Authors: Nowlan,Anya,Dale,Rory
S
tone pushed
his emotions to the side as he examined what was left of Mike’s apartment. A quick sniff confirmed shifters had been there, but not the ones he would have thought. The scent was distinctively canine.
Wolves.
The bounty Kate had mentioned seemed to have the desired effect. He could try tracking the mutts by scent, but it was most probably a lost cause. With a body with them, they had certainly used a vehicle to get away.
He pushed down the swirl of emotions within him and concentrated on the job. It came far too easily when Selina wasn’t the one involved in the mess.
Stone had to think back. He had only had contact with a handful of wolves when he still lived in Chicago and they all belonged to the Shadow pack. The name was a little mystical for Stone’s tastes, but he had to admit, they could be very stealthy.
But who among them could have known about his connection to Mike? He didn’t go around name-dropping his associates for exactly this reason – so no one could use them to get to him. There was only one person who came to mind, but it couldn’t be.
Freddy.
Freddy had just been a low-level member of the Shadow when he and Stone first met. The pack wanted one of their own gone, but in a way that couldn’t be tied back to them. Freddy got picked as a middleman.
Stone and he happened to get along great, for the short time they spent together.
Stone would almost consider him a friend, even though they hadn’t spoken in years. But one time when he and Freddy were having drinks at some hole-in-the-wall bar, Mike walked in and gave Stone a wave, before he noticed he had company.
Stone didn’t introduce Freddy to Mike, but he later learned Mike was a regular at the bar they had stumbled into.
Freddy could have easily looked up the bar, asked some questions, gotten Mike’s name and tracked him down using pack resources. But would he?
Stone still remembered some of the pack-hangouts. Hoping they were still popular, he got in his car and drove to Englewood. It gnawed at him that he’d have to stay away from Selina for this long, but if he knew one thing then it was that what had happened to Mike was no coincidence. He didn’t need anyone getting at Selina without him being entirely prepared for it.
Half an hour later, he pulled up to a rundown pool hall, the scent of wolves clear in his nostrils. Stone strode in, earning more than a few curious glances. The felt on the pool tables was worn, the air thick with cigarette smoke, the atmosphere unwelcoming. Stone knew a lot more than pool went down here.
He didn’t need to be a shifter to smell it in the air and see it on the faces of every man there.
He made his way to the bar, manned by an older guy with a beard. He was stacking glasses, surrounded by the smell of stale beer.
“I need to talk to Freddy,” Stone called out, demanding the bartender’s attention.
“Oh yeah? And who are you?” the man answered, turning around and eyeing him suspiciously.
“Stone Calloway. He knows who I am. Just let him know I’m here.”
Stone took a seat on one of the stools as if he belonged there and stared at the man. The guy considered him for a solid ten seconds and then sighed before heading to the back room. In about five minutes, he came back out and pointed towards the door.
“Go on then,” was all he said.
Stone slipped into the area meant for pack members only. It looked the same as the last time he’d been there. Red paint was peeling off the walls with different couches and chairs crowding the dimly-lit space. Freddy sat in a large armchair with a barely dressed woman in his lap.
“Stone! Long time no see,” Freddy exclaimed, practically throwing the bird off his lap.
He patted the woman’s thigh, calling her ‘Melanie’, which prompted her to saunter over and go lounge on one of the couches instead.
Stone watched as Freddy stood and walked towards him, arms spread open in an implied embrace.
I should give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Buddy! How long are you in town for?” Freddy asked, clapping him on the back. “Long enough for a few drinks, I hope? Get the man a cold one!”
“I have some business to take care of and then I’m off. Thought I’d pay you a visit,” Stone replied, conjuring up a smile and patting the man on the back as they hugged gruffly.
Freddy grinned at him. He had grown out his hair, the dark brown curls almost grazing his shoulders. His nose was crooked from getting into one too many fights, but it suited him.
“I can’t wait to get in some trouble with you,” Freddy winked. “Have a seat, I just have to make some calls and clear up my schedule, and then we can go raise all sorts of hell.”
“You have a schedule?” Stone asked, surprised.
He took the offered seat and a moment later, a full glass of beer appeared in his hand, courtesy of another scantily clad beauty with a generic name and fake tits.
“Oh yeah, I’ve been moving up in the world. I run this place now,” Freddy grinned, puffing his chest out slightly with obvious pride.
