by Cara Adams
The apartment was small but hers. Kitten stretched and came to her, rubbing against her legs. She bent down and picked the tiny creature up, holding him against her chest and stroking his soft fur, while Mike checked the bedroom and bathroom. But she knew the place was safe. In an enclosed area like this, she could smell strangers and things that were out of place, and nothing smelled wrong to her.
“Go and pack a suitcase and the kitten’s litter tray. You’re coming home with us. It’s not safe here.”
“It’s no less safe than it’s ever been.” That was a lie. She’d never had someone try to run her down in the parking lot before, but the wolf didn’t need to know that.
“Oscar told us to protect you. Either pack your things yourself or I’ll handcuff you, sling you over my shoulder, and take you with me anyway.”
She’d been sizing him up ever since he’d appeared by her side in the parking lot. Now she looked at him carefully and knew what she’d already sensed was correct. He would protect her because he’d been told to, no matter what she said or did. It was no use arguing with him. The male big cats she’d known in her childhood were exactly the same. When ordered to protect they’d do so to the death if necessary. Well, she certainly didn’t want anyone hurt because of her. Although he’d dealt with the would-be attacker in the stairwell most competently. “All right,” she said.
Ellie didn’t have a lot of possessions. Since she’d been alone for ten years and had to rely on her own small muscles to move house every year or so, acquiring a lot of stuff made no logical sense. She borrowed books, magazines, and DVDs from the library and only owned maybe twenty special favorites in paperback and even fewer DVDs. She had another hundred or so books on her e-reader. She opened her suitcase, stored under the bed for easy access. On the very bottom was the stamp album her grandmother had given her for her eighth birthday, and above it was a small folder of family photographs. She quickly added her underwear and work clothes to the pile, threw in a few sweaters and a couple pairs of jeans, and she was done. She didn’t wear makeup, and her hairbrush was in her purse already. From the bathroom she collected her few odds and ends, wondering whether to pick up the new herbal bodywash she’d just found and really loved. But what if it spills all over my clothing?
She took it anyway, and out in the kitchen added half a dozen cans of kitten food and the kitten’s litter tray to the pile of things on her kitchen counter. She found a trash bag and put the litter tray in it, then dropped her bodywash into a Ziploc bag and the cat food into a brown paper sack, then added them to the trash bag.
When she returned to the living room, Kitten was curled up on Mike’s lap and he was taking photographs of the items in the kid’s wallet. Ellie blinked. The attacker had fifty, seventy, ninety, one hundred ten dollars in his wallet. She’d be lucky to have that much in her bank account. Likely he’d already robbed a few victims today.
“Have you got a pair of latex gloves I could borrow for a minute please?”
“Sure.” She went to the kitchen and got them and handed them to him. He put them on, lifted his T-shirt up, and carefully wiped all the items from the wallet, and the wallet itself, then put everything back.
“I think he’ll be too pleased to see his ID and money to worry about checking for fingerprints, but with luck I’ll have messed mine up anyway,” said Mike cheerfully.
“I’d be surprised to hear he got all that money legally,” she said.
“Especially since he has three sets of ID in that wallet.”
“Three? Wow!”
Mike stood up and looked around. “Where’s your cat carrier?”
“I don’t have one.”
“How are you going to carry the kitten then?”
“When I took him for his immunizations I just held him in my arms.”
“O-kay.” Mike picked up the suitcase and the trash bag. “So that’s it?”
“Yes.” Ellie checked she had her ring of keys, slung her purse over her shoulder, then picked up the kitten who was now sitting on her coffee table. “We’re going for a ride in the car, but not to the veterinarian this time. We’re going to stay with friends,” she whispered to Kitten.
“I told Rowan what was happening. He’ll be waiting near your car, then we’ll wait for him to follow us,” said Mike.
“What about the wallet?”
“I’ll check on the punk when we get down to the sixth floor. Can we use the elevator? Are you just keen to get some exercise or does it break down a lot?”
