Hunter's Salvation (17 page)

 

T
OUGH
little cookie, aren't you?

After she'd said that one word, just a name, Jess had fallen silent and continued to drive on down the small country highway like she didn't have a care in the world.

She had showered and changed at the truck stop. Her hair was still damp, and he could smell the faint tropical scent of shampoo. The pants she wore clung to her hips, butt, and thighs like a second skin, outlining her subtle curves. Despite what he had told her, he was having a hard time focusing on anything else. Although he knew he had more pressing issues at hand, the only one he could think about was how to find a way around this one—by pressing his body to hers and easing the hunger that burned through him.

From the trunk, he heard their passenger moving around sluggishly. She pounded once on the lid and then fell silent. Vax knew this wasn't going to last too long. It was just a matter of time, and they needed to be someplace a lot more secure before she woke up.

Which meant he really did need to focus on the job and not on how nice Jessica Warren's ass looked in a pair of snug black pants.

“Thomas.”

When he spoke, she looked over at him, one pale blonde brow lifting.

“What about Thomas?”

Jess gave a short, concise explanation—he could see why the hell she'd decided to become a reporter. As she laid out the details of that little vision, she never once hesitated; her voice never rose, never changed rhythm. She seemed completely unaffected by it. She might as well have been giving a weather report. Vax, on the other hand,
was
.

Profoundly, disturbingly affected.

He knew she kept dismissing her psychic skills. But even if she did pick this up out of a rush of fear-induced adrenaline, her psychic ability wasn't one to be discounted. He blew out a breath and forced himself to think. Sounded like some sort of lab. And Thomas Fitzpatrick, was he a doctor?

“What was in the syringe?”

Finally her face showed some expression. The kind that displayed extreme sarcasm. “Gee, I don't know. I didn't think to ask while I was trying to pull myself out of her memories.”

Vax hadn't realized just how much he had always relied on his Empathy to read people. Her shields were damned good. He got about as much off her as he'd get off a brick wall. That poker face of hers didn't help any, either. A little irritated, Vax draped an arm against the door, beating out a tattoo with his fingers. “Anything else?”

Jess shrugged restlessly. “No. Climbing inside somebody else's thoughts is a bit of a new experience. Mom and Randi were the only ones I've ever been able to pick up anything from, and then I usually had to be really close to them physically, or they had to be upset.”

She turned her head, but not before he caught a glimpse of the sadness in her eyes. Her voice was muffled as she spoke. “Look, don't go reading much into this. I picked it up at random. I don't know why, and I don't know how reliable it is. It could just be a figment of my overactive imagination—I haven't ever woken up before in the middle of the night to find some monster in my room.” She smiled sadly. “Mom and Dad used to tease me about my imagination. Mom would say that with my imagination, I ought to write a book. Maybe that's all it was, my imagination working overtime because a monster scared me out of my sleep.”

“You don't really believe that.”

She scowled. “No. No, I don't. I sure as hell wish I did, though.”

He didn't blame her. “How are you so certain she's a monster?” Vax knew, but that was because he could feel the vibes coming off her. Their guest wasn't a happy camper. There was a gut-deep sense of rage inside the wolf-creature, and something that could only be described as evil.

Jess shivered a little, as if she were cold. The cool, implacable look on her face cracked, and he saw underneath, just for a second. Just long enough for him to see that she wasn't as unflappable as she wanted him to think. “I felt it when I took my little trip through her mind. Even before Thomas got his hands on her, she wasn't Girl Scout material. I think that's part of why they took her. But she's not the only one.”

Silence fell. But it was a heavy kind of silence. Vax's mind spun back to the alley. Just hours ago. Jess had shoved a file at him, one full of images of women who'd been killed in terrible ways.

Not just women. Witches.

“The missing women.”

Jess swallowed. Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. She glanced towards him, and he saw a world of fear in her eyes. “I'm afraid so.”

