Hunting Jessica

by Elizabeth St. John

  “My girlfriend is a hellhound. Spearing you the details, I was bitten a few times and now I’m…different,” he said.

  My brother had been turned by a female member of a pack. I said the only thing that came to mind, “How long have you been like this?”

  “I was turned right after you left the city the last time. About a year now.” I dropped the papers and pulled my brother in for a hug, “I thought you would be freaked out or something. This doesn’t bother you?”

  “Why would it bother me? You’re my brother. It doesn’t matter if you have a tail sometimes.” We both laughed.

  “You reek of vampire blood by the way,” he said and pulled out of the hug.

  “Oh, yeah, about that,” I sat back down. “I fed on a vampire last night.”

  “What?” he asked in disgust. “Did that asshole get you hooked on that shit?”

  “One, Rayce is not an asshole and you take that back right now, Robert Nathanial Hale,” I snapped as if I were my mother.

  “Fine. I’m sorry. Well, did he?”

  “To answer your question, no, he did not. I’ve been bitten a few times myself.”

  “It may linger in your blood, but you’re not a full hellhound, sis. I would know.”

  “It happened by accident actually. I was working and got some blood in my mouth.”

  “You’re a hunter too?” he asked in shock.

  “I’ve been a hunter for almost four years now,” I explained.

  “Well, shit,” he smiled. “My baby sisters’ a bad-ass.”

  I grinned, “Thanks, bro,” I said and lightly punched him in the arm.

  I went with Bobby inside the house and returned with Rayce and Marie in tow. Marie came over and squatted down next to me, “Jessica, you’ve been crying. What’s the matter with you and why in the hell are you so emotional?”

  I laughed, “I’m fine. My brother told me something that made me happy is all. I wanted you guys to be here. It does concern you as well,” I said happily.

  The four of us were in the garage with the door locked. We all talked and gave my brother the lowdown on Devils Bend. Once he learned Rayce was a pack master, he began to act different, respectful. I sat on Rayce’s lap and held his hand. I couldn’t believe my brother was a member of a pack in the city. He met his girlfriend at a club he was working security at. He said as soon as he saw her, he fell in love.

  Bobby made some calls so we could meet the pack master of Oklahoma City. I didn’t feel right but my brother was pretty insistent on the matter. Once Bobby finished his call we all went back to the house and told my mother good bye. I hated to leave so soon but I needed to figure out what I was going to do. She held on to me for a long time. I had missed her. She smelled of Passion perfume and Dove shampoo. I wished I could hold on to her forever but I had to go before another bounty hunter showed up looking for me. We piled into the truck and pulled away from my childhood home.

  CHAPTER

  23

  During the drive to the location of the pack master of the city, I looked at my brother and I began to feel the envy. I wanted so much to be a member of Rayce’ pack. I admit I was jealous of my brother and what he had. We drove down town to a tall apartment building and Bobby directed us to the parking garage under the building.

  I was uneasy. I didn’t feel safe in this building. All I wanted to do was hightail it out of there. I could see Rayce was irritated as well. “Why do we need to meet the pack master? What’s the point?”

  Marie unbuckled her belt and got closer to me, “We have to show respect for the local pack and make ourselves known,” she explained.

  We got out of the truck and walked toward an elevator. I held Rayce’ hand and my brother pushed the UP button. I inspected our surroundings and what I saw gave me a chill up my spine. On the other side of a van were four motor cycles. They had the works. They were chromed out and had leather all over them. I gave Rayce’ hand a squeeze and he looked down at me. I bobbed my head toward the bikes and I instantly felt his heat rise. He was on alert.

  “Oh crap, I forgot my phone in the truck,” I lied. “Rayce, can you help me find it?” He unlocked the doors and we both climbed in. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” I hissed as we pretended to look between the seats.

  “Calm down, babe. It could be anyone,” Rayce said softly.

  “I think the bounty hunter was sent by this pack. Matter of fact, I’m sure of it. What are we going to do? I can’t show my face to them, they will kill us.”

