Rogue Alliance (13 page)

             
“But, if you really want to go that route,
” she said,
“
feel free. I have no problem telling the cops what you boys were doing to this girl and the threats that you threw at me before you attacