by Renee Rose
“Thank you,” she skips up to me and kisses my cheek.
“Don’t mention it,” I mumble, and turn away, stomping down another aisle. I saw some things I want for her.
A few minutes later, the cashier’s ringing everything up while Jordy crouches nearby, fingering a candy bar longingly.
I grab the candy bar and add it to the pile then jerk my head to the junk food aisle. “Go get us some snacks.”
“What do you like?”
“Meat.”
I send her off with a gentle pat on her butt. While she’s gone, I pull out the stuff I found for her, and get the cashier to ring it up and hide it in a bag before she returns. A little surprise.
Back in the car, I toss the bags onto the back seat and roll into traffic.
“Get what you need, Kit?”
She nods.
She’s happy, I can tell. Her cheeks are flushed, and she’s braiding and re-braiding her hair, using the hair shit I just bought her. She finally settles on two auburn pigtails.
I stop at a fastfood joint and order twenty burgers. Jordy’s eyes go round when I hand her the bags.
“Um, Grizz? I’m not really hungry. Breakfast was really big.” She looks guilty.
“Not for us, babe.” I roll up to a stoplight and put my hand on her knee, giving her my full attention. “You get hungry later, I’ll get you whatever you like. This is for someone else.”
She’s silent. Content to let me take her wherever I need to go. I head to the Fight Club and try to ignore how great it feels to have a willing woman riding shotgun.
We stop at a light and I look over. She’s leaning her head against the window, the reflection showing a lightly freckled face and faraway gaze. Her expression is thoughtful, but a smile isn’t far away. It hits me then, she’s content with me.
I shouldn’t encourage it. I really shouldn’t. But I can’t help it. When it comes to her, I just can’t help myself.
“Here.” I reach behind me and pull out another bag from the pile on the backseat. “I almost forgot. I grabbed these while you were in getting dresses.” I hand her a pack of colored pencils and an adult coloring book. Her eyes go wide but she takes them before the light turns green and I hit the gas.
“Saw you doodling on my stuff.” I keep my eyes on the road.
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t apologize. It looked really good. I figured you’d like to do it, if you’re grabbing pieces of trash to doodle on.”
“I do.” She holds the book and pencils to her like an award for best submissive in Club Toxic. Like it’s a treasure.
“Well, now you don’t have to use trash. I’ll get you a sketch pad, too, if you want.”
Her face lights up. She practically bounces in her seat, so sweet and beautiful my chest tightens.
“Thank you, thank you,” she breathes and before I can stop her, she leans in to give me a peck on my scarred cheek. My cock perks up and I’m a second away from letting her know how she can show her gratitude when she pulls away and looks up at me adoringly. Fates, just the expression on her face is enough to get me off. No good. I gotta shut this down.
“It doesn’t mean anything.” I announce and she pulls back, still glowing.
“I know,” she says, but she’s lying. But, when it all comes down to it, so am I.
Jordy
Grizz glares at the road, growling when a dark blue Jetta gets too close to our truck. The Jetta driver glances up and turns white, immediately throwing on the brakes. The dark blue car drops behind us and Grizz’s body rumbles as his bear claims victory. Any other shifter, I’d be cowering in my seat, but I sit up straight, watching Grizz scare off human drivers, feeling totally contented. My fox perks her head up, studying our captor with rapt attention. She’s enamored with him. Totally.
For a second he softened. He tried to hide it, but I felt it. His walls came down. He’s trying hard to keep his walls high and not to get involved with me, but he already is. He took me out of the cage, he helped me. He says I’m his captive, but I’m sitting free, surrounded by stuff he bought me. Actions speak louder than words. Augustine said he’d provide and protect me. But Grizz actually does it. Better than Augustine, if I’m allowed to think that.
I should hate being Grizz’s captive and want to get back to my master, but I don’t. If this was a loan, I’d have to crawl back to my master and beg him to forgive me, to punish me for being disloyal. But this isn’t a loan. Grizz saw me, he wanted me, he took me. He might deny it, but it’s the truth. It’s dangerous, for both of us. But most of all for me. I’m the one who will live with the consequences, but in the moment, here with Grizz, I can’t think of the pain coming down the road. The longer I’m with Grizz, the less my master, my training, my future matters.
