by Nova Archer
He liked her mouth. Full, and sensuous. Kissable. An urge to lean over and press his lips to hers settled over him. He felt drawn to her. Like a bee to delicious honey.
She caught his gaze, and her cheeks reddened. He wondered if she could sense his attraction to her.
Instead of grabbing her and crushing his mouth to hers, he took a step back and nodded. "That's cool. That's more than we had before."
Thankfully, Lyra took that moment to bounce into the room. "Guess what? The maid did clean the room a day ago. Samantha hasn’t been home since yesterday morning."
"We need to retrace her steps." Jace said as he moved back to the bed and picked up the gym bag. "I think this Hard Bodies gym is the perfect place to start. I bet she was there yesterday. With a shape like hers, she definitely worked out every day."
"Anything else interesting?" Lyra asked as she continued to rummage through the victim's dresser drawers.
"Tala found a bag of Ecstasy in one of the vic's stuffed bears," Jace informed her.
Lyra glanced over her shoulder at Tala and smiled. "Wow, you're a regular little police dog, aren't you?"
"Why would you say that?" Jace and Tala demanded in unison.
Lyra glanced from Tala to Jace then back to Tala, with her eyebrow arched in obvious curiosity. "Ah, no offense. I meant it as a compliment, as Jace knows very well." She trained her intense gaze onto Jace.
He knew she was probing him and the situation. There was that sibling thing in play. The witch knew him inside and out. By the twitch of her lips, she could probably sense his growing attraction to Tala. If Lyra hadn't sensed it before, his outburst in her defense just made it clear.
He had to watch himself. If he wasn't careful he was going to start marking his territory. He wondered if Tala had any idea how lycans worked. If she did, she'd be running for the hills and he would have no choice but to chase her.
Tala shook her head. "No offense taken. The comment just took me off guard. I'm not usually compared to a dog."
"You're lucky. I get it all the time," Jace scoffed.
Lyra started to laugh. And it wasn't long before Tala's resolve broke and she was laughing, too. Jace looked from one woman to the other, and couldn't help the laughter from bubbling up to the surface either.
In a matter of minutes, the three of them were doubled over in laughter. Tears streamed down Lyra's face.
Jace's comment hadn't been that funny, but it certainly relieved the growing tension in the room and between the three of them. Something that had definitely needed to be alleviated before it got too serious.
When their laughter had died, Jace straightened and ran a hand over his mouth. "Okay, let's finish up this scene here, and go on over to the gym to see what we can dig up." He took out his cell phone. "I'll call Caine to let him know what we're doing, see what he thinks. But I have a feeling we're on the right trail."
As he dialed, Jace locked eyes with Tala. She was staring at him, the green in her eyes seeming to glow. If he didn't know better, he'd say she was tagging him, letting him know that she was interested in having him court her.
The only thing was, it was a purely lycan thing to do.
CHAPTER NINE
Tala didn't know what had happened at the Kipfer house inside the victim's room, but something had transpired between her and Jace. Somehow she felt connected to him. In a way, she'd never experienced with anyone else. Not even her mother.
She could now tell when he was thinking about her. It sizzled over her skin like static electricity, a foreign sensation. One she wasn't sure if she hated or liked, a lot.
Tala sensed Jace watching her, as the three of them walked into Hard Bodies gym. She looked over her shoulder and caught him. It was easy to read the feral look in his eyes. Hunger. Need. Unsure what to do, Tala returned his stare. At least, Jace had the decency to look embarrassed. He quickly turned his gaze to the other people entering the facility.
Putting a hand to her thumping chest, Tala wasn't sure if she could handle him looking at her like that more than once. His look was heated and intense. It carried weight and substance. As if he could actually stroke her with its intensity alone. The thought had her licking her lips. She knew instinctively his touch would be wild and feral, possessive even.
And she ached for it like nothing before.
When they reached the front desk of the fitness club, Jace took the lead and stepped up to the counter.
