“Alex?”
He inhaled deeply through his nostrils as he avoided her gaze. He hadn’t been prepared to hear that come out of her mouth, and he wasn’t quite sure what his next words would be if he opened his mouth now.
“I’m sorry,” he said after another moment. “You were right to leave him. Do you happen to know who the other woman was?”
She shook her head when he finally looked back at her. “No. All the signs were there: the smell of perfume, the lipstick on his collar, phone calls to the house and nobody speaking when I answered. I put two and two together and asked him about it.” She only shook her head, and Alex’s chest closed up tight.
How could anybody treat Mena like that? Why would they even want to?
“Well, if you happen to get any strange calls or notice anyone following you, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Your safety is important to me.”
“It is?”
The question caught him off guard, and he realized exactly how he had worded the sentence. Shit! Well, it was too late to take it back, so he played it off the best he could. “Of course, it’s my job to keep you safe.”
She gazed at him from behind those dark sunglasses and he could have sworn there was humor in her eyes. “I thought you were a homicide detective, not a patrol officer. Don’t you deal with the people after they are already dead?”
Damn! The girl seriously didn’t miss anything. “I am a cop, Mena. It’s my job to protect.”
She looked down at her food and pushed it around the plate with the fork in her hand. “I apologize, Alex. Forgive me if I was rude. I was actually trying to make a joke. I’m quite aware that you are very serious about protecting the citizens of Montgomery.”
He fought to keep from blurting out that he had no interest in protecting anyone in Montgomery except for her. Instead, he simply shrugged. “I do what I can.”
She popped a crouton in her mouth and chewed. “Tell me something.”
His brow rose in interest.
“Why aren’t you married, with a houseful of children?”
He chuckled. “Well, that’s a longer story than we have time for.”
“Give me the short version,” she said, then picked up her fork and stabbed a grape tomato.
He watched in anticipation as she raised the silverware and took the little red ball between her teeth. It disappeared behind her lips and she chewed.
Alex looked away and desperately tried not to fidget. Placing his elbows on the table and linking his fingers together, he decided to explain the shortest version he could come up with without saying too much. “None of my past relationships ever worked out. I guess I’m too involved with my job to give a woman the time and attention she deserves.”
“Maybe the right one just never came along—the one who deserved to be put above your job,” she said.
“Maybe the right one was already taken by another man who also put his job before his girl.” So much for not saying too much, he thought, but before he could try to reword what he had said or try apologizing, Mena started talking again.
“Maybe that girl’s no longer with that man.”
Alex stared at her. She couldn’t possibly be insinuating that she was interested in him; she’d just buried her husband! Yeah, the guy had been an asshole and cheated on her and hit her, but wasn’t it still too soon? Hell, who was he kidding? There was no way she would want someone like him. Mena was out of his league on so many levels.
“Maybe,” he heard himself say.
Chapter 10
Mena
Oh. My. God!
I have to get back in control or my wolf will have the detective in my bed before the sun goes down!
“Hey!” I shouted. “Give me back my body!”
“Be patient, Mena,” a female voice said back. It sounded a lot like my own. “You have to trust me. This is what’s best for us.”
Great! My wolf was finally talking back to me, and she was crazy! “How is this best for us? He is the detective working the case of a man that I murdered. He’s not going to just let me walk free if and when he discovers that important piece of information!”
“You’d be surprised what a man would do for a woman he is in love with,” she said.
“Love?” I shouted. “You cannot make this man fall in love with me—”
“Not you, Mena—me.”
“I won’t let you do this—”
“You don’t have a choice if you ever want to see that vampire who is so enamored with you. I know he’s trying to help you make this pact between the werewolves and vampires work, which is why I haven’t ripped his throat out already. I do believe it is a good idea, but I’m not going to sit idle while you get what you want, when what I want is right here in front of us.”
“A compromise. You want to negotiate with men? You really are psycho.”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one, what the hell am I supposed to tell Alex when he shows up at my house and Phoenix is there? Neither guy seems the type to share. And two, this is my body, not yours! I don’t—”
“Have a choice, Mena. I can take over your body anytime I feel like it, and I don’t have to give it back. But I will, if you agree to my terms. I won’t make a fuss about the vampire if you agree to let me take over when Alex is around. But if you don’t agree, I will keep your body and you can stay right where you are. It’s awfully lonely in there, isn’t it?”
I huffed. “You still didn’t answer my question of how I’m supposed to explain Alex to Phoenix and Phoenix to Alex.”
My wolf smiled with my lips. “You take care of your man and I will take care of mine.”
Lovely.
“Do you accept?”
I sighed. “Like you said, I don’t have a choice.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes, that’s a yes!” I snapped. “Now, give me back my body!”
“I will as soon as Alex leaves. We don’t want you to run the cute detective off, now do we? That could be very bad for Phoenix.”
Chapter 11
Alex
Alex just stared at the mansion as he pulled in Mena’s driveway, and then he took his Jeep out of gear and killed the engine. He must have misread the signals earlier, because this girl was seriously way out of his league. On his salary, he wouldn’t be able to afford to even pay the taxes on a place like this, much less the house payment.
