Authors: Crystal Red
“Uh, hmm. How do you breathe when you
kiss like that?”
Kelsey jumped away as soon as she
heard Beth’s voice behind her.
“I should go. Bye, sweetie.” He kissed
her one last time before he disappeared out the door.
Kelsey turned to face Beth. “Sorry. I
didn’t know you were here.”
“Well,” Beth pinched the bridge of her
nose, “you’re too afraid to open up our bookshop again since Ms. Wein’s body
was found. So what else am I supposed to do?”
Kelsey groaned, rubbing her temples.
“I’m so sorry you’re in this situation. I feel if I hadn’t started dating Brandon,
things would be different.”
Beth shook her head. “It’s not your
fault, Kelsey. You’re allowed to have a boyfriend, even if he’s a werewolf. I
see how much he cares about you.”
“Yeah.” She stared at the floor. “I’m
sure you’ll find the right guy soon.”
“I’m not in a hurry,” Beth muttered.
She shuffled her feet. “I’m not sure
he’s the right guy for me.” The heaviness in her stomach still hadn’t gone
away. She wanted to believe there was something more to her relationship with
Brandon, but she still had her doubts.
Beth gaped at her. “Are you kidding
me? You two can barely keep your hands off each other.”
She shrugged. “It’s called sexual
attraction.”
“Yes, and that’s how it starts.”
Kelsey clutched on to her friend in a
tight embrace. “You’re my best friend. I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t. I promise,” Beth
whispered.
* * * *
After lunch Kelsey paced the floor.
Time
to get some air.
She needed to check on her bookshop in case something else
had happened there. Brandon would be at work for another two hours, but she
still hoped she’d be safe until she saw him again.
She walked slowly and glanced over her
shoulder every couple minutes. No sign of any werewolves lurking around
anywhere, so far. Relief washed over her as she caught her breath. She ran the
last block to her shop.
Once she made it to the front of the
bookshop, she leaned against the side of the brick building and put a hand to
her chest. Her breath quickened as she waited for it to slow to normal again.
Kelsey waited a couple more minutes
and then went around to the back of the building. She gasped and recognized the
dead man right way. Mr. Brown, her mailman. He’d delivered their mail for the
past two years. His gray-blue uniform had streaks of blood that soaked his
shirt. Large gashes covered his face, arms and bare legs.
Tears filled her eyes. For the last
two Christmases, she’d baked cookies for him, his wife and two little boys. Who
could be so cruel as to take away a hard-working husband and father?
A
werewolf, that’s who.
She cringed at her own thoughts.
It’s still out
there. I know it.
Her heart twisted and froze like ice
the moment a loud growl came from behind her. She tried not to move or to make
a sound, but it wasn’t easy. What if this same werewolf had killed Mr. Brown?
Kelsey screamed at the top of her
lungs when the wolf dug its claws into her. She raised her foot and aimed it at
the beast’s hairy brown leg and kicked as hard as she could. The werewolf
whimpered and backed away.
She quickly pulled her phone out and
dialed Brandon’s phone number. The call went to voicemail. Her body went into
shock. Her breath burned her throat as the werewolf continued to approach her.
She bit her lower lip. Her heart
thumped like mad.
“Leave me alone!” Kelsey kicked the
creature again.
The werewolf growled low and deep, the
same way Brandon did.
No! It couldn’t be him. He said he’d never hurt me.
The
question continued to stab at her heart even when the werewolf turned into
human form. Brandon stared at her. He reached for her as his expression
softened.
“Get away from me!” She stumbled into
the large green Dumpster behind her.
His eyes widened and he held out his
hand. “Kelsey, baby, it’s me. You know I’m not going to hurt you.”
She shook her head. “You lied. You’ve
been behind the murders all along. I can’t believe I fell for your bullshit. I
bet you and Victoria were in on this together.”
“Kelsey,” he pleaded. “I didn’t kill
anyone only the bad werewolves. I was saving you from a wicked one. He would
have killed you if I didn’t scare him away.”
Part of her wanted to believe him, but
the other said run like hell. Was this really the man she was still getting to
know physically and emotionally? She had no real answers for anything and
wasn’t sure if she ever would.
“I’m calling the police. Stay away
from me. Forever.” Despite how much she trembled, she ran off toward her house
and didn’t look back even when he called her name.
The minute she got home, she locked
the door behind her and dialed the police department to tell them about
Brandon. Now all she could do was wait. Too bad it sucked.
Chapter Thirteen
The moment the police showed up at
Brandon’s apartment that was when it hit him—Kelsey no longer believed or
trusted him. Now his life really had turned to shit, especially without the one
woman he’d grown to care for. What was he going to do without her?
The two police officers read Brandon
his rights and handcuffed him as they threw him into the back of the police
car. He didn’t resist.
What’s the point?
