"What"d you say?" Max shouted, a grin stretching his mouth. He"d had as little rest as Joe, but had the advantage-his body wasn"t ruled by the daylight.
The seat behind him jolted.
"It"s almost dusk," Max called over his shoulder, smirking. "Quit your f.u.c.king bellyaching. You should have fought Navarro"s order a little bit harder if you didn"t wanna come."
"Didn"t know I was coming to Mayberry-f.u.c.king-RFD," Joe said, sounding grumpier by the minute. "It might help if you"d turn on the freakin" AC, too."
As soon as they"d left the Asheville airport, Max had rolled down the window. The scents from the North Carolina forest had been irresistible after years of salty sea air.
Soft, dappled light sifted between the oak and chestnut tree canopy above. Thick forest, still green despite the onset of fall, smelled of resin and greenery and the smaller insentient wildlife. Cooler here than South Florida, the air still held more than a hint of the warm humidity that sweltered all summer long.
Another powerful jolt from behind tightened the seat belt across Max"s chest.
"AC dammit, Max!" Joe shouted.
"Thought you bloodsuckers preferred the heat."
"We do. But the backseat"s a G.o.dd.a.m.n oven!"
Max"s seat jounced again and he relented, rolling up the window and turning on the air. "Keep your shirt on. We"re almost there."
The mile marker whisked by, and Max straightened in his seat. He"d pushed aside his growing anxiety, but the moment of truth was fast approaching. He wasn"t at all sure he"d receive any friendlier a reception from the folks of his hometown than the vamp in the backseat.
In fact, he might be biting a silver bullet within the hour.
"Where do you think Quentin took her?" Joe"s voice was more subdued this time, the words sounding gruff and forced.
Max knew exactly who he meant, but didn"t really want to talk about it. Each time he remembered the description Pia had given him of Darcy"s grievous wounds, he cringed inside and his heart ached. He wished he hadn"t let his prejudice get in the way of their long friendship.
So she"d f.u.c.ked a vamp-so had he.
In the end, there just hadn"t been time to mend fences. He"d been harsh and judgmental. He"d hurt her, and he"d wear the guilt like a sodden coat for the rest of his life.
That the same rationale ought to apply to his relationship with Joe occurred to him, but Max wasn"t ready to forgive Joe for embracing his inner demon just yet.
Not when Max had resisted his darker side for so many years himself to exist among vamps undetected. He"d learned a thing or two about his human side.
The darkness was a soul-eater.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Where do vamps take their dead lovers? Maybe he"ll do us a favor and dig her a deep grave and crawl inside with her."
"Dammit, Max!" Joe said, his voice hoa.r.s.e. "Don"t you care? This is Darcy we"re talking about. He should have let us give her a decent burial."
"You p.i.s.sed because you didn"t get to kiss her goodbye?" He knew it was a low blow, but he couldn"t resist sinking the stake deep.
"You G.o.dd.a.m.n were-dog! Navarro should have let me put you down when we had you collared."
Max"s smile was grim. "His mistake."
He pa.s.sed the city limit sign for Dark Mountain and slowed down, taking a right at the first intersection. He"d been gone a long time, but some things never changed.
The white bell tower of the courthouse rose high enough to peek between the tall trees. The red-brick courthouse and jail ab.u.t.ted each other-a short walk from the judge" s gavel to a cell.
The law was the center of power in Dark Mountain. And his wolf clan held every elected office. The job of sheriff fell to the ranking alpha male. No election for that position-rather a blood fight. The last male standing earned the tin badge.
While Max might have liked a less conspicuous arrival, he didn"t have the time to ease into town. Better to head straight to The Man himself...
He pulled into the handicap slot closest to the doors and put the sedan into park. "Sun"s not too intense now. Lose the blanket-no use giving yourself away before you even get to the door."
"And you don"t think the sizzle will do that?"
Max unbuckled his seat belt and glanced into the rearview mirror. "Don"t be a p.u.s.s.y."
Joe pulled the blanket from his head, his expression sour. "Just make sure the doors aren"t locked."