He turned around in his seat when a truck pulled in behind him, and then turned back around when Mena’s car pulled in the circle drive in front of him.
“You should come in. I think my family wants to meet you.”
He blinked a few times and nodded. “Okay.”
Since it had been so nice that morning, he’d decided to take the doors and top off his Jeep, so now he didn’t have an excuse to go around and open Mena’s door for her. He waited awkwardly at the front of his vehicle until she joined him.
She handed the to-go box to the woman who had been with her at the restaurant, and turned to Alex as two guys walked up behind them.
“Alex, this is Katie, Brad and Heath,” Mena said, and then her gaze moved to the truck pulling quickly into the drive. “And that is Daryn and Roel. You’ve met Daryn. I’m pretty sure he’ll be nicer to you this time.”
The two guys eyed Alex as they got out of the truck and shut their doors. As they walked slowly toward Mena, Alex felt like he needed to grab his handgun out of his Jeep. Were all of these people her cousins?
“C’mon in,” Mena said, leading the way into the house.
Alex was the last to enter. He didn’t want any of the guys that were giving him dirty looks following him. The instant he walked in, he felt underdressed in the place. He wasn’t even sure it could have been called a house. It was more like a museum.
He started to take his running shoes off, but Mena waved a hand at him.
“Don’t worry about it, Alex. The maid comes in every day through the week. Nobody takes their shoes off.
It’s okay.”
He looked at her for a moment to make sure she was serious then noticed that none of the others had taken their shoes off, either. Raising an eyebrow, he nodded once.
“Who’s up for a game?” Roel said as he twirled a pool stick around with his fingers. “Daryn?” He tucked the stick under his armpit and pointed the blue tip at the guy.
Daryn shook his head. “Nah, I need to talk to Mena for a sec. I’ll play the winner.”
Roel rolled his eyes and turned the stick toward Brad. “What about you? You ready to lose again?”
Before Brad could answer, Mena spoke up. “Why don’t you ask Alex if he would like to play?”
Alex smiled. “I’m good. I think I’ll watch a round or two.”
Roel frowned. “You scared, cop? If you’re scared, it’s all right to say you’re scared. We’ll only laugh a little.”
“I just don’t play very much anymore. I’d like to size up my competition first—if it’s all the same to you.”
Roel cocked his head back and stared down his nose at Alex, then finally nodded and turned the stick to Heath. “C’mon, buddy, we gotta show the cop how much you suck at pool, so he won’t feel bad when he loses to me.”
Heath popped open a beer. “I’m still broke from the last time I played you two months ago. Tracy will kill me if I lose my check again, then the cop here will have to lock her up for murder. I can’t have my kids grow up without a mother. I’m sure you understand.”
“Below the belt, asshole. Get me a beer for that and I won’t punch you in the nuts.” Roel turned, and the stick pointed to Katie. He groaned when she smiled. “Go easy on me, shark. I’m sensitive.”
“Horseshit! I’m breaking.” She took hold of the end of the pool stick and jerked it away from him. “Get your wallet out. No ones this time, tightwad.”
Alex could barely hear the whispered argument between Mena and Daryn outside the billiards room. The music was just loud enough so he couldn’t really make out what was being said, but the others in the room with him kept giving each other nervous glances, so he sensed that they knew more about what was going on between Mena and her cousin than he did.
He stood from the stool and crossed to the other side of the room, so he couldn’t be accused of eavesdropping. That was family business, and the business was none of his.
“Ha, ha! Three in a row, sucka!” Katie said as she grabbed the folded pair of fives on the edge of the pool table.
Alex smiled. “You’re really good.”
She turned and gave him an appreciative grin. “Oh, yeah? Would you like to play? I’ll let you win.”
Brad snorted. “He doesn’t want to play for clothes, Katie. You can keep yours on—”
“Jerk!” She slapped him in the back of the head, but was still smiling as she turned back to Alex, holding out a pool stick at arm’s length. “C’mon, it’s easy. Roel is just really bad at it.”
Alex glanced at the stick momentarily, and then gave a huff as he stood and took it from her.
“Hell yeah! I finally get to legally beat a cop’s ass.”
Smirking as he ran blue chalk over the tip, Alex said, “I thought you looked familiar.”
“He shouldn’t have pointed that stick at me if he didn’t want the opportunity to use it.” She shrugged. “I wasn’t about to pass up a good time.”
Alex chuckled. “No, I can’t imagine a girl like you wouldn’t. You want to break or would you like me to?”
She slapped a five down on the side of the pool table. “Let’s see your green first, cop.”
Alex reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. After opening it, he frowned. “Anybody have change for a hundred?”
Heads shook all around the room, but Katie only smiled and tossed a hundred dollar bill on top of the five. “You aren’t chicken, are you?”
Alex’s eyes grew wide in shock. “That’s a steep bet!”
She shrugged. “I like to keep it interesting. I’ll leave the five there and, if you win, you can keep that as a tip.”
“I don’t know—”
“Katie—” Heath started, but she shot him a dirty look.
“Let the cop bail his own ass out of this. If he can’t handle a game of pool, he damn sure can’t handle Mena,” she spat.