  “Don’t worry, babe. I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said stroking my hand from across the seat. He winked at me before we walked back to the elevator. I was walking away from my means of escape. Rayce took my hand and held it tight. We stepped onto the elevator and the doors closed. I took Marie’s hand as well to let her in on my feelings of tension. As we reached the fourth floor, Bobby led us down a very long hallway. I dragged my feet as we came up on a door. He knocked three times.

  A little woman opened the door and she had a smile on her lips as she looked up at my brother. She couldn’t have been more than three feet tall. Her smile wasn’t nearly as brilliant as Marie’s but it was still nice and her eyes had kindness in them. Her bountiful breasts nearly popped out the top of her red dress. She was sexy for sure. Her beautiful hair gleamed like gold against the red fabric.

  My brother reached down and she wrapped her arms around his neck. This must have been his girlfriend. Bobby smiled and lifted her up for a kiss to her nice smile and put her back on her feet. It was nice to see my brother happy with someone. He really hadn’t had the best relationships in the past, so to see he was happy, and this woman was going to be with him forever was nice.

  I still felt uneasy. I didn’t want to walk through the door. Rayce kept a firm hold on my hand and the tiny woman led us into the living room of the apartment. She asked us to take a seat. My brother introduced all of us and the woman. Her name was Lilly. She said someone would be with us momentarily.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” I whispered.

  My brother sat down as if he had been inside this apartment many times. We all sat quietly and waited. I felt like I was waiting for a tornado to hit. Marie’s phone rang, making me nearly jump out of my skin. I really needed to get a grip on my emotions. It was Jay, I was sure of it. I only got to hear one side of their conversation.

  “Baby, I will tell you everything when I get home…I’m with Rayce and Jessica. What happened?” she asked quietly. Marie turned around from the windows and looked at me with big eyes. I have only seen her make that face one other time and that was when she was tied up in the park woods. She was afraid. “Okay, I’ll let her know. Love you too.”

  “Everything alright?”

  She closed her phone and put it back into her pocket, “Everything’s fine. Hey, Bobby. Can you direct me to the bathroom?”

  “It’s around the corner,” he said.

  “Thanks, doll,” she said and took my hand in hers.

  “Why do you need my sister to go to the bathroom with you?” he asked snickering.

  “Women, dude,” Rayce said shrugging.

  “This is what women do. When we are in a strange place, we like to have a girlfriend go with us,” I said smiling.

  “Whatever,” Bobby said and sat back in his chair to wait for us.

  We walked down the small hallway and entered the huge bathroom. Marie turned around quickly and grabbed my arms, “Jessica,” she whispered. “You are not going to believe this.”

  “Hold on,” I said and she dropped my arms as I turned on the water to muffle our talking.

  “Jay got a call from Gage telling him he was leaving town and he was coming to be the second in command to the pack master in Oklahoma City.”

  I had to sit down. My world was spinning as I sat down on the toilet. “When did he get this call?” I asked breathlessly.

  “This morning.”

  “Impossible,” I whispered.

  “That sadistic assh
ole is still alive and on his way here, if he isn’t here already,” she whispered. The thought of Gage still being alive terrified me. “You better get your emotions in check now, chick. You need to be clear-headed if shit decides to hit the fan.”

  “We have to leave,” I said quietly.

  “We can’t. Rayce has to greet the OKC pack master first.”

  “Damnit,” I growled.

  “Jessica …emotions,” she scolded.

  “Right,” I said and took a deep breath. We walked out of the bathroom. I wanted to get Rayce, Marie, and my brother out of this apartment as soon as possible.

  “Rayce, we have to go. Jay called and said we are working tonight. We need to head out now. Maybe you can come back and meet the, whatever. Let’s go now,” I walked over and took him by the hand and pulled him to his feet.

  “You just got here,” Bobby complained.

  “Come with us,” I insisted.

  “Why would I leave? My girl is here,” he explained.

