With great care a few minutes later Claire tried sitting up again, gingerly, and when no nausea followed she relaxed a little. So she was in a strange room. There were two doors, one to her left and the other to her right. Okay, good to know there was possibly an exit. A thought entering her mind she quickly lifted the covers and saw that she was still fully clothed in her work shirt and jeans, right down to her tennis shoes. That was a good sign. Her bag was next to her on the bed. A quick search revealed that her phone was missing. Okay, not a good sign.
Suddenly the door to her right opened and Claire’s head whipped around on an instruction from her hindbrain so fast, that her thoughts were left hanging on their own. A glimpse of pink skin and black fur, a growled word and then the door shut again. But standing in the room, looking at her and smiling, was Jed.
“You?!” she managed, fear pulling anger up behind it for backup. “What the hell is going on here? Why have you brought me here? Where am I?”
Jed, his smile never wavering, raised both his hands palms out. “I mean you no harm.”
Claire sneered, “Right, you just decided it would be fun to bring me here for what…?”
“You were unconscious, we couldn’t’t leave you there” he said walking slowly around the bed. Claire swung her feet out of the covers.
“Well thanks and all, but I’m leaving.” She stood up and began to walk to the door.
But Jed got there first. He moved like lightning.
“Now, now Claire, we need to talk. I promise I won’t hurt you, but you really do need to listen to me before we do something foolish, and someone gets killed,” Jed said. “You are my guest, well mine and my brother’s. Please promise you will hear us out. You must have so many questions.” His blue eyes bore into her green ones and something inside Claire began to melt. She let her bag slide down on its strap until it hit the floor. Jed nodded.
“Good,” he said. “I’ll get us some food. You must be hungry.” Jed reaching behind his back turned the door handle and opened the door that Claire had meant to go through in her dash to freedom. It opened onto a sitting room furnished with two sofas, chairs and a table, a mini fridge and small coffee station.
“Can I offer you coffee?” Jed asked gently escorting her into the room to one of the sofas so that the window was behind her. “You Americans do love your coffee don’t you?”
“I guess,” she said sitting on the cream colored fabric and running her fingers over it. Right now she needed to touch something that was undeniably real and sturdy. Something that wouldn’t surprise her, change and suddenly be something else and in this space the sofa was it. The fabric was soft but rough, and smelled of hotel, which was to say of dust and other people’s Parfüme.
Jed busied himself at the coffee station putting a pot on to perk. “Lance is a coffee nut” he said, his back to Claire. “Sometimes I think he would never get up if he didn’t have at least one cup.”
“Where is Lance?” she asked edging along the sofa. Looking around the room, she spotted another door right in front of her. It was perilously close to where Jed was making coffee. She would never make it to the door before him, not with him moving so terribly fast.
“He is changing” Jed said not looking at her. “He took a bullet last night, so I was patching him up. He should be out in a moment.”
And the previous night came flooding back to her.
Jed turned, two cups of coffee in his hands, to find Claire pale and shaking on the couch. He moved towards her but she flinched, pulling her legs up on the sofa trying to get away from him. Tears ran down her cheeks.
“You stay away from me!” she cried.
“Claire please, let me explain” Jed said.
The door to the bedroom opened. Claire turned and saw the huge black bear standing in the doorway. Her breath caught in her throat and she tried backing away from the creature, through the sofa, until her voice came back and then she screamed and screamed.
***
It was a story of sadness and loss. Claire listened as Jed and occasionally Lance, spoke for hours about their past. They told her the story of how, as young children, their parents were killed and they were taken into the service of a Russian drug lord called Sergei.
Raised by this mad man to enforce his law in his drug empire, Lance and Jed killed on command. Their shape shifting ability was an added bonus, harnessed by Sergei to make them feared all through the European underworld.
It had been a fine life for the two as they had the compulsion to hunt in their veins. So Jed and Lance never asked why, never doubted that this was the life for them, until one day. That was the day that Jed found out that he had inadvertently gotten Sergei’s youngest daughter pregnant. When he found out about it, Jed was thrilled. He was excited to be a father, something he had never had. He and Olga had gone to Sergei to get his blessing. They could never have predicted his reaction.
In a rage more terrible than they had ever seen, Sergei slit his own daughter’s throat and let her die in Jed’s arms, calling her and her newly conceived child abominations. Jed went mad too, transformed and ripped Sergei’s throat out. And then he went on a killing rampage through the compound. Lance was forced to kill to save his brother and together they fled Europe to England, and then finally to the USA.
“We had no choice” Jed said. “I loved Olga and her death was more than I could take.”
“So, now we are hunted, as you saw last night” Lance finished off draining his whiskey glass. He stood up and went to the minibar, pulling two small bottles of Bells out and pouring them into his glass. Happy with the refill he went back to his seat opposite Claire.
“Woah, that's quite a story” Claire said shifting on the sofa. “So those people you were fighting last night…the guy in the trench coat? He followed you all the way from Russia? What is he, like a van Helsing or something?”
“Yes” Jed said smiling. “You see Lance, I knew she would get it.”
Lance grunted and took a swig of whiskey. “Dieter Amsel, is his name. He has been…persistent.”