“Y
UCK.”
Jess came awake with a jerk at the sound of the strange voice. She sat up in bed, her heart slamming against her ribs. She jumped out of the narrow cot, but the rough wool blanket tangled around her legs and she ended up fighting to get free of it instead of backing away from the voice.

When she finally kicked the blanket away, she had scrapped the idea of retreating.

The slender blonde standing in the doorway looked like a Kewpie doll—all curly blonde hair, big blue eyes, and peaches-and-cream skin. Her hair looked like one of those highlight jobs that cost a couple hundred dollars. People didn't have hair like that without chemical help, did they? Sunny gold, pale blonde, warm brown, all mixed together in a tumble of curls that fell past her shoulders.

She wore a worn-out sweatshirt that was probably three sizes too big and some of those skinny-legged jeans that didn't look good on 99.9 percent of the population.

Of course, they looked good on the Kewpie doll.

Jess decided right on the spot that she didn't like her. Both of them were skinny, but on this woman it looked good. She had that fragile, delicate look to her. Jess was too damned tall ever to look fragile or delicate.

“Who in the hell are you?” Jess demanded.

The woman arched her brows. They were the deepest shade of blonde possible without being brown. She stared at Jess guilelessly and said, “Me? I could ask the same of you. Vax, this isn't very smart, leaving her alone in here with
that
.”

Vax appeared in the doorway, standing behind the cute little blonde. He had a look of irritation on his face. “Didn't I tell you to wait?”

The woman blinked, and then a smile canted up the corners of her mouth. “Why, yes. I believe you did.” She continued to stare at Jess, head tilted to the side. A puzzled frown replaced the smile. “What are you?”

Jess reached up and scrubbed her hands over her face. It didn't help. She still felt half asleep. “Vax, what in the hell is going on? Who's the kid?”

“Nessa.
Move.
”

The blonde glanced over her shoulder at Vax and then sauntered into the small, ramshackle cabin. Who owned the cabin, Jess didn't know. They were about an hour west of Louisville, Kentucky, close to the Ohio River. They were supposed to be waiting for help. But this kid wasn't exactly the kind of reinforcements that Jess had been counting on.

“Vax.”

He slanted a look at Jess and muttered, “Not now.” He looked about ready to pull out his hair by the roots. He slammed the door closed behind him, stomping inside. His feet made heavy thudding sounds on the wooden plank floor, and he looked mad enough to spit nails.

“Call for help, and I get this,” he mumbled under his breath. He shot the blonde a dark, evil look and then went over to the bathroom doorway. There was no door. Jess figured at one time there must have been. There were still hinges attached to the wall, rusted and old.

Dena lay in the bathtub restrained by the silver in her bloodstream and little else. Jess could take the small cabin. Even though it was so damned small that she and Vax kept bumping into each other, she could take it. She could take sleeping on the narrow cot, and she could take the faint fishy smell that hung in the air.

What she couldn't take was having to stay so close to Dena. Every time Jess closed her eyes, she saw the wolf-woman again, and those wicked, long black claws. Those soulless eyes. All of that hate, menace, and violence, restrained by a chemical? It wasn't very reassuring. The silver manacles on her helped, but not much.

Vax stared into the bathroom for a minute, then turned back around to stare at Nessa. The girl gave him a sweet smile and stretched out on Jess's cot. “You know, you really should show more appreciation, Vax.” Her voice was prim. Mary Poppins kind of prim. She gave Vax an arch look, and he just scowled back

He closed his eyes. Jess got the feeling he was either counting to ten or praying for patience. Or both.

“I drive him insane.” She said it in a conspiratorial voice and winked at Jess.

Jess smiled weakly. “Not a far drive, is it?”

Vax grunted. “Getting shorter by the minute.” He braced a shoulder against the wall and glared at the blonde.

“Why don't you show me what's behind door number one,” Nessa said, rolling to her feet. She hooked her thumbs in her jeans pockets and headed towards the bathroom. “I hope she doesn't look much worse than she feels. She feels all wrong to me.”

