“I drive him insane.” She said it in a conspiratorial voice and winked at Jess.
Jess smiled weakly. “Not a far drive, is it?”
Vax grunted. “Getting shorter by the minute.” He braced a shoulder against the wall and glared at the blonde.
“Why don’t you show me what’s behind door number one,” Nessa said, rolling to her feet. She hooked her thumbs in her jeans pockets and headed towards the bathroom. “I hope she doesn’t look much worse than she feels. She feels all wrong to me.”
“Brace yourself, beautiful. She’s worse.” Vax stepped into the bathroom, pressing against the wall to make room for a third person. Jess moved over to the doorway, craning her head to see around him.
Both Nessa and Jess were outside the wolf’s reach, but Vax wasn’t. She-bitch struck out with one manacled hand, chains rattling. He jerked away, looking down at her with narrowed eyes. “Unless you want to lie there with that silver burning inside you for the next six months, you had better behave.”
“Are you going to put her in time-out?”
Nessa was staring at Vax with wide eyes, a smile flirting with the corners of her mouth. He barely glanced at her. “Old woman, don’t you have something better to be doing?”
Old woman? Jess looked back at the shorter woman. The kid didn’t even look old enough to be out of college.
“I did. Then you called. I’d rather see what you’re up to.” She batted long, thick lashes at him, her smile turning flirtatious.
Vax winced, but Jess didn’t see the look on his face. She was too busy trying to swallow the bitter jealousy that sprang to life as the woman moved around the table and rested a hand on Vax’s back. There was an intimacy between them—Jess couldn’t exactly describe it as sexual, but they knew each other. There was a bond there, no matter how irritated Vax appeared.
“I called Kelsey.”
With a graceful shrug, Nessa replied, “Well, Kelsey wasn’t there, now, was she?”
Vax opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. He sidestepped out of the way as Nessa edged around him and peered down at Dena. The woman reached down and laid a hand in the middle of Dena’s torso, just a little below the two small, misshapen breasts. Jess wouldn’t have touched the she-bitch with a ten-foot pole, and she almost warned the girl, but Vax didn’t looked worried.
“Oh my, Vax. She’s a nasty one. You have a bad habit of finding trouble—I thought you were retired.”
Disgruntled, Vax muttered, “Believe me, if I had any choice in the matter, I’d be home.”
“Ah, yes. Your ranch. Such a lovely little spot.”
Ranch…Jess could vaguely remember his mentioning a ranch. The knot of jealousy grew just a little bit bigger. She hadn’t figured Vax was into the peppy, young teenaged type, but it looked as though Jess was off the mark. She could feel something bitter and rude burning on her tongue. She was just a millisecond from giving in to the ugly monster of jealousy when Dena struck out. Razor-sharp claws missed Nessa’s chest as the small woman spun away, but just barely. When Nessa stopped, she looked down and held out her shirt, revealing two long, skinny tears in her sweatshirt where Dena’s claws had shredded it.
“Was that really necessary?” Nessa asked. Her Mary Poppins voice was chilly as she glared at Dena.
From the bathtub, Dena snarled and bared her teeth at Nessa. She snapped her jaws together as if she were biting down on something. Jess was five feet away, and with Vax standing between her and the restrained wolf-woman, she was as safe as could be expected. But she still backed away.
Nessa, on the other hand, moved forward, leading with a short, straight-armed jab that caught Dena square on her malformed jaw. Jess heard the smack of flesh against flesh, and she winced reflexively as Dena’s head flew back under the impact. Dena yelped a little but then looked at Nessa with hatred in her eyes.
“Not only are you an ugly mess, you’re stupid as well,” Nessa muttered, turning her back dismissively.
From the doorway came a new voice. “Agnes, love, please don’t irritate it.”
It was a deep, melodic voice, with a hypnotic accent that Jess thought was Scottish. Turning her head, she found that the voice belonged to a man every bit as intriguing as it was. He was big—that was the first thing she noticed. Too damned big for the small cabin. He seemed to dominate it, towering over everything and everyone. The deep red hair on his head was the second thing she noticed. Jess imagined a lot of women would sever an arm to have hair that color, but she had no doubt it was natural. He didn’t strike her as the type who’d have the vanity to dye it.
