by R. E. Carr
“When we’re together, everything seems possible,” he finished softly. “It seems kinda nice. You know, though, you still haven’t told me much about you. What do you like? Me, I’m a big fan of nachos and beer.”
“And country line dancing?”
“Oh, all dancing. You name it. When I was in high school I took all these dance classes for PE while the other dudes did football. The jocks laughed at first, but while they were grabbing sweaty dudes, I was in a room surrounded by lovely ladies in skin-tight leotards. How ‘bout you? You could really move out there.”
“I love dancing, but my musical tastes are far more toward the electronica. Give me some serene trance music over that yodeling any day.”
Jonathan clutched his chest. “Music needs to have live performances and passion, real instruments . . . not just some dude karaokeing over synthesizers, not that I mind a good bit of drunken karaoke—”
“You . . . will sing karaoke?” Paige asked. A tray dropped behind the curtain, tools clattering across the tile.
“Oh hell yeah, gimme a beer and Bon Jovi, and I guarantee I will give love a bad name. What is that look for? Life is too short to be ashamed of shit. I guess that’s kinda an ironic statement now, isn’t it? Come on, why do you look so shocked? You never heard of a man that likes to sing and dance?”
Paige looked away. “What does it say about me, when a normal conversation weirds me out?” she asked. “Has everything gotten so strange that I no longer compute talking about music or beer or dancing?’
“If it makes you feel better you’re technically having a conversation about karaoke with the son of King Arthur. That help?”
“A little,” she said with a smile. They sat quietly for a while, while Kyle puttered in and out – changing the IV drip and giving both Jonathan and Paige fresh bodybuilder shakes. Jonathan smiled at his coffee-flavored one. Kyle leaned over and whispered to Paige, “Don’t worry, it’s decaf.”
“So,” Paige said, taking a deep breath. “You used to work for the sheriff—?”
“What do you want to know?” he replied. He then raised a brow and asked, “Are you pumping me for information, ma’am?”
“You are feeling better,” Paige sighed. “Actually, I wanted to know if you knew much about . . . Kevin.”
Jonathan made a noise rather like a horse as he sank into his pillow. “Ah, Kevin,” he said softly. “Yeah, that asshole was my boss.”
“I kinda got that you worked together, when you both sort of tried to kill me at the barbeque joint. I just want to know what I’m up against. I mean are all the sheriff’s people that, um—”
“Violent?” Jonathan offered. “Douchey?”
Paige nodded.
Jonathan rubbed his chin. “Not so much. My old boss, Winston, was a nice guy. I mean, I wouldn’t want to get in his way, but . . . um . . . he didn’t treat the humans quite so bad. Then he got killed by a werewolf, and Kevin was put in charge of us.”
Paige looked away. Jonathan, however, kept going.
“Kevin has anger issues, and they only got worse when his brother was killed. He’s that guy who burns ants with magnifying glasses and beats up little kids for lunch money. He’s fast, even by vampire standards, but he’s more of a brute than anything. Thinking is definitely not his thing. Hey, you have that sad look again. What did I say?”
“I . . .” she muttered as she got to her feet. “I’m the—”
“Werewolf who killed my old boss?” Jonathan offered. “No offense to your little pity party, but I already figured that one out. Kevin kinda told me.”
Paige turned back to him. She furrowed her brows. “And?”
“And if Winston was coming after me, I’d fight back too. I know he was a bodyguard to some nasty-ass vampires at times. I’m pretty sure it was a fight. Wait, is that what your guilt is all about? Is that why—?”
“Yes and no,” Paige said quickly. She headed for the door. “I should let you rest—”
She stopped cold as she saw a familiar reflection in the glass on the door. The old Lorcan smiled at her for a moment until she blinked. The reflection changed to Jonathan, who had awkwardly hopped from bed and untangled from his IV just enough to follow her around the curtain.
“It’s a little awkward, I get it, but it’s not some major secret,” he said, reaching for her. “There is a secret though, isn’t there?”
