by Renee George
“I don’t dislike you.”
“Then stop pushing me away.” He walked the rest of the way over and sat down on the rocks next to me. I tried really hard not to stare at his dangly parts. “Turn so I can see your back.”
I did. He grasped my shoulder with his left hand, and with his right, he plucked the larger shards of window glass from my flesh. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t even whimper at the pain. Instead, I rubbed the gnarled scar at my elbow and let my mind go elsewhere.
“Tell me about the intruder?”
I shivered. “He was large, larger than you even.” I shook my head. “His face was hidden in shadow, his whole body really. I could make out his shape, but not any features.”
“Did he say anything?”
I snorted. “Yeah. He was really chatty for a psychopath.”
“Like?” He pulled out another piece of glass lodged in my lower back. This one was deeper, and I jerked a tiny bit.
“He kept calling me sister and little wolf. I think he thought I was like you. A lycanthrope.”
Billy Bob stopped then. He took my shoulders with both his hands and gently turned me. “What else did he say?”
“Weird stuff, like he wasn’t my enemy and that I shouldn’t be afraid of him.” But I hadn’t needed several weeks of torture to know bullshit when I heard it. “I can’t remember it all.” I caught Billy Bob’s eyes flicker toward my naked breasts. He’d seen them before. He’d seen all of me before on his surgical table and during the many exams I’d had to endure. But I’d never seen him look at me, or them, like this—with heat.
I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for his gaze to meet mine.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “We should get you back to the house.”
“I don’t…”
“You will sleep in my room, and I will not leave you tonight.”
I tucked my chin, “In your room?”
“I will stay in the chair. I won’t be sleeping. Your safety is my only concern.”
“If it’s the killer, he knows where I am now.”
“If it’s the killer, he’ll have more than he bargained for if he tries to get to you again.” He wiped my cheek with his thumb. “Let’s shift, or it’s going to be a long trip back. You covered several miles.”
“Really?”
He chuckled. “Really.” In the next few moments, I watched Billy Bob transform with a fluid elegance I’d never seen in another therian. It dawned on me, as I gaped at his large wolf covered in thick silvery fur that I’d never seen him shift before. Frankly, I found him unsettlingly striking. He waited, his gray eyes expectant. I nodded, concentrated on my coyote, and changed again. I’d never shifted twice in the same night. Hell, most of the time I only changed on the full moon. It was surprisingly easier than before. I could have probably followed my scent trail back to the house, but I let Billy Bob take the lead.
Chapter 4
I woke on cue at five in the morning. My internal clock had adjusted to my work schedule. There was no such thing as a short day for a small business owner. I looked at the chair where Billy Bob slept. Irrationally, I was relieved and irritated. I’d told him I didn’t need a watch-dog, or in this case a watch-wolf. I didn’t want to admit, even to myself, that the only reason I could sleep was because he was in the room with me. I hated my treacherous emotions for making me feel safe when he was near.
He’d worn blue-striped pajama bottoms to sleep in and no shirt. His arms were crossed as if he was still on watch, but his eyes were closed. I studied the hard planes of his face, his wide cheekbones, his almond-shaped eyes, and his full, wide lips. Christ on a hot plate, why did he have to be so fucking handsome? His grandfather had been a shaman for their pack. He’d told me that once when I’d first moved to Peculiar. Now he was the shaman for a town full of therianthropes.
At the time, I’d been searching for Judah, and Billy Bob had been one of the few people who believed his disappearance might be foul play. I’d even told him about Sunny. About her psychic gifts. He hadn’t thought I was crazy. Though, like my brother, Babel, he’d tried to talk me out of bringing her here. I knew he didn’t feel that way now. They’d both fallen hard for Sunny, and why wouldn’t they, she was easy to love.
