Bitter Black Kiss (21 page)

Vasquez’s voice carried from the patio, “I won’t let you down, Sean.”

“I’m counting on you, Eva. I’m taking the title of pack leader Thursday night. Brody can’t be there, understand?”

Pack leader?
Nicole’s brain whirred with unanswered questions. Sean shut the door behind the detective. He returned to the couch, but this time he faced the stairs.

Tony edged closer. He didn’t sit but leaned against the arm. “Give me one more chance to take care of Brody. His luck is running out.” There was a sense of urgency in his voice. His need to redeem himself was evident.

Sean rubbed his chin. “You’ll get a chance if Eva fails.”

“Eva,” Tony growled the name. “Why do you let her talk to you like that?”

“We need her on our side. She knows enough to hurt us.”

Tony muttered under his breath, but nodded with obedience. “What about Nicole? Won’t she be in the way?”

Nicole squeezed her eyes shut and backed away from the stairs. She had to warn Brody that more trouble was headed his way. In her haste, she brushed against a framed picture on the wall. It fell and scraped along the wall on its way down the stairs.

Fingers of fear trailed down her spine. She had to get out of the house and warn Brody. She hurried toward the bedroom then dashed into the adjoining bathroom. She twisted the faucet. She doubted Sean would think she’d been in here the entire time, but she had to try.

Nicole threw the curtain to the small window aside. Crap, the window was the louver type. There would be no escape out it.

The bathroom door imploded. Nicole screamed.

Sean had taken his shirt off somewhere between the living room and bathroom.

“Hello, Angel.” Though his voice was soft, there was a threatening quality to it.

She reached for the towel rack, wrenching it from the wall. Sean grasped her wrist and the hollow piece of metal fell from her hand.

“Sean, I—” She twisted out of his grasp. His fingers curled around her shoulders and pulled her toward him. His mouth closed over hers. She put her hands against his smooth chest and pushed. He didn’t budge.

“I don’t feel well. I think I had too much wine.” The lie slipped from her lips, but he looked unconvinced.

He kissed her neck. His hand was rough against her breast.

“Sean, stop.” The porcelain sink pressed against her back. She tried to twist away, but his arms were like iron bands. The look on his face wasn’t gentle, but it wasn’t hostile either.

He drew back, eyes half closed, a grimace twisted his lips. One might think it was desire that pushed him forward, but Nicole knew it was something else. Not need, but something much darker and sinister.

Fear boiled up from her belly. “Sean?”

“I know you heard us.” His teeth grazed the tender lobe of her ear.

Sean pressed against her and his fingers curled around her hips. She shut her eyes and tried to squirm away. But Sean kept her tight in his grasp. A wave of cold fear spread through her.

His cheeks were flushed and anger danced behind his eyes. His hands became a heavy weight upon her shoulders.

“I was looking for you. You had company so I decided to wash my face and make myself presentable."

A wolfish grin parted his lips and allowed her to view his teeth. They’d begun to lengthen. His gray eyes were pools of deviant light. “What did you hear?”

“Nothing really,” Nicole struggled to make her voice calm.

He ran his hands up and down her sides then stopped at her hips. They flexed at her hips and the nails dimpled the fabric and her flesh.

“I don’t believe you.” One of his hands came up to entwine in her hair. He jerked her head back to expose the soft underside of her throat. Nicole’s eyes squinted and her roots screamed with pain. His tongue lashed at her skin.

His teeth grazed her chin and a strangled sob escaped her. She stood still, afraid to move.

“I can't believe you chose Brody over me. I could have given you so much, Nicole."

“Get. Off. Me.”

“Aaron was right. You’re a worthless whore.”

Tears ran down her face. “Why are you doing this?”

His body shuddered and she imagined his inner beast struggling to break free. Repulsion and fear made her insides quiver. She remembered Amy Dahl and her torn, battered body. Her knees went weak at the image, but Sean’s rough hands kept her supported.

She tried to harness all the strength she had because she knew she had to fight for herself. No one was coming to rescue her this time. And she was done being a victim. She’d be damned if she was just going to give up and allow him to treat her this way. She brought a hand up, but he caught it mid swing. She swung the other.

