Six Months (34 page)

I rolled my eyes. “I’m going to mingle,” I said, kicking back my chair.

Maddox caught my wrist. “Maybe you should sit.”

“I want to put some music on, and they have a jukebox in the back. Let your pet take a walk.”

“Whoa!” Randall exclaimed with a boisterous laugh. “Looks like you got this one nipping at your heels there, Maddox.”

“Don’t wander far,” Maddox said, giving me a curt nod.

I couldn’t hate him. As much as I tried, he was good to me. I’d never felt controlled or bossed around by him, and his assertive behavior was derived from concern. That much I could see in his grey eyes.

I touched his shoulder and walked down the length of the bar toward the jukebox—a popular music player that most of the Breed bars had. There was something nostalgic about them, and this one was free.

I leaned over the machine and began my search.

“Hot damn.” Someone hissed from behind.

I peered over my shoulder to get a look at him. “Take a picture; it’ll last longer.”

His eyes widened and he stalked in my direction, his flannel shirt and bushy sideburns a dubious fashion statement.

Great going, April! Your mom would be proud
, my inner voice said with derision.

“I’m Stu, and you were just about to give me your number,” he declared, leaning next to me on the jukebox.

“Sure thing!” I exclaimed, twisting around to face him. “It’s right here.” I pointed at my choker. “Sorry, you got a busy signal. Try again later.”

A sexy smirk slid up his cheek. “Human, huh? Interesting. Never been with one, but you seem just as feisty as any of these other Shifters.”

I frowned a little, wiping a strand of hair away from my face. “I don’t think you get it. I can’t talk to you.”

He slowly bit his bottom lip and held it that way for a minute, looking down the length of my body in a way that made me turn back and review the song selections again. Shifter men were persistent, but this guy was just an asshole.

Stu leaned in close. “Feel like being a bad girl and breaking a few rules? He’ll never find out.”

I pushed a button and loud murmurs were drowned out by the classic “Who Made Who?” I turned around and leaned on my elbows, scoping out the room. I almost slid off the jukebox at what happened next.

On the first beat of the song, the main door swung open and Reno Cole walked in.

A black leather jacket hugged his body, unzipped so I could see a charcoal-colored shirt beneath. His jeans fit him in a way that should have been rated
S
for sexy, and his polished motorcycle boots looked ready to kick some ass. His brown hair was neatly groomed and the lines in his jaw looked fierce, even from across the room.

My heart seized in my chest and a cold sweat touched my brow. Pool balls cracked on my left and a blonde at the bar swiveled in her seat, targeting Reno as her prey. She had on cherry-red pumps and a white pencil skirt. She swung her hips as she made her way toward him and then suddenly turned around as if she were giving him a modeling show. Shifter women turned their backs to men they were interested in. It’s something I started noticing on our trips out, except with the waitresses who always kept that kind of behavior in check.

But Reno paid no attention. His eyes scanned the bar and my throat became as dry as the Sahara Desert. My elbows were glued to the jukebox, and the idiot in the flannel shirt kept yammering on about taking a walk to the parking lot. But I couldn’t take my eyes off the striking man across the bar. Maybe it was the drink, or maybe it was the fact I thought Reno was the sexiest man I’d ever seen, but I got warm and tingly.

Reno reached in his back pocket and pulled out his phone. His eyes swung to Denver at the bar and suddenly shot straight ahead, landing on me. I glanced over at Denver and when he hung up his phone, it all became clear.

“Holy smokes, this is bad,” I murmured.

Stu stepped in front of me and blocked my view. I tried peering around him, but he dodged his head and smiled, trying to make some eye contact.

“You’re hard to get.”

“I’m taken,” I said, looking up to show off my collar again.

“Yeah, which one is the big and bad Maddox?”

“That would be me,” Maddox said in a voice that made my blood run cold. He was wearing his hat, which made him even more menacing because it obscured his eyes.

The Shifter stood up straight and turned his head to look at Maddox, who showed off his mean face. I knew the man to be gentle, but anyone who pissed him off got the jagged edge of the knife.

“See that collar?” Maddox reached for my wrist and gently wrapped his fingers around it. “That says she’s
mine
.”

“A little young for an old dog like you,” the man taunted.

Maddox looked at him like a predator, tugging me real tight against his left side. “I ain’t no dog, and you should watch your tongue or I might be tempted to cut it out and feed it to you between two slices of bread.”

I grimaced as the Shifter’s eyes darted between us. It didn’t look as though he wanted to take any chances on calling his bluff, so he shook his head and walked away.

“Why do men always have to lay down vicious threats?” I said, still buzzing from my drink.

He stroked his finger across the collar on my neck. “I don’t make threats. I simply state the facts. I want you to come back to the table and sit beside me. I have some business to take care of, so come grace us with your pretty smile.”

