Why did that just sound no-win? Probably because it was. Jaylene couldn’t help it. As she’d said, she wasn’t Wonder Woman, had her hands full and didn’t believe in creatures better left for big screen action flicks. There was enough evil on the streets not to want to make up more.
She glanced at Kane, refusing to look directly at him, afraid of what she’d see. “You still good for that ride?”
From the corner of her eye, he looked like he wanted to say something but held himself back. Instead he shook his head, looking away, his tone dismissing her as he said, “As agreed, I’ll drive you where you want to go.”
That stung. Even if she knew he didn’t owe her anything. If she’d saved him, he’d also saved her. Plus he wasn’t following up on his threats to prosecute her for breaking into his safe. Some days that’s as good as it got.
Looked like today was one of those days. So far.
CHAPTER 18
The drive back to D.C. was strained. Understatement. Kane gripped the wheel of his Jeep so hard Jaylene expected it to snap any moment. Sliding along less-traveled side roads wherever the hell they were made her clutch her own door handle as if that’d save her if the car flipped.
When they finally turned onto a larger road, she cleared her throat. “How far to D.C.?”
“Depends on where you’re going.” He cut her a sharp look. “Going back to Dyer?”
She swallowed back a quick retort. He had no reason to be pissy with her. Well, not as many reasons as she had to feel the same way about him. But she did have a question for him…about him. One that had been gnawing at her since that freaky meeting.
“You one of those…things?” She waved her hand as if they were in the midst of a stadium full of preternaturals, or whatever Ling Mai called them, instead of a near-deserted snowy Maryland country road. The mid-day sun held no warmth, the sky that crystal white shade promising more snow.
Kane gave a strangled laugh. “Things?” His tone sounded bitter. “You mean like someone who can see the future?”
Now that hurt. She hadn’t ever thrown her ability or whatever the hell it was up to anyone.
She held her tongue, wondering if the tennis shoes she’d been given at the manor house not that long ago could stand up to walking back to D.C.? With her luck the answer was no.
They’d driven another couple of miles when Kane broke the strained silence. His tone sounded like chewed glass. “I had no right to make that comment.”
“You’re damn right.”
His jaw ground and she could imagine him counting to ten. Or maybe a hundred. “I’m not a. . . thing.”
So she had hurt him. Didn’t mean to, but that and a wish would get her nowhere.
She looked at him then, really looked. Looked and ached for what never had been and never would be. The words she uttered caught them both off guard. “Should have known you were too good-looking.”
Damn, where had that come from? Even if it was the truth.
His strangled laugh broke the tension. A bit. “Thank you,” he said. “I think.”
A million thoughts raced through her head. Was he one of those Weres? Or something else? Something more brutal, more deadly? And she’d made love with him? Oh, sweet Lord, she still wanted to. Did that make her as crazy as him?
As if he read her thoughts he said, “For what it’s worth, I’m fae.”
That had her whipping around to stare at him. “You’re gay?”
“Fae. Not gay.” At least he was smiling. That sexy half-smile that set off butterflies in her stomach.
“What’s a fae?”
He exhaled a breath before answering. “You call my people fairies.”
“You mean like flower fairies?” Her mom had read her books, a whole series of them. What were they called? Oh, yeah. “Like the Cicely Mary Barker’s kind?”
“Hell, no.” He shook his head. “Though her portrayal of some of my very-distant kin have kept all of us better hidden than several centuries of actually hiding. Now that I think of it, she was one of the lesser fae, so her illustrations might have been intentional misdirection.”
Jaylene didn’t know if she wanted to scream or sink her head into her hands. She did neither. Just kept her face straight ahead, her fists curled in her lap.
“My gift is healing,” he said, after silent, strained minutes ticked past. With a glance at her leg, he added, “Among other gifts.”
Like making her want him, even as she accepted that she knew nothing about this man…this fae…Kane.
“Thank you,” she managed, though it sounded raw.
“For?”