Brandon took one last glimpse toward
Kelsey’s house. She stared at him through the window with cold and unforgiving
eyes. Maybe his fears were premature, but that look said it all. She may never
trust him or speak to him again.
He gagged on his breath as the cop
drove off. There had to be a way out of this. He’d never imagined losing Kelsey
this way, but then again he’d never thought she’d still want him after finding
out he was a werewolf. What sucked even more was the fact he’d left work to
help her. He’d sensed something was wrong the moment she hadn’t answered his
texts. She always had, ever since the Tuesday after she’d had a hangover.
Of course when he did find her, she
really was in trouble, and she thought it was because of him. No doubt about
it. Victoria had set him up with her wolf pack. Why couldn’t his ex-girlfriend
just leave him alone? She didn’t let things go so easily and wouldn’t start
now.
His anger seethed through him. Damn
it. The werewolf who’d tried to hurt Kelsey was still out there. What if the
beast came after her and Beth? He groaned and rubbed his temples. How could he
prove his innocent?
They finally pulled up to the
red-brick police station. One of the cops yanked him along as they went inside.
A cop un-cuffed him as they took him into the interrogation room. He winced as
he sat on the cold, hard metal chair. His skin prickled with goose bumps. To
think he’d made the decision to wear blue jeans shorts today, and this was what
bothered him.
Officer Tieman paced the carpet. “We
can do this all night if we have to.”
Brandon closed his eyes and rubbed his
throbbing head. He didn’t want to answer any more of the cops’ questions. All
he wanted was for Kelsey to believe him.
“I didn’t do anything wrong!”
Officer Strasser stared down at
Brandon. “Oh, really? Then why were you at the scene of the crime? The owner
told us she believed you were behind it. Why should we believe you?”
Brandon snorted. Anyone could make up
a bunch of lies, but Kelsey probably only thought he was behind the murders
because the other werewolf had gotten away. Maybe he would have been better off
leaving her alone. Too bad his heart wouldn’t let him.
“If I’m so guilty, why haven’t you
found my weapon yet?” he huffed. “The victims were clawed to death. It was as
if a bear or a wolf had attacked them.”
Yeah, pretty much true about the wolf
part, but they probably wouldn’t believe him anyway. Even if he got into a
discussion about werewolves with the cops. Who in their right mind would
believe it? Then again, some people don’t believe what they can’t see. Without
any kind of proof, they’d have to let him go free.
The vein in Officer Tieman’s neck
pulsed. “Maybe we just haven’t found it yet.”
“He doesn’t have a record. We can’t
charge him,” Officer Strasser chimed in.
“But,” Officer Tieman rubbed his
forehead, “he was there.”
“I was trying to save my girlfriend,”
Brandon informed them.
Both officers turned to him with wide
eyes.
“You saw the killer?” Officer Tieman
frowned.
Brandon slowly nodded. His heart
slammed into his ribs at full speed. “It was a wolf. Check the marks on
Kelsey’s arm. I stopped the animal from killing her.”
The two cops exchanged long looks and
whispered a few words. He could make out everything. They basically talked
about letting him go since they had no reason to hold him without proof. His
gut clenched until they spoke to him.
“We’ll have Kelsey come in, and we’ll
hear her side of the story. After that, we can make a decision if both your
stories check out. Until then, you’re free to go,” Officer Strasser said.
Officer Strasser drove him home. During
the whole ride, he prayed Kelsey would believe him and find a way to forgive
him. He couldn’t imagine a life without her. To see a smile on her face and
hear her laugh made his day. It was never about sex with her. She made him feel
so wanted and needed. He’d never experienced this with any other woman. She was
it for him. He was hooked. Forever. All he knew was that he’d fallen for her.
Hard and fast.
* * * *
Kelsey’s rage had
built so tight in her gut she couldn’t see straight. How the hell could the man
she’d slept with be behind something so cruel? She had to be wrong. The more
she paced her kitchen floor, the more it felt as if she’d wear the skin off her
bare feet. She cared for him. Still. Something that special didn’t go away so
fast. She needed to believe everything would turn out okay. She flinched when
someone tapped her on the shoulder. As she whirled around, she faced Beth.
Beth crossed her
arms. “You want to tell me why the hell Brandon was arrested instead of his
ex-girlfriend? You know damn well he didn’t kill anyone.”
She ground her teeth.
“He was there! He was the one who gave me these marks.” She held out her arm
with the claw marks for Beth to see.
Beth shook her head.
“That’s bullshit. There are other werewolves out there. We’ve seen them.” She
sighed, then pinched the bridge of her nose. “I think you’re just scared
because you’re falling for a guy who is different than you’re used to. You let
him in and it scares you.”
“He’s obviously not
the right guy for me.” Kelsey threw her hands up in the air.
“Hmm, sure.”
Kelsey glared at
Beth. “I really hate it when you say that.”
