Heir of the Dog (Liars and Vampires Book 6)

by Robert J. Crane

  We pulled out onto the road and I breathed a sigh of relief. Real asphalt, lights overhead. We were on our way home.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Mill, wanting to change the subject to spare my feelings as much as Derrick’s. “That wound on your collarbone…”

  “I’ll be fine,” he said. “Lockwood brought some…stuff for me in case something like this happened…”

  He meant blood, of course. Faithful, prepared Lockwood. Ever the caretaker.

  I did a double take as we passed a black Jaguar that was pulled over on the side of the road. My skin prickled as I made a decision. “That’s the car that was following us,” I said, pulling Lockwood’s Maserati over to the shoulder, too. I mashed the hazards button on the dash and unlocked the doors.

  “What are you doing?” Mill asked, voice escalating with each syllable.

  “Just looking,” I said. “I’ll only be a second.” I stepped out of the car. Mill groaned from the backseat. He threw open his door and struggled out of the car.

  “You’re sure that’s the one that was following us?” he asked.

  “Not many Jaguars out here in farm country,” I said. “Makes it easy to recognize.”

  “I guess.”

  I looked up and down the road and hurried across the street when I didn’t see headlights down either side of the long, straight, flat road.

  “Where are you —” Mill asked.

  The car was empty. I peered in the window, terrified that I might find a body on the backseat or something, but it was completely vacant. A half-finished coffee sat in the cupholder and the stitched briefcase that belonged to the PI was resting underneath the seat.

  No blood, no signs of a struggle. Just an abandoned car. What happened to these guys?

  “Cassie!” Mill shouted to me from the street.

  The quiet night erupted in howls and they were uncomfortably close by.

  I looked up just in time to see half a dozen werewolves burst out of the brush that lined the swampy ditch along the road, howling and snarling.

  I turned and launched myself back toward the car at a sprint. I made it about two seconds before the first wolf reached me, threw myself in on the driver’s side, slamming the door shut just in time. A werewolf rammed into the door, nose streaking the window with snot and fog.

  I fumbled with the shifter for a second before throwing the car in drive and slammed my foot on the gas.

  The werewolves that had been pushing against the sides, scratching the glass, climbing onto the roof were flung off, tumbling over and landing on the asphalt. That didn’t seem to bother them, though, because I watched them rise and give chase in the rearview mirror as I floored it, hitting eighty miles an hour down that long, dark road.

  In a few seconds they fell behind; apparently they couldn’t keep up that pace for very long. But my stomach turned over when I saw that more than one of the werewolves had dark, wet patches that gleamed in the lamp light on their snouts and matting the fur down their front.

  Blood. But from who...?

  With a jolt of nausea I realized that the guys that had been following us weren’t going to come out of those woods tonight…except maybe feet first.

  Chapter 40

  It was so late that there were hardly any cars on the highway as we made our way back toward Tampa. The whole ride was silent. Everyone was in their own heads, thinking about the night and its events.

  Lockwood had come around not long after we fled, but Mill insisted that we take the two of them to his condo. He wanted to let Lockwood rest there for the night while he oversaw his recovery. “It'll be fast,” Mill promised. “Fae heal quickly.”

  “But what about you?” I asked him.

  “I’m better already,” he said and he looked it. The wound had started to close over and looked almost a week old already. “I’ve got the things that I need to finish the job.”

  A well-stocked fridge at home with more blood than the local blood bank, for sure.

  I dropped them off at his place without much fanfare or a goodbye. A brief kiss was all I got and a quick, “We'll talk later,” as Mill helped Lockwood out toward the elevator.

  I didn't know how to feel about that, but I had one last thing to do. With a heavy heart and a full head, I turned the borrowed Maserati toward Derrick’s house. He was quiet the whole time and I wasn’t sure that he was aware of where we were when we pulled into his driveway.

  “Derrick, I…” I said, turning the car off. Even the sound of my own voice was too loud in the silent car. “I want to apologize…for everything.”

