Flirting Under a Full Moon (18 page)

“Are you calling me a tramp?”

Brandee hesitated a moment too long.

Angie’s lips thinned. “Nice work deflecting the conversation and pissing off your roommate at the same time, Brandee.”

“I wasn’t. At least I didn’t mean to.”

Angie rose. “I’m going to bed.”

“It’s only eight o’clock.”

“I’m tired. Good night.” She stormed off to her bedroom.

Brandee didn’t know whether to be relieved or terrified.

***

Thanks to Captain Hunter, Nick was receiving the full cooperation of the New York Police Department in Manhattan. He’d already identified two of the suspects—“boss” and “Mr. M.”—and after some intense interrogation, they finally gave up the name of the person who’d hired them: Martin Rossi.

Though Rossi had been a fake name, Nick had enough info to track the guy to his home in the Hamptons.

Thrilled by a real ID, he decided to relax a moment and call Brandee. He missed her like crazy and figured she might be missing him too.

“Hello, beautiful. How’s my favorite waitress?”

A long pause on the other end of the phone started the hair on his arms tingling. “Brandee, what’s wrong?”

“It’s Angie. She took off.”

Nick raked his fingers through his hair. “Shit. Why?”

“She may have overheard our conversation the other night. I tried to reassure her, but she just didn’t act the same way after that. She went to bed early and mad. That’s not like her. When I woke up yesterday, she was gone.”

“People sometimes act angry when they’re really afraid. You do that too sometimes.”

“You noticed that, huh?”

“Yup. You didn’t confirm anything we talked about, did you?”

“Um, not really.”

Fuck. Mother Nature is going to fry my lying ass.
Nick tried to control his voice. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I told her I couldn’t elaborate on anything I had promised to keep a secret. It might have been better for all of us if I had.”

“But you would have broken your promise if you did. Is Anthony out looking for her?”

“Yes, but so far he’s had no luck. He tracked her to the bus station, then lost her scent there.”

“Her scent?” Nick wondered what Anthony had said,
if
she confronted him.

“Yeah. I guess the crazy lady wasn’t so crazy after all. Anthony told me all about himself. He wouldn’t confirm any of the other stuff, though.”

“What other stuff?”

“Wizards, witches, shapeshifters, that stuff.”

“Are you okay?”

“For some reason, I am. I don’t know if Anthony did his hypnosis thing on me or not, but he convinced me I was perfectly safe like you said, even safer than at a normal bar.”

“What do you mean you don’t know if he hypnotized you or not?”

“Well, he said he didn’t. He offered to—again. But I’d rather know an awful truth instead of believing a pretty lie.”

Nick didn’t quite know what to say. On one hand, he was proud as hell of her. Anthony had told her he was a vampire, and she didn’t flip out. On the other, Anthony had told her he was a vampire. He was sure Anthony must have impressed upon her how important keeping
that
secret was, but Nick didn’t dare leave anything to chance.

“You’re keeping his secret just as vigilantly as you’re keeping mine, right?”

“Of course. How can you even ask that?”

“Sorry.” What else could he say? Anything more would sound as if he didn’t trust her. Mother Nature was the bigger threat.
What
a
choice.
Being
dropped
into
an
active
volcano
or
solving
an
important
case? It’s not like I can solve anything if she fries me in lava.

“I’m coming home.”

“Did you solve the case?”

“For now. At least I have the information I need.”

“Good. So Katie’s out of danger?”

“I didn’t say that. I need to talk to her parents and the Boston police, but I’d rather do it in person. Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll get this guy.”

“I hope so. Be careful, okay? I couldn’t stand anything happening to you. Especially because…” Her voice trailed off.

“Because?”

“Well, I wasn’t very nice to you at the bar a couple days ago. When you didn’t call yesterday, I was afraid I had blown it. I thought maybe after you thought about it, you decided I wasn’t worth the trouble and wanted to break up with me.”

“There’s nothing you can do to make me leave you.”

“Really?”

“Honest and truly.”

He heard her sigh on the other end of the phone. “Hurry home.”

