Dueling Moons: A Pat Wyatt Novel (The Pat Wyatt Series Book 2) (10 page)

Once they were on and I was laced and zipped up, I turned my attention to Mike again. “I just know.” And I did. I was very good at knowing certain things. I always get a feeling in the pit of my stomach. It also makes me very good at guessing.

He nodded. “I can tell that you know. You creep me out when you do that.”

I smiled, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. “Wish me luck.”

He smiled down at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Good luck, and be careful.”

“I will,” I said, as I rushed out of the room.

I grabbed Tina, my regular
purse
—
that
I had quickly put all of my stuff
in
—
and
left before Mike changed his mind about us going.

We had searched everywhere, but Herb had thoroughly disappeared. I was beginning to worry that he had burned to a crisp somewhere when I had another one of my feelings. Suddenly, I knew where to look: the woods. He was in the woods.

I pulled the car over and told Tina to wait inside; the last thing I needed was her becoming hysterical while I was trying to see whether Herb was a pile of ash or not. It took about five minutes of convincing before she agreed, and I finally made my way into the woods.

Carefully, I walked through the trees and brush, making sure that I didn’t trip. I didn’t want to bleed all over the place and mark where I had been. After walking for over an hour, I found it…the spot in the woods from my dreams. I couldn’t believe it was real, and when I looked down at the ground there was the hole that I had fallen in over a dozen times.

“Well, shit,” I said to myself, trying to see how deep it went, but it was too dark. As a matter of fact, it was getting too dark to see anything. I looked at my watch, lighting up my face. It was almost
seven
-
forty
. We had been at this for hours and I was really starting to worry that we would never find him.

“Herb,” I yelled, and my voice echoed back at me. “Herb?” Maybe my instincts were wrong. It wouldn’t have been the first time and it most certainly won’t be the last.

I walked away from the hole, sitting down by a tree nearby. As I leaned my head against the familiar trunk, I closed my eyes and asked myself, “What am I going to do?”

“Probably get up,” someone answered.
My eyes fluttered open, and I saw Herb standing there smiling at me.

I placed my hand over my heart. “Herb. Thank God. I’m so glad that you’re all right.”

He held out his hand, helping me stand, and as soon as I was up, I gave him a hug. “Tina will be so happy.”

“I doubt that,” he said, pushing me away.

“She’s in the car waiting for you as we speak.” I told him, nudging his shoulder with my fist.

He smiled, just the edges of his lips tilting upward. “I know. I can hear her inner babble.”

“You can hear her thoughts from all the way over here?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“That’s creepy. Very creepy.”

He laughed. “I know that, too.”

“So what are you waiting for?” I asked, and he frowned. “You love her. She loves you. That’s all you really need.” Sure, I was good giving other people relationship advice, but I was terrible at taking it. Isn’t that always the way?

“I cannot be what I am not,” he said. Then he turned his back toward me, hunching his shoulders in defeat.

I walked around him, so I could see his face. “Oh, Herb,” I said, taking his hands in mine. “You’re a vampire. So what? You seem like a very nice…” I paused, searching for the word, “guy, and I can tell that you have feelings for her.”

“It is not about my feelings,” he said, looking me in the eyes. “I am too dangerous.”

I shook my head. “I’m not going lie to you, you probably are. And you might, in fact, hurt Tina. But I don’t think that you would do it on purpose. She knows that, and she still loves you. Take it from a girl who has seen evil in the eyes of a man she loved. I know what that looks like, and right now, you do
not
have that look. Besides, when you two are together, you look complete, somehow.” He smiled at that.

“Go to her,” I said, taking my hands from his. “Take her home, and reconnect.” I threw the car keys at him. He caught them without a moment’s hesitation. “And while you’re at it, give Samuel back the car.”

He nodded. “Will do. Thank you, Patricia. You are too kind.”

When he turned to walk to the car, I remembered. “Oh, Herb,” I called after him, and he looked over his shoulder. “I might need your help in the near future.”

“I will keep my mind open,” he said, touching his temple. And with a wink, he disappeared into the darkness.

“That was a nice thing you did, girly,” Stag’s voice was behind me, and I turned around to see him leaning against a tree.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you doing here?”

He walked over to where I was, placing his arms around me. He hugged me for a second, and then let go. “Mike called me and said that you needed help, so I followed your scent.”

“My scent?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Lavender and chocolate. It’s a very interesting smell, to say the least.”

I smiled a little. “If you say so.”