“You’re not Lorcan,” she barely managed to choke out. “I get it, and I don’t want to confuse you any more than you already are, Jonathan. Can’t we just leave it at that until we figure a few things out? It’s not like you don’t have time. I’m more worried about what Kevin could be doing out there, and what is up with Javier and Gail . . . and Georgia. I can figure my own shit out later, right?”
“I think I get it now,” Jonathan said softly. “You and the dead guy . . .”
Paige nodded again.
“Oh,” Jonathan muttered. “I’m sorry. This must be—”
“Awkward,” Paige finished. She kept her eyes low. “So yeah, if the sheriff has our friends, what would she do?”
“Whatever she wants. She has a wicked sense of humor, and likes give people what she thinks they deserve. If you do a good job or show a lick of brains, she rewards you well; but if you’re what she calls sheep, she’s ruthless and will use you until you’re dead. I only met her a few times, but she always creeped me out. That help?”
“Yeah, that helps. I’m sorry I didn’t just tell you about me and Lorcan, but I really don’t want to confuse you, or me,” Paige said, finally daring to take a peek at his face. He reached for her with his free hand. She leaned her cheek against his warm palm and held her breath.
“I’m . . . a little confused,” he whispered, leaning closer.
“I am too,” she said before wrapping her arms around his neck. Just before their lips could touch, the door burst open. “Some things never change.”
“Shorty! Oh . . . never mind,” Toy said, quickly shutting the door.
“I should probably see what she—” Paige never quite got the sentence out as Jonathan finished what they started. She grabbed him tightly and pressed against him. As she felt his back, however, she raised a brow. He pulled away and grimaced.
“Sorry, my back has been killing me for the past few days. I guess that’s what happens when a crazy German vampire—”
“Oh no, you have the same . . . the same as me,” she stammered.
“Same what?” he asked. He cracked his neck and flexed his fingers. “Uh-oh,” he muttered as claws pushed out from under his nails. The next time he looked up, the whites had disappeared from his eyes.
“Oh, boy.”
“Oh, man,” Gail muttered, as her stomach rumbled. The scent of greasy meat wafted over from Kevin’s side of the cell bars. As the aroma mixed with rotting blood and decaying metal, Gail found enough of a gag reflex to spit up on another section– trying her best to aim at a rusted patch.
“You’re just so nasty,” Kevin said, fanning his face. “Anyone ever tell you that once a vampire starts to vomit, it’s in deep shit?”
Gail rubbed her aching throat. Kevin tossed one of his many half-empty fast food bags her way.
“Next time, vomit in here. I’m gonna have to get a hose to clean up this nasty-ass shit now. I mean, this is like The Exorcist at this point,” he bitched as he headed for the other door. Once he left, Gail scrambled back to the bars and used her spork to scrape at the softened metal. She scooped up more of the acidic vomit and rubbed it around the base of another few bars. She pushed at one particularly rusted section and the bar gave way. Gail took a few steps back and then rammed her shoulder into her prison. The whole section shook violently and loosened in the concrete. She then used her spork to start flicking vomit to the ceiling. Her aim was good enough to hit about three bars and make a few butterfly patterns before she heard footsteps. She moved quickly to the bolted door on the side wall and chipped more at the concrete as Kevin came sauntering
in with a bucket.
“You do realize that door is welded shut and we shoved the hole full of cinderblocks, right?” Kevin said with a grin. “Now, if you play nice, I have a sledgehammer, but the only way you are getting out of here is through me, skank.”
“I’ll take my chances with the spork,” she retorted.
Kevin replied by tossing the lukewarm bucket of water on her. She wiped the wet hair out of her eyes, and watched with glee as the water drained toward the middle of her half of the cell, leaving most of the vomit untouched. “Damn it!” Kevin said, stomping out of the room.
She managed to flick a little more puke to the top of her cell before Kevin came back. This time he did forgo drenching the shivering, pathetic-looking vampire girl and sloshed the water onto the vomit. Gail held her breath, but Kevin was too distracted by the outline of her now translucent dress on her breasts to really notice the weakened bars. Gail’s stomach growled audibly again.