It was hard to look pretty when Maddox insisted that I wear heavy makeup. I think he wanted me to look older than I was. He always made sure that when we went to a Breed bar, I had my lashes curled and cheeks blushed.

Maddox had been including me in on meetings I had no business attending. It might have been strategic so I’d need his protection, or maybe he was beginning to trust me. I was more inclined to believe the former.

He led me to the table with a gentle tug. When I froze mid-step, he peered over his shoulder and chuckled.

Maddox had no clue that I knew the man sitting at our table.

Intimately.

“Sorry about that, gentleman. Men can’t seem to help themselves, but she’s as loyal as they come.”

Reno was sitting in the chair in front of us but hadn’t turned around. I smelled his cologne and felt a pang of regret as memories flooded my mind of that wonderful night we’d curled up in my bed, listening to blues while it rained outside. When he casually glanced over his shoulder and looked up at me, it felt as if I’d been stung with quiet judgment. I wanted to tell him I wasn’t sleeping with Maddox, but what did it matter?

“This is my girl, April. Show some manners or I’ll have words with you, Cole. Let’s get down to business,” he said, settling in his chair and kicking mine out on his left.

Thank God for Devil’s Eye or my nerves might have resulted in me flipping the table over. Instead, I coolly sat in my chair with Reno directly across from me, Maddox to my right, and Randall to my left. I kept my hands folded in front of my chin, obscuring my collar.

“I still want to see her ID,” Randall said, snorting into his glass as he took a drink. “I thought you went for the cougars.”

Maddox narrowed his steely eyes and patted my leg, turning his attention to Reno. Little did he notice that every muscle in Reno’s face had turned to marble, and I barely saw his lips because they were so tightly mashed together. He tipped his head at me in a gesture that spoke volumes.

Reno didn’t know me.

At least as far as Maddox and Randall were concerned.

“So what’s your business with me, Cole?”

Reno rested his right arm on the table and lifted two fingers to a waitress named Rosie, signaling he wanted what Maddox was having. “Did you know a human named Charles Langston?”

Oh my God. They were talking about Charlie, my old boss
.

Maddox twisted a few hairs on his beard. “Anything’s possible. Want to tell me why you’re askin’?”

“I’m a PI and he’s one of my cases. Langston had payments going into your pocket, and now he’s gone missing.”

“Dead is the word I think you were searching for,” Maddox corrected, leaning back in his chair and putting his arm around me.

I thought I saw Reno flinch, but he kept his eyes locked on Maddox. “What was he paying you for?”

My eyes glazed, and I smiled at Randall who silently chuckled and sipped his drink.

“Charles took out a substantial loan. Sonofabitch died before finishing out his payments, and I got no family to call on for the rest. Ain’t that a bitch?”

I stayed quiet since Maddox didn’t seem aware that I knew Charlie, but I was itching to say something.

“Honey, why don’t you go and make the boys jealous for a little while?”

In other words,
get lost.

“I’d rather keep you company,” I insisted, placing my hands on the table.

Maddox brushed a fallen strand of hair away from my neck and tilted up my chin, exposing the collar I’d been desperately trying to hide since I sat down. I jumped at the sound of Reno’s chair scraping against the wood floor. He loomed above the table and spoke aggressively. “I need to get a stronger drink. Get rid of the girl and we’ll talk.”

He looked scary mad. My face flushed from the intensity of his gaze, which wasn’t on my eyes but on the fabric wrapped around my neck, which he hadn’t noticed before. With recognition in his eyes, Reno now understood that I’d left him to become another man’s pet.

“Go on, April. Get.” Maddox yanked my chair back. When it came to business, he didn’t mess around, and the look in his eyes put a fright in me.

Realizing I wasn’t going to win this argument, I left the table.

When Reno entered the bar, he’d been gearing up to fight Maddox for information on Charlie.
He’d had no idea he would end up wanting to kill the man because of April. Reno hadn’t seen her since the night she left the house. When Denver gave him a quick ring on his phone and told him to look straight ahead, Reno almost lost his cool.

Seeing that damn choker around her neck had incited an explosive reaction that had him out of his chair, two seconds from pulling out his gun and taking care of Maddox. Buried feelings resurfaced for April—protective and territorial feelings. Maybe a human would have turned the anger on her, but it incited a deep-seated instinct to protect what he loved. That’s when he knew he hadn’t gotten over April.

He wanted his woman back.

Reno needed to cool off before talking to Maddox, so he left the table and ordered a cold draft at the bar. April wandered over to the jukebox again and switched the song to Billy Joel’s “Big Shot.” Denver made a snide remark about it, paired with an eye roll.

