“Neon had been killed first, earlier, put in the dumpster. It’s why she didn’t show up for work. Then, the druggy stalker boyfriend must have been waiting for China and killed her. And then he…” Lori scowled, the cigarette suddenly still in her hand.
“But that doesn’t make any sense. Who killed the boyfriend? He didn’t kill himself.” She shook her head, the cigarette back between her lips.
“How did they die?” Nikki’s voice was barely a whisper. She closed her eyes, willing Lori to say anything other than with a knife. She could still feel the cold snick of the blade the man had held to her throat.
“Neon was strangled or something. But the other two…” Lori leaned forward, her eyes unnaturally bright. “They were torn to shreds. All cut up, not with a knife, but like, with claws. Bitten too, from what the papers said.”
Nikki bolted from her chair, making it to the bathroom just in time to lose her meager dinner into the toilet. Lori came into the bathroom and crouched beside Nikki, holding her hair away from her face.
“Didn’t know this was going to hit you that hard. I didn’t think you knew China that well. And no one knew Neon.”
Nikki looked up at Lori, at the cigarette clamped between her lips, squinting against the spiral of smoke. She shook her head.
“No, I didn’t but…it’s…he was there. The boyfriend, last night. When I left. He…he held a knife to my throat and then…” Nikki’s voice broke and she sat back on the tile floor. Lori tore off a paper towel from the roll on the sink, handing it to Nikki.
“You got away? Damn, Nikki, seriously? Did you go to the police?”
“No.” She shook her head, wiping her mouth, her breath rough, panting. “I…Jax…the guy from the club…” She gestured over her shoulder, in the direction of the muted thumping music.
“He was there, scared the guy off. And he ran away. The guy, I mean.” She looked up at Lori. “Jax saved my life.”
“Yeah. I guess he did. Real hero. Then what?” Lori’s voice was suddenly cool and she was watching Nikki closely, head tilted to the side. Nikki knew the look, knew she’d have to bluff her way through this or hurt Lori’s feelings even more than she already had.
Nikki wrinkled her nose in disgust. “You were right, Lori. He’s no good. Pulled me out of the alley, dragged me to his place and…well, it wasn’t any good.” She dropped her eyes, hoping Lori would think the rising flush her cheeks was from being sick.
“Yeah. Okay.” Lori stood, looking down at Nikki. “Told you. Guys are just…shit sometimes.” She held out her hand.
“Come on. You’re up soon. I hear Eden’s music starting. You’re after that, right?”
Nikki took the outstretched hand, letting Lori pull her to her feet. “Yeah. I’ll be out. Need to rinse my mouth.”
Lori shut the door behind her and Nikki looked at her face in the speckled mirror over the sink. She looked like hell, her make-up smeared, her hair sticking in damp straggles around her forehead. She splashed cold water on her face, further destroying her make-up.
The music through the wall swelled, a few shouts and cat-calls reaching Nikki. She sat down at the big mirror, reapplying liner and mascara and a swipe of lipstick. Despite hearing about the killings, and having to lie to Lori, she felt a tremor of anticipation running through her veins. Jax knew she was working. And despite any mixed feelings she had, any insecurity, she wanted to see him. Desperately.
*
Jax was in his room, alone. Bec had left to go back to his pack. It was hard to imagine his little brother with a pack of his own, or as an alpha. He’d always just been the pup nipping at his heels, getting in his way, generally making a nuisance of himself. Even if Jax loved him, Bec still drove him crazy.
But he couldn’t dwell on that at the moment. The moon was approaching full, the minutes ticking by relentlessly. Jax knew, as did every lycan, the exact second the moon became full. It was hard-wired into their very cells. And tonight it was just after eleven o’clock...eleven twelve and seventeen seconds, to be exact.
The preparation was the same, pretty basic, nothing complicated. He took his watch off, before he stripped his t-shirt over his head and tugged off his jeans, tossing the clothes on the bed. The process of change was violent and clothes just got in the way, and then got ruined. He barked out a brief laugh. Bec had been notorious, growing up, for tearing through clothes, always waiting too long, using the same excuse that he’d been in the middle of something, and that became a running joke after they’d found yet another set of tattered clothes in his room.
Jax paced restlessly back and forth. Everything felt too small, cramped, from the four walls that surrounded him, to his very skin. There were just a few minutes left before the moon turned full and in the last moments in this human body, he thought of Nikki. Her scent still permeated his room, clung to the sheets he refused to strip from the bed. She was inescapable, everywhere. He took a deep breath and then it started.
Muscles stretched and grew, bones lengthened and twisted, taking him from an upright man to a four-legged wolf, with remarkable speed but no little amount of pain. There was always a brief instant where he was convinced his body would explode, his skin torn from his bones, in that final second as a man, before he dropped to the floor as a wolf.
Then the pain was gone and he was as he should be, a sleek, dominating wolf. He shook himself, ruffling the fur on his body, feeling the power in his limbs, the strength that he had in his human form multiplied, intensified. He loved this feeling, limitless power and grace in one amazing package.
