Monsters, Book One: The Good, The Bad, The Cursed

by Heather Killough-Walden

  “She sold it and bought a Jeep fifteen years ago.” His face grew very serious. “When her boyfriend was killed laying it down in Duluth, Minnesota. His name was Michael Clemens.”

  Jake closed his eyes and felt the world sink beneath him. He swore internally. That was already bad enough, but he knew – just knew – that David wasn’t finished with him. He braced himself.

  David didn’t disappoint. “She adopted his last name and joined the wardens because of that ‘accident’,” he said, making the quotation sign with his fingers. “And yeah… though the records all but vanished, I managed to learn there were fangs involved. Apparently at the time, Angel had the unwanted and devoted attention of a very infatuated, very determined vampire.”

  Dave’s voice lowered, and he shook his head as if weary. “Man, I’m sorry. This information was killer to get, it was locked up so tight. But it’s pretty clear it was this vampire who caused the bike accident and took Michael’s life. It looks like she faced off with him in the end and set things right. But now….” Dave shrugged helplessly.

  She hates bikes and vampires, Jake’s mind supplied.

  He vehemently swore out loud before he finally bit the bullet and opened the file to start reading.

  Chapter Five

  Angel fiddled with the coffee cup in her hand as the sound of a passing motorcycle outside drew her attention like a magnet. The V-twin’s engine thundered, hugging the street corner as it made a turn. Its rumble moved through her like an obscene promise spoken in her ear.

  Like pretty much everything else these days, it made her think of one person in particular. She couldn’t help but wonder what make and model the bike was. She listened to the sound with guilty pleasure until her friend spoke again, pulling her out of her wanton stupor.

  Cassiana Honeywell leaned her elbows on the café table between them and said, “Twenty-three years I’ve been with that man. Not one orgasm during sex.”

  Angel had her eyes on her friend, but her mind was elsewhere and it was killing her. Her friend deserved better, she deserved for Angel to be one hundred percent in the here and now. This was a momentous occasion for Cass, her fortieth birthday. And the birthday girl wasn’t having an easy time of it. Right now, Cass seemed to be on the verge of an all-out nervous breakdown.

  Not one orgasm. Shit. Why did you stay with him? Angel automatically thought. She was really glad she didn’t say it out loud. There were other reasons to stay with a man, after all, reasons far more important than sex. It was just that Angel had sex on the mind lately.

  “Why did I stay with him, you may be wondering,” Cass mumbled.

  Angel tried not to smile. She shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “I was definitely wondering,” said Elena Garcia, the third member of their small party.

  Angel shot her a warning look, and Elena shrugged innocently. “What? I was!”

  “I met him when I was seventeen,” said Cass. “Straight out of high school. I’m from a big family, as you know. Lots of dysfunction in it too. In the rigmarole, I was never taught to be self-sufficient. No one taught me how to apply for a job, much less keep one, and much much less how to create my own career or follow my own dreams. I wasn’t taught to respect authority, just the opposite. I was basically set up to fail at job keeping. Plus, you know me. Despite being told I couldn’t make it in the creative world, my brain is wired to work creatively, and the work-a-day world doesn’t allow for that. So frankly, when I graduated and was suddenly out on my own, I started to fail left and right, and I got scared. Terrified, really. I latched onto the first man I felt could actually make it in life and even though he was dirt poor at the time, I recognized that drive in him. That will to succeed. And I stayed with him.”

  “Well…” said Elena somberly, “I guess you were right about him succeeding.”

  They fell silent.

  Angel was thinking that was true; Cass’s husband had a good job. But Cass made good money too, and finances were not the sole issue here, by far.

  She was about to say as much, when she suddenly felt strange. She felt off, as if without warning she’d been removed from the conversation by some outer, stronger stimulus.

  Something had her immediate attention, something under the radar. It was like a vibration in the air, an instinct she’d learned to hone and follow during her training as a warden and a mage. Of course, right now she wasn’t in warden mode. She had no wards up, no spells, and she wasn’t carrying any weapons. Her nearest weapon was in her Jeep. But magic ran through her, and it was always at work to some degree, as much as the blood that ran through her veins kept her heart beating.