Impressive,” Stone said with a nod.
As soon as Freddy disappeared into what looked like an office, Stone stood, using his feline grace to silently stalk across the room, ears trained to the door Freddy left through. Melanie and the other girl – Amber, if Stone recalled - gave him curious looks but didn’t say anything. Freddy was whispering, sounding on edge.
“Yes, he’s here right now. Get over here, I’ll try to stall.”
Then there was silence. Stone rushed back to his seat. When Freddy emerged, he was visibly sweating.
“So, ready to go?” Stone asked congenially.
“Why don’t we have a couple of drinks first? On the house.”
The smile Freddy wore was starting to look a bit frayed.
“And what if I say no? How are you going to
stall
me then?”
All the color drained from Freddy’s face in an instant. He started towards the exit, but Stone was already on his feet. Freddy had never been on the athletic side. Catching up with him took jumping over the couch the girls were seated on, sending Amber into a screaming fit.
He grabbed Freddy in a sleeper hold. Melanie stirred on the couch, but only to light a cigarette and stare disinterestedly at her phone, while Amber seemed to be losing her mind. Stone was glad to ignore both of them.
“Who were you calling there, buddy?” Stone asked, his voice pure menace.
Freddy struggled in his grasp, but it was of no use. It only made Stone tighten his hold around the man’s neck, well aware his time was limited. Reinforcements were already on the way.
“One of the Crimson Claws,” Freddy answered, gasping.
“How much are they paying you to rat me out? Must be a lot if you were willing to kill Mike just to get to me.”
“That was a mistake. I sent some guys over to rough him up, but he wouldn’t say anything and so they got carried away. And I’m not doing it for money.”
A mistake.
Stone’s lion roared, both begging and demanding to get out.
“Then why?” Stone demanded.
“I made a deal. They were going to accept me into the Crimson Claws. These guys are going to take over the city. It was just business, man,” Freddy whimpered, quickly running out of air.
Stone released him and shoved him into a chair.
“Give me one reason to let you live.”
He could almost see the wheels turning in Freddy’s head. Stone’s whole body was on edge and the only thing he really wanted was to rip Freddy’s throat out with his bare hands. Listening to what little voice of reason he had was getting harder by the second.
“I’ve met with some of them before, I can tell you where,” he offered, desperate.
“They wouldn’t meet a nobody like you anywhere important,” Stone snarled.
Freddy looked about ready to piss himself.
“Wait, wait, one of Parker’s right hand men, Tom I think it was, I stuck around one time and saw the car that picked him up. I could give you the license plate,” he said, grasping for straws.
That wasn’t exactly valuable information, not that Stone really thought Freddy had any. But by the looks of him, sweating profusely, eyes wild with fear, Stone was pretty confident he had learned all he could from Freddy.
He had Freddy type the plate number into his phone. The man’s hands were shaking as he did it. The choke hold must have refreshed his memory on what Stone was capable of.
There was only one thing left to do.
“Do you want to die standing or on your knees?” Stone asked.
Anger flared under Freddy’s fear.
“I told you everything I know!”
“I believe you, but it makes no difference. You sent wolves to interrogate a human. What did you think was going to happen?” Stone asked coldly.
Freddy shot to his feet, eyes glowing yellow. Stone caught the fist aimed at his face mid-air and twisted until Freddy’s elbow pointed straight up. Freddy used his free arm to grab something from under his shirt. Metal glinted as he pulled out a small knife and slashed at Stone, making him let go of the man’s arm.
Stone jerked backwards, the blade nicking his stomach. The wound was superficial, barely any blood.
Enough of this.
Freddy advanced, brandishing the knife before him. Stone grabbed his wrist the next time he lunged, squeezing and twisting until Freddy had no choice but to let go with a yelp. The blade clattered to the floor, where Stone picked it up. Without a second thought, he plunged it into Freddy’s neck, burying it to the hilt. Arterial spray painted both him and the closest walls red with a fine mist. Even Melanie finally reacted and Amber was on her knees, hyperventilating and crying.
The women’s screams followed Stone out the back door, another friend nothing but an unpleasant memory in his past.
S
elina showered
and dressed in her new clothes, all the while keeping her ears peeled for any sounds indicating Stone’s return. Finally, she just opted for lounging in the living area, as it was closest to the entrance.
