Michael shrugs and we walk down the three flights of stairs. I take him through the alley, and at the end of it I point two blocks over. “See that red brick building? Take a left there and then go two block and take a right. It should be three blocks down.”
Michael smiles and thanks me. I watch him cross the street and make sure he’s headed in the right direction before I turn back to the alley to walk home.
I’ve never gone through this whole alley before today. It is actually quite lengthy. Old, tall buildings stand on either side, lending long and deep shadows even in the morning light. There are many alcoves and doorways with decrepit signs hanging askew. Others are completely nondescript. How would you know which was your door? As I walk, I hear the sound of my boot heels echoing off the building walls and the small pebbles under my feet crunching with each step. Then I hear the sound of gravel scraping like a foot scuffing the ground up ahead.
I quickly lift my head, and I think I see a shadow flit by the building two down from mine. I stand still a moment, my heart pounding. The location where I thought I heard the sound is still several buildings away. I look to the left and see a large garbage can. Maybe an animal got in it? But no, I am sure the shadow was on the right. I look at the tall buildings on the right and see nothing. I start to walk forward, quietly this time, with my eyes and ears open. I curse that I didn’t bring Varg with me. After three agonizing paces, a squirrel abruptly runs across an electrical line from one side of the alley to the other. I startle, then breathe a huge sigh of relief and relax. I must have an overactive imagination today.
I start to reminisce about how nice it was to have Jack in the apartment last night. I should quit my job so I can ask him out. I laugh at myself. That is ridiculous, of course, because I love my job.
My musings are interrupted suddenly when I sense the unmistakable feeling of someone’s extreme rage just ahead of me. The emotion is strong and violent, but I don’t see anyone. They must be hiding in the alcove. I am almost at the building where I saw the shadow. I reach for my gun and find that I didn’t put my gun and holster on before stepping out. Panic sets in.
I look behind me and see the long line of buildings between me and the other end of the alley. It’s a long shot, but I spin on my boot heel and start running back through the alley the way that I came. I hear footsteps behind me but don’t bother to look back. I pick up my pace and run as fast as I can. Whoever it is is fast and getting closer.
I look around for somewhere to block myself off, to protect myself, maybe a piece of wood to use as a weapon, anything. Nothing!
Suddenly someone grabs my arm and snarls, “Aberrant.”
I’m jerked back against a building. I look up and see Schmidt’s furious face.
“You little bitch. You think you can come in on my case and take over.” He raises his arm and smacks me across the face.
I’m dumbfounded. I hold my hand to my face. “What are you talking about, Schmidt? It’s Gambino’s case.”
“He would be working it with me, if you didn’t wiggle your slutty little self into it. That’s why he pays attention to you, ain’t it? You’re giving it to him, aren’t you?”
I see that Schmidt has gone over the edge, and I’m in a real situation now. His face is red, and I see blood vessels in the side of his face popping and muscles twitching.
“I’m not giving it to anyone, Schmidt. You’re just pissed that you were wrong about Paul.”
Schmidt snarls and plows his arm into my gut three times to punctuate each word he says. “You. Fucking. Bitch!””
I try to protect myself with my arms, but he’s a trained street cop and much larger than I. I double over in pain and cough as I try to catch my breath. I look up at him and say his name to get his attention, and then I lift my knee and go for the groin. Schmidt blocks me with his leg and gives me a fist cuff to the face. My vision goes wonky.
“I’ve had enough of your sluttiness, you little cunt. You want to whore yourself out to Gambino, I’ll give you some of it too.” Then he grabs my shirt and rips it open down the front.
I try to push past him, but he holds my upper arm in a vice grip. He starts pinching my nipples and grabbing my breasts like an animal. I claw at his face because I can’t seem to do anything else. He hits me on the other side of my face. I go for the eyes, but Schmidt grabs my wrists and pins them down at my sides. He holds me against the building and starts ripping at my jeans. I struggle, but his weight is blocking me, holding me against the building. I feel my button give and my zipper shred. I feel his sick hands grappling with my panties. And suddenly, when I think it might be too late, he is gone. The air fills with a snarling and the sound of his screams.