  The feeling she had wasn’t necessarily bad. It was just strong. That strength in and of itself was troubling.

  She glanced around as an unexpected warmth spread through her, like the pleasant numbing of a heavy drug. She felt her cheeks flush, and her lips parted. She knew her pupils would probably be dilated. This was definitely powerful she was sensing.

  But nothing in the café was out of order. There were a few people in line getting drinks, and a few scattered at the tables farthest from hers. Nothing else. So what was going on?

  Hot on the heels of the warmth was a stomach-knotting wave of genuine anticipation. Oh hell no, she thought. She recognized that feeling. No way. I’m definitely imagining things now. I’ve really got to get that damn man out of my head!

  Angel uncrossed her legs, shifted, and re-crossed them to try to tame her hormones. She forced herself to dislodge the sensual feelings moving through her, chalked them up to wishful thinking and tiredness, and willfully concentrated on her friends.

  “We moved in together,” Cass said. “I even took a huge risk and left the state with him, moving across country. At that age? With nothing to fall back on?” She shook her head and laughed. “I was nuts.”

  “Yeah, you were,” said Elena, punching her gently in the shoulder. “I woulda loved to meet that crazy Cass.”

  Cass grinned a shy, sad smile and continued. As she did, even that smile slipped away. “I gave up everything for him and yet it took the son of a bitch four years to propose to me. And all that time, I still stayed with him. He left the door wide open. I watched the world go on beyond it, and I could have walked out at any time. But I stayed. Like I was frozen to the spot.”

  The way you freeze in a dream, thought Angel. Her husband must have been a fool. Cassiana was so beautiful. She looked no older than thirty, with a slim build, long thick wavy gold-streaked hair, clear and wrinkle-free skin, a quirky smile, and a kind of wild, untameable air to her that made her instantly appealing to men around her. That her husband had left that proverbial door open as long as he had was beyond foolish. He had no idea what was right in front of him, or how lucky he was that it hadn’t slipped away. What an idiot.

  She was so tired of clueless men. Weak men. Men who didn’t recognize their fortune or have the guts to really go for it and the talent to make the attempt attractive. Where have all the good men gone? she thought wryly, echoing Bonnie Tyler. She was beyond ready for a knight on a fiery steed, someone fast and strong and fresh from the fight. She pretty much wanted to just slip into a comic book Take On Me style and have a one-nighter with Thor.

  Nah, he probably smells like lutefisk, she thought then, and it made her laugh out loud.

  Her friends stopped mid-speech and looked at her questioningly. “Sorry,” she said, meaning it. “You know how I get when I’m tired.” She smiled a winning smile, and her friends shook their heads.

  Elena ignored the outburst and turned to Cass. “You know what? You should go find some hot college student and make out with him for your birthday. Or better yet, just let him ravage you.”

  Cass’s eyes grew very wide. “Yeah… because infidelity solves everything.”

  “Not everything,” said Elena blithely. “But it sure as hell solves some things.”

  Angel was about to smile, but she tensed in her seat again as that feeling was suddenly
back, this time harder and heavier than before. It was much stronger, edged with a kind of sharpness that indicated proximity and instantly had her turning in her chair.

  She looked toward the entrance just as the café door chimed open. A whiff of mist-touched night entered the coffee shop right on the heels of the tall, dark, broad-shouldered and green-eyed Monsters warden, Jacob Crow.

  Oh… holy… hell, thought Angel numbly as the world sank out from under her and she felt a sudden shift in perspective, like the planet had been tilted a little more on its axis. This isn’t happening.

  It just wasn’t possible!

  Yet there he was, stepping with his black boots into the serenity of the coffee shop like a calm, beautiful portent of trouble. What were the chances? Bogey’s voice played in her head, though his words were a little different this time… Of all the coffee shops in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine….

  Chapter Six

  Crow’s green eyes scanned the shop’s interior, but before he could catch her staring at him, Angel forced herself to look away. I’m not staring at him. I’m not staring!

  Wait. Why did I just look away like a child? We worked together, for crying out loud! We can talk like normal adults! What is wrong with me?