“What’s the matter?” he asked, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head. “Nothing. It’s just…” my voice trailed away, and I wrapped my arms around his waist, placing my ear to his chest.

He must have thought I was crying because he patted my back. “It’s gonna be okay, girly.”

I nodded. “I know. I just got really scared of being here all of a sudden.” That was the truth; I was scared, but not for the reason I said or he thought.

“Shh,” Stag comforted me. “It’s all right. I’m here now.”

I pulled my head away from his chest, looking up at him. “Elliot,
I
—”

He placed his finger over my mouth before I could finish. For some reason, he liked doing that. “Let me speak first. I love you, Pat, and I want you no matter what, even if that means stealin’ you away from Wolfman.”

“Elliot,” I said, but before I could finish, his lips were on mine.

In that moment, I knew what I had to do. I had to go home and tell Mike.

chapter

TEN

When I finally walked back into the apartment, Mike was sitting on the couch, waiting for me. “Well,” he said, standing, “did ya find him?”

“Yes, we found him. He’s on his way back home with Tina and the Mustang.”

He sighed. “So you decided to give it back?” he asked, and I nodded, frowning. “What’s wrong, bébé?”

I didn’t know how to explain what had just happened, so I started off with a simple question. “Did you call Elliot to help me?”

His brow crinkled with confusion. “No. He hates vampires. Why would I call him?”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.” I was starting to feel nauseous again, so I took a deep breath through my nose, and let it out through my mouth slowly. “We need to talk,” I whispered, going into the bedroom.

He followed me, shutting the door behind him. “What’s wrong, Pat?” he asked again. “You don’t look so good.”

“I don’t feel good, either.” I told him, keeping my voice as quiet as possible.

“Why are you whisperin’?”

“Lower your voice, Mike. He’ll hear you.”

“Who?” he asked quietly.

“Stag,” I answered, and his brow crinkled again.

“What is goin’ on?”

“When I was in the woods looking for Herb, Elliot showed up after I found him. He said that you had sent him, and that he had just followed my scent to where I was. But the worst part of it was when I gave him a hug.” I wasn’t going to mention the kiss just yet, because I didn’t need the yelling and screaming that would come with him knowing that.

He grimaced. “I’m not followin’ ya.”

“When I placed my ear to his chest, his heart sounded different.”

“Different how?” he asked.

“Heart rhythms are steady,” I explained. “But his…his is halting. It beats once, and then…” my voice trailed away. Suddenly, I was going to be sick. I placed my hand over my mouth, trying to keep the bile down.

“Bébé, you’re lookin’ green. Sit down.”

I sat on the bed, trying to breathe through the nausea, but it wasn’t working. “Mike,” I managed to say without vomiting, “it’s him. He’s the monster.”

Mike shook his head. “No. Not Elliot.” I looked up at him, and there must have been something in my face, because he frowned, sitting on the old,
faded
-
blue
wingback chair by the bed. “Are you kiddin’ me?”

I shook my head, taking my hand away from my mouth as the nausea finally subsided. “I wish I was.”

“I’ve known Stag for years, we grew up together. He would never do anythin’ so…” his voice faded away, and I could see something click inside him.

“Mike? Are you okay?”

He nodded. “I’m all right.”

I sighed. “Good. There’s more.”

“More?”

I sighed. “He’s been hitting on me.”

He laughed a little. “Stag hits on to everythin’ with tits.”

“Does he tell those tits that he loves them?”

His eyes widened. “What did you say to that?”

“Nothing,” I said, but the look he was giving me said that he didn’t believe me. “Are you serious right now? I didn’t tell him anything, Mike. He said that he loved me, and I left it at that,” I paused, taking another deep breath. “I don’t want to fight about this, okay? I just want to tell you my plan.”

“You have a plan?” he asked, his face going back to neutral. “What is it?”

“You’re not going to like it.”

“Just tell me, Pat,” he breathed.

“I told him that I…”

“That you, what?”

I bit my lower lip. “That I would dump you, and move into his apartment.”

“You did what?” he yelled, shooting up from the chair. “Why would you do somethin’ like that, Pat? If he really is the monster, why would you put yourself in harm’s way?”

“Because I have to be sure,” I whispered heatedly. “If he is the monster, and I go with him, he might slip up and show me his true colors.”

“I won’t let you do this, Patricia,” he said as he knelt in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I won’t let you go with him.”

