“Shouldn’t you be doing everything you can to track Jared rather than hanging out in training practice?” she asked. “Or are you going to sit that one out too?”
Say what? My mouth fell open in outrage.
“We are doing everything we can to locate Jared,” I shot back as soon as I found my voice.
“Tell that to the family and friends of the two agents who died tracking him down only for you to let him get away.”
Heat rushed through my body. Before I could lay into her, Dante hurried over, concern etched in the lines indenting his forehead.
“Agent Scott, no one wants to stop Jared more than Aurora.”
She bristled and squared her shoulders. “I just find it strange that every time she tries, he always gets away.”
I grit my teeth. “Because he’s a slippery motherfucker.”
“He’s just a vampire.” Ashley stared me in the eyes.
“Hey, you want to take him down, be my guest,” I said, sweeping my arm in a wide arc in front of me.
First Dante, now Ashley. Everyone was going loony tunes around this place. Must be the holidays. Ashley and I hadn’t become friends, but I never thought she had any beef with me. Perhaps she was still sore over Dante and me taking her hostage outside of Fairbanks.
She was the last person who should be giving me grief. I wasn’t the one who got seized by two supposedly rogue agents. She was lucky she’d been caught by the good guys.
I kept waiting for Ashley to storm out of the gym, but she stood her ground, her nose turned up in defiance.
The standoff stretched on, finally broken by Dante, who seemed to have regained some of his old composure. He flashed a lopsided smile.
“Hey, it takes teamwork to take down a vamp like Jared,” Dante said jovially. “Jab was the opening act before the main attraction. We’re going to get him before the year is out.”
Now there was a New Year’s resolution. The year of no Jared. Sign me up for that.
“Preferably before Christmas,” I said stiffly. “Well, catch you later.” I left the gym, suddenly glad Dante had canceled the training session for tomorrow. I no longer felt like joining in, but I still would have, if only for the sake of showing Ashley she hadn’t chased me off.
No wonder Jennifer and Kate didn’t want to hang out with her. Maybe she was one of those chicks who didn’t get along with other women. She sorta seemed like she didn’t get along with anyone. Loner by choice. Noel was hardly warm or fuzzy, but at least she knew how to socialize and have a good time.
Fane looked up from his computer when I walked into the parlor.
“Back so soon?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.
“Dante’s given everyone the rest of the week off.”
Fane nodded and turned back to his computer monitor.
I sighed. “Any news?”
“Nothing new, I’m afraid.”
I walked to the desk I’d been using and stared down, unable to bring myself to sit. From there, I walked to the map and stared over the state and the thumbtacks pressed into the parchment. When I began pacing the room, Fane turned in his seat and met my eye.
“Want me to drive you home?”
My chest tightened. Home wasn’t home. It was military housing. Besides, what would I do there? Watch TV?
I shook my head. “I need to work off my frustration. I can do that in the gym on my own.”
Didn’t need an instructor to lift weights and punch bags.
“Hang in there,” Fane said with a slight smile.
The training room appeared to be empty when I returned, but the lights were still on and Dante’s duffel bag sat against the wall.
“Dante?” I called out.
There was a rustle in the corner. It could only have come from the supply room. That explained where Dante was. I walked over and opened the door. Inside, tangled together butt-naked on a stack of mats, lay Dante and Ashley. Interestingly enough, Ashley was on top. Guess she’d shown Dante she could hold her own . . . and get him on his back.
Suddenly their odd behavior made perfect sense.
My lips curved up. “Oops, I’m sorry,” I said, not sounding sorry at all.
I didn’t catch Ashley’s expression. I only had a view of her messy blond hair from behind. Dante’s face appeared around her naked shoulder. His cheeks were flushed, and he was grinning like a fool. He’d finally gotten lucky. They’d had chemistry from the moment they’d met—more of the explosive kind, but obviously it worked.
Ashley grabbed her rumpled shirt off the floor and yanked it over her head. Her hair flattened momentarily before flying off in multiple directions as soon as she pulled the shirt down.
