by Tina Donahue
Gwen leaned over and kissed his cheek, enjoying the feel of his beard-roughened skin, his clean yet musky male scent. “I will…in the store’s parking lot.”
Before their time together ended—fifty or so years from now—she was going to teach him how to drive, watch TV, gorge on junk food. In other words, enjoy life in this realm with her right beside him because all the fucking guards here would be dead, while those on E4 would be too afraid to cross over again.
“They’re going to be all right,” Nikoli said.
Chewing the side of her thumb, Regina stared at the wall phone, no doubt expecting the thing to ring with the worst news possible. Gwen and Kuma had been in an accident or caused one. Cops were swarming all over the wreckage, running the plates, figuring out to whom the vehicle belonged. Detectives, perhaps Sheehan and Goddard, were on their way here to question Regina on why Gwen and Kuma had been using her car. The detectives would want to know who those two were, since they were uncooperative or unconscious. Worse, they’d want to know what species Kuma was given that the EMTs noticed his fingerprints didn’t match anything anyone had ever seen on this—
Stop it. Before Nikoli started to frighten himself, he left the table and gathered Regina into his arms, needing her comfort as much as she needed his. “They haven’t been gone that long.”
She slumped against him. “Nearly an hour. They only had to buy two things. That’s all. The store’s just three miles away.”
“Could be it’s busy. Or maybe they had to go to another store because the ingredients weren’t at the first one.”
“No, you’re wrong.” Regina pressed closer. “We’re not talking about them having to buy something exotic like caviar. It’s everyday stuff that’s always there. We have to go after them. See what’s happened.”
“How? We don’t have another car.”
A low moaning sound poured from her. She dug her fingers into his back. “I shouldn’t have given Gwen my keys. I should have driven them. This is all my fault.”
“Hey.” Nikoli eased back and cupped Regina’s face in his hands. “I’m the one who crossed over and brought all of this crap on you. If anyone should be blamed, it’s me.”
She frowned. “Don’t say that. Ever.” She covered his hands with hers. “Where are the other devices you made? Promise me you’ll go with me if we have to escape. I don’t want any heroics from you. I want to know that you’re going to be with me. That you’ll never leave—”
The front doorbell chimed, cutting off her words, making her flinch. “Oh shit. Who could that be? What if it’s the police? Oh Jesus, do you think it could be Sheehan and Goddard? Grab your device.”
Nikoli didn’t move. “Even if it is them, which isn’t likely, we can’t leave Gwen and Kuma to fend for themselves.”
Regina’s expression changed, as though she’d just remembered them. “Grab the damn thing anyway, just in case you have to use it. If you do, once you’re in another part of the city, or another state or country on this realm, you can help Gwen and Kuma from there.”
“And leave you here alone? No.”
“Dammit, I can deal with the police. Now, get your stupid device.”
“Stupid is right. It’s calibrated to take the guards to E3. You want me to go—”
“Grab another one you made.” She glanced over at the sound of a fist hammering against the front door. “Hurry.”
“Maybe it’s Gwen and Kuma returning finally.”
“And they’re pounding on the door? Why, when Gwen has the key to it?”
She refused to see any possibility unless it was bad. Deciding not to argue, Nikoli went into the pantry and pulled another instrument from an empty container of oatmeal. “Wait.” He caught up with Regina at the kitchen doorway and grabbed her wrist to stop her. “I’ll answer it.”
“Uh-uh. We’re in this together.” With surprising strength, she broke free and ran into the hall.
Nikoli followed, stopping as Regina did just shy of the front door. Despite the thickness of the stained-glass window, he could still see a bit of the street, the front of her BMW.
“It’s them,” he said. “I see your car out front.”
Regina yanked the door open and bitched, “Where in the hell have you been? Why didn’t you use the key?”
Gwen’s brows lifted. She glanced over both shoulders as though she feared someone outside might be listening. Leaning toward Regina, she said, “I didn’t want to just barge in. This isn’t my house.”
“Why have you been gone so long? What happened?”