  “Bobby, I don’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

  Gage knew who my brother was. If he were here, then he would hurt him because of me. My heart sank when I heard the most awful voice in existence coming from behind me. “Leaving so soon?”

  I slowly turned around. Who I saw was not who I was expecting at all. The voice was the same. They had the same build and even the same gray eyes, but it wasn’t him. It wasn’t Gage but they sure as hell looked a lot like him.

  “Uncle? How can this be?” Rayce asked, taking me by surprise.

  “Uncle?” The man who stood before us was Jay and Gage’s father? Everyone thought he was dead and that Gage had killed him and his mother.

  “Yes, nephew, it is me. I hear you have stripped my son of his leadership and you have stepped up.”

  “Yes, uncle,” Rayce said.

  The man smiled the same sickening smile as his son, “Good for you. After fourteen years, you finally became a man and took what was yours. I’m proud of you.”

  “Thank you, uncle,” Rayce replied respectfully.

  “But, I’m afraid you have not gone about this the right way. You gave up your right when you took a step down and gave it to my oldest son,” his uncle explained. “These rules were not explained to you?”

  Rayce was speechless and my heart sank. “Yes, uncle, I have taken it back and no, I was not aware of the rules of leadership.”

  “The rules are very simple, nephew. If you want your leadership back, you have to challenge Gage to a fight.”

  My stomach nearly retched on the carpet. My heart was pounding. I didn’t want to hear the rules of this fight. I remember the stories. Rayce told me about how Gage would make him fight him when he was young. Gage always had an advantage because he consumed the blood. By the looks of it, so did his father. The man did not look like he was more than fifty years old. If my math was right, he was past his seventies. His chest was huge like his sons. He looked like a body builder. His gray eyes seemed crazed, looking at all of us.

  “A fight to the death I suppose?” Rayce asked.

  I looked at Rayce and I could feel the lump in my throat. I swallowed it back and looked to his uncle. I knew what he was going to say before it even touched his lips. His uncle’s eyes rested on my face. I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide away from his gaze.

  “Naturally, nephew.”

  “I see,” Rayce replied deeply.

  “I also hear you have taken his women as your own. You know as soon as a female is claimed they belong to that pack member, right? The penalty for that is death,” he said.

  I wanted to jump in and defend Rayce but it would make him look weak. I never belonged to Gage. The only person I ever belonged to was Rayce when I chose him. I had to hold my tongue. I looked over at my brother and I could see he had nothing to do with this. He was as lost as I was at first.

  “I am aware of free will as well as the rules,” Rayce stated. His uncle’s eyes raged. “Uncle, your son demanded claim but she never agreed to it. He was going to turn her without her knowledge. No rule was broken! Were you also informed that your son has attempted to use force on my women?”

  Heat reached my cheeks as embarrassment washed over me. My brother looked down at me with anger in his eyes. I knew Rayce had to say something to defend himself and make Gage look bad to his father. I wished I could leave. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, Gage strolled up behind his father. He was grinning like the Joker as he eyed me. I cowered behind Rayce the best I could, trying to hide.

  “That doesn’t matter. Pack master may do as he pleases with his females. That is his right,” his uncle explained.

  “Yes, if she belongs to that pack master, but she didn’t, and never will,” Rayce declared.

  Gage spoke up from behind his father, “She is mine and always will be. You are lucky I don’t kill you where you stand for even touching her.”

  Rayce’s uncle held up his hand to stop his son from talking. Every hair on my body stood up at the sound of his voice. I wanted to run. “You will have your chance, my son.” He looked at us and spoke of the rules. It sounded like he was declaring order on the whole thing. “Rayce, because you are my nephew, and you carry my name, I shall give you two months to prepare for the fight. If by then you still wish to fight for leadership, I will arrange a time and place. Now when it comes to this female, you are permitted to keep her as long as she will have you.”

  “Father, she,” Gage growled.

  “Silence!” he growled back at his son, making him step back slightly. “Because my son tried to force a human into the change, he will not be rewarded her. He will not be permitted to go back to our hometown until the fight as well,” the pack master explained.

