by Jianne Carlo
How could she atone for such a catastrophic deed?
Overwhelming guilt had her shoulders slumping; she studied the soot-stained sidewalk. Maybe she could find a way to handle all the paperwork and file whatever claims Terri could be owed. Perhaps Joe could think of more Susie could do. After all, he had lived next door to Terri for three years, and he knew her well.
Yellow and black tape cordoned the plot of land, and aside from a couple of sections of charred planks, only the rectangular concrete foundation of the house remained. Roof tiles, metal strips, and a few mangled pots and pans dappled a thick pile of mud-brown and black rubble.
All the birch trees were gone. The pool, emptied of water, exuded a sad finality. Half of the Spanish-tiled rim was missing, and a large crack fissured the bottom. The hideousness of the blemish made her flinch.
Her eyes misted.
Why was she so teary?
On autopilot Susie retraced her steps to Bonaventure, trudged down Mission’s sidewalk, and turned onto Elm Close. The only evidence of yesterday’s fire here was the lingering aroma and the gray stains on a couple of walls. The pale pink bricks of Joe’s house absorbed the golden rays of the setting sun and took on a peachy hue.
The soft color somehow intensified the pounding behind her eyes. She quickened her pace, tramped up the stairs, fumbled to open the door, and stumbled inside. Her temples throbbed, and a peculiar bitterness coated her tongue and gums. She peered into the shadows of the adjacent living and dining rooms, and her vision blurred. It seemed to take forever, but she made it to the kitchen and shaded her eyes against the glaring sun blazing through the windows above the sink.
The light hurt her eyes.
She dropped her purse, files, and bags onto the granite counter. The cool stone felt wonderful to her scorching fingertips. Hugging the wall, Susie weaved a zigzag course down the hallway, grateful for the relative darkness. Her lips were numb, and she couldn’t drag enough oxygen into her lungs to stop them from burning.
She knuckled the side of her pounding head.
The drumming tempo ratcheted as if a herd of elephants stampeded in her brain. Her knees wobbled. She hung on to her bedroom’s door frame, tripped over the carpet edge, and fell onto the mattress. Fisting her hands into the down cover, she turned to one side, and a dreadful heaviness settled in the middle of her rib cage.
The boy floated above the bed, legs crossed, sitting. A Rubik’s Cube lay in his open palms. His torn green-and-white-checkered shirt revealed a bony chest. The colors smudged, melding into each other, the emerald merging into a gray-taupe, the white staining olive brown. “I tried not to cry.”
“He hurt me.”
The agony in the boy’s trembling voice stabbed at her chest. She twisted on the bed. Tried to roll over. Tried to lift her leaded eyelids. Tried to swallow away the foulness coating her tongue.
“Look under the rock!”
The shout ripped away her sluggish insensibility. She bounded off the bed and cracked her shin on a sharp edge. Winced. Scrambled to sit. Leaned back against the bed frame and forced her eyes open. Knew it would all be gone.
Nothing.
No boy.
No checkered shirt.
She curled her knees into her chest, hugged them tight, and rocked back and forth. Stared unseeing at the darkening room. She was the only one of her family who hadn’t inherited any white wolf powers.
Her sister, Melanie, heard the last call of a soul. Gray, her brother, was a skilled alpha hunter. Big sister Lizzie had an uncanny ability to trigger storms during an emotional upset.
Only Susie had no white wolf skills.
Not a fricking one.
She dug her chin into a knee.
No. She refused to believe it. Susie Elizabeth White did not have visions. She had no wolf talents—none at all. Susie didn’t know how long she sat there mired in a depression so heavy her mind refused to function.
The merest tickle of noise alerted her to Joe’s presence. Unsurprised, as she’d been expecting him, she glanced up. He stood in the doorway.
“You found him.” She knew from his bleak, smoldering eyes that poor Petey no longer lived.
“Yes.” He jammed his fists into the corners of the door frame.
“He had a Rubik’s Cube with him. Three sides solved.”