  He turned his face to me and I was surprised to see a curious expression there. “Apologize? Why?”

  “For what happened tonight,” I said. “For you getting kidnapped. For your dad turning on you like that…I just…”

  “Cassie, none of that is your fault,” he said quietly. “It’s not like you were the one who turned him into that…that thing.” His face wrinkled in pain. “And if anything, I should be apologizing to you.”

  “For what?” I asked.

  “For being such a jerk to you,” he said, running his finger over the stitching of Lockwood’s seat. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about all of this. Maybe if I had…things could have turned out differently.”

  I looked at the steering wheel as if it could somehow tell me the exact words to say to someone who had just lost one of their parents.

  He chuckled. “You know…you just did something freaking unbelievable.” He looked over at me and gave me a small, sad sort of smile. It reminded me of Iona. “You’re like a miracle worker.”

  I snorted. “I didn’t do anything,” I said. “Mill, Lockwood and Jed were the ones that —”

  “I’m not talking about the fight or any of that,” he said. “You, Cassie, came into a super dangerous situation and risked your own life to save mine. You used a freaking rock to free me. That’s…pretty awesome.”

  A lump appeared in my throat and I tried to swallow it. “Well…thanks, I guess,” I said awkwardly.

  “No, seriously…thank you,” he said. “I know that’s not enough, but…”

  I scratched at a piece of dried mud or something on the dashboard. It flaked as I rubbed it with my fingernail and realized it was probably better not to think too hard about what it was.

  “So…are you okay? I mean…your dad…” I said. I was such an idiot. Why bring that up?

  He sighed. “I’m…gonna need some time, I think. To process everything. He was wrong, obviously. He saw me as a prize to be won rather than his son. But still…he was my dad…”

  I could hear the tightness in his voice, see the strain near his eyes.

  “I’m sorry things ended the way they did,” I said.

  “Yeah…me too.”

  The poor guy was probably still in shock. It wouldn’t really hit him until later, when he was alone, when the anger and the fear faded.

  The front door to his house was thrown open and warm golden light flooded out onto the porch.

  “That’s Mom,” Derrick said with renewed energy.

  I unlocked the doors of the car and we climbed out.

  “Oh, my God, my baby!” Corinna said. She was wrapped in a silken bathrobe, her hair down and tangled, the gauze bandage that Dad had put on her forehead still intact.

  I smiled, but was surprised when she rushed over to me, not Derrick, throwing her arms around my neck.

  “Thank you,” she said through her tears. “For saving my son.”

  “What am I? Chopped liver?” Derrick laughed from the other side of the car.

  She pulled away and smiled blearily at me through her tears before running around the car to embrace Derrick.

  “If you were, the werewolves would have eaten you,” I said, smiling at him over the roof of the car.

  As I stood there and watched the two of them, my heart swelled with pride. I took my leave as Corinna wrapped her arms around her son's neck, wanting to give them the space they
needed and I watched as they walked back inside together, their arms around one another.

  Finally…something good had come out of my meddling. I’d managed to do what I set out to do in the first place…and that was actually helping someone.

  Chapter 41

  The exhaustion was starting to creep up on me as I pulled into the driveway beside Dad’s car. It was the same spot where Armani suit guy had parked earlier that day.

  That car would never show up here ever again, I realized with a shiver.

  Mill texted me just as I was walking up to the front door, asking if I had made it back okay. I replied that I had just gotten home and that I wanted an update on him and Lockwood as soon as he could give one. He texted back saying that they were both fine. Lockwood was asleep and Mill was enjoying some O negative.

  Gross.

  And Cassie, if you need anything, just call, okay? I’ll be up all night, after all.

  I smiled at that.

  I opened the door and was not surprised in the least to see both Mom and Dad sitting at the dining table, both in their pajamas. Mom jumped up from her chair when she saw me.