“And the others? There were others there but I don’t know where they came from,” Claire said trying to recall the previous night. “Damn! I just…It’s all so fuzzy.”
“That would be the bump,” Jed said smiling and gently laying a hand on the back of her head. “There, one of Amsel’s men missed me and hit you. I can’t explain their lack of professionalism.”
“Ah ha” Claire said reaching up to her head and finding Jed’s fingers still lingering. For a moment, a shock ran through her making her heart beat faster. Then he pulled his hand away and she gently probed the back of her own head, wincing.
“So now what?” she asked. “You’ve told me this frankly unbelievable story…what are you hoping I’ll do with it? Don’t get me wrong. I’m really sorry that life has been shitty for you guys. It’s just, I’m only a bartender with a broken home of her own to deal with. What do you want me to do for you?”
Lance sighed. “I told you this was a mistake brother.”
Jed shook his head and stood up. “No! It’s not a mistake. We couldn’t’t leave her there,” then turning to Claire he said, “If Amsel gets his hands on you, you’ll wish you were dead before he’s finished with you. You’re safer with us.”
“Right” Claire said and stood up. “So if I try to leave will you stop me?”
Jed stood still, his blue eyes boring into hers. He was so close to her she could feel the heat coming off him.
“You kill people for a living” Claire said feeling her heart race in her chest. Was it fear? Was it anger, adrenalin, lust? Jed was far too close to her and she was feeling strange. There was something about him, about them both that was making her say and do things she would never normally do. She felt wild and free with them, and she knew with freedom came trouble. Isn’t that what her mother had always said? “Whirlwind romances never last Claire, never. So keep your feet on the ground and you will be safe.” But she’d run off
with a man named Patch, who'd been the lead clown from a traveling circus so Claire doubted she could trust anything her mother had ever said.
Jed and Lance were a whirlwind and with every moment she spent near them she was being swept up higher and higher into the air. She had to get out. She pushed Jed out of the way but he refused to budge.
“Let me go!” she yelled at him.
His hands clasped on her arms, “No,” he said and his mouth came down over hers.
At first she fought him, but he smelled of something exciting, and his body was strong and contoured against hers. His arms wrapped around her, closing her in a world of their own. She couldn’t’t fight him, she had no resistance at all. Her mouth opened to his gentle insistence and she tasted him, while fireworks went off in her head.
A sound. It was harsh and repetitive, insistent. Lance swore and she heard him get up. Had he been sitting there on the other couch the whole time? What must he think of her? She felt Jed pull away, his lips leaving hers in slow motion as though they would rather never go. He turned then, releasing her from his embrace.
Claire wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and found Lance looking at her. He had a look on his face that spoke more to hunger than the embarrassment she had expected. His eye roved over her and she looked down, feeling naked in his gaze.
Jed and Lance had both moved to the door. Jed put his eye to the spy hole and then nodded to Lance who turned the handle and opened the door.
***
A young man shorter than both the brothers stood in the doorway. Where they looked like they were built for strength this young man looked built for speed. He had long slim limbs with the muscles of a professional martial artist. He was wearing a uniform, the kind worn in the kitchens of some restaurants or hotels. His hair was blonde and his eyes a deep brown.
He peered around Jed and Lance and saw Claire. Then his eyes darted back to Jed’s.
“They’re here” he said sounding nervous. “I don’t know how but they found you.”
“Amsel is more resourceful than we gave him credit for” Jed said nodding. “We will have to leave. Can you get us out the back way?”
The young man nodded. “What about her?” he asked looking at Claire.
“She comes with us. It’s not a problem is it, little Wolf?” Lance barked at him. The young man snarled and for a moment his eyes shone golden.
“Just not sure a human can keep up is all, and the name’s Paul” said Paul.
“I’ll be just fine thank you” Claire said and then bit her tongue when all three turned to look at her.
Lance and Jed both looked proud, like they had expected her to say that. Then they moved into action. Lance strode into the bedroom while Jed took a bottle of something out of a bag that had been stationed by the door. It was a blue glass bottle with a cork stopper. He used his teeth to pull out the cork and then began to splash its contents around the room.
The air filled with a heavy scent of peppermint, lavender and something else that made Claire’s head spin a little.
“What is that?” she asked picking up her bag from the floor where she’d let it drop.
Lance, returning from the bedroom, two other bags in his hands was the one to answer, “Amsel uses magic to find us. This way, we can confuse his spells.”
“Magic? Seriously?” Claire said and then felt ridiculously stupid.
“Yes,” Lance said looking sternly at her and handing her one of the bags, “Magic. Carry this please, Jed will need to be free to fight, if they catch up.”
“What about you?” Claire asked taking the bag. It was a backpack and really heavy, but when she slung it on her back it seemed fine.
“Silver bullet to the left arm, I’m not as strong as I should be” Lance confessed sounding pained.
“Lance will protect you” Jed said coming up behind her. For a moment he was close Claire could feel his body heat against her again and she longed to be back in his arms, feel his kiss. But this really wasn’t the time for stupid emotions. She turned and following Jed and Paul, she headed for the door.
