If she didn’t have the meeting this morning, she’d have stayed in bed longer. Sam ran a comb through her hair and took a small box from her bag and stepped out into the bedroom where Adalyn w still slept.
She searched for a piece of paper to write a quick note on. She found a pad attached to the fridge and tore off a sheet.
Sam scribbled a quick few lines and left them on the counter. She looked at the box and contemplated its contents. Adalyn would probably hate it, but she left it on top off the note and peeked into the bedroom. Adalyn hadn’t moved. She kissed her softly.
“I’ll see you later, Addy,” she murmured even though Adalyn couldn’t hear her. “And we’ll talk.” She had to tell her what she was before they went any further.
****
Adalyn woke several hours later to her alarm clock blaring in her ear. She let out an irritated cry and slapped the clock into submission before rolling onto her back. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
Clove and tangerine faintly scented the air. “Samarra?”
She opened her eyes but the silence told her she was alone. She stared up at the ceiling. Maybe she had to work.
Her cell phone rang, and Adalyn frowned, throwing back the covers and climbing out of bed. Mallory and a few of the dancers were the only ones that had her number. It was too early for co-workers to call.
She grabbed her phone from the dresser and studied the display. She didn’t recognize the number. Her stomach knotted and her skin cooled. Carefully, as if the caller could attack through the phone line, she connected.
“Hello?”
“Afternoon sleepy head.” Sam’s voice filled her ear and Adalyn sighed softly.
“Hi. Where are you?” Damn she hadn’t meant to ask that. They were lovers, temporary lovers. She didn’t have a right to pry.
“Freaking golf course,” she said with exasperation in her tone. “A client wanted to talk over a few rounds.”
Adalyn laughed. “Do you suck?”
“Naw, I just hate it,” Sam drawled. “I wanted to see if you were up.”
“Barely,” she said and sank down on her bed. “Why?”
“I was thinking I’d swing by around four, and we could hang out before you went to work.”
Sam wasn’t running after what she’d said last night? Not unless she was going to break up with her then. Those words had to scare anyone not looking for a commitment.
“I’ll be here,” she said. She wouldn’t run from a goodbye.
Adalyn hung up and quickly showered. She needed to run to the library for a look into the newspaper archives. She wanted to make sure the name she chose wasn’t connected to any major accidents. That would bring her into notice quickly as an identity thief.
Then she’d go to the store for a few things and they could have a light lunch and tonight a light dinner by candlelight. That is if Samarra wasn’t coming to break up with her.
Adalyn set the phone down and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower before dressing and going into the kitchen for an apple.
She went to the fridge and retrieved a green one and washed it. She grabbed a paper towel and her eyes landed on a sheet and box on the counter next to the coffeemaker.
Adalyn’s heart sped up and she set her apple down. The note. No one had been in here, she told herself as she lifted it from the counter.
Addy,
Sorry to leave so early. I have a couple of meetings today. I set these meetings up before us. I’ll see you later.
S
She set the note down and picked up the box carefully. Samarra had left it. She had to have, she told herself even though she was trembling in fear of what it might really be.
Adalyn slowly lifted the lid and peered inside. The top fell from her hand and she covered her mouth as emotion swept through her.
The gold heart had tiny diamonds inset in part of it that twinkled up at her. She’d seen the design on a commercial. It was called an Open Heart.
Was this a parting gift or the start of something that would tear her apart in a few days?
Chapter Seventeen
Adalyn returned home at three-thirty carrying a few bags of things she’d picked up at the grocery store. She also had her new name picked out after a side trip to a local cemetery. All she had to do now was send off for the birth certificate and social security card. Then, she could get an ID and she’d be able to get a passport so she could leave the country.
She had a feeling that was the only way she’d be able to escape Joelle and her friends.
“I’m glad I caught you, Adalyn,” the manager said from behind her.
