How Beauty Saved the Beast (Tales of the Underlight) (12 page)

“She followed Hauk out the door. I caught them three inches from each other’s faces. Hated to break the moment.” She grinned deviously. “Then I realized Hauk was wearing lipstick.”

A jolt of happy surprise for his friend filled him. “Yes!” Brayden pumped a fist. Flying blond hair caught his attention. “Wait, what color was the lipstick?”

Catrina leaned in to see where he was looking. “Not baby pink. Darling, if you do something as stupid as you appear to be contemplating, Hauk may forget to protect your pretty face the next time you’re on a mission. And that would be such a shame.”

Blood heated Brayden’s cheeks as he turned to Catrina with his best impression of innocence. “What? Pff. I wouldn’t do that. Please. Just because two of the prettiest people I’ve met in months are both off limits because of him…” Jolie was knock-out gorgeous with the kind of curvy, athletic grace and self-assured smile he usually took a swing at.

But Ashley, well now, Ashley hit every weak and naughty button he had. He was just enough bad-boy to get a kick out of good-girls and—boys. They were so much fun to wind up and watch pop. When he was younger, it had been what he lived for. Now that he was a little older, a little more responsible, he tried to have more respect for naiveté.

He still thought innocence was a pointless extravagance, but somewhere along the way he’d realized not everybody shared this particular viewpoint. Some people, in fact, took exception to it. Hauk, particularly in this case, would be one of them.

“I saw you two dancing earlier. Tsk-tsk,” Catrina teased.

He shrugged but couldn’t stop the smile. “I saw Jolie heading back toward Hauk. I figured I’d give them a little time alone. It was all very selfless of me, I swear.” Totally selfless, considering how coyly Ashley smiled and how sweet she felt in his arms.

Ashley scanned the crowd, caught his eye and practically ran toward the bar, eyes wide and breath gasping.

Brayden hopped up. “What’s wrong?”

She put her hot little hand on his arm to steady herself. “He’s gone crazy!”

“Who?” Catrina hadn’t even bothered to get up.

“Wesley. He just…he lost it. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Brayden straightened up as nerves pricked along his spine. “It’s okay. He does that sometimes. What caused it?”

“And where’s Jolie?” Catrina asked, a trace of concern wrinkling her brow.

Ashley’s eyes widened. “He threw her over his shoulder and carried her off. I don’t know where they’re going.”

“
What
caused
it
?” he repeated.

“There was a fight outside the bar. When I went out there, it had already started.”

“Atrop S"-1r, eyeos?” Brayden grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the back exit. Police in the front and Atropos in the back? The party was a bleeding circus.

“What’s that?”

They passed through the curtains, and Brayden stopped. “What do you mean, what’s that? Who are the Hands of Atropos? How do you not know that?”

Shaking her head, she threw a hand up in confusion.

“I’ll explain later.” How long had she been in The Underlight? Maybe Atropos weren’t such a damnable nuisance in Cincinnati. He tugged her again, heading for the door. “Are they still out there?”

“No. Wesley was nuts. I thought he was going to kill somebody. The guys ran away just before Wesley picked Jolie up and walked off. She asked him to put her down. He wouldn’t do it. I’m worried what he’s going to do to her.”

So walking outside was pointless. Pretty much anything he could do was completely pointless. Great. He faked cool for Ashley’s sake. “He’s probably just taking her back to The Underlight. That’s what he did last time, anyway.”

“
There
was
a
last
time
?”

“Do you hear music?” There on the bench. Jolie’s purse. He picked it up and fished out her smartphone. “I love these.” He petted the plastic covetously, trying to distract himself from worrying over his friends. He didn’t
think
Hauk would hurt her.

Travis’s name was on the screen. He could be calling for any Underlighters, as Jolie was one of the few with a phone and Travis knew where she was… He swiped it on and, despite the situation, felt a techno-thrill. Eff the rules; he had to get one of these. He could do a lot of damage with this sort of technology. “Brayden on Red Hot’s phone.”

“Where’s Jolie?” Travis asked, voice full of tension. “No. I don’t care where she is. Where’s
Hauk
? I need to talk to him.”

Brayden blew out a breath. “He’s, er, heading for The Underlight.” Probably.

“I’ll catch him when he gets here. Thanks.”

The thanks had a “close of conversation” finality to it. “Whoa there, pardner. You’re going to want to wait until morning to do that.”

“Why? Oh, shit, did he change? Please tell me Jolie isn’t with him.”