“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” I said, holding back a chuckle. I took a step back as Ashley untangled herself from Dante and scrambled to get the rest of her clothes on.
Dante wasn’t rushing the way she did, but he slipped on a pair of boxers quick enough.
“No, really,” I said. “Take your time. I’m leaving.”
Ashley leaped to her feet, zipping up the fly of her jeans. “I’m leaving,” she announced. “You can stay. Obviously you wanted to see Dante about something.”
She eyed me suspiciously. Or maybe she was just pissed I’d discovered her dirty little secret as she seemed to be treating it.
My amusement faded, and I found myself glaring back, rising against the hostility palpitating from her. What a killjoy. You’d think a romp in the supply room would help the agent mellow.
By now, Dante had his jeans halfway on. He stood up, a sheen of sweat across his ripped torso. With all the free time between training, he’d put extra hours into working out, and it showed. Glad those pecs weren’t going to waste.
Ashley caught me staring and scowled.
What? They were right in my face. I’d have to be blind not to notice. And there was nothing to be jealous of when everyone knew I was as far gone as one could be over Fane.
“Hey, Ash, hold up,” Dante said. “We’re still meeting for a walk, aren’t we? This will only take a sec.”
“Take all the time you need,” Ashley said. “I’m leaving, and I’ll be busy this afternoon.”
His face fell. “But—”
“Drop it,” she said, her harsh tone, making me jerk. Ashley’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Dante. “We’re not a couple. We hooked up. That’s all.” She spun on her heel and rushed out of the room as though Dante might chase her down, but he didn’t. He stood there dumbstruck, and it broke my fucking heart.
What a bitch. I thought maybe she was going to be cool, but I was way off.
The supply room went silent after Ashley stormed out. The sound of Dante swallowing seemed to magnify. He took an uneven step as he pulled up his jeans. I turned my back to him to give him privacy, but he didn’t appear to notice me at the moment.
This was more awkward than walking in on Dante and Ashley.
There was a brushing sound of fabric, followed by a zipper. I turned slowly. Dante stood with his head hanging.
I shifted from one foot to the other.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to break up the party.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s all it was,” Dante ground out, his head lifting, eyes flashing. “A hookup in the closet.”
I glanced around. “Not bad, though,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
Dante shrugged.
“Did she ambush you or something?” I smiled, again trying to lift his downcast spirits.
“No, this wasn’t the first time,” Dante replied, waving a dismissive hand in the air. “We made use of an empty interrogation room yesterday and spent the night together on mission.”
My eyes expanded. “You hooked up on mission?”
Dante snatched up his balled-up tee, which had somehow landed on a shelf of punching mitts.
“Yeah, in Fairbanks,” Dante said, shaking out his T-shirt. “The agency put us up at a motel just outside of town. She’s the one who kno
cked on my door.” He smiled briefly. It disappeared an instant later. “We haven’t just been hooking up. She’s been meeting up to walk Tommy out on the trails with me. We’ve had some deep conversations. I thought they meant something, but I guess I’m just her fuck buddy,” Dante finished bitterly.
I winced. “Hey, I’m really sorry. If I hadn’t interrupted . . .”
“No,” Dante said roughly. “Good thing you did. Now I know where I stand. She made her feelings perfectly clear just now.”
Dante yanked his T-shirt over his head and torso. He grabbed his tennis shoes and stormed out of the supply room.
“I think she might have been jealous,” I said, following Dante. “She was looking at me like she thought maybe I was trying to get you into the closet.”
Dante spun around. “That’s ridiculous. You’re with Fane.”
I shrugged. “You know how women can get. It probably means she’s really into you.”
“No.” Dante shook his head. “I’m not in the mood for games. The last few months have been one big mindfuck. I’m not in the mood to be dicked around.”
