More talking and then, “Yes, I’m aware that I’m no fun.”
And then Jez went silent, as did the screen and he looked up at Jinx.
“Whoever that was sounds like they know you well,” Jinx said. “They got the no-fun part.”
“I am the party, wolf, and you know it.” Jez leaned back and closed the computer’s lid carefully, ran his fingers across the smooth metal, looking very much like he wanted to say something more. So Jinx sat at the table across from him, staring at the Chinese take-out menu he’d practically memorized and he waited patiently. Because if the vamp needed to talk, well, he’d listened to Jinx more times than he could count.
“Those were my brothers,” Jez finally said and Jinx raised his brows. “They’re the reason I fucked up so badly tonight with Gillian. I hope you can forgive me, but hearing from them was quite . . . unexpected. Wonderful as well.”
“Are those the others you mentioned to me—the ones that were waiting in the wings to help the Dires when needed?”
“Yes,” Jez told him. “That’s them. There are eleven of them. I’m the twelfth, the youngest.”
“Explains a lot.”
“Shut up.” Jez managed a smile and then he grew serious again. “My brothers were gone—lost to me for thirty years.”
“That’s when you started following me. That’s when you moved here,” Jinx said. “You said it was ordained.”
“I might’ve stretched the truth on that. You opening purgatory, that was ordained. I would’ve done that even if . . .” He took a deep breath and said, “My brothers were released from purgatory when it opened. They’d been wrongly imprisoned there and I had no way to get them out on my own. But I knew you’d be opening purgatory and so I was able to watch you. To help you.”
“You knew your brothers would be imprisoned in purgatory and you couldn’t stop it from happening?”
“We didn’t know when it would happen—or how. Just that, thirty years later a great wolf would free them and we would owe him everything.” He stared at Jinx. “I was supposed to be locked in purgatory with them. It was a stroke of . . . luck, shall we say, that I escaped. Although there’ve been many times over the years I wished it otherwise. But no matter what, I owe you a great debt. We all do.”
“Where were you when they were taken?”
“I was resting in a different nest when the spell was cast by a powerful warlock. I knew where they were . . . and I knew about the prophecy. So I’m in your debt.”
“And these deadheads I freed?”
“They’re cool.”
“They’re from purgatory.”
“Because they’re undead. All vampires don’t go to hell, you know.”
“Sounds like hell is preferable. Did you use me?” Jinx demanded.
“No, wolf. I knew what was going to happen and I was sent to protect you, regardless of what happened with my kind in purgatory. I couldn’t do anything to aid them—once you opened the door, it was up to them to claw their way out.”
“And they did?”
“And they did,” Jez confirmed. “They’re now dabbling in social media and buying up cell phones. And, as I told you, I’m indebted to you, as are they.”
“No one needs to be in my debt.”
“Everyone needs a favor now and again. Consider us your twelve favors,” Jez said. “Like your kind, we have certain burdens to bear for being what we are. Gifts are given, but they always come at a price. We knew this from the start, we accepted our fate.”
“You had a choice?” Jinx asked.
“In the beginning, yes,” Jez said quietly. “I can’t tell you more. Not now, wolf. It would put you in danger. And I wish I could’ve told you about this earlier, but I didn’t know if everything would come to pass at this time. Things could’ve gone wrong.”
“I thought they did,” Jinx muttered.
“You’ll meet them one day. I think you’ll like them.”
“As much as I like you?” he asked and Jez looked as if he was waiting for the punch line. But there was none, and when both wolf and vampire realized that, there were small smiles of understanding.
“You’re not a half-bad roommate, wolf,” Jez told him. “But the sex on the roof is cramping my nighttime style.”
“Do you think they can help with this other situation?”
“Maybe.”
For the first time since it happened, Jinx allowed himself to think on it. To relive it. He’d hear the screams in his ears for a long time to come. “I didn’t tell anyone. Not even Rogue.”
“I’m sure he knows,” Jez said quietly. “You’re not responsible. I know what you’re thinking, but don’t. You may think you have some level of control over these beasts, but no one truly ever could.”
Jinx looked down at his hands. “I should’ve tried harder. Done something sooner.”
“We knew that the monsters were getting antsy, but we weren’t seeing anything crazy on the radar. Small possessions, yes. I guess they were testing their limits. They don’t like being put on a leash. Pretty soon, they’re going to want to inflict terrible pain and when they do, it’s going to be hell on earth. Brother turning on brother. We’re talking irreversible damage if you can’t get this shit under control.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“It’s in the beginning stages, but yes,” Jez assured him. “I think, tomorrow night, we’ll have to try to send them into hell.”
“I’m not letting Rogue do that,” Jinx said fiercely.
Jez looked odd as he agreed just as fiercely, “Rogue isn’t going anywhere near hell again. I’ll make sure of it.”
Jinx didn’t push the vampire further, but something told him that they would all be sorry long after this was over.
• • •
Kate, Stray and Killian had FBI badges, thanks to Jinx. The wolf was good at supplying them, although he’d never tell where he got them.