The perky young woman at the counter beamed at him. "Hi I'm April. Please tell me how I can help you today."
Tala couldn't help but notice that the girl's obvious silicone breasts beamed at Jace, too.
"Well, April, you can tell me if you recognize this girl." Jace flashed the gym ID card to her.
She glanced down at it then back to Jace, her smile still glued to her tanned face. "Of course, that's Sam. She's a regular here."
"Was she here yesterday?"
April's gaze flickered from Jace to Tala and Lyra then back to Jace. "Um, are you a cop or something?"
Jace shook his head. "No, nothing as boring as that. I'm with the crime lab."
"Oh, that's so cool." She batted her eyelashes at him.
Tala nearly groaned at the overindulgent flirtation.
"I didn't see her, but I can sure check the register for you to see if she was."
Jace smiled at her. "That would be great, April."
As the perky red-head bounced over to the computer to check the registry, Jace leaned over the counter and eyed the girl's rear end in her tight Lycra shorts. Tala smirked at his leering. At least, that was what she considered it. The man had no couth. Wasn't he just moments ago staring at her assets? It wasn't like she was jealous or anything. She just thought it was rude. Despite the fact that she had a rather violent urge to jump on the bouncy April and eliminate her from the equation, Tala still didn't consider herself jealous.
Turning her lethal stare away from Jace, Tala caught Lyra grinning at her. "What?" she barked.
Lyra shook her head, but kept on smiling. "Nothing."
April bounced back to the counter and batted her eyelashes at Jace. "Yup, Sam was here yesterday in the afternoon, around two o'clock."
"Does she train with anyone in particular?"
April nodded. "Rock."
"The guy's name is Rock?" Jace asked.
"His real name is Darryl Rockland. But we all call him Rock, because well, he's, like hard as a rock," she giggled, then reached out and touched Jace on the arm.
Tala was just about ready to bite her own tongue clean off. She couldn't handle April's perky demeanor and the way she flirted with Jace any longer. Taking a step forward, Tala slapped her hand down on the counter. That definitely got everyone's attention.
"Where can we find Rock?" She demanded.
April's face fell and she almost looked like she was going to pout. "He's at the treadmills with another client." Tilting her head, she glared at Tala. "Who are you?"
Tala reached into her pants and pulled out her wallet. "I'm the cop." She flashed April her badge. "Does Samantha have a locker she uses here?"
April nodded suddenly somber. "I can check for you."
"You do that."
When the girl wandered back to the computer, Jace growled at her. "What was that all about?"
"Getting our job done."
"What do you think I'm doing?"
She cocked her hip and lifted her brow. "Trying to get a date."
"Not likely," he smirked. "I don't have to try anything. If I wanted that girl, she'd be mine." He snapped his fingers. "Just like that."
"You arrogant son-of-a-,"
"Excuse me?"
Both Tala and Jace whipped around to look at April. "What?" they growled in unison.
"She has locker number twenty-three."
While flashing her OCU credentials, Lyra pushed past both Tala and Jace and smiled at the girl. "Could you open that for me, April?"
The girl nodded and came around the counter
to lead Lyra into the locker rooms. Lyra turned around and glared at Tala and Jace.
"Now, I'm going to go search her locker, you two behave and go find Rock." With a final shake of her head, Lyra followed April to Samantha's locker.
Feeling admonished, Tala hunched her shoulders and looked at Jace sheepishly. She was all set to apologize when he grunted, turned on his heel and marched into the fitness center. Gritting her teeth, she followed him. Arrogant jerk.
It didn't take much investigative work to find Rock. He was a rather large young man, tanned, shaved head, with a body that looked like stone. He was coaching a woman in her thirties on the treadmill. But Tala noticed that he was mostly eyeing the woman's jiggling breasts.
The guy didn't even so much as flinch when Tala and Jace approached him.
Tala flipped him her badge. "Darryl Rockland?"
Asif coming out of a trance, Darryl slowly raised his head and met Tala's gaze. The man looked drugged.