Knots formed inside my belly. Even though Dante didn’t aim his words at me in accusation, I knew where they were coming from. I’d never meant to dick him around. I’d always tried to be honest about my feelings. He’d wanted the two of us to be more than what I could give him, and now he felt it was happening all over again. This might even be worse if he felt he was being used.
“I’m sorry, Dante.”
He stared past me, brows furrowed, lips forming a grim line.
“I’m like Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing. I’m just that sexy instructor all the ladies want to fuck for his body, and who cares about his feelings? Treat me like a manwhore. Get what they want then take off when they’re done with me. I’ll never get my Baby.”
Oh, good grief. Dante had more angst in him than a thirteen-year-old girl.
“Okay, now you’re being a drama king,” I said, placing one hand on my hip.
Rather than respond, Dante stormed out of the supply room into the gym. I hurried out after him.
“Where are you going?”
“Home,” he said, his back to me as he went for his duffel bag. “At least I know Tommy will be happy to see me.”
I pursed my lips and watched as Dante slung the duffel over his shoulder and walked out without saying goodbye. He looked like he needed time to cool off. Tommy could provide better comfort than I.
When I returned to the parlor, Fane turned away from his computer and chuckled.
“Back again? You just can’t stay away from me, can you?”
I folded my arms and leaned one shoulder against the wall.
“That and there’s nowhere to go.”
Joss kept his head bent down, doing whatever it was he was doing. It was wacky how he’d gone from rare books dealer to vamp profiler. I’d once thought Joss was the breadwinner, covering himself and Fane. Boy, had I been wrong.
I pushed away from the wall and took several steps closer to Fane.
“Hey, think I could get that ride home, after all?”
“Of course.” Fane scooted back in his chair and got to his feet. “Be back in a bit,” he said to Joss.
Joss gave a slight nod.
Fane didn’t talk much on the short walk from the parlor to the car. It wasn’t until we were on the road that he spoke.
“You didn’t want to work out?” he asked.
I snorted. “Dante and Ashley were already using the gym for a private workout. Well, private until I walked in on them.”
The car swerved. I reached for the handle of the car door instinctively, but Fane already had the vehicle smoothed out.
His eyebrows were raised high on his forehead.
“You mean—”
“They were humping like a pair of snow bunnies. Yeah.”
“Agent Scott and Dante?” Fane asked incredulously. “Are you sure?”
“You did hear the part about me walking in on them, right?” I wrinkled my nose. “I still have the image stuck in my head.”
“Good,” Fane said, quickly adding, “not the part about assaulting your eyes, but that the two of them found a way to blow off steam that doesn’t involve strangling each other. They’ve been stiffer than a pair of windup toys.”
“Well, don’t throw confetti just yet,” I said. “After I walked in on them, Ashley stormed out. Dante seemed pretty hurt.”
“Probably upset because he didn’t get a chance to climax.”
“Fane!”
Fane sniffed. “He’s a big boy. He’ll survive.”
I still felt bad. Maybe if I hadn’t interrupted they wouldn’t have had their spat.
After Fane dropped me off, I pulled the curtain back and stared out the front window at Dante’s house across the street. The Jeep wasn’t parked out front. Guess he’d gotten out with Tommy. I let go of the curtain and moved to the kitchen. Fane had blood bags in good supply. It was like going out with a dealer. Big score for a blood junkie like me.
Still, I didn’t want to abuse it. I poured about a fourth cup of blood into a mug and drank it down. After that I was back to pacing, only now it was the kitchen rather than the parlor.
Where had Jared ran off to? There’d been no sightings of Valerie reported, which made me wonder if she was still in the picture or if Jared had made that stuff up about them being an item. Maybe he’d lured her away from the agency then killed her. Or maybe she’d been pretending to be into him so she could get close enough to kill him. Not that long ago she’d wanted to end his life. Then again, that had been before Val went nutso. Redrum.
The doorbell rang, and I jumped in place, my heart rate spiking. I huffed and shook my head a moment later as I took wide steps to the front door.