  She gritted her teeth. Nothing is wrong with me! He’s just too much! And I wasn’t expecting to see him tonight! She wasn’t exactly dressed for a night out; no dress, no heels, no makeup. Not that she ever wore those things. But she was just with friends! And she wasn’t ready to be a warden tonight either; no spells, no wards, no weapons. She was utterly unprepared to see him in any capacity.

  How many cafés were there in San Francisco? And this one wasn’t even in Monsters jurisdiction. Though wardens weren’t required to stay within their working area when not actually on jobs, they tended to remain within that proximity anyway, just like regular cops did. It was faster and easier.

  He was really coming out of his way to be here. Why was that? She realized that was the main reason for her sudden reticence. She couldn’t figure out why he was there, unless… was it for her?

  “And I’m the stupid one for marrying him,” Cass was saying. “Even dumber for further falling into convention’s expectations of me and becoming a mom.”

  Angel barely heard her. She and Elena had continued talking, but Angel’s attention was once more completely hampered. There was a humming in her ears, and she could no longer feel her fingers and toes. Gods, what is wrong with me? she wondered. He’s just a man, for fuck’s sake!

  But he happened to be the man she’d been thinking of non-stop for the last sixteen days.

  I’m an idiot. Get up and say “hi” and introduce him to your friends. What are you, twelve?

  She wondered if he’d seen her yet. And would he care if he did?

  That otherworldly heat was back then, stealing over her like a pleasure cocktail, and forcing her heart into hyperdrive. Oh, he’d seen her alright, she was positive of it. Because she could literally feel the weight of his gaze on her as surely as if he’d wrapped his arms around her and was holding her up against his very sculpted chest.

  Every time he looked at her, that was what it felt like. Angel had spent two frustrating weeks feeling the hot, heavy presence of that gaze and wishing she could feel more.

  She’d gone without him for a mere two days and Crow was all she could think about.

  Is he going to come over here? her brain wanted to know.

  Yeah, you’re definitely twelve.

  “I wound up giving him all of my best years,” Cass was saying, “hell giving him my entire damn life. I never even kissed another man.”

  To Angel’s right, Elena shook her head and said, “That happens to a lot of women, actually, though probably their marriages don’t last as long as yours has.”

  “You’re right, they don’t,” said Cass. “I looked it up, you know that? I seriously did.”

  Angel forced herself to do something – anything. She focused on her friend’s words like they were a life line in white water rapids and she was seconds away from drowning. “So staying with him for as long as you have,” she said softly, taking her willpower in both hands and squeezing the life out of it, “makes you kind of an enigma.”

  After a few seconds, Elena said, “Nah.” She sat back, sighing. “There’s no enigma here. There’s no mystery about it. Cass is co-dependent.” She looked over at Cass. “Sorry babe, but you are.” Then she looked back at Angel. “She was afraid of being alone when she was young because she hadn’t been adequately exposed to the world and what it required for survival. Now that she’s older with a child and debt and a house and all of the bullshit that comes with it, she’s still scared, but for different reasons.”

  “Not that scared,” mumbled Cass.

  Elena snickered. “Sounds to me like you’re having an awakening. Good for you.” Elena was probably thinking maybe she could get Cass to agree to make out with some guy after all.

  “I wish,” Cass rolled her eyes. “I wish I could just summon the courage to leave him.” She shook her head, staring into her coffee. “Or separate for a while. I feel so trapped. You know… he finally clued in after I pointed it out in plain English about a dozen times that I’m not satisfied with our relationship. And last week, as an early birthday present, he took me out for drinks for the first time in literally a decade.”

  Cassiana’s birthday was the reason they were there at the coffee shop at nine p.m. on a Tuesday. The girls had wanted to buy her drinks and give her a few presents, but since it was a weekday and Cass had to work and homeschool her kid the next day, they’d settled on coffee.