I put my hand on his cheek. “I have to do this, Mike. And I have to do it alone.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“It’s my job to kill this creature, whether it’s Stag or not. Kathryn
said
—”

“Fuck Kathryn,” Mike hissed.

“If it wasn’t for her we’d be dead right now,” I reminded him, “so don’t say that.” He frowned, looking down at the floor. “She told me that I have to do this by myself, Mike. It’s okay,” I comforted him. “I’ll be all right. I’m a
tough
-
skinned
girl, remember?” My mother used to call me that every time I hurt myself, because I always bounced right back.

Finally, he looked at me, his eyes yellowing around the pupil. He was angry. “Fine,” he said, getting up off the ground so he could loom over me. “Get yourself killed. See if I care.” He slammed the bedroom door open and stomped into the living room.

I felt as though I was going to scream, but I wasn’t going to do that. Not now, anyway.

I stood up off the bed, following him. “Don’t be this way. I’ll be fine. I
prom
—”

“You promise?” He hissed, turned on his heels, and glared down at me. “How can you promise? You don’t even know if he’s this monster or not. What if he kills you before you get a chance to find out, huh? What then? I will not stand by and let you get yourself killed, Patricia! I won’t do it!”

“You did it before,” I said calmly, remembering all too well how he just stood there while Samuel took me down into that awful room and…I wasn’t going to think about it. “What makes this time different?”

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Because…” his voice trailed away.

“Mike,” I said, placing my hand on his shoulder, “I hate to burst your bubble, but you can’t stop me this time, either. You know me. When I get something in my head I have to do it. I’m a pain in the ass that way.”

He opened his eyes and smiled his sparkly,
green
-
eyed
grin, laughing a little. “Too true,” he said, and then he frowned. “Are ya gonna sleep with him?”

I was dreading that question. The truth was I didn’t know the answer, but I wouldn’t let Mike know that. “It probably won’t come to that.”

“Probably?” he asked with a raised brow. “Well, what if it does?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” I answered truthfully. Big mistake.

He pushed my hand off his shoulder. “Ya know, I think you want him to fuck you.”

“That’s a lie,” I yelled, “and you know it.”

“Do I?” he yelled back at me. “Do I really? I mean, you haven’t exactly let your feelings be known to me. Maybe you don’t feel for me the way I think you do. Maybe that’s all in my head.”

“That’
s
—”

“What?” he interrupted me. “Not true? How can you expect me to believe that, Patricia? Tell me! How, when you stand there and say that you’ll ‘cross that bridge when you come to it’!”

I shook my head. “Kathryn was right. You’re not going to support me in this.”

“No, I’m not,” he said without emotion.

“That’s fine by me.” I walked back into the bedroom to pack a bag.

As soon as I pulled out my overnight bag, I felt Mike’s arms giving me a hug from behind. “I’m sorry,” he whispered against my hair, and I pushed his arms away. “Please, Pat, look at me.”

I turned to glare at him. “What?”

“I’m sorry, bébé,” he said again, looking like a lost puppy. “I didn’t mean it. I just…I don’t know…I just wanted you to change your mind, I guess. You do what ya need to do, Pat. I’ll be here when you come back.”

“You promise?” I asked with the smile that I knew he loved.

He nodded. “I promise.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my face into his shirt. I inhaled that sweet and musky scent. “You’re such a girl,” I said, my voice muffled by the white cotton.

He laughed. “Very true. But I’m your girl.”

I pulled my head back, looking up at him. “And I am so glad for that.”

He leaned down, kissing me on the forehead. “When is he comin’ for ya?”

I grimaced. “He’s kind of waiting outside right now.”

His eyes widened. “Oh. Well then, let’s get you packed.”

I leaned up to kissing him. “Thank you for this.”

He shrugged. “You’re welcome. Just remember that you’re with me, not
him
.”

“You got it, Wolf,” I said, pulling away from him. Then I held out my hand for him to shake, and he took it, kissing my knuckles. I rolled my eyes, and we packed as much as we could into my small bag.

When we were done, Mike grabbed me, pulling me to him. “You be safe now, ya hear?”

I nodded. “Always.”

He leaned down, kissed me, and then made his way down to my neck so he could smell me. “I love you,” he whispered against my flesh.

“I know,” I said, and he smiled.

“Pat,” he said with concern, “there is such a thing as too much morbid curiosity. Curiosity killed the cat, ya know?”

“I can’t help it, you know that. I’m a journalist; it’s what I do. When I want to know if something is true, I have to go after it. Whether is kills me or not. Besides,” I paused, smiling, “I’m not dead yet.”