  “Cassandra Elizabeth, I am tired of these sleepless nights because of you.” But it was halfhearted, because she hurried across the kitchen to me and gave me a hug just like Derrick’s mom.

  I staggered under the force of it and gently patted her back with my filthy hands.

  She pulled away and gave me a good one over.

  “Why are you so dirty?” she asked.

  “Long night,” I said. “Which I spent on a farm in Sarasota.”

  Dad had gone past me and was looking out the front window. “A farm, huh?” He turned and gave me an accusatory look. “Where'd you get the Maserati, then?”

  Mom’s eyes narrowed. “You went all the way to Sarasota? So late at night?” Trust Mom to be worried about me going long distances and Dad to wonder about the car I arrived in.

  “It's Lockwood's,” I said. “I had to drive back, but everyone’s fine. Well, everyone except Thomas’s dad…”

  “The werewolf?” Mom folded her arms across her chest, putting her lawyer face on. “You know we were worried sick about you.”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly plan for everything that happened to happen,” I said, walking past her to sit at the table.

  “You snuck out your window,” Mom said.

  I sank my forehead against the table, the cool surface soothing to my aching brain. “Yeah, I guess I did. Sorry.”

  Mom pulled out the chair across from mine and sat down. Dad followed a moment later, finishing the half-circle of judgment now surrounding me on two sides. After a moment, she spoke...and it wasn't what I expected.

  “I want to apologize for everything that happened earlier tonight,” Mom said. “I’m not upset with you about what happened to our houses. We've experienced firsthand how nasty those monsters can be and even if the insurance company doesn’t believe us, we know it’s the truth.”

  I blinked at her. This was a surprise.

  “What I did in response to the insurance companies coming after us was my own choice,” she said, her voice quiet, almost defeated, “and it was wrong. You didn’t push me to do it. I’m an adult and I will take responsibility for my choices.”

  Admitting her wrongs…that was hard for anyone to do. “I’m sorry, too, Mom,” I said. “I keep getting involved in these things, with these people…these paranormal beings. And it’s not because I’m drawn in…at least not anymore. It’s because there’s no one else. I just feel like I have to do it.”

  With a jolt to my heart, I realized something. Finally, something was clear to me.

  “No…I want to do it,” I said.

  Mom and Dad stared at me as I started to process the words that just came out of my mouth. They were true, honest. Maybe more honest than I’d been with myself for weeks now. It was a revelation like when you first realize you're in love with someone. It was hard to admit it, but once I did…

  Everything seemed to make sense.

  “And, honestly, Mom? I think your legal problems might actually be solved,” I said.

  “What do you mean?” She wore her customary frown.

  “Those guys from earlier? They followed me when I left earlier tonight,” I said. “All the way out to Sarasota.”

  “Why?” Dad asked.

  “Probably looking to see if she was up to something bad,” my mother said, her brow furrowed. “That they could use as additional leverage on me.”

  “Well, they found something,” I said. “A whole pack of werewolves. I think they got eaten, because I found their car abandoned and a whole bunch of wolves came bolting out of the woods next to it, covered in blood.”

  “They're dead?” She blinked a couple times, taking that in. “That’s not going to solve the problem,” she said, her eyes widening. “That’s going to make it worse.” She covered her mouth with her hands and I could almost feel the despair pulse out of her. “So much worse.”

  Chapter 42

  The next day it was over ninety degrees with eighty-three percent humidity. Every girl in school seemed to be competing for the “Shortest shorts possible” award and all of the guys walked around with big grins on their faces and their eyes in constant motion for some reason, possibly unrelated.

  But hey. At least it was Friday.

  “…So, Mom doesn’t think that’s going to end well,” I said right before sinking my teeth into another bite of my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Childhood classic, teenage favorite.

  Xandra and I were sitting out in the outdoor lunch area at a picnic table. She was happily slurping some noodles from her bright pink bento box and I was polishing off a bottle of Coke and some yogurt with my PB&J. Nearly all of the shadows had disappeared in the brightness of the noon sun.