A shock of crimson leaked from his nose. His eyes went wild then his hand closed around her throat. He slammed her against the nearest wall. His body pitched forward as it twisted and snapped against hers. Nicole screamed. There was nowhere for her to go to get away from him. Sean’s bulk blocked the door.

Silvery white hair sprouted all over his body, the scent of wet dog filled the bathroom. A puddle of pink slime squished between her toes as he changed. Scream after scream echoed off the tiled walls.

Sean, not yet in full wolf form, fastened a clawed hand around her throat. His grip tightened, lifting her off her feet. His lips drew back from his muzzle to reveal sharp, canine teeth. A growl rumbled up his throat. A strangled scream escaped hers.

Nicole thrashed, kicked and pried at his hands. He slammed her against the wall again. Black dots and starbursts floated across her vision. Her voice was a strangled gurgle. “Please…”

Terror pushed her into uncharted territory. Her body tingled and the muscles flexed. It made sense to transform into the same shape as her attacker. The strange sensations were over just as quick as they began. Again her body failed her.

Her hands weakened then dropped away. Her head lolled against the wall.

Sean whined. His fingers flexed and he dropped her. She stumbled against him. He reached for her and this time she didn’t flinch. His claws traced the curve of her jaw and moved across her lips. His wolfish eyes roved over her. His ears twitched and his nostrils flared.

Nicole forced herself to maintain eye contact with the monster in the bathroom. She didn’t dare scream, not after his reaction to the first ones. He might silence her for good this time.

Already his body was beginning to return to normal. He leaned forward and she squeezed her eyes shut for fear he’d eat her face. Sean kissed her on the forehead. “My angel.”

In a surprise move, he jerked the bathroom door open. The door shimmied on its hinges as it slammed behind him. Moments later, the front door slammed and the roar of an engine had the neighbor’s dog barking.

Nicole sank onto the tile floor and hid her face with trembling hands. She picked up the bar of soap on the floor next to her and turned it over in her hands before throwing it across the room.

Chapter Twenty

Brody surveyed the lot for Vasquez's dark sedan. It was parked in its usual spot. Now that his hopes that she’d be absent were dashed, he needed to come up with a new plan.

He slipped in through the back door and waved to the few officers who greeted him. It was best to get this over with as fast as possible. The light was on in the forensics lab and he made a beeline for it.

The woman in a pristine white coat didn’t bother to look up from the microscope.

“Don’t touch anything.” She adjusted the focus wheel and continued to examine the specimen. “I haven’t gotten the results back on the saliva yet.”

“Hiya, Perry.”

Recognition twisted her features into a worried frown.

Back in the day, he and Vasquez entrusted their most important cases to Perry. She was in her mid-thirties, around Vasquez’s age. And just like his ex-partner, her attitude toward him had changed.

“You shouldn’t be here. Eva said no one was supposed to talk to you.” She cast a quick glance at the window that faced the conference room. Few paid attention to the lab or what was going on inside. Perry’s fingers curled around a pair of scissors. “What do you want?”

He got right to the point. “Can you spare a couple test kits?”

“What are you testing for?” That look of scientific curiosity flickered across her features.

“BST.” He stepped closer. Her fingers tightened around the handle of the scissors. He didn’t care to contemplate whether or not she was aware of her response.

“Are you taking it?”

“Are you crazy?”

Perry raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She laid her other hand on the table and stared across at him.

“Please, Perry.” He glanced around the room, but didn’t see any of the kits lying around. He wouldn’t leave until she handed one over.

He tried another approach. “I think someone I care about has been given BST. C’mon, help me out. For old time’s sake?”

The idea of Stone using Nicole made his blood boil. He thrust his hands into his pockets for the lack of anything better to do with them. He wanted to tear the bastard to bits.

“Sounds like you already know.”

“Yeah, but I need proof. The guy who gave it to her lied. She thinks its wolfsbane.”

Perry moved around the stainless steel table. She gripped the cord that hung from the blinds and gave it a gentle tug. They unfurled to block them from the view of the others.

“There’ve been rumors about you,” Perry spoke in an unsure voice and glanced at the door.