Reinhardt and Gunter stood out front, holding a paper plate filled with cookies. They wore twin smiles.
“Chocolate chip, as promised,” Reinhardt announced.
“Thanks,” I said, taking the plate from him.
Gunter shoved his hands in his pockets. “Jennifer and Kate are coming over to watch a movie in little bit if you want to join us.”
“Thanks, I’ll pass.”
“No worries,” Gunter said.
“Have fun, and thanks for the cookies.”
Reinhardt waved. “Enjoy!”
Behind them, Dante’s Jeep pulled along the curb across the street.
Reinhardt and Gunter craned their heads around.
“Oh good, Dante’s back. We can deliver his cookies,” Gunter said.
“Maybe he wants to watch a movie,” Reinhardt added.
“Bye,” I said, closing the door.
With nothing better to do, I swept the curtain aside and watched Reinhardt and Gunter take cookies over to Dante’s house. Dante kept his door open, as I’d done, and spoke with the boys even briefer than I had. I saw him shake his head. Probably turned down the movie offer, which didn’t surprise me given his earlier mood. The boys had really caught him at an off time.
Soon after Reinhardt and Gunter returned home, I saw Jennifer and Kate bundled up in winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves walking along the sidewalk toward the boys’ house. I wasn’t the only one with a cold aversion. It wasn’t as if they had far to walk.
I didn’t bother putting on a coat when I decided to walk across the street and check on Dante. I did grab the cookies the boys had brought over, figuring he could never have too many.
The moment my knuckles hit the door, barking erupted from inside. Nails scraped the floor on the other side of the door.
“Hey, Tommy,” I called out.
The barking stopped. Footsteps soon followed and Dante opened the door. His forehead wrinkled, and his lips formed a grim line.
“Oh, hey,” he said.
“Mind if I come in for a sec?”
He opened the door wider. After he shut the door, I handed him the plate of cookies.
“In case you’re going for a cookie coma,
” I said, squatting beside Tommy and running my hand across his back. “Hey, boy, how’s military life treating you?”
Dante snorted.
I continued petting Tommy for several minutes. Once I straightened up, Dante led me into the kitchen.
“I appreciate the gesture,” he said, lifting the plate of cookies I’d given him, “but even my stomach has limits.” He set the plate beside one that was piled a half foot high. Only the Saran Wrap kept the cookie tower from toppling over.
“Hey, no fair. How come the boys gave you more cookies?” I teased.
Dante rolled his eyes upward. “I’m their instructor, and they know I have a sweet tooth, but you’re not far off on the cookie coma. Do you think they’d notice if I slipped some to Mandy?”
I shrugged.
“Or you could always pitch the ones you don’t eat.”
Dante’s eyes expanded. He looked at me aghast. “Throw out cookies?” he choked out. “Homemade cookies?”
“I guess not,” I said with a smirk.
Dante shook his head. “Sometimes I don’t get you.”
I placed my hands on my hips. “The feeling’s mutual. What’s up your butt, anyway? I didn’t think you liked Ashley. Is this some kind of opposites-attract thing?”
Dante straightened. “We’re actually a lot alike.”
I raised my brows. “She shares an insatiable appetite for pie and cookies?”
“I don’t know about that, but she’s committed to protecting people from vampires. She told me she can’t see herself doing anything else with her life. It’s her calling.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, good for her.”
“Don’t be snide.”
“I’m not,” I said, moving one of my hands to my heart. “I’m glad there are agents willing to give up their lives to ‘the cause.’”
Dante stiffened. “We don’t consider it giving up our lives. We think of it as serving a higher purpose.”
I lowered my hand and scowled. “Now you sound like Melcher.”
“He has the right idea—wrong execution. Your boyfriend has been helpful in that department.”
Dante’s shoulders relaxed as he leaned against the kitchen counter.
I loosened my shoulders. It was hard to argue when Dante had paid Fane his first real compliment.
True North (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 6) Page 11