Once I choked down the noxious mixture of anger and fear and got my heart to return to a normal rhythm, the fangs simply retracted. They were still there, longer than normal canines—much like Raul’s had looked. Nothing too out of the ordinary unless you looked hard. And I couldn’t help but look hard. The seemingly ever-present tears in my eyes made me hope I was seeing things. I had no idea what any of this meant, what was happening to me, but I knew I had to find out. And after I did, I was going to kill that crazy son of a bitch, monster or no monster.
A co-worker of mine at the hospital had tested me for drugs and gave me a tetanus shot. Nothing had shown up in my system. The only other thing that made sense was hallucinations caused by rabies. But rabies would have taken longer to set in and damage the brain enough to cause hallucinations. Which came right back around to nothing making sense. Whatever was going on, I had to get it cleared up before fall semester. The fierce competition in the medical profession meant I couldn’t afford to miss any time at all. If I did, someone else would get the internship I had been working my ass off for. It was hard enough for a half-Cherokee woman to get ahead in my field. Over my dead body.
Well, I hoped not.
Everything I needed fit inside two duffel bags: a few changes of clothes, my favorite shoes, and my copy of The Lucifer Effect, Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, and my extremely worn paperback of Stephen King’s The Stand. Taking one last look around at my thrift store furniture, I sighed at the sad state of my apartment. In the four years since I had left Washington and landed here, I hadn’t accumulated much beyond the necessities. It was hard to while putting yourself through school. There was no dog, cat, or even a goldfish to worry about. Nikki, the closest thing I had to a friend, would only notice my absence because she’d have to work extra shifts. After a month she’d probably forget my name.
The few acquaintances I had in school had probably already forgotten about me since I took a semester off.
The finality of the deadbolt clicking into place as I turned my key brought an unexpected rush of excitement. No matter what Raul was, I looked forward to meeting up with him and grinding his balls into the dirt for what he had done. That, and it didn’t hurt that I quit my shit job, was leaving a crappy apartment behind, and was getting out of this sleepy town for a while. One duffel bag over my shoulder, the other in hand, I made my way to where my Jeep was parked on the street.
I tossed my jacket and one duffel bag in the backseat, and the other in the passenger seat. Standing at the door, I paused, wondering if I should wait for the blond stranger who had helped save me in the alley. Worry for him nagged at me. Raul was clearly dangerous. Who knew what he might try to do to the guy. But he had been a big guy, clearly capable of handling himself. Still, the thought of Raul trying to hurt him bothered me, a lot. On the other hand, it had seemed like he knew Raul. If he knew him, he might know what the bastard had done to me, might know a way to fix it. Or he might be just like him, which meant he could be dangerous too. Best to face the danger I knew rather than the one I didn’t. If Raul had wanted to kill me, he clearly would have. No, he wanted something else.
Maybe I would get to see the blond stranger again. I hoped so.
Thunder boomed overhead, followed by a crack of lightning. Longing to play in the storm filled me. But I didn’t have time. Forcing thoughts of what all the crap about Raul meant down somewhere deep, I climbed in, started up the Jeep, and grabbed an apple from the duffel bag full of food. Tight red skin gave way to juicy crispness that helped distract me as I turned my radio to a satellite station of hard blues. With Ram Jam screaming about Black Betty from my speakers, I laid rubber down on the asphalt of Twin Falls, Idaho for what might be the last time.
Aside from a few rest stops and fast-food breaks, I drove nonstop for over six hours until I reached Missoula. The fact that I could stay alert that long shocked the hell out of me. Being behind the wheel for over an hour had always made me sleepy. Dad once told me it was because any time I wouldn’t stop crying, Mom took me for a ride in the car. It put me right to sleep, every time. The long drive made me think about them, something I hated doing. It hurt too much. He’d been dead and gone for years, and she might as well be.
Despite being a sprawling city with over twenty thousand more people than Twin Falls, the scents of vegetation and water hung here and there on the air, making it almost tolerable. Cities really weren’t my thing, having grown up in a remote part of Northern Washington and all, and this one was too big for my liking. The four-story brick building of the Staybridge Suites thrust up into the night sky like a glowing, impenetrable fortress. All right, that was probably my nerves getting the better of me. In all fairness, most of the hotels all around it were as tall, though not nearly as imposing because they didn’t hold Raul within their walls.
I parked beside an SUV, shut off the headlights and ignition, and took a few deep breaths. It was going to take every ounce of control I had not to pound the bastard’s face in the moment he showed it. Even if he was a monster, I was determined to get a few good hits in before he overcame me. I had to keep my head enough to find out if he had known my dad, if he was using that to get to me. If I met him in the lobby, then I really wanted to be able to control the temper that now raged through me like a blaze well on its way to an inferno.
Several slow, deep breaths later, my teeth stopped aching and the four fangs pulled back up into my gums. For now, that would have to do. The feel of them didn’t bring tears to my eyes or nearly throw me into a panic attack anymore. I had mastered enough of my fear during the long drive that I didn’t lose it every time the damn things sprang, which was all too often. Not one to carry a purse, I grabbed my jacket, the two duffel bags that held everything I cared about, and started through the dark parking lot for the entrance.