She groaned inwardly and turned to see him ambling toward her from the unit several steps away. The trees of the breezeway temporarily hid him and then he was in sight again.
“Hello, Randall.”
He gave her a smile. “You’re going to have to move out in a month. The new owners want to start working on this block of the complex first.”
“Nice,” she muttered as she set her bags down to unlock the door. “I was told I had three months before I had to move. I haven’t found a new place yet.” She hadn’t looked anymore but she’d be gone in a week anyway. So what did it really matter?
“I’m sorry,” he said with a shrug. “It’s their building. They can do what they want with it.”
She turned the doorknob of her apartment. “Well, thanks for letting me know,” she muttered.
“See ya,” he said and whistled merrily as he walked toward the stairs leading to the upstairs unit.
Adalyn opened her door and stared at the ripped sofa, the overturned coffee table, and the writing in blood red on the wall. The stink of urine wafted to her, and she let out a startled scream as horror raced through her.
An eerie laugh erupted inside her apartment and a touch of fear coated her tongue with bile. Her hair stood on end and her hands tightened on the bags causing her knuckles to hurt. Adalyn started to go inside, but a scruffy spotted dog sauntered into view from behind her camel-colored couch. Its muzzle was dusted with bits of cotton from one of the throw pillows she presumed as she carefully eased back.
She held out a hand. “Nice doggie.” Her voice was wobbly and weak.
The dog cackled as it stalked toward her. Fear snaked through her and her heart pounded like a drum in her ears.
Dum, she chanted the word silently as she reached for the door handle with a shaking hand. “Randall!” Her fingers slipped off as if they’d been well greased. She gasped in breaths as she tried again. “Dum!”
“Yes, Adalyn?” The brown-haired man called patiently.
The dog leaped at her and it slammed into an invisible force. It growled and trembling all over, Adalyn grabbed the knob and pulled the door closed. A loud thwack against it had her jumping. She stared at the door wrapping her arms around herself as she backed up. The dog rammed into it again and then there was silence.
“Adalyn?”
“A dog!” She pointed to her door frantically.
He frowned. “How’d a dog get in your apartment?” he demanded perplexed even as he moved to the door to check things out.
She stood back, body rigid as he carefully opened the door. The dog leaped out knocking him off his feet before snarling at her.
Adalyn yelped and backed up, falling onto her butt and a rock dug into the back of her thigh. The dog met her gaze and in its eyes she saw a human face. Malice washed over her in a choking wave that had her hand going to her throat as she rasped in breaths.
In a split second, memories clicked into place in her mind. She peered from the bathroom door at the sound of Joelle in Bobby Reacher’s office. They were arguing about a file, pictures that she wanted.
“You’ll give me my divorce or you’ll never get that information, you shifter bitch.”
“Shifter bitch?” Her voice took on a malevolent tone. “I’ll show you shifter.” Her nails had elongated and her eyes had gone pure black. For the space of four beats of
a heart Joelle’s face had been that of an animal.
Her energy had become wild and dark and it had drifted around the room and slithered into the bathroom making her jump back from the door. There had been a moment of silence before Bobby screamed.
Through the crack in the door, she’d seen Joelle’s nails cutting into the silk of his shirt to tear through skin. Then Joelle had slashed his throat with a smile so cold it had chilled her to the bone. It had been right then she’d known why she’d always given the woman a wide berth.
Joelle had no soul, but the animal staring at her now, it did. The dog stalked toward her, the human face fading as knowledge flitted through her mind but stalled in the face of her need for survival.
She swallowed tightly, heart beat slowing.
Pa maa eye oh dum. She chanted the words and felt the energies inside her rise. Dum. Dum. Dum.
The dog cocked its head and she saw curiosity in its eyes that turned to—to fear?
The dog took a step back, cackled, and took off.
“Son of a bitch,” Randall muttered. “A hyena?”
Adalyn was rooted to the spot where she’d fallen staring after the animal as it retreated.
