by Johanna Rae
Ripping out the ear buds of his iPod, the big guy’s eyes bulged. “Shit Danny, what happened?”
Danny paused, staring at Jarvis in astonishment. “Are you telling me that something catastrophic enough to draw him out of the house went down and you didn’t even notice anything was amiss?”
Blinking a few times, Jarvis shook his head. “I was working out bro, I had my tunes playing.”
“Where is Jodie?” Danny asked his tone like ice.
“Oh fuck.”
“Oh fuck? That’s all you have to say?”
Jarvis had no comeback for that and Danny could see he didn’t have any idea what had gone on. Anger pressed at the bounds of Danny’s control but it seemed unfair to take it out on Jarvis, that wouldn’t help anyone. Leaving Jarvis with Doug, Danny ran through the house checking every room. As he suspected, Jodie had disappeared and he doubted Doug would leave the house if she’d just stepped outside for some fresh air.
Something had happened or someone had taken her.
He doubted the pigs knew that Jodie had taken animal form, so they would still be searching for her. Discovering that they’d gotten to her too late could be dangerous; f they had taken Jodie, she could be in trouble. Danny hurried back to the kitchen.
“Help me get Doug to his room,” Danny ordered.
The drug had already begun to take effect, with Doug sleepy and lethargic to the point he’d started to slide off the chair. It might have been an improvement on the state he’d been in when Danny arrived, but it made him even harder to move. Danny and Jarvis took a shoulder each, lumbering through the house.
Once Doug had been tucked into bed safe and sound, Danny had Jarvis monitor the security system along with Doug’s network. Jarvis had impressive techno-skills but his IQ didn’t even come close to the genius level Doug possessed. It would have to do; Danny didn’t have time to wait for Doug to wake. He stood behind Jarvis, barking orders and looking at the images and information being brought up on the monitors. Frustration took hold as Danny realized he had no idea what to look for, he didn’t even know where to begin. Being alerted to danger over an emotional connection was wonderful in theory, but without concrete evidence he had no way of piecing together what had happened.
Danny pulled out his cell phone, intending to call Eddie. When he looked at the message alert on his screen, he saw that he had a text from Lancaster. Being ‘old-school’ the general never sent texts, always calls and voicemail. Something isn’t right. Sucking in a breath, Danny opened the message.
“Sex -38.15 coffee 177.06” Danny stared at the screen in puzzlement. What the hell?
“What?” Jarvis asked after seeing the look on his face.
Still trying to make sense of it, Danny passed the phone to him.
“If you’re into some kinky shit, I don’t want to know about it.”
Danny cuffed him across the back of the head. “It’s from Lancaster.”
“Okay, still not getting the whole picture man. It’s been a long day, you know I don’t function well without decent sleep.”
“Function...” said Danny slowly, as things clicked into place. “I don’t function without sex or coffee... Jodie’s pajamas...”
“Whaaat?”
“Move over.” Danny complained, irritated that he hadn’t checked his messages earlier. He sat down in front of the computer, tapping away at the keyboard until he had a local map on the screen and then typed in the coordinates from the text message. Moments later the software planted a red flag on the map and Danny zoomed in to pin point the location. He grabbed his phone back from Jarvis, jumping to his feet in an instant.
“If you don’t hear back from me in an hour call Mark and Rufus, tell them where I went.”
It took Danny twenty minutes to get to the location Jodie had given him. The coordinates were vague enough that he had to scout around a bit. He didn’t know why Jodie would be with Lancaster so he didn’t know what to watch for. For that reason he parked the SUV at a distance and closed in on foot.
Most of the countryside sprawled out unobstructed and few dwellings populated the area. If Lancaster had stopped anywhere near here his car should’ve been easy to spot. After a fruitless search Danny began to wonder if the car had been parked in a garage attached to one of the houses. He scrubbed his face with both hands, his gaze sweeping the nearby area again. Think Archer, think. There’s got to be an easier way to do this.
