Bad Moon Rising - Paranormal Romance (7 page)

“Well you’re very welcome. I’m glad I was there to help.” His smile was genuine, but guarded.

Now what? She’d thanked him and the most appropriate thing would be to say goodbye, but she wasn’t ready to do that yet.

She wanted to ask him if he’d been the one to send the roses, but knew that she’d feel completely stupid if it hadn’t been him. Mya decided that she would prefer to continue thinking that it might have been him, than to find out for sure.

“Do you know the Metzger brothers? Did you know Ben Metzger?” Mya was already regretting the question before her words were completely out of her mouth. If Donny found out what she was doing, she could get into deep trouble. She just wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet and couldn’t think of anything else to say to him.

Mya pushed forward. At this point it wouldn’t matter too much, she was already in trouble so she might as well find out what she could. “What about the idea that he was a skinwalker? Do you know anything about that?”

“Are you here as a cop?” he asked, a frown marring his handsome face.

Mya shook her head. “No I’m not,” she answered quickly. She in no way wanted him to think that she wasn’t truly grateful for his help. “I just figured that since I’m already here … that maybe you might know something?”

He seemed to relax some. “I’ve heard rumors that he was a skinwalker.”

“Do you know anyone that might have targeted Ben because of these rumors?” she asked. Mya knew that she was treading on dangerous ground now, but she really wanted to clear him of suspicion, at least in her mind.

He shook his head. “People around here are afraid of skinwalkers … they usually keep their distance.”

“What about the
Sinapu
?” she asked, knowing by the look on his face that she’d taken it too far.

“What do you know about us?” he whispered.

“Not much,” she admitted. “Just that the
Sinapu
don’t care much for skinwalkers.” Mya felt her face redden as she told him only half the truth. She knew one thing for sure, if she planned to be a cop someday, she was definitely going have to learn to be a better actress.

He turned to stare out the passenger window. “We’re no different than anyone else out here,” he answered. “No one likes skinwalkers.”

There was really nothing else she could think to say. Until he was officially a suspect, she probably shouldn’t ask him about an alibi for the night Ben was killed.

Turning back to look at her, he asked, “Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

Mya opened her mouth to say something, but instead she just shook her head.

He removed his sunglasses and turned his head so that he was looking directly at her. Their eyes locked and Mya felt the air rush out of her lungs.

“Good … now it’s my turn.” Though he was smiling, his eyes reflected the turbulent storm that was brewing within him. “As long as you are on this reservation, you are in danger. Especially if you are seen with me.”

“You will never need to know what I’m talking about … if you leave this reservation and never come back.” There was a sharp edge to his voice that hadn’t been there before.

“That’s not an option,” Mya snapped. She was really starting to get upset with the fact that everyone seemed to want her to leave.

“It’s bad for you to be here … it’s bad for you to be with me right now,” he said, turning back to look at her. “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to protect you from them … or from me,” he added.

Mya’s mouth dropped open. In her mind she’d imagined her first meeting with David Bray at least a dozen times, but never once had it gone anything like this. “Is there some reason why you would want to hurt me?”

He shook his head. “I don’t
want
to hurt you, but it will happen if you stay. You’ll be hurt in more ways than one.”

Mya felt anger boiling up inside her. This was another fault of hers that didn’t blend well with police work. “What makes you think that I need protecting from you or anyone else? I can take care of myself.”

“Yes … I saw that the other night,” he smirked.

“That was an accident,” she insisted. “I had to swerve to avoid a deer.”

“No that was no accident … that was a skinwalker,” he stated in such a matter of fact way that he could as well have been saying that the accident was caused by a blown tire. There was absolutely no doubt in his voice.

At first Mya was speechless. What could she say to such a ridiculous assertion? “I doubt it. There’s no such thing as skinwalkers … not really,” Mya finally managed to spit out the words that had been caught in her throat.

“Don’t be stupid Mya. There are people here that want to hurt you … or that would use you for evil. You need to go away.”

Shocked, her mouth dropped open. What he was telling her was too much to process at once. She had a hundred questions, but all she could manage was one. “How do you know my name?”

He seemed amused by her surprise. “You’re not the only one that can do a little detective work.”

Mya decided that David Bray was way too good at putting her in defense mode. It was time to turn the tables. “Well I’m sure I’ll be talking to you again. I think you know more about the Metzger murder than what you are saying.”

“Is that so?” he laughed.

Mya nodded.

David drew his brows together in a scowl. “Let me give you a word of advice. Don’t come out here looking for me again … you might not like what you find.”