“Sure. If you’d rather hear that than the truth.”

Travis yelled loud enough that Brayden pulled the phone away.

“That’s an impressive vocabulary you’ve got. Don’t stress, man. He’s probably just taking her back home to cuddle like he did last time. And if he’s not, frankly, I’m not sure what we’re going to do about it. You haven’t seen him like this.”

“Get home. We’ll figure something out.”

“But—”

“Get. Home.”

“Fine, fine. But meanwhile, get LaRoche. Hauk asked him to work on a tranq for special occasions like this. I don’t know if he’s done or not, but it’s probably our best bet.” He dropped the phone back in Jolie’s purse.

“How can you be so calm?” Ashley demanded.

“This isn’t my first rodeo, Goldilocks. I’ve seen Hauk like this Suk ?” Ashlebefore. He freaks out. He fights. He sleeps. It’s scary as hell, but so far nothing bad has come of it.” At least, that’s what he reminded himself when he wanted to piss his pants and scream like a preschooler. “I’m heading back to The Underlight. Have fun at the party without me.” Strangely, he didn’t like that idea.

Ashley straightened her spine. “I’m coming back with you.”

Brayden shifted weight from one foot to the other. “He’s probably still going to
be crazed. It’s going to be freaky.”

Her voice was strained and her eyes moonlike in her fear. But still she said, “It’s Hauk.”

Wow, that was so cute. Cool, even. Brayden rolled his eyes. “Come on. Let’s go. We’re taking Hauk’s bike.” Which meant she’d have to hold on to him for the ride home.

He really had to quit thinking of Hauk’s ex this way.

Chapter Nine

Jolie had tried begging. She’d tried cajoling. She’d tried beating on Hauk’s back like a crazy person. But nothing changed the cadence of his quick march through a mile or more of tunnels she hadn’t known existed. Each relentless step brought a little more bile to her throat. She wanted to trust that Hauk, even in his current state, wouldn’t hurt her. Right now she felt so damn helpless, though, and it was hard to forgive him for that when he wouldn’t
put
her
back
down
.

When they stepped through a door into the forge where Hauk worked, she breathed a sigh of relief. At least he had taken her back to The Underlight. What he planned on doing now that they were here, though, was what had kept her worried her every jolting stride of the way.

Last time he’d climbed into bed and fallen asleep with her in his arms. She hoped he had a similar plan in mind. Being forced into anything grated against her nerves, but if he’d asked her to spend the night, she’d have said yes.

She had no idea what she was going to do if he had anything more carnal in mind. Despite that Hauk wasn’t making his own decisions, she didn’t know if she could forgive him. He’d never forgive himself; she knew that beyond a doubt.

Two steps outside of his room, somebody yelled “
Go
!” and Brayden, Travis, Tally and LaRoche surrounded them. Ashley watched from the hallway, every bit as bug-eyed as she had been earlier.

Hauk set Jolie on the floor and popped back up to ready stance. “What are you doing?” Jolie asked, unsure if she should thank them or curse them as idiots.

“It’s okay! We got this!” Travis yelled, waving his hands.

Hauk spun toward the sound but kept one foot touching Jolie.

“Are you mental?” she asked. “You can’t fight him.”

Travis kept his movements flaring wildly. “I don’t plan on it.”

While Hauk leaned one way, Brayden grabbed Jolie’s feet and tugged, trying to drag her backward. “We’re rescuing you,” he whispered.

Without turning from Travis, Hauk stuck the heel of his boot under Brayden’s chin.

“Oh, God,” Brayden choked out.

Jolie tried to stand up. “Hauk! These are your friends. Don’t friendրO” With a firm hand on her shoulder, Hauk shoved her back down. “Fuck!”

“Shoot him,” LaRoche said.

“What?” Jolie yelled. “No!”

Tally, blue eyes wide, raised a rifle.

Hauk lost what cool he had. He wrenched the gun from her hands and smashed it.

LaRoche shoved his girlfriend behind him. Hauk picked him up by the collar and slammed him into the ceiling.

Brayden and Travis went for his hands, trying to pry LaRoche free. Hauk kneed Travis in the groin, and he fell with a curse. With a hip check, Brayden went sprawling.

“Hauk!” Jolie yelled. “Stop it! Stop it!”

“Jolie!” Tally yelled as she rolled a syringe along the ground. “Hit his thigh. If you can.”

Jolie uncapped it and looked back at the rifle. It was a tranq gun. They were trying to tranq him. She hated to do it, but this was a disaster that could get dangerous. “Hauk, I’m sorry.” She reached up and injected the contents into his inner thigh.