He had deep blue eyes, the color of the eastern sky at twilight. Those eyes were currently fixed on the small blonde, filled with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Where the hell had he come from? The door hadn’t opened. There was one window, but it was too narrow for the likes of him. She turned to look at Vax, but if she thought he’d been irritated before, he was even more so now.
“What do you want?” Vax asked as he came out of the bathroom.
The giant gave a wide smile. “That is no way to speak to somebody you called for help. Where is this problem you spoke of? She smells…strange.” He lifted his head, sniffing at the air. Jess wasn’t sure how he could smell much of anything over the stink of cigarettes and old fish, but he did. He headed towards the bathroom and peeked inside.
He stepped a little closer to the tub and studied Dena with puzzled eyes. “I haven’t ever seen anything like that.” He looked back at Vax. “What is she?”
“A mess,” Nessa said. Her nose wrinkled. Turning away with a shrug, she repeated, “Just a mess.”
“You’re so helpful.” The giant took up the place that Vax had vacated, leaning against the wall.
Nessa smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Her eyes actually looked dull, almost lifeless. “I live to serve, Malachi,” she said in a mocking tone.
As yet another woman stepped into the room, the look on the giant’s face changed to complete and utter adoration. At that point, Jess just gave up trying to keep track of who was talking. She was tired. She was sore. She felt every little bruise and scrape she’d gotten during her mad dash to get away from the wolf-woman before the thing ripped her throat out. She wanted to go back to sleep, but it obviously wasn’t going to happen.
The newcomer had red hair as well, but it was a sunny red-gold that looked like it belonged on a Pippi Long-stocking doll. She wore it in a fat braid that trailed halfway down her back, and as she moved to the bathroom, the giant caught her braid in his hand and jerked her head back, covering her mouth with his.
Damn.
The heat between them was hot and palpable, and when they parted, they looked at each other with an intimacy that made Jess squirm a little. There was such naked devotion on their faces, such love, it felt wrong even to be standing close to them while they shared the moment.
And for the second time in just a couple of minutes, Jess was overcome with a bout of longing so deep, it almost hurt. The woman rose on her toes and pressed her lips to the corner of the man’s mouth and then looked at Jess. She smiled. It was a bright, open, friendly smile.
Great. Another peppy type. Just as vibrant as the curly hair trying to free itself from the long braid. Normally that sort of type irritated Jess. The cute blonde certainly did.
But there was something so warm, so friendly about the redhead that Jess couldn’t help but smile back. When the woman held out a hand, Jess stepped forward and accepted it.
“Hi. I’m Kelsey. The big guy behind me is my husband, Malachi.” She glanced out towards the slender blonde and smiled. “I’ve got a feeling that neither one of them bothered, so I’ll introduce you to Nessa, our resident nutcase.”
“Impertinent little brat.” That came from Nessa.
There was something very strange about the way Nessa spoke. It wasn’t just the proper, prim English accent. Looks aside, the woman sounded—old. Maybe not in years, exactly. Old-fas
hioned, mature, old-world…Jess wasn’t sure of the right way to describe it. But with each passing moment, Nessa seemed less and less like the college coed that she appeared to be.
Kelsey moved around the table and slung an arm around Nessa’s shoulders. “Awwww…I love you, too, Nessa.”
Nessa rolled her eyes and then looked back at the table. “We have a bit of a mess on our hands, I am afraid.” She glanced towards the bathroom and said, “Did you see Vax’s little surprise? Nasty thing, isn’t she? I’d wager he isn’t going to stay and help us with it, either.”
Vax didn’t say a word. He actually looked like he’d rather not be here. He leaned against the wall, hands jammed deep inside his pockets and his mouth in a flat, unsmiling line.
“What is she?” Malachi asked. As he spoke, he turned his back to the doorjamb, standing so that he could see Dena and still look at the others. Dena snarled. There was something oddly challenging to it. Malachi narrowed his eyes and shoved off the wall, disappearing inside the bathroom. From where Jess stood out in the main room, she could see him. Dena struggled against her chains as the big guy moved closer. He bent low over the tub, and Jess said, “I wouldn’t do that.” She could just see those deadly black claws slicing through the air, ripping into flesh.