Linda kept asking her if she needed anything, which was very nice, but all she needed was to see Stone alive and well.
When did I get so attached?
she wondered, catching herself chewing her lower lip nervously.
His presence, while intense, was also very assuring. He didn’t need words to make her feel better. Selina still remembered his muscular body pressed against her as he held her close.
But she was just a job to him, a favor for an old friend. Right?
Even if that weren’t the case, there was no need to complicate things. The situation was plenty messed up already.
Kate glided into the room, shaking her out of her thoughts and regarding her with a hand on her hip.
“You moping around here is not going to make him come back any faster…” she started, interrupted by the front door swinging open.
Proved you wrong.
Stone sauntered in, looking like he had walked past a sprinkler filled with blood. He looked completely unfazed by it. His gaze travelled to Selina immediately and her heart jumped at the sight of him, even as gory as it was.
Selina instinctively rushed over, scanning his body for injuries.
“Are you hurt?”
“It’s not my blood,” Stone answered, seeming surprised and slightly taken aback by her concern.
As his green eyes bore into hers, she was suddenly hyper aware of how close to him she was standing and how full and kissable his lips looked. She found herself staring at them far too long.
“Oh,” Selina mumbled awkwardly, taking a step back.
Stone must have taken it as a sign of disapproval, as he turned his attention from her to Kate.
“Can we talk?” he asked her, moving past Selina.
Selina felt deflated. All she wanted to do was apologize for the hasty conclusions and snap judgments she’d made earlier, but she’d just managed to offend him further.
She retreated into her room, deciding to wait for a more convenient time to explain herself. It was getting dark and she feared she’d have to wait until morning.
Great, enough time to overthink everything and then eventually chicken out altogether. Go you, Selina!
she thought, sinking down on her chair
Linda knocked on her door about twenty minutes later, saying that she was expected in the dining room in ten minutes. Selina quickly rummaged through the bag of toiletries Kate dropped off earlier. Something told her Kate’s idea of dinner was a bit fancier than her usual sweatpants and take-out combo.
The mental image of Kate staring at some takeout Szechwan chicken like it was a particularly vile offense against her brought a wide smile on Selina’s lips.
She found a hairbrush and an elastic and gathered her mess of a hair into a high bun. Next, she threw on some lip balm and slipped on a modest knee-length black dress. It was the only impractical item among Kate’s on-the-run chic set, save for the lacy underwear, so she must have intended for her to wear it to dinner, right?
Selina made it to the dining room in a tangle of nerves, but was instantly put at ease when she saw the opulently set table and Kate’s own little black dress. Hers was a little flowier than Selina’s curve-hugging number and was of course paired with enough diamonds to keep Selina’s bakery in business for a century, if she had to guess.
“I knew it would fit you like a glove,” Kate smiled, running her eyes over her frame approvingly.
“You have a great eye, I’ll give you that. You always eat dinner like this?” Selina asked, waving a hand over the mountains of food and glittering silverware.
Stone wasn’t there yet and it put Selina more at ease. It was like every time she came face to face with the man now, she regressed into some stuttering teenage state that she just couldn’t shake.
“I may have kicked it up a notch seeing as I have guests.”
Stone chose that moment to walk in, looking distinctly non-bloody. Instead, he was clad in black jeans and a white button-up that clung to his muscles. He threw Kate an annoyed glance, looking like he wasn’t very keen on the whole ‘fancy dinner’ idea.
His expression changed when he caught sight of Selina, though. As his eyes moved up and down her body, she saw what seemed like a glimmer of appreciation before he turned away to take a seat at the table.
At least that’s what it looked like. Selina had plenty of experience with men checking her out, but somehow Stone made her unsure of herself. So much so that she glanced down at herself, wondering if she’d done something wrong.
He was definitely unlike any man she had ever met, why would someone like him even be interested in her?
“To new connections,” Kate said, raising her glass of wine and prompting Selina to find a seat and grab a glass as well.
“To new connections,” she and Stone echoed.
As dinner went on, Kate and Stone went on a long stroll down memory lane. Glasses kept filling with wine and stories of illegal shenanigans grew more and more outrageous. Kate even managed to get a laugh or two out of Stone, which seemed an impossible feat at times.
Selina mostly stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt the good time the two were having. The stories were amusing, for sure, but if she was being totally honest with herself, she would have liked Stone to pay more attention to her.
