Riley's Torment, A Moon's Glow Novel #2 (34 page)

“Charlotte and
James?” Lauren asked hopefully.

I shook my head
no and watched the scene outside.

Joe turned back
to a human and held up his hand to me when he saw me with the gun.
I tossed it to him looking him strictly in the eye. He used the gun
to finish off the brown wolves. The two loud booms echoed through
the air. With two of the werewolves out of the way, Joe pointed the
gun at Charlotte and James. They were now surrounded by Adrian and
Nate in their wolf form. Charlotte and James were eyeing the wolves
as if they were contemplating trying to make a run for it. But by
the way the wolves were glaring at them and growling, they wouldn’t
have much of a chance at escape.

“Drop the gun,
James, and step into the house. Both of you.” Joe’s voice was a
command, but neither of his targets moved. He pulled the trigger
and hit James in the shoulder. James howled, the noise sounding
like a dying animal. Blood dripped from the wound, and the gun in
his hand fell to the ground. Nate moved to stand over it. It was
all he could do without opposable thumbs.

“MOVE!” Joe
yelled, louder this time.

“Joe,” Will
said in a warning tone from next to me. I was so engrossed in the
scene in front of me, I didn’t sense his approach.

“Shut up, Will.
Let me handle this,” Joe barked back at him, never taking his eyes
from Charlotte and James.

James was the
first one to step toward the house and climb though the broken
window as he pushed his hand over the hole on his left shoulder,
right above his heart. Blood leaked out between his fingers,
streaking down his hand.

Nate growled,
showing his crimson fangs to Charlotte as she took a step in the
direction of the woods that surrounded the property. She froze as
he stalked towards her. His yellow animalistic eyes were filled
with hate. She glanced at him and then at Adrian who was stalking
her from the other side. You could see she was starting to realize
that she wasn’t getting out of this, not with two wolves right at
her heels. She could never outrun them, and by the look of defeat
in her eyes, she knew it.

“Fine, Joey,
I’ll come in. Thank you for asking so nicely.” Her voice was
dripping with politeness as if Joe had just asked her to tea.

“Next time,
don’t try to kill my friend, and I’ll send you an invitation,” he
muttered dryly.

She stepped
through the window, one high heel at a time. She was wearing a pair
of painted on black jeans and a black leather coat. She sauntered
over to stand next to James and then smiled brightly at all of us.
Her gay eyes were so much like Joe’s. It was the only resemblance I
could see, besides the similar hair color.

Once they were
all inside, Lauren stepped up to Joe and handed him a pair of
jeans. She must have slipped out and gotten them. I hadn’t noticed
her leave. He handed her the gun as he put the pants on.

Nate jumped
into the window behind me with Adrian following; both of them were
fully clothed. Nate had told me often that he had clothes stored
all over the property. Since he was a werewolf, he never knew when
he’d need them.

“Where is
Adrian’s sister?” Nate asked Charlotte.

She laughed.
“How should I know?”

Adrian pushed
past me, brushing my arm with his. He stood right in front of her,
blocking my view with his broad shoulders. He smelled of fresh,
crisp air and chocolate. I shifted to the side so I could see.

“You said you
have her,” he roared, the panic in his voice rang out loud and
clear.

She reached out
and patted his cheek. “Oh, dear boy. That was just a way for you to
distract these people, so James here.” She gestured with a
perfectly manicured finger to James who was trying to dig the
bullet out with his fingers. “Could take back what was supposed to
be his.”

Adrian blinked.
“But I smelled her.” His voice had softened, and now instead of
fear or anger, his tone was edged with confusion.

Her grin was so
cold it could freeze the hot blazing sun. “No. You smelled the
shirt I had sent to me from a contact in her hometown.”

Relief settled
over my bones, making me breathe for the first time since Adrian
showed up.

“Where is she?”
he growled between clenched teeth.

“Do you really
think I’m going to tell you and just let you walk away? After I
found out you’d been meeting with her.” She pointed at me. “I knew
you needed a reminder that a human life is fragile. You betrayed
me. If your sister was here, she’d be dead right now.” She lifted a
shoulder. The expression on her face was pure boredom. “Sure, I
could give the order, but it would be much more entertaining to do
it in front of you.”

