Dead Heat

by Sharon Green

  I agreed by getting to my feet even before Regis did, and we weren't the only ones going over to the quiet disturbance. Three men in tuxes were also converging on the spot from different places around the room, which said that official security was now getting into the act.

  "… don't understand how anyone could expect something like this to work," Boughton was saying as we got closer. "I don't know what's in that drink, but the substance is making the drink reek. I would never even have come close to drinking it."

  "You might have while you were in the middle of that discussion," Eric countered, nothing in the way of apology in his tone. "I noticed that you were paying attention to nothing but what was being said, and whoever sent that drink must have noticed the same."

  Boughton looked as if he wanted to argue, but the way he clamped his jaws shut said he knew he couldn't. He probably would have taken at least one swallow from the glass, and depending on what the blood had been spiked with, one swallow might have been enough.

  The security people took charge of the waiter then, and since he couldn't find the man who'd sent him with the drink they began to ask for a description of the man. We all listened to the description, some of us, at least, expecting to hear Harold Marmon being described, but the coloring and build didn't match. Two of the security people led the waiter away, probably to check out the man himself. Assuming the waiter was telling the truth would have been stupid, and the last thing Allison's people looked was stupid.

  The third security man stayed behind to speak softly to Boughton, who didn't like what he was being told. The security man was saying it was time for Boughton to go back to his room, and Boughton seemed about to argue when his gaze brushed across me. I could almost see Boughton realizing that if he stayed he might put me in danger, so all he did was nod once before coming over to where Regis and I were standing.

  "I'm afraid the evening is over, at least for me," Boughton told us both, his expression very unhappy. "I've been promised additional security for tomorrow night, so please say you'll come, Jane."

  "Of course I'll be here," I answered, giving him a smile. "If I'm right beside you, I can even help protect you."

  "Now, that's not fair," Regis protested while Boughton looked almost scandalized. "I've been standing here feeling relieved that I'm not the target of fanatics, and now Jane has made me regret that they're not after me. If I were also a target, I would happily accept any and all assistance she cared to offer."

  "I've never been one for violence, but I agree that Jane's presence would propel me in that direction," Boughton said after chuckling. "Protecting her would, of course, protect me as well, so now her presence has become a necessity. Until tomorrow night, then."

  Those words were a signal for his taking my hand, and he actually brushed my knuckles with his lips as his gaze stayed in contact with mine. I could also feel his power brushing over me gently, the flutter of delicate wings rather than a sledgehammer, but still a lot more than the suggestion of power I'd felt in the beginning. I parted my lips to say something very inappropriate, but Boughton was suddenly gone with Eric right behind him. Eric turned to push a palm in my direction, telling me to stay in the room until he got back, but that was almost unnecessary. Since he had the cell phone number of our driver, where else would I go?

  But as I stood half-listening to Regis's idle comments I couldn't help having second thoughts about coming back tomorrow night…

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  It wasn't long before Eric got back to the reception room, which Regis told me was part of the Presidential Suite. I said good night to Regis and headed for the elevators with Eric, and in a couple of minutes we were down in the lobby again. I was in the middle of trying to decide if we should wait inside or out when Eric solved the problem for me.

  "I've already called for our ride, so we might as well go outside," he said. "Williams told me he was only five minutes away, so he might even be here already."

  I nodded and walked outside with him, and sure enough, our limo was just pulling up to the curb. I opened the door myself and climbed inside, and once Eric was sitting next to me with the door closed we began to move.

  "That doorman was upset that you didn't let him help you into the limo," Eric commented after a minute or two. "At first I thought you did it on purpose, but after thinking about it I've decided that you didn't even notice. Is something wrong?"

  "You could say that," I agreed after hesitating a moment or so. "Just before he left, Boughton used his power on me."

  "He did what?" Eric demanded, now sounding totally outraged. "Why would he do something like that? Did he tell you what he was after?"

  "All he did was say good night, letting me know he was looking forward to seeing me tomorrow," I said. "I don't know what the power was supposed to accomplish, I only know he used it. Now I'm wondering if saving him once will be enough for Allison."

  "Considering what Boughton did, it may have to be," Eric responded, his tone now on the grim side. "If Boughton has plans he hasn't mentioned out loud, hanging around to find out what he has in mind isn't something I'm willing to do."

  "Why do you sound as if he used the power on you?" I demanded, sudden outrage making me turn my head to look at him. "Unless he made a pass at you that you haven't mentioned, this episode can't be all that personal for you."

  He stared at me for a minute, as if he couldn't believe I'd said that, and then he shook his head.

  "We really do need to get you filled in on what you've missed, don't we," he said rather than asked, the look in his light eyes tending to faint annoyance. "We'll do that as soon as we get back to the suite."

  I started to ask what he was talking about, but then I got it.

  "I thought I told you that we don't have time for shapeshifter crap right now," I said, the words almost a growl. "If you bother me about it again, you'll have to ask Allison French if she has any job openings."

