Kennel Club

by Geonn Cannon

  Milo was standing in front of the treadmill, arms crossed over her chest. She smiled. “I’m not sure how the whole succubus thing works, but I figured if you’d just screwed two people, you might be at full power. So I thought I’d help you burn some of that off while we had a conversation.”

  “You’re going to... regret this.”

  “Nah,” Milo said.

  Cecily laughed breathlessly, shaking her head. “Assault and battery, breaking and entering, harassment. All you’ve done is reserve yourself a cell next to your friend.”

  “I’m British. Diplomatic immunity.”

  “What are you even... That’s not... what?”

  Milo reached over the control panel and increased the speed. “Shut up and run.”

  Cecily stumbled but managed to remain upright. “So what’s your plan, wolf?”

  “My plan is to keep my people safe. You had a big day today. I’m going to make sure you don’t repeat it. Because this, what we’ve been doing? It’s done. No more threats, no more people trying to kill Ariadne in prison. We’re going to sort everything out right here, right now.”

  “Or what? You’ll put a bullet in my brain?”

  “Nothing so crass. You know who you’re dealing with, Cecily. I’m a wolf, and wolves don’t really like using guns. That’s more of a Hunter thing, you know.” She rested her arms on top of the control panel. Her eyes were cold, flat. “All I’d do is bite you.”

  Cecily tried not to react, but her face betrayed her. She tightened her jaw as a trickle of sweat moved down her temple. It felt cold against her skin.

  “See, all it takes is one bite.” Milo kept her voice completely calm. “It doesn’t even have to be a particularly bad bite. But it’ll be enough. And then in a week or two, you’ll start to feel the itch. You can fight it at first. It’s like stopping a sneeze. You can stifle it for a little while. But eventually, you’ll have to give in. It might be in the middle of the night. Or in court. But it’ll happen. Your muscles will tangle themselves pulling your bones out of shape. If you’re lucky, you’ll die from it. But nobody dies quickly.” She bared her teeth. “So what do you say, Cecily? Feeling lucky?”

  “You’re not a murderer.”

  Milo said, “Maybe I’m not. But I have a family now. I thought I knew what that meant, ‘cause I always had a pack. But family is something different. It makes you feel superhuman and vulnerable at the same time. It makes you want to tear your own guts out when they’re hurting. I hate that and I never want it to go away at the same time. You know what that’s like?” She looked around the house and made a derisive noise. “Nah, I guess you wouldn’t.”

  “You can’t possibly... expect me to... confide everything to you.”

  “Ariadne Willow, Dale Frye, Diana Macallan. One of ‘em was in the hospital today. Another one had a gun aimed at her head. The third was hung by a sheet in a bathroom stall. So you understand that I’m not feeling particularly reasonable right now. I want what I want, Cecily, and you’re the one most likely to give it to me.”

  Cecily was panting now. “Your threat... carries... no weight. You can only... follow through... on it... once. And once... you do... all your leverage... is gone.”

  “Oh.” Milo blinked. “Oh, you misunderstood the incentive. No, no, you see, I’m not leaving this place with you alive. I’m going to kill you no matter what happens. You can either tell me what I want to know and I do it quickly, or you keep quiet and I bite you. Let you die in a month. Either way, you’re done hurting my friends.”

  Cecily kept her eyes forward, hands gripping the rail, forcing herself to run.

  “Let me tell you what I know. You tried to get Ari to work for you. She said no, because she’s a smart cookie. But you wouldn’t take no for an answer. You decided that she needed to be punished. So you arranged to have Shannon Hardy killed and framed Ari for it using one of the criminals you have on retainer at the office. How’s that work, by the way? You just have all their names in a hat, and when you need one to take the fall for something, you just throw a bunch of money at the family?

  “Doesn’t matter. You have someone else in jail waiting to make sure Ari never makes it to trial. How much does that cost? Rhetorical question. But I’ve been a hired gun. The woman I now love once hired me to break up her daughter’s relationship. It sounds more sordid than it ended up being, trust me. And she paid me a buttload of money. I mean, just a ridiculous amount of cash. I spread most of it around to the rest of my pack and I’m still living off what I had left. So for a murder, that’s gotta be an insane receipt.”