“We’ll be safe with the suitcase. It’ll be an excellent weapon. But you’ll need to keep hold of it if anyone gets in, especially if a group of men get in. Or we could take the stairs.”
“We’ll take the elevator.”
She followed him to the elevator and was relieved when it arrived empty. Mike nodded for her to go first, then he stood right in front of the door, the suitcase in his right hand and the trash bag in his left. When they got to the sixth floor, he wedged the suitcase to hold the doors open, and dashed for the stairs. He was back in a few seconds, rolling the latex gloves up and putting them in his pocket as the elevator doors shut.
“Was the boy all right?”
“Just coming around. We timed it perfectly.”
At the ground floor Mike led the way back to her car. She noticed Rowan still in his car, waiting just a few car lengths back from the entry, and he shadowed them to her car, waited, blocking the lane while Mike stowed her suitcase and trash bag in the trunk, then followed them.
Ellie drove to the end of the parking lot then pulled to the side to let Rowan go past her. “I assume he knows the way? Where are we going, exactly?” she asked, stroking Kitten, who was sitting on her lap.
Mike gave her a sheepish grin. “Actually, I don’t know. Rowan and I live with the wolf pack, and since you wouldn’t tell me whether you were a human or a cat, I didn’t think it would be good to take you there. Rowan was going to organize something. He’s a Dom and very capable, so I expect he has it all sorted.”
Two male wolves, one of them a Dom. So not just shape-shifter wolves but also the BDSM scene. Sorted. Riiiiiiight! Sure it’s sorted!
Chapter Two
Rowan was sweating by the time Mike appeared out of the apartment block with Ellie. He was half-afraid she’d refuse to leave with them and was prepared to dump his sister’s car and go inside and haul her out himself. Of course, he’d been prepared to crash Karen’s car as well less than half an hour ago. He was damn glad he didn’t have to explain that to her. She was his older sister—by five minutes—and took her seniority seriously. His ass would definitely be grass if he smashed up her car or let it get stolen.
But Ellie couldn’t stay here. A kid trying to run her over in the parking lot was bad enough, but a second kid attacking her in the stairwell was worse. It meant they not only knew where she lived, they knew her habits as well, that she took the stairs, not the elevator. And why did she do that? Was she so skinny because she was a fitness freak?
The whole time she’d been packing her luggage he’d been talking to Oscar and then to Mr. Vukic, the Alpha of their wolf pack. And then she’d come out with just one suitcase and a trash bag. That wasn’t much luggage for a woman. Hell, his sister would have needed two or even three suitcases. Oscar had said get her a motel room and bill him, but the Alpha had given him the address of an apartment the pack used for out-of-town visitors, saying no guests were expected this week and that would give them some time to work out what was happening.
I sure hope so. Rowan led them nearer into town, right to the heart of the city, then to a nice neighborhood by the river. He wouldn’t mind living here himself, except a month’s rent for an apartment here likely cost more than his annual salary. Well, maybe not quite that much, but it was expensive, he knew that.
He pulled up to the gate of the underground parking lot, and the security guard nodded at him. Since he was pretty sure he’d never met the man, Rowan guessed the Alpha had given the guar
d a description of him, or even sent a picture to his cell phone. Rowan pulled through and waited for Ellie to follow him. The guard closed the barrier again and said, “Down to level P3, Mr. Fisher. Spaces 307 and 308.”
Rowan waved his thanks and went down the ramp two more levels. Their parking spots were near the elevator. He jumped out and locked his sister’s car and waited while Mike got the luggage out of Ellie’s car. She was holding her hands against her chest. Oh shit! “Have you been hurt?” he asked, panic spearing through him.
“No. Why would I be hurt?”
“Your chest?” He waved at her, then blushed, hoping she didn’t think he was being rude about her breasts. He wasn’t staring at them—although he wouldn’t mind seeing them naked, but—“The way you’re holding your hands to your chest. I was worried that you’d hurt your ribs,” he explained.
