by Lori Drake
It looked like Itsuo was himself again, so where was Roger? Chris got his answer when his own body stirred and sat up.
“No! No, no, no!” Chris struggled against the hands—and knee—that held him down. They tightened their grip, and Ben’s knee once again stole Chris’s ability to form a coherent thought. When the fog of pain subsided to a light mist once more, he watched in horror as Joey approached Roger-Chris and took a knee beside him.
“You okay?” she asked.
“That’s not m— That’s not Chris!” Chris exclaimed, nearly giving away his secret in his haste to warn Joey.
“Don’t listen to him, he’s trying to trick you!” Roger-Chris countered.
Joey glanced between them, then rose and withdrew a few feet.
“Joey?” Ben asked, clearly as uncertain as she was.
Joey sighed. “Tie them both up.”
Joey held the package of peas against her eye. They were cold. Freezing, actually, but that was kind of the point. Eric had gotten her good with his elbow during the scuffle, and she wouldn’t be good to anyone with one eye swollen shut. The cold felt good against her lacerated palm, at least. Things were numbing nicely. A small, somewhat dingy ray of sunshine.
Before her was a dilemma wrapped in a conundrum. Brandon had scrounged up enough nylon rope to secure both Eric and Chris to straight-backed dining chairs. Both insisted that the other was possessed by Roger. Had Chris succeeded in possessing Eric? She couldn’t ask directly, not without getting him alone.
So she sat there on the island in the kitchen, holding a bag of mostly frozen peas to her face and staring down the two men tied to chairs with her good eye. Itsuo leaned against the wall nearby, keeping an eye on everyone. He’d been mortified to learn he’d manhandled Adam while under Roger’s influence, and seemed eager to distance himself from the others in the aftermath, even if that meant leaving Jenny’s side.
Come on, Chris. Just give me a sign. Something, anything.
It didn’t help that it was after three in the morning, and forming coherent thoughts was becoming a challenge.
“Come on, this is ridiculous,” Chris said, after nearly a full minute of silent scrutiny passed. “Untie me so we can get this over with.”
Although it was Chris that spoke, Joey eyed Eric. He sat there quietly, which was point number one against him being himself. Eric was never quiet. He also hadn’t objected in the slightest to being tied up. Point number two. Based on nothing but these two facts, Joey had a strong suspicion that Eric wasn’t Eric. But was he Roger, or was he Chris?
“Why should I believe you?” Her question was directed at Chris, but she held Eric’s gaze with her good eye. He inclined his head in the slightest of nods. She wasn’t sure how to interpret it.
“Because you know me,” he said. “You’d know if I weren’t me.”
Joey couldn’t shake the feeling that he should have been right, but smirked. “You’re right. That should be making one of you nervous right about now.”
Eric remained silent. Chris asked, “What are you trying to accomplish by tying me up, anyway? It’s not like Roger couldn’t just jump into another body.”
Joey lowered the bag of peas from her face. Why hadn’t Roger jumped bodies? Why had he let himself be tied up to play this game with them? Her eyes shifted between Chris and Eric once more. This could work to her advantage, because it meant for the moment Roger probably wouldn’t hop bodies. He was a prisoner of his own making.
“Scary, right?” Chris said, misinterpreting her reaction. “And, frankly, I don’t want to be tied up when he does. Come on, give me a chance!”
The more he spoke, the less like Chris he sounded.
Time to roll the dice.
Joey hopped down from the counter. Leaving the peas behind, she walked over to the bound men and stopped in front of them with her hands on her hips. “So, here’s the thing. I don’t actually have time to sort this out right now. You two can cool your heels in here for now.”
“What? No, don’t leave me alone with him!” Chris said.
“You’re both tied up—what harm could he possibly do?” She headed for the door, motioning with her head for Itsuo to join her.
“No, no! Come back!” Chris’s pleas followed her out of the room.
“Is it wise to leave them alone?” Itsuo asked quietly, once they were out of earshot.
