by H. T. Night
“I bet she does,” Marcos said. “I take it that the reason why you’re here is that you want to discuss our arrangement.”
“What arrangement is that? Never been clued in on any arrangement.”
“I’m sure Dave has talked to you about what I’d like to do,” Marcos said, glaring at Dave. Dave cowered when Marcos looked in his direction. I gave Dave a look as if to say, ‘man up.’ I knew things were going down shortly, very shortly.
“Dave let me in on a little bit, but I can’t wait to hear it from you,” I said. “The specifics. Let’s get the ball rolling. What is your offer?”
“I want to sponsor you to fight. Pay for training and make sure you’re set up nicely.”
“That’s very generous of you. What’s in it for you?” I asked.
“You win when I tell you to win and…”
“Lose when you tell me to lose,” I said, finishing his sentence. “There’s a problem with that plan. I don’t lose.”
“That’s why, when it happens, it will be such a huge payday for everyone involved. Even yourself.”
I looked at Marcos and his two bald thugs to either side of him and thought to myself, Is this guy for real?
“Look, Marcos, there are a lot of problems with your plan, the main problem being that I’m retired from MMA.”
“But I thought you said you don’t lose! How can you not lose if you don’t fight?” Marcos said, baiting me.
“For the time being, I’m retired.” I didn’t want to tell him why I was retired, because this sick fuck might go after Maya. “Marcos,” I said. “I don’t plan on fighting in the near future, but when I do, I’ll be sure to let you know. Because it’s a sure bet to always bet on me... Winning, that is.”
“Why did you even come here?” Marcos asked. “You knew what I wanted. So why get up in my face to just tell me no?”
“I wanted to make sure that my man here is okay. I’m not saying I won’t ever fight again, but I’m not going to do it anytime soon. I want you to lower the heat on Dave. He’s a good guy. Loyal.”
“There’s no heat on Dave,” Marcos said unconvincingly.
“From what I hear, his underwear is on fire and you are the one with the gasoline can.”
“If you think you’re going to fight again, then everything is going to be fine,” Marcos said. “If not…” He gave me a genuine smile and delivered an even brighter one to Dave.
I stared at Marcos, trying to get a read on him. I wasn’t sure how much he was telling the truth, but what did I know?
I stood up and shook his hand. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to fight. I need to clear my schedule and take care of some things first.”
Marcos smiled and nodded his head. Dave and I exited the office and out the room and eventually, left the bar completely.
“Do you trust him?” I asked Dave.
“Not at all,” Dave said.
“Tommy?”
“What?”
“Can I—”
“Yes, you can come home with me. I don’t want Maya to be worried, so I’m not going to tell her about this.”
“Just make sure you don’t leave me alone, and I’ll be fine. Also, we need to stop by the pier and pick up my car. You can follow me.”
I shook my head and couldn’t believe that I was taking in another stray werewolf.
Chapter Sixteen
To say that Maya wasn’t too happy with my good Samaritan move with Dave was an understatement.
But to her credit, she hadn’t complained much. Dave was extremely respectful, but he did follow me around like a puppy dog like he said he would. He was afraid to be out of my sight. He even waited outside the bathroom door for me. And he slept on a blanket on the floor outside my bedroom. I put up with it because he was possibly the last original werewolf remaining from 500 years ago. He was a cultural treasure, a jewel. There was no way I would let anything happen to him.
But it made it hard on dates with Maya because we always brought him along as the third wheel. It put a crimp in my love life with Maya, even to the point of having extremely quiet sex, but I reminded myself that he was probably the last standing werewolf from the Renaissance era—it pretty much blew me away what Dave must have experienced. I hoped this bodyguard duty wouldn’t last much longer but I wanted to know more of what he knew. Dave had to be a fount of info on werewolf society. Little by little, I was drawing things out from Dave as we grew to trust each other. I was hoping that Marcos would eventually look to other options on how he needed to get out of the gambling hole he had dug for himself.