He shuddered, and LaRoche went crashing to the floor.

Hauk stepped back, and the needle snapped. He looked down, saw Jolie with the syringe, and the confusion on his face morphed into betrayal. The drugs kicked in and he fell forward. As his big body hurtled toward her Jolie braced for impact.

It never came. He landed on his forearms just above her, accusing eyes boring down into hers.

“I’m sorry!” Jolie whispered. “You were hurting your friends. You don’t want to do that.”

The angry set of his jaw never changed as his eyes closed. He settled on top of her, his arms curled around her in a clenching embrace.

And he was still.

For a moment the crowd stood around, just breathing.

“Is he out?” Brayden finally asked.

Tally took a tentative step toward him.

“Tally…” LaRoche warned between pain-clenched teeth.

Jolie squirmed. “Okay, I can’t breathe here.” She managed to rotate until Hauk slid on his side. Though still trapped in his arms, she could at least take a full breath. “He let me move. He’s out.” She’d been in crazy-Hauk’s sleep grip of thou-shalt-stay-put before, and she’d stayed put until he let her up. “What were you thinking, attacking him like that?”

Travis answered, “We were thinking of rescuing you from a volatile death machine.”

“You could have gotten yourselves killed.” She sighed. “Thank you.”

Tally pressed two fingers against Hauk’s throat. “His pulse is steady. I think you got it right, babe. Let’s get Jolie extracted. Brayden—”

“Nuh-uh,” Brayden said. “Last time I tried to take her away from passed-out Hauk, I got tossed across the room. I’m not doing that again.”

Tally tried lifting Hauk’s arm and managed to budge it a few inches. “That was when he was normal passed out, not sedated. I’d be shocked if he’s able to respond now.” She grunted. “But he’s still damn heavy.”

LaRoche pushed away from the wall. “It’s my formula. I’ll help.”

While Tally and LaRoche pulled up [he n craon Hauk’s arm to give her some space, Jolie wriggled down his body. “What did you knock him out with?”

LaRoche answered, “He doesn’t respond to normal drugs. I hypothesize that he instantly metabolizes them.”

Jolie squirmed free.

LaRoche sat back down and shook out his black braids, clearing his head. “He’d asked me to design a special formula for him in case, well, in case of an event like this.”

Tally sat next to him, blonde pixie cut and fair complexion a yin-yang to his deep ebony skin as they leaned shoulder to shoulder. Though they worked together on most projects, she was the mechanical genius and LaRoche the chemist. At only sixteen and seventeen, respectively, they were the smartest pair Jolie had ever met.

Tally reached out and stroked Hauk’s arm. She and Hauk seemed to have a soft spot for each other, in a big brother/little sister sort of way. “We’ve never had a reason to test the formula out before. The hope is he’ll progress into his normal healing sleep and wake up like he would from any other rage state, feeling refreshed and miraculously unscathed.” She gave a puckish grin. Hauk had only recently acknowledged his post-rage sleep came with spectacular healing powers, but that grin said Tally had figured it out a while ago.

Hauk had a hard time admitting magic existed, even when he saw it. Even when it was happening to him.

Tally stood and offered a hand down to her boyfriend. “Shall we get him into bed?”

Travis groaned. “Seriously? Carrying duty? Again?”

Jolie snorted. “You want his ass this time?”

“I wouldn’t deny you the pleasure.”

Together, the six of them—Jolie, Tally, LaRoche, Travis, Brayden and Ashley—made quick work of removing Hauk’s jacket and boots and getting him tucked into bed as Jolie told them about the fight at the club.

Once Hauk was installed under the covers, Brayden turned to Travis with a severe expression. “Let me see it.”

“See what?” Jolie asked.

“The inspiration behind this near-suicidal rescue attempt. No offense, but I’m not risking my neck to stop him from cuddling you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jolie said, though she couldn’t blame him.

Travis said, “My laptop’s out of juice, but it’s in Dr. Echelson’s office at the university recharging. We can head up there.”

“You’re talking about one of the videos? What’s on the video?” Jolie asked. “Did you make a shared drive?” If so, they didn’t have to go to the office; her phone would play it. She rubbed her forehead. “Crap. I left my purse at the club.” When she looked back up, Brayden shook it at her. “Oh. Thanks.”

Travis explained how to get to the drive, and Jolie pulled it up on the little screen. Everybody gathered around the phone to see.