“Wait for it…” Joey whispered, and held her index finger aloft.
“Come back here, you heartless bitch!”
Joey’s lips twitched into a smile. She turned around and sauntered back into the kitchen to find Eric glaring rather fiercely at Chris. Chris’s expression was chagrined; he knew he’d made a mistake. Leaning over, Joey put her hands on his shoulders.
“We need to talk,” she said, then gave him a firm enough push to make the chair tip back onto its back legs. It wobbled, then fell backward to hit the floor with a noisy thump.
Chris made a pained noise, somewhere between a grunt and a whimper.
“Careful,” Eric whispered.
Joey winced inwardly, belatedly recalling Chris’s injured ribs, but walked forward until she could look down into his eyes. It was difficult seeing him as anyone but Chris, even though she knew the spirit was inside him. “Get out of him.”
“Why should I?” Roger asked, giving up the pretense now that the jig was up.
“Because if you don’t, or if you harm him in any way, I will end you. Once and for all.”
Roger laughed, or at least tried. The sound tapered off with a wheeze and he coughed lightly, visibly struggling to breathe. “You’ll do that anyway,” he said, once he’d caught his breath. “That’s what you’ve all been planning. That’s why that scrawny nerd was trying to fix your phone. But you’re missing a piece of the puzzle, little wolf. You can’t stop me. I won’t stop until they’re all dead. All of them!”
He had a point. Also, the sounds Chris’s lungs were making troubled her. “Fair point. But maybe there’s a way for us to both get what we want.”
Roger narrowed his eyes. “How so?”
“Well, you want justice for your murder, right?”
“Yes!”
“He did it.” Joey pointed at Eric. “Not the others. He tricked them and used you as his patsy. I’ll make sure that he pays for that crime.”
“You’ll kill him?”
“No. But the state of Washington might. Eventually. I’m talking about justice, not revenge. Eric gets turned over to the police. The others go free. Knowing they killed an innocent man will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Isn’t that more satisfying than a quick end?”
“No!” Roger howled, writhing against his bonds.
“Stop it!” Joey snapped, shooting the spirit a glare that could curdle milk. “You’ll hurt him!”
A heavy sigh came from Eric’s direction. “Knock him out.”
“What?” Joey’s head swiveled, and she peered at the other bound man.
“He won’t be able to inhabit the body if it’s unconscious,” Eric said, meeting her eyes. Somehow, Joey knew it was Chris behind them now.
“What about Kate? He didn’t have any trouble animating her.”
“It’s different. Trust me.”
Joey trusted him, but still hesitated. Why did she keep ending up in these sorts of situations, where she had to do him harm at his behest?
“Are you certain, Christopher-san?” Itsuo’s quiet question jolted her from her reverie. She’d all but forgotten he was there. His eyes were on Eric, as if he—like Joey—knew that Chris was calling the shots and wasn’t alarmed in the slightest.
Chris-Eric’s brows went up, but he nodded.
Itsuo grabbed one of the beer bottles that’d been left scattered around the kitchen and smacked Roger-Chris upside the head with it. The glass shattered, but more importantly, Chris’s eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp.
Joey winced. “Thanks,” she said.
Itsuo bowed, then carefull
y stood the chair holding Chris’s body back up.
“What the fuck?” Eric exclaimed, presumably as Chris left him. “What happened? Untie me right now!”
There were questions Joey wanted to ask Itsuo. A lot of questions. They’d have to wait. She sighed and walked back to retrieve her bag of peas from the island.
“Hard pass,” she said, meeting Eric’s eyes. “We need to talk.”
“Fuck you! I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“You can talk to me, or you can talk to your pack.” She pressed the frozen peas against her face again and leaned against the countertop. “They’re pretty upset with you right now. I already had a pretty good idea you were a shithead, so my world-view isn’t necessarily rocked.”
“I’m not saying a goddamn thing until you let me go.”
“Then it’s going to be a long night. If you like, we can leave you alone. Well, not entirely alone. Roger’s around here somewhere”—she glanced around the room—“he can keep you company. Though, fair warning, he likes you even less than I do.”
