by Michelle Fox
His parents came outside and joined them, looking at the shooter with curiosity. "Who the hell is this guy?" asked Joe.
"I don’t know," Kane said. "But I’m going to find out." He dragged the man over to his car and heaved him into the back seat. Looking at Charlotte, he said, "I’m going to take him in and I’d like you to come and give your statement too."
"What about us?" asked Wanda. "Should we drive down to the station too?"
Kane shook his head. "Don’t worry about it. I’ll send a deputy down to take your statement. Since Charlotte seems to be the target, she’s the witness I need right now." To Charlotte, he said, "You ready?"
She nodded and made her way to the passenger side of his Charger. "Thanks for having us over," she said. "I’m sorry about everything."
Wanda waved a hand. "We’ll have to try again, when things are calmer."
"We barely got a chance to talk to you," said Joe. "You didn't even eat."
"Maybe we can do dinner next week," Wanda offered.
Charlotte gave Kane a wild look that said ‘Help me,’ and he stepped in, saying, "We’ll see. We’re both pretty busy." Yeah, he wanted to spend more time with Charlotte, but not at his parents’ house with her pretending to be his psycho girlfriend. If he brought her home again, he wanted it to be real, not this awkward façade they’d concocted. Preferably without the werewolf weirdness as well.
His mom crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "I’ll text you some dates and you can pick one."
Kane gave a weak smile, knowing his mom wouldn’t let it go. Whether they’d planned on it or not, Charlotte would be continuing in her role as his girlfriend. Why he'd thought their charade would be a one-and-done deal, he didn't know. His mother had the tenacity of a barnacle. She didn't let go of anything, ever, but he decided that might not be so bad. It would give him an excuse to keep seeing Charlotte, and maybe find out where these feelings he had for her went.
***
Charlotte settled into Kane’s car, limp with relief. Well, that was the worst date ever. Which had been the goal, but still, it had been awkward and uncomfortable to the point where she was almost grateful to the hunter. He’d broken up a bad scene.
She buried her face in her hands, recalling the way she’d tripped over the coffee table and then followed that brilliance with the need to shoot out the windows in Kane’s childhood home.
"Oh, man," she groaned into her palms.
"What? What is it?" Kane touched her shoulder lightly. "Are you okay?"
She peeked out at him from between her fingers. Damn. Why did he have to be so handsome? And perfect? And amazing? And always saving her? Shaking her head, she slumped in her seat. "Do you have any idea how bad the gossip is going to be? Everyone is going to know."
"I hadn’t thought about that." Kane muttered a swear word under his breath. "We won’t be able to hide this. We’re going to have to go public. There will be an investigation…the pack…" He trailed off.
"You’re worried about him? He's going to go away." She dropped her hands from her face and jerked her head in the direction of the hunter in the back-seat. "I’m the one who’s still going to be here when he’s gone, and I’ll never live this down." She gestured to her dress.
"You said you wanted to do this." Kane gave her a puzzled look.
"I’m also, apparently, not that bright." She leaned her head against the glass of the car door, taking small comfort in the cool surface.
"You were trying to help me," he said, his tone kind. "Not everyone would do that."
"Because they know better." She turned her head to glare at him.
He shook his head. "I don’t think so. I think it’s because most people are selfish. And if you’re stupid, so am I. Remember, I thought this was a good idea, too."
"We probably shouldn’t hang out," she said, frowning. "We’re just an explosion of stupid waiting to happen."
"Well, our brand of stupid caught this hunter guy. We’re not a total waste. Come on, Char. Don’t be so hard on yourself." He turned onto the road that would take them to Audrey and Tao’s place. Then, handing her his cell phone, he said, "And do me a favor. Call Tao and let him know we’re coming and why."
She nodded and quickly navigated to his contacts, which she studied for a moment, as she noted his extensive list of numbers. A sudden jealousy burned through her veins, making her wolf want to bare her teeth and rip out some throats. "Wait. What are all these girls doing in your phone?"