I slit open my eyes and see Varg, who appears to be twice the size he was this morning, shredding Schmidt’s arm. Schmidt’s face is already streaming blood. Varg has knocked him to the ground now, but he manages to get up and start running. Varg follows him out of the alley, biting and snarling at his heels.
I sink down to the ground and rest a moment. Varg returns and sits by me, licking my face. I put my arms around his neck and say, “You’re such a good boy. I promise I will never lock you away from me anywhere, ever again. I promise.”
When the tears and stars clear from my eyes and my breathing calms down, I gather my strength and heave myself up, using the brick wall for support.
I slowly walk toward the apartment and then attempt the stairs. My side hurts so bad I have to stop a few times on the way, but eventually I make it to my apartment. I see the door is still locked, and I wonder how Varg got out. I unlock it and head straight for the bathroom. I vomit and vomit until finally my stomach is empty. With my head resting on the side of the tub, I wearily turn on the faucet, running the water hot. Then I drag myself up and sit on the toilet lid to take my clothes off. I slip into the tub and scrub myself raw. At some point the sound of the phone ringing breaks through my intense focus, but there is just no way I’m getting out of the tub until I feel clean. I scrub myself all over again, then lay my head back against the back of the tub, still feeling dirty and slimy.
Pictures of what happened flash through my head. Maybe I should call Gambino and report Schmidt. But Varg did tear him up pretty good. Then I cringe internally, thinking if I don’t tell Gambino then Schmidt could do this to other women, women who don’t have a wolf. I’ll have to tell him, but I’ll do it later. A vision of how that conversation would go flashes through my head. “Hi, Blue. How are you?” “Oh, I’m great, Gambino. Thanks for asking. Would you like some coffee? By the way, Schmidt assaulted me and tried to rape me.”
With a sigh I decide to worry about this tomorrow because I am just so tired.
Chapter 35
Not Remembering
Bluebell Kildare: May 30, 2022, Red Ages
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, Jack is pulling me out of the water, and I vaguely discern a towel being wrapped around my body.
“Blue, wake up. Blue, you have to wake up.”
I look up at him, puzzled, and ask, “What are you doing here?”
Jack carries me to the sofa and growls, “Blue, you’re covered in bruises. Who did this to you? If it was Michael Radskif I’ll kill him. I’ll twist his bloody little neck.”
I start to shake my head, but pain splinters through it, so I say, “Schmidt. In the alley. Varg got him good, though.” Then I close my eyes.
Jack shakes me again. “Blue, you can’t sleep. You were hit on the head pretty bad. You could have a concussion. You have lumps on your head and a bloody one in back.” I lift my hand to the back of my head, and sure enough, I feel a huge, tender lump.
“Must have been when he slammed me against the brick wall,” I mumble.
Jack growls again, low and savagely. He props me up on the sofa and orders me, “Don’t move. Don’t go to sleep.”
He goes into the bathroom. I lever my right eyelid open. I order my left one to open too, but it doesn’t comply.
It feels swollen shut. But one eye is all it takes to see Jack return with his face in a black, murderous rage. He snarls, and his fangs descend, “Your clothes are torn, and I smell his filthy hands all over them.”
I see trouble coming. “Jack,” I say, “no death by bloodlust. Promise me.”
Jack says nothing but holds his mouth in a grim line. He pushes me down on the sofa and starts feeling all over my body and smelling me.
“Jack,” I shriek, and push at his shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“Lie still,” he demands. “I’m checking for internal injuries. I can smell if a blood vessel burst.”
“Oh, okay.” I’m not sure why this is okay, but it sounds reasonable, and I’m in no position to argue.
When he’s done examining me, he says, “No burst blood vessels, and he didn’t rape you. Varg got to him in time.” He sounds hugely relieved.
I slap Jack’s arm and glare at him with one eye. “I know that, you big dolt! You could have just asked.”
Jack says, “We should take you to the hospital.”
“No!” I protest.