She touched her thigh where little more than an ache remained of the deep gash that had been there earlier.
“You’re welcome.” There was more. Beneath his words. Beneath hers. Two polite strangers that had one night together and now? Now, who knew.
“I’m not bad. Nor evil.” Kane continued, as if inside her mind. “And I
wish. . .”
She looked at him—the line of his jaw, the sweep of his angled cheeks, even the way his lashes brushed against his skin. “You wish what?”
Fool, fool, fool for even asking.
There was no tomorrow for them. Even less of today as they’d reached the beltway and the other crazies driving in the winter snow.
“Never mind.”
Two words that never helped anyone.
She swallowed—bitterness, bile, regret. They’d be near her sublet soon, she realized, not even questioning how he knew where she lived.
It wasn’t until he pulled the Jeep up to the curb a few blocks away and turned the engine off that he spoke, not looking at her but straight ahead. “It might be better if I go by your place first. Make sure none of Dyer’s. . .things... are hanging around.”
Her gut twisted as she listened to the Jeep’s engine ping into stillness. She’d been wondering if going back to her place made sense. But she needed a few things. It’d take only minutes, then she’d be gone. Long gone.
“Thanks.”
The single word wasn’t enough, not by far. Tension tautened between them until he slammed out of the rig, his parting words garbled in the closing of his door. “Stay put.”
She wasn’t an idiot. You didn’t survive long on the streets with bravado and bluster alone, though they’d gotten her out of more than one scrape. It wasn’t his command that had her frozen in place, watching his broad back march down the road and disappear around the corner.
So fixated on memorizing everything about him—his walk, the hunch of his shoulders against the cold, the tapering of his waist into his hips—she didn’t see them coming until it was too late.
CHAPTER 19
The Jeep door didn’t open. It flew off its hinges in a wrench of metal ripping apart. Two of them. Men, or mostly men. One being Grabeski.
Fear rocketed through her, heart pumping, blood racing, all her focus on Grabeski.
Maybe Kane was right. Now she could see what she hadn’t seen before—the length of Grabeski’s jaw, the odd crook to his thick neck, the beady pinpoint of mean madness deep in his yellow eyes. Plus his smell. Rancid. Rotten. Revolting.
Grabeski wasn’t a man. How had she been so blind?
Meaty hands encircled her arms before she could react. Jerking her from her seat, he snapped her seat belt in a whiplash of pain, pulling her so close the world narrowed to only him. Him and his crazy, feral face.
“I’ve been lookin’ for you.”
Then he headbutted her and all went black.
CHAPTER 20
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, Jaylene woke up someplace dark and unknown. Only this time was nothing like the last one. A damp chill surrounded her. Lying on a brutally hard cement floor, it took her a few minutes to figure out if she’d died, or only wished she could. Stripped naked, she lay curled in a fetal position, hands wrapped around herself to keep from freezing.
Grabeski.
That asshole probably go
t his rocks off stripping her, pawing her and tossing her in here like so much garbage. She only hoped that was all he’d done.
Stiff and sore, it took a few tries to scramble from floor to skinned knees, where she stopped, listening.
Far away was a gurgling sound. Pipes maybe. A hum vibrated beneath the floor. The Metro nearby? Or the fear hammering her heart escaping through her skin?
Muscles locked and bruised, she waited until she trusted her legs, or her determination, to hold her upright. Three tries was all it took.
Bare feet planted on the cold floor, she took her bearings. A darkness so inky she could see nothing didn’t help, but closing her eyes, just long enough for them to adjust even a little bit more to the dark, wasn’t easy. Not with the sense that something, something big and ugly and brutal, lurked nearby. Waiting.
But she did it. Squeezed her eyes shut and counted to forty. It made her light-headed. When she popped them open, charcoal shadows replaced the wall of dark. Good. Tiny baby steps.