  His light eyes began to … glow at me, as if it were his other shape I was seeing there in the dark of the limo. I could feel the anger start to pour off him, but then he cut off the emotion and turned a little to look out the window next to his left arm. My own reactions had started to go into serious defense mode, and pulling back produced something of a jangle along my nerves. But jangling was a lot better than one on one combat in the back of a car…

  It didn't take long to get back to the Zealin House, and we made the rest of the trip in silence. Eric took care of thanking Williams while I headed for the hotel entrance, but he caught up to me just as the elevator doors opened. We rode up to our floor in another silence, and I had just enough time to wonder if Eric and I would get around to that fight over which of us unlocked the suite door. As soon as we stepped out of the elevator, though, the point became moot.

  "Nice going, people," Freemont said from where he stood holding open the suite door with a smile. "Our employer is very pleased with us."

  "Word travels fast around here, doesn't it?" I said as I moved toward Freemont and the suite. "I just hope that Allison hasn't gone to bed yet, because there's something she needs to know. I told Boughton a story that she's going to have to back me up on."

  "That's already been done," Freemont said as he moved aside to let us into the suite. "George heard you telling Boughton that you were a friend of Allison's doing her a favor, so he came back here and told me about it. That let me call Allison and tell her, and Boughton's reaction to the story immediately convinced her to go along with it. Not to mention how impressed she was with the efficiency of our team. I have a feeling she was considering George and me very much on the unnecessary side."

  "But she certainly doesn't consider you and Eric unnecessary," George put in from where he sat on one of the couches. "When she got the report about that drink Eric intercepted, her agent said that he'd been watching you at the time, thinking that you weren't doing the job because you weren't sitting close to Boughton. When he saw you tense and get ready to stand up he didn't underst
and, not even when he looked where you were looking. All he saw was a waiter with a glass on his tray, and then Eric stepped in to stop the man. When the agent realized that you and Eric had noticed something he and his associates hadn't, he was forced to admit it was a good thing we were here."

  "Allison said she'd be by tomorrow to talk to us, but not too early," Freemont added, his smile fading as he stared at me a little more closely. "Is something wrong? I've suddenly gotten the strangest feeling…"

  "Boughton is a vampire, and he used his power on her," Eric said when I just shook my head, in no mood to tell the story again. "It was just before the man left the reception and he didn't say anything, so it isn't clear what he was trying to do. It may be necessary to give these people their money back and leave."

  "But I'm not getting any evil intentions from Boughton," Freemont protested while George exclaimed angrily. "Is it possible that he didn't actually mean to use his power, that it was just an accident? What do you think, Taz?"

  "Right now I'm too tired to think anything," I said with a shake of my head before heading for my bedroom. "I'm going to get some sleep, and we can talk about this again tomorrow. Or later today, whichever way you want to look at it. Good night, guys."

  By that time I'd made it to my bedroom, so I closed the door and stopped to take a deep breath. I'd been playing human for hours, holding all my senses in tight so as not to give myself away, and it felt really good to finally let go. Not to mention how good it felt that I could finally get out of the outfit and its matching shoes…

  Putting the purse down on a table and slipping out of the shoes was the first step, and the second was to put the jewelry back in its case before I walked over to the table next to the comfortable chair I'd used earlier and picked up the cup of coffee Freemont had left for me. The coffee was still nicely warm, of course, and I took a good swallow before putting the cup down again and starting to get out of the gown.

  Once the clothes and the knife sheath were off it was time to tackle the makeup. A bottle of makeup remover had been left for me, so I used it before getting in the shower. A quick wash left my hair mostly dry, but the curl and body were gone by the time I left the shower and dried off. Not that I cared. Getting dressed up and worrying about looking good was part of a life I no longer had. Not that I'd had that kind of life even before the attack, but back then there had been the chance of getting it at some time. Now…

  After finishing the coffee I sat down on the bed in my blue nightshirt, feeling a little cold because of the very efficient air conditioning. I wondered if I'd need to keep the nightshirt on even after I was under the covers, but the blanket and bedspread were both heavy enough that I was able to take off the nightshirt before I lay down and turned off the light. I snuggled down, ready to sleep, but my mind showed me that it wasn't ready to turn off yet.

  My thoughts went back to that argument I'd had with Eric in the car, annoyance rising all over again. He'd reacted more strongly over Boughton's use of his power than I'd expected, and that had set me off. The man seemed to think there was something special between us now, something other than shapeshifter crap, but there wasn't. I had no interest in finding a mate or even a steady date, and if he thought treating me like someone with her head buried in the sand would help his cause…

  And then the weirdest thing happened. I picked up Eric's scent as if he was right there in the room with me, but standing all the way over near the door. I sat up and turned on the light, but the room was still empty of everyone but me. Eric's scent became even more faint, but I could tell it was still there even though he wasn't. Even if it had been possible for him to be hiding under the bed or behind a chair I would have heard his heartbeat, but it wasn't possible and I didn't. I was alone in the room.

  Turning off the light and lying back down took me under the covers again, but not to snuggle. My mind had shut down tight to make sure a faint scent was all that came to me, and the effort seemed to work. Nothing in the way of an urge to throw myself at Eric came blazing up, so after a couple of minutes I was able to relax some. That very faint scent still lingered in the air, but nothing happened beyond that.