In an instant he squatted at her side. “How did you know? What happened, Susie?”
“He said to look under the rock.”
With a gentleness that prompted tears to pool and cloud her sight, he nudged her chin and compelled her to meet his gaze.
“Oh, Joe. He said he tried not to cry. But he hurt him.”
He gathered her into his arms, lurched to his feet, and settled them in the middle of the bed, his back to the headboard. “I’m going to get the sicko. If it’s the last thing I do.”
“Promise me you’ll make him suffer. Make his last moments hell on earth.” She grasped the lapels of his shirt. “Do…do the parents know?”
He nodded and kissed the top of her head. “Barb’s been sedated. She wanted to see Petey, but Kieran decided against it.”
“It was bad, wasn’t it?” She regretted the question the second the words popped out of her mouth, and buried her face in his chest. “Don’t answer that. Don’t tell me anymore. Even if I ask, okay?”
“Promise.”
They sat there for a long time in total silence. Not speaking. Simply finding comfort in the warmth of each other’s bodies. She could’ve stayed in the safety of his hold forever.
“Has this happened to you before?”
“Do the dead talk to me on a regular basis?” She snorted. “No. I’m no Haley Joel Osment. I don’t see dead people, and I have no sixth sense.”
“Until tonight.”
“Forgive me if I’m not jumping up and down for joy.” She straightened. The sun had long set, and in the gloom and shadows of the room, she couldn’t quite make out his eyes or expression. “I don’t understand why or how this happened. I don’t even have the regular premonitions all other women seem to.”
“Can you tell me exactly what happened? It could help me to track whoever took Petey.” He combed her hair behind one ear. “Start from the beginning. From when you left the cafeteria. You were all right then.”
“It started with a slight headache. On the bus ride home.” His thigh muscles tensed beneath her bottom. “By the time I got here, my head was pounding. Everything started to blur. I don’t know how I made it to the bedroom.”
“I’m relieved you did.” He brushed his lips against her brow. “What next?”
She traced a finger around the second button on his shirt. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I don’t like it at all.”
“It’s okay. Go ahead.” He framed her face. “Talk it through. Close your eyes and relive it. Don’t try to make sense of anything. Just say the first thing that pops into your head.”
“Okay.” She let her eyelids droop, replayed the image in her mind, and described every detail she remembered.
“I found Petey in a ravine. His shirt was torn and muddy.”
“That’s why the colors smudged. Was there a rock?”
“Several. Do you think you could do a scene visit tomorrow? It could trigger some other detail that’s buried in your subconscious.” He hadn’t shown a drop of emotion. But his very containment shouted the turmoil buried within.
“Of course.” She fiddled with his collar. “I don’t want to tell anyone else, but I know I have to go to the police. I can just imagine their reaction. I’m going to be labeled as one of those crazy psychics, aren’t I?”
Chapter Five
The all-consuming need to hold, smell, and touch Susie, to feel the pulsing of the blood at the base of her wrists, to hear the reassuring cadence of her soft inhales and exhales, scared the sweat out of Joe’s pores. For every second of the day that they’d been apart, he’d struggled with the overwhelming urge to hunt her down and tie her to his
side. He had a hunch until she acknowledged him as her mate, his feelings would only intensify. At an alarming rate.
“Why do you think you have to speak to the authorities?” He twirled a wayward strand of silky hair around a finger and resisted the temptation to loosen her ponytail. “I can make sure they search under the rocks at the site. Right now I can’t see how anything you saw could help the investigation.”
She pushed off his chest.
Joe reached over and switched on the bedside lamp. The glow from the forty-watt bulb softened the shocking cotton-candy and ivory striped bedspread, Susie’s onyx tresses a glistening contrast to the bright hues. Color had seeped back into her complexion. She no longer had a gray cast to her olive skin, and the abject dread in her dark eyes had dissipated somewhat.
Cocking her head to one side, she studied him for a long moment, and he could almost hear her mind churning.
