The first time she’d used that shit on
him he’d just beaten the shit out of her for something. It didn’t matter to him
what he had to hit her for, he enjoyed it more than sex. Hell, to him it was
sex. When he saw her bleeding on the floor, he’d have to go off in the other
room and jerk off to it. The sight and the sounds she made…Christ, he was hard
just thinking about it. Her mother had never given him that kind of pleasure.
Ronda had been a sorry piece of shit
after they got married. He’d been able to convince her to marry him because she
needed his security. He needed her money and the men thinking he was a
provider. But it wasn’t until after they wed that he realized the house she
lived in, even though it said her name on the deed, actually belonged to her ex
mother-in-law. Then, when that old bat had passed, it went to Brandi and not
the mother. And that cocksucker attorney that the older bat had wouldn’t let
him borrow against it for no amount of money. And money is what he needed.
Gambling had been his passion. Still was,
if he was honest with himself. Reggie had always considered himself passing
good at it. But as he got better his bets got higher until one stupid little
mistake had cost him nearly a million dollars. A million dollars on an oval-shaped
leather ball hitting the goal posts rather than going through them.
That had only been the beginning. After
that he couldn’t win at anything, including the one dollar scratch-off tickets
at the local gas station. And the hundreds he’d bought hadn’t paid near what
he’d bought them for. Then Ronda had starting nagging about her little girl and
how much she’d not seen her and how it would be nice to go and find her.
That’s when he latched onto the bright
idea that he’d find her, sell her to that lab her old boyfriend had told him
about, and see how much more they’d give him than they’d offered the kid. A
cool five million would pay off his debt and take him to another country before
one of the guys he owed money to found him. Reggie was thinking that Brandi and
her abilities were going to bankroll him for some time.
The phone ringing made him jump and he
cried out at the sudden move. He was going to kill the person at the other end
if this wasn’t important. He picked up the phone and waited for someone to
speak.
“Mr. Tuttle? This is the front desk. I’m
sorry, sir, but there seems to be a problem with your credit card.”
It took Reggie a few seconds to remember
he’d been using a card he’d taken off some druggie a few weeks before he’d been
shit-canned.
“I was wondering if you could come down
here so that we could straighten this out?”
Reggie grinned at the phone before
speaking. “Yeah, sorry about that. My wife went on a shopping spree today
without telling me. I’m pretty embarrassed about this. Do you think…hell, man,
I just got into the shower. Do you think maybe I could come down there in say…”
Reggie looked at his watch. “I can be there in an hour. Would that be fine? I’m
sure I can fix this for you.”
“Oh yes, sir. That’ll be fine, just
fine. I’ll put everything on hold until I see you. Thank you, Mr. Tuttle.”
His wife. He’d taken her out over two
years ago. And buried her in the back yard just before he’d left. The crack in
her head wasn’t supposed to kill her, but to maim her enough that he could
collect on the car accident she was about to have. He’d not worked out all the
details when she’d pissed him off again, but by the time he’d hit her with the
ball bat everything else hadn’t mattered. The insurance be damned. Then, two
days later, he’d lost his job, the house, and damned if the department didn’t
take his fucking car from him. He figured they’d give him a few weeks to get
one of his own, but he’d gone out to the drive to take off and the sucker was
gone. And because he’d been taking a little of his vacation for a few weeks now
he didn’t even get a last check. He’d been royally fucked over. Now his
stepdaughter was fucking with him.
He looked down at the hundred and four
dollars she’d given him. He’d trashed the room before she’d gotten there and
knew there was nothing else in the room. He knew that she drove a piece of shit
truck and would have taken it too if he’d been able to find it in the lot. All
that was there was a brand new one that probably belonged to the fucking owner
of her hotel and a nice little sporty thing that he more than likely wouldn’t
even fit into.
Now, he was going to have to go back
over there tomorrow and see about getting the truck. He had to leave quickly
now that the credit card he’d been using was no longer viable. Reggie laid down
on the bed and closed his eyes. He figured he had about two hours before the
hotel manager got tired of waiting and came up and demanded the money for the
room. He probably should have gone to a cheaper hotel, but he was a fucking cop
and deserved much more that a twenty buck an night dive.
An hour later he snuck out of the hotel
by way of the kitchen. The person delivering clean towels to the kitchen hadn’t
known what hit him when Reggie attacked him with a large tray. He’d been
surprised how noisy it had been, but had taken the guy’s identification and was
pushing the cart now loaded with the driver toward the ramp. It had taken him
less than five minutes to get the thing going and out of the back of the hotel.
Driving around for another twenty
minutes, he was able to ditch the thing and left the body in the back. The
driver wasn’t dead, but he soon would be, and the money he’d had in his wallet
would come in handy. Reggie took every opportunity that was handed to him.
He now had over three hundred dollars.
Enough, he supposed, that he could pay off the hotel bill at the other place,
but he felt the experience had been soured for him. He decided to have a great
meal and stay somewhere less…well, he was going to say less expensive, but knew
that he’d have to go cheap until he found a way to convince Brandi to come with
him or, if that failed, and he was sure it would, take her.
Chapter 12
Andi knew it was a dream this time. She
kept very still and didn’t make any sudden moves. The man, Harrison, was
talking to the woman, a girl really, as if he knew who she was. Andi had a
feeling that the girl knew him as well. Before she could think about what she
was doing, she reached for Mac.
“I’m here. You can’t…do you think that
he can hear us?”
She didn’t think so and told Mac that
.
“Tell me what you see about the girl. Tell
me everything you see.”
“We’re in an old house. This one is
empty. I don’t know why I know that, but…you know it’s empty, don’t you?”
He said he did.
“
The girl is young. I’d say she’s in her early twenties or less. But she’s
not a working girl. She’s a student. Her book bag is there beside her.”