“That’s Kitten.”
“Huh?” She called her breasts kitten? What was that about? Although he was pretty sure one of his sister’s friends referred to her breasts as “the girls.” But…Then he noticed the tiny ball of fur she was cradling between her hands. She had a kitten. “Oh,” he said, feeling foolish.
He took the trash bag from Mike, and they walked to the elevator and rode up to the lobby. One of the security staff came across to them and handed Rowan a keycard. “Mr. Vukic’s apartment is 1001,” he said.
“Thank you.”
Although Ellie kept her gaze on the floor, as she’d done when she was walking outside, he sensed her flick a glance to him and guessed she wanted to know about the Alpha. Once the elevator doors closed behind them, he said, “Mr. Vukic is our pack Alpha. We usually just call him Alpha. The pack owns several apartments for when out-of-town guests come to visit, and he has said we can stay here for a week.”
“We?”
“Yes, we. Mike and I have been assigned to protect you. Other men are being sent to follow up other female staff members from the clinic. Dr. Thorne’s quite worried about what is going on.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. Kids are always trying to make a quick buck by scaring lone females,” said Ellie.
“You aren’t alone anymore,” said Mike fiercely. That’s what Rowan thought, too. He didn’t even know this woman, but he knew he’d protect her.
Rowan opened the door into a tiny entry hall, and then they walked through into the living room. It was a nice size, but not ostentatious. They moved on down the hallway. There were two bedrooms, each with a small half bathroom. “Which one would you like?” he asked Ellie.
She stood at the doorway looking into first one, then the other. She walked over to the window and stared out at the city lights, then crossed to the other bedroom and repeated her explorations. Finally she said, “This one,” standing inside the second bedroom. He couldn’t help smiling at the serious way she’d chosen her bedroom. They looked pretty much the same to him. They were near enough to the same size and same design, but if this one appealed to her that was fine by him. He dropped the trash bag on her bed and watched as Mike laid the suitcase down in the corner of the room.
Ellie set the kitten on her bed and took out the litter tray, walked into the bathroom and placed it in there. Then she picked up the kitten and took him—her?—into the bathroom before coming back out again. The kitten ran after her and followed them back to the living room.
Mike immediately began opening the refrigerator, the drawers, and everything else. He said, “There’s no food here, so the first thing we need to do is order a pizza.”
“Sounds good. I’ll have everything except anchovies,” said Rowan, watching Mike and Ellie. Mike nodded. “What about you, Ellie?”
She shook her head.
“What, you don’t like pizza?” asked Mike.
Once again Rowan wondered if she was anorexic, or a fitness fanatic, or really into health foods. Was she going to want to eat organic brocco sprouts or something? “I can take Karen’s car to a grocery store and buy you some fruit or a diet meal. Whatever you want. Karen’s always going on a diet so I know what to get.”
“No, I like pizza. I like fruit, too. But when I’m worr—unsettled, I throw up if I eat, so please don’t buy anything for me. I’ll have some water before I go to bed. That’ll be plenty.”
Mike sat down on the couch and gestured to Ellie to sit as well. “Let’s put the food thoughts on hold. Are you worried because of the incident in the parking lot and the kid on the stairs or what? And getting back to the question I asked you ages ago, are you human or a shape-shifter?”
Ellie looked at them both, scooped the kitten off the floor where it was rubbing its face against the legs of the couch, and left the room, shutting her bedroom door with a small but definite click.
“Well, that went well. Not,” said Mike.
“Yeah.”
* * * *
Ellie made sure the door was locked behind her, then pushed a chair against it. Nothing would keep out a determined wolf, but at least the crash of the chair falling over would wake her up if either of them picked the lock while she was asleep. Although…she rather thought they were gentlemen and would stay outside, leaving her alone.