Power swept down the valley and hit him in an explosive wave. It reeked of Lancaster, stirring Danny’s protective instincts and putting him on full alert. Is Jodie in danger? Swivelling at the waist, he gazed back in the direction the energy had come from. There were no houses up there, but his eyes fell upon a decrepit old barn. Danny broke into a run.
The closer he got, the more he could feel Jodie’s emotions. Not only fear but also frustration. Another wave of energy rolled out of the barn and Jodie’s agonized cry echoed throughout the valley. Danny roared as he burst into the structure, struggling to contain his beasts.
In the center of the large room sat a cage twenty by twenty feet and Jodie cowered inside it. Naked and wrapped in a blanket, her thick dark hair concealed her face as she leaned forward, propping herself up on shaky arms. Danny longed to run to her but he had to be smart.
Lancaster lurked somewhere in the immediate vicinity and Danny suspected it was to heighten the terror Jodie already felt. Lancaster would no doubt have a great view of her, but she wouldn’t be able to see him. He’d have smelled Danny before he got close, implying that the general failed to see the dimpled bartender as a threat to what he hoped to accomplish. “Lancaster!” Danny bellowed. Gone went the smooth and sexy voice he used to make Jodie blush, this tone held a fury that could not be put into words.
Jodie’s body stiffened as she raised her tearstained face to his. Danny took in her tired eyes and weathered expression, she looked exhausted. Soft whimpers could be heard as Jodie tried to pull herself into a sitting position, seeming to lack the strength to move. Being this close to her, he felt everything tenfold.
Danny marched forward looking in all directions, searching for the man who had been his mentor. “Show yourself! Right now!”
A malicious laugh resonated through the barn but Lancaster made no move to reveal his exact whereabouts. Danny stopped trying to calculate where the sound had come from. Above... he had to be in the loft somewhere.
Danny narrowed his eyes and tilted his face upward. “If you don’t release her, I will.”
“Oh but she is doing so well,” Lancaster’s voice dripped with honey. It remained unclear which he enjoyed most, Jodie’s predicament or Danny’s reaction to it.
Snarling in response, Danny’s skin prickled as he made his way to the cage. Gripping the steel bars, his frantic hands fingered their way across, looking for a way in. At last his fingertips passed over the mechanism. Unfastening the latch, he threw open the door and glanced behind him for any unforeseen threat. Reaching in Danny took her arm, staring up at the loft where he knew Lancaster had to be as he pulled her out.
“This isn’t over, I am not happy.”
“I’ve done you a favor, you fool.”
By now Danny had his arm around Jodie’s shoulders, leading her out the door. As soon as the cool night air danced its way across her face, she collapsed in his arms sobbing and shaking. He stopped and held her to him, stroking her hair. “Shhh, don’t cry honey. Let me get you to the car, then we can talk okay? I don’t want to linger here any longer than we have to.”
She let out a trembling breath and nodded. Clinging to Danny as though he were all that sustained her, Jodie began to walk with him.
He waited until he had Jodie safe in the front passenger seat before shutting the door and heading around to the driver’s side. After climbing in Danny tilted his head back against the head rest, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath.
Satisfied he had himself under control, he turned to her.
“Are you a
ll right?”
“I think so,” she whispered.
Seeing how emotionally downtrodden she’d become hit him hard. Danny began to question himself, wondering if there could have been a way to prevent this, or at least seen it coming. He couldn’t bear it that Jodie had suffered yet again, nor the fact that it had been at the hand of Lancaster, it had thrown him for a loop.
“Do you think you could tell me a little bit about what happened?” He asked, careful to keep his tone gentle.
“He took me from the house without my permission, which made me feel so violated, I was so angry at first – I tried to fight him – but I couldn’t!” She broke off for a moment, composing herself again. “As soon as I got the opportunity, I reached through the mesh barrier between the front and back of the car and took his phone. I didn’t know how long I’d have before he noticed so I’m sorry if the text seemed a bit cryptic.”