  Cass went on. “It was an okay night I guess. I had my first taste of a mojito and my first martini. How sad is that?” She shook her head winsomely, her eyes misty. “But anyway, what does he do when we get home? He assumes everything is all better now because he finally did something half-way romantic, and he tries to French kiss me as I’m on my way out the door to the gym. His mouth is all wet and warm and all I could think about was how much it felt like licking a slug and I was totally not in the mood. Fuck, I hate sloppy kisses. And I had a piece of food in my mouth, for crying out loud! Part of a protein bar!”

  Cass looked ready to cry now, her hazel eyes shiny with emotion, and that grabbed Angel’s attention pretty damn hard. In the background, she could certainly feel Jake was still there. Just a few feet away. She could even feel he was still watching her. But the pain in her friend’s eyes was so palpable, Angel could not ignore it. Not even for a man like Crow.

  “He tried a bunch of times after that too… for a few days. He did little things like bringing me coffee or leaving me notes before he went to work, but for some reason they just didn’t rekindle any kind of passion in me. I still feel nothing. I’m numb. Like I have nerve damage inside or something. In my soul. And when he finally caught on to that, he just went around with this sad, put-upon look on his face.” Cass shuddered.

  Angel watched her friend with real and mounting concern. She caught Elena’s gaze, and the two exchanged worried looks. If this were a midlife crisis, it would be right on time. Text book. But nothing about Cass was text book. This was more than that. It was worse because Cass really was trapped. It sent shivers down Angel’s own spine to think of a woman as stunning as Cassiana being hopelessly caught in the gulch of passionless matrimony.

  “Meanwhile, I’m still doing all the shit life expects me to do, going through its motions like I’m treading sludge. Working eighteen to twenty-hour days, trying to meet deadlines that carve chunks out of me. While at the same time, I’m trying to maintain some semblance of control over my body given what time and nature want to do to it. And I’m feeling like… what life I have left is slipping through my fingers,” said Cass numbly. “Guys, I’m telling you from the bottom of my heart that if I could go back in time, I would do things differently.”

  Crap, thought Angel. This is unbearable. I need to get my friend drunk. Cof
fee just isn’t going to do. And Elena’s right. I need to get Cass laid by someone she isn’t married to, someone seriously hot. Or better yet, I need to get her laid by two someones who are seriously hot….

  This was an emergency. Work and chores and errands and all of the crap life piled on a person so they wouldn’t notice time’s passing, they could all wait. If Angel didn’t get Cass some kind of deep healing remedy soon, there wouldn’t be any time left to pass. She was honestly afraid of that. She was honestly afraid that Cass would do something rash – and something final.

  Angel was about to suggest that they go somewhere else with stronger drinks, screw tomorrow, when a shadow fell over the table. With that darkness came the presence she’d thought she’d been successfully ignoring, when in reality it had only been her tremendous will to be there for her friend that had allowed her to put it on a backburner.

  Now it was front and center, burning like the sun, and she was literally having to remind herself to breathe. Breathe….

  “Angel.” His voice was deep and smooth as ever, and his tone managed to convey all kinds of forbidden things with one seemingly innocent word. She looked up to see him slowly sipping his coffee, his green eyes glinting at her in amusement over the top of his paper cup. “How are you?” he asked as he lowered the cup.

  Angel’s lips parted, but no sound came out. He was just too beautiful, as usual. He was dressed in worn jeans that hugged tall, impossibly sculpted legs, a gray thermal shirt that did the same for his chest, and a black leather jacket – the black leather jacket – that displayed his Monsters MC patch on the back. He smelled like leather and soap and a little bit of engine oil. His shirt and jacket were both shoved up at the sleeves to reveal thick forearms with defined veins. She’d always found that part of a man incredibly sexy. A few leather bracelets adorned his wrists, keeping her eyes there.

  Her mouth went dry. When she looked back up, it seemed his intense eyes laughed at her.

  She mentally kicked herself. Moron! Just say something! “Hi Jake!” she squeaked, obeying her own order at once. Then she blushed furiously, cleared her throat, and tore her eyes from his so she could think without feeling like he was burning her up from the inside out. “I’m good! It’s good to see you!” she continued as she pushed herself to her feet out of politeness. She almost wobbled a little at first, her legs had gone so weak. But she recovered quickly and focused like mad.