“You know what you want,” he said, tugging her chain. The more Gail struggled, the faster he reeled her in. Once more she was face-to-face with the smug vampire. He yanked her arms between the bars so he could pin them against his body. He then bit his other wrist and held it dripping over her damp forehead.
“Come on,” he said as the hot, sticky blood dribbled between her eyes and down her nose. “You know you want it.”
“I’d rather starve,” she growled, keeping her lips curled shut.
“What was that?” he asked, slamming the heel of his boot onto her foot. She grimaced but still clamped her mouth shut. The blood trickled onto her upper lip. He stomped again, her toes cracking.
“It would be so much easier if you just give in, but if you like to play, we can play all night.”
Gail turned her head, wiping his blood on the bars. “Never,” she hissed. Kevin dropped her chain and took a few steps away, laughing at her.
“Oh, you’ll beg for it,” he said, shaking his finger at her. “I know you’ll end up begging for it.” Gail glared at him as she wiped the traces of him off her scowling face. She stared hungrily at the streaks of red on her fingers, and then howled in frustration.
“It doesn’t matter, you know. No one really cares what happens to you,” Kevin said, lounging in his little chair and idly surfing on his phone. “The sheriff threw you in here to rot while she takes over your life. She said I could have you if you gave up, but she really didn’t care. That’s all you are - a pathetic little creature meant to rot away in a cage like an animal . . .”
“This was a zoo,” Gail said. “This is where you locked away the werewolf.”
“These bars were made to trap tigers and shit,” Kevin proclaimed proudly. “Even the werewolf bitch couldn’t break them.”
Gail stared more carefully at her surroundings – the scratched walls and dented bars. Her predecessor had chipped and loosened nearly every anchor point and every bar.
“We did reinforce the chains after she broke the first bunch. Then again, that’s what we get for hardware store cheap-ass shit. Kevin then reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the key. He dangled the little piece of brass in front of her. “Yeah baby, if you just agree to be my bitch and mine alone, I’ll unchain you – unless, of course, you’re into that shit. I’m happy to tie you up any day.”
Gail slumped quietly in a corner. Kevin pulled another burger out of a bag. He gleefully slurped out the meat and munched on bacon while tossing the soggy, cellulose-laden buns at her. One particularly good shot landed sesame seeds on her tits.
“You weren’t good enough for a fucking traitor like Javier. You should be grateful that I’m not picky. I’ll take his scraps. One dumb little bitch is as good as any other, I suppose—”
She tuned out the next hour or so of his constant misogynist rambling. She managed to squeeze a few of the buns to get some pathetic drops of fat and beef blood into her mouth, but her stomach still rumbled for more. She studied her reinforced manacles and the heavy plates of metal they provided. She then took stock of just how many bones were broken in her throbbing foot.
“You know that you will heal, bitch,” Kevin called over. “You just need a little bit of my magic juice.”
She remained dreadfully quiet. Kevin simply kept talking, telling the same stories over and over again about how the sheriff always won and punished her enemies. “She doesn’t believe in no-win situations,” he explained, now on burger number six. “Think about it, either you die here, or she gets a new minion. I like to think that I win too – either I get to watch you die slowly, like the dumb bitch you are, or I get a new toy.”
Gail gritted her teeth as he giggled. “Win-win, huh?” she muttered. She looked again at the spork. “Hey Kevin, did you just hear about what she did to that Roman vampire?”
“Livia? Yeah, Sugar said it’s her favorite story. She didn’t kill her. If the old bitch wanted to live, she could have gotten out, but what do you expect from a worthless old cunt?”
“She really gave her a tool to get out?” Gail asked softly.
Kevin laughed. “The only way you are getting out . . . is through me,” he said, smiling just enough to show his average-sized fangs. “No one is coming to save you. She’s taken your place.”
Gail quietly began chipping away around the door. Kevin snickered again and began blasting his music, now some love song in Spanish. Gail cringed. “He never cared, you know. He just used you. At least I’m honest. I totally just want your ass and your money. I’ll ride you hard and use you, but at least I won’t lie to you. In this world that’s way better than most of us monsters get.”