I’m embarrassed enough as it is, being an Inspector and letting that sleazeball get to me. I don’t need to advertise it.
Jack sits down next to me and asks, “Do you want me to give you my blood? It would heal you completely.”
I still for a moment at the offer, then say cautiously, “Won’t that turn me into a Vampire?”
“No, over half of your blood would need to be replaced with Vampire blood to turn you. A small amount of blood will heal you completely. Have you ever taken Vampire blood before?”
I answer softly, “No.”
He says, “Well, then it wouldn’t harm you, but over time even if you get many small donations of blood, some of that blood stays in you and eventually you will turn. It doesn’t have to be one big donation at once. So you should be cautious.”
I think about it a minute and then say, “No. I don’t want to risk it. My injuries are not that bad.”
Jack frowns and says, “Well, I don’t smell any internal bleeding. If you stay awake and let me put ice on your injuries, it should be okay.”
With relief, I say, “Deal.”
Jack orders me again, “Stay awake,” and he steps toward the kitchen.
He comes back a moment later with two bags of frozen peas and two towels. He wraps the bags in the towels and places one on the lump on the back of my head and the other over my eyes.
“Blue,” he says, “I want you to count out loud for me so I know you’re awake. You have to count for five minutes.”
For crying out loud! He is such a fussbudget. All I want is to go to sleep, but instead my head is freezing, and he wants me to count. I start counting. “One, two, three…”
I try to sit up, but my gut protests. “Jack, there is no way I’m counting for five minutes with my eyes closed without falling asleep. I’ll tell you what, how about I put the frozen peas on my left eye, the one that is swollen shut, and look at you with the right eye so you know I’m awake. You tell me when five minutes are over and I’ll switch.”
Jack sighs but agrees.
We do this for about thirty minutes, switching eyes, until I put the now-soggy frozen pea bag down and say, “That’s enough. I can open both eyes now, so that is a big improvement. Besides, my brain is about to freeze.”
Now I can also see that the towel is not covering me very well. I move to stand up, and I get dizzy.
“What are you doing?”
“I need my robe,” I say. “It’s on the hook in the bedroom.”
Jack retrieves it for me.
“Would you help me up slowly?”
Jack easily lifts me up and carries me to the end of the sofa, setting me down on the arm. Then he holds the robe open for me so I can slip my arms in it. I drop the towel and close the robe while Jack averts his gaze.
Suddenly I’m freezing, and I start to shiver. “Jack, I’m cold. Would you mind terribly making some tea?’
“Of course,” he says. He helps me into sitting position on the sofa once again. Then he leaves me for a few minutes, returning with a large mug of tea that he sets on the coffee table. I gratefully take the mug in my hands and savor the warmth. I glance up at him.
“Don’t you have to be at work today?”
Jack says, “There is nothing going on today that can’t wait.”
I look down into the depths of my tea again and ask, “How did you know something happened, anyway?”
Jack sits next to me. “Michael called me when he finished the job. You didn’t show up at the office, so I called you. You didn’t answer your phone, so I came over.”
“Oh,” I say. “I heard the phone, but I was trying to scrub the feel of his slimy hands off me.” I grimace. “I couldn’t stop. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you come over here.”
I shiver, partly from being cold and partly at the thought of Schmidt’s hands on me. Jack puts his arms around me and pulls me back to his chest.
I lean my head on his shoulder and say, “Mmm. This is nice. You’re warm like a radiator.”
Jack starts rubbing my arms vigorously to stimulate my circulation. He moves up to my shoulders, and I think again how nice it is. His hands are wiping the memory of Schmidt away. I shiver again. Jack moves his hands down to my hips and kneads the muscle there. His arms are around me, and I feel nested in his warmth. I don’t know when it happens, but suddenly I realize his arm movements have turned sensual. I turn my head so I can see him. I lightly kiss his neck. Jack stills and stops touching me.
“No, please don’t stop,” I say. “You’re erasing the feel of him. I don’t want to remember him touching me.”
Jack turns his eyes to me. They burn green, and his mouth twists in fury.