“You think?”
He shrugged. “Kieran’s father was an influential member of the Florida senate. Believe me—every single expert in the state will be called in. Forensics will go over the crime site with a fine-toothed comb. My advice, if you want it, would be to sit tight for now.”
“Would I be doing anything illegal by not talking to the police?”
“You didn’t actually witness a crime, Susie. And ten to one the cops wouldn’t believe you about the vision anyway. Why put yourself through the hassle?”
She nodded.
“Do you think I’m crazy?” She stuck out her lower lip.
“No.”
“Why not? How can you simply accept what I said?” She crossed her arms.
Now was not the time to tell her about his wolf. How to convince her a vision, while not par for the course in wolf lore, was more than acceptable among his kind? Certainly he couldn’t mention having two friends who shifted—one a panther, one a full wolf. “What do you want me to say? I could dole out a logical argument. How could you know about his shirt? The Rubik’s Cube? Yada, yada.” He pulled her hands apart. “I saw your face, your eyes. No one can fake that kind of dire hopelessness.”
She ducked her chin. “Sorry. When I get upset, I go on the attack. One of my sister’s pet peeves. I feel I should tell his mom, but—”
“Barb’s in no shape to hear Petey’s final message. I don’t know if she’ll ever be.” Joe couldn’t block the image of Barb’s face when Kieran had broken the news. Never had he seen such anguish. And the scream torn from her soul had solidified his craving for vengeance.
“I wouldn’t tell her about that. It’s the fact that he reached out. He wants his killer found. He had a message. If that doesn’t signify incredible bravery, I don’t know what does.” A teardrop leaked out of her eye. She swiped the moisture away and pressed her trembling lips together. “I can’t stand that he died thinking he wasn’t brave.”
He fell in love with her right there and then.
God help anyone who tried to harm one of their cubs. He knew she’d be an overprotective, ferocious mom. Joe trailed a finger along her collarbone. “I know you want to help. But right now there isn’t much either of us can do.”
“It’s so frustrating. I mean. I don’t know Barb and Kieran, but I’m involved now. Because of what I saw.”
“Yes, you are.” Joe’d never forget his first sight of Petey’s body. Though he’d known what to expect, though he’d fought savage, vicious wars, though he’d battled evil face-to-face, nothing in his three decades on earth could’ve prepared him for the state of Petey’s corpse and the horrific realization that the innocent boy’s final moments had been agonizing.
He feared for Barb and Kieran’s sanity and was helpless in the face of their desperate grief. If only he hadn’t been out of the country when Petey was taken. Joe choked back a string of curses. It had taken him less than an hour to track down Petey. If he’d been here three days ago, Petey might still be alive.
After he’d found Petey’s body, Joe had sent off a text message resigning from his company effective immediately. The decision hadn’t been difficult. He’d been running away from Hallie and the past for too long. He had a mate now and responsibilities. The time had come to settle down. Grow roots. Become part of a community. Help his friends.
“What happens now?” She toyed with the second button on his shirt.
“Now we get practical. I haven’t had time to stock the refrigerator or the pantry. So we either eat out or order in. Which one you prefer?” Hoping like hell she didn’t feel like facing the outside world, he outlined the whorls of her ear and studied her features.
She blew out a long sigh. “The last thing I want to do is go out. I don’t even want to have to answer the questions Azzo’s bound to have if we order from Mama’s.”
Their gazes met.
“We’ll order from somewhere else. The top right drawer next to the fridge is filled with menus from all the local delivery places. I need to work out my excess energy. Would you mind doing the honors while I chop some wood?” He waited for a protest or an objection.
“Chopping wood sounds like a good way to channel your anger. Go for it. What I’d love to do is go for a long run.” She gave him a sad, one-sided smile and scrambled off the bed.
“A hard, fast run works for me.” He grinned and slapped her tush. “You’ll have to borrow sweats or shorts from me. We only bought you running shoes yesterday.”