Not that she would sleep anyway. She never did when she was stressed. And today just made it more obvious than ever that she had to find a new apartment the moment her lease ran out. First the punk in the parking lot, angered because she wanted her allocated parking space no doubt, then another kid on the stairs, one who’d likely been there all day terrorizing the apartment dwellers judging by the amount of cash in his wallet. None of it was anything to do with Dr. Thorne, or the clinic, but since he wanted to help she’d stay here for a day or two. It’d be wonderful to be safe and secure, cared for, even if it was only for a few days. She was so tired, so desperately tired, of always having to be alert for trouble. Always being the one under attack, the odd one out, the problem child. All she ever wanted was to disappear into the crowd, to become invisible, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t seem to achieve such a simple wish.
A well-known fiery pain seared through her chest, like a knife blade slicing into her flesh, into her soul. Ellie breathed deeply and bit her bottom lip until she had control of her emotions again.
Kitten smooched over her feet, and Ellie bent down to pick him up. “We still have each other, Kitten, and we understand each other, don’t we?” She rubbed his soft head and petted his ears just the way he liked it, before laying him on her bed and taking off her work clothes. She opened her suitcase and realized her pajamas were still underneath her pillow, back in her apartment, so she pulled out a long T-shirt and put that on instead.
Ellie dragged a chair over to the window, turned off the light, and opened the drapes, then sat looking out. Gradually day darkened into night, and the lights of the city came on, first some in the buildings, then the street lights, then more in the apartment blocks. Neon lights advertising businesses shone brighter the darker the night became, until the world outside the window was filled with bright lights and color and her room was totally black. Ellie finally relaxed, totally invisible, just like she wanted to be.
Kitten was purring contentedly in her arms, so she stayed in the chair, and finally she dozed. In her dream she was accepted, appreciated, running in the grass and playing with the other children. They threw balls and ran and chased each other, and she was one of the group, doing everything the other kids did. Then they all transformed into cats and ran away and she was left standing on the grass watching them. Alone.
Ellie jerked awake, her face wet with tears. Get over it, woman. You aren’t a cat. You’ll never be a cat, and alone is much better than all the fighting and screaming and anger that filled your home.
“My time would be much better spent finding a neighborhood I can afford that is safer than where I live now,” she told herself.
Holding Kitten, Ellie stood up and went and got her iPad from her purse and began checking various neighborhoods. An hour later she’d found a couple of po
ssibilities to look at and was once more relaxed. This time she climbed into the bed, letting Kitten sit on the pillow beside her head. She didn’t really think she’d rest, but her body was relaxed, and in the end, she fell asleep.
* * * *
“The smell of food in the apartment might make her ill, if tension really does upset her stomach. Go home, pack an overnight bag, have some food, then come back. When you’ve returned I’ll go,” said Rowan.
“But that could be a couple hours,” objected Mike.
“It won’t be the first time I’ve eaten late at night,” said Rowan.
Mike grinned. No, they’d had a few adventures together over the years, working for their Alpha. But still, it was typical of Rowan’s thoughtfulness that he told Mike to look after himself first.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” he asked, gesturing to the back of the apartment where Ellie was in her room.
“She absolutely will be or we’ll both die protecting her. But I think it’s more than physical. From what I could see, she took the incidents today in stride, coping with them just fine. But there’s something deeper upsetting her. It may be harder for us to solve that problem, but we’ll do it. I won’t rest until she’s gained ten pounds and a smile,” said Rowan.
Mike nodded. Yeah, he wanted to see her smile, too, and ten pounds wouldn’t hurt her. In fact, it’d look good on her.
Rowan handed him Karen’s car keys. “You’ll need these,” he said.
“Oh, yes, thanks. I’ll see you again in a couple hours,” he said, picking up the keycard for the apartment door and dropping it into his pocket.
He stopped at the exit to the parking lot to tell the security guard he’d be back in a couple of hours, and the man just nodded. Then Mike drove across to the west side of town where the wolf pack owned a large building with shops on the first and second floors, offices on the next few floors, and apartments above that.