He raised a brow. “Yeah well, you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”

“There’s evidence.” She glanced at the file cabinets. “But I don’t trust it.”

“Good. Why?”

“It’s too convenient.” Perry thrust her hands into the pockets of her lab coat. “Besides, you used to be a cop. You know the procedures and I can't imagine you leaving anything incriminating behind."

Coming from Perry, that was a compliment.

"Can I trust you?” She looked at him, really looked at him. “I mean, really trust you?”

“You know me, Perry. We used to work together.”

She pushed the glasses up her nose and studied him a moment. “That was years ago.”

“And you didn’t know I was Lycan.”

Her eyes were downcast. “That’s pretty biased, isn’t it?”

Brody took a step toward her. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“I could get in a lot of trouble for this.” Perry bit her bottom lip and pulled a drawer open. She withdrew a plastic baggie, three empty vials and a bottle of liquid with a dropper on top. She tossed them into the baggie and thrust it at him. “Do you remember how to use it?”

He pocketed the supplies. “Yeah, I remember.”

She glanced at the door. “Don’t come back, Brody. I can’t help you anymore. If anyone finds out, I could lose my job.”

Brody walked down the hallway that would lead him to Vasquez’s desk. The linoleum floor was yellowed with age. The edges closest to the wall had begun to curl. The same tired photos hung on the wall. Most were of men in uniform who had received awards. A few were group shots or a memorial for one of the fallen.

He rounded the corner. His ex-partner looked up from the papers spread across her desk.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Vasquez’s expression revealed nothing.

Brody sank into the chair across from her. “I need your help.”

“We’re not having this conversation.” Her expression looked somewhat bored. She tapped a pen against the edge of the desk.

“Just listen." He’d probably have better luck if he talked to the wall.

Vasquez’s mouth was set in a grim frown. She had yet to cut him off, so he forged on. “Something big is brewing tomorrow night.”

Vasquez grimaced and her shoulders slumped.

“Stone is going to fight the pack leader.”

“Last time I checked, it wasn’t against the law.” She rolled her eyes. “Each year the current leader can be challenged while the rest of the pack fornicates in the bushes. We’ve emptied the beach, so what’s the problem?”

He cleared his throat, irritated that she’d made Lycanthropes sound like a bunch of hedonistic animals. “There’s more to it than that. It’s a way of determining the pack hierarchy. Some even choose their mates.”

“That’s what I said.”

“I meant the one they’ll spend their life with.”

Her features darkened. “Call it what you will, but I know there’s a lot of screwing going on. Who do you think gets to clean up the mess? Weren’t you ever curious about the hair, the bloody scraps, and parts? How about the trashed fences and houses? Don’t forget about the nasty puddles of pink slop that’s left each time one of you changes.”

“Vasquez…” Brody didn’t have time for this nonsense.

“Then there’s the maimed, dead, or missing. Not to mention the poor bastards who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. What about the lookie-loos who get hurt because they’re too stupid to get out of the way? What do we do with them? They don’t fall into an easy category to deal with. If we try to prosecute, the suspect gets off on some Lycan related bullshit. It’s like the one night a year you guys can do what you wish, with almost no consequences.”

 “We do pay a price. It’s also a night for revenge. That’s what I’m trying to make you understand.”

She leaned back in the chair. Her chest rose and fell with deep breaths meant to calm and relax. “What are you talking about?”

“Sean Stone. Think about it, Vasquez. If he’s the one bringing drugs into the city, he’ll be unstoppable with the support of the pack.”

“You sound like you’re afraid of him.”

He took a moment to mull over his answer. “I’m not afraid of Sean Stone.”

Vasquez studied him for a moment. “And just what do you want me to do? It’s a Lycan matter. My hands are tied.”

He rested his elbow on the edge of the desk and dropped his head into his hand. “You mean you won’t do anything about it. I guess it’s up to me. Again.”

Vasquez pushed away from the desk. Her chair rolled back a couple inches. “Is that a threat toward Sean Stone?”

Brody smacked his fist against his thigh. Vasquez jumped and the detective a few desks over also took notice. A fat cop with a bushy mustache stopped writing and stared at them, curiosity written all over his round face.