“I’ll take point on this,” Killian said.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way, brother,” Stray said, attempting a joke that came out more hollow than he’d hoped.
“Brother, it’s going to be all right. I’m not going to let you face this Greenland shit alone,” Killian told him. “Your life’s different now.”
“You’ve got us,” Kate added and Stray felt himself relax a bit.
“I know. Let’s get this over with.” He pushed the doorbell, heard the low clang. A member of the staff, dressed in butler clothing, answered the door and guided them into a dark paneled study.
“This place is huge,” Kate whispered.
“Our house is bigger,” Stray scoffed and she smiled.
“Yes, honey, yours is definitely bigger.”
“Funny,” he said as Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell walked in, Mr. Blackwell leading his wife with a hand on the small of her back. She looked whippet thin and ready to fall over at any moment, although her handshake was surprisingly strong. “Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell, I’m special agent Garcia, and these are agents Weir and Lesh. We’re here to ask you some questions about your daughter.”
Mrs. Blackwell motioned for them to sit and she did so on the leather couch across from the chairs the butler had moved so they were all facing one another. Mr. Blackwell poured himself a scotch before joining his wife on the couch, and Stray was surprised when he handed it to his wife, who downed it.
“The FBI was here the other day. I told them everything I know. They said the reward was a bad idea, but I don’t give a damn.”
“I understand that you want her back,” Kate started, but he waved a hand at her.
“No, you don’t understand. She’s dangerous. She’s going to hurt someone.” Mr. Blackwell put a hand over his wife’s. “It’s imperative that you find her.”
“We’re here to ask you some other questions,” Kill told them. “I
think you want to answer everything we ask you honestly.”
“I want to answer everything you ask honestly,” Mr. Blackwell repeated and his wife nodded her agreement.
“Gillian’s adopted, correct?”
“Yes. We got her when she was four days old,” Mrs. Blackwell said. “We were so happy. We got the call and we picked her up and went to our house in Texas and stayed there for a while. Told everyone that she was ours, that I’d given birth while I was away on our year-long cruise of the world.”
“Who called you?”
“Our lawyer said someone contacted him. We never knew who it was,” Mr. Blackwell said. “I can give you his name.”
“Please do.”
“The thing is, you know Gillian isn’t dangerous,” Killian said.
“She’s not dangerous,” Mrs. Blackwell agreed.
“She doesn’t need any drugs or hospitals. I think you can let her live her own life. Call off the search. Take down the reward money,” Killian told them. Stray read their minds and saw that Killian’s ideas had taken root. The problem was, neither wolf knew if the change would stick permanently. The longer the original memory had existed, the harder it was to replace.
Chapter 37
Cain was waiting in his truck when Angus came to his apartment. Angus got in the passenger’s side.
“I’m hungry. Mind if we grab food at the diner?”
“Works for me,” Angus said. He smelled like Cain, and Cain realized he was wearing one of his T-shirts.
His wolf definitely approved—Angus could tell by the glow in the Were’s eyes. Cain reached out and slung a hand possessively over Angus’s thigh as they drove and Angus wondered if the wolf would always be like this—or if his possessiveness would get worse.
Angus wouldn’t mind that, he realized.
“You’re nervous,” Angus said suddenly.
“Little bit. I talked to Liam and Rifter.”
“Let me guess—they want to kill me.”
“Maybe. But they won’t.”
“Great reassurance,” Angus said with a snort. “Listen, there’s a lot of chatter from the trappers about Gillian. About why the Dires are protecting her.”
Cain nodded, but didn’t offer up any Gillian’s a wolf explanations. He supposed plausible deniability would be effective that way.
“Are they circling the wagons?”
“They’re staking out the woods at night, more heavily than normal,” he admitted. “They need that reward money.”
“Jinx said that the weretrappers lost a lot of ground—and a lot of money,” Cain explained. “That money would help them a lot.”
“She can’t hide forever, unless she goes deeper underground.” He’d worked with enough witnesses and some U.S. Marshals to know. “I could make some calls, try to get her help if she needs it.”
“It’s under control, but thanks.” Cain parked and looked at him. “You know I’ll tell you more when I can. This is more about you—the less intel you have . . .”
“The less valuable I am,” Angus finished. “If they believe me.”
Cain frowned and then he did that thing with his hand on Angus’s bare chest. The scenting protection thing, even though he obviously wasn’t worried that they’d be out in public together. And then he said, “We’re here.”
Angus finally looked out the windshield of the truck up into the blinking sign that said MO’S. “Never been here.”
“It’s a little more out of the way,” Cain agreed as they got out of the truck. Angus froze when his feet hit the pavement. “What’s wrong?”
“There are snipers on the roof,” Angus said without moving his lips or looking at the roof. Because it took a sniper to know one.
“Yes. Mo’s is a family-owned diner.”
“Family of weresnipers?”
“Something like that. And they’re for your protection as much as theirs.” Cain motioned him to follow, led him inside and toward the back. They ordered and Angus had just finished his meal and Cain was starting in on his third when Angus realized the real reason he’d been brought here.