"You trust me not to hold "em closed once you"re out of the car-after you zapped me with a f.u.c.king Taser?" Max asked, lifting one eyebrow.
Joe"s glance narrowed. "Can it, Weir! We have a mission. Or have you forgotten Pia waiting back at The Compound for you?"
"I"m not forgetting a d.a.m.n thing." He turned and opened his car door. "Let"s do this."
Max climbed out of the car and strode to the double-doors, thrusting them open, not sparing a glance behind him to see whether Joe followed him into the foyer.
The door behind him whooshed, accompanied by the odor of singed flesh. "Could we have stopped someplace less infested?" Joe hissed. "It reeks of dog here."
"Scared, Garcia?" Max drawled, while his own heart rate thumped faster.
"Screw you!"
Max pushed through the inner doors and walked down the line of metal desks. The few officers not on patrol turned, their senses alert.
A few had been deputies when Max had run the store, but their expressions weren"t welcoming now. Their gazes narrowed and he knew hackles rose.
One deputy hit the intercom switch. "Sheriff, you won"t believe who just crawled through the f.u.c.kin" door-"
Max gave Todd McGwyre a lethal glare and continued to the oak door at the end of the row.
Behind him, chairs sc.r.a.ped the floor and booted footsteps closed in.
There would be no retreat.
The door swung open and Max"s breath caught. Oh s.h.i.t, one more complication. With his heart squeezing inside his chest, he braced himself. "h.e.l.lo, brother."
Chapter Four.
W ith his hackles rising, Alec eyed his older brother, barely sparing a glance for the vampire at his side.
Is he so arrogant he thinks I won"t kill Garcia where he stands? Yeah, he knew who the vamp was-he"d shared a beer or two back in the days before Joe joined the fanged brotherhood. Before he"d become "the enemy". But he could dust the b.a.s.t.a.r.d later. Instead, he narrowed his gaze at Max.
What was Max thinking, entering were territory when he"d aligned himself with the other camp? He"d f.u.c.ked a vamp female and not by accident. He decided to cut him where it hurt. "Put the vamp in the pit," he growled, looking over Max"s shoulder to his deputies.
"Back off!" Max glared behind him, halting the deputies, then shared a charged glance with his buddy.
That little look riled Alec even more. Max had chosen an enemy over family. "You aren"t in charge here," he said, his voice low and lethal.
Max"s eyebrows lowered, and his shoulders bunched. "This isn"t about us. This isn"t about The Wars either. It"s bigger, little brother. We"ve come to ask your help."
Alec"s lips lifted in a snarl. Max"s life was in his hands-and he knew it by his wary stance. The knowledge was gratifying after the way Max had turned on him in Vero when he"d taken the battle into his own hands. But curiosity about Max"s "problem" and the need to prolong the satisfaction had Alec raising a hand to stay the deputies surrounding the two interlopers. "Put them both in the pit."
Max"s hands curled into fists. "We don"t have time for this s.h.i.t."
Alec snorted. "Sure you do." He nodded to Todd and another deputy who clamped handcuffs to the men"s wrists.
He was disappointed when neither resisted. So rather than stay there and let Max"s frustrated glare undermine his authority, he swept past them and strode down the long aisle to the doors and out into the parking lot.
Darkness had fallen, and a hot breeze stirred the trees.
A pickup turned into the lot, lights arcing, and his body roused instantly-urgent and hard. Stasia.
The driver"s door opened and slammed, and Stasia"s light footsteps slapped the pavement. She drew around the end of the pickup and planted herself in front of him, hands on her hips. Her dark gaze pinned him and fevered color filled her cheeks. "Is it true? Did Max bring a vamp here?"
Alec smothered his irritation she hadn"t bothered to offer him a greeting first before launching a conversation about Max. The oversight only reminded him that once, a long time ago, Stasia had shared his brother"s bed, too. When he"d been top dog.
Alec ran a finger along her cheek, his gaze falling to her mouth and that full upper lip that formed a permanent pout. "Are you asking because you"re curious or because you"re worried about your old boyfriend"s safety?"