“Then maybe you
should stop being a scared little wuss and go after what you really want,” Beth
shot back.
Kelsey held her chin
high, her nostrils flaring. “You’re one to talk. You and Chad have been dancing
around the fact that you want each other.”
“Chad isn’t my type.”
Nostrils still
flaring, she made tight fists. Beth was so full of shit her green eyes could
turn brown. Her friend and Chad had so much chemistry the two could ignite a
fire if they didn’t do something about it soon. The tension between them was as
thick and hot as the air around them.
Kelsey turned away
from Beth. Anger still bubbled inside her even after she marched into her
bedroom and then slammed the door behind her. When she’d stomped into her room,
she had the intentions of doing something to avoid all the drama going on in
her life. Only it wasn’t working. All she wanted to do was cry or throw a fit,
but it wouldn’t do any good. She still had turned Brandon in to the police, and
had her doubts about it. Did he really care about her? That was the real
question that played over and over in the back of her mind.
After an hour of
thinking and pacing in her room, she entered the living room to find Beth. Only
she wasn’t alone. She and Chad stood at the front door. Beth playfully shoved
his muscular arm and laughed at something he said.
Her heartbeat rose.
She wanted to be happy for her friend, but deep in her gut a little bit of
jealousy coursed through her. Kelsey once had this with Brandon, but she threw
it away because she was scared. She didn’t know the truth either. He could
really be a murderer for all she knew. That didn’t exactly make him husband and
father material.
Just as she looked
up, Chad leaned closer to Beth and kissed her. Their kiss was long and so sweet
it practically gave Kelsey a toothache.
Damn it
. Brandon kissed her the
same way. Her first kiss with him had been perfect. How often did that happen?
Man, I hope Kelsey
isn’t here. Then maybe I can finally get lucky with Beth. Her tits are so round
and curvy. I just want to squeeze them.
No matter how hard
Kelsey tried to block out Chad’s thoughts, she still heard them. She covered
her ears and groaned. Beth and Chad jumped apart from their locked embrace.
“How long have you
been standing there?” Beth asked in a shaky whisper.
She smirked. “Long
enough to know what Chad wants to do to you.”
Beth scowled, then
slapped Chad’s cheek hard enough to make a loud, vibrating sound.
Chad’s eyes widened
and he stepped back. He grimaced and gave Beth a wounded look. “What did I do
to deserve a slap on the face?”
“You’re being a
pervert.” Beth crossed her arms and scowled.
Chad blinked. “How? I
didn’t say it out loud.”
Oh, shit. How am I
going to get out of this one? Beth and Chad are going to know something is up.
Kelsey rubbed her
temples and hoped Beth wouldn’t realize what was actually happening. She’d
never told her best friend about her new ability. Reading men’s minds was kind
of fun, but mostly gross. Ninety percent of the time they thought about sex.
Well, Chad did.
She held on to her
broken heart. Brandon usually thought about how he could make her happy and how
to keep her safe. Had she made a mistake by letting him go? Even though she
wanted to hate him she couldn’t. The problem was she cared too much.
Beth frowned. “You’re
psychic now?”
Chad shook his head.
“Telepathic is the word you’re looking for. Brandon thinks Victoria gave her
the ability to read men’s minds.” He rubbed his red cheek where Beth had
slapped him moments ago.
“No wonder,” Beth
mumbled.
Kelsey glanced at the
floor. “Did they arrest Brandon and charge him with murder?”
“No.” Chad exhaled,
heavily. “The police don’t have enough evidence to prove Brandon murdered
anyone. You should know he didn’t do it.”
“I’m not totally sure
about that.”
Chad rubbed his jaw.
“Don’t you trust him?”
She swallowed hard.
How could she answer that question? “I did, but now I’m not sure what I believe
anymore.”
“How can you have sex
with someone you don’t trust?” Beth threw up her hands.
“I don’t know,”
Kelsey whispered, her throat still tight.
Chad stepped closer
to her. “Read his mind. Then you’ll know the truth. You know Victoria is behind
this.”
“Maybe, but why?”
“For revenge on
Brandon. Why else?” Chad muttered.
Beth stared at her
with a stony expression.
“What?” The knot in
Kelsey’s stomach grew harder and bigger.
“Don’t ‘what’ me. Go
talk to your man. Now!” Beth’s eyes narrowed as she pursed her lips.
Kelsey cursed under
her breath as she marched toward the door. Before leaving, she whirled around
to face Chad and Beth. She pointed a finger at them. “While I’m gone, you two
better not have sex. Get to know each other first. Go on a few dates, then do
whatever you want, just not in my bedroom.”
With a satisfied
grin, she turned and hurried out the door. Kelsey’s heart hammered louder and
faster as she came closer to Brandon’s place. Her legs wobbled as she made her
way up to his front porch and then rang the bell. Now all she had to do was
wait.