As soon as we pull into the industrial area, Grizz changes. His face hardens, his eyes locking on a nondescript warehouse on one side of a long chain link fence. A few cars are parked close to it, but he parks far away.
“What is this place?”
“No man’s land. Not shifter, not vampire. They both claim it, though. But everyone knows what happens here is off the radar. Doesn’t count. No retaliation allowed.”
My eyes trail back to the building. “Retaliation for what?”
“You’ll see. Here”—he shrugs out of his jacket— “Put this on.” He continues as I scramble to obey, “When you’re here, you’re my property.”
The statement sends zings straight to my things, and he notices it. “Not like that. I’m not collaring you.”
I put my hand to my neck. The vampire’s scar is a clear enough mark of ownership. Grizz thinks so too, his face turns dark. “You don’t belong to him.” His hand surrounds my neck, a living collar. His fingers are rough against my skin. His face dips to mine and he growls. “He mistreated you, and I stepped in. Shoulda done it sooner. Would’ve, if I’d known. Now you’re in my care. That means when we’re here, stay close, stay quiet, follow my lead. You understand?”
“Yeah. Like high protocol.”
His brow wrinkles. “Not sure what that means, Kit.”
“It means you want me to behave a certain way, and if I don’t, there’ll be consequences. High alert for both of us.”
His fingers gentle, stroke my scar. “High alert is right. In my den, it’s safer, we don’t need protocols. Here, one false move could be dangerous. I wouldn’t bring you here, but didn’t want to leave you alone. So stick with me, I’ll get you through. Got it?”
“Got it. Grizz—” I catch his hand. “I know you told me not to run. It’s nothing personal. I’m bound to Augustine. I…owe him.”
“You owe him nothing. Not that I can see.” Now he strokes my cheek and I find it hard to breathe. “It’s okay. It’s the way you’re wired, I’m getting that. I’m going to work on it, though. Maybe if you owe me more than him, you’ll forget him, yeah?”
I nod, swallowing on a dry throat. I like the sound of that. Way, way too much. He’s declared at every turn that this is just a job for him. I can’t lean on him more than I have to.
He gets out and heads around to my door again. It feels like he’s serving me and I don’t like it. I’ve been trained to serve, not to be serviced.
But when I open my door ahead of him, he growls. “You wait for me, Kit.”
Okay, right. Follow his lead.
He holds out his hand, I take it and wait while he grabs the fast food bags and drops them into the bed of the truck. We head across the parking lot, attached at the hand. Biting my lip, I race to keep up, taking two strides to his one. The place smells like shifters, all sorts. My fox isn’t scared though, walking in Grizz’s shadow.
As we wait a white Camaro rolls up with a dark-haired guy and a second, better dressed one with silver hair. By his young face he’s prematurely grey. The dark-haired guy has a cigarette sticking out of his mouth, unlit. He looks a little like James Dean. I don’t realize I’m staring at him until he winks at me. Flushing, I look
at the ground.
“Well, well,” the black haired guy puts out his hands as if he’s going to hug us. His accented English is mocking. “The prodigal son returns.”
“Declan.” Grizz nods to the black haired guy. “Parker.” The grey headed dude nods back and Grizz plants his boots in the pavement. “Where the fuck is my bike?”
Declan cocks his head. “It’s coming. Any minute now. Ya ready for your fight? You know the wolves are mad at ya? Gonna try to set ya up.” Irish, I realize as he keeps talking. He has an Irish accent.
“Not here to talk about the fight,” Grizz grumbles.
Grumpy Grizz, I tag him silently. I have the feeling that most people know Grumpy Grizz. I’m the only one who sees his other side. That makes me smile, deep down, but I don’t let it show. Not to these strangers. I can’t glare at them, like Grizz, but I blank my face. I’m pretty good at not showing what I’m feeling. Augustine got mad when I expressed too many emotions.
“I want my bike and then I got a proposition.”