  But it was quiet. We were pretty much the only people out here braving the heat and lack of AC. Privacy was hard to come by in the cafeteria.

  Xandra swirled her noodles with her chopsticks, squinting at me in the brightness. “Yeah, what if they like, frame her for murder or something?”

  “No way they can trace it back to her,” I said defensively, though the idea did make my stomach squirm. “Especially if there aren’t any bodies to find, you know?”

  We exchanged grossed out faces.

  “Hey, whatcha guys talking about?” I looked up to see the smiling face of Laura, lunch bag in hand, making her way over to us.

  “Werewolves,” Xandra said.

  Laura’s face brightened. “Ooh, werewolves.” She promptly sat down right beside me.

  Gregory and Derrick stepped out of a side hallway a few seconds later, looking around. Gregory pointed over at us and they started making their way over. Gregory gave Derrick a very bro-like back slap and Derrick, for his part, looked...pretty normal, given what had happened.

  “So, what about werewolves?” Laura asked, pulling her spinach wrap from her plastic baggie. “Because the full moon was at its peak last night, right?”

  “Hey, guys,” Gregory said, once they'd made it over. “Mind if me and my homie sit here?”

  Xandra arched a brow at him, her noodles halfway to her mouth, frozen in midair.

  “Sure,” I said with a grin.

  And then I realized…I suddenly had a full table.

  “Hey, thanks again for everything,” Gregory said, unwrapping four slices of pizza from some tinfoil. “For saving my buddy. My bro.”

  Derrick shot me a thankful smile from the other end of the table. “Yeah. Thanks, Cassie.”

  “You okay?” I asked.

  He thought about it, then shrugged. “I'll make it.”

  That was about what I expected.

  “Um, Cassie?” Laura asked. She was staring over my shoulder. “There’s an Amish man lurking behind you.”

  Sure enough, I turned and saw Jed standing there, just beside the corner of the building, his hat in his hands. He kicked at the ground once he caught my eyes,
as though willing me to come over but unwilling to ask.

  “How did he get past the security officers?” Laura whispered.

  “No one ever suspects the Amish of doing anything bad,” Xandra said. “They could wander into a nuclear silo and the workers would be like, ‘Oh, hey, yeah, just an Amish kid. No problems here. Want to see our launch protocols?’”

  “Wow, so trusting,” Laura said, taking a bite from her wrap.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said, swinging my legs over the bench.

  “Tell him that I want some pie from Yoder's next time he visits!” Xandra called after me.

  My heart started to race the closer I got to him. I slowed my walk, trying to figure it all out before I made it over there. What was I going to say? How was I going to say it?

  “Hey,” he said as I drew closer.

  “Hey,” I said, brushing some hair behind my ear nervously.

  “So…um…” he said.

  “Thank you —” I said.

  “I was wrong,” he said at the same time.

  We both paused, awkwardly. “Oh, you go ahead,” I said.

  “No, it’s okay, you go.”

  “I insist,” I said. My cheeks were turning pink and I wished they would stop.

  “Okay,” he said and then he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I was wrong. About…well, a lot of things,” he said.

  “No, I’m sorry,” I said. “Seriously. That fight…it was stupid. I never should have —”

  He held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it, all right? I’m not upset anymore. I forgave you as soon as I walked away. I knew I let myself get all fired up and that was wrong. Wrath...well, it's against everything I believe in.”

  I smiled. “Well…I should thank you for saving us last night.”

  Jed smirked. “It was nothing.”

  A moment of silence passed between us.

  “You know…you weren’t what I thought,” Jed said. “When we first met.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I thought you were just some love-sick girl who had no idea what she was getting herself into. But…you’re strong, Cassie Howell.” He kicked at the ground again. “Stronger than anyone I’ve ever known. To come out to our land last night, on a full moon...” He shook his head. “That's brave.”