Dirty Blood (36 page)

“Go,” he shouted, swiping at the other wolf with
extended claws. I had no doubt Jack would be okay. He was easily
three times the size of the other wolf and the other wolf seemed to
realize this, as we hurried out of sight.

At the top, I hesitated, glancing left and then
right. “Which way do you think?”

“What about there?” Grandma pointed down a narrow
hallway that curved out of sight. The tiniest hint of light shone
from around its corner, making the metal walkway gleam with
promise.

“Let’s go,” I said.

We hurried forward and then pulled up short at the
corner, peeking around it. The walkway ended a few feet away, at a
single closed door. Light peeked out at the bottom, casting a
shadow on some movement inside.

“Stay behind me,” Grandma whispered. “Ready?”

I nodded, and we crept forward. We reached the door,
and Grandma paused with her hand on the knob, listening. No sounds
came from inside, and my heart pounded in my chest loud enough I
was afraid they’d hear it downstairs. Grandma nodded at me, a
fierce determination in her eyes, and then pushed the door
wide.

I blinked once against the glare of the fluorescent
lighting. In the center of the room was my mother, her hands high
over her head, held by a thick rope, and a gag stuffed in her
mouth. Her eyes went wide at the sight of us, and she began
vigorously shaking her head. Grandma rushed over to her, and I
stepped fully into the room. Something moved on my right, but I
wasn’t fast enough. A hand – human and fisted – shot out and
connected with my right temple, and I felt my knees buckle. My
vision blurred and all I could hear was a ringing sound, pounding
shrilly in my ears. Then, I slid to the floor, as everything went
dark.

~ 36 ~

A stinging slap across my face jarred me into
consciousness. My head swung to the side and my eyes stung with
sharp tears. A bass drum throbbed a beat between my temples. I
struggled to focus on my latest attacker. My grandmother stared
back at me. She was crouched down in front of me, her brows and
forehead crinkled with worry. My jaw dropped.

“Did you just slap me?”

“I did.” She nodded, looking a little relieved.

“Why?”

“To wake you up, obviously. We need to find a way out
of here and we can’t do that if you’re unconscious.” She rose and
began wandering along the wall, running her hands over it.

I stared at her back, still shocked. “But… you
slapped me,” was all I could say.

“Would you rather I leave you here, to sleep it off,
while I escape alone?” she asked, without turning.

She was closely inspecting a pipe that ran down the
wall, across from where I sat. We were in a dimly lit room, the
size of a large closet, and we were alone.

“Where’s Mom?” I asked, slowly pulling myself to my
feet, and rubbing a lump that was making my head thud with every
blink.

“I don’t know. Back where we found her, I imagine. It
was a trap, obviously. Though I’m sure they didn’t expect me to be
with you. They had a serious fight on their hands, too, let me tell
you. They might’ve got me in here, but I was conscious the entire
time.” She gave up on the pipe and turned back to me, a gleam in
her eye. “Which means, I know exactly how to get us out of here.”
She frowned. “But it also means that Leonard will be along sooner
rather than later.”

“Mom said he’s my uncle,” I said.

She came over to me and pulled me in for a quick hug.
“A story for another time, hon. We need to get moving.”

I didn’t even feel surprised that she’d just
confirmed it as truth. I was sort of numb to surprises by now.

She walked towards the door and I followed, not sure
what we were going to accomplish. It was metal and sealed tight.
Grandma banged on it and stepped back. I started to tell her that
wasn’t going to yield results but a second later it swung open. A
man, with wiry muscles and a graying beard, stood on the other
side, flanked by four wolves. He didn’t come any closer, but he
regarded Grandma with a dangerous glint. There was a fierce energy
about him.

“Leonard,” Grandma said, her small hands fisting at
her sides.

“Edie, what a surprise. Was there a family reunion no
one told me about?”

Grandma took a step and Leo clicked his tongue at
her. “This is close enough.” Then his eyes flicked to me, and his
expression hardened. “Tara and I have… business. Then we’ll
talk.”

Grandma sidestepped, blocking me from Leo’s view.
“You and me first,” she said.