“A proposition? I haven’t been propositioned in a parking lot since—”
“Shut up, Dec.” The grey haired guy, Parker, elbows him. “Grizz, the bike’s coming. In fact”—he turns to the entrance—“here it is.”
Sure enough, a guy riding a big ole Harley roars up to us.
“Who’s that ridin’?” Grizz growls. His body’s all hard. I angle close to him and he puts a hand on my back. Soothing me without taking his eyes off his bike.
“That’s Laurie,” Declan says. “No worries. He’s our boy.”
“Why the fuck is he riding my bike?”
“Ya told us to pick it up. He’s the only one who could handle that monster.” Declan rolls his eyes like it’s obvious.
The tall, skinny guy rolls the bike near us and puts the kickstand down, staggering a little under the bike’s weight. He wobbles as he gets off and Grizz gets tense like he’s going to run and catch his bike before it crashes to the pavement. I put my hand on his back to soothe him as the ungainly rider manages to extricate himself from Grizz’s bike and walk away with the Harley upright.
“He got it here safe and sound,” Parker says smoothly. He’s got a lighter out and is flicking it on and off.
“Besides,” Declan adds, speaking around the unlit cigarette. “He has his own helmet.”
The thin guy named Laurie heads our way, he removes his glasses, pulls off the helmet and replaces the glasses. His hair sticks out everywhere. I swallow a giggle. These guys are like the Three Stooges, only they’re all skinny. And shifters. But strange shifters—I can’t tell what species they are, and each one is different.
“Here.” Grizz tosses something to Parker, who catches it without looking. “Take the truck, clean it up and ditch it. Plates in the back. Wipe the prints.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Declan mutters. “We know the drill. Weren’t born yesterday.”
“You mentioned another bit of business?” Parker asks.
“Yeah.” Grizz still has his eyes on the bike. He dips his head, whispers, “Get the burgers,” to me and gives me a push. I’ll have to walk away from Grizz, back to the truck. Part of me wants to stick close to him.
Grizz looks down and sees this.
“You’ll be okay,” he murmurs. “I’ve got you.”
Grizz
Reluctantly, Jordy turns and trots to the truck. I keep my eyes on her as I tell Declan, Parker and Laurie, “I need info.”
“Who’s that?” Parker asks after a cursory glance. He’s smart enough not to gawk at Jordy while I’m present.
Declan isn’t so circumspect. “She looks like Anne of Green Gables.”
“How would you know?” Parker asks.
“I saw the movie.” The Irishman shrugs. “It was on cable.”
“You’re a dork.” Parker shakes his head.
“Feck ya. It’s a classic.”
“Guys,” I interject before they start fighting. Fucking weirdo shifters. But they have ears everywhere. And I need them. “Focus. I’ve got a job for you, and I’ll pay.”
Jordy returns with the giant white bags.
“Thank you, baby,” I say and she glows.
I hold up the bag of burgers.
“Jackpot,” Declan whoops. Laurie reaches for the bag and I hold it out of range. “First, we discuss terms.”
“You can’t buy us with burgers,” Parker says.
I hand over the burgers to Laurie, who retreats behind his two friends. “There’s payment in it too. Couple grand. Maybe more, if I get what I want.”
“And what’s that?”
“Vampires are grabbing shifters, using them for food. I want to know who’s supplying them, and why.”
“Is that all?” Declan scoffs. “Why not ask for the moon?”
“Frangelico know about this?” Parker asks, his eyes narrowing.
“Frangelico sanctioned my search. I’m digging into the vampires. I need help. Everything and anything you know about the slavers.”
“You want us to talk to the shifters,” Parker says. He catches on quick. “And you know none of them will talk to you. Not after you sided with the vampires.”
“I didn’t side with the vampires—”
“The hell ya didnae,” Declan snaps, his accent coming out thick.
“You need more than our help talking to shifters. If you’re gonna be poking around here, you need amnesty. Time to go to Garrett and grovel,” Parker says.
My answer is a growl.
“Come on, Grizz,” Declan says. “You walked into wolf territory and pissed them off. They hate that. And even a big strong grizzly can’t take on a whole wolf pack. Even if you do have vampire friends.”