Before Reno returned to the table, he glanced over his right shoulder. Damn, she looked
hot
. Not with all that makeup on her face—Maddox must have had something to do with that. The April he knew was a natural beauty. Her white shirt had slipped off her left shoulder, revealing she wasn’t wearing a bra. And the way she turned around and tilted her hip while looking at the jukebox made him want to throw her over his shoulder and haul her out of there, caveman style. It pissed him off to see the other Shifters in the bar checking her out, especially the dead man in the flannel shirt. Her choker would keep most of them away, but not all. Rogues especially.

Reno cursed under his breath and made it back to the table without taking any lives. Even his wolf wanted to take a bite out of every man who was memorizing her ass.

Maddox stood up. “Let’s take this outside.”

“Fine with me,” Reno lied, wanting to stay at the table. April wasn’t acting herself. It didn’t seem like her to get drunk. Then again, it didn’t seem like her to wind up as a Shifter’s pet.

“Finish up your sissy drink,” Maddox said to Randall. “I’ll fill you in later.”

Reno followed Maddox down a narrow hall and out the exit door. As soon as the door closed, Maddox took off his hat and turned around.

“What the fuck is your interest in my former client?”

“Maybe I got reason to think Langston isn’t dead,” Reno said, sliding his hands in the pockets of his leather coat.

Maddox quirked a brow. “Now you have my undivided attention. What makes you so sure he’s alive?”

“Let’s just say that after a little digging, there’s a guy who works at the crematorium who will tell you anything after six beers. The record was falsified and I think his lawyer had something to do with helping him out.”

“
Sonofabitch.
Years ago, Langston got into a sticky situation where he needed help.”

“What kind of help?”

A motorcycle engine fired up and sped down the road, briefly catching their attention. Maddox sucked on his teeth for a second before answering. “He got drunk and hit another car, killing the guy. Let’s just say I got a reputation around this side of town for helping people in need. I took care of his problem—had the car launched off the side of a bridge to conceal some of the evidence because the idiot got out and tried to help the poor bastard, who was already dead. Fingerprints everywhere, not to mention the paint from his car. I gave Langston a new identity and his life back.”

“That’s what he was sending you payments for?”

Maddox smirked and looked up at the sky. “If that bastard is still alive, I’m going to kill him myself. No one skips out from owing me.”

Reno stepped in close. “Seeing how that personal loan could land you in a world of trouble, I’d suggest you cut your losses. I don’t want to hear about you showing up at the new business owner’s doorstep for payment due,” he said. “Let’s just say you’d be treading on my territory.” Reno knew how guys like Maddox operated and didn’t want him coming after Lexi.

Maddox dropped his hat on the ground. “Are you threatening me, boy?”

Reno’s lips curled in and he spoke through clenched teeth. “I’m not sugarcoating it. You fuck with anyone in my pack and I’ll take you out. How ’bout that?”

In a flash of magic, Maddox shifted and his clothes fell to the ground.
Holy mother
, he was a mountain lion. One of the biggest Reno had ever seen, with a muscular body and ravenous fangs. Shifting inside Breed establishments was against the rules, but they were on the streets where rules didn’t exist.

Reno pulled out his gun and aimed it at the wildcat. “Still feeling confident?”

***

My eyeballs felt like they were vibrating in my skull. The music buzzed like static against my skin, and reality began to feel like needles prickling my nerve endings.

I shouldn’t have drunk the Devil’s Eye.

As quick as I could, I made my way down the hall to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be sick or not, but a little water splashed on my face wouldn’t hurt. What I really wanted to do was wash off the makeup that was beginning to feel like a mask, hiding the monster beneath. Whatever was in that drink should be declared illegal.

“Yeah, but honey, I
love
a hard man,” a blonde said, reaching in her bra and arranging her breasts closer together. Once enough cleavage to crack walnuts was produced, she stretched her tank top lower and tucked it into her jeans.

“A Shifter like that is a waste of time. He looks like trouble, Nadine.”

The blonde cackled. “
I’m
trouble. I bet his animal is a wolf by the way he sized up the room when he walked in. Did you notice that? I love a man in black boots—betcha anything he owns a bike. I’d love to ride him on that bike.”

I raised my brows, realizing they were talking about Reno. Nadine slid an ugly stare my way and I must have made a facial expression because she narrowed her beady little eyes. Ignoring her, I bent over the sink and turned on the cold water. The faucet squeaked and a gush of tap splashed against the porcelain sink.

“Come on, Chelsie. Let’s get out of here. Looks like someone’s mangy pet ran away. I wish they would ban those humans from Breed bars. It’s appalling how they get a free pass because of their
slut
collar.”

As much as I wanted to engage in an argument with her, it felt like my head was about to explode. Not to mention I’d learned not to mess with Shifters on a whim. It might have been against the rules for them to shift inside the bar, but sometimes rules got broken, and I didn’t have a clue how to fight a werebitch.

The click of their pointy heels against the tile faded away as they left the room. The cool water slid over my hands like liquid stars and I stared at it—mesmerized. Maddox had warned me about house specialties when it came to alcoholic drinks—most Breed bars served strong concoctions made from magic and unknown ingredients.