***
It was the day before the first full moon.
Dave and I were packing up my Mustang for the monthly road trip up north. I had already dropped off Maya earlier in the day at her parents’ house. It would take about six hours to drive north and get there by the time the moon came out around 8:30 p.m. We decided we would head out around noon. Dave and I had a rare separation, in which he needed to go home and grab some things for the weekend. He wanted me to come with him, but I thought it would be a good idea for him to start doing some things alone and maybe he could wean off his need for me to be around him 24/7. It seemed fairly safe to let him just go do some errands on his own.
At about 11:00 a.m., Dave drove his car to his house, which was just up the street a ways. He needed to grab his clothes and wanted to get his video game system. He told me he had been jonesing for his Xbox ever since he moved in. I had a PS3 and don’t get me started on the two game systems. Xbox owners seemed to think they have the perfect machine. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a great system. I just think PlayStation 3 has a higher caliber of game that’s only exclusive to their product. Dave took off, and I waited for him to get back. Soon, noon rolled around and there was no sign of Dave. Then one o’clock rolled around and now I was worried. A prickle of fear ran down my spine and the hairs raised on the back of my neck. I was about to call him when I received a text from him. It read, ‘Hey Tommy, I got caught up going through some mail. I’m sorry. Why don’t we just take separate cars this time? I need to pay a couple of bills. I’ll see you up at the ranch later this evening.’
Considering Dave mentioned paying bills before he left, I thought nothing about the text. Dave was a quirky guy and his text didn’t surprise me.
So, I jumped in my car and headed up the 5 North. I called Maya and we talked most of the way up. We had the ability to talk for hours all the time. I think you have found the right person when you never want to shut the fuck up. You always want to share and learn about the person you’re with.
I stopped once for gas and I arrived at the ranch around 7:00 p.m. I saw the gang and they all asked me about Dave. I assured them he was coming, but we only had about 90 minutes until the full moon. Eventually, that time ran out and there was still no sign of Dave. I decided to text him. “Where the hell are you? Text me back. Now!”He didn’t respond. We were running out of time and me and my other four buddies needed to get outside before the full moon hit.
“Do you think he’s okay?” Evan asked. Evan was one of the twins who seemed to be very close to Dave.
“I hope so,” I said, my dread growing. “Let’s cross our fingers, and hope for the best.” I didn’t tell them about Marcos. I didn’t want to worry everyone just moments before we were all about to turn. The others seemed concerned, though.
Steve said, “Dave has shown up at the ranch every month for three years straight. He never misses a full moon.”
In my gut, I knew this wasn’t good. I had a sick feeling something bad had happened to Dave.
But the moon was out and I had turned. I had no memory. I woke up in the morning underneath a tree, surrounded by my four friends.
We all relieved ourselves in the woods, and met back at the house.
“This isn’t like Dave,” Eli said.
“Should we go look for him?” Albert asked.
“What do you guys think?” I asked. “You guys have known him for a
n awfully long time.”
“I haven’t a clue,” Steve said.
I decided to come clean myself. I told the guys exactly what happened with Marcos and everyone was certain that Marcos had something to do with Dave not showing up for the full moon. The Six Pack was minus a wolf and we were all upset about it.
I decided that I had enough time to get back. If I had to, I would go to my cage in Running Springs at my grandmother’s cabin. I told the guys I was going to take off and look for him. They all insisted on coming with me. I told them that my cage wasn’t big enough for all of us. But we agreed that the most important thing was to find Dave and make sure he was okay. So, five of the Six Pack went to go find one of their own.
Chapter Seventeen
I had a sinking feeling that something horrible might have happened to Dave. My hunches were usually 50/50, so this one could go either way, too. I felt a sense of urgency that began to pump my adrenaline through my body, getting me ready for whatever I might find out.
I knew Marcos and the crew were at the junkyard. He was certainly resting nicely on the outskirts of town in the industrial district in his luxury kennel.