But the second the last word left her mouth, Dena started to whimper. Cringing, in fact. If the wolf-woman could have disappeared inside the yellowed bathtub to get away from Malachi, she would have.
Jess sort of understood why, too. Even though the guy wasn’t looking at her, Jess had a sudden urge to cringe and hide herself. She even backed away, reaching out to wrap a hand around Vax’s arm. He felt solid. Real. But she still couldn’t get rid of the nasty taste of fear on her tongue.
“You vamps are handy bastards, but go easy on the bystanders, okay, Mal?” Vax shifted until he was standing behind Jess, but oddly, she felt a little more protected against that weird, irrational fear. Vax skimmed his hands up and down her arms, and with each slow, careful stroke, the fear bled away.
As the knot in her throat eased, Jess swallowed. Then she sucked in a lungful of air, staring at the man as he straightened over Dena’s body. He glanced at Jess and shrugged. “Sorry.”
Something in the cabin changed—although the lights hadn’t flickered, it had seemed dark, and the air had felt cold and harsh. But as the man turned away, it all faded.
“Shit.” It had been coming from him. Once more, she started backing away, but as her back came into contact with Vax’s chest, she stopped. “He’s…ah…a vampire?”
“Yeah. An ornery, evil one, at that. Just ignore him.” Vax wrapped an arm around her in a gentle hug.
“Sound advice.” Kelsey smirked a little and glanced towards her husband as he left the bathroom. “Too bad nobody gave it to me.”
“Darling, nobody needed to give it to you. You already knew you should stay away,” Malachi murmured, backing her up against the wall. He caged her in place with his arms and lowered his head to nuzzle her neck. “You just didn’t listen to yourself.”
“Malachi, dear, we do have a bit of problem here, might I remind you. Either contribute—or go get a room.” Nessa glanced at them with a bored expression, as though she’d seen this show before.
Malachi murmured, “Oh, I’d love to get a room. What do you say, wife? Can we get a room?”
He got an elbow in his stomach. He grunted and stepped back, rubbing at his belly. “Fine, play with the strange-looking creature.”
“She’s not a creature, Malachi. She’s a werewolf,” Vax said.
The laughter and easy lust Jess had glimpsed in Mal’s eyes faded, replaced by a cool, clinical expression. It was disconcerting. Very disconcerting. Vax didn’t seem bothered by it, though. He stared at Malachi and repeated, “She’s a werewolf.”
“That’s not like any werewolf I’ve ever seen, boy. And I’ve seen quite a few.”
Vax grinned. “Yeah, old man. I imagine you have. So you ought to at least recognize the scent on her. Even if she does look a little…strange.” Vax caressed Jess’s back. He gave her a gentle smile—it looked so at odds on the harsh lines of his face. Vax moved into the bathroom and Jess held her breath, waiting for Dena’s reaction.
She took a step closer. Then another. She kept walking until she stood in the bathroom doorway. Jess stared inside the bathroom, looking at Dena. The wolf just lay there. She was staring up at the ceiling, but there was an emptiness in her gaze, one that made Jess wonder whether Dena was seeing anything.
From behind them, Nessa spoke up. “It is safe, Vax. She is not going to try to take another bite or swipe any time soon.”
Looking back over her shoulder, Jess stared at the woman standing across the room. There was a weird look in Nessa’s eyes. It made the bottom of Jess’s belly feel like it was falling out from beneath her. Dear God—what have I gotten into?
It was weird. Chasing after the man who had killed Randi was a hell of a lot less unsettling than being surrounded by witches, werewolves, and vampires. Oh my.
As Vax joined Nessa, hovering over Dena’s body, Jess looked at the other two in the room. Kelsey was standing to the side, watching everything with her mild golden eyes. There was an odd look in them, though—a contained one.
Jess’s gaze slid over to the vampire.