Inside the body of the wolf, Jax still retained his consciousness, the essence of who he was still accessible, but subordinate to the wolf he had become. Every sense was heightened, even more than when he was human, his sense of smell the most sensitive. The world was a kaleidoscope of scents and uppermost in all of them was Nikki.
He lifted his muzzle, inhaling deeply. Even in this form, her scent was intoxicating. It was all he could do to not jump on the bed and roll in the sheets. He shook his head, eyes closed, whining low in his throat. Now was not the time for this.
Bec was waiting, he could hear the sound of his nails scratching on the pavement at the back of the house. Jax padded down the stairs and through to the back of the house. It occurred to him that the conveniences of modern living worked well for werewolves. There was a large dog door built into the back kitchen door. He nosed it open and found Bec, along with several of Bec’s renegade pack members, and the rest of Jax’s pack waiting for him.
Jax took the lead, heading down the alley behind the house. Bec was trotting alongside and out of habit Jax nipped at his shoulder, reminding him who was alpha male. But Bec stayed shoulder to shoulder with Jax, growling low in his throat, making it clear he was holding his own as alpha male of his own pack.
Shaking his head, he turned, Bec tight to his shoulder. The rest of the wolves fanned out through the neighborhood, taking different routes, with different agendas, quickly disappearing. Bec and Jax headed for the club.
Once the mouth of the alley came into sight, Jax took the lead, Bec finally dropping back. He inched his way into the dark alley, slinking beneath the yellow crime scene tape, already fluttering in places in tatters on the ground, nose twitching, picking through the scents. He caught Nikki’s scent and he closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Bec was beside him again, whining softly and Jax walked further into the alley, staying in the shadows. They paused, muzzles raised, both sifting through the complex scents that swirled around them. Jax could smell his own scent, his human scent, on the dumpster and where he’d stood over Nikki. He knew from the roll of Bec’s eyes that caught it as well.
Both wolves stopped, hackles raised. The scent of death was thick here, clinging to the dumpster, and across the alley, rising around them. Bec was whining loudly now, a high-pitched sound and Jax turned, growling low in his throat. Bec stopped but continued to look uneasy, his eyes wide, a ruff of fur standing out around his neck.
Then it hit Jax. There was another scent here, something oddly out of place, strangely familiar, but with a undercurrent of danger. It was almost nauseating in its intensity. He backed away from it, shaking his head, trying to clear it from his nostrils. Bec looked at Jax, confused, but then he caught a whiff, backpedalling so fast his hindquarters slipped on the damp concrete. He scrambled wildly, gaining his footing and bolting out of the alley.
Jax stayed a moment longer, his heart racing, trying to understand what was happening, why this particular scent was so familiar, yet so alarming. Finally he gave up, shaking his head, turning to leave the alley, to go find Bec before he did something foolish.
But then he stopped. From inside the club, through the walls, over the catcalls of the men, his sensitive ears heard music. Nikki’s music, the song she’d danced to the first night he’d seen her. He stopped and waited.
Chapter Five
Nikki was working through her second routine of the night, making her way to the end of the stage. The crowd was sparse; just a few die-hard guys who weren’t scared off by the crime scene tape. Or maybe they were perversely drawn to it. She really didn’t know or care. Her heart wasn’t in it tonight, even less so than usual. Jax wasn’t there.
At the end of her first set, she’d stood up, tossing her hair back, a big smile on her face. She’d look toward the back of the club and froze, her smile frozen, still pasted on, her heart skipping a beat. But she didn’t see him.
She grabbed her scattered bits of clothing and left the stage. She’d changed, thankful for once Lori was someplace else besides lounging in the dressing room. Only Eden was there, sitting on the couch, a cell phone jammed against her ear. Nikki glanced at her, got a scowl in return, and turned to her locker, pulling on the first thing that she found, a lime green tank and tap shorts.
She was back on the floor, eyes searching the farthest corners, but he wasn’t there. The place was so empty there seemed to be more girls than customers. She saw Lori watching her and Nikki took a step toward her, smiling, but Lori had turned to the guy next to her, pulling him toward one of the private rooms.
Nikki sighed, tried to mingle with the remaining customers, but eventually found herself alone at the bar, nursing her one free drink. Mack was nowhere in sight and Sam seemed distracted and distant.
The drink was finished and she was debating about calling it a night when Mack materialized at her elbow.
“Hey, great, you’re still here. Stick around. Eden’s gotta leave, some kind of emergency and Lori’s asked to go home early again. You’re it. Do one more set and then you can call it a night.”
Mack patted her on the ass and left her standing with her mouth open. Sam walked down to where she was standing, a drink in his hand.
“Here, you look like you could use this. On the house.”
“Thanks. Mack has a way of ruining my nights more often than not.” Nikki took a sip of the drink, sputtering.
“Jeez, Sam. Any soda in here at all, or just straight alcohol?”