Although I had the pack with me, and time was of the essence, I felt I needed to give Maya the heads up. Oh, who was I kidding? I wanted to see if Maya was safe. Dave was missing and my heart immediately had a stab of fear for her, too. I needed to see her and reassure myself that she was okay, too. I knew she wouldn’t like it, but I had no choice. I had to find out what happened to my friend. And I had to see if my girlfriend was okay, too.
We took two cars down to Southern California. I drove my black Mustang and Albert drove his red low-rider truck. I stopped in at Maya’s parents’ house, and I had the guys wait in the cars.
I knocked on the door and Margaret, Maya’s mom, answered the door. “Tommy! Oh my, you’re back early.”
“Just for a little while. I need to get back on duty, but can I speak to Maya for a few?”
“Sure, come in. She’s in her bedroom.”
Even though Maya lived with me, she still had a room at her parents’ house. I think that was a common occurrence with girls Maya’s age who had moved out with their boyfriends without a ring on their fingers to keep a backup plan: their old rooms.
I stepped into the house and no one was in the kitchen or living room. I headed down the hall and knocked lightly on Maya’s door.
“Come in,” she said from inside.
That was pretty trusting. I guess she had nothing to be afraid of in her own house, with her dad there. I slowly peeked my head and said, “Hey there, beautiful!”
“Tommy!” Maya jumped up from her bed, ran over to me and gave me a hug. She acted like she hadn’t seen me in years. I guess that’s why I love her so much.
“What are you doing here?”
“We have a little problem.”
“We do? As in you and me?” Maya asked.
“No, I have a problem, as in, Dave and I.”
“What happened to Dave?”
“That’s the thing. I don’t know. He went to his apartment to grab some items and he texted me that he was running behind and would just drive up himself.”
“He never showed up?”
“Nope.”
“Did you think anything was weird when he texted you that he’d drive himself up?”
“I did, Maya. But it made more sense that there wasn’t a problem.”
“Have you talked to him?”
“No, he isn’t answering his phone or text messages.”
“What do you think happened?”
I was quiet because I had kept the reason that Dave had been staying with us the last couple of weeks a secret. “Dave had been hanging around me for the last couple of weeks for a specific reason.”
“Why?”
“He needed me to protect him, if needed.”
“Protect him? From what?”
“From that guy I told you about a few months ago. Marcos Fausto. The owner of that bar I visited. He wanted Dave to talk me into fighting again.”
“What? Why would the owner of that werewolf bar care if you fought professionally or not?” Maya asked. “What business is it of his what you do?”
“It was exactly what you were afraid of. He wanted to control my win-loss record and bet on me accordingly.”
“He wanted you to throw fights?”
I nodded. “Dave refused to give me up to the scheme. When Marcos found out that I had no intentions to fight again, he threatened Dave.”
“Threatened him? How?”
“He threatened to kill him if I wouldn’t agree to fight.”
“Oh great! So, you brought Dave here to babysit him from Marcos? You had me sleep underneath the same roof as him?”
“It made sense, Maya. I knew if I had you both close to me that I could protect both of you. I lost Patrick and Sasha recently, and I didn’t want to lose another good friend.”
“I can’t believe you did this, Tommy. And further, you kept it a secret from me what the hell was going on behind the scenes for the new stray werewolf you dragged home. Again. Is it always going to be like this? That the werewolf clan comes first, before me?”
“It’s a pack. Not a clan.”
“Whatever!” she said. “This is not okay with me, Tommy. You don’t get it. I want an ‘us’ and you want to drag home every werewolf who is in trouble and protect them. First Sasha, now Dave. We are not an animal shelter!”
I winced and she noticed but said, “When is this going to end, Tommy? When?!”
“Look, Maya, you need to understand. I don’t see any danger if I’m in the vicinity of a given problem. I am always certain I can protect myself and anyone else I choose to protect. Including you.”