“I can’t see her at all. I can make out
images, but nothing clear. Tell me what she looks like. Hair, makeup…whatever
you see.”
She stared at her while she talked to
the vampire in her dream.
“Her hair is dyed. I think it might have been
blond, but darker than it is now. I’d say she is five-nine or ten. Her shoes
are worn, so she walks a lot. Her eyes are blue. Not the dark blue that you see,
but an almost clear blue of an ocean.”
“And her clothes? What is she wearing?”
She looked at her again. Normal clothes,
she almost told him.
“She looks like she might be a student. Maybe at the
college level and not high school. She has on a skirt that’s about mid-length,
sweater that’s a little tight.”
She looked harder.
“Mac, can you smell
her? Is that what I smell?”
“I can’t smell her. Tell me what she
smells like. Or better yet, give me the scent. Think about it and maybe we’ll
be able to share it.”
She felt him move closer and the other vampire looked her way. They both
stilled
. “Don’t move, love. I don’t want him to be able to see you if he
can.”
She reached out her hand despite being
afraid. Terrified, really, but she felt the overwhelming need to touch the
girl. As soon as her hand touched her, the vampire lifted his head and stared
right at her.
“There you are. I knew that you’d not be
able to stay away.” Blood dripped from his fangs and he smiled at her. “Come
closer to me. I want to see all of you.”
Power surged up her arm and she put out
her free hand. As soon as she touched his cheek the vampire screamed. When he
dropped the girl Andi held her. And as she did, everything about the girl came
to Andi in an instant.
“She’s a wolf. Hurry. Tell
someone…please, Mac, she’s dying.”
~~~
Mac screamed for his dad. She was gone. Brandi
had disappeared before he could jerk her hand from the vampire’s face. His dad
came into his mind and Mac gave him all he could.
“Tell Bradley where I’m going. I have to
go to her now. I don’t…Christ, Dad, she connected with him. He’s going to find
her.”
“I’ve contacted the alpha. He and his
men are awaiting you.
”
Mac reached for her and found her. He
told his dad where to go.
“Love, you’ll have to feed her. See if you can
find something to break your skin at your wrist and feed her your blood. You’ve
taken mine and you should have—”
“I have. I’ve…she’s drinking my blood now.”
Mac reached for his father and told him
what Brandi had done.
“Mac? Do you think maybe you could come
here now? I’m sort of freaking out.”
Mac willed himself to her and pulled her
into his arms. The wolf that was indeed very young was holding Brandi’s wrist
to her mouth and watching them. He knew her. Her name was Skylar Wolfe; she was
Bradley’s daughter.
Pulling her away from the wolf, Mac
sealed the wound at Brandi’s wrist. He couldn’t let her go. He couldn’t touch
her enough. There was so much he wanted to tell her, to say to her, but nothing
could pass the large lump in his throat. He was in love with his mate.
“I think I hurt that man…that monster.”
He lifted her chin to look into her
eyes.
“I had this power ball-like thing of
energy come up my arm and I knew that I had to touch him.”
“It’s part of what I am. You’re just as
magical as I.” He kissed her nose and then, gently, her mouth. “Why didn’t you
zap the man who hit you at the hotel? You still have that, don’t you?”
She pulled her chin away and he lifted
it back up to see her face. “I can’t…it was my stepfather. I told you he was
coming. But he knows I can’t use it without my hands. If I can’t…I don’t know. If
I can’t use my hands to direct it, then it doesn’t work.”
Mac let her lay her head on his chest. He
was pretty sure she could, but probably hadn’t been taught that. He doubted
very much that anyone had trained her how to use it at all. From what his dad
had said, it seemed as if people only wanted to use her, not help her. Mac
decided that as soon as he got her home…well, after he made love to her several
times, he was going to show her a few things she could use now.
The cars pulled up about the same time
that his dad and mom materialized. His mother pulled Brandi from his arms and
held her to her. Mac turned away. He’d never seen either of them so emotional
and it made his heart feel great. Then his dad pulled him into a bear hug.
“Bradley’s daughter is missing. They
were out looking for…oh my God.” His dad went to the younger girl. “He’s going
to shit a brick.”
Bradley was in the second car along with
his brother David. He started toward them when Skylar called to him and he
stopped in mid-step. The man looked positively pole axed. Then he dropped to
his knees before his daughter and burst into tears. Mac was so moved by the
scene that he had to step back. There were no words to describe the love
between father and daughter.
Mac went to Brandi and held her while
everyone sorted out getting Skylar home. Bradley didn’t want to stay, everyone
could see it in his eyes, but Mac knew how he felt. Someone had harmed what was
his and hell was going to be paid. As soon as David took his niece home Bradley
came to stand next to them.
“Did you know who she was when you found
her?” He was looking at Mac. “I owe you a great deal and I’d—”
“My mate…Brandi was pulled to her
somehow while he was…while she was…” He couldn’t tell him. He looked at his
dad.
“Mac has been having dreams. Well, not
so much as dreams, but he connects somehow with the monster that tried to kill
Skylar. Apparently Andi here is able to connect as well. When she touched
Skylar, Mac said she was pulled away from him and was suddenly here. We’re not
at all sure how it happened yet. I’m thinking we might need to consult Mel on
this one.”
“You saved my daughter?”
Brandi nodded.
“Then you’re the one I owe. Forever,
from this day forward, you’ll have a place in my pack. You’re now a part, a
very large part, of my family. I can’t thank you enough… nor will my own mate
be able to thank you enough for what you’ve done for us.”
“I hurt him,” Brandi said again. “He…I
touched his cheek and he screamed. I think that whatever came out of me and
into him was something powerful. I think it might have burned through his
face.”