Chapter 36
A Light Too Beautiful
Jack Tanner: May 30, 2022, Red Ages
Blue murmurs to me, “No, please don’t stop. You’re erasing the feel of him. I don’t want to remember him touching me.”
I think about her remembering Schmidt’s hands on her body, and it brings a rage so black and so deep my vision tunnels. I feel her kiss my neck again, and her soft lips bring me back. Her aura’s white light shimmers softly about her. My throat catches at the loveliness. I look at her bruised face and swollen eyelids, and through it all, her soft eyes gaze at me tenderly. This woman endlessly surprises me with her capacity for kindness.
I kiss the side of Blue’s head and move my hands over her hips again. She settles back against me and sighs. She winces a bit when I glide my hands up to her sides, so I skim over the area. I move to her arms again and caress her in slow, warm strokes. Her lips part, and I can see her nipples pebble under her robe. I kiss the top of her hair and breathe in her scent. She smells fresh and clean and Blue. Like no one else smells.
I lightly skim over her breasts, and her nipples rise even further. Jesus Christ, she is so responsive to me. I rub lightly back and forth over her taut peaks through the fabric. Blue rolls her head, and her lips part even more. I drink in the look of her moist lips with their rounded edges. She lightly bites her bottom lip unconsciously. I dip my head down and pull her earlobe into my mouth, gently tugging. Blue moans, and I harden even more at the sound. God, I want this woman. But this is not about me right now.
I grasp her hips and pull her back against me tightly, reaching my hands around her and flicking both of her peaked nipples with my thumbs. Blue opens her eyes, and I see tenderness, complete trust, and raw wanting.
“Are you sure?” I whisper in her ear.
Blue keeps her gaze firmly on mine and nods. “Please,” she says softly.
She completely undoes me with her soft plea. My heart tightens as I realize I’ve never felt more for a woman.
I untie her robe and slip my hands inside to slowly explore every curve and dip of her body. My hands memorize her breasts, softly circling and teasing her. She arches her back slightly but winces and drops
back down.
“Lie still,” I whisper. “I’ll do all the work.”
I draw circles around her nipples until they are tight and swollen, then I roll them slowly and tenderly between my fingers, watching their color deepen. Blue’s eyes close, and her lips part again as her breaths come in little puffs. Looking down, I see her beautiful, pale skin beneath my hands and the rosy tips of her breasts between my fingers. Suddenly the air fills with her womanly nectar, and a feeling of utter satisfaction fills me. I breathe her scent deep into my lungs, hungry for a taste.
I control myself and pull her more tightly against me until I feel her bottom pressed firmly against my shaft, nestling me. I suckle lightly on her ear some more, tasting her salty skin. The scent of her rich blood flows so close to my mouth, tantalizing me. Blue turns to me and steals a kiss. I tease her lower lip tenderly, careful to avoid her swollen upper lip. Then I move my mouth away and kiss the top of her head, afraid of hurting her.
I take turns gently pinching both nipples with one hand, and I slip my other hand between her thighs, softly teasing her dark curls. When Blue shifts her hips toward my hand, I slide my fingers in deeper, slipping over her slick flesh. I thrill in the lushness of her soft, wet skin. Lightly, I tug at her thighs, and she opens up to my hand like petals to the sun. I can see the dark, curly hair between her parted thighs glistening with moisture. I watch, riveted, as I dip two fingers between her creases into her wet, pink folds. Blue jerks her hips up toward me. She is so warm and open to me, but I hesitate a moment, holding still. Then, slowly, I move my fingers up and down, caressing her swollen womanhood.
Blue groans and her mouth opens wider, searching for me like a hungry bird. She kisses my neck and my jaw, all that she can reach. She hungrily kisses and sucks on my skin, apparently no longer feeling the pain of her swollen lip. I move my fingers deftly over her silky flesh, and she opens up more, lifting her hips to me. I find her bud and gently stroke it.
A shudder and a soft moan escapes from Blue’s mouth as she thrashes her head. I keep rubbing and circling, spreading her honey all over her beautiful little clit.
The Light Who Shines Page 25