The man walking toward him was a rock star in every sense of the word. His career spanned centuries, Angus knew that now, but this most recent incarnation had garnered Harm fame and fortune in the band Knives n’ Tulips.
It made sense now as to why he was moody and his concerts started so late.
He stood and met the six-foot-seven-plus wolf face to . . . neck. Stuck out his hand and Harm shook it without hesitation, said, “I didn’t kill any of those women.”
Harm was the reason Angus had come to this town. He’d been tracking the rock star for years, since he was a suspect in a long string of murders. Turned out that the murders had happened for hundreds of years, which is what led to Angus’s interest in the supernatural to begin with.
And now, he was face-to-face with the man—wolf—he’d hunted for so long. “I believe you’re innocent, especially after the evidence Cain gave me.”
“I’d like to see all your evidence. I’ll share mine. I need to find this wolf. You’re not the only one investigating me,” Harm said.
Ellen came over, took his massive order. Cain just shrugged and finished his fourth burger.
“We can compare. I need help with this. It’s what hunters do, right?” Harm asked and yeah, Cain was going to find Angus jobs within the hunter realm that kept him close to home. Well played, wolf.
Cain’s eyes glowed for a minute, like he’d read his mind, and the soft glow around his body circled around him as well. Angus’s heart filled.
“Okay, yes, I’ll help you, Harm.”
“For a human, you’re not that big of an asshole,” Harm said.
Angus could only hope that was a compliment.
Chapter 38
When they pulled up to Pinewood, there were several other parked cars hidden along the side of the road toward the woods. Jinx looked back at Gillian and Rogue, who rode in the backseat, and they both shrugged.
He turned to look at Jez, but the vampire was already out of the car, walking toward Rifter, who was with Stray, Killian and Kate. Jez shook Rifter’s hands and then turned to Jinx and said, “We need to talk.”
“What’s going on?”
“I have a plan. It’s going to work, and we need to execute it now,” Jez said. When they’d first left the house, Jez told them they were simply coming here to test a theory.
Jinx let the lie go, said, “Okay, so tell me.”
Jez straightened, stuck his chin out. “I’m going to lead the monsters to hell.”
“And you waited to tell me until right now?” Jinx demanded.
“Yes. Because if you had time, you’d insist on a viable alternative.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“There’s not one,” Jez said sadly. “I’m the viable alternative to your brother doing this. After what happened the other night, things are only going to get worse. Fast. Once I get the hellhounds and monsters to follow me, they’ll be gone—no more haunting for you, except your ghosts, of course.” He paused. “I don’t think it will help Rogue’s hell problem, though.”
“Why would you do this? Did you always know, the way you knew I’d open purgatory?”
“Yes. I’d hoped there was another way but I was prepared for there not to be.”
Jinx couldn’t blame him.
“You have to let Gillian help you. Let her ease some of your burden. She wants to. It’s what her wolf is telling her to do. Don’t protect her so much that you smother her,” Jez told him.
“What are you, the Oprah of vampires?”
“I prefer Dr. Phil. He looks . . . tasty.”
“For the love of Odin—TMI,” Jinx muttered.
“Listen to me, wolf—”
“I’ve spent my life listening
. Doing the right thing. Doing what I was born to do. Guess what? What I was born to do was open purgatory.”
“And free my brothers. My family,” Jez pointed out.
“And that’s a good thing?”
“Yes, it is,” Jez said quietly. “Rebellion isn’t always wrong. Rebellion brings change. But you can’t change the fact that you see ghosts any more than you can stop your love for Gillian. If it’s freedom you’re looking for, well, maybe Rifter will give it to you without the snarling and the snapping.”
“I don’t snap. Poodles snap,” Jinx huffed. “Jez, you just got your family back.”
“They sacrificed. They paid. And they’ll help you while I’m gone. Your legacy was to lead the monsters out of purgatory and free my brothers and mine was to lead the monsters back into hell.”
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“I wanted there to be another way,” Jez admitted.
“Jez, there has to be.”
“You’ve got to promise you’re not going to try to get me out. You have to promise me.”
“I can’t do that.”
“I can’t let you fuck with it. Not you or Rogue. You’re too tied to it—too many things can go terribly wrong.” Jez touched his shoulder. “I appreciate you wanting to do that, especially when you wanted to kill me a few short weeks ago.”
“Not kill. Maybe maim a little.” Jinx forced a smile. “We have to find another way.”
“I haven’t seen a way around this from day one. I’m not sure how much longer we can let those things roam.”
Jinx knew he was right. But to have to give the undead that kind of death sentence was unthinkable to him. Jez was stoic, but not exactly happy.
“Rifter knows about this—I went to him first, out of respect for your kind,” Jez explained. “Please go to him. Make peace while I’m still here to see it. It will give me comfort to know you’re with your pack again.”
Jinx pushed the tears back and nodded. Reached out and embraced the vampire, who hugged him back and then pulled away fast, as if afraid he’d never let go.
Dire Desires_A Novel of the Eternal Wolf Clan Page 25