by Mikayla Lane
No body, no crime, no evidence, Nik thought, figuring he could save them some time when his team caught up.
BJ panicked as she watched her evidence being destroyed before her eyes. Thinking fast, she holstered her gun and grabbed her Taser as the man knelt down to the body.
“Back the hell away!” BJ ordered as she pointed the Taser at him.
Niklosi laughed, bending his head to concentrate on destroying the rest of the Relian body. He looked up when he heard the pretty female come closer and was left speechless as two barbs entered his forehead and 50,000 volts rocketed through his skull.
Niklosi was thrown to his back by the electrical current scrambling his brain and knocking out his beast. More angry than injured, he yanked the offending barbs out of his head and sat up, glaring daggers at the cheeky cop who’d shot him in the face.
BJ felt terrible that she’d gotten him in the forehead; she’d been aiming for his shoulder when he’d moved and looked up, but it hadn’t affected him much either way. She honestly wasn’t too surprised that the large killer was able to shake off the worst of the effects of the Taser so quickly, but it still scared the hell out of her.
The damn thing wasn’t made to take out giants and this guy was huge. BJ grabbed her mace in a last ditch attempt to subdue him before shooting him, and as he sat up and glared at her, she maced him.
Nik immediately covered his eyes and began growling from the burning pain.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Niklosi yelled out as his eyes burned and streamed water.
BJ hurried around the man, grabbed his gun from his holster, and threw it a few feet away. She slipped a zip tie around his wrist and yanked his hand away from his face. By the time he realized what she was doing, he was already in the heavy plastic zip ties and rolled onto his stomach.
“What the hell are you doing?” Niklosi growled, yanking on the cuffs.
Although he could break free, Niklosi had no desire to harm or frighten her and still fully expected Decano or Traze to show up any second and help. Besides, he wasn’t thrilled at the thought of her shooting him with the gun.
BJ ignored him and began patting him down for more weapons and whatever he’d used to destroy the body. It took several minutes before she was staring in awe at the pile of knives, throwing daggers, guns, and a sword.
A sword, she thought in amazement.
There was also an unusual milky white stone that she put on top of a blade to make sure she didn’t lose it.
“Honey, you’re going to be real damn embarrassed when you have to let me go because you have nothing to hold me on,” Niklosi warned her, hoping to convince the beautiful cop to let him go.
“Please stand up,” BJ said as she tugged upwards on his bound hands.
Normally BJ wouldn’t be quite so polite, but there was something about the large man that drew her to him and she didn’t feel the least bit of danger around him like she would around a guilty suspect. She trusted her instincts and hoped she wouldn’t need to call an army to get the guy to the car.
Niklosi blinked to try and clear the burning chemical from his eyes and stumbled as he got to his knees and tried to stand. He felt the tug on his hands to steady him, and before he knew it he was being led to a car and placed in the back seat before she slammed the door shut. He watched through blurry vision as she leaned into the front of the car.
“Buford, I need some serious back up here at Jepson’s place. As soon as you can get here,” BJ said calmly into the radio mic.
When several minutes passed with no response, Niklosi laughed.
“Guess they don’t like you much. Did you shoot them in the face and spray chemicals in their eyes too?” he mouthed off.
He couldn’t help but wonder where the hell Decano and Traze were, and why they hadn’t stepped in yet to get him out of this. As appealing as the female was, he was done there, and didn’t want the woman shooting him when he tried to escape.
“Markson, I’m almost there,” came the reply on the radio.
Niklosi burst out laughing.
“Your back up is a dinosaur?” he asked, mocking the gravelly, weathered voice that had responded.
BJ didn’t even bother to respond to the bait.
“I’m placing you under arrest and I’m going to read your Miranda Rights,” BJ said before launching into the words she knew by rote. “Do you understand your rights?”
Niklosi just chuckled at the absurdity of the situation and nodded his head.
“Yeah, I understood you perfectly,” he said.
BJ puzzled for a moment over his casual acceptance of the situation before she remembered her disappearing evidence. She leaned into the front seat and flipped on the headlights to illuminate the body, popped the trunk, pulled out two large black cases, and headed over to where the majority of the desiccated body still remained.
The wind was blowing more of it away by the second, and she knew she didn’t have much time before the rain heading their way that morning would destroy the rest of the scene.
She put on her gloves and began taking pictures of every angle of the crime scene before collecting as much evidence as she could before the wind managed to take the rest of it away.
At the bottom of the pile of dust the body had turned into, BJ smiled as she picked up the handful of slugs the killer had pumped into the man. She looked up as headlights crested the hill an hour later, and she waved at Buford as he put his truck in park.
“What you got, girl?” Buford asked as he sauntered over to the car and looked inside. “Damn, he’s a big ‘un! Who the hell is he? Where’d you find him?”
“You’re not going to believe me, Buford,” BJ said with a shake of her head as she finished collecting as much evidence as she could. She sighed in frustration as the wind carried the remainder of the dust away.
“Is he Jepson’s haint?” Buford asked as he walked towards her.
What the hell is a haint? Niklosi wondered as he watched Buford and the female interact.