***

Mother Nature ambled into Boston Uncommon and took a good look around. It appeared fairly ordinary—like any other neighborhood watering hole. Low lighting gave it an intimate feel. Several high stools surrounded a well-polished wooden bar. A few tables took up some of the floor space between the bar and the booths. It wasn’t very large. It would only seat about thirty if it was packed.

She slid onto a stool. It might have been difficult had she’d worn her flowing robes, but she dressed in twentieth-century casual clothing. Big blond hair and a white suit with shoulder pads. The last time she had been out in the world was the eighties, so she hoped her getup was still in style.

A male bartender spotted her and came right over. “Wow. You look just like that chick on
Dynasty
reruns. What was her name? Crystal something?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh. Sorry. What would you like?”

“I’d like to get polluted.” She smiled to herself.
Mother
Nature
walks
into
a
bar
and
says, “I want to get polluted.” All I need is a punch line.

“I hope you’re not driving.”

She snorted. “I don’t use cars—ever. Now get me…” She glanced around at what the other patrons were drinking. A girl at the end of the bar held a martini glass with bright green liquid in it.
Green
is
my
favorite
color. I’ll go with that
. “One of those green things.” She pointed to the girl’s drink.

“One appletini coming right up.”

Mother Nature turned to the guy beside her. “So, what’s your story?”

“I’m kind of new in town. The name’s Drake Cameron. I’m a firefighter.” He stuck out his hand.

She grasped it. His hand was so hot it could have burned her, and she dropped it right away.

“Yikes, you’re hot.”

He smiled. “Thank you. You’re not bad yourself.”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean hot-looking, you idiot. I meant actually scorching.”

He lowered his voice. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“I’ll survive. You must be a dragon. And you need to get laid.”

His eyebrows rose. “You know?”

“Well, duh. Your skin is excessively warm and your name is Drake. Plus you have those yellow streaks.”

“Yeah, it’s a family trait.”

Who
do
you
think
gave
them
to
you, stupid?
“So, new in town, huh? Where did you come from?”

“My family is from Scotland and Ireland, originally. I came here when I was a lad. Now I’m back for good.”

“I see.”
Why
was
I
not
aware
of
a
dragon
in
Boston? And what’s he doing here? I thought they were all in places that reminded them of home—like the mountains and rocky coast of northern New England and the Maritime provinces. That cretin Balog is falling down on the job.

A waitress dropped her tray on the bar a few feet away. “Another White Russian for Sadie and a dirty martini for her customer,” she said.

Dirty
martini. That’s what I should have had to get polluted.
Gaia chuckled to herself.

The bartender set Mother Nature’s appletini in front of her and glanced over at the waitress. “Sure thing, Brandee.”

Ah, there’s the human I’m looking for.

***

Brandee sensed someone staring at her. She expected it to be a guy about to make a pass. It wasn’t unusual, especially if a patron had had too much to drink.

She stuck a hand on her hip and whirled to meet the person’s gaze. Oddly, this time a female was staring at her.

“You like working here?” the woman asked outright.

Who
is
she? Some kind of activist who thinks waitresses are demeaned? The satisfaction police? Or just a retro-looking lesbian?

“Yeah. I like it fine.”

“Liar,” the woman said.

“Excuse me?”

At that moment, Nick strode in and hurried over to her.

“Miss me?” he asked.

Before she had a chance to answer, he swept her into a bear hug—or was it a wolf hug? When he released her, she smiled up at him. “Yes, I did.”

“When are you free? I want to track down Angie before…”

He didn’t have to finish his sentence. She knew what he wanted to say, but he seemed to have stopped talking for another reason. His eyes were opened so wide she could see the white surrounding his blue irises, and he was staring at the retro woman as if in shock.

Brandee looked from one to the other. The woman was glaring at Nick. An audible gulp emanated from his throat.

Oh, crap. Is this an ex-girlfriend? Wait a minute…he doesn’t have any of those. Not if all he had were one-night stands.

“What’s going on here?” She studied her boyfriend’s face. It seemed frozen in fear. “Nick? Are you all right?”

“I, uh—I’ll let you know later.”

He approached the woman slowly as she slid off her bar stool. “Mother, I mean…”

Gaia grabbed the collar of his leather jacket and led him out the back door.

Mother?