Despite his tan, Kane managed to flush. "Just friends."
"You have a lot of friends who are girls." She scrolled through his contact list. "Judy, Julia, Joanna, July. Wait, July? Who names their kid July?"
He refused to make eye contact. "July is an informant, actually."
"Oh. So…just friends and police informants?" She scrolled on to the letter M. There were ten of them. Five Marys, a Marla, Mariah, Mara, Myra and Maia. "Huh. I didn’t even know we had this many women in Glen Vine. Are they all our age, or are some of your friends Mrs. Harris’ age?"
"It's not like that," he said, his ears turning red.
"I know I'm a big girl, and you said you want more, but what you have in your phone is way more than I could ever do for you." She shook her head.
"I said it's not like that."
"Then what is it like, Kane?" She crossed her arms and looked at him through narrowed eyes.
"Just call Tao, please." He sounded a little desperate, and his face was almost maroon now. Good. He should be embarrassed. He was a wolf, not a tomcat. Her wolf growled deep inside her, angry and possessive.
"Sure, just have to get past all these friends of yours." She made her way to the letter T and finally hit Tao’s number. Not so much to put Kane out of his misery, but to keep her wolf in check. She was all riled up, and Charlotte didn’t want to shift in the front seat.
Because she wasn’t jealous.
No way.
She was single for the foreseeable future. Her heart was locked up and the key lost. The last thing she needed was a player like Kane, and no matter what he’d said earlier, she was pretty sure someone as curvy as her wasn’t his type. At that thought, she tugged on the hem of her dress, trying to make it cover more of her generous thighs. You could turn a man into a werewolf, but you couldn't stop him from being a dog, right?
"Hello?" Tao’s deep voice filled her ear.
"Tao, it’s me Charlotte. I’m here with Kane, and we’ve got the hunter."
"Where are you?" His voice vibrated with authority and concern.
"We’re on our way to your house."
"Good. I’ll call my brothers."
The phone went silent in her ear as Tao hung up. Charlotte handed the phone back to Kane.
"What did he say?"
"Not much. He’s waiting for us. That’s about it." She glanced back to their prisoner, who was still dead to the world. "What’s going to happen to him?"
Kane shrugged. "I don’t know, but all that gossip you’re worried about is going to be a problem. There’s no way my mom won’t tell people about meeting the girlfriend who started a shootout in her living room."
Charlotte sighed. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me."
"The bigger problem, the one you’re not seeing, Char, is we can’t hide this guy. There’s no sweeping him under the rug. If word gets out, the police will wonder why I didn’t call in a forensics team and bring him to jail." He grimaced. "We have to do this one by the book."
"So why take him to Tao at all?" She liked the idea of dumping the hunter in jail. It sounded simple and neat.
"Because we have to protect ourselves. I trust Tao more than I trust humans right now." The car lurched as he floored the accelerator. "We can’t let anyone find out what we are. Worse, this guy might know more people like him and call them in as back-up."
"I didn't even think of that." Charlotte hugged herself. "Can you imagine more of him? It would be a nightmare."
"Tell me about it," Kane said, his mouth
a grim line.
"But we can’t hide him either, and he knows we’re wolves." Charlotte’s stomach sank as she realized jail wasn’t a solution. "What a mess."
"We sure do seem to have our tails in a pinch here. Let's hope Tao has a way out."
Chapter Eighteen
Tao was waiting for them on the porch of the ranch house he and Audrey called home. When they turned into the driveway, he jogged over to Kane’s car and looked in the back seat. "So we got him," he said as Kane stepped out of the driver’s seat.
"Yep," Kane said.
"Everyone okay?" Tao glanced at Charlotte, who nodded.
"We're fine. No injuries."
"What happened?"
"He went for Charlotte, and I intervened." Kane hesitated for a second, not liking the next part. "We exchanged shots. My parents had to help."
"So they know about him." Tao rubbed his chin, his expression thoughtful.
"But not why he was shooting."