  “Cost doesn’t... matter in our business.”

  “Right. Because you lot have been doing this for ages. Maybe not you specifically, but Louis and Bart and Lillian.”

  Cecily almost fell, her steps breaking rhythm and forcing her to slump against the rail to keep from being thrown.

  Milo grinned. “Ah, didn’t think we’d know those names, did ya? And we know how long they’ve been part of this city. What we don’t know is why they’re wasting time with these criminals just to throw them under the bus later on. Why does GG&M have so many murders they want covered up? And why do you need werewolves and succubi and whatever the hell else you got running around in there? Hm? Want to fill in those last little blanks for me, Miss Parrish?”

  “And... then what? Your plan will be... attacking the senior partners?”

  “Sure.”

  Cecily laughed as hard as she could, which came out as a weak wheeze. “You haven’t... the faintest... clue... what you’re dealing with.”

  “Then tell me. C’mon. If you start talking, I’ll slow down the treadmill. Give you a chance to catch your breath.”

  Cecily glared at her, then slowly smiled. She tightened her grip on the rail and moved her feet to either side of the belt. Milo took a step back as Cecily flexed her arms and pulled, letting the zip ties cut into her skin until blood was running down over her knuckles. She cried out victoriously when the plastic finally snapped, and she stepped off the still-running machine. Milo stood her ground as Cecily approached.

  “You should run, wolf.”

  “I made you a promise.”

  Blood dripped off both of Cecily’s hands. “Little Millicent Duncan, so eager to be a hero. You’ve learned so much but you don’t understand any of it. You see the power they hold and how long they have been a part of this city. What makes you think that you and your sad little pack stands a chance of stopping them now? Pathetic little mutts.

  “You gave me a choice of deaths, but I won’t be so kind. I’m going to allow you to leave here and run back to your doghouse. I’ll let you carry on with this plan, because I know Gilles, Girard, and Moreau will have far more fun with you than I will. They will enjoy making you suffer, and I will get immense satisfaction as well. But you invaded my home. You strapped me to this machine in an effort to humiliate me. You threatened my life. I can’t let that go unpunished.”

  Milo reached for the taser but Cecily was too fast. She propelled herself off the balls of her feet, one hand slapping away Milo’s dominant arm while the other closed around her throat. She twisted in the air and pulled Milo with her. It was almost like a dance that ended with Milo’s back pressed hard against the wall. Milo kneed Cecily in the stomach but it did nothing to loosen the lawyer’s grip. She was still sweating and breathless from her time on the treadmill, but her strength was stunning. She kept her hand on Milo’s throat and stepped back, reaching for something in the darkness. Milo grabbed Cecily’s arm with both hands in an attempt to pull her off, but the arm was rigid as steel.

  “That little human you run around with is actually pretty clever,” Cecily said. “I heard all about your little plan to prevent Ariadne from transforming in prison. It would have worked, too. I found anecdotal evidence of it through the ages.”

  Cecily let go of Milo’s throat and grabbed her wrist instead. She swept Milo’s leg, knocking her to the ground, and clambered on top of her. She sla
mmed Milo’s hand down hard against the concrete floor and adjusted her grip on the object she’d reached out to grab: a twenty-five pound cast-iron dumbbell with hexagonal heads. Milo’s eyes widened when she saw it.

  “No, don’t--”

  “Say goodbye to your wolf, Millicent.”

  Milo screamed even before Cecily brought the weight down, and the impact turned the sound into a mournful howl.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  There was half an hour left on Ari’s shift when members of the so-called kennel club began arriving in the library. Kunz arrived first with her entourage, pausing just long enough to share a nod with Ari before she went toward the back. They were followed a few minutes later by Frankie and a woman Ari didn’t know. Segura was the last to arrive. Vogel came with her and took a casual sentry position in the hallway. Gladys closed the door and motioned for Ari to follow her to the reading area behind the shelves. Ari looked at Vogel through the glass and decided she might as well go along with it.