“Vampires aren’t my friends.”
“Just your employer,” Parker points out.
“So I work with Frangelico,” I shrug. “So what? I’m a fighter. I’m allowed to moonlight.”
Parker shakes his head. “War is coming. You gotta pick a side. Wolves or vampires.”
“Neither.”
“Waste of a good fighter.” Parker shakes his head.
“Look, I don’t have time for this.”
“Yeah, you’re too busy doing the vampire king’s bidding,” Declan mutters.
I glare at him. I’m going to have to spill more than I want to. “I want to stop the deaths.”
“The druggie deaths? The humans?” Parker asks.
“I think the vampires are involved in those as well as the shifter snatching.”
“We know they are.” Declan crosses his arms over his chest. “So what?”
“So something’s up. Frangelico wants them stopped.”
“He’s gonna send you after his own people?”
“He already has. They’re breaking the rules. Leaving out dead bodies. Kidnapping and keeping shifters for some reason. I’m gonna find out, if you help me, I’ll find out faster. And we’ll stop them.”
“You think the shifter snatching and the humans’ deaths are related?” Parker asks. “Why?”
I shrug. “Just got a feeling. I think the vamps were addicted to human sweetbloods and now they’re switching to shifters. I wanna know why. Humans are easier prey. Why switch to shifters?”
“Who knows why vampires do anything?” Declan shakes his head.
Parker flicks his lighter thoughtfully. “Maybe shifter blood’s more potent.” His gaze focuses on Jordy. “Is this one of the shifter sweetbloods?”
I snarl and move in front of Jordy, blocking Parker and Declan’s view of her. “Leave her out of this.”
The two misfit shifters exchange glances, but say nothing. I don’t like it. Motioning to Jordy, I pull her in front of me, presenting her to the guys.
“This is Kit,” I say. I don’t want to use her real name and put her at risk. “She’s under my protection.”
“You claiming her?” Declan asks. Jordy sucks in a breath.
“As far as you or any other shifter is concerned, yes. When she’s he
re, she’s with me. When she’s not, forget she exists. Understand?”
They both mumble that they understand, but they don’t look happy.
“You know something you’re not telling us,” Parker accuses.
“Maybe. Maybe not. Help me, get me intel, and I’ll bring you in.” I rest my hands on Jordy’s shoulders. “You can refuse to help me. But there’s more at stake than our pride.”
Declan swears.
“All right, Grizz,” Parker says. “We’ve got nothing, so nothing to lose. We’ll help you. Finish this errand with the truck and poke around to figure out what we can about the shifter slavers. But watch your back. You go poking around Tucson, Garrett’s pack is not gonna like it.”
“I’ll handle the wolves. Hell, I’ll go talk to them right now.” I wave a hand at the warehouse at the end of the lot.
“I wouldn’t.” Declan pulls the cigarette out of his mouth and pretends to blow out smoke. The whole smoking an unlit cigarette is fucking bizarre, but when you work with these three, weird is what you get. “You’re persona non gratin right now.”
“Persona non grata,” Laurie corrects softly from his spot beside the car.
“What?”
“Non grata,” Parker says. “You said gratin. Gratin is a cheese sauce.”
“I’m hungry, all right.” Declan throws up his hands. “Jaysus.”
I clear my throat. “As I was saying, the wolves will take me back. I tell them I want to stop human deaths and shifter snatchings that bring our community law enforcement heat, and they’ll welcome me with open arms.”
“Go on then, make nice.” Declan jerks his chin towards the shifter Fight Club building. “I want tae see it.” He hops up on the hood of the Camaro, tagging a greasy bag and pulling out a burger. “Dinner an’ a show.”
“You gonna eat with that cigarette in your mouth?” Parker snipes at him and Declan raises his eyebrows.
“So what if I am? What’s it tae ya?”
They settle into their habitual bickering.
“All right,” I mutter. As entertaining as the Declan-Parker-Laurie freak show is, I’m not gonna stick around to watch it. It’s too long and got no intermission. In fact, it never ends.