“This is the second time you’ve fucked up, Wolfensen. What did I say would happen if you ever revealed any more about paranormals to a human again?”

He glanced up and down the alley, looking for an escape route. “I-I don’t remember.”

“That’s convenient, isn’t it? Let me remind you.” She waved her hand in a circle and something like a movie became visible in that space. He saw himself standing there, being upbraided by Gaia. Her image said, “If you ever expose the existence of paranormal beings again, I’ll send you to Mount Vesuvius and go all Pompeii on your ass. You get me?”

The movie dissipated into the air in a curl of smoke.

“Oh, yeah. Now I remember,” he said, despite a sudden dry mouth.

“Good. Well, guess what?” She raised one hand.

“Please don’t. I’m afraid there’s another breach, and I have to take care of it.”

Her jaw dropped. “What do you mean by another breach?”

Even
if
she’s pissed, my punishment can’t get much worse.
He took a deep breath and spit it out. “My girlfriend’s roommate overheard us talking. Now she’s in the wind. We need to find her and—”

“I know all this. Why do you think I showed up?”

“Oh. I guess I thought it was because I marked Brandee as my mate.”

“You what?” she roared.

Crap.

The back door opened a crack and Brandee peeked out. “Is everything okay back here?”

Mother Nature continued to stare at Nick but snapped her fingers in Brandee’s direction. “Come here, girly.”

Brandee stiffened and didn’t move.

Gaia whirled on her. “Now!”

Nick shouted, “Hey. Don’t talk to my mate that way.”

A sinister smile played across the ancient one’s lips. “Aren’t you the brave fool, Nicholas Wolfensen.”

Brandee stood in the doorway and appeared like she didn’t know where to go or what to do. She glanced over her shoulder as if she wanted to run back to the safety of Boston Uncommon.

“Go back inside, sweetheart. I’ll take care of this.”

She nodded and disappeared back inside.

Nick folded his arms and stood with his feet shoulder width apart. If Gaia was going to punish him, so be it. But she’d better not drag Brandee into it. “She hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Then how did her roommate find out?”

“I told you. It was an accident. We were talking and her roommate overheard.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be talking about the supernatural. Or if you absolutely must, maybe you should be someplace where you won’t be overheard.”

Another idea occurred to Nick. If they were
living
together
, they could talk freely all the time.

Then Mother Nature continued, “Either that or I could see you both put into solitary confinement.”

“Don’t. Brandee would never divulge our existence on purpose.”

Gaia folded her arms. “How do you know that?”

“She promised not to.”

“Oh well, that’s all you had to say. I mean, look how well humans keep their promises.” She snorted.

Nick began to pace. This conversation wasn’t going well, but then again, he hadn’t been sent to Mount Vesuvius yet. “I can fix this if you’ll let me.”

“How?”

“Brandee knows her roommate better than anyone. We’ll find her, bring her back, and have Anthony compel her to forget.”

“Where is Anthony, anyway?”

“He’ll be here soon. The sun is just beginning to set.”

“So, who’s in charge when he’s not around?”

“A human. Claudia, the manager.”

“Is she aware of the bar’s seedy underbelly?”

Nick raised his eyebrows.
Seedy
underbelly? Is Gaia reading too many crime novels?

Mother Nature stomped her foot. “I asked you a question.”

“As far as I know, none of the other employees are aware of the bar’s paranormal patrons or its paranormal owner.”

Mother Nature’s tense posture relaxed slightly. “That’s good. By the way, what the hell is a dragon doing here?”

“A dra…” Nick suddenly remembered the unusual guy with the yellow-streaked hair.
Of
course! The guy’s a dragon.
They all had unusual markings to denote what family they belonged to, or so he’d heard. He’d never met a dragon. At last, another piece of the puzzle fell into place for him.
Who
would
want
a
fire
mage
like
Katie?

“A fuckin’ dragon,” he muttered.

Gaia tipped her head and squinted. “What’s rolling through that hairy skull of yours?”

“I’ve been working a case. It involves a paranormal kidnapping, and now everything is making sense. Please. I need your help. You can’t send me away now.”

“Of course I can.”

In a flash of light, Nick felt himself ripped from the fabric of reality. An instant later, he stood on an island the size of his living room populated by exactly one palm tree.