"Well, that’s a small mercy, I guess. Come on. Let’s move him to the garage. I want to add some duct tape to that belt you’re using. I don’t trust him to not find a way out of that." Tao opened the Charger door and pulled the man out by the ankles.
"Watch his head," Charlotte said, her voice high pitched.
Kane frowned at her. "Why? He doesn’t care about ours."
"If he dies, it’s just a bigger mess, right?" she asked.
"Let’s try to keep him alive. Murder isn’t the plan here." Tao nodded toward the garage door. "Will one of you open that for me?"
Kane lifted the garage door and Tao lugged the hunter into the garage. He set the unconscious man down on the slab concrete floor and, grabbing a roll of duct tape hanging on the wall, began winding it around his ankles. Ripping it off, he then wrapped several loops around the hunter’s wrists. "That should keep him." He put the duct tape back.
"Now what?" asked Kane.
"We go inside and figure out the next step, because I have no idea." Tao waved them forward. "At least I ordered pizza. Five different kinds. Something for every wolf."
"I take it Audrey’s not home," Charlotte said.
"Nope, and I got the meat lover’s special, too." He gestured to both of them. "For my guests, naturally."
Charlotte laughed. "You’re a terrible vegetarian."
Tao frowned at her. "I am more vegetarian than any other werewolf on the planet."
"Except for Audrey," Kane said.
"Except for Audrey," Tao echoed, bowing his head in agreement. "But she’s perfect, and I’m…well, I’m me."
They traipsed into the house and settled at the oak dining set in the eat-in kitchen. Charlotte flipped open one of the pizza boxes, her stomach growling, while Kane peeked at another one.
"Do you mind if we have some?" she asked, not wanting to be rude.
"Help yourself," Tao said. "My brothers should be here any minute."
"What about the rest of the pack?" Kane asked. The second he finished talking, he shoved a piece of Hawaiian pizza in his mouth. Charlotte did the same with a slice of what looked to be double cheese and double pepperoni. She hadn't been able to eat at Kane's house and the stress of dealing with the hunter had left her starving.
Tao paused in the process of picking up a slice. "We’re keeping this small for now."
"Why?" Charlotte covered her mouth with her hand.
"Because we don’t do things the way humans do. I’m not sure how comfortable people will be with the decisions we make today."
"But you already said you’re not going to kill him," she said, confused.
"True." Tao piled three slices of pizza on his plate and she noted it appeared to be a veggie pizza, which made her feel bad about her earlier ribbing. It also made her wonder, for a fleeting second, what it would be like to love someone so much you would change that much for them.
Tao shrugged. "You guys are such new wolves, I don’t want to get bogged down in a lot of debate. We need to act quickly and decisively here." He settled into a chair and began shoveling pizza in his mouth. Closing his eyes, he made a humming sound deep in his chest.
Charlotte and Kane followed suit, eating in relative silence until Kai and Leo's arrival interrupted them.
Zeroing in on the pizza, Leo said, "You think of everything, brother." He snagged two pieces of each kind, his golden eyes shining with happy anticipation.
Kai hung back, more reserved, his expression closed. Looking to Kane and then Charlotte, he said, "So the hunter becomes the prey."
Kane nodded. "Yes."
"He’s still alive?" Kai looked thoughtful.
"Yep," Charlotte said, taking the initiative to consolidate what was left of the pizzas into one box. She stacked the empty boxes and set them on the kitchen counter, clearing the center of the dining room table. Kai seemed to approve, because only then did he take a seat.
"What are we going to do with him?" Leo asked before stuffing an entire slice into his mouth.
"That’s the big mystery," Tao said. "We’re not going to kill him. Not after everything we’ve been through."
"I still don't understand why your old pack's alpha wanted to kill all of us," Charlotte said. The idea of other werewolves wanting to kill them just because they'd been bitten was sick. Is that what being a werewolf did to people? Made them quick to kill and without remorse? Was she going to end up like that?