Polished hardwood floors led the way to a modern yet classy-looking reception area. Halfway to the desk, someone stepped in my way. At easily six and a half feet tall, he was the tallest man I had ever seen this close up. Broad shoulders filled out a black T-shirt like they were trying to burst from it. Huge biceps coiled like snakes waiting to strike. This beast of a man had at least fifty pounds of muscle on Raul, and Raul was nicely built. Eyes so blue they looked as if they had been chipped from a glacier regarded me with veiled interest from a clean-shaven face framed by pale blond hair. And dammit if he didn’t smell absolutely amazing, like pine and clean water. Not the overly sweet pine scent that came from aftershave or cologne, but the pine of a forest and the clear water of a snow-fed river. Though the last time I had seen him had been on my dark porch step, I recognized him immediately.
How could I not? The thrill that raced through me when I met those icy eyes brought back the memory of his burning touch.
“You’re not Raul,” I said a bit breathlessly.
Despite his effect on me—or because of it—anger started to boil inside me, making my jaws ache.
One side of his lips curved up. “Thank the Gods. He is…detained at the moment, and I have been sent in his place.” The first part was a whisper said through a sneer. His voice reverberated along my bones like chords played on an amplified base guitar. It was a very nice feeling.
Clearly, he didn’t like Raul, and that made me like him a little bit more. Yeah, like that was possible. What the hell was I thinking? My attraction to anyone right now could not be trusted.
He held out a hand. “May I get your bags for you?”
Manners and good looks, a dangerous combination, one I did not trust. Fingers wrapping tighter around the straps, my eyes narrowed. “No, you may not. What do you mean, ‘sent’?”
Turning sideways, he motioned to a hallway. “May we at least take your things to our room and go somewhere more private to talk?” His speech wasn’t so much old-fashioned as it was the precise wording of one whose first language wasn’t English, and had taken their lessons a bit too seriously. But it was nice. Really nice.
My eyes danced across his br
oad chest. Going somewhere private with him was a bad idea in a colossal way, but I didn’t have much choice. I couldn’t take him if it came down to a fight. It had been years since I’d attended a glíma class, and I hadn’t exactly been a model student. I motioned toward the luggage carts behind the reception desk. “Fine, but just send my bags up, that way we can get this over with.” I was determined not to go upstairs with him until I had made up my mind about whether or not I’d be safe alone with him.
It did not escape my attention that he had said “our room” with a casual air that implied he was confident it wouldn’t bother me. To be honest, with a body and a face like that, it almost didn’t. I must have taken a blow to the head somewhere between my porch step and bathroom to even entertain the idea of trusting some big, good-looking guy again. I wasn’t ready to trust anyone. But I was picking my battles, as my dad had taught me. Tall, Light, and Handsome cocked his head and raised his blond eyebrows.
“Fair enough.” He held his hands out toward my bags with an expectant look.
This time I had no choice but to give them up. He accepted them with a slight nod and carried them over to the desk. The dark-haired female receptionist smiled a little too large for my liking. I didn’t care that she was flirting with him. Sexual relations were the last thing on my mind right now. Or so I told myself as I watched his perfectly shaped ass. They exchanged words that I barely paid attention to. Instead, I peeled my eyes off him and scanned the hallways, making note of the rooms and doors. Only the door I had entered through seemed to lead back outside. Far from ideal if I needed to make a break for it.
“Shall I have them park your Jeep? We can go for a walk,” Not-Raul called over his shoulder.
I clutched the keys inside my pocket tighter. “Hell no. We’ll take it to wherever we’re going.” If I had my Jeep I could flee and leave his ass behind if things got too spooky.
“Fair enough. I am all for a lady behind the wheel,” he said, quiet and low, making it sound sexier than I wanted it to.
I tried not to shiver, but his effect on me was too strong. Dammit.
Sure, this man seemed nothing like Raul, all polite and proper where Raul was edgy and daring, but that didn’t mean I could trust him. My libido was not going to get the best of me again. But, he had helped save me from Raul, so he couldn’t be all bad. And then there was the way his skin had felt against mine… True, it had just been his palms on my arms, but the fact that had felt so amazing made me wonder what more would feel like.
He shrugged, laid a few bills on the desk, and strode back toward me. He held his hand out and I stared at it like the snake it could very well be. Slowly, he lowered it and nodded as if this was a perfectly acceptable reaction.
“I am Ty. I am sorry we had to meet like this. If I had known Raul was after you, been another step ahead of him, I could have prevented this entire thing.”
My spidey senses began to tingle. “You’re not a cop, are you?”
Every muscle in my body tensed in preparation to run. It was a stupid instinct when I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I couldn’t help it. Heart in my throat, I waited for his answer. Brows scrunching together, he shook his head, the motion releasing some of my tension, but not all of it. Just because he wasn’t a cop didn’t mean he wasn’t an authority. Cops could be funny like that. Detectives, PIs, DEA, some of them didn’t call themselves cops, but that didn’t make them any less of one in my eyes, which was only a small part of why I didn’t trust them. Having watched them haul my dad away at a young age had forever tainted my view of them.