Paul led them down the hall and to a door marked with a no entry sign. He waved a keycard in front of a security panel and it clicked open. The stairwell inside was long and dimly lit with no windows. They descended the stairs, Paul in the lead.
“So when we get to the basement level, take the tunnel. It’s for maintenance, so should be empty. Go up it. It opens into an alley. Then you’re on your own, man.”
“Thank you, Paul” Jed said sincerely patting Paul on the back. “We are grateful.”
At the end of the stairwell Paul said his farewell and left them. He pressed his keycard to the panel and the door opened. Jed, Lance and Claire spilled into a brick lined basement. As Claire entered she was hit by the smell of damp and mold hanging on the musty air. Then a sound ripped into the silence. It was harsh and for a moment Claire couldn’t’t place it because a sound like that should never be heard in a place like this. It was reserved for lighter, happier occasions. It was the sound of clapping.
“Well done boys, well done!” A man stepped into the little patch of light offered by an overhead bulb.
“Dieter Amsel, and cronies” Jed said pulling up short.
“Indeed. We all know each other don’t we? You have led us on a merry chase all around Europe, England and now here.” Amsel said. He was an older man, greying at the temples, but he still looked strong. His eyes were clear blue, his hair light brown and his skin pale. A livid scar ran down his right cheek from just under the eye to his chin. He wore the trench coat Claire had seen him in the previous evening, but it was unbuttoned and Claire could see a sword in a scabbard at his waist.
Behind him stood a young man, tall and muscled in black and a young woman about Claire’s own age, her hair blonde, her eyes clear blue. She was dressed in black leather too and had a set of guns holstered at her hips.
Boy they do kick it old school, Claire marvelled.
“And who is this vision of loveliness?” Amsel said looking at her.
“My name is Claire Underwood” Claire said before anyone else could say anything.
“Well, Claire I’m pleased to meet you. This is Klaus my right hand, and Elsa my daughter. Now we are all introduced. Isn’t this lovely?” Amsel said spreading his arms wide and turning a little side to side.
“What do you want?” Lance asked in a rumble that barely hid his anger. “All this standing around is tiresome.”
“I agree. So let the girl go and we will arrest you. You have so many crimes to answer for, don’t add her death to them,” Amsel said his eyes boring into Claire.
“I don’t think so” Jed said and moved like lightning grabbing Claire around the neck, using her as a shield. He dragged her a little to the left, toward the darkness. For a moment she was shocked and scared. Is this what she meant to him? But his voice came soft in her ear as his grip lessened.
He said, “Trust me.”
“Now, now Jed, you don’t want to hurt her” Amsel said his hands up in surrender, “Do you? Just come quietly and we need not spill any blood. You know you deserve to be punished. You killed humans. The Brotherhood has very strict rules about that sort of thing.”
“The Brotherhood be damned” Lance said and flung something at Amsel and his crew.
Smoke rose up around them. Claire felt Jed’s hold on her disappear as a sound like bones crunching filled the air. A big black bear ran passed her and somehow Claire knew it was Jed. She watched him go until the smoke consumed him. Then she heard terribly sounds, shouts, gunfire and the thud of a sword on brick.
A moment later a bigger black bear stepped up to her. It had blood dripping from its jaws where it held Lance’s bag. It looked at her and she saw the piercing eyes. Lance. Claire touched the thick black fur and felt its silkiness. She slung the bag in front of her and hauled herself up onto his back.
Lance ran and Claire hung on for dear life. She had ridden a pony once in her life a
t a petting zoo when she was about five years old and there were still things like that. This was nothing like how she remembered that experience. This was raw and primal, a beast panting and straining under her as he ran up the tunnel and out into the sunlight.
***
The alleyway was full of garbage and the smell of rot. Lance burst out of a round hole and cannoned down the alley, garbage flying in his wake. Claire, still clinging onto his fur, risked a moment to look back over her shoulder for Jed. But he wasn’t there.
“Lance!” she yelled. “Lance, he’s not out of the tunnel! We have to go back.”
Lance hearing her skidded to a halt and turned panting. He stood for a moment unsure than sniffed the air.
“So now what?” Claire asked sliding down off his back. “We can’t have you looking like that and running through the streets. You’ll cause panic.”
The bear seemed to consider this. The change back to human was also accompanied by the sounds of bones crunching and Claire looked away not able to watch that horrific transformation. Lance stood before her once again in his jeans and black t-shirt. He took his and Jed’s bags from her and then clasped her hand in his.
“We have another hideout we can go to” Lance said. “Jed will meet us there.”
Claire nodded and let Lance lead her out of the alley, across the street and into another alley so fast she barely had time to see anything around her. She still had no idea which part of the city she was in. Lance moved in fits and bursts, and she was moved along with him. They were keeping to alleyways, and the back entrances to hotels and apartment buildings. Everywhere they went people like him opened the doors for Lance. Eyes glinted golden and emerald green, there was the hint of a fang, or a slightly pointed ear. And finally Claire realized that they were at the marina, where all the rich folks tied up their yachts and pleasure boats.
Romance: Abducted for love ( Bad Boy BBW BWWM Romance) Page 2