The next thing I knew, a hand was cupping my breast and a body pressed down over my back. My heart raced because Maddox had never put his hands on me that way.

I looked up in the mirror and saw Stu, the flannel shirt-clad Shifter with an overactive libido.

“Get off!” I yelled, elbowing him as hard as I could.

“’Zactly what I’m trying to do, little human.”

His hand slid down to my jeans and brushed over my zipper. My back stiffened and I tried to stand up, but he was too heavy. Maddox had warned me about overzealous rogues who had a thing for humans.

“Let go of me,” I demanded.

“Shhh.” He unlatched my button and settled his weight on me, pressing my stomach painfully against the edge of the sink.

That’s when things got fuzzy and survival instinct kicked in.

I rammed my elbow into his ribs twice. Stu grunted in pain and then corralled me into the corner stall. I tried to get around him, but he was crowding the door.

“I hear Devil’s Eye makes you horny,” he said. “Never tried that shit, but I’ve seen the aftermath.”

He reached out to touch me and I slapped his hand. Stu gave me a sardonic smile. “Look, I don’t want to have sex with a human,” he said. “That’s not my thing; I have standards. I just want to touch you. Maybe you can touch me back.”

“Maybe I can
scream
.” The last word trailed off into a scream. He lunged and covered my mouth, flipping me around and pushing me against the wall. His body pinned me until I had nowhere to go.

This isn’t happening
, my inner voice whined as I heard him lock the stall door. Didn’t the women in this bar ever have to pee? Oh God, I was starting to have a panic attack. The idea of him touching me—I just couldn’t deal with it. I could only breathe out of one nostril because his hand was covering my mouth and pinching half my nose. My body began to shake and I suddenly felt like that helpless little girl in the dark bathroom.

Damn him.

I wasn’t that helpless little girl anymore. I thrashed and struck him, scraping my nails down his face. It became a mad struggle. When his hand loosened, I bit his wrist.

The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth and he yanked me by my hair to pry me off. Feral sounds escaped my throat, and I began to have an out-of-body experience.

He shoved me to the floor and I landed on my knees. “Man, you sure got some fight in you. I wouldn’t have expected a human to be so goddamn feisty. Look, just give in to the Devil’s Eye, and let’s have a little fun before someone walks in on us.”

Before I could punch him in the groin, the stall door shook violently and I heard Denver shout, “Open the goddamn door!”

His fingers gripped the top of the door and the lock broke. When the door swung open, Denver’s indigo eyes were volcanic.

I no longer noticed his sexy blond hair in a messy tangle, nor his toned arms and mischievous smile. The scar on his forehead seemed pronounced, but I barely had time to blink before he grabbed a fistful of Stu’s shirt and pulled him out.

“You’ve got a set of brass balls coming into my bar and pulling this shit.” Denver hauled him by the collar to the center of the room. Stu swung his arm and clocked Denver in the jaw.

That’s when the fight began. The two men began to pound the hell out of each other—Denver was thrown against the sink before he kicked his leg back and hit the guy in the balls. When Stu bent over, Denver shoved him against a stall divider and it was back and forth. The paper-towel dispenser broke off the wall, and Denver almost lost his balance when he threw another punch.

I leaned over and spit, repulsed by the man’s blood in my mouth. My hands were shaking, and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead from the drink.

I thought the demons were unleashed, but I hadn’t seen anything until Reno walked in the room. His eyes looked turbulent as they scanned down to my jeans where the button was loose.

“Don’t fuckin’ do it, bro!” Denver yelled out.

Reno’s eyes rolled back in his head for a split second, his fists clenched, and his biceps twitched.

“Brother, if you shift in here and… Jesus effing…”

Denver punched the man in the eye, still engaged in the fight. He’d already acquired a shiner and a busted lip—his hair was all messed up, and he still looked better than the other guy.

I crawled toward the wall and curled up my legs, staring at Reno. He stood absolutely still. If his wolf attacked someone, it could lead to serious trouble with the local Packmasters. If he killed someone, well… I didn’t even want to think about it.

Reno’s brown eyes settled on me once more. I wiped the blood from my mouth with the back of my hand and spit on the floor.

He stalked toward me with a lack of mercy in his expression.

Denver slid across the floor on his butt and groaned. Without breaking stride, Reno approached the man in the torn flannel shirt.

The Shifter threw a hard right hook and hit him in the jaw. Reno didn’t flinch. He grabbed a tuft of Stu’s hair and gripped the back of his neck. Reno jerked him over to the sink and I looked away before he smashed the guy’s forehead against it.

“How ’bout that? You like hitting women?”

“He didn’t hit me,” I murmured.

“Don’t fucking defend him,” Denver accused, holding his side.