The throw blanket slid down Billy Bob’s chest, and I sighed. Happily. Damn it, hormones! Rodin might as well have sculpted his broad shoulders and wide chest. I knew he was at least fifty, maybe even older, but he looked like someone in the prime of their late twenties, early thirties. His silvery gray hair always made him seem older. I wondered if it had been that color his whole life or if it had turned that way over the years.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I will not stare. I will not stare. I couldn’t stop myself, though. No amount of mantra was going to drag my gaze from his super yummy body. I needed to focus elsewhere, but the other stuff on my mind was just too grisly and awful.
I focused my thoughts on other tasks than the hunky werewolf in the room. Billy Bob had told me that he still needed the dental records from a dentist in Lake Ozarks to compare against the victim’s, but he’d been mostly certain that the man killed was my friend Ruth Thompson’s gentle and sweet husband Ed. When I had gone up to my apartment to change and shower, they’d removed the body. Underneath the corpse, the killer had left Ed’s driver’s license. The height and weight had been right. Billy Bob had typed the victim’s blood, and that had matched as well.
I squeezed my eyes shut trying to block out the vision of murder. When I opened them, Billy Bob was staring at me. Turnabout, and all that.
“What is it?”
“What?”
“You’re crying.”
“No, I’m not.” I scrubbed at the wetness on my cheeks.
“Okay.” He rose from the chair. “You’re safe, Chavvah. I promise I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you.” I could hear the implied, not again.
I tried not to read too much into his declaration. He was a good man. Sunny had told me that more than once, along with Ruth. Just about everyone in town loved the doctor. It grated on my nerves. No one was that perfect. How a lycan had managed to ingratiate himself into a town full of therianthropes was completely beyond me.
“How did you end up in Peculiar?” I asked Billy Bob.
“Long story.”
“I have a few minutes.”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. His gorgeous gray gaze held a pain that made me ache to comfort him. Stop it, I told myself. The doc had women throwing themselves at him all the time, council member Bethany included. Damn it. I’d almost managed to forget about the snide little fox.
“Chav…”
“If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.” I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and rolled over to face the opposite wall. I couldn’t look at him. I don’t know why his reluctance to share his past hurt, but it did. “I need a few minutes. I need to call Jo Jo and Sunny to let them know what happened. I don’t want them showing up this morning and stumbling on that awful bloody pool out back.”
“Especially not Sunny,” Billy Bob said.
The skin on my face tightened. “Yeah, especially Sunny.” Sunny’s gift had been out of whack since Jude’s birth so she might not get any visions, but there was no sense in taking a chance. Besides, she’d never been good with blood. It usually made her pass out.
“I’ll get coffee on.” Billy Bob didn’t bother to put on a shirt. He just walked to the closed door. “Do you want any breakfast?”
My brain chose that moment to flash an image of the skinned corpse splayed in the dirt. Nausea roiled. “No, thanks.” How on earth could I cook today with that memory replaying in my mind?
He nodded. “Come to the kitchen when you’re ready.”
“You got it, doc.”
After he had left, I called Sunny.
“Hello,” she said after two rings.
“Hi, sorry. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“No worries, Chav. Baby Jude
beat you to the punch.”
I could hear her glider squeaking now. “I…I don’t know how to tell you this.”
“Just say it, Chav. You know I don’t like tip-toeing around bad news.”
“Someone…died.” Damn it! The details stuck in my throat.
“Who?” she asked.
“Doc isn’t sure yet, but—”
“What do you mean, he isn’t sure yet? Is it one of the people in for the Jubilee?” My heart squeezed at the small hope in her voice.
I automatically shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “He thinks it’s a local.”
“Who?”
“It’s so bad, Sunny.”
“Not Jo Jo.” Her words were tense with fear.
“No, not him.”
“Take a deep breath, Chav, and tell me.”
How could I say Ed’s name? We didn’t know for sure that it was him. It could be someone else. A stranger. I felt heartsick knowing how relieved I’d feel if it was a stranger. “Billy Bob can’t be sure yet, and I don’t want to say something that might not be true.”