“How did you know where he planned to take you?” Danny implored as he reached out his hand. Surprised when she took it, he tightened his grip a little for fear of her changing her mind.
“He had a GPS and for some reason he keyed in the coordinates instead of the street address.” Jodie’s breathing slowed and she’d stopped trembling. “He didn’t seem to have a clue where he was going. If he hadn’t been so distracted, I don’t know if I’d have been able to text you at all.”
“I’m glad you did, quick thinking honey.” Danny praised her as he thought about what she’d said. “Did he hurt you?”
“Yes. But not because he wanted to cause me pain,” Jodie screwed up her face. “I hate that he did this, it pisses me off that he enjoyed watching me suffer but he didn’t set out to torture me. He taught me to halt the change.”
Danny growled. “That’s a very fucked up way of doing it.”
“I know, but no matter how much I hate him for what he did, it worked.” Sighing, Jodie began twisting the ring on her finger, trying to keep her hands busy.
“God, Jodie, I could have taught you. He didn’t need to do this!” Danny agonized. The level of guilt he felt over what had happened began to suffocate him and he drew his mask tighter around himself to prevent her from feeling those emotions.
“You didn’t have to draw out my leopard the way you did either.”
Danny closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, “you’re right. I have no excuse for the way I treated you. No matter what Lancaster wanted to do to you, I should have found another way. I’m sorry Jodie, if you knew how much I wish I could take it back...”
“I’m still furious with you but I forgive you,” she said, gaze still on her hands in her lap.
Eyes wide open once more he turned to face her, unable to hide his shock. “You do?”
“I see now how unpleasant his way of doing things is, I shudder to think how much worse it would have been if you had let him force my change. I wish you’d found another way to do it too, I’d do anything to stop the nightmares I still keep having about it but we can’t change that what happened now. At least the pigs can’t make me a Lycan anymore.”
Oh how he loved that she was an optimist. Moreover she’d given him hope that they would eventually move past this fucked up mess. A much better position than he’d been in when he fled the club earlier. Danny thrust the key into the ignition and started the engine, smiling at her as he put the SUV into gear.
“I love you Jodie Fletcher.”
Her brows furrowed and he could see she had to fight not to smile herself. “Maybe,” she said, before losing the battle and grinning from ear to ear.
“Will you let me help you tonight? In case what Lancaster did today isn’t enough?”
“No,” she answered without missing a beat, “I’m not ready for that.” With that she turned her face and looked out the side window.
Baby steps. Danny reminded himself. They were talking, a better scenario than a number of alternatives.
JODIE KEPT HER HEAD turned to the window as they drove. Still emotional after what had happened she didn’t trust herself to speak. The anger she felt over the injustice Lancaster had forced upon her, matched only by the unfathomable adoration she felt for Danny.
Yes she had texted him, knowing that as long as he understood the message he would come for her but seeing it happen brought out the warm fuzzies. No matter how much Jodie kept him at arms-length Danny wouldn’t give up on her, he really did love her.
Jodie wished she could wrap her head around the idea of sleeping in Danny’s bed that night. As more and more time passed she could see the effect her distance had on him and hated what she was doing. She hadn’t meant to punish him for so long but if they were ever to repair the damage to their bond, she needed to move beyond her transition. However much she wanted it, Jodie hadn’t achieved that yet.
Danny made a couple of calls on the drive home, letting both Jarvis and Eddie know that he and Jodie were both safe. Jodie toyed with her hair as she listened to him speak; his smooth voice comforting her even though he spoke to somebody else. By the time they got back to the house, the weariness had started to kick in and Jodie almost fell asleep.
Danny didn’t go back to work, refusing to leave Jodie in the company of Jarvis and the medicated Doug. Jodie felt touched that Danny took her wellbeing so seriously but it meant that even dead tired, Jodie still felt on edge. Taking her novel into the living room to pass the time, it ended up being nothing but a pretense. She didn’t take any of it in, her mind held just one thing: Danny. What is he doing elsewhere in the house, is he going to come in here?