Something thudded behind Leo and he turned. One of
the wolves flanking him, the one farthest in the back, dropped to
the floor, and lay still. Grandma took advantage of the distraction
and launched herself at Leo. He turned back just in time and jumped
out of the way, sending Grandma’s fist into a waiting Werewolf.
Antsy to jump in and help, I reached down to my boot and came up
empty. I felt my pocket, where the gun had been. Nothing.

That was when I realized our weapons were gone.

A commotion began, with the remaining two guard
wolves, and I strained to see beyond Grandma and the wolf that was
snapping at her. Someone – or possibly something - let out a yelp.
A human hand clamped down on my ponytail, dragging me backwards
down a side hallway.

“Keep your mouth shut and your mother and grandmother
might
survive,” Leo hissed in my ear.

I didn’t answer. I was too busy trying not to lose my
footing as he pulled me out of sight. We rounded another corner,
and the catwalk became more of a platform, to cut across to the
other side of the warehouse. I used the railing to keep from
falling as Leo continued to pull me along, by my ponytail. Below
me, I could hear the sounds of the fight, a growling, grunting hum
of bodies in motion. My shoes caught on the lip of metal that
signaled we’d reached the other side, and Leo turned and shoved me
into a room. My shoulder thudded into the wall, and I was pretty
sure a handful of hair came loose from my scalp. Leo’s hand stayed
firmly around my ponytail.

He crossed quickly to the other side and, using his
free hand, began punching numbers into a wall mounted keypad that
hung next to another door. I knew I had only a few seconds while
Leo was distracted, and still in human form. I could only hope that
would give me an advantage, since there were absolutely no weapons
to be had. As hard as I could, I jabbed my shoulder into Leo’s rib
cage. He let out a surprised, “Ow,” and his grip on my hair
loosened. I jabbed again with my elbow and his hand came free. I
scrambled away and managed to dodge Leo’s fist, already sailing
through the air, aimed at my face.

He was fast, even as a human, and his next hit landed
against my shoulder, driving me back and throwing me off balance.
He would’ve been on me then, but Jack appeared in the doorway,
shoving his way in and sinking his teeth into Leo’s ankle. Leo’s
knees buckled and he sank to the floor.

“Jack,” I said. My muscles went weak with relief.

The second Leo went down, Jack was on him, teeth
heading straight for Leo’s throat. Leo managed to push him aside
and then rolled away, his body blurring and fading around the
edges. By the time he rolled to his feet, Leo was a wolf. I stepped
back as far as I could, my back hitting the wall near the locked
door. This room was getting smaller and smaller. Then, another wolf
appeared in the doorway; its russet fur heaving up and down with
labored breaths.

Wes watched Jack and Leo and then looked over at me.
“Can you get around them?”

“I don’t know. But you need to find my mother. And
Grandma.”

“I’m right here, hon. Oh.” Grandma appeared behind
Wes and stopped short at the sight of the two Werewolves snapping
and clawing at each other in the tiny space.

“Go find my mother. I’ll be fine with Jack,” I said,
not really seeing a way to maneuver safely around them.

Grandma nodded, but Wes hesitated. I stared at him,
eyes pleading, and Grandma took it all in. “Come on, let’s go get
my daughter. Then, we’ll come back to watch Jack finish off this
useless sack,” she said. When Wes still didn’t move, she tugged at
him, and he reluctantly turned and followed her.

I watched for an opening; a way around Leo and Jack.
I couldn’t really attempt it, though, even past Jack. He was too
caught up in the fight, and could just as easily snap at me as Leo,
if I tried to push past him. They came at each other, over and
over, neither one really gaining ground against the other. There
wasn’t really any ground to gain. It was an even match, in age and
experience, and I wondered if it would come down to simply stamina.
I had no doubt Jack could beat him, though. He was ferocious.

I leaned back, shrinking away as a claw – I couldn’t
tell whose – swiped dangerously close to where I stood. The wall
gave way and opened inward and I had to catch myself from falling.
I turned. The door that Leo had been working on yawned open into
the darkness beyond. I didn’t even glance back as I stepped
through, and pushed it shut behind me. It banged closed with an
echo. I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. The sounds
of the fight behind me were muffled now; there was no way to tell
who was hurting who. I wondered if I should go back. What if Jack
needed me? What if my mother wasn’t where we’d left her?