“Why do I get the feeling the notion pleases you in some weird way?”
Pleased? Try turned his cock into a steel rod, snapped his stones tight and hard, and had his groin aching and throbbing.
Her pussy inside his shorts. Her woman’s musk branded on the crotch. Sheer fucking paradise.
“It’s turning you on too. I can smell your honey.” The blossoming perfume of her arousal filled his nostrils. He took an exaggerated inhale.
She smacked him on the shoulder. “Your mind’s in the gutter.”
“So’s yours, or you wouldn’t know what I was thinking. But before we get carried away, there’s something we need to discuss. I didn’t use a condom last night.” He couldn’t resist kissing one saucy, arched brow when her face turned rosy.
“I’m on the pill.” She stared at the base of his neck. Licked her lips.
His erection thickened.
“I know we should have exchanged sexual histories.”
“You don’t have any,” he growled, tempted to delve into the virginity issue but wise enough to know not to get her back up. “However, I do.”
“I knew that.” She squinted at him, and he had to suppress a grin when her mouth settled into a perfect upside-down U.
“I was on a mission for the last three months. Before we start a project, we all undergo a complete medical. The same when we end a mission. I’m not one for casual sex, especially overseas. Too risky. I’m clean.”
Her eyes widened at the casual sex reference. Good. For some reason she’d lumped him into the male-slut stereotype. “I expected nothing else.”
Huh? The minute he thought he had her pegged, she surprised him. Maybe earning her trust wouldn’t be the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. He spied her clenched jaw, the jutted chin, and abandoned any idea of instant faith in his sound judgment.
“About our buddy arrangement.” She swallowed and darted him a quick peek.
“Did you find an apartment already?” He’d spent the whole morning ensuring no affordable residence would open up for at least six weeks.
“Not yet. I found a couple of possibilities though.”
She folded her arms. Wriggled her shoulders and dropped balled fists to her hip. Glanced down, glared at her hands, and flexed her fingers. Her firm breasts thrust forward on a deep inhale. He pretended not to notice the nervous tick jumping under one eye.
“I know I said I wanted us to wait until I have a place of my own. I don’t want to sound fickle. But can we change those terms?”
He nudged her chin with the back of his hand. “To what?”
&nb
sp; She met his stare head-on. “To I don’t want to wait. Period.”
“That works for me. Get changed, missy. I’ll scrounge up a couple pairs of running shorts.”
A hoot burst from his lips when she did a double take. “First we run. Then we see what happens.”
Petulant couldn’t begin to describe the cant of her pinched brows. She would fight his mate claim every step of the way. And he couldn’t wait for the campaign to engage.
He palmed her cheeks, slanted his mouth over hers, and kissed her until all the rigidness went out of her spine. Grinned when he lifted his head and found her eyes glazed and her lips red and pouty. He flicked her nose. “Hold that thought.”
Ten minutes later Joe guided her down to his usual five-mile path. He set an easy pace, for the route veered up a steep slope after the first third of a mile. Her long, tanned legs matched his wide stride effortlessly.
“How long have you been running?”
“I can’t remember not running.” Her white teeth flashed in the dim light provided by the sliver of a moon mounting the eastern horizon. A diamond-bright carpet studded the black sky, and the temperature had dropped into the forties.
“Cold?” He glanced to the shoulder exposed by the tank she wore.
“Are you kidding? This is perfect. I could go for an hour in this kind of weather. Did we just enter the state park?” She peered at the shadowed sign to the right of the dirt trail.
“Hallie Forest Preserve? Yes.”
“Where did you find him?”
He knew right away she’d been worrying about Petey and Barb and Kieran. “About three miles east of where Mudflat River meets the Mahnee. There’s a no-man’s-land strip that runs about fifty by twenty-three acres. The site of a ton of illegal hunting. This time of year the pickings are slim. Not much traffic.”
“Was it far away from Petey’s school?”
“It’s actually not even nine miles away from Hallie Trails Elementary.”
