*
No one was around when I woke up, so I went to the kitchen to find food. My stomach was rumbling, and I wanted something to drink. Curious as to where they went, I looked through the windows to see if the vehicles were outside. They were. I spotted my gun on the counter next to my folded clothes. Luke must have picked them up on his way back in the night before.
Men. I couldn’t believe the shit he was feeding me. If he wanted me so bad, then why doesn’t he come with me to Chicago? Was I expecting too much? I didn’t want to give up my life there. Luna Hill was hell for me. I hated it with a passion. The memories were too much, and I didn’t want to raise my own children in the same town. The corruption was too potent, and beyond repair. Lance wasn’t going to give up his lifestyle, and so Luna Hill would never change for the better.
Peeking into the stainless steel fridge, I spotted some unopened orange juice. I looked through the cabinets, trying to find a glass. On my third try, I found one and grabbed it. Gulping down the juice, I heard someone coming into the kitchen. When I spun around, I spit out my drink and started choking. Lance was completely nude. My throat burned. It felt like it was on fire. I glared at him for surprising me, earning a smile in return.
Luke came in after him, only he was fully clothed. He didn’t seem to be bothered by his brother’s nudity. Maybe it was acceptable, since werewolves had to get naked to change. Never would I be comfortable enough to do that, though. I folded my arms over my chest, staring at him. I tried to ignore that he was getting hard right in front of me.
“Lance, go get some clothes on. You’re making her uncomfortable,” Luke said, sitting down at the kitchen table to read a newspaper. It was a strange sight to see. I wasn’t even sure what we were all doing. What was the next step?
I wanted to ask, but I was afraid to break the comfortable silence between us. No one was tense, and it was a feeling that I wanted to maintain. Only, I kept fidgeting, getting antsy over just standing there. Lance left the kitchen to go get dressed, so I went over to take a seat near Luke.
“What happens now?” I asked.
Lowering the paper, Luke frowned. “Lance accepted the challenge last night after you went to bed. Now, we wait.”
“What? How did he accept the challenge?”
He hesitated, as if he were afraid to say what Lance did. Finally, he admitted, “He placed one of their men’s heads on a stick in front of the opening of the woods.”
“The opening that leads to the lake?” When Luke nodded, my mouth fell open. “That’s disgusting.”
“Well, he had to make a point.”
“By putting a head on a stick? Even though they’re the enemies, it doesn’t mean we should treat their dead like that.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Lance padded in from behind me. “I have to appear badass, Riley. They already killed my men and took my daughter. What else would you have me do?”
He had a point, unfortunately. I leaned back in my chair. “I haven’t seen Annie. Do you know where she is, Lance?”
Shaking his head, Lance poured himself some juice. “She has a lot of friends. That’s one thing that makes her different from you, Riley. She has too many friends to watch over her. Honestly, I’m surprised she agreed to move back to Chicago with you.”
“Why would she agree?”
“Maybe she wants a new beginning, outside of Luna Hill,” Luke suggested.
Lance shrugged. “Maybe, but I doubt it.”
We sat in silence as Brad walked in. Thank God he was wearing clothing. I didn’t know if I would feel comfortable had he come out in the nude. It was a hard thing for me to deal with. I didn’t want to see any more than I needed to. Lance was nice to look at, but I didn’t want to examine him in the birthday suit. My mind was completely on Luke, despite my best efforts. It was annoying.
“Full moon tonight, brother.” Lance grinned, taking a sip of his drink.
Luke shot him a glare, but returned his gaze to the newspaper. Brad looked knowingly at me and smiled. I wanted to smack it right off his face. He saw my irritation and immediately looked away. If what Lance said was true, I was going to flip out. I didn’t want to be tied down to someone who didn’t want me enough to follow me home. I’m sure he didn’t want that, either.
“We’re having a celebration tonight, Riley. You should come.” Lance raised his eyebrows at me.