“Nothing. I was teaching Kuma how to drive.”
“What?” Regina snapped.
Gwen made a face. “Take it easy, all right? It was only for ten minutes or so.”
On her toes, Regina craned her neck to see past the woman. “Did you hit anything? Did you bang up my car?”
“Of course not. Do you think I’d bring that kind of attention to us?”
Regina sank to her heels. “Like teaching him how to drive?”
“It’s all right,” Nikoli cut in, squeezing Regina’s shoulder. “No harm done.” He sensed Gwen’s only purpose was to give Kuma a bit of pleasure, something he might not experience again if things went badly in his hunt for the guards.
“Let’s go inside,” Nikoli said.
Gwen headed that way. Kuma continued to regard the BMW.
“Come on,” Gwen said to him.
He remained on the front porch, clearly enthralled by the car. “I want one of those.”
Nikoli suppressed a smile. He tapped the werewolf’s arm to get his attention. Kuma reacted instantly, shoulders drawn in, teeth bared. Unafraid, Nikoli said, “You need to come inside now. Gwen will let you drive the car again later.”
Regina frowned, “What?”
Taking the grocery bag from Gwen, Nikoli handed it to Regina. “Here you go. Everything you need for the mixture.”
In the kitchen, Gwen hovered near Regina, finally taking over once the mixture was complete. “I work with drugs all the time. You don’t, all right? I just want to make certain this is done correctly since I’ll be injecting myself with it.”
“No,” Kuma said, moving closer. “Test it on me.”
Gwen filled another syringe. “Maybe later.”
“Now,” he insisted.
She shook her head.
“Then I’ll do it myself.”
She blocked him with her arm, keeping him from taking one of the syringes. “I don’t want you hurt.”
“And you think I want that for you?”
“I know what I’m doing. Stay back.” She pushed his arm away.
He grabbed her wrist.
“Hey, you’re hurting me.”
“No, I’m not,” he growled.
Gwen twisted her arm, trying to get free. “Dammit, let go.”
Kuma’s face darkened. “No.”
She tried her earlier maneuver, pushing all of her weight into him. This time, it didn’t move the werewolf at all. Gwen growled, “I swear, I’m going to kick you in the balls.”
“Stop it, both of you,” Regina snapped.
They didn’t. Gwen continued to struggle as Kuma refused to release her.
To move this along, Nikoli grabbed a syringe, drove the needle into his arm and depressed the plunger.
“Oh my God,” Regina shouted. “What are you doing?”
He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t gather enough strength to say the words. Around him, the room blurred. Regina and the others became smudges of color, without definition.
Nikoli’s legs were no longer able to hold his weight. He felt his body sinking to the floor, then stopping before he hit the linoleum, a strong arm suddenly around his torso. Was Kuma holding him? Probably. From what seemed a great distance, Nikoli heard Regina begging him to be all right, not to leave her.
As though he ever could. Hadn’t he proven his devotion repeatedly? Hadn’t he given up his people, his world for her? Didn’t she know…
?
His thoughts paused at Regina shouting something Nikoli couldn’t understand. Her words were too fast, his thoughts too sluggish. As though in answer, Gwen said something. Kuma spoke next, far calmer than either woman.
Nikoli tried to vocalize, but moving his mouth wasn’t something he could do. He frowned—or at least he thought he did—at a small pricking sensation on his arm, another injection, similar to that of a bee sting. During the summer, he’d experienced that for the first time and marveled at the pain such a tiny creature could bring. On E2, there were no insects or other pests. Scientists had eliminated them millennia before to make the dimension as perfect as possible. Odd that it also made his realm too sterile, without vibrancy or passion.
“Nikoli,” Regina said, patting his cheeks. “Can you hear me?”
He could, when seconds before he hadn’t been able to distinguish her words. Not only that, he now saw her clearly, his fogginess and lethargy gone. Heat and energy pulsed through him. He knew without question he could run for hours. Pushing to his feet, he shoved Kuma’s arm away. “I’m fine. Better than I’ve ever been.”