  “I understand, uncle. Thank you,” Rayce said.

  Rayce shook hands with his uncle and the four of us finally walked to the door. The pack master spoke again, “Oh, Bobby, I understand this female is your sister. You may go with her, but I might decide to never let you come back to this pack. If Rayce loses this fight, you will no longer be protected by this pack or my sons if he is to win. Let’s hope Rayce wins…for your sake,” he said smiling at my brother and to me. I got a shiver of fear. I wanted to run for my life.

  My brother looked to his girl and back to me and to her again. She also looked worried. I didn’t want my brother to suffer because of me. I touched his arm to get his attention. “Bobby, stay with your pack. Stay with her. We will always be brother and sister and I will love you no matter what you choose.”

  My brother’s dark green eyes burned with emotion. I could also feel the reluctance as he released my hand. He walked back to Lilly and hugged her. He had made his choice and I was happy for him. I wanted him happy, even if that meant our families were feuding. I took Rayce by the hand, and with Marie right behind us, we left the apartment. I would feel better once we were driving away from this place. Once the doors to the elevator opened, we stepped on. I pushed the button to the parking garage and I could see Gage standing down the hall staring menacingly. Marie flipped him the bird as the doors closed.

  “Marie,” I scolded.

  “What? He’s always been an asshole.”

  The ride down the elevator was quiet, but I could feel the energy rolling off of Rayce and Marie. The heat in the tiny enclosed space was beginning to build. The hairs at the base of my neck began to stick to my skin. I didn’t know it at the time, but my own body heat had spiked due to the stress of the situation. When we reach the parking garage, the doors opened and a rush of cool air hit me. I could finally breathe.

  The three of us climbed into the truck and Rayce pulled out of the space. We left the parking garage and hit the interstate north to Devils Bend.

  The ride home was quiet as hell. We really didn’t have much to say to each other. Rayce held my hand and Marie was in the backseat texting Jay from my phone. I didn’t know what to do. I wish I could say that I had all the faith in the world in Rayce, but I didn�
��t. Don’t get me wrong, I love him, and I would do anything for him, but if he doesn’t drink vampire blood, I don’t see him winning this fight. “You know what you have to do,” I said.

  Rayce looked from the road to me and back again. He knew what I was talking about and I could see by his expression on his face, he was disgusted. “No, I don’t need to do that,” he said.

  “How can you say that? Rayce, without it, Gage has a huge advantage against you.”

  “Jessica may be right, Rayce,” Marie said.

  “You’re wrong.”

  “We don’t deny your mad fighting skills, but even the bounty hunter had an advantage,” she said. “He fed on two vampires when we got there. He was all jacked up.”

  His look said all he needed to say. He was a hard-headed man and wouldn’t be persuaded into anything he didn’t want.

  “Well, without it, what else do you have to use that would give you an advantage against him?” Rayce looked out of the window and kept driving but he began to rub the top of my hand with his thumb. He was thinking about something. I turned around and looked at Marie in the back seat. She shrugged her shoulders and began to text again. The ride grew quiet again and that gave me time to close my eyes. The smooth ride put me to sleep quickly.

  The truck began to slow. I opened my eyes and we were stopping at a small diner.

  “What are we doing,” I asked in a yawn.

  “I need food,” Rayce said. “Plus, if you need to pee, you better do it now. We still have an hour drive.”

  I rubbed my eyes and checked my pony tail to make sure it was still nice and neat. It was a small place off the interstate. I hopped down out of the truck and met Rayce on the driver’s side. Marie jumped out as well.

  “I’m starvin’,” she announced and marched toward the door.

  Rayce took my hand in his and we followed my bubbly friend. He held the glass door for me. As we walked in, I saw a flyer with a photo of a missing boy on it. His name was Jimmy Wilson. I knew his face but it was hidden someplace in my scrambled mind. Rayce chose a seat so he could see the door.