A low growl
came out of Adrian’s chest as he lunged for her, his teeth
lengthening and his eyes turning yellow.

Joe grabbed him
and shoved him to the back of the room. “I’m sorry, Adrian, we
understand how you feel,” Joe said to him, glancing at Lauren and
me. “But we need to settle some things.”

Nate stepped
closer to face his nephew. He was now wearing a simple black
t-shirt and faded blue jeans. “James, you cannot kill Will.”

At that moment,
James pulled the bullet out of his chest with a roar and let it
drop with a plunk. It rolled on the floor until it hit the wall by
the window and left a tiny red line in the shiny oak surface.
James’ face was showing pain and then disgust when he turned to
Nate.

“If I get out
of this, I will not stop until you are both dead. You ruined my
life.” He pointed a bloody finger at Nate.

“Then you have
to die.” Nate’s voice held so much pain; it hurt me to hear it.

“No,” Will
gasped.

Nate’s head
spun on his other nephew. “Will, he won’t stop. He’ll be like
Charlotte, hunting us for the rest of our lives. He lives for
revenge, like her.” He nodded to the woman that had made so many
people suffer.

I could see the
fight go out of Will as he finally agreed. And so did James.

While all of
our attention was on Will, James shoved Charlotte into Joe, who
still had the gun. It fell to the floor with a thump, and everyone
scrambled for it. It hit my shoe, and I picked it up, whirling
around to point it at James just as he jumped up, about to dive
through the window. I pulled the trigger without thinking. There
wasn’t time for that, he was escaping. The sound of the gun
shattered my eardrums, and the impact pushed me into Nate, who
reached out to steady me. James’ body slumped onto the jagged
broken glass, and more blood oozed out of him.

Joe rushed
forward, looked him over, and then gazed at me. “Directly into the
heart.” That shouldn’t have made me happy since I had just taken a
life, but since the last time I shot a gun had gone horribly wrong,
I couldn’t help but be proud of myself. It felt good saving lives.
Joe reached inside James’ denim jacket and pulled out an
envelope.

“What is it?”
Will asked.

“The wills from
Nate’s safe,” he replied after he sifted through the contents.

Charlotte
didn’t even spare a glance at James lifeless body. Her face became
calculating. “Listen, I understand why you wanted James dead. He
tried to kill…this human,” she said, looking at Will with
revulsion. “But all I did, was make your mates immortal. You should
be thanking me!” Her voice was shrill, filled with desperation.

Was it wrong
that I enjoyed seeing the fear in her eyes as she glanced at each
of us? She was looking for someone who she could wrap around her
little finger, like the minions that were just killed. Finally, she
settled on her brother as he strolled over, handing the envelope to
Lauren, and then taking the gun from me.

We all watched
as he walked toward the windows silently gazing out at the night,
flipping the revolver end over end in his hand. He was quiet for
some time. The silence stretched in the room as we all stared at
his back. Charlotte was surrounded by us, and she had no way of
escaping. Finally, he turned back around and gazed at his sister,
holding the gun, barrel facing the floor.

“You want us to
thank you for kidnapping our girlfriends and terrorizing them? For
giving them your DNA without their knowledge, so they had no idea
what was happening?” he asked softly. The expression on his face
could only be described as disappointment and regret. After all
this time, he still cared for her.

She smiled at
him, gaining more confidence as she clearly thought she had won him
over. “I admit, it might have been a tad dramatic on my part, but
all is well, right? No harm, no foul.”

I scoffed. “Do
even know what Lauren went through?” I shrieked.

“Megan, don’t,”
Lauren whispered behind me.

I pressed my
lips together, cutting off my next words. I didn’t know why she
wanted that kept secret, but it was her business, not mine.

Charlotte eyed
us curiously, but before she could say anything, Joe spoke. “Why is
it that you find the need to terrorize others, big sister?”

The innocent
look vanished from her flawless face as she took a few steps away
from us. We didn’t stop her because there was no way she could get
away.