She slapped away his hand. "He"s f.u.c.king a vamp! What interest would I have in him now?"
Her vehemence sounded a little forced to his ears. Alec gripped her upper arms and dragged her close, bending to glide his lips along her cheek. "I don"t know. Why are you so hot about it?"
She stiffened. "I"m not. I just can"t believe he"d be so stupid."
"Forget Max. Run with me tonight," he whispered.
Her head jerked back and she glared. "Will you tell me what he"s doing here?"
Will Max always be between us? Alec let her go and raked a hand through his hair.
"Stasi, must it always be a transaction?"
Her gaze faltered.
Another sin to lay at Max"s feet. When the warlairds had called for volunteers, Max had been so eager to infiltrate vamp territory he"d left Stasia without a backward glance. What remained of her heart was a hollow s.p.a.ce she guarded like Fort Knox.
At least her hormones were still ruled by the moon. "Run with me," he repeated, his hand slipping beneath her T-shirt to cup a heavy breast.
Her breath caught, and a hardening nipple poked against his palm. "Is our clan alpha asking?"
Frustration made him mean. He squeezed her breast hard. "Yes, d.a.m.n you."
She shrugged from his embrace and pulled her T-shirt over her head. "Can"t say no, can I?" she drawled, her gaze boring into his.
Alec trembled with rage. Does she think to shame me into rescinding my invitation? While he seethed deep inside, he reached for the b.u.t.ton at the top of his uniform shirt and flicked it open. "Just strip," he commanded.
The parking lot lights illuminated them, so that anyone looking out the station windows could see them both tearing away their clothes. Alec didn"t care. His body tightened, reacting to the rage his brother"s return and Stasia"s continuing rejection had built. Through the blood challenge a month ago, he"d won the right to choose his mate- choose as many as he wanted. He"d have her whether he was her first choice or the very last. d.a.m.n her!
Naked, he felt the breeze lift the hairs sprouting from under his skin. He watched hungrily as she pushed her jeans down her slim, muscular legs and flipped them into the bed of her pickup truck. Her long brown hair curved around her shoulders and her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s below. Her eyes, with their slight upward cast, glinted mysteriously in her oval face.
The start of her transformation shone in those eyes, light reflecting against the golden irises. "Think you"ll catch me?" she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder, not caring she"d just bared her breast to his view.
Alec growled and let his change flow rapidly. When he dropped to his paws, his intellect faded, replaced by a hunger that burned in the wolf"s loins.
The wolf raised its head and howled, and when the woman melted and shimmered into a lean, brown-furred b.i.t.c.h, it loped across the parking lot and into the forest beyond.
Alec rolled from his side to his knees, leaves sticking to his moist skin. Beside him, Stasia stirred and sat up. He cursed. His c.o.c.k was limp and wet, and he had only fading memories of mounting her body.
"Well, that was quick," she said, shaking out her hair, a trace of mockery in her voice.
He flushed, angry she"d prodded him into taking her in his wolf-skin, again. Frustration, sharp and fierce, rushed through him. He sprang on her, forcing her back against the carpet of leaves. When he stretched over her, pinning her limbs beneath his, he held his lips a fraction of an inch above hers. "Did I disappoint? I can remedy that," he drawled, slipping a knee between her thighs.
"I wasn"t disappointed," she blurted. Blood pulsed at her temple. Her nostrils flared.
Was she wary or aroused? "No?" he said, dipping his head to drag his lips across hers. "Then you came?" he asked, his tone silken.
She arched, trying to lift him. "I don"t remember," she ground out.
"Can"t have you wondering." He centered his hardening c.o.c.k between her thighs and nudged between her slick folds.
"Alec! Enough!" Stasia tried to roll to the side.
He braced his legs, resisting. His gaze was unwavering-as was his intent. He had her attention now.
After several moments of futile writhing, she went still beneath him and glared. "Don"t you think we should get back? Max and that vamp-"
"Are being taken care of."
She pushed at this chest. "You said you"d tell me why he"s here."
"And I will-when I know," he drawled.