Eric glared daggers across the room. “I don’t give a fuck what either of you think.”
Joey lowered the bag of peas and tossed it lightly, flipping it over to press the other side against her face. “Pardon if I’m not super broken up about that. So anyway, why’d you kill Roger?”
Eric snorted. “You know why. He was a hunter. He killed Micah.”
“Bullshit. You made that up. What I don’t get is why. What really happened to Micah?”
He glared at her in silence.
Joey’s fingers tightened on the frozen vegetables. She was getting really tired of this shit, but did her best to rein in her temper. Now wasn’t the time. “You know what I think? I think you killed Micah.”
“That’s a dangerous accusation.”
Joey arched a brow. It was the one hidden behind the peas, but she couldn’t help it. It was the only one she could arch. “You’re not denying it.”
He snorted. “Because it’s not worth dignifying with a response. What possible reason would I have for killing a member of my own pack?”
“I dunno, Eric. You tell me. Why are the only two alphas in your pack the one that’s in love with you and the one that can put you in your place but won’t actually challenge you?”
Eric frowned. The ropes around him creaked as he moved his arms, probably testing for a weakness. “Who told you Micah was an alpha?”
Joey smiled. “You just did. But here’s the thing. I’ve been onto you since the day we met. I’ve always known something was wrong with this pack, and now I finally understand what. It’s you. You’re a broken, ruthless tyrant who’s pushed his people into doing things that are abhorrent to them. You keep them in check through subjugation and fear, and you’re not afraid to put down the ones that don’t fall in line.”
Eric smirked and shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Joey pushed off the counter and walked over to him, lowering the makeshift compress so she could lock eyes with him. “I don’t? Enlighten me. What happened to Micah?”
“Micah… was an accident.”
Joey’s eyes flicked to Itsuo to make sure he was still there. He had been still and quiet since setting Chris’s chair upright, but he did still seem to be listening. Frowning and listening.
“What kind of an accident? You were cleaning your silver-loaded shotgun and it went off?” she asked, returning her focus to Eric.
He looked away. “We had an argument and got in a fight. These things happen, you know? Only it went too far. I think he broke a rib, punctured a lung or something. He started coughing up blood, and I didn’t know what to do. I went for help, but when I came back, he was gone.”
Joey swallowed an uncomfortable lump in her throat. “He drowned in his own blood.”
Eric met her eyes again, a smile creeping across his face. “You’re so fucking gullible.”
Joey’s fist flew practically of its own accord, striking his smug face so hard that his chair rocked back and fell over.
“Oof. Hahaha, the look on your face…”
Joey shook out her hand. “I’m starting to understand the true meaning of justifiable homicide,” she muttered, and gave Itsuo a nod. He set Eric’s chair upright again and clocked one ear for good measure.
“Hey!” Eric shot Itsuo a glare. Blood leaked from both nostrils and he turned his head to spit blood on the floor before looking back to Joey. “Micah betrayed me. Betrayed the pack. He had to be put down.”
Joey pressed her knuckles into the bag of peas in an effort to ease their discomfort. “How? What betrayal is so bad that you’d kill for it, but keep it a secret from everyone else?”
Eric spat blood on the floor again. “None of your fucking business.”
Joey fought the urge to punch him again, but maybe he was right on that count. Why he killed Micah wasn’t particularly vital to the current situation, so she let it go. “So, you killed him and blamed it on a hunter. Where does Roger come in?”
Eric shrugged, as much as his bonds would allow. “Couldn’t just let the hunter get off scot-free. What kind of Alpha would I be?”
“What kind of… The kind that doesn’t murder innocent humans!” Joey hurled the bag of peas at him with a growl. It smacked against his chest and slid down to his lap. She left it there, not wanting to put her hand anywhere near his crotch. With luck, maybe he’d get frostbite on his dick.
“Innocent humans my ass,” Eric retorted. “They’re all just hunters in the making.” There was hatred in his eyes as they burned into hers.