“Celebrating what? I don’t get it.”
“The challenge. One night of fun until things really hit the fan.”
“Do you really think partying is wise? You wouldn’t want to fight with a hangover, would you?” I asked.
Everyone besides me started laughing. I didn’t see what was so amusing. Annoyed, I got to my feet. “I’m going to find Annie.”
“I’ll come with you.” Brad shot up, trotting after me.
I wanted to tell him to back the fuck off, but decided against it. He was in unfamiliar territory, so I guess letting him hang around me was okay. I hated being soft-hearted. My preference was to be alone. Having other people around meant they would ask questions, and I hated answering them.
As I was leaving, Luke called my name. “Come back here for dinner, Riley.”
“No thanks!” I shouted back.
“We have to discuss the challenge.”
“Shit. Fine, whatever.” I stomped out of the house. “I’m taking the truck!”
“What?”
Before he could make it out to the porch, Brad and I were already in his truck. “You can pick it up at the motel.” I winked at him, and peeled out.
“You know he’s pissed.” Brad said, looking out the back of the cab.
I chuckled, nodding my head. The truck did so much better on his crappy driveway. I wanted a truck. Hitting the gas a little harder, I made it to the road in no time with a cloud of dust behind us. I turned out onto the main street to head into town. We would first stop at the motel to see if Annie had been by. After that would be the restaurant. Someone had to know where she was. With all that was happening in town, I didn’t know if I could handle wondering where she was all the time. Maybe it was time to bring her into the loop. Then maybe she would be easier to control. Hopefully, she’d have more consideration than the average teenager.
The town was pretty busy. People were all over the place, just walking around and doing who the hell knew what. It wasn’t like Luna Hill had a lot to offer. Avoiding a running toddler, I slowed down and entered the motel’s parking lot. The construction people were nowhere in sight. They were probably working, in the horrible heat. I didn’t envy them.
We climbed out of the truck and headed to my room’s door. I slid the key in and was immediately met with a foul smell when I opened the door. “Death,” Brad breathed.
I flipped on the light switch to look around the room. It was a disaster. Everything was torn up, including my laptop. Any smart person would have taken that with them. Shit. Hopefully, they just smashed it and didn’t attempt to get any information off of it. When I moved around the pieces, I found everything there, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
Brad left me in the main room so he could look in the bathroom. He groaned and turned to me. “You have to see this.”
Fear trickled down my spine as I headed in his direction. What if it was Annie? I didn’t know if I could handle seeing her dead. We just met, and she was the last of my family.
The closer I got to the bathroom, the stronger the smell got. Glancing in, I nearly heaved. Then I bent over, unable to control the vomit. Brad patted my back, and I shot him a glare. I did not want that kid touching me.
“Do you know who that is?” Brad asked.
Yeah, I knew who the body was. Unfortunately, I thought he had been long dead. From the looks of the corpse, my father had been dead maybe a week. His body was decaying at a rapid rate, bloating to the point where liquid seeped from old wounds and other openings. Every time I closed my eyes, I could only see him.
Hurrying
out of the motel room, I grabbed my cell phone from my back pocket. I took several deep breaths of fresh air. It was still nasty hot, but anything was better than the smell in the motel room. Motioning for Brad to close the door, I took a few steps away. Brad followed me, looking around the parking lot. No one was around, and I doubted the attendant in the office would have any information. Although, it was worth a try.
Fuck! I couldn’t call Luke, because I still didn’t have his number. Screwed the guy several times and still didn’t have his number. What kind of skank did that make me? Frowning, I headed in the direction of the motel’s office. Thank God Annie never returned to the motel. She could have been the victim and in that tub instead of Frank, my father. Seeing his bloated body in my mind had me buckling over again to vomit. The smell was stuck in my nose, despite the distance.
When my phone rang, I looked down at the screen to see a random number pop up. I hesitantly answered, relieved when I heard Luke’s voice. “I’m on my way to pick up the truck.”