A room. Small. Maybe five feet by eight. Reaching her hands out, she shuffled to the nearest wall, sure that at any second something was going to rear up and bite her—a tarantula, a scorpion, a rattler. Not that ever, not once in her whole life, had she run across any of them. Except for the kind that walked on two feet.
Grabeski’s face swam into view. The last image she’d had of him. What kind of animal was he? No longer did she have any doubts he was one—literally.
And Kane? Was he here? Someplace? Had they seen him leave the Jeep? Gone after him? Killed him because of her?
Or worse. Dragged him back here to do whatever they planned to do with her.
As if a fist slammed into her chest, cutting off her air, she froze.
Taking care of herself was one thing. That she’d learned to do early. That she could do. But if Kane was at risk because of her…helpless…suffering…she’d never forgive herself. Never.
Was this what caring meant? Not what she’d felt about her mother, but more. Her mother gave her life, was her staunchest ally until Jaylene’s step- father entered the picture and changed everything. Jaylene felt protective of her mom, anxious and, at times, hopeless. Her mom would never again be the woman Jaylene once knew. Never.
But what roared through Jaylene now was a fierceness, a terror so deep and so strong she wanted to punch a fist through the nearest wall. Kane was male, big and powerful, and here she was, wanting to fight for him.
Get a grip, girlfriend. He was probably miles away. Safe in his castle. Glad he’d been able to wash his hands of her.
There. That was better. Now it was just her. Mentally, at least. She might be able to save her own skin. Deal with whatever humiliation, pain and brutalization Grabeski and Dyer meted out. Then she’d move on.
As long as Kane was safe and whole and living.
Tucking away the relief that image brought, she forced herself to move. Another few shaky steps and she reached a cement block wall. Scrubbing her hand over the rough surface, she inched around the room until she found the lone door—metal, with the smell of damp rust and several bands welded across it for extra security. As if it needed any more.
The room was empty, except for a small plastic bucket. Toilet facilities no doubt. Grabeski was a sweetheart. A real sweetheart.
Maybe. Just maybe, she’d get a chance to pay him back. If he were here she’d rush him, throw all of her fear and anger at him. Just enough to get her hands around his throat. Or maybe gouge his eyes out. Listen to him grunt and holler like the animal he was.
The thought warmed her a little.
Suddenly Grabeski stood silhouetted in the doorway, the light behind him blinding, causing her to raise her hand to shield her eyes.
What had her mother always told her?
Be careful what you wish for.
CHAPTER 21
“I told you not to screw with the boss,” Grabeski grunted. He threw his hands wide as if to bring home his point. “And what’da you do? One small job and you fucked it up.”
Everything in Jaylene wanted to flip him the bird. But all that’d do was make whatever he had planned for her worse. Best way to deal with bullies was to call their bluff.
Pulling herself up to her full six feet, she straightened as she stared down at Dyer’s pipsqueak enforcer. She knew he hated having to look up at her.
“Where’s Dyer?” she asked as if she’d just strolled in, business as usual, her tone, and words, dismissing Grabeski as of no consequence.
“He don’t want to see you.”
“You sure?” Jaylene forced as much attitude into her voice as a freezing, bare-assed woman could.
“Yeah.”
She heard the slight hesitation and pounced on it. “So Dyer doesn’t want to know what I found out?”
That sent a crease of confusion rippling across Grabeski’s face. Instead of answering, he slammed the door closed with a loud clang.
Which told Jaylene two things. First the little guy wanted to check with the top dog before making a mistake. And second? He’d already made a mistake.
She crossed to the wall farthest away from the door to wait. When Grabeski opened the door again—not IF but when—if she gave him some distance, he’d feel safer. That’d be his second mistake.
Jaylene might not know animals, or whatever Grabeski was, but she did know men. She wouldn’t have survived on the streets longer than a week if she hadn’t learned a few things about men. Let him think she was cowed, submissive, even beaten—all she needed was one opening and she’d grab it.
It took less time than she’d expected before the door protested and a wedge of light once again flowed into the small room.