“Crap.”

Another blinding flash of light later, he was back in the alley. He glanced around and then down at himself. Other than feeling a little queasy, he seemed okay. The sun was still setting, so no time had passed to speak of. But where was Mother Nature?

The back door to Boston Uncommon opened and Brandee peeked out. She scanned the alley. “Is everything okay with you and your mother?”

“My mother?” He couldn’t suppress the cathartic bubble of stress release. It began as a chuckle, turned into a guffaw, and before long he was bent over laughing.

A sudden flash of lightning and boom of thunder interrupted him. He straightened up and wiped his eyes. “She’s a mother, all right, but not mine.”

“Good. ’Cuz I don’t think she liked me.”

“She’ll be all right as long as you keep your promise and we can find Angie.”

Brandee’s eyes rounded. “Angie? What does she want with Angie?”

Nick scratched his chin. “She wants us to find her and bring her to Anthony so he can hypnotize her. She has to forget what she heard. And there’s another thing.”

“What’s that?”

“She thinks it would be best if you moved in with me. We’d be much less apt to be eavesdropped on.”

“Angie wasn’t eavesdropping, she was just—wait a minute. What did you say?”

“I said she’d like you to move in with me.” He smiled. “I’d like that too.”

Brandee’s lips started to lift in a smile, then quickly returned to neutral. “Let’s wait on that. First we need to find Angie. I’m not gonna move anywhere without telling her.”

Nick didn’t want to get his hopes up, but it was too late. He was already delighted. Wolves wanted nothing so much as to snuggle up with their mate and make loads of pups. “So you’re considering it?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know yet. Don’t confuse me.”

He grinned to himself.
Soon
enough, dear Brandee, you won’t be confused anymore.

***

Nick tried to act casual as he took the empty seat next to his suspect. He stuck out his hand. “Hi, my name’s Nick Wolfensen. I forgot to introduce myself when we talked before.”

The guy he believed to be a dragon stared at Nick’s hand but didn’t shake it.

“My name’s Cameron.”

“Cameron, what?”

He hesitated before answering. “Drake Cameron.”

“Can I buy you a beer, Drake Cameron?”

“Nah. I’m good.” He lifted his nearly empty mug.

Nick got comfortable on his stool. “You’re new here. Do you live or work in the neighborhood?”

The guy chuckled. “I work here. Can’t afford the pricey real estate on a firefighter’s salary.”

“You’re a firefighter, eh?”
That
makes
perfect
sense. Who’d be more comfortable around a fire than a dragon?

“Yeah. Are you Canadian?”

Nick tipped his head back and laughed. “No. Canadians aren’t the only ones who say, ‘eh,’ I guess.”

Drake shrugged. “Oh. I have some Canadian relatives. Just thought I’d ask.”

“What part of Canada?”

“Nova Scotia.”

“Ah, New Scotland.” He gave the guy a knowing look, hoping he’d continue down that road. Instead, he changed the subject.

“The guys from the firehouse usually frequent another bar in the neighborhood.”

“Don’t say Cheers.”

“Why not? I mean, that’s not the one they go to, but what’s wrong with Cheers?”

“Tourist trap. So, where do they go and why aren’t you with them?”

“I heard about this place. Thought I’d try it out.”

Nick noticed he’d conveniently avoided the first question.
Damn. If he doesn’t come back here, I’d like to know where to find him outside of his firehouse.
“So, what do you think of Boston Uncommon?”

“The bar or the concept?” The guy’s green eyes seemed to glow for a millisecond.

Nick’s eyebrows lifted before he could school his expression. “Both.”

“I like it.”

“Me too. I hope I’m not being too nosy, but the glow in your eyes…does that mean what I think it means?”

Drake leaned away from him. “Depends on what you think it means. I’m not in love with you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Nick let out another booming laugh. “No. See her?” He pointed to Brandee. “She’s the love of my very long life.”

The guy nodded but seemed unsure about how to continue. Nick needed to find a way to give him an opening.

“So, are your people long lived too?”

Drake looked at him askance. “Uh, yeah. Very. Yours?”

“We don’t live forever, but we’re hearty stock.”