“Brace yourself, beautiful. She's worse.” Vax stepped into the bathroom, pressing against the wall to make room for a third person. Jess moved over to the doorway, craning her head to see around him.

Both Nessa and Jess were outside the wolf's reach, but Vax wasn't. She-bitch struck out with one manacled hand, chains rattling. He jerked away, looking down at her with narrowed eyes. “Unless you want to lie there with that silver burning inside you for the next six months, you had better behave.”

“Are you going to put her in time-out?”

Nessa was staring at Vax with wide eyes, a smile flirting with the corners of her mouth. He barely glanced at her. “Old woman, don't you have something better to be doing?”

Old woman?
Jess looked back at the shorter woman. The kid didn't even look old enough to be out of college.

“I did. Then you called. I'd rather see what you're up to.” She batted long, thick lashes at him, her smile turning flirtatious.

Vax winced, but Jess didn't see the look on his face. She was too busy trying to swallow the bitter jealousy that sprang to life as the woman moved around the table and rested a hand on Vax's back. There was an intimacy between them—Jess couldn't exactly describe it as sexual, but they knew each other. There was a bond there, no matter how irritated Vax appeared.

“I called Kelsey.”

With a graceful shrug, Nessa replied, “Well, Kelsey wasn't there, now, was she?”

Vax opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He sidestepped out of the way as Nessa edged around him and peered down at Dena. The woman reached down and laid a hand in the middle of Dena's torso, just a little below the two small, misshapen breasts. Jess wouldn't have touched the she-bitch with a ten-foot pole, and she almost warned the girl, but Vax didn't looked worried.

“Oh my, Vax. She's a nasty one. You have a bad habit of finding trouble—I thought you were retired.”

Disgruntled, Vax muttered, “Believe me, if I had any choice in the matter, I'd be home.”

“Ah, yes. Your ranch. Such a lovely little spot.”

Ranch
…Jess could vaguely remember his mentioning a ranch. The knot of jealousy grew just a little bit bigger. She hadn't figured Vax was into the peppy,
young
teenaged type, but it looked as though Jess was off the mark. She could feel something bitter and rude burning on her tongue. She was just a millisecond from giving in to the ugly monster of jealousy when Dena struck out. Razor-sharp claws missed Nessa's chest as the small woman spun away, but just barely. When Nessa stopped, she looked down and held out her shirt, revealing two long, skinny tears in her sweatshirt where Dena's claws had shredded it.

“Was that really necessary?” Nessa asked. Her Mary Poppins voice was chilly as she glared at Dena.

From the bathtub, Dena snarled and bared her teeth at Nessa. She snapped her jaws together as if she were biting down on something. Jess was five feet away, and with Vax standing between her and the restrained wolf-woman, she was as safe as could be expected. But she still backed away.

Nessa, on the other hand, moved forward, leading with a short, straight-armed jab that caught Dena square on her malformed jaw. Jess heard the smack of flesh against flesh, and she winced reflexively as Dena's head flew back under the impact. Dena yelped a little but then looked at Nessa with hatred in her eyes.

“Not only are you an ugly mess, you're stupid as well,” Nessa muttered, turning her back dismissively.

From the doorway came a new voice. “Agnes, love, please don't irritate it.”

It was a deep, melodic voice, with a hypnotic accent that Jess thought was Scottish. Turning her head, she found that the voice belonged to a man every bit as intriguing as it was. He was big—that was the first thing she noticed. Too damned big for the small cabin. He seemed to dominate it, towering over everything and everyone. The deep red hair on his head was the second thing she noticed. Jess imagined a lot of women would sever an arm to have hair that color, but she had no doubt it was natural. He didn't strike her as the type who'd have the vanity to dye it.

He had deep blue eyes, the color of the eastern sky at twilight. Those eyes were currently fixed on the small blonde, filled with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

Where the hell had he come from? The door hadn't opened. There was one window, but it was too narrow for the likes of him. She turned to look at Vax, but if she thought he'd been irritated before, he was even more so now.