“It must be nice to have that kind of confidence. I don’t have that kind of bravado.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you. I knew you would be safe, and that was all there was to it.” I paused. “You should be safe here as long as Josiah’s here. Where is he now?”
“Trying out for some football thing,” she said. “He’ll be home for dinner soon. It’s Mom’s special spaghetti night. He never misses it. He’s planning on ingesting about five thousand calories of pasta, sauce and garlic bread. A carb-loading, he called it. Mom has been cooking for two days.”
My mouth watered as I caught a whiff of the feast from the kitchen. “Whew, I feel better knowing that he’ll be home soon.” I paused. “Your dad have a gun in the house, just in case?”
Maya shook her head at me. “Josiah is my gun. Better than a gun, in fact. And for the sake of your friend, Dave, I’m going to move on from this part of the conversation. This is definitely a conversation we are going to revisit in the near future. When I am not so pissed off. And when you have more time.”
“I’m sure we will.”
“Have you talked to Marcos about anything?” Maya asked.
“We both talked with him a couple of weeks ago and he seemed okay, but now I wonder if it was all a ruse.”
“Where’s Marcos now?”
“At a junkyard in south Anaheim.”
“A junkyard?”
“You know where all those industrial buildings are on the other side of Disneyland by the 5 freeway? There’s a junkyard across the way from a sticker factory.”
“Why is he there?”
“He owns these luxury werewolf kennels. He has werewolves go there and he protects them with high-end cages when they turn. He provides them with some luxuries and safety beyond a cage. It’s more like a resort. Actually, not a bad business if you think about it.”
“And you think Dave is there?”
“I don’t know. We’re first going to check his apartment, but if something doesn’t look or feel right, we are going to see Marcos at the junkyard. And I’ll beat it out of him if I have to, to find out what he has done with Dave.”
“I don’t want you to do anything,” Maya said directly to me. Maya cared about me, and I
knew I wasn’t going to get her permission to go. The thing is, I never ask anyone’s permission to do anything. I had given in to her not letting me fight, but this time, a friend’s safety was on the line. Not even Maya could stop me from doing this.
“I’m sorry, Maya. I’m going,” I said. “He’s my friend and I have to know what happened. Especially after I gave him my word that I’d protect him.”
“What did he give you?” Maya asked.
“Huh?”
“If you are willing to put your life on the line for someone, they better have offered you something great in return. Even an imperative scrap of wisdom. Come on, throw me a bone, Tommy! What did Dave offer you in return for your protection?”
I stood there quietly and simply said, “I don’t ask for anything. My loyalty is for free. You know that.”
Maya stared at me, and she was not happy. “Why did you even come here like this? To torment me?”
“No! Because I wanted you to know where I went.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s going to be dangerous. If something happens, I wanted you to know… what happened and where. These guys are Carni and they know how to eliminate other Carni from this earth easily.”
“That’s reassuring.” Tears began to drip from her eyes. Dammit! This was the last thing I wanted.
“Am I ever going to see you again?” she whispered. “Tommy!” she wailed as quietly as a girl could in her parents’ house.
“Believe in me, Maya,” I said. “I promise that I’ll come out on top. Sweetie, I need to go. I could sit here and talk to you all day, but I have people in the car. We need to see if our friend is okay.”
“You brought back the whole Six Pack over here?”
“Everyone, except Dave, of course. That’s why we’re here.” I leaned over and kissed Maya on the top of her head. I took in a deep breath through my nose and her scent was as fluid and aromatic as ever.
“Did you just sniff me?” Maya asked.
“Sure did.” Then, I kissed her lips and headed out of her room and out of the house.
Chapter Eighteen
Everything was taking a lot longer than I had hoped. We were losing daylight again. We stopped at Dave’s apartment and it was a mess. Things did not look good. There had been an obvious struggle. I wasn’t sure when the guys got there. His phone was still on his dresser. I could see the text. I wasn’t sure if he or someone else had sent me that text yesterday.