“What in the hell,” Randall exclaimed. “You’re not getting your deposit back with a mess like that.”
“Dumb-ass,” she snapped finally coming out of her reverie to see him peering into her apartment. “I didn’t do it.” She got quickly to her feet smoothing her skirt down.
“And you’re trying to say the hyena did?” he demanded looking down at her from his six-foot-two height with hands planted on his hips.
“I didn’t, and I’m calling the police,” she snarled and stalked toward him.
Damn it what was going on?
A hyena?
Shifter. The knowledge that had frozen in her mind moments ago sprang forth unbidden. That’s what Joelle was. That’s what those men who’d tried to kill her were. And that’s what Marjorie and her friends were. They were hyena shifters.
In fact, most of the patrons who paid to see them dance had that same wild energy. Samarra and Sydney had it. So did Mallory. Thiers was different from Marjorie’s, but not all of them felt the same. They must be different kinds of shifters, but they were all shifters.
“That won’t change anything,” he called.
She pushed open the door to her apartment in a hurry to get inside. She started to close it and then went back for her bags. The dog had left them untouched but then, it hadn’t been fixed on the bags. It had been looking at her.
She picked them up and stepped inside. Adalyn just stared at the walls again in sheer amazement. “I can’t believe it.”
“What’s to believe?” Randall asked from behind her. “You’re a stripper. No one will miss you.”
She was about to crane her neck to look at him when hard hands shoved her to the floor. She let out a startled cry and rolled onto her back and sat up. “Randall, what are you doing?” His wild energy assailed her, but it was darker than the hyena’s.
He didn’t speak as he bent and gripped her shoulders and jerked her up.
“Randall, let me go.” He shook her and was about to hit her when she drove her knee into his crotch.
He groaned and his hold went slack. “Bitch,” he muttered and bent forward. He came sailing at her a second later and Adalyn quickly got out of the way, stunned. He hit the floor cursing and she jerked around to the door.
She lost her breath.
The hyena jumped inside and went for him. He looked up and the animal’s teeth tore into his face. He screamed and struck out at it even as bone crunched and blood sprayed. The animal rolled back, and he sat up.
His face bore scratches and blood and his nose looked as if it had been broken. Adalyn gagged as her stomach roiled.
“Son of a bitch,” he screamed. “You’re going to pay for this. He reached into his pocket and the animal lunged at him. This time it latched onto his throat.
Adalyn covered her mouth to keep from screaming as blood spurted. She backed away slowly not wanting to distract the animal from its kill and Randall’s screams.
She gagged and felt light-headed but refused to throw-up. She moved a little faster, but she wasn’t fast enough.
The animal lifted its head and its black eyes feasted on her. It laughed, and she turned and ran for the door.
Chapter Eighteen
A body was thrown onto the floor just before she reached the door and Adalyn jumped back with a start. The woman looked up at her. It was Donna, one of Marjorie’s pals. The animal raced toward the door and barreled straight into it. The hyena made a whiny noise and shook its head.
The door opened again and Sam stepped inside. She reached down and grabbed the animal by its throat. It snarled, and Sam closed her hand around its muzzle and jerked its head to one side.
The animal went limp and Sam let it slide heedlessly to the floor before stepping over it as if it were an abandoned newspaper.
Adalyn gasped her stomach had stopped roiling moments ago, but threatened to start back again. Shaking she took a step back and Donna grabbed her calf. Sam reached down and grabbed her hair and jerked her head back.
“Talk to me, Donna,” Sam said as Sydney casually leaned against the door. “You already knew when you got involved in this—whatever it is there’d be no getting out alive if I caught you.”
Donna sneered at her. “You think you know what’s going on, you don’t.”
“Tell me,” Samarra said releasing her and moving to put an arm around Adalyn. “Syd.” Sam kissed Adalyn’s jaw and then urged her behind her. “I’ll be out in a few minutes. Get the cops. These three people had one hell of a fight.”