“I honestly have no idea,” BJ admitted. “He sure ain’t from around here, or someone would’ve mentioned him by now.”
“What in tarnation is all this doing out here?” Buford asked as he knelt down beside the pile of weapons BJ had taken from Niklosi.
“That’s what he was carrying,” BJ said as she popped open an evidence bag and handed it to Buford.
“Damn, girl, what did you get in the middle of out here?” Buford asked as he held the bag open for her.
BJ shook her head as she glanced back at the car where the killer sat calmly in the back.
“I wish I knew, Buford. I need you to follow me into town and call Irwin, Mojo, and Dennis for me. Have them meet me at the station,” BJ said.
Buford whistled low and shook his head.
“I’m damn curious about what’s going on here,” he admitted.
BJ looked around the woods and couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. She was missing something. There was also that strange tingling she usually got when she knew she was being watched.
“I’ll explain everything when we get to the station,” BJ assured him as she took more pictures of the scene.
“Ain’t you got enough pictures already?” Buford asked, sounding a little exasperated.
“He just calmly killed a man in cold blood, I’m not letting him get off on a technicality. I’ll have a family to answer to when we figure out who this guy was,” BJ told him as she snapped a few more pictures.
“Where’s the body?” Buford asked in confusion as he looked around the area.
BJ nodded to the evidence collection bags stacked near her forensics kit.
“In there.”
Buford looked at the bags and noticed the gray dust taking up several clear bags.
“You telling me he cremated the damn body? Out here?” Buford asked incredulously as he pulled off his hat and scratched at his balding head.
“That’s exactly what he did, Bu
ford. I watched it with my own eyes, or I’d never believe it myself,” BJ admitted.
Buford scratched his head again before putting his hat back on.
“Well, girl, you seen what you seen. Let’s get him into town. This place is giving me the willies right now. My Mary dropped a knife this morning and the darn thing stuck right into the floor, but I had no idea we’d be seeing this kind of unexpected visitor,” Buford said.
BJ shook her head and grinned at Buford’s mention of one of the more popular superstitions. If you dropped a knife, and the point embedded in the floor or ground where you dropped it, then an unexpected visitor would arrive. Similarly, if you dropped a fork, a woman would come to your door. A spoon was an indication a gentleman would arrive.
BJ knew that it was ancient superstitions and folklore that the people had brought to the area hundreds of years ago, but it still made her smile that it was still believed and practiced in those parts.
The unique and varied cultures that had contributed to what the Ozark region was today made it one of the most diverse and underrated cultures in the US. It was also one of the most mocked, but BJ loved it, and strange murders aside, she was still glad she was back home.
Chapter Two
Niklosi silently fumed as he tried to wake up his beast to no avail. The Taser had effectively shut down Targe, and Nik had no idea how to wake him back up—which left him seething in the back of the old car and still wondering why the hell Traze and Decano had done nothing to get him out of this.
The cop had spent an hour carefully collecting evidence, and instead of knocking her unconscious and helping him escape, they were nowhere to be found. Nik had considered and discarded a dozen different ways of escaping on his own, but all the scenarios he came up with entailed either he or the female being gravely injured, and harming her wasn’t an option.
He groaned and shook his head when he saw the headlights coming up from behind and saw an old man get out of the most ancient vehicle Nik had ever seen and make his way to the car.
Niklosi kept his face averted as the man’s dull eyes studied him for a moment before he spoke to the cop about the evidence she was collecting.
He watched as the cop and Buford headed towards the car. Buford gave him a curious look as he passed and helped the cop put the black cases and evidence bags into her trunk before he got into his truck.
BJ slammed the trunk shut and looked around the area again before opening the driver’s door and sliding into the front seat.
Nik was just stunned that Traze and Decano had let it get this far.
I’m going to kill them both, he thought as he eyes clashed with the cops in the rear view mirror.
“We got about an hour drive to town,” BJ told him as she looked away from his gaze and slowly did a three point turn on the narrow dirt road.
Niklosi scrambled to think of what town was nearby and knew damn well he hadn’t run far enough to be close to one of the towns in the area where they’d dropped.
“Uh . . . what town?” he asked, coming up blank on where they could be.
“Baker’s Creek,” BJ answered, seeing no reason not to since the guy was being really compliant.
For a killer, she reminded herself.
“What the fuck is a Baker’s Creek?” Nik asked in irritation.
He never saw such a place on any of the maps they’d looked at before they dropped from the transport. He looked around the car suspiciously before he turned narrowed eyes on hers in the rear view mirror.
“Does it even exist, or is abducting travelers how you make money?” Nik accused.
BJ snorted, assuming he was making a dig at her small town when she saw the mistrust in his eyes. She told herself she didn’t care what some killer thought of her or her town but surprised herself by responding.
“We have 354 full time residents—none of whom hold killers hostage for ransom,” BJ said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
“Wow, a whole 354?” Niklosi snipped, hoping like hell Decano and Traze had a damn plan and enacted it soon.
There’s going to be an hour of driving on a desolate road that would make it easy for them to pull off an easy rescue, Nik thought.