“C’mon, Eva, you know me. I’m not that stupid.” The truth was, he’d been nothing but that since he got involved with Amy Dahl’s case.

This reminded him that she hadn’t shared any information in a while. “What about the semen found in Amy's apartment? Did anything good come back on that?”

“The sample was inconclusive.” Vasquez’s dark eyes were trained on his face. “You know I’m not allowed to discuss ongoing cases with a suspect.”

He knew, but ignored the reminder. Also, he didn’t appreciate the insinuation. “You know I had nothing to do with that.”

“You were in her apartment. You even admitted to being in the bedroom and coaxing a confession from her. I bet she told you whatever you wanted to hear, didn’t she?”

He gritted his teeth. “What about the gun used on Hank Alvarez? Did you get anything back on it?”

“Nothing. There are no reports of stolen property that match. And ballistics couldn’t match it to any other shootings.”

“What about Jimbo? Did you talk to Tony and Aaron? Have you brought them in?”

Vasquez’s expression soured. “I will not discuss this case with you. Please leave now, Brody. Leave, or I’ll have you removed.”

“What about Nicole?” God damn it, why was Vasquez treating him like a common criminal? She had to know he wasn’t good for any of this.

Vasquez looked pissed now. “What about her?”

“Haven’t you been listening? She’s in danger. Stone hired Aaron James to stalk her and he’s getting violent.”

“She and Aaron James are married. He has every right to find her and patch up their relationship. I’ve already had this conversation with Molly McNeely.”

“That’s not what he’s here for. He and Tony tried to kill Nicole on the beach a few nights ago.”

“If that’s true, why hasn’t Ms. Riley come in and filed her own complaint? It makes perfect sense you know? McNeely is jealous and you’re just a lovesick dumbass.”

She narrowed her eyes on him. “You seem to know an awful lot about the situation. About her. How’d you come by all this information? Are you stalking her too? Are you that desperate, Brody?”

His ex-partner stood and brushed at a wrinkle on the thigh of her dress pants. She slung her purse over her shoulder and moved toward the exit. Brody hurried around the end of her desk.

“Vasquez, wait up.”

She didn’t look back, but walked at a faster pace. A couple uniforms and the same fat detective watched them leave. Once they were in the hallway, Brody caught up to her.

He gripped her arm.

Her dark eyes narrowed and she jerked her sleeve away. “Damn it, Brody, give it up. I don’t have any answers for you!”

“I don’t buy it. Something had to come back from forensics to lead you guys in the right direction. You know I’m not good for any of this.”

Vasquez lashed out and shoved him against the wall. Her pink nails grasped the front of his shirt. She spoke through gritted teeth. “You’re our only suspect, Brody! 
You
 were in Amy’s apartment.
You
 talked to Hank and he ate a bullet afterward. It was 
your
 hair and shoe we found at Ira’s place. We found 
you
 in Jimbo’s pawn shop. How the hell do you explain all of that?”

He didn’t dare touch her, not even to remove her fingers from his collar. His arms remained at his sides. Beyond the hallway, footsteps drew closer to investigate their raised voices.

She threw up a hand to staunch any comment he might have formulated. She leaned forward, her face inches from his. “Don’t incriminate yourself any further. If you’re ready to confess, bring your lawyer. Otherwise, we’re through until I decide to haul your ass in again.”

He knew all about this kind of intimidation. He’d done it to shifty characters on many occasions. That fact that she attempted it on him, like he was one of the miscreants, pissed him off. “For fuck’s sake, Vasquez, you can’t be serious.”

She ignored his response and said, “If you decide to skip town, don’t bother telling me where you’re going.”

He gritted his teeth and glared at her. There was nothing he could say right now that wouldn’t make matters worse. Brody twisted away then slunk down the narrow hall. He burst through the doors, into the dwindling sunlight.

****

Brody had driven past Nicole’s apartment complex twice before he gathered enough courage to stop. Yes, he’d lied and planned on using her to get to Sean, but that was before he really got to know her. Somewhere along the way, he’d fallen in love with her.

He knocked on Nicole’s door and struggled to find the right words to say. Nothing sounded right and he wasn’t very good at apologies.

Brody tried to curb his disappointment when Molly’s bright red curls filled the doorway.