“It amuses me,”
she said smugly with a lazy shrug of her shoulders.

Joe’s face
fell, and he shook his head. “You know, I defended you. I told them
that if I gave you over to Stephen that you would change. He could
show you the proper way to live.”

The fear in her
eyes was replaced with hope. “You defended me?” Her voice was
filled with feeling, as if his sticking up for her meant so
much.

His brow
furrowed as his face washed with dread. “Of course I did. You’re my
sister. I hoped that there was still some good in you. But after
what you just said, I know you will never change.”

“I can change,
I know I can.” She glanced at Nate. “I regret making you a
werewolf. I didn’t know you would hate yourself so much.”

There were more
than a few exasperated sighs. No one was stupid enough to believe
her. Actions spoke louder than words. “In fact,” she began,
reaching into the inside of her coat. We didn’t get to hear the
rest of her sentence, a loud boom, blasted throughout the room,
making everyone jump—except Charlotte, she collapsed onto the
floor, blood leaking out of her heart.

“Nooo!” Adrian
shrieked rushing toward Charlotte’s body. He bent down and felt her
pulse and then glared up at Joe. The rest of us did the same.

He was holding
the gun out in front of him, smoke floated from the barrel.

“Why did you do
that?” Adrian asked, his voice filled with defeat.

“She was
pulling a gun out of her coat,” Joe said.

“A little
warning would have been nice,” Lauren complained, holding her ears
gingerly.

“She’s the only
one who knew where my sister was.” Joe face washed with apology but
didn’t respond to Adrian’s words. I stepped towards him and pulled
him away from Charlotte’s body.

“Don’t worry;
she probably has her whereabouts somewhere in her belongings.
You’ll find her.” I said, hoping to reassure him. He didn’t say
anything, only sunk into a leather chair, and stared at the
floor.

Nate’s brows
drew together, ignoring the rest of us as he still focused on Joe,
and then he leaned down to pat Charlotte’s chest. He stood up
quickly. “There’s no gun.”

Sorrow clouded
Joe’s face as what he did sunk in. “There wasn’t?” he gasped, guilt
rang out clearly in his voice.

Nate stepped up
to his friend, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “No. But
she needed to die. She would never change, you know that.” He
turned to Adrian. “And Megan’s right. We’ll help you find your
sister.”

Adrian smiled
at Nate, relief flashing in his eyes. I’m sure he was relieved to
be rid of Charlotte and also grateful to have friends who would
help him finally get Marisa back.

Joe nodded; his
head hanging low, no doubt mourning the sister he couldn’t love and
one he himself had killed. The room was silent with both shock and
respect as the family members of the dead werewolves mourned in
silence.

It was Nate
that finally ended the quiet. “Lauren, why don’t you take Joe and
your father into the living room, and pour them a drink. I’ll take
care of the bodies.” And by take care, he meant burying them where
they wouldn’t be found. It was the only way to dispose of a
werewolf. We couldn’t have anyone looking too closely at their
DNA.

She nodded and
stepped up to her boyfriend. “Come on,” she encouraged with a soft
voice, taking his hand to drag him away.

Will followed,
with one last look at Nate. He smiled at his uncle. “Thank you,” he
said, sounding appreciative, and once again proud. It was the least
he could do. Nate had taken a bullet for him after all.

Nate returned
his smile. I was thankful that their relationship would be okay.
Once his nephew exited the room, Nate turned to Adrian. “There are
wood and tools out in the shed. Could you fix the window while I
take care of this?” He pointed to Charlotte and James.

“Do you need
help? There are a lot of bodies there.” The wolves outside would
need to be disposed of as well.

Nate shook his
head. “I could use some time alone.” His gaze swung to me and
frowned. He was still upset about my reaction upstairs.

I swallowed the
lump in my throat and headed for the door.

I didn’t
know where I was headed, but I needed to get away. The whole day
had been emotionally draining. Actually, the last few weeks had
been one suck fest after another. I wished I could blink and erase
it all. But life wasn’t that easy, was it? We didn’t get do-overs,
as much as we might want them.