you somewhere special?”

  “Not Deeto. He won’t be home until late. He and his buddies are going to a bachelor party.”

  “So who’s the mystery date?”

  “You won’t believe it. It’s with your head lab guy, Dr. Simon L. Lazar.”

  Angela’s stomach knotted. “How did you meet him?”

  “I had a flat on the way up here and he fixed it. He’s real cool for a brainy dude.”

  “Kat, I’ve never felt comfortable around him. I don’t think he’s right for you.”

  Kat frowned. “You think he’s too smart for me?”

  “Don’t even think something like that. I just think you deserve better.”

  Kat’s frown broke into a forgiving smile. “Maybe not, but you know me. I have to test the waters. What does Damon think of him?”

  Angela sighed. “He’s blinded by the man’s achievements in the science field. One of his papers on lycanthropy won a Nobel Prize.”

  “Well, that’s great, I guess. What is lycanthropy?”

  “The study of werewolves. I can see you two will have a lot in common.”

  “You’re being sarcastic, but remember, I know a little about werewolves. I was attacked by one and saved by my guardian werewolf. Besides, I don’t really want him for his mind, and by the way he was looking at me, I don’t think he’s looking for someone to discuss his work with.”

  “Just be careful, Kat. Something about him gives me the creeps.”

  Indian Joe had warned Rick for years that curiosity was his biggest flaw, and now Rick hoped it didn’t end up killing him. In spite of the unknowns, he felt pretty good when he knocked on the mansion door, highly inquisitive and looking forward to an interesting evening. He sniffed and wondered if he’d overdone the aftershave. As much as he tried to forget the feel of Victoria clinging to his waist and the memory of her gorgeous nude body unsatisfactorily hiding in the bushes, he hoped she’d be the one to answer the door. He reminded himself she was only eighteen and based on his contract with her dad, off limits. Unfortunately, when he’d looked at her, he’d seen a woman, an intriguing woman with a tough demeanor that turned him on. Although Valerie was equally adorable, he hadn’t felt the same connection with her. Good thing, then he’d be buying double trouble. Even if he kept his wits, keeping two eighteen-year-old’s safe would probably be the challenge of his life.

  Victoria answered the door in Daisy-Mae blue jean shorts and a fitted red T-shirt imprinted with Bad Girl across her very womanly boobs. Man, the girl should be locked up until she turned at least twenty-five.

  “Dad bet Uncle Hugh a hundred bucks you’d show up on time,” she said. “He must think he has you figured out. Well, I don’t. And I want you to know, I don’t get off on performing for bikers.”

  “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” he said, unable to contain the edge of excitement in his voice.

  “Oh, didn’t Dad tell you about the entertainment for the evening? How like him. He’s a real drama king. Well, follow me, Ricky Boy. The show begins at moonrise.”

  She whirled around and headed upstairs. He hated that his gaze locked onto her swaying well-formed butt. For sanity’s sake, he tried to imagine her as the fat woman in a circus and failed miserably.

  She led him into a recreation room equipped with every kind of workout gadget he could dream of. He scanned the anxious faces of those waiting inside, nodded to each, and smiled while feeling like a complete idiot. “You didn’t formally meet my wife, Angela,” Damon said. “But you met all the others, my brother, Hugh, who is now your assistant, and my eighteen-year-old daughters, Victoria and Valerie.

  Rick shuddered at the emphasis Lamont put on their ages. He also noticed that his new employer was now claiming Hugh as his brother and b
efore he’d said they weren’t really related. Working in this loony bin would take some getting used to. The tension level in the room sizzled. They all knew what was about to happen while he was the new guy on the job. Tension clamped onto his nerve endings. It would be a hell of a thing if they were about to play a tremendous joke on him.

  Victoria’s mom, Angela, pulled a book from her bag and opened it. He noticed that, after several minutes, she never turned the page. He could almost feel the tension rolling off of her.

  Hugh unrolled three workout pads. He and the girls stretched out on them and started doing sit ups.

  Damon sat down on the workout bar, his expression tight as though he were about to explode.

  “Am I supposed to be doing something?” Rick asked.

  “Just be ready for anything. You’re in charge of guarding Victoria.” He paused as though expecting him to object. But Rick had already decided to let this game, whatever it was, play out before he made an ass of himself. When he just nodded, Lamont continued. “Hugh will take Valerie.” He paused again. “Know anything about the moon, Rick?”

  “Only that it’s not made of green cheese.”

  Lamont didn’t even crack a smile. “Some full moons have extra potential to end more violently than others. The most dangerous for our family is during a blue moon when two full moons occur in a single month. But every month can end tragically if care isn’t taken. Our girls and Hugh have a moon-controlled affliction. I set up the lab downstairs to push for a cure to release them from their torment. Unfortunately, until a serum is perfected, we have to live with and control the problem the best we can.”

  “I’m not following you, sir.”

  “You will. Just be ready.”

  “When this event happens, what am I supposed to do?”

  “You just watch until Victoria makes her move—then no matter what, don’t let her out of your sight. There are people beyond our walls waiting to catch her and lock her up. You must protect her from them, and herself.”