"He thought it would protect the pack. You have to remember, Nick’s bite didn’t just turn you, it made you his slave. He could tell you to do anything and you would have no choice." Tao’s hands folded into fists. "He forced Audrey to…do things."
"Oh wow," Charlotte said. She hadn’t realized Nick had done more than bite Audrey. Her heart went out to her friend who had been through so much. They all had. She got up and went to the fridge looking for something bubbly to settle her now churning stomach. Talking about Nick always got to her. Finding a soda, she returned to her seat and popped the tab on the can.
Tao looked to Kai. "Are you ready to rearrange this hunter's brain?"
Kai shifted in his seat, his expression grim. "I don't think I can fix this hunter like that."
Tao's eyes widened with surprised. "But earlier, we discussed—"
Kai cut him off. "I was wrong when I said I could do this for the hunter. I have come to know that he was born this way. It’s who he is and I can’t change that. Just like Nick."
"How did you find out?" Charlotte asked.
Kai tapped his ear with a finger. "I listen to things that do not speak, but they still say many things."
There was a moment of silence where everyone absorbed that. Charlotte wondered what it was to be Kai, to have such power. Being a werewolf, she felt she had some experience with magic, but then Kai said things that revealed there was so much more, and it ran deeper and darker than any of them realized. If he didn't always talk in sideways riddles, she would ask him about it. As it was, she didn't have the patience to try and decipher his true meaning. At least his brothers seemed to understand him and could be relied upon to translate.
Tao rubbed his forehead. "Well, there goes my plan. Now what?"
"We can’t set him loose then," Kane said with a frown. "He would just keep coming after us."
"Right," Tao said with a nod.
"And we’re not killing him, and Kai can’t do his mojo thing to him, so…" Charlotte trailed off, looking at the brothers in turn, hoping they would have a solution. She’d come to depend on them since she’d been bitten. They all had leaned on the strength and knowledge of the three werewolf brothers. The idea they may not know what to do made her anxious.
"We could put him on a plane to Africa or something," Leo offered.
"He would just come back," Kai said. "His spirit compels him to kill us, and he won’t leave us alive if he can help it."
"Too bad we can’t just lock him up," Charlotte said.
"Wait a minute," Kane said, straightening in his chair. "I think we can lock him up."
"All we have to do is make sure those murders stick, and he’ll be going away for a long time," Kane said.
Tao drummed his fingers on the table, his expression thoughtful. After a moment, he said, "That could work, but," he held up one finger, "we don’t want to do this here. We’ve got to get him out of Glen Vine."
"Yeah. I hate to think of him getting out on bail," Charlotte said.
"That and we need to keep this out of the papers," Kai added. "Other hunters might read about the silver bullets, which is basically a ‘Werewolves Here’ signal among their kind."
"There are states that have high bail amounts for murder," Kane said. "High enough this guy likely won’t be able to get out. The only thing is, we’d have to move the bodies, too and stage some kind of crime scene."
"We can manage it. We’ll use the truck from the two men the hunter shot. You game for a field trip, brother?" Tao looked at Leo, who gave a small nod.
"So, the story would be, he came around here shooting at us," Kane pointed to himself and then Charlotte. "Then he took off with the truck and two hostages, crossed state lines and killed them both. That should get him out of our jurisdiction and put the story in another town."
Charlotte shook her head, knowing it wouldn't be that simple. "But how do we keep him from coming back? Kai said this is what he does, and it’s not like he’s going to forget us."
Kai held up a finger and everyone fell silent, waiting for him to talk. Instead, he closed his eyes and breathed in and out.
"What—" started Charlotte, but he opened his eyes to glare at her.
Putting his finger to his lips, he shushed her. "I’m listening."
She mimed zipping her lips and gestured for him to continue. He closed his eyes again and breathed some more, sounding more like he was running a marathon than meditating. His breaths were ragged and strained. It reminded Charlotte of an asthma attack her friend had at a sleepover years ago. Glancing at Tao, she raised her eyebrows, but he shook his head and made a sharp motion with his hand, indicating she should do nothing.