This building looked like it had money. And
a great deal of it. He pulled into the lot after giving his name to the
attendant at the gate and parked. Mother fuck, if she worked here he might just
have her hang onto this gig while he took her checks. She didn’t need anything,
not living in that dive she’d been in.
Reggie had been back twice to the hotel.
She’d not returned according to the guy who ran the desk. She’d been hurt, he’d
heard, and was now recuperating at some friend’s house. Reggie just bet she
was. Probably fucking him too.
He’d never wanted his stepdaughter
sexually. In fact, he’d never wanted her mother that way either, but she was a means
to an end. He needed to seem stable, and both of them had given him that
allusion. At least until she started to piss him off and he’d had to knock her
around a bit. Stupid bitch shouldn’t have whined so much. Now he had no wife,
no job, and a stepdaughter that he wanted to use. Laughing, he got out of the
car.
The woman at the desk was smart-looking.
Pretty, and she seemed to be…Christ, was she sniffing him? He smiled
uncomfortably at her as he approached her desk.
“My name is Officer Reginald Wall. I’m
here to speak to the owner or foreman of the company, please. It’s about a
runaway.” Not the best line he’d ever used, but it worked. “She might be
working for his company.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but without a warrant I
can’t give you that information.” She answered the ringing phone, dismissing
him. He waited. He wasn’t going to be blown off. When she hung up, he tried the
hand on the gun trick with her. He knew immediately that she wasn’t impressed.
“I only need to know if she works here.
I’m not asking you for where she is. You can give me that without a warrant,
can’t you?” He grinned at her and she frowned. “It’s all good.”
“No, it’s not. Now, if you don’t have a
warrant then I would suggest you go and get one. Otherwise, I’m calling
security and having your butt taken out of here, gently or not.” She stood up
and he took a step back, he was so intimidated by her size. “There’s the door,
Mr. Wall. Use it your way or mine.”
He left. He was pulling out of the lot
when he realized two things. One, they had his license plate number, and two,
she’d called him “Mr.”, not officer. The fucking bitch worked for them and, not
only that, but she had told them he was coming.
The place where he was staying now was a
dive. He’d gone through his money pretty fast. Much faster than he’d thought possible.
But then he’d tried to make it more by buying lotto tickets. All he got for his
trouble was a lousy two bucks and a sore thumb rubbing the shit off.
He tried to figure out where she was. The
signs the company had all over town were too many to try and figure out just
which one she worked at. He thought about how long it would take to go from
place to place and decided it would be quicker to simply go to one of the
sites, nab a worker, and get the information from them. Easy as pie.
He moved to the bathroom and stripped
down. He needed to get himself some extra clothes or find someone to wash the
ones he had. It wasn’t his job to do his own laundry and he wondered how much
it would cost to have them cleaned. He glanced at his uniform and realized it
was going have to be sooner rather than later. He was getting to be pretty
rank.
Pulling out the phone book, he looked up
addresses. He had to figure out where to find the stupid girl and have her do
what he wanted. There was no reason for her to treat him this way. He found
listings for ninety-seven Wolfes. There wasn’t even a first name on the company,
so he had nothing to go on. He tossed the book across the room and settled on
the bed. He was exhausted. More than that, he was hurting and not sleeping well.
The sooner he found her, the better, because he wanted to get going. He wanted
to be gone by the time she was cut up the first time. Closing his eyes he tried
to rest, but couldn’t. He decided that he’d go to the track and watch. He
wasn’t going to gamble, only watch. Smiling, he thought,
right, and pigs
will fly,
but got into the car and drove to the race track he’d found
earlier in the week.
~~~
Mac watched Brandi. She was upset,
anyone could see that, but she wasn’t speaking. Not yet, at any rate. Chelsea
looked at her, then at her alpha as she continued.
“He’s a piss ant, if you ask me. As soon
as I stood up to kick his bottom he lit out the door like he was on fire.” She
failed to make anyone laugh. “I wasn’t going to hurt him; I was just trying to
get him out of the office.”
“But he might have hurt you.” Brandi got
up from the table they’d been sitting at and began to pace. His dad shook his
head when he started to pull her into his arms again. “He’s got a license to
hurt anyone he wants. Including those the thinks might keep him from what he
wants.”
“And what is it he wants?” Bradley had
come over with Chelsea. He’d called to say he needed to speak to Brandi and
that it was about her dad.
“Me. Well, not really me, but what I can
do? He thinks he can sell me to some lab and they’ll pay him top dollar for my
brain.” She snorted. “I wouldn’t doubt that he thinks he can get millions for
me.”
“He could. Now. You’ve changed and if he
were to get you now it would not be simply for your brain. Your entire DNA has changed. You’re more than you ever were before.” Mac spoke softly and she looked at him.
“It’s because you’re my mate and the fact that we’ve exchanged blood.”
“And if he gets me and they cut into me,
it’ll give away that you exist.” She sat down hard on the floor. “If they find
out you’re real then…then…”
“Then none of us are safe,” Bradley
finished for her. “But he won’t get you, Andi. None of us will let him.”
“You don’t know him like I do. He’s
unstable. And I think he killed my mom.”
Mac felt her pain.
“I’ve been trying to contact her for
months and the number is disconnected. I’ve thought about calling the police
there, but he works for them and he might figure out where I am.”
Mac’s aunt Pete, the one who had
delivered him and Lizzy a long time ago, came into the room. She’d been set up
in the dining room and was trying to find as much information as she could on
Reginald Wall. She could hack a computer and find information faster than
anyone he knew.