There was a muffled, “Wake up, Babe. Something’s happened in town.” Then a clearer, “Where are you now?”
“I’m at the doc’s place.”
There was a moment of silence. “All night?”
“The sheriff didn’t want me to stay in the apartment after—” My mouth watered as I tried to control the emotion in my voice. “Someone skinned him, Sunny. They skinned him like an animal and slit his throat at the back of our restaurant. I was in the kitchen when…” My voice went up an octave as my horror renewed. “I was right there, by the door, where the body was dumped.”
“I’m coming,” Sunny said. “Babe and I will pick you up in thirty minutes.”
* * * *
I took my time getting dressed. I didn’t want to face Billy Bob.
Be strong, little wolf.
The voice startled me. I turned my head sharply left then right. I was alone in the room, but I’d heard it. I’d heard him, the intruder from the night before. Only, I hadn’t because I was alone. It’s just the voice, I told myself. My stupid, stupid voice. The master bathroom door was wide open, the shower had a see-through glass door, and the closet was closed. If the guy were hiding in the closet, he wouldn’t have sounded so clear or so close.
I shook my head. My brain was playing tricks on me. It was the only explanation. Even so, I suddenly wanted to be out of the bedroom and in the kitchen with Billy Bob. Well, really, anyone. I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts or my invisible friend.
“Good morning,” the doc said when I shuffled into his kitchen. He’d pulled on a sage green T-shirt that complimented his skin tone perfectly. I wondered if he’d look bad in any color.
“Morning,” I said, accepting the steaming mug of coffee. “Cream and sugar?”
“Sugar’s on the counter.” He pointed to a white spirally sculptured sugar dish. “I’ll get the cream for you.” He opened the large side-by-side refrigerator and pulled a quart container from the door shelf.
The coffee had a nice, pungent, but fresh aroma and after a couple of tablespoons of raw, unrefined sugar and real heavy cream, it was as if I could smell heaven. Or at least what I hoped it smelled like.
“This is really good.”
“I grind my own bean.”
“Of course you do.”
He let my snide comment go. “Did you get ahold of Sunny?”
“Yeah, she and Babe are on their way over to get me.”
He set his cup down, a hard thump on the center island. “Are you going to go stay with them?”
I hadn’t even thought about going to Sunny’s since I’d suggested it the night before. Did Billy Bob want me to leave? “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “Probably. No worries. I’ll be out of your hair soon.”
“You can be such an idiot,” he said.
I snapped my gaze to him and narrowed my eyes. “Excuse me.”
His whole body seemed to be vibrating as he met my stare with the same angry heat. Within two heartbeats, he closed the distance between us, his arms wrapping me up as his lips melded hot over my own. My loosey-goosy arms flopped at my sides as my skin ignited with the pleasure his kiss foisted upon me. My knees buckled, but he held me up as his tongue found its way between my lips, conquering me with every thrust. He tasted of coffee, of cinnamon, the pungent scent of bergamot and spice filled my nostrils as my lower, more sensitive area throbbed with an aching need born so deep in my soul.
The doorbell rang. We ignored it, feeding the growing passion. The loud banging on the front door along with Sunny shouting my name, however, brought us both to a gasping halt.
“I…” couldn’t formulate a coherent thought, let alone a complete sentence. “I…”
Billy Bob growled. “I’ll get it.” He let me go, and my shaking legs could barely carry me. Fuckity-fuck-fuck. What the hell had just happened? Before I could process, Sunny stormed into the room and embraced me.
“Oh, Chavvah. I’m so sorry. This is terrible. I’m so glad you’re okay. You’re safe.”
“Yeah.” I gulped. “Safe.” And horny. What the hell?
She put her hands on her ample hips, wider and curvier now that she was a mom. Seriously, she’d never looked more stunning. Her green eyes sparkled with fire as she turned to stare at Billy Bob. “Tell me what you know and don’t leave anything out.”