Gail paused chipping for a moment. “You’re so sad,” she sighed before continuing with her seemingly hopeless crusade against solid concrete. She picked up a tiny chip and gleefully presented it toward Kevin. “One inch down already.”
“Babe, there are a few inches right here that will get you out,” he said, proudly pointing to his crotch. “Like I said—”
“The only way out . . . is through you.”
33
“Please not now . . . please not now . . . please not now,” Paige begged as the pounding began in her head. She pressed her back against the cool tile walls of the Biogenesys lab bathroom and tried to find focus in neatly wiping the lavatory counter with a paper towel. Her knuckles cracked with the motion. “They can’t deal with two of us at once.”
She took a deep breath and focused on the ritual of cleaning. As she emptied the little trash cans in the stall into the main trash, the door eased open, and the concerned face of Toy peered around the edge.
“We managed to get him locked in the supply closet. Your great-grandpa is doing his best with the normals. There is a lot of howling to explain, but no one saw too much other than poor Pearl. That woman is either gonna need therapy or a really long make-out session with a vampire to get over it all. Shorty, you good?”
Paige nodded quickly. “How is everyone else?” she asked, trying to keep her breathing as steady as possible.
“You know what it’s like when someone goes off,” Toy said softly. “We’ve got Titanic on in the break room and some Legos and coloring books. The last thing this town needs is cascading werewolf-control failure. You should probably stay in here for a bit longer. The musk is pretty damn intense.”
“He, um, really has that aroma, doesn’t he?” Paige asked, blushing.
“Girl, it is taking every single bit of my self-control not to rip my soaking panties off and toss them at him,” Toy confessed.
“I’ll take ‘images I never wanted in my head’ for a thousand please, Alex,” Paige replied with a pathetic laugh. Toy finally slipped inside, and wrapped her arm around her equally-petite friend.
“He’s yours though. I value my life enough not to really go after him,” Toy said, squeezing Paige. “He is just a painfully good-looking hunk of Texas toast.”
“He’s not Lorcan,” Paige whimpered. “I know now he’s not Lorcan, but we were in the room, and I could
smell him, and I’m already a hormonal mess—”
“Are you seriously trying to justify . . .?” Toy squeezed Paige again. “You are just too precious, Shorty Spice. You are just the cutest, dinkiest, little alpha-bitch on the planet.”
She hugged Toy back, her hands relaxing, and her claws finally settling back under her nails. As she rested her head on her friend’s shoulder, Paige heard the remarkable sound of a tiny sniffle.
“I’m glad you’re back, Toy,” Paige whispered.
“Good to be back, Shorty. I mean, some people might like being locked up in a kinky animal sex dungeon, but I was not one of them. It was weird - as long as that big brother was in the room, I just couldn’t get angry enough to change. I did bust up the place pretty well until they finally tranqed me and took me back here. I’m sorry Paige, I’m so sorry that I got caught.”
Paige hugged Toy even tighter. “We’ve had shapeshifting vampires, invisible vamps, I mean . . . we’re kinda outclassed. Don’t be too hard on yourself. At least you didn’t end up forced into marrying a vampire, only to have him get poisoned by your cerebrospinal fluid on your wedding night.”
“Damn, you should have at least gotten registered somewhere. You could have kept all the gifts,” Toy teased as she wiped her eyes. “What is it with vampires and the weddings?”
Paige shrugged. The door opened again and Kyle peeked into the ladies. Both women gave him a look of horror.
“What? It’s not like I care,” the redheaded werewolf said. “I think he’s done. Are you two both—?”
“We’re fine,” Toy said. “Not that you were really asking about me.”
“Toy calmed me down. So is Jonathan . . . um . . .?”
“He’s a real werewolf alright,” Kyle said, letting out a deep breath. “A very, very impressive werewolf.”
“Down, boy,” Toy chastised. “But really, he went all the way, like Shorty?”
“Very much so. Paige, there is probably something you should see. He might need you to help . . . explain,” Kyle said mysteriously. Paige raised a brow.