  And it had been something of a long day, which means the blackness of sleep quickly began to rise…

  * * *

  I sat in the filthy alley leaning against a wall while I cradled my bleeding arm with my slightly raised legs and other arm. Another girl in my place would have cried, but Rosie Choro never cried. Not when her mom's new boyfriend "showed how much he loved her," and not when some freak had taken a hard bite out of her arm. I'd been on my own for over a year, ever since I ran away from the fucker my mom refused to believe had ever touched me, but this was the worst it had ever been.

  It was dark in that alley and too cold for the skimpy clothes I had on, but you can't expect the johns to pay you if you're muffled up to the neck. I'd had a john try to hurt me before, but I'd always been able to take my money and run. This time, in the pitch dark of the alley, I hadn't even seen him turn crazy.

  The john wasn't wearing much in the way of clothes, no more than a shirt and pants and shoes, and a minute after we get into the alley I hear sounds like he might be taking off the stuff. But that's crazy, and a minute later he takes my hand and puts it on his dick. I figure he was just dropping his pants to enjoy getting sucked off more, so I start to do it.

  He gets up real quick and makes small sounds while I'm sucking him off. He also puts his fist in my hair, but that isn't any different from the way other johns do it. And he paid extra to come in my mouth, so I let him do it. He shoots his wad, moaning and groaning, but when he's done he lets go of my hair and moves between me and the end of the alley. Then something else happens, something I can't see, and the next thing I know there are teeth in my arm, biting so hard that I conk out.

  When I come to again my arm is all ripped up and I can feel the blood dripping over everything. Sitting up is all I can do for a while, but then I drag myself to my feet and stumble toward the way out of the alley. I need to get to the room I share with another girl, the place I sleep. In the morning, if I don't feel any better, I'll maybe go to the free clinic…

  Then there are suddenly lights in the alley, lights from the headlights of cars. I close my eyes tight for a minute, and when I open them again I can see the cops rushing in. But I can see something else, too, and that something else makes me want to throw my guts up. Some kind of animal, a really big cat, is eating a guy, I mean, really eating him. The guy's jacket and shirt are torn open and his chest and stomach are bare, and that's where the big cat is eating him. For a minute I thought the guy getting eaten was my john, but he's wearing too many clothes to be the same guy.

  The cops are all carrying big guns, and they use the guns on the cat eating the guy. The cat turns away from the guy he's eating and tries to jump at the cops, but they just keep shooting until there's nothing left of the cat but mincemeat. By that time I'm just about deaf, so when one of the cops comes over to talk to me I can't hear what he's saying. And standing up so long is making me real tired, so tired that I conk out again.

  When I wake up next time I'm in a hospital bed, but I can't figure out why. My left arm isn't hurting anymore, and when I look at it there's nothing more than some red marks on the skin. Like it was hurt, but the hurt had already healed. So I get out of bed, find my clothes in the room's closet and get dressed, then I get my ass out of there before they ask me to pay them. It wasn't my idea to go to that hospital, so I'd be damned if I paid.

  I feel kind of weird so I go to the room I share with Muffy, thinking I'd lay down for a little while. When I get there our pimp is waiting, and he wants to know where I been for the last couple of days. I tell him he's crazy, that I was in the hospital only a little while, and he tries to hit me the way he always does. I put a hand up to stop him the way I always do, but this time it works! I stop him dead, and not only that but I get real mad. I grab him by the throat and pull, and suddenly I have his throat in my
hand and he's on the floor dying.

  I almost throw up while I drop the throat I'm holding, and then I grab a couple of things and get the hell out of there. I don't know what's happening, but I do know I'll be better off in another part of the city. I find a flophouse to crash in before going back to my old job, but I'm still feeling weird and a couple of days later a john tries to get tough with me. I pick him up and toss him away, and when he gets back to his feet he runs.

  But another guy there doesn't run. He comes over to me and we talk, and before I know it I'm getting my stuff from the flophouse and going along with the guy. He's got a pretty nice place, and once I put my stuff down he tells me about being a shapeshifter. He says he's the same, just a different kind of animal, but I don't believe him until the first full moon. I change into a big cat and he changes into a wolf, and we have a real good time eating a couple of bums in a back alley.

  After that I listen to the things he tells me, like how to pull back in my mind so other shapeshifters can't take me over unless I want them to. And we find more like us and get together with them, and anybody who tries to roust us gets jumped on. We take what we want when we want it, and I think about going to visit my mom's boyfriend and showing how much I love him. And maybe my mom too…

  And then these cops come into our place, probably because somebody found the balls to complain to them. They got guns so they think they're bigshots, but it's only small guns they got and they're dumb enough to come at us on the full moon. We all let the change come, and I'm right up front when we jump on them. We tear into them real good after deciding we'd toss them into the street when we're done, and -

  * * *

  I woke up part way when the dream ended abruptly, but I was too tired to stay awake for long…

  * * *

  I hated what I was even before I got to the city. Living out in the country suited me for a long time, but then the day came when I was attacked and almost killed. I survived the attack, and when I came back to myself I didn't need anyone to tell me why I was just about healed. The wolf that had jumped me was a werewolf, and now I was the same kind of shapeshifter he was.