“Your face is red,” Regina cried, then shouted at Gwen, “What’s that mean?”
“I’m not sure. Let me check him out.” She placed her fingers on the inside of his wrist where Sazaar had once bit him, wanting to turn Nikoli as the vampire Andris had turned her.
Nikoli pulled his hand away. She grabbed his wrist again. “Don’t move,” she ordered.
“Why? What are you doing?”
She continued to look at the clock on the wall. “Taking your pulse. Be quiet, please.”
Regina edged closer but didn’t say anything. Neither did Kuma.
“Your heart rate’s a bit fast,” Gwen finally said, releasing him, “but that could be your different physiology. You really feel all right?”
Nearly as good as he did after having made love with Regina. “That antidote’s amazing. I want to try it again.”
“Not for the hell of it,” Regina said, putting herself between him and the counter. “We don’t know what the long-term effects will be.” She spoke to Gwen. “What are they?”
“Nothing that I know of.”
“And what you don’t know of?” Regina prodded.
“Even meth takes more than one hit to damage a person’s system. Just keep him away from this unless there’s no other choice except to use it.”
“Is that really necessary?” Nikoli mumbled, surprised he was even asking, amazed he wanted the antidote so badly.
“Yep, it is.” Gwen patted his arm as though she understood what he was going through. “Be grateful it works on your people, with that including Kuma. Now, we’ll see if it works on me.”
Once more, the werewolf stopped Gwen from taking a syringe. “Don’t.”
“I have to.” Her expression went from determined to troubled. “There’s no other choice.”
He softened his tone as she had. “You asked me not to leave, and I didn’t. I’m asking you not to do this or come with me when I hunt for guards.”
Gwen ran her fingers over his jaw, sighing as she did. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do it alone. Let go of me so I can test it.”
“I can’t do that. I won’t.”
“I will,” Regina said.
Nikoli shouted, “Wait.”
Too late. She’d already injected herself with the tranquilizer, reacting as he did, her limbs going slack, her body dropping to the floor.
Nikoli caught her. He yelled at Gwen, “Give me the antidote.”
She knocked a mug off the counter in her haste to get to the liquid. The earthenware shattered on the floor.
“Hurry,” Nikoli shouted.
Gwen cried, “I don’t know how much to get.” She dipped a cup into the mixture and shoved it at him, her hands shaking. “Don’t let her take more than a sip of it.”
Nikoli brought the cup to Regina’s lips, praying that the mixture wouldn’t harm her. Why in the hell had she injected herself? What had she been thinking? Didn’t she know if anything happened to her, he’d die? He’d have no reason to continue living?
“Take just a bit,” he ordered and tipped the cup.
The mixture dribbled over the sides of her mouth, slack from the first drug.
Nikoli shook her. “Swallow.”
At last, she did. The change was instantaneous. Color returned to her face, her muscles tensed. As he had, she pushed to a standing position and made a face.
“What is it?” Nikoli asked.
Gwen edged closer and touched Regina’s arm. “What’s wrong?”
She shivered. “That stuff tastes god-awful. Ewwww.”
“But that’s it?” Gwen asked.
“Yeah.” Regina wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand, then grinned. “I feel great.”
“Awesome…but still, let me check, all right?” Gwen took Regina’s pulse as she had Nikoli’s.
“Is it too fast?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Perfect.” She spoke to Regina, “Are you craving it as Nikoli did?”
He answered before Regina could. “I’m not any longer.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Gwen frowned. “Don’t lie to me. This is important.”
“I know, and I’m not lying.” As quickly as the craving had hit, it was now gone. Had Damir realized the power this mixture had over people and included something in it to counteract the lingering effects? “What about you?” Nikoli asked Regina. “Do you still want it?”
She kept running her tongue over her lips, her expression worsening by the minute. “No way. It tastes too crappy.”
“But it works,” Gwen said. “Whoo!” Clapping her hands, she danced in place. “I have what I need to fight and stop those SOB guards.”