“What do
you
want?” Vax asked as he came out of the bathroom.

The giant gave a wide smile. “That is no way to speak to somebody you called for help. Where is this problem you spoke of? She smells…strange.” He lifted his head, sniffing at the air. Jess wasn't sure how he could smell much of anything over the stink of cigarettes and old fish, but he did. He headed towards the bathroom and peeked inside.

He stepped a little closer to the tub and studied Dena with puzzled eyes. “I haven't ever seen anything like that.” He looked back at Vax. “What is she?”

“A mess,” Nessa said. Her nose wrinkled. Turning away with a shrug, she repeated, “Just a mess.”

“You're so helpful.” The giant took up the place that Vax had vacated, leaning against the wall.

Nessa smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes actually looked dull, almost lifeless. “I live to serve, Malachi,” she said in a mocking tone.

As yet another woman stepped into the room, the look on the giant's face changed to complete and utter adoration. At that point, Jess just gave up trying to keep track of who was talking. She was tired. She was sore. She felt every little bruise and scrape she'd gotten during her mad dash to get away from the wolf-woman before the thing ripped her throat out. She wanted to go back to sleep, but it obviously wasn't going to happen.

The newcomer had red hair as well, but it was a sunny red-gold that looked like it belonged on a Pippi Long-stocking doll. She wore it in a fat braid that trailed halfway down her back, and as she moved to the bathroom, the giant caught her braid in his hand and jerked her head back, covering her mouth with his.

Damn.

The heat between them was hot and palpable, and when they parted, they looked at each other with an intimacy that made Jess squirm a little. There was such naked devotion on their faces, such love, it felt wrong even to be standing close to them while they shared the moment.

And for the second time in just a couple of minutes, Jess was overcome with a bout of longing so deep, it almost hurt. The woman rose on her toes and pressed her lips to the corner of the man's mouth and then looked at Jess. She smiled. It was a bright, open, friendly smile.

Great. Another peppy type. Just as vibrant as the curly hair trying to free itself from the long braid. Normally that sort of type irritated Jess. The cute blonde certainly did.

But there was something so warm, so friendly about the redhead that Jess couldn't help but smile back. When the woman held out a hand, Jess stepped forward and accepted it.

“Hi. I'm Kelsey. The big guy behind me is my husband, Malachi.” She glanced out towards the slender blonde and smiled. “I've got a feeling that neither one of them bothered, so I'll introduce you to Nessa, our resident nutcase.”

“Impertinent little brat.” That came from Nessa.

There was something very strange about the way Nessa spoke. It wasn't just the proper, prim English accent. Looks aside, the woman sounded—old. Maybe not in years, exactly. Old-fashioned, mature, old-world…Jess wasn't sure of the right way to describe it. But with each passing moment, Nessa seemed less and less like the college coed that she appeared to be.

Kelsey moved around the table and slung an arm around Nessa's shoulders. “Awwww…I love you, too, Nessa.”

Nessa rolled her eyes and then looked back at the table. “We have a bit of a mess on our hands, I am afraid.” She glanced towards the bathroom and said, “Did you see Vax's little surprise? Nasty thing, isn't she? I'd wager he isn't going to stay and help us with it, either.”

Vax didn't say a word. He actually looked like he'd rather not be here. He leaned against the wall, hands jammed deep inside his pockets and his mouth in a flat, unsmiling line.

“What is she?” Malachi asked. As he spoke, he turned his back to the doorjamb, standing so that he could see Dena and still look at the others. Dena snarled. There was something oddly challenging to it. Malachi narrowed his eyes and shoved off the wall, disappearing inside the bathroom. From where Jess stood out in the main room, she could see him. Dena struggled against her chains as the big guy moved closer. He bent low over the tub, and Jess said, “I wouldn't do that.” She could just see those deadly black claws slicing through the air, ripping into flesh.