He shook his head and sighed. “I get it. And you’re really
not
funny.”

“Oh, come on. It was a little funny,” I said, leaning up on my toes to kiss him on the cheek. Then I turned, leaving before I started to have second thoughts.

Once I was outside, Stag helped me put my bag in the trunk. “How’d he take it?” he asked as he opened the door for me.

I shrugged. “Not too well, I’m afraid.”

“You’re doin’ the right thing, Pat,” he comforted me, kissing me on the cheek.

“I hope so,” I mumbled as I crawled into the passenger seat. I began to think of how to coax him into a confession, and I knew there was only one surefire way to do that…

“Are you happy?” Stag asked, interrupting my thoughts as he got into the car and buckled up.

I nodded with a smile that I knew didn’t reach my eyes. “Extremely.” As soon as that word was out of my mouth, my stomach did the
cha
-
cha
again. I had no idea why I was getting so nauseous lately, but I told myself it was nerves. My mother used to tell me that I internalized stress and it had to go somewhere. Right now, that somewhere was my stomach.

When we made it to Stag’s apartment, he opened the door, picked me up, and carried me over the threshold. I stifled the urge to roll my eyes, but when he didn’t put me down, I had to push the panic aside. As he closed the door with his foot, dropping my bags on the floor, I knew where he was taking me. The bedroom.

Stag placed me down on the bed, kissing my neck over and over, until he reached my lips, deciding he would, of course, kiss them too. I tried to put some life into my body, but all I could think about was Mike and the fact that he was probably sitting at home going through all of the things that could, and most certainly would, go wrong with this plan. In fact, that’s exactly what
I
was thinking about as he placed his hand under my sweater.

He pulled away from me, looking into my eyes. “What’s wrong? I thought you would be excited about this.”

I felt another wave of nausea, and I tried to smile through it, but all that did was make it worse. “I’m not feeling too well, Elliot.”

“You don’t look too well either, girly.” He placed the back of his hand to my forehead. “Damn. You’re burnin’ up. All right,” he said as he got off the bed, “I’m gonna get you some ginger ale and some crackers. Don’t go away now.”

I smiled, noticing that when he was nervous his southern accent was more prominent. “I won’t go anywhere.” I reassured him as I scooted back on the bed, resting against the headboard.

I had to admit that if he really was the monster, he was sure being extremely nice to me. But something deep inside knew that it was just an act. He wanted me here for some reason, and I was hell bent on finding out why.

Finally, after hours of his doting on me, he fell asleep by my side, which was when I knew I had to call Angel. As I looked at the clock on the bedside table, the neon numbers blared at me that it was
eleven
-
thirty
at night. I snuck out of the room quietly, finding my purse in the dark and rummaging through it to get my cell.

I punched in the number that she had given me when I called her at Big Bears, and it only took a few seconds before she answered. “Hello,” she said groggily.

Damn. I didn’t mean to wake her.
“Angel,” I whispered, as I walked onto the terrace. “It’s Pat.”

“Hey, fleshy girl,” she said with a yawn. “What’s up?”

“I’m sorry to wake you, but I need a favor and I don’t want you to ask questions.”

“Yeah, sure,” she agreed. “What is it?”

“I need you to keep an eye on Mike for me.” I told her as I looked over my shoulder to see if Stag was coming. He wasn’t.

“Okay, Patricia,” she agreed without hesitation. “Whatever you say. Is that all?”

“Yes. Sorry to wake you.”

She yawned again. “It’s okay. Night.”

“
Good
-
night
.” I hung up, taking another deep breath through my nose and letting it out through my mouth. The nausea had finally subsided, and I could think a little clearer. I couldn’t depend on being nauseous every time Stag tried to have sex with me, so I had to come up with a better plan. Later. Right now, I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open.

I walked back into the bedroom, going to the adjoined bathroom. I washed and got dressed in my pajamas, and then I walked back to bed. I lied down, pulled the covers over my ears, and closed my eyes, all without disturbing Stag. I felt like I could have slept for days, even months, but that didn’t last long. The next thing I knew, I was in the back area of Big Bears. All of the lanterns and tables were gone as I stood in the middle of the barren yard.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Mike behind me, and when I turned my head to face forward again, I saw that Herb was right in front of me with Elliot in between us. Stag looked at me with those almost bright orange eyes; his teeth were sharper than I had ever seen on a werewolf and his hands were more like talons than claws.