Drake nodded. Nick hoped that meant he had ruled out vampires from the list of possible paranormals.

At last Drake leaned in and lowered his voice. “Have you heard of this bar’s reputation as a safe place for paranormals?”

“Yes,” Nick said, relieved. “I’m friends with the owner and several of the regulars. Would you like to meet some of them?”

“Yeah.”

Nick called out to Tory and Kurt. “Meet me at the back booth. I have someone to introduce you to.”

The two regulars glanced at Drake and nodded. All four of them moved to the farthest booth, near the back door. Sadie’s booth was empty, and only one other was occupied by customers. Thankfully, it was the booth closest to the front, so they would be able to speak freely. Supernatural hearing would allow them to whisper and be heard by their companions without fear of eavesdroppers.

When all four of them were settled into the booth, Nick proceeded with introductions.

“Drake Cameron, this is Kurt Morgan—wizard, ex-military helicopter pilot—and Tory Montana—shapeshifting coyote and high-end real estate developer.”

Drake’s eye’s rounded. “Cool. I’d shake your hands, but mine are very hot at the moment. It’s been a while since I had a chance to blow off steam, if you know what I’m talking about.”

Wizard Kurt chuckled. “Dragon, huh? It sounds like you need a girlfriend.”

“Don’t we all?” Tory said. Then he pointed to Nick with his thumb. “Except this guy. You could take notes from him. Had a different girl every weekend.”

“Until recently,” Nick added quickly. “I finally found my mate.”

“The waitress?” Drake asked.

“Yeah.” He smiled at her and when she looked up, he winked.

She started heading over to their table. “Shit. I didn’t mean to wave her over. Can I buy you guys a beer?”

Tory laughed. “You won’t find me turning that down.”

“Get a pitcher,” Kurt said.

“Might as well. Something tells me we might be here a while. I have a few questions for our new friend.”

Drake raised his eyebrows but didn’t comment.

Brandee approached the table with a pleasant smile. “Can I get you gentlemen anything?”

“Yes,” Nick said. “A pitcher of Sam Adams and four frosty mugs—plus a kiss for me.”

“Hey,” Tory interjected. “If she’s giving out kisses, I want one too.”

“And me,” Kurt said.

“Forget it, guys,” Nick said quickly. “You’ll settle for the beer and your nuts. Touch her and you’ll forfeit the ones between your legs.”

“Nick!” Brandee jammed one hand onto her hip.

“It’s all in good fun, sweetheart,” he said and chuckled.

Tory drummed his fingers on the table. “Don’t worry, Brandee. He’d have to catch us first. I hear big lugs like him are pretty slow on their feet.”

“Don’t count on that,” Nick said with a growl.

“I’d better go place your order before I get hit with one of those testosterone bullets flying around,” Brandee said and walked away.

The guys chuckled.

“So, you said you have questions for me?” Drake reminded him.

“Yeah. Some of us have become good friends. We help each other out when our talents are needed,” Nick began.

“Ah. So you want to know what my special abilities are?”

“To start.”

Again Drake seemed surprised. But instead of becoming defensive, he simply answered the question.

“Well, in dragon form I can fly, and naturally, I’m fireproof.”

“Do you breathe fire, like in the myths?” Tory asked.

“I personally do not. Some dragons still do, but it’s such a destructive force, it’s been socialized out of us.”

Nick tipped his head. “Socialized out? In other words, you can, but you prefer not to?”

Drake shifted uncomfortably. “The Asian dragons still breathe fire. They seem to have more self-restraint and can handle having the ability. Unfortunately, some of the European dragons abused the privilege and it was taken away—at least from my family.”

“By whom?” Kurt asked.

Drake shrugged. “Don’t know. If it occurred over centuries we’d simply blame evolution, but it was sudden. Right after the Chicago fire. I have to assume a dragon had something to do with setting it.”

And
I’d have to assume Gaia had something to do with the sudden evolution.

“You seem like a straight-up guy, Drake. I’m going to level with you. I’m a werewolf and a paranormal private investigator, and I’ve been working on a frustrating case recently. I might be able to use your help.”

Drake shrugged. “Sure. What can I do?”

“Let’s take a walk. Tory? Kurt? Would you mind drinking our beers for us?”