“Now, Sunny,” he said. I hated how quickly he’d regained his composure. When we were alone again, he and I were going to have a serious talk. He continued, “It’s an ongoing investigation. I’ve been brought in to do the autopsy, but I can’t tell you the particulars of the case.”
She snapped her fingers. “That is not going to fly with me, mister.”
Babel put his arms around Sunny from behind. “Calm yourself, sweetheart.”
My eyes widened, because, at that point, Sunny turned around in his arms, poked him in the chest and shook her finger at him. When Sunny did the poke and shake, she meant business. “Now, you listen here, Babel Michael Trimmel, you have to have a serious screw loose if you think telling me to calm down is the way to get me to calm down.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, and boy, how he was sorry. Regret for his word choice was written all over his face.
“Damn right you are.” She turned back to Billy Bob. “Now give, or I’m going to storm the Sheriff’s office, and since you all want me to keep low key during your furry-fest, you’d be better off telling me what I want to know.”
He groaned and shook his head. Babe smartly stayed quiet.
Without meaning to, I stepped between her and Billy Bob. “Don’t yell at him, Sunny.” Oh my God. What was I doing? Why was I defending Billy Bob? The first rule of BFF code was you always backed your BFF.
She looked at me and raised her right brow, her lips pursed.
I looked at Billy Bob, who stared at me like I’d grown a third nipple in the middle of my forehead, and said, “Just tell her.”
* * * *
After the previous night’s events had been relayed, Sunny said, “So let me get this straight. A man was skinned alive, murdered, and tossed onto our back doorstep.” She peered at me as she picked up my mug and sipped my coffee. “Had you locked the door?”
“Yes, I locked the door.” At least I was pretty sure I had. It had been a long, exhausting day.
Babe and Billy Bob had gone just outside the kitchen to talk officially. As the mayor, Babel would need to strategize how to handle the fallout. Still, it really pissed me off. This was probably Ed. Our friend. A staple in our community. It irritated me that we had to take all these incoming strangers into any consideration when it came to dealing with his death.
“The alarm?” Sunny asked. “Did you set it?”
“I…” Had I really been so stupid? “No. I guess I forget.” A wave of recrimination and remorse washed over me. Would it have made a difference if the alarms had gone off?
“Jesus, Chav. With all these strangers in town, you can’t forget. It’s more than just our friends and neighbors now.”
“I know,” I said. “Don’t beat me up about it. I already feel bad enough.”
“I’m sorry, doll. This was not your fault. Lock. No lock. Alarm. No alarm. When a sicko does something sick, there is no one to blame except the sicko. You didn’t choose to hurt that poor man, whoever it turns out to be, and dwelling on would’ves, could’ves, and what ifs will give you gas. I just worry about you is all. I don’t know what I’d do without you, you know?” Sunny hugged me again. It felt good. She really did give the best hugs.
I could feel some of the tension drain from my muscles. “I do know,” I said, hugging her back. “I don’t know what I’d do without you either. You always have my back.”
“Always,” she said fiercely. She leaned back and looked me in the face. She squinted her eyes, her brow furrowing. “Why is your face so red?”
I hadn’t realized it was, but her mentioning it brought a fresh rise of heat to my cheeks. Sunny’s eyes widened as she took in my guilty expression. She glanced once at Billy Bob out in the hall talking quietly with Babel now. To her grace, she didn’t say anything. However, I knew an interrogation would be forthcoming.
Babe and Billy Bob walked back into the room, neither of them looking as if they’d figured out anything.
“We need to tell Sunny,” Babe said.
“Tell me what?” Sunny asked.
“Who the victim might be.”
“Ed,” Billy Bob said, his tone low and fierce. “It might be Ed Thompson.”
The blood drained from Sunny’s face. She slumped onto one of the high stools next to the center island. “No,” she said. “It can’t be.” She stared at me, her eyes pleading with me to refute Billy Bob.
I shook my head.