“Well, call your people, because there’s a dead body in my motel room,” I said, placing a hand on my queasy stomach.
“What? Who?”
“My dad.”
“Impossible. Your dad is dead, Riley.”
Lance spoke in the background. “You never did find his body in the lake!”
Luke swore. “I’ll be there in a few.”
After hanging up, I opened the office door, looking around for the person in charge. The room was empty, TV blasting, with a fan blowing in the back of the room. When I rang the silver bell on the counter, the wall began to move. I took a step back, drawing my gun as if it would save me from a possible earthquake. Brad moved into a defensive stance, eyes focused on the wall. Then it opened, like a door.
“Holy shit, it’s a damn door.” Brad looked amazed.
I rolled my eyes before stepping back up to the counter to talk to the man who came out from the back. He wasn’t the same one I saw before. This guy was mostly bald, with a few pieces of blond hair around the center of his head. He wore thick black glasses, eyes dark and beady. When he saw me, he straightened and smiled. “Well, hello there.”
“I’m staying in room seventeen. Were there any visitors today?” I asked, leaning against the counter. When I saw moldy food behind it, I stepped back, avoiding a fly that came in my direction.
“Nope. Just the construction crew—no one else. I don’t really keep track, anyway. People are in and out of here all the time.” He shrugged and looked over at the TV. When he zoned out for a couple of seconds, watching the show about paternity testing, I snapped my fingers.
“Are there any new strangers in town?”
“Well, sure, there’s a lot. Construction workers have been coming through here nonstop for two weeks now.”
“We’re not getting anywhere.” I huffed in annoyance and left the office, ignoring the man calling after me.
A second later, Brad was coming after me. “He just told me that a group of people on motorcycles did show up earlier. When he told them to get off the property, they got all pissy and said something about eating him for dinner.”
“Sounds like the Pack. Who else would threaten to eat someone?” That wasn’t any more information than I already knew. What if Annie did show up, and they took her? My mind began to go wild with ideas. Maybe they had her tied up somewhere, or worse...
Placing my gun back in its holster, I headed to the truck. Annie had to be somewhere in town. I wouldn’t stop looking until I found her. That meant Chicago would have to wait, if needed. Maybe even Alex would have to come down and search. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.
*
Luke made me leave when he showed up. Lance decided he wouldn’t stick around, either, once he got a whiff of the smell. He told Luke it was cop business and took off with his car. Where he was going? I had no idea. I was surprised to see Hank already back on the job. But with werewolf healing, I guess it made sense. He barely greeted me before he started getting down to business examining the crime scene.
My next stop was to go to the restaurant, but as I was about to turn into the parking lot, a car drove by with a passenger that looked a lot like Annie. She looked up and we made eye contact. It was like we moved in slow motion, both recognizing each other. Only when I smiled, she didn’t. The car continued down the road. Afraid something might be wrong, I did a U-turn, following the beat-up Geo Metro.
Brad looked over at me from the passenger side of my car. He appeared confused, but I was too focused on my task to give him any answers. Thankfully, he seemed to realize it, because he sat silently, staring out the windshield.
We went down the main road for several miles. Even past the lake. I started to second-guess myself. Maybe it wasn’t her. But then I immediately pushed those thoughts from my mind because I was positive it’d been her. We made eye contact. We recognized each other.
Glancing up in the rearview mirror, I saw a black SUV flying up on me. I pressed my lips together, hoping they would slow down, or wait to pass. Only, they didn’t appear to be slowing down at all. I was about to tell Brad to brace himself when they rear-ended me, hard. I flew forward in my seat, smashing my face into the steering wheel. The vehicle spun, tipping over and then rolling over the shoulder and down a hill. My head slammed back into the headrest and then bounced into the side of the car. I heard glass shattering, and Brad crying out in pain.