“Peo—three?” Adalyn looked around. Where the animal had been was now a human female. Maralyn. She was another of Marjorie’s pals.
“Come on sweetie,” Sydney said and took her outside.
“What’s going on? What is Samarra going to do to Donna?” Adalyn demanded her, gaze on the door of her apartment as it closed.
“Let’s wait in the car,” Sydney said.
****
Sam’s eyes chilled. Her entire body tense now. She had nearly lost all control when she’d seen that hyena running this way. She hadn’t drawn breath until she saw Adalyn still on site and still alive.
“I told you not to press me last night,” Sam said as Donna stood. The other woman was tensed and ready for attack.
The hyena had a definite advantage. Her jaws were more powerful in animal form. She’d crush bones with a single bite. However, unless there was more than one of them facing an enemy, and the odds were in their favor, the hyena always ran.
They weren’t equal here and even Donna knew that by now.
“What are you doing here?” Samarra demanded. “Did Marjorie send you?”
“Yes. She wants Adalyn. She wants to breed with her,” Donna spat the words. “Though, I can’t understand why. She’s pretty unremarkable. ”
She didn’t bother tilting her head up to see if Donna’s body chemistry had changed. She picked up the very subtle change in body odor that indicated a lie the moment Donna first spoke.
She moved with lightning speed and backhanded her across the face, causing her head to snap to one side. The other woman cried out and then snarled.
“Truth,” Sam ordered. “What does Marjorie want with her?”
Donna laughed. “There’s a hit on her, and I’m part of the hit squad.”
“What?” she demanded in confusion.
“She witnessed two murders about six months ago in New York and the killer is a hyena who won’t stop until she’s dead. None of us will now.”
“Why? I’d pay you to walk away,” Sam bit out.
“It’s more personal than it ever was considering the information she has to have,” Donna told her. “You’ve just become a target too.” Then she launched herself at Sam.
She took Samarra to the floor and immediately shifted. The color tempora
rily blinded her and Donna had her teeth in Sam’s arm. Before she could bite down, Sam shifted.
The hyena snarled at her and then lunged for her. The coyote evaded smoothly and the hyena clunked her head on the overturned coffee table. The coyote moved swiftly sinking her teeth into the hyena’s back. She shook her and the hyena whined in distress as she jerked free.
The hyena faced the coyote and barked before lunging forward. The animals came together in a thump and snarled as they bit at each other and used claws to inflict damage. The hyena rolled away and shifted back to her human form and sprinted for the door.
Behind her Samarra just reached her leaping onto her back and sinking her teeth into Donna’s shoulder where neck and shoulder met. Donna screamed and tried to get the coyote off her, but Sam sank claws into her sides, holding on until Donna’s knees gave way.
Donna finally stopped fighting and Samarra climbed off her. She shifted back to her human form and looked down at the dying woman.
“You should have just taken my offer,” she said angrily.
Donna gave her a half smile. “You weren’t going to let me live,” she managed to get out in a faint voice before her eyes closed.
Sam made sure she was no longer breathing before opening the door and shifting. She padded to the car amid the screams of sirens. Sydney climbed out to open the door for her and Samarra climbed into the backseat. Blood dotted her fur and stained it some places.
“I’ll take us to the club,” Sydney said. “You can change there and see the healer. Looks like you need it. Then we’ll come back here and deal with this.”
“Uh, Sydney, why did you let that dog in here?” she asked. “Where is Sam?” She glanced timidly into the backseat and the dog was looking at her.
“Coyote,” Sydney said. “Pet her.”
Adalyn gave the animal a wary look. “I need to get out.”
“You’ll be fine,” Sydney said. “She’s not going to bite you right now.”
Chapter Nineteen
Adalyn paced the office she’d been shown to twenty minutes later. It wasn’t Mallory’s. The mahogany décor and the subtle smell of clove were a dead giveaway.
Grinding for the Coyote Page 9