“No, I am a professor.”
That was so not what I had been expecting that it rendered me speechless. Part of me relaxed a bit. All those years of sitting in lecture halls had given me a healthy respect for professors. Still, self-preservation made me hang on to my suspicions. For one, I’d never seen a professor this hot. He could be lying. We started to walk for the door.
The moment we were out of the receptionist’s hearing, I asked, “A professor that was following or tracking Raul? Why? And what do you mean you could have prevented what happened? What do you think happened?”
Ty held his hands up before him. “Easy. One at a time. Yes, I was following him, trying to find out what he was up to. The rest we will need a bit more privacy to answer.”
I ground my teeth as he opened the door for me. I wasn’t against a man being gentlemanly, but I didn’t want him at my back. The casual way in which he did it made it seem like something ingrained in him. Great, a true gentleman on top of being hot. Just what I needed. They were an endangered species that I had a soft spot for. One thing I didn’t need right now was soft spots. I walked backward through the door, keeping my eyes on him. “Why should I let you in my Jeep? How do I know I can trust you?”
The cool night air swept around me.
“Fair enough after what happened to you, and you should not trust anyone right now. That said, you are behind the wheel, in control of my fate. And I did try to save you. If you do not trust me after we talk, you can leave me there and return to your life.”
“Fair enough.” I threw his own words back at him. It wasn’t enough, but the cold metal of the mace pressed against the waistband of my jeans was.
Once outside, he walked straight for my Jeep as if he knew it was mine. Then I realized he had probably watched me pull up. Yeah, that wasn’t creepy at all.
“Nice classic you have here. Seventy-nine?” Ty asked. The impressed tone of his voice sent a thrill through me.
I didn’t want to warm to him, but his appreciation of my rig hit yet another soft spot. “Seventy-five. It’s unlocked,” I said as I walked around to the driver’s side.
Somehow, he beat me there and opened the door for me. My traitorous heart thudded harder. Brows raised, I stared at him for a moment before climbing in. He closed the door after me and strode around the Jeep. Dressed all in black as he was, he blended with the night in a way that set my nerves on edge and on fire at the same time. With those long legs of his, he didn’t even need to use the rocker bar as a step to climb in. The grace with which he folded his tall, broad frame into my Jeep was a bit distracting, causing me to forget my anger for a moment.
Doing my best to hide my blush behind my long hair, I picked the screwdriver up out of the cup holder and started the Jeep. Being that he seemed to be a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy, I shouldn’t have been worried what he would think of my low-budget way of starting my ride. But he had an air of sophistication about him that made me uncomfortable. The way he perused the inside of my Jeep with a boyish smile spread across his face softened me and eased my embarrassment a bit.
“This is amazing.”
I smiled and motioned toward the modern stereo. “It isn’t exactly stock. But I try to keep it close. Where do you want me to drive?”
He pointed. “To Clark Fork Park. Only a few miles away.”
“No. We should go somewhere more public.”
He gave me a side-eye look. “Trust me, you do not want to talk about this within earshot of anyone. There are things I have to tell you that will sound insane.”
“You aren’t exactly imbuing me with confidence right now.”
One brow rose in a charming look that I was determined not to let work on me. “I did not save you from Raul only to murder you later. You are safe with me, I promise on my honor.”
Damn if he didn’t sound convincing as a trickster god. While I had little choice if I wanted answers, that didn’t mean I would turn my back on him for a second.
“Fine, but one wrong move and I will make you wish you’d never met me.” Pulling out into the light traffic, I followed his directions.
“Did you catch Raul the night…that night?” I asked. I’d almost said the night he bit me, but the words wouldn’t come out. Even though this guy had seen it, knew what happened, it still felt too crazy to say out loud.
“I did.”
Damn his voice was sexy. Like, slide over your sk
in and turn your nipples to ball bearings sexy. I gripped the steering wheel harder.
“But he left a note on my Jeep, telling me to meet him here.”
Ty shook his head. “A friend of his left it there. They were going to meet you here, take you to his family.” He didn’t look happy about that.
I raised a brow at him. “And you what? Intercepted them?”
“Not exactly. Shortly after I caught Raul, the authorities caught both of us. When they let me leave, I tracked down one of Raul’s men and persuaded him to tell me their plan.”
Their plan. I did not like the sound of that. The traffic around us suddenly didn’t seem thick enough. More people would be better.
“What did you do to him?” I asked. Blunt though it was, I had to know what kind of man I was dealing with.
Brows furrowing into deep grooves, Ty sat up a bit as he turned to look at me full on. “Nothing untoward, I assure you. Though he would have had it coming.” Yeah, English was definitely not this guy’s first language. The way he phrased things was as much of a clue as his slight accent. But as much as I hated to admit it—even to myself—that part of him was kind of charming.
“Okay. Sorry, I had to ask. English isn’t your first language, is it? That, or you aren’t from this century,” I said with a snort. My skin along the back of my neck tingled at that thought. But no, I couldn’t go there. Not yet. I’d been reading too many horror novels.
Bitten & Beholden (Children of Fenrir Book 2) Page 4