He was an unnerving bastard, that was for sure. Memories of that gut-wrenching fear she had felt swam back up to taunt her, and she felt her spine stiffen as she stared at him. Being scared pissed her off.
A lot.
As though he knew what she was thinking, Malachi looked up at her, a sly grin curving his lips. “Vax, are you certain this pretty blonde needs to be here?”
Vax just grunted, a sound that could have meant a million things.
Malachi smiled a little wider. A cold chill raced down her spine. He might be on the side of the angels in this game, but Malachi was a very, very strange character. He came forward, moving with the same liquid grace as a jungle cat. A knot found its way into her throat, and Jess had a hard time breathing around it. His eyes were a deep, hypnotic blue—Jess wondered if this was how a bird felt when a cobra was preparing to strike.
“What are you doing messed up in this, madame?” he murmured as he moved a little closer. His voice was low, almost soothing. “There’s power inside you. I can sense it, feel it lying inside your skull, but it is nothing that keeps you from living the life of a normal woman. Why are letting yourself get pulled into this world?”
There was something mesmerizing about his voice. About him. Jess had a weird urge to turn to Vax and ask him to take her back home. Home. Jess squeezed her eyes closed and reminded herself of what waited for her at home.
Nothing.
No family.
No sister relying on her. No sister to share pizza and gossip with. No sister to go see a movie with or watch as the Kentucky Wildcats got clobbered on national TV. Nothing.
Because of William Masters and Thomas Fitzpatrick. And they were going to pay for what they did to Randi.
“I have my reasons,” she said. Her voice was stiff, stilted. She had a hard time forcing out the words, but she did manager it. That was something, considering how this dude made her feel like she was standing naked in front of her high school journalism class. Really, really exposed.
“Hmmm. Reasons. I see pain in your eyes. Such pretty green eyes. Such a pretty smile—there’s little room for aught but pain and ugliness in our world. Is that where you want to be? Are you so certain this is what you want?” His voice was so seductive, and his words. She wanted very badly to leave it all behind.
Through the fog in her head, she had to force herself to think. Slowly, she shook her head. “You got a thing against green eyes or something?”
There was a soft laugh, and then Kelsey said, “It’s not going to work on her, Malachi.”
The woman’s voice was like a cold splash of water. Jess felt as if she had just been bitch-slapped back into consciousness. Her eye
s narrowed as she realized that the vampire had been trying to pull some kind of vamp mojo on her. “You son of a bitch.”
Thick black lashes lowered, and he studied her with a hooded stare. “Yes. Remember that.” As he spoke, he uncrossed his arms, letting them fall to his sides. As he did, she saw the words scrawled across his chest.
BITE ME.
In big, bold red letters.
Bloodred letters.
A faint, reluctant smile appeared on her face.
He turned away from her, and Jess started to pace restlessly around the room.
IT was almost comical, the look of stunned disbelief that came over Malachi’s face. He had been standing in the bathroom, one hip propped against the rusted, dirty sink. He was standing a lot closer to the wolf-thing than Vax would have thought wise, and he wasn’t paying much attention to her at all. Again, not too wise, in Vax’s opinion.
But Malachi had done things a lot of people wouldn’t consider wise, and he had come through all of them unscathed.
Very little surprised him.
Which made this that much more enjoyable.
If somebody had gotten hurt, Vax knew he wouldn’t have been leaning back against the wall with a wide grin on his face. But since nobody had gotten hurt, he was going to enjoy every microsecond of this.
It wasn’t every day somebody surprised Malachi enough to knock him on his big ass. A thunderous scowl came over his face as he rose to his feet. He crossed the distance between him and Dena in one giant step, one hand lifting. Whether he was going to grab her or hit her, Vax didn’t know. But Mal never got close enough. He came to a dead stop a good three feet away from the tub, held back by something invisible to the naked eye.
Vax saw it, though. Witch sight gave the protective shield a faint, hazy glow. It was a containment barrier. Nothing in. Nothing out. It was what had kept Dena’s fireball from hitting Mal, keeping it locked inside the shield. The were had ended up with singed fur and some nasty but superficial burns when her fire had, well, backfired, and ended up striking her in the torso, just a little to the right of her sternum.
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