"Rock," he stated. "Everyone calls me Rock."
Jace took a step forward and showed Darryl the victim's ID card. "Did you work out with Samantha Kipfer yesterday afternoon?"
Darryl didn't look at the card but continued to look at Jace. Tala could see a tic in the guy's jaw. Something was definitely wrong with him. He was on some kind of drug. She'd seen similar reactions in other long-time users.
"I might have," he answered, as he rubbed the palm of his hand on his leg as if he had an itch. "I'd have to check my log book."
"You can't remember?"
"Hey dude, I have a lot of clients. And one day blurs into the next. To be positive, I'd have to check my log book."
Jace stared him down, but Darryl wasn't flinching. "Okay, go check."
Without another word, Darryl turned toward his client and told her he'd be right back. Then he wandered through the gym to a door marked Employees Only.
Tala watched him carefully. She didn't like the feel of the situation. Something was off. It crawled over her skin like gooseflesh.
"He's going to run."
Jace frowned at her. "What?"
"I'm telling you, he's going to run. He's hiding something and he's making a run for it right now."
"How do you figure that?"
"I don't know," she shook her head, but kept his gaze. "I can just sense it."
Jace eyed her for a few moments, searching her face. He must have seen the one thing he was looking for, because he nodded and said, "Okay, let's go."
With Jace in the lead, they moved toward the employees- only door in the far corner of the gym. Jace grabbed the doorknob and jiggled it. It was locked. There was a key pad on the locking mechanism and only an employee would know the right code.
"Damn it. Now what?" Tala remarked.
Winking, Jace grabbed the door handle again and squeezed. Tala heard the audible pop of the door lock snapping. She hoped no one else had.
"Anyone looking?" Jace asked.
Tala surveyed the room behind them. The various occupants were concentrating on lifting weights or counting steps on the stepper and not looking in their direction.
"It's clear."
Slowly, Jace opened the door, peered in and then stepped through. Tala followed him in so close she could hear his heart thumping. She wondered if hers was just as loud.
They were in a hallway that led to about four other rooms. Tala held her breath that they didn't run into anyone along the way that had brains enough to call their bluff. Even with her badge, she'd be hard pressed to give a reason for their presence. They didn't really have sufficient cause to check on Darryl, except for her bad feeling.
The first room on the left was a men's washroom. Pushing open the door, Jace listened for a moment then went in. Leaning against the wall, Tala tried to wait patiently. What she really wanted to do was rush in there and help out. She loved this part of police work. Chasing the bad guys. Her adrenaline was zinging through her system. The rush gave her a euphoric high. It was better than drugs any day. It was the reason she went into law enforcement.
After a couple of minutes, the door to the bathroom opened and Jace walked out. "It's clear." He nodded toward the next door—the woman's washroom. "Your turn."
Taking a deep breath, Tala swung open the door and walked in. There was no one at the sinks. She checked the three stalls to find them empty. She was almost disappointed that Darryl wasn't in there, hiding.
Doing one last sweep of the room, her eyes lifted up to the small window above the garbage can and feminine product dispensers. It was open. The glass pane swinging outwards. A black scuff mark marred the pristine white wall.
He'd gone out the window.
Her statement was confirmed when she heard metal-garbage cans maybe-crashing onto the cement.
"Jace!" she called. "He's running!"
Without waiting, Tala set her left foot on top of the garbage can, grabbed hold of the window ledge and pulled herself up. Once there, she was able to stick her head out the window. She saw Darryl running down the alley. She wiggled the rest of the way through, swung her right leg over and jumped down onto the ground.
In a matter of seconds she was chasing him.
Darryl was quick, but Tala had been running all her life. Her mother swore that Tala had been born with sneakers already glued to her feet.
Her long legs pumped hard like pistons. Her breath came in vigorous measured rasps. She knew how to put on the speed and keep it. So it wasn't long before she caught up to him.