Grabeski was back. With reinforcements. Two, no four, bruisers formed a wedge of testosterone behind Grabeski.
That made her smile—a you-that-scared twist of her lips that had the boss-wanna-be tossing his chin skyward before hooking his thumbs in his belt in a false show of power and bravado. “You’re coming with me.”
She held her ground, crossing her arms and angling one brow. Guy didn’t know he was playing chicken with a pro. First flinch lost.
The fact that Jaylene’s movement forced her breasts up and forward wasn’t lost on the welcoming committee as all gazes but one shifted. Either Dyer had a real badass working for him or a gay. He’s the one she’d worry about if it got that far.
Grabeski cleared his throat. “Boss don’t want to be kept waiting.”
“Changed his tune, didn’t he?” She allowed smugness to coat her words. All was fair in war, and this was no doubt a battle.
He angled his body, showing the way out, as if she couldn’t figure it for herself.
“Give me a jacket and I’ll come. Or, better yet, my clothes.”
“That’ll take too long,” Grabeski all but whined.
“Then you’d better hurry. Dyer will want to know why it took me so long to appear.”
The growl erupting from Grabeski sounded like a pig’s squeal. Could he have been the boar from the other morning? Made sense. Also made her warier. Not that she’d ever show him.
It took only seconds for one of the minions to toss in her clothes. She dressed, calmly and as if five guys weren’t watching every move she made. When she was ready, and only then, did she nod at Grabeski. “Lead on.”
He tucked his head into his shoulders. “Payback’s a bitch, Smart. Remember that.”
As if he needed to tell her. Right now that’s all she was thinking about as she followed him out, aware of the other grunts filing in behind her, the gay guy making sure he crowded into her space, to let her know who was in charge.
Being dressed made it easier to think there’d be a way out of this mess. She just had the length of time between where she was and where she was going to figure out the how.
CHAPTER 22
Down empty hallways she didn’t recognize, past closed and padlocked rooms, they marched. Silent, except for the heavy breathing of the escort servic
e. One glance at the guy nearest her and she knew why. Amped on adrenaline, or anticipation for whatever was coming, they were already changing from human to whatever they were—broader foreheads, hunched shoulders, wider jaws.
She swallowed deeply. Badass dude snickered as if he could scent the fear building in her.
And it was, starting low in her belly, knotting her muscles, slicking her skin with sweat. The last bend in the route led to a flight of stairs. They proceeded, one at a time, one ahead of her, four behind.
If she got out of this she was going to…what? Go straight? Become a smarmy pillar of society like her step-father? Take up that Ling Mai woman on her offer?
No. Once she’d survived a few weeks on the streets, she’d made a promise to herself. Own her actions, regardless if they were forced on her or not. She promised herself to never be a victim again. No point in starting now.
With a throat so tight she could have sworn Grabeski already had his meaty paws around it, she stepped from stairs to a wide-open area. A gym? Or maybe a warehouse of some kind. A mile of linoleum floor, boarded-up windows on one side, high ceilings and rows upon rows of industrial lights. The space was big enough to house a couple of airplanes. And bright enough. So bright it took a second for her to scope out what she saw in front of her.
Dyer, sitting on a big, honking chair like some school principal reveling in his power. Little men loved to do that. Act like their small circles were the only circles as a way to puff up their importance. True, being a criminal kingpin in a place like D.C. was impressive, but only if you discounted all the politicians and SuperPAC types who made him small potatoes, plus they got to be badass in public.
Her gaze skipped over Dyer to who was beside him, crouched over on the floor, four brutes encircling him like players in a dog fight ring.
But this was no dog fight. The man on the floor was covered in chains, which was overkill, given the blood streaming from dozens of wounds across his bowed back.
Jaylene’s heart jammed hard against her breastbone as she looked more closely, seeing what she’d refused to see immediately.
Alphas Unwrapped: 21 New Steamy Paranormal Tales of Shifters, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More Page 36