When the others arrived home from work Jodie welcomed their expressions of relief, hugs and a barrage of name calling aimed at Lancaster. She glanced up and noticed Danny leaning on the wall watching them, a half smile playing upon his lips. Jodie could have sworn he’d only just realized how much the guys cared about her.
After sufficient pleasantries had been exchanged, the guys decided to take a run in the woods. The debate on who would stay behind with Jodie and Doug became so involved that she started to wonder if they would ever get out the door before dawn. In the end, Rufus stayed to keep her company. If anything went wrong and she couldn’t halt the change, he would let her shift so she could join the guys in the woods.
Jodie made them both a cup of hot cocoa and they sat at the table in the kitchen eating her mint squares. Rufus appeared quiet, though it didn’t seem unusual for him. Jodie wanted to strike up some sort of conversation but all the things that came to mind seemed inappropriate. She felt it coming and yet Jodie couldn’t seem to stop herself. Oh God, I’m going to say something really stupid.
“I’m just dying to go on a date.” Ok, not as bad as I thought. “Well I mean, not with you. Not that there’s anything wrong with going on a date with you because you are a pretty attractive guy and everything. Um... I just mean that I should be going on a date with Danny and that’s not going to happen either since everything is still a mess. God I wish it wasn’t a mess, what the heck is wrong with me?” Damn it, now it’s bad.
Rufus’s great laugh filled the kitchen as he plucked a marshmallow from his mug of cocoa. Grinning at Jodie, he popped it into his mouth. “You need to chill, girl.”
Letting out a long exhale, Jodie met his gaze and had to laugh. “Yeah okay, I need to chill. It’s just been a very long week and I’m going a little stir crazy. Which is why I had to get out of the house today.”
Rufus shrugged, filling his mouth with cocoa and swallowing. “Guess I can’t argue with that. Feel a bit that way myself sometimes, can’t even remember the last time I had a date.” With a smile he put the mug to his lips again.
Jodie cocked her head to the side, giving him a curious look. “Really? Well we’re just going to have to do something about that. Switch shifts with Jarvis tomorrow, you and I are going out.”
“I ain’t sure that’s a real good idea.”
“Why not, can’t two friends go out?” Jodie smiled, licking some sticky marshmallow from her lip
s.
“I wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.”
“Then we’ll go totally public. We can even go to The Furnace if that makes you feel more comfortable.”
Rufus looked at her as though she’d lost her last shred of sanity. “You want me to take the night off work, to go on a fake date with you... at my work?”
Jodie gave him a cheesy grin and nodded. With a quiet chuckle he palmed his short spiky hair, as though trying to tame it. He got up from the table to take his mug over to the sink.
“Alright but so’s we’re real clear, I’m doing this ‘cause you need to get outta the house.”
Jodie smiled on the inside as she nodded, recognizing the cover story, she’d seen the enthusiasm in his expression. Rinsing out her mug, she went to the bathroom to put on her pajamas and followed Rufus to his room. She’d never seen inside before because Rufus always kept the door closed and though she hadn’t expected anything fancy, the sparse furnishings still came as an eye opener.
A thin mattress lay on the floor, draped with hand crocheted blankets. Jodie remembered seeing something similar at Edna’s and knew that she must’ve made them for Rufus. The only other items in the room at all were three huge plastic storage bins with lids, the kind you got at K-mart for $14.95, which served as dresser drawers for Rufus. Jodie took a deep breath and offered him a smile.
“Do you have a favorite side or anything?” She asked as she eyed the bedding on the floor.
“Nah, I’m good,” he shrugged, pulling off his shirt.
Leaving his sweat pants on, Rufus waited for Jodie to get onto the mattress before joining her. Jodie gathered up the handmade blankets around her body and tried to get comfortable. The blankets provided a degree of security akin to Jodie’s quilt at home, the kind that couldn’t be present unless something had been made with love. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Chapter 28