When he reached the mouth of the alley, he glanced over his shoulder. His first big mistake. He lost his rhythm and momentum when he did that. Good thing for Tala, though. It gave her the opportunity to take him down.
Leaping, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pushed him back. He outweighed her by seventy pounds easy, but she had momentum, gravity and determination on her side. The bastard was going down. And hard.
Darryl landed on his side with Tala on top. Before she could maneuver around and get him into a submission hold, he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her off him. She rolled onto her back, but was scrambling to her feet before he could run again.
Except he didn't run. He was staring down at her with fury in his face. She probably looked like an easy mark to him: female, slender, and a lot smaller than him.
Before she could gain her feet, he kicked her. Instinctively she bent her arms to protect her chest. He had thick meaty legs and his kick was something fierce. But she managed to block most of it with her forearms. Just the tip of his shoe managed to find a weak spot between her elbows and into her gut. The force of the blow sent her sprawling backwards.
Her eyes teared up from the pain of the strike. Had he found a rib? From the agony that tore through her, Tala thought maybe he had. Rolling onto her other side, Tala brought her knees up to protect herself from another kick which she was sure was coming.
But it didn't come.
Through the tears, Tala could see Jace on Darryl. The lycan was behind Darryl and had both of Darryl's arms twisted and crossed behind his neck in a submission hold reminiscent of the WWE. Tala could also see that Jace's eyes smoldered like embers in a fire. The veins in his neck had popped and he looked very near to shifting.
Clutching her injured side, Tala gained her feet and approached Jace. This close, she could plainly see that his jaw had elongated, and canines poked out between his lips. She could also see that Darryl was near unconsciousness. His eyes were rolling back into his sockets. She smelled the urine that stained his cotton shorts.
"Jace," she said, "Back down. You got him. He isn't going anywhere."
He met her gaze, and she could see the rage flaring in his eyes. But she also discerned something else. Concern. Longing. Was it for her?
"He hurt you," he growled. And it was closer to a growl than not. But she understood him. Surprisingly so.
"I'm fine. Really." She lifted her arms and twisted back and forth to show him that she was all right. She tried to keep the pain that tor
e through from showing on her face. After lowering her arms, she touched him on the shoulder. "Let him go, Jace. We can't question him if he's out cold."
Underneath her palm, Tala could actually feel his body relax. The fire in his eyes dimmed and she watched in awe as his jaw receded into itself. It was mesmerizing to witness. She thought she'd be disturbed by Jace's ability to shift back and forth. But instead she found herself intrigued and a little bit aroused.
Back to normal, Jace released his hold on Darryl. The fitness trainer slumped to the ground, incapacitated but still conscious.
Tala stood over Darryl. Reaching down, she handcuffed his hands behind his back then rolled him into a sit. "You're an idiot for running. You're going to have a headache for hours and I'm booking you for assault on a police officer."
As she read Darryl his Miranda rights, Tala was acutely aware of Jace's presence. He had moved closer to her, standing only a foot away, watching her. It was if just being near her calmed him.
She had thought she would be angry by Jace's aggressive display. She didn't normally go for macho behavior. But with Jace, she found it endearing, soothing even. In the back of her mind, she felt protected and secure. Like nothing could hurt her again. Not with Jace Jericho around.
What she wasn't sure about, was how she felt about that. On one hand it appeased her, like the comfort of family and home.
But it also scared the living hell out of her. So much, she didn't know what to do with it.
CHAPTER TEN
Pacing the conference room, Jace was becoming stir-crazy. He'd been cooped up going on two hours now. Darryl was spouting off about police brutality and his lawyer was causing a stink. So, the powers that be decided it would be a good idea if they caged Jace for a while to get him out of the way. Little did they truly know how much of a cage it seemed to Jace.
After he and Tala brought Darryl in for questioning, the guy lawyered up almost immediately. The only thing they did get out of him was that he did see and train Samantha Kipfer that day around two o'clock. She had been there for an hour. After that, he claimed he didn't know where she went.