Old flames die hard.
And it wasn’t like Kate wasn’t better suited for him. Selina looked at Stone, laughing and running a hand through his thick, shiny hair, making his biceps bulge beneath a thin layer of white fabric. He looked like a movie star. And Kate looked like Grace of Monaco, if she happened to be a super-secret assassin for hire.
I should leave them to it.
Selina got up from the table as quietly as she could after dessert was served. Nevertheless, Stone’s eyes were on her in an instant.
“You’re going to bed already?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m feeling beat. You two have fun,” she said with a smile before making her exit, feeling Stone’s gaze on her as she took her leave.
The house was dark and quiet, only moonlight streaming in through the windows. Selina cautiously tip-toed through a shadowy hallway, hoping she didn’t knock over some priceless vase on the way to her room.
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. She swirled around to see Stone standing there, staring at her silently. She hadn’t heard him even open the door, let alone walk up to her.
“Is something wrong?” Selina asked to fill the silence.
Stone didn’t say anything, just stepped closer. The narrow hallway around them seemed to constrict at his presence and Selina could hear her heart starting to beat faster. His breath fell on her when he finally spoke, looking down at her with those piercing green eyes.
“Wanted to see if you’re alright. You left in a hurry.”
Selina could hear fabric rustling as Stone leaned against the wall, emerald eyes glowing in the dim light and probing her intently. His scent was masculine and warm, his voice low and raspy.
Selina wished she could see his luscious lips in the dark or better yet, feel them on her skin. The thought made her tremble, but also frightened her a little.
All she really knew about this man was that he used to be her brother’s friend in the Navy and that he was a hitman. Oh, and that he risked his life to save her from Parker. Regardless of what she knew or didn’t know, she couldn’t deny the intoxicating effect he had on her.
She took a step back, hoping some distance would quiet her pulse and make her body realize what a bad idea giving in to temptation was.
“Are you afraid of me?” Stone asked, sounding somber.
“I’m not,” Selina answered softly, realizing that while she was feeling plenty of emotions towards Stone, fear was not among them.
“Then why do you back away whenever I get close? Ever since I told you…”
There was something in his voice Selina couldn’t name.
“I can hear your heart beating. Fast.”
Selina didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t ready to admit her attraction to him, she was still struggling with it herself.
“You’ve got it all wrong.”
“Do I?” Stone questioned with a small laugh.
He leaned in, making Selina press herself against the wall. Mere inches separated their bodies and she yearned to close the gap. Her breath hitched, body reacting unmistakably in pure lust. A delicious throb started between her legs, skin tingling with a deep need to be touched.
As if reading her mind, Stone reached out to tuck a flyaway tendril of hair behind her ear, grazing her cheek in the process. It sent a flash of need coursing through her.
Selina couldn’t take it anymore. How could something be wrong when it felt so right? Her voice was no more than a breathy whisper when she spoke.
“Just kiss me already,” she said, throwing caution to the wind.
Stone stilled for a moment, pulling away.
Oh no, have I misread this entire situation?
Her heart sunk.
“Is that what you want?” he asked, slowly reaching to glide a finger over her collarbone.
His touch burned her to the core, a soft sigh escaping her throat.
She could
hear
the smile on his lips.
Stone moved back in, pressing his body to hers this time. She reveled in the contact. His fingertips slowly slid up her arms, making her back arch, her hips pressing into his. A small growl started somewhere in Stone’s throat as he took Selina’s face into his hands.
He pressed his lips to hers, slowly and cautiously, as if he were expecting her to push him away at any moment. Selina slid her hands around his waist, urging him closer. Her lips parted and Stone’s tongue slid inside, probing her with sensual slowness.
His carefulness faded away as his kiss grew deeper and hungrier. She molded herself against his hard body, sucking on his tongue. He tasted like fresh, crisp wine.
A clatter from the kitchen brought Selina back down to earth. She pulled away, out of breath, wanting nothing more than to feel Stone’s hands on every inch of her body…
No, I can’t do this,
she thought, trying to shake off whatever spell she was under.
There was no way this could end well. He was an assassin and she was a baker. They couldn’t be more different. She thought about articulating her feelings to Stone, but being the chicken she was, she just disentangled herself from his embrace and ran away.
Very adult. Ten points for me.