Haunted (14 page)

“I find it inconvenient that you want to kill Ruby,” she said calmly as she dangled him over the floor. “It seems as though I'd die too, and I'm not comfortable with that idea.” He was starting to turn purple from lack of oxygen so she threw him down the hall into my bedroom, following slowly to torture him further. “I would kill you, but I have this annoying voice in the back of my mind telling me not to. She's such a wet blanket,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “So we're in a pickle here, Cooper, you and I. I need a reason to allow you to live, so you're going to give me one. Ruby wants to know what's been going on and you're going to tell us, and if we don't seem satisfied with your participation in this activity…well, let's just hope we are.”

He was literally cowering against the bed. He knew the writing was on the wall for him if he wasn't forthcoming; Scarlet would kill him without even raising her pulse. I couldn't understand why he wasn't already spilling it. She walked over to him, bending down to get right in his face.

“Ticktock, my friend,” she said quietly.

He gulped, though I was sure his throat was dry, before beginning his confession.

“What exactly does she want to know?” he asked.

“Oh, Cooper, now is not the time to play dumb with me,” she said, stroking the side of his face.

“Okay, okay,” he replied, “But it's going to get me killed!”

“As will not telling me,” she reminded him. “Why don't you start by telling us what the drugs are for.”

“They're to keep me from sleeping,” he said, taking her prompt. Sweat was rolling down his face, falling from the tip of his nose.

“And why would you want to not sleep?”

“Because that's when they come for me.” His eyes widened and it looked like he was suddenly caught in a trance. She snatched his chin and his attention back to her.

“Who comes for you?” she purred.

“The pack,” he said. “My pack.”

“Mmm, but I don't see how they can, Cooper,” she replied, getting closer to his face. “I killed them.”

“I know, I know…I feel like I'm losing my mind,” he admitted.

“So they come to you when you sleep?”

“Sort of…really only at night when I'm asleep, though it seems to be getting worse during the day now too, if I nap,” he said, looking increasingly agitated.

“So you're haunted?” she asked, not giving him a chance to respond. “I fail to see how that's going to get you killed.”

“It's going to get me killed because I'm losing it. I look like I'm unstable. Unstable wolves get classified in the 'rogue' category. Rogues get killed, and lucky for me Sean is back in town,” he said, shaking a little. “I need the drugs to keep it together – to help me focus and avoid sleep.”

“She says you haven't been very together.”

He frowned at the floor, averting her gaze.

“I've had to try a few different things. There have been some side effects. Ruby usually catches me between hits, too. It's just bad timing.”

“Like her walking in on you about to do a line and you nearly strangling her to death? Was that just bad timing?” she asked, sarcasm dripping from every word.

“Yes,” he responded, closing his eyes tightly.

I jumped up and down in our mind trying desperately to get her back on track and ask the most obvious question. She finally got the hint.

“So what do they want, exactly?” she asked, referring to the pack that was haunting Cooper.

“Revenge,” he whispered.

But why? I killed the pack, not him. Why aren't they after me?

Scarlet sighed, feigning annoyance with the whole ordeal.

“She wants to know why you and not us?” she asked. “And yes, it's 'us', as I believe I did the killing that night, remember? I'd like to take the credit for my work if that's all right with you, Ruby.”

Sorry.

Cooper looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking.

“I'm not sure, I wondered that myself for a while. I think it's because I killed the Alpha. Maybe the rest are linked to him?” he said. “I think they're trying to make me crazy.”

“Well it would appear that their mission is nearly accomplished, dear. You're practically stark raving mad,” she said not so helpfully.

“Hence the drugs. I feel like we're going in circles here. Are we done now?” he asked, looking exhausted. “I need to go replenish my stash. I go through it like candy.”

Before she could answer him, the door buzzer rang like an emergency broadcasting test. She walked over to the window and looked out to see who was below.

“It appears as though the one you fear most is downstairs. Perhaps he's come for you already.”

Shit! You have to get rid of him.

“I don't have to do anything, Ruby, I'm already on the naughty list as it is. I have no intention of angering him and neither should you,” she pointed out.

Just go in the other room, press the intercom button and tell him it's a bad time.

“Yes, that plan sounds flawless. And when he doesn't leave?” she asked.

He will, just sound as annoyed as possible. I'm irritated with him anyways, so he'll expect it. Tell him you'll call him later so he doesn't think you're totally blowing him off.

She glanced down at Cooper who looked more pale and frightened than ever. I saw her memories of him lying dead on the living room floor; she cared for him, if only in her strange way. In that moment I knew she wouldn't give up on him anymore than I was going to, though she wasn't going to tolerate his shit, either.

“Fine,” she replied as the intercom buzzed a second time. The sound didn’t cease as she strolled down the hall to the noisy box by the door and pressed the button.

You have to sound like me!

She altered her voice enough to make it passable for mine, though it smacked of hungover, dehydrated me.

“What, Sean? It's not a good time.”

“I need to talk to you,” he said, sounding serious.

Tell him you're sure he does and that you'll call later.

“Yes, I'm sure you do. I'll call later. I don't want to see you now.”

Sean attempted to respond but she clicked off the button and walked away. All I could do was hope her performance worked. She returned to the room to find Cooper standing now and looking a little less shell-shocked in general; he still looked like shit, though.

“I need to get out of here,” he said as he paced back and forth within a four foot diameter.

“It's fine, I got rid of them,” she told him with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“THEM?” Cooper and I both shouted together at her, equally stressed by the tidbit of information she left out.