“He’s no longer a cop. Not in Glassman
anyway. I doubt very much he is anywhere. He was let go for spousal abuse. A
lot of spousal abuse. Apparently, he was let go over two years ago. His badge,
as well as his gun and car, were taken from him.” Pete looked somber as she
continued. “The police are going to search your home for your mom. His ex-captain
said the house has been closed up for some time. I sort of gave him the push to
go there and look around. We should know something by tomorrow.”
“You think she’s dead too?”
Pete nodded at Brandi’s question.
“I figured as much. She never stood up
to him when she was married to him and didn’t do shit for me when I was hurt by
him. I love her, but lost respect for her years before I left home.”
“He’s driving a stolen car and is
staying in a dive on Linden Avenue. I hope you don’t mind, alpha, but I sent a
group of your more…aggressive men over to keep an eye on the place.” Pete
grinned at Bradley. “They’ve been asked to keep an eye on him and nothing more,
but if he gets out of line they’re to show him the error of his ways.”
Brandi laughed and his heart hurt for
her. Mac stood up and pulled her into his arms. He was just sitting down when
his dad’s cell rang. He grinned when he put it on speaker.
“I found the little pisser. He’s sitting
at the tracks on our property. I tell you, the guy is a real moron when it
comes to placing bets.” Dominic’s voice rang through loud and clear. “Do you
suppose we can make it so he wins so he’ll leave?”
“He doesn’t know the meaning of the word
quit. He’ll just keep going until he takes all you’ll give him and, even if he
were to lose, he’d continue to win it back. It’s one of his many faults.” Brandi
leaned into the phone now lying on the table. “How does he look? Is he still
beat to shit?”
Dominic laughed. “Hell yeah. Remind me
never to piss you off, little girl. His face looks like he’s gone a couple
rounds with a champ and, if his body movements are true, then I’d say you’ve
busted up a few ribs too. And he is wearing a pair of pants and a shirt that
looks like he stole them from someone twice his size. And he fucking stinks.”
“That would be him. Never borrow what
you can steal and never ever do women’s work if there was a female close at
hand to do it for you.” Brandi looked at him. “Mac, I can leave now and he’ll
never get here.”
“No. You and I are together and, no
matter what happens, we’re one.” He kissed her mouth.
“Besides I like making
love with you. You’re very good at keeping me sated.”
She squirmed on his lap and he wrapped
his arm around her. If she kept this up they’d be leaving this meeting and
going back to bed. Hell, he was still trying to think why they’d left it
anyway. She moved once more and he groaned. Christ, he was a dead man.
“If you two are going to do that then
I’m going to find my own mate. Either help or go away.” Mac started to stand
when his father told him to sit. Bradley looked at all of them and growled,
calling them, “spoiled sports.”
“I, for one, want this resolved. We have
a rogue vampire on the loose and a human that is trying to hurt my daughter.” His
dad took Brandi’s hand as he continued. “Tell us what you know about him. When
he wins, what does he do to celebrate? Will he find a female to keep him
company for the night? Will he drink?”
“No. I don’t think he likes women all
that much. I’m not saying he’s gay, but women aren’t his cup of tea. My mom
told me once he seemed to enjoy pain more than she did. I think he’s a sadist.”
“Could be. Maybe that’s why hitting you
was something he did. He could have been getting his jollies that way.” Mac
grinned when she pretended to gag. “I’ve seen worse in men and women.”
“Okay, so I’ll keep an eye on this prick
and I have a few wolves here that are going to take over when it’s too hot for
me.” Mac had forgotten about Dominic. “If you guys think of something or I see
something, I’ll ring you back. And master, could you make sure my mate doesn’t
overdo it? We’re expecting again.”
Pete flushed and told her mate she was
killing him when she saw him again. After the connection was closed everyone
congratulated her and Mac hugged her tight. He hoped that his scent was all
over her because he liked fucking with his uncle. Mac looked up when someone, a
ghost, entered the room.
“I have a need of you necromancer. I was
sent here by another.”
Mac nodded and whispered to the room
someone had come for him. He glanced at Brandi and saw her looking at the man
as well. “You can see him?”
She nodded then shook her head. “I don’t
know what I see. It’s like a person, but he’s…well, I was going to say faded,
but that isn’t very nice, is it?”
“He’s really there. Can you speak to
him?”
“Hello.”
The specter grinned at her and stepped
closer.
“My name is Andi. What is it we can do
for you?”
“It’s you I seek. I was told that you
are the one that can help me. He killed me today and I need someone to help me
get home. I need to…my wife needs me.”
Before Mac could tell him that he
couldn’t go back, the man continued.
“The man who killed me has my address.
She won’t be able to protect herself without me there.”
“Do you know who it was that killed
you?”
The specter nodded at Brandi.
“Maybe we can send someone there to
protect her. Can you tell me where you lived?”
Everyone but his dad moved out of the
room. Mac was used to dealing with and helping those to cross over and was in
awe at Brandi when she seemed to do it so easily. He didn’t say anything, but
watched them both. The man didn’t seem to want anything but help for his wife.
She gave the address to his dad and what
she needed for him to do. He said he’d send her help. The man beamed at her.
She smiled back.
“You are new to him, aren’t you?”
She nodded.
“You are very kind to me and I will let
the others know. I won’t have them bombard you, but I will tell them of your
kindness.”
“Will you move on now? Will you go to
where you need to go?”
He nodded and frowned.
“I promise you that she’ll be protected.
I know that you have no reason to believe me, but she will. This man”—she
pointed to his dad—“he’ll do whatever necessary to keep her safe.”
“Thank you. I owe you a great deal. If
you should need me, you need only to think of me and I’ll come to you. I know
that I should move on, but I want to help you.”
Brandi nodded.
“You’re the best thing I’ve seen in many
years.”
Then he was gone.
Chapter 15