The car finally stopped moving. I tried to focus enough to see where we were, but my vision was blurring, and my head was buzzing. Panicked, I started to feel around for the seat belt button. Brad was screaming that I was bleeding, and I glanced over at him to say shut up, only my mouth fell open in revulsion. Brad’s arm was barely hanging on by a thread. I gagged, dragging my eyes away from it. He’s going to die if I don’t get him out of here.
Had Annie seen what the SUV did to us? Why didn’t she stop? Maybe she didn’t know. I had to hope she wouldn’t just ignore what happened. Trying to refocus my thoughts, I unbuckled myself, thankful that we were sitting upright. I reached over, trying to figure out what to do with Brad’s nearly missing arm. Someone was shouting, then coming down the hill to help—at least I hoped that was the case.
I told the stranger to take care of Brad, and that’s when I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. My eyelids grew heavy, and my head fell back as I let the darkness consume me. I was left at anyone’s mercy.
Chapter Nineteen
I shoved the flashlight away from my face and glared at the paramedics. They chuckled, putting away the instrument and then moving out of my way so I could exit the ambulance. “You have a concussion, so you need to be watched for the next few days,” one said, grabbing my arm so I would look at him. His expression was serious. Finally, I just nodded so he would get away from me. He was only trying to be helpful, but I was on a mission.
Luke grabbed my arm next. I went to snarl in warning, but he yanked me right into him. Surprised, I looked up just in time for him to kiss me, hard. His tongue dove into my mouth as if it was the last time we would have a chance to do it. Moaning, I rolled my hips into him, encouraging it.
“We have rubberneckers!” Hank yelled from the cop car that blocked one lane of the road.
I pushed away from Luke, suddenly remembering that we shouldn’t be together. “Where is Brad?”
“On the way to the hospital, which is where you’re going.” Luke took my arm and went back to the ambulance. “She needs to be looked at.”
The paramedic nodded in agreement. “She signed the release, but it’s a good idea for her to go to the hospital.”
“No, what we need to do is find Annie. We need to take this Pack down.”
“Hmm, maybe we should take her in. What’s a Pack?” the paramedic asked.
Lance shot Luke a look that said, You better get her under control.
Feeling slightly defeated, I sat down on the ground. Luke looked around, reaching down for me. “Come on, let’s go to the truck
,” he said.
Nodding, I let him help me to my feet. “It was a black SUV.”
“We know. It’s over there.” He pointed behind the ambulance, where there was a smashed up SUV. “The people who drove it are missing. The vehicle is stolen, so basically, we have nothing. Not unless there are fingerprints, or some kind of other evidence inside.”
“I think we need more help, Luke.” I looked at him, hoping my expression conveyed how serious I was.
“I know, but there is no one.”
“What about other Packs?”
Luke helped me up into his truck and handed me the seatbelt. “I don’t think it will help. We accepted the challenge.”
“Yet they keep attacking.”
“You, for some reason.”
“We don’t know that.”
He paused, expression grim. “You were brought down here for a reason. When you got here, things started going south.”
I stiffened. “Are you saying I’m to blame for all of this?”
“No, what I’m saying is, you’re in danger. You aren’t taking this as seriously as you need to be.”
“I can handle myself.”
“Obviously.” He gestured angrily at the wreck site. “This doesn’t look like you fucking handling things. You could have died.”
When was it going to end? Bad things kept happening, one after another. My father is now officially dead and lying in my motel room’s bathtub. Then someone tries to kill me by ramming the car off the road and over a hill. What were they hoping to accomplish? It wasn’t making any sense.
Why drag me back home?
“Maybe I should head back to Chicago,” I said, clasping my hands together in my lap.
Luke squeezed my thigh. “I would agree to that if it wasn’t a possibility they would come up there for you. Just because you leave here doesn’t mean it will be over.”
Hank came over in our direction, and frowned as he looked me over. “Frank died from a sharp object to the back of the head. He died almost immediately, according to the M.E.”
Never Die Page 15