Alex tossed two one-hundred dollar bills by hers. “If you win, you can keep it as a tip.”
“Holy shit!” Brad said, and spilt his beer.
Katie looked at the money and a grin crept across her face. “You’re on.”
Chapter 12
The Wolf
“You can’t be serious, Mena! What do you plan to do with him? Keep him as a pet? He’s human!”
“Lower your voice,” she snapped, and grabbed his arm, jerking him hard into another room so they wouldn’t be overheard by Alex. After shutting the door of the study, she turned silver eyes on Daryn.
He took a step back. “Mena, please. I’m sorry—”
“I don’t think you are, Daryn. It seems you think I am too incompetent to make my own decisions, so you take it upon yourself to try to make them for me or argue with me in the hope that I will see things your way. Allow me to inform you of something, wolf cub, I’m neither incompetent nor vague about the choices I make. I am a big girl and fully capable of handling problems that arise on my own. If I want to keep Alex as a pet,” she said, putting heavy emphasis on the t, “or bite him and make him my second in command, I will do so without asking permission from you first. I am pack leader, am I not? If you don’t agree, I’m up for the challenge whenever you get ready.”
He dropped to his knees, his gaze immediately falling to the floor to keep her from seeing the horror and shock in his eyes. “I would never dream of challenging you, Mena. The pack will be stronger with you as our leader than it has ever been before. I won’t question you again. I beg your forgiveness.”
She glared down at him another moment. Her eyes returned to pale green then she turned and left the room, leaving him there, kneeling on the carpet.
Alex
With the exception of Alex, everyone in the room held their breath as the cue ball cracked against the eight ball, sending it soaring into the called pocket.
There was a stunned moment of silence, and then laughter and shouts echoed off the walls.
Roel pointed at Katie. “Oh, buuurn! You just tried to hustle a hustler and got spanked, trick!”
“That’s not fair,” Katie argued. “I didn’t even get a shot!” She turned swiftly to stare at Alex, her expression growing more irritated when she caught a glimpse of his gloating smile. “You lied!”
He shook his head. “I didn’t lie. I said I don’t play much anymore, not that I wasn’t any good at the game. You assumed that all by yourself—and I let you.”
Katie huffed and slapped two one-hundred dollar bills on top of the pile of money. “I’m breaking this time.”
“Katie,” Heath groaned. “He’s better than you; just face it. Take your bruised ego and go sit down while your dignity is still intact.”
“No! I want to play again. The guy may as well have been playing himself, because he sure as shit didn’t give me a chance to play against him!” She turned back around and gave Alex a solid look. “Match the bet.”
“Here, dude,” Heath said as he handed Alex a beer. “You earned that one, but I think you’re going to need something a lot harder now that you beat her—like a bat or a tire iron. She’s never going to leave you alone until you’ve been defeated.”
Alex took the beer and popped the top, ignoring the hole Katie was drilling in the side of his head with her eyes. He wanted to smile again, but knew better. He held up the beer to Heath. “Thank you. Any of you have a bat handy?” he said, and couldn’t stop the smile from pulling his lips upward when everyone except Katie laughed.
“You’re really not going to give me a rematch?”
Alex snatched up his winnings from the edge of the pool table and tucked them in his wallet.
“Yes, but not today.” Before she could argue with him, he glanced around the room at the others. “Are you… all Mena’s cousins?”
“Yes—” Katie said, and at the same time, Heath popped in with a “No.”
Heath opened another beer and pointed at Alex. “Sorry. That was my drunkenness talking. I’m not driving later—just so you know. No, I mean, yes—yes, we are all her cousins.”
Katie sighed and covered her eyes with a hand. “Jesus Christ, Mena should have prepared us for this.”
“For what?” Alex retorted. “Mena told me yesterday that Daryn was her cousin, and when you all blocked me in the driveway, she said she thought her family wanted to meet me—”
“Daryn isn’t my cousin, Alex, and neither is anyone else present,” Mena said as she walked into the room. “I’m sorry for lying to you yesterday. Daryn was a bit of an overachiever when he noticed you talking to me, and he took his actions too far. It was the only thing I could think of to tell you. If anyone caught wind that I was possibly having an affair, the press would have had a field day with me this morning.”
“Speaking of Daryn, where is the suck-up?” Roel said as he linked his fingers behind his head and lounged against the corner of the sofa. Kicking his sneakers off, he stretched his long legs down the length of the cushions, making himself comfortable. “Did you eat him?” he said with a smirk.
Mena raised an eyebrow. “Thought about it, but no. However, he is licking his wounds and should be along shortly.”
Brad sucked in air through his teeth and grimaced. “The boy is never going to learn.”
“Learn what?” Alex said, still clearly confused and wanting answers.
“I think you should explain this one, Mena,” Katie said, and plopped down in a chair beside the sofa. “We don’t know how much you want him to know.”
“Know about what?” Alex exclaimed.
“Marc was the leader of a secret group—um, sort of like a secret society. When he died, I took over as leader. We don’t think his death was accidental or a coincidence of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time; we believe he was murdered intentionally.”
Midnight Moonrising Page 6