When she didn’t respond, he opened the door, but before getting out of the car, he turned back to face her. The next thing he did was so unexpected that she had no time to react. Leaning over, he brushed her lips with his. Though it was no more than a quick kiss, the warmth of his lips left her with a tingling sensation like no other kiss ever had.

“Sorry,” he gave her a sheepish grin. “I’ve wanted to do that since I saw you standing on the corner in Window Rock.”

Mya was still too astonished to say anything.

David got out of the car and was ready to walk away, but as if struck with an afterthought, he leaned over to peer at her through the open window. “I hope you’ll think about everything I’ve told you. You’re bad medicine sweetheart,” he winked. “It’s not good for you to be here.”

Mya watched him disappear inside the store. After he was gone, she quickly started the car and drove away. She didn’t want to be there when he left the store. It might make him think she was stalking him like some love struck girl.

Though she was already some distance from the store, Mya was still so shocked by his behavior that she didn’t know what to think. She was ashamed to admit that she hadn’t acted very professionally today. In fact, Mya found it almost impossible to be professional when it came to David Bray. He was basically a suspect in a homicide investigation, but she could not stop her heart from skipping a beat as she relived the moment that he’d kissed her.

How could she hope to act like a professional during this investigation, if one of the suspects could make her swoon just by being too close to her?

Mya was glad that it was a long drive back to Window Rock. There was a lot that she had to think about. Even when she put aside her encounter with David, she still had a feeling that something bad was unfolding. There was something really weird going on, and she was struck with the certainty that a lot depended on her finding out what that something was.

If that weren’t enough to muddle her head, there were also the bizarre feelings David Bray invoked in her. It was as if something or someone had taken control of her emotions and she was helpless to stop it. David was dangerous - she no longer had any doubt about this. Like some predator, he seemed to naturally radiate danger. It came from the very core of who he was.

Now that she was calm enough to think clearly, it dawned on her that’s exactly what he reminded her of. Being near him was like being too close to a wild animal. His movements were graceful - almost stealth-like, and though his nearness had rattled her, Mya had sensed something lethal hovering just beneath the surface of what he was allowing her to see.

It was like being in close proximity to a lion or tiger. Mya could only remember feeling that once before. It happened one night when she was fifteen. She’d been walking home from Jen’s house, just like she’d done a hundred times before. With no moon in the sky, the night was even darker than usual. There was the occasional streetlight, and a few illuminated porches, but that was all. She’d gotten about halfway home when she heard it, a low - viscous growl coming from the darkness behind her. Spinning around on her heels, she saw what she assumed was a large dog. It was following her.

Because the animal was sticking to the shadows, it was difficult to see enough detail to know for sure what kind of dog it was, but she could see that it was big.

It was then that she’d felt it - the heart pounding terror of being hunted. Her first reaction was to start running and it took every ounce of willpower that she possessed to keep from doing just that. Mya couldn’t remember where she’d heard it, but somewhere in the back of her mind she remember that if an animal were stalking you, the last thing you wanted to do is start running. Once it sensed your fear, the animal would go into attack mode.

Holding her breath, she’d walked the last block to her house. She couldn’t fight the urge to glance over her shoulder every few seconds. Each time she did, the animal was still there, keeping pace with her. Strangely enough, it never got any closer.

Being with David Bray gave her that same feeling of being too close to a predator, but without the intense fear that she’d felt that night. Though she sensed danger in him, it felt natural to be with him. Like that’s exactly where she was supposed to be. Nothing she was feeling made any sense.

Her head was spinning with so many unanswered questions that Mya was immensely relieved when she pulled up to the trailer and saw that Donny was back from Window Rock. She was practically bursting with curiosity about what had happened the last time she was in Arizona, and she also had a number of questions about David Bray and the
Sinapu
. What she knew about them was too vague. She wanted more information, especially if her life was really in danger as David had claimed.

From where she stood in the kitchen, she could see his closed bedroom door at the other end of the hallway. Realizing that she must have caught him while he was dressing, Mya sat at the kitchen table to wait. A few minutes later, she heard his bedroom door open.

When he entered the kitchen, Mya was a little shocked to see Donny all dressed up. He was wearing a white cowboy hat, and a shirt with an intricately embroidered Navajo design on the front.

Now it was Mya’s turn to scowl. “I talked to my mom today. She told me that I’ve been here before … and with the way she acted … I guess something happened. She didn’t want to talk about it over the phone, but you must know what happened.”

Donny glanced over at her and Mya noticed that his face had twisted into a grimace. She could tell that he wasn’t finding the conversation very pleasant, but that had been the case with most of their conversations over the last few days.

“You know that’s what she meant though,” he sighed.