Nodding, Regina went to the sink and scooped water into her mouth.
Kuma said nothing. He didn’t have to. His pissed expression told Nikoli the werewolf was not pleased with Gwen’s continued involvement.
Chapter Thirteen
Gwen slid three antidote-filled vials into her hoodie’s right pocket, along with four syringes for Kuma’s use. She patted her left pocket, comforted by her new container of pepper spray and the device Nikoli had calibrated for her. That was several days ago. Seemed like a lifetime.
Unwilling to dwell on what might or might not happen in the next few hours, she made certain her revolver was secure in her jean’s waistband. If a guard gave her shit despite the antidote and her ability to open a portal, all she had to do was reach behind herself, pull out the weapon and blow the SOB’s head off. Then live with herself for having killed someone, no matter how much he may have deserved it.
She sighed, then shrugged. Had to be done. This was war.
Kuma watched her, arms crossed over his muscular chest, his shoulder propped against her kitchen door, blocking it.
He wasn’t going to make this easy. Well, neither would she. Gwen figured she could always go out the front or escape through numerous windows if need be, because she was doing what she had to this evening. She’d hunt the guards, finding one, perhaps several, and would send them all to hell, otherwise known as E3.
Staci handed Teeko two T-bone steaks for him to eat raw or to cook as he liked. To that, she added a container of sour-cream-and-onion Pringles, for the human side of him. Teeko focused on Kuma and Gwen rather than the food, his expression as wary as Staci’s.
“Guys,” Staci said at last, “you have to quit fighting.”
“We’re not,” Gwen assured. “Kuma’s not even speaking to me. He stopped several days ago even before we got back from Nikoli and Regina’s house. Isn’t that right, babe?”
He muttered, “You should be at the hospital working.”
“I’ve got tons of vacation time saved up. I’ve told you repeatedly, I’m using it. No law against that.”
He bared his teeth. “You’re not going out there again. I won’t allow it.”
Although Gwen enj
oyed his macho shit in bed, submitting as they both liked to his raw masculinity, no way would he win this battle. “You don’t get a vote. It’s my life.”
He looked like he wanted to scream. “I can do this alone.” Uncrossing his arms, he went to her. “I don’t need you out there with me.”
“The hell you don’t. I’m the bait, remember?” She gestured to herself. “Put on my tightest jeans. These suckers are so snug I can barely breathe. I wore make-up too.” She batted her lashes and licked her reddened lips.
“I don’t like it,” Kuma growled. “You don’t need it.”
Aw, such a nice thing to say.
“No matter how you try to change yourself, you’re not the type they want,” he continued. “That’s why none of them have shown up these last few days.”
Oh really. She was back to being dog meat again? Gwen didn’t buy it for a minute. “Tell that to the first guard you ripped apart. I was good enough for him even though I’m not girly like Staci.”
“Do you guys want me to do this?” Staci asked.
“No!”
Gwen, Kuma and Teeko had spoken as one.
Staci’s face pinked up. She regarded Teeko from beneath her lashes, her expression all feminine and soft. It was obvious she liked his determination to protect her and had no trouble bowing to his will.
Gwen fought the urge to roll her eyes or fake a gag. “This is all your fault,” she accused Kuma.
Genuine surprise crossed his face. “Mine?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. We’ve gone out four nights now, and nothing’s happened. You think the guards find me that repulsive?”
“What are you talking about?” he growled. “You are not repulsive.”
“Yeah, I know.” She poked his chest with her forefinger. “You can’t get enough of me, right?” She stopped jabbing him in favor of stroking. The muscles in his pecs jumped.
Kuma cleared his throat and glanced down at her fingers trailing down his chest to his jeans’ waistband.
Gwen stroked his fly and cooed, “If you were any harder, you’d be in tears.”
Snickering, Staci bumped Teeko’s shoulder with hers. Color rose to Kuma’s face. He shot a look at his fellow werewolf as though warning him not to smile, and grabbed Gwen’s hand before she reached his balls. “I know a way to fix that.”