The video was black and white and soundless. The interior of a small room, like a dorm almost, with almost no decorations and a locker for clothing. A man in a military T-shirt and camo pants sat in a rumpled bed, writing in a plain notebook. His light-colored hair was Army-regulation short, his shoulders broad and muscular. Tribal tattoos, like Hauk’s but smaller, decorated his right arm. He tilted his face up toward the camera.

Jolie forgot to breathe. Hauk’s eyes stared ou [yese univet of the man’s handsome face.

“Oh my God…” she muttered.

“It’s the fire,” Travis said softly. “
The
fire. They have a recording of it. This has got to be what they didn’t want us to see.”

“Oh my God,” she said louder. The action on the video was important, but so was this. How she wished the image was in color. Hitting pause, she turned to study the live man on the bed then back to the face on the screen. Unrecognizable.

Hauk’s laugh, boisterous and affable, suited him. His real face was strong but not stark. Defined enough to be masculine but soft enough to be friendly. A face to come home to. “He said he wasn’t a looker,” she said dumbly, still fascinated.

“Yeah,” Ashley said wistfully. “Wesley always did think that. Silly man.”

“This is very interesting,” Brayden said. “But the fire? Travis said he did it.”

That woke her up. “What? Did it? Set the fire?”

“And killed his squad,” Brayden added.

Travis hit Play. The altercation was short but brutal. The men came in, packing the room. Hauk stood and they surrounded him. So much talking at once; she wished she could hear it. They tried to force Hauk to the ground.

The beast took over. There was no hesitance in his motions as he went for one man’s throat then broke another’s leg. He grabbed a coffee pot off a camp stove, slammed it into somebody’s head then grabbed the stove itself.

One of his squadmates got it in the face. The stove dropped to the bed. The sheets caught fire. Hauk reached for the camera and the video ended.

Jolie felt ill.

The room was silent, each person turning to the others as if seeking some explanation for what they’d seen.

But there wasn’t one. Hauk had gone into a rage and killed seven of his friends.

“I have to go,” Ashley said. She turned, twitching like a frightened animal.

Brayden grabbed her hand. “Are you okay?”

“No.”

His own face paling, Brayden motioned at the door. “I’m going to…” Taking Ashley’s arm to steady her, he helped her out of the room.

“We’re going to…too,” LaRoche said with a sympathetic glance at Jolie. She nodded.

Tally touched her shoulder. “I think there was more to the story. I don’t know what, but I know Hauk.”

LaRoche squeezed her arm. “We all trust Hauk, Tally. I’m just not sure when he does that that it
is
Hauk anymore.”

She clenched her jaw stubbornly. “He would’ve hurt Brayden by now.”

LaRoche shook his head. “Brayden’s only seen him like that a couple of times, all when Hauk was in danger.” He turned to Jolie with a curious frown. “Actually, I think Jolie may have seen him enraged more than anyone at this point.”

Travis folded his arms. “That’s because almost everyone who’s seen him like that is dead.”

“Travis,” Jolie said, warning in her tone.

He lifted a hand, pacifying. “Look, I’m not trying to start a fight and I’m not trying to be mean. He would hate himself if he [imssizhurt you. You being around him when he’s like that is dangerous for both of you.”

Tally reached for Hauk’s foot, as if to squeeze goodbye.

LaRoche pulled her back. “Tally…”

She yanked her arm from his and approached the bed. Chin up, she put her hand on Hauk’s toes. Squeezed. He didn’t move. “I trust him.” She took her boyfriend’s arm. “And I trust your formula. Let’s go.”

Taking courage from the departing woman, Jolie sat on the brown quilt next to Hauk. When he still didn’t move, she touched his arm then ran her palm soothingly down it. She’d been so sure there was a piece of him still in there when he raged.

She had also been so sure he was innocent.

Anger was easier than fear, and anger at Ananke she could have aplenty. Hauk didn’t need to hurt her to feel self-loathing; he’d have that as soon as he saw this video. “Why would they care if we know he’s guilty? Seems like that’s something they’d proudly rub our faces in. It makes us mistrustful of our best defensive asset.”

Travis shrugged. “I’ll take another look tomorrow, but I watched every video on the drive. If there’s anything else of interest I didn’t see it.” He took a tentative step toward her and rested a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not mad, right? We were worried about you.”

Jolie shook her head. Travis was the messenger, not the problem. “I still think he was just dragging me back here to sleep, like he did last time.”

“But we can’t know that for sure,” Travis said. They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment. “You staying?” he finally asked.