“Yeah, a whole 354. And a half if you count Mary Jo’s baby that’s due in another month. Buford and his wife, Mary, couldn’t be happier to welcome their first grandchild,” BJ added with a chuckle, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice.
“Sarcasm does not look pretty on you,” Nik snapped at her like a petulant child.
BJ laughed at the pouty expression on the handsome man’s face. He was amusing if nothing else.
“I’m not going for pretty, I’m going for bitch. I guess I’m doing a kick ass job then?” BJ joked and grinned when she saw his reluctant smile in the rear view mirror.
Even with Buford behind them, BJ felt it would be wise to keep the large man in a pleasant mood. In an effort to keep the mood light and Nik calm during the bumpy ride, she decided to go with levity. She definitely didn’t want him stewing in the back seat for the whole ride and being a hulking asshole to deal with at the station.
“Yeah,” Nik agreed with a grin and a nod, “you got that covered pretty good. Taser to the face, check! Mace to the eyes, check! Yeah, you’re rocking the bitch theme.”
As much as Nik wanted to be pissed off at her, he couldn’t stay angry for long. She was beautiful, witty and charming in a way that peaked his interest and tugged at something inside of him. He knew she was being cautious, he could feel it in her energy, and he felt an overwhelming need to keep her from being frightened of him.
BJ laughed. Even though it was funny, she really hadn’t intended to Taser him in the face.
“So what’s the deal here?” Nik asked, unsure what the human law process entailed.
BJ sighed and puffed out her cheeks for a second as she studied him in the rear view mirror.
“Well, when we get to the station, you’ll be booked into custody. I’ll fingerprint you, take some pictures, and do a lot of paperwork,” BJ admitted.
She didn’t see any reason to lie to him since she’d have backup waiting at the station to help her get him into a cell without incident, and Buford was following them in his truck
“You’re arresting me for what?” Nik asked, incredulous that this situation had gone so far and Traze and Decano had hung him out to dry.
BJ’s mouth hung open in shock as she stared at him in the rear view mirror for a moment before turning back to the dirt road they were bouncing along; the shocks were stressed from his immense size.
“You’re kidding right? You do know that you killed someone back there? Never mind. Don’t say another word until we get to the station. We’ll be there soon,” BJ said, wondering if the man was insane.
She quickly dismissed the idea of insanity as she looked at his uniform. He looked more like a mercenary or member of the military. Taking another peek at him, she figured mercenary suited him better. BJ knew she’d find out once she ran his prints, and she’d rather wait until they got to the station anyway.
“Why don’t you talk like a hillbilly?” Niklosi asked, hating the silence as he waited for his beast to recover from its electroshock treatment.
“Not everyone from the mountains talks like that. I’ve never spoken with an accent, and I’ve lived here my whole life,” BJ admitted, having heard the same thing whenever someone in St. Louis had found out where she’d come from.
Niklosi sat up straighter and narrowed his eyes at her, his vision still a little blurry. He could still make out her hazel eyes in the mirror.
“You don’t think it odd that you don’t speak like the people you grew up with?” Nik asked, instantly wondering if she were a hybrid or gifted and if he could use it to escape.
BJ snorted and glanced at him in the mirror.
“Trust me, everyone has their own accent around here depending on what family you grew up in. But we all speak English and can read and write too!” BJ s
aid sarcastically.
Niklosi snorted and looked out of the window, again wondering where the hell his backup was.
I wouldn’t be here wondering why the hillbilly cop doesn’t have an accent if that fucking Traze and Decano hadn’t screwed me over, Nik thought in anger.
Mostly he was worried for the two and hoping they hadn’t been ambushed by another group of Relians while he’d been chasing down the asshole who got him arrested.
Arrested, Nik thought with a groan. Grai is going to kill me for this one, and Balduen is going to tease me until I beat the hell out of him.
Nik knew he’d been more reckless and restless than usual, taking more chances than he should. But he damn sure hadn’t expected to run right into a backwoods cop while shooting a Relian either.
“So what’s your name?” BJ asked, not wanting the man to brood and put up a fuss before they got to the station.
“Nik,” he said. “What’s yours?”
BJ laughed and shook her head.
“I see the game. I’m Markson,” she said.
Nik snorted and shrugged his shoulder.
“Whatever, Markson. So, this your first month as a cop?” he snapped, assuming she was new and wanting to needle her.
“Damn!” BJ said, a little surprised at his nasty attitude. “You’re just full of offensive snips and snaps aren’t you? I’m sorry if watching you kill someone has ruined your evening. Feel free to remain silent.”
“Yup, mastering the bitch-i-tude, and going for top of your class,” Nik muttered.
BJ smiled sweetly at his face in the rear view mirror and kept her mouth shut. She wasn’t about to let a murderer goad her, especially not over something so stupid.
Nik shook off his disappointment that she hadn’t taken his bait and again tried to wake up his beast. He sighed when he was still met with silence and began resigning himself to actually being arrested and whatever that entailed. Whatever had happened with Decano and Traze, he just hoped they were all right.
*****