I heard the click of the switch at the same time an
overhead fluorescent flickered to life. I blinked, and saw that I
wasn’t alone. Miles was leaning against the far wall, about twenty
feet away, just next to a short set of stairs, with EXIT painted in
peeling letters. His hands were in his pockets. He had a jagged
looking cut on his jaw that was already beginning to heal.

“Where are we?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Attic, I think. The roof’s up
there.”

A muffled snarl came through the door behind me.
“Jack and Leo,” I explained.

Miles cocked his head to the side. “You’re so much
more resourceful than he gives you credit for. It’s probably the
only reason you’re still alive. Well, that and dumb luck.”

Another snarl, louder than before. I winced. “I
should go help Jack.”

“Not enough room,” he said, shaking his head. “They’d
shred you. Both of them.”

I sighed. “I have to do something. I can’t just hide
out here all night.”

He pushed off from the wall and strode over to me. He
stopped and bent his head down, so that his face hovered an inch
from mine. “Yes, you can. Stay with me.”

I tried taking a step back, uncomfortable with our
closeness, and the way he looked at me. But my back was already
against the wall. I looked away. His lips hovered over my cheek,
instead. “You should be out there fighting, too.”

“You don’t want to stay with me?”

His hot breath blew in my face, and my stomach
twisted. “Miles-”

The door behind us was wrenched open, and I fell
backwards. Miles’ hand reached out and caught me, inches before
Leo’s sharpened teeth did. I whirled to face him and took an
automatic step back, bumping into Miles. He didn’t move out of the
way. My skin crawled.

“What the hell?” Leo growled. “Why is she still
alive?” He was looking at Miles.

“We were talking,” said Miles. There was no trace of
fear or anxiety in his voice. He sounded annoyed and bored.

“I told you, she’s not going to turn,” Leo said.

“She might, if she understood what we’re offering,”
said Miles.

Something about the easy way he answered, the
familiarity with which they spoke to each other, triggered alarm in
me and I tried to step away. Miles hand clamped down on my wrist,
holding me in place. I looked past Leo, for Jack. He wasn’t
there.

“What are you doing, Miles?” I whispered.

“Giving you a choice,” he said.

I twisted around, so I could see his face, which I
instantly regretted. He was close. We were nose to nose. “What
choice?” I kept my voice as even as I could, but I knew I sounded
freaked. “Why are you talking to him like that? He’s the
enemy.”

“He’s
your
enemy,” said Miles. He smiled down
at me, and I suppose he meant it to be friendly and inviting, but
it wasn’t. It was creepy and calculating, and I began to
realize…

“You’re working with him?”

Miles looked past me, back to Leo, and his smile
twisted into a grimace. “Don’t have a choice, do I, dear old
dad?”

“Shut up. You’re telling her too much,” said Leo.
“Kill. Her. Now.”

I tensed, but Miles seemed utterly relaxed. He was
looking at me again. I swallowed. “He’s your dad? As in, you’re my
cousin?” I asked.

“I always wanted a big family,” he said. His free
hand went around my waist, holding me still inside the circle of
his arm. He leaned in, inching his lips toward mine, and I had to
struggle not to gag. He stopped and hovered with his lips just a
breath from mine. His eyes were still open and he was watching my
reaction. I couldn’t help the horror that must’ve shown in my face.
He frowned and eased back. “No? Not going for it, huh?”

“No,” I said, on an exhale. Had he really just been
about to kiss me? That was beyond gross.

“Ah well. Shame. I’d hoped we could work together.
You have so much potential. But…” He looked back at Leo. “You win
again.” Then his hands released me and he shoved me back through
the door, straight for Leo.

I stumbled and then sidestepped Leo, back into the
tiny room. Leo regarded me with a look I couldn’t read. Probably
because I didn’t speak ‘crazy’. There was blood on the floor at his
feet, but I tried to ignore that. Where was Jack? Maybe I didn’t
want to know.

A furry form appeared in the doorway and I almost
cried. “Jack!”

“Tara?” He was panting and there was a shallow cut on
his leg. “I didn’t know where you went. I was looking for you. Leo
said you ran off…” He trailed off and glared at Leo.