Joey blinked and rocked back on her heels. “What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me. You know what. The only reason we still exist is because they don’t know about us. If the truth got out, they’d turn on us. All of them. They’d exterminate us, or worse.”
“You can’t be serious.” Joey’s eyes darted to Itsuo. “I think I knocked some sense out of him.”
Itsuo shrugged and tucked his hands up his sleeves. He didn’t appear particularly surprised by the sentiment.
Eric went on, “There are billions of them, Joey. Billions of them, and how many of us? Hundreds? Thousands, maybe, worldwide? Killing one of them means nothing.”
Joey managed to recover from the shock enough to say, “This all started with you killing one of us, lest we forget. Micah wasn’t human. He was a wolf, and now he’s gone. That’s on you. I ought to let Roger kill you. Hell, maybe he’d take you in trade for the others. You’re disgusting.”
His savage smile chilled her to the bone. “So much for every life being precious.”
Chris groaned and lifted his head.
“Chris!” Joey moved swiftly to him, abandoning Eric for now. She lifted a hand to his cheek and looked into his eyes. “It’s you, right?”
“Yeah. I know that was my idea, but kind of regretting it now.”
Itsuo stepped forward, but Joey held up a hand. “Not until we know for sure,” she said, then looked back at Chris. “What were you for Halloween last year?”
“Nic—“ He shook his head. “Nothing.”
Joey leaned over and hugged him as tightly as she dared. It’d been a trick question. Halloween had come and gone, uncelebrated, shortly after he returned from the dead. Relief flooded her. Chris was back. Granted, Roger could possess him again at any moment, but for now it was enough.
“Get a room.” Being tied to a chair didn’t stop Eric from grousing.
Joey loosened her hold on Chris enough to press her lips to his. He made a surprised noise, but kissed her back. For a few seconds, nothing else mattered. She poured her heart and soul into that kiss, even though it was brief and awkward, with him still tied to the chair and all.
“You did not just kiss me to spite him,” Chris murmured when their lips parted.
“Only a little,” Joey replied, and set to freeing Chris from his confinement with help from Itsuo.
“What’d I miss
?” Chris asked, flexing and stretching stiff muscles as he was released.
“I’ll catch you up along with everyone else,” Joey promised.
“Are you sure that is wise, Josephine-san?” Itsuo said as he untied the last knot.
“They need to know, and we need to figure out what we’re going to do about Roger. And Eric,” Joey said, sparing the still-bound Alpha a glance.
“What do you mean, ‘do with Eric’?” Eric asked.
Joey ignored him as she helped Chris to his feet.
“Were you serious about turning him over to the cops?” Chris asked, standing but leaning on her even after he was on his feet. She caught him wince and was immediately concerned.
“No!” Eric exclaimed. “No, you can’t do that. You can’t let them put me in a cage!”
Joey hadn’t quite thought it through, but even so… “Yes. He killed someone. Hell, he killed two someones. We can’t just let that go.”
Chris said, “You know what’d happen to him if he ended up in long-term custody, if he couldn’t shift…”
Eric struggled against his bonds now, “My pack won’t let you do that. They’ll stand by me, you’ll see! And when I get my hands on you—”
Joey rounded on Eric, shooting him a glare. “You’ll do what? Choose your words carefully, Eric. Because I know exactly what kind of man you are, and I won’t take threats lying down.”
Chris touched her arm, drawing her attention back to him. “We should bring everyone in here.”
Her brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Transparency. They need to know, and this way there’s no question about what was said to whom. Everything out in the open, all the cards on the table.”
“What about Jenny?”
“Good point. Probably not a good idea to move her again. I guess we can bring him to them.”
“We? You’re barely upright. Can you walk?”
He grimaced and straightened, pressing a hand to his injured ribs. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Joey turned to find that Itsuo had already picked up Eric’s chair and was halfway to the door. She reached for Chris’s hand. “Come on. Can’t let them start without us.”