“Details, details,” Scarlet said, dismissing our concerns. “You were only worried about Sean. I didn't think the others mattered.”

I was about to yell at her, but the pounding on the apartment door stole my focus from that endeavor. I heard a muffled “Ruby” coming from outside my home; it was not a good sign.

“Ruby can't come to the door now, she's a bit incapacitated at the moment,” Scarlet yelled as she opened the bedroom door.

Oh sh—

I didn't even have time to finish the thought before I heard the second door frame of the evening splinter to little pieces as Sean and company blasted through my entrance. Scarlet seemed amused with herself at first, but I felt her unease as the three large men stormed down the hall towards her. My ring was beyond them, so there was no salvaging the situation with that quick fix.

She stood solidly in the doorway of my room as the wave of hostility crested only feet away from us. Sean stopped just inches shy of her, keeping the other two men behind him. I recognized one of them instantly. Jer. He brought a growl from Scarlet that only increased the tension.

“Quiet!” Sean barked down at her, his eyes darker and more menacing than I ever remembered seeing them.

I felt the smile spread wide across her face.

“And if I don't?” she asked playfully, not meaning to be playful at all.

“You die.”

Time out, please!

She said nothing in response but backed up just enough to let them in. Their large bodies filled the room more than they should have; they were in fight mode and immensely frightening.

Scarlet made her way to the edge of the bed and perched herself on it. Cooper stood tucked in slightly behind her; we could both feel his fear.

“I came to talk to Ruby. Something has happened that she needs to know about,” Sean said seriously.

“She can hear you, so go ahead. Don't let me stop you,” Scarlet told him. “Besides, I so rarely get let out of my cage; I'm not really ready to go back yet.”

“How about I put you six feet under instead, bitch?” Jer said as he lunged around Sean to get to Scarlet. Sean caught his arm on the way.

She slowly rolled off of the bed and sauntered towards him.

“So much aggression for such a small mind,” she said condescendingly. “It makes for a horrible combination really; you tend to lack the ability to discern who you should apply that aggression to.”

Jer bucked against Sean's grip, reaching for Scarlet who remained just beyond his grasp.

“I'll fucking flay you, whore,” he yelled, nearly foaming at the mouth.

“You would try,” she said, picking at a fingernail. “And you would fail…you all would.”

So not helping! Shut up and tell Cooper to get my ring.

“Cooper, Ruby would like you to procure her ring from the hallway. Would you be a dear and run along?” she asked.

Cooper seemed all too glad to get out of the pressure cooker that was my bedroom. He slid around the man I didn't recognize and nearly ran down the hall to retrieve the ring. It seemed to take him forever to come back with it. As she waited, Scarlet returned her attention to Jer, stoking the fire even further.

“So it seems that you have it in for Ruby, Jer. Tell me, do you enjoy abusing women for pleasure, or does it make up for…shortcomings?”

“Enough!” Sean barked. “I don't want another word out of you, either of you.” He stared them both down for a moment, waiting for Cooper to bring the ring back. As he inched back into the room, Sean grabbed the ring from him and snatched Scarlet's hand. “I don't want to see you again,” he said, staring her down.

“But you will, Sean. You will,” she replied just before he shoved the ring violently onto her hand.

17

I came to only seconds after Sean replaced my ring. He was holding my shoulders, keeping me upright; apparently Scarlet really didn't want to be put back in her cage. I looked at him fearfully for a moment until I realized that the usual green of his eyes had returned, and a tiny smile warmed his face.

“Glad to see you're back.”

“Glad to be back, and in one piece,” I said, shooting a quick glance at Jer. “She's a bit of a handful, eh?”

“We'll talk more about that later,” Sean said, sounding all business. “We came over for a reason.”

I looked over at Cooper reflexively, hoping that the conversation we were about to have was not about the information he'd just shared.

“What's up?” I asked, playing it cool, or so I thought.

“There's been an incident. One of the brothers went missing a couple of days ago. We found his body last night. I need to know where you were.”

“When? Last night? I was here,” I replied. “Why? Do you think I had something to do with this?”

Sean sighed silently, hiding it from the men behind him.

“It doesn't matter what I think, it matters what it looks like. This kill looks like the carnage you've created before. I need to know where you've been in detail since I last saw you,” he said soberly.

“Are you kidding me? I don't have a death wish, Sean. You of all people should know that,” I said in my defense. “I don't even know this guy! Why would I want him dead?”

“Because you're a senseless killing machine that should have been put down a long time ago,” Jer mumbled behind Sean.

“Oh pipe down, Roid Rage. Isn't there some scantily clad coed you should be scamming on right now?” I retorted.

He said nothing but once again came flying out from behind Sean, only this time he wasn't stopped. He tackled me to the ground and pinned me there with a very large knee in my chest; air was at a premium.

“I can't wait to snap your fucking neck,” he whispered in my face before he went flying across the room and through the bedroom door, crashing to the floor in the hallway.

“Stay out there or I'll snap your fucking neck!” Sean yelled after him as he gently picked me up off the floor and placed me seated on the bed.

“He doesn't like you,” he said to lighten the mood. It oddly worked.

“I'm starting to get the sense that a lot of people don't these days,” I replied, glancing over at Cooper, who'd managed to make himself all but invisible the entire time.

“Cooper,” Sean called. “I'll need to know your whereabouts, too.”

“Why, why would you need that? I didn't do anything,” he said with a little too much enthusiasm.

“Because, I don't want you confirming whatever Ruby says to save her ass. I'll need to question you separately to be sure you're not.”