  Gladys was sitting at the head of the long table, with Kunz to her right. Henning and Frankie were on the opposite side of the table and Segura was leaning against one of the low half-shelves that ran along the wall. The woman Ari didn’t know was sitting beside Kunz. She was leaning forward with her elbows on the table, shoulders hunched and head low. She only moved her eyes when Ari appeared, and she tracked her movements without actually turning her head.

  Kunz gestured at the newcomer. “Willow, meet the last member of our little group. This is Beatriz Moran.”

  “You really fuck a human?” Beatriz asked.

  Ari blinked. “Uh. My girlfriend is human, yeah.”

  “That’s twisted.” There was no judgement in her voice. In fact, she almost sounded impressed.

  Kunz said, “Dr. Val told us what happened to you this morning. I know it sounds strange considering the fact I stomped your head into the ground, but are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better.” Ari took one of the empty seats. “I’m a little bruised, but nothing that won’t heal.” She looked at Segura. “No offense, I’m glad you’re here, but... you’re not a wolf.”

  “No,” Kunz said, “but she knows about us and she’s your cellmate. So I figured she should be part of this.”

  Ari said, “Makes sense. Part of what?”

  Gladys said, “Someone tried to kill you. You don’t think we’re going to just ignore something like that, do you? We didn’t just give up our wolves when we got locked up. We gave up our packs. So we became our own pack. We look out for each other. You might be new--”

  “And already more of a handful than some of us have ever been,” Frankie said.

  “But,” Gladys continued, “an attack on you is an attack on all of us.”

  Henning said, “Until you find out who is trying to kill you, at least one of us is going to be watching your back at all times. I already got reassigned to the library so I can help Gladys. And Segura is going to take care of you during your free time.”

  “Vogel, too,” Segura said. “You can trust her.”

  “It’s probably not going to be much fun having someone following you around all day, every day,” Gladys said, “but definitely better than getting jumped in the shower.”

  Ari said, “That sounds great, honestly, but I couldn’t ask you to--”

  “We all know what you did,” Beatriz said. “Wolf manoth came back. Wolfsbane. Hunters on every street corner. Some of us were locked up in here when it happened. You don’t know what that was like. We’re already vulnerable but then... we couldn’t even eat without worrying that shit was in our food. Guards thought we were doing a hunger strike so they punished us. You put an end to it. For that, we can spare an hour or so to keep an eye out while you’re on the shitter.”

  Gladys said, “You protected us. It’s our turn to repay the favor. As long as it takes.”

  There was a lump in Ari’s throat, and she fought it down before it could become tears. She nodded and finally managed to say, “Thank you.”

  “We’re going to work out shifts,” Segura said. “I’ll be at your side during free time, and we’ll take meals together for as long as you can stand my company. But someone’s going to be with you all the time, no matter what.”

  “That sounds good.”

  They spent the time left on Ari’s shift working out the schedule. Ari tried to make sure none of them were sacrificing too much of their time just to stand guard while she took a shower. When they finished, Ari thanked each woman individually. Beatriz tightened her grip after shaking Ari’s hand, keeping her from pulling it back.

  “Offense isn’t going to work. You need to think defense. Don’t give whoever this is an opening to attack you. They’ve got the benefit of knowing who you are and planning ahead. All you can do is keep your wits about you.”

  “Understood. Thank you.”

  Gladys said, “I know you’ll have Henning here as support, but don’t count me out. I may be old, but I can take any fool who comes through here.”

  “I know you’re including me in that,” Ari said, “And I don’t doubt it for a second, Gladys.” She kissed the older woman on the cheek. “Thank you.”

  Segura was waiting by the exit with Vogel. She swept her arm toward the door and bowed from the waist. “Shall we, ma’am?”

  “Okay, you can cut that shit out right now,” Ari said.

  “Come on, I just found out werewolves exist, and I’m surrounded by them, and I get to play bodyguard for one. Let me have a little fun with it.”

  They started down the corridor shoulder-to-shoulder, with Vogel lagging behind as their escort.

  “If there’s anything I can do to make up for this inconvenience, let me know.”

  “Well...” Segura glanced over her shoulder at Vogel. “I mean, you’re not the only one who might need someone to stand guard outside the showers, if you get my meaning.”

  Ari laughed. “I think I can handle that. And I’ll do my best not to eavesdrop.”

  “Well,” Vogel said, “if you hear something, you hear something.”

  “She’s kind of a freak,” Ari said.

  “You have no idea.” Segura sighed. “So, you want to grab dinner before we head back to the ol’ homestead?”

  Ari thought about what Beatriz had said about thinking defensively. “Actually there’s somewhere else I think I should go first. Is there a barber shop in here?”

  “Barber?” Segura said. “Yeah, sure.”

  They detoured to another corridor to a room which looked like any number of beauty shops Ari had visited in her life. A tall woman with red hair piled on top of her head turned to face her when she came in.

  “You’re new. Looking for a classic prison buzz?”

  “Uh.” She looked at the tools on the table. “Is that the only option?”

  The redhead grinned. “No, sweetie, we won’t make you go the full Sinead. Lots of girls just don’t have the skull for it, know what I mean?” She patted the back of her chair. “I got an opening right now. Hop up here.” Ari got into the seat and let the woman wrap a cape around her. “So, what are you looking for today?”

  Ari looked at her reflection. Her hair was past her shoulders, and had been for as long as she could remember. She rarely got more than a trim. And currently it was actually kind of short for her liking. She’d just gotten a haircut two weeks earlier. But now she had to think defensively, and that meant taking less time in the shower and not providing anything a potential attacker could grab and hold onto.

  “Don’t shave it,” she said, “but short. Cut it really, really short.”

  The redhead gathered Ari’s hair in her hands, holding it like a rope. “How’s this?”

  “Shorter,” Ari said.

  The hand moved closer to her skull.

  Ari fought a grimace. “Shorter.”

  A little closer.

  “There. That should be close enough.”

  “You sure? You don’t look ver
y sure.”

  Ari let the question hang for a second, considering it. She looked at Segura and Vogel’s reflections in the mirror, and then she nodded.

  “I’m sure. Cut it all off.”

  “Okay, sweetie.” She patted Ari’s shoulder and moved to get her scissors. “Just remember, in the end, it’s just hair. Eventually it all grows back.”

  Ari kept her eyes locked on her reflection as the redhead made the first snip.

  #

  Gwen’s house was eerily quiet without the wolves filling up every empty space. They had all packed their bags and headed to the airport so they would have an alibi for whatever Milo was doing at Cecily’s house. Dale couldn’t even hope to sleep, so she was sitting in the living room while Gwen scrubbed kitchen surfaces which looked immaculate to Dale’s eye. Neither of them spoke or suggested putting on music. Occasionally Dale would check her phone for messages from Milo or news alerts about cops being sent to a familiar area.

  The doorbell rang, startling both of them, and Dale shot to her feet. She took the time to look through the peephole and saw a body slumped on the stoop. Her face was turned away, but the clothes confirmed that it was Milo.

  “Oh, god... Gwen!”

  She threw open the door to check on her. Cecily stepped out of the blind spot next to the door and shoved Dale back into the house. Dale was only wearing socks and they failed to find traction on the foyer tile. She flailed and hit the ground hard, sliding a few inches as Cecily grabbed Milo by the shirt collar and hauled her into the house. She flung Milo forward like she was a bowling ball, sending her tumbling into the back of the couch. Her right arm took the brunt of the impact and the pain brought her back to consciousness with a cry of pain that turned into a whimper. There was blood on the cuffs of Cecily’s silk blouse.

  Gwen drew a chef’s knife from the wooden block next to the oven but only managed to take one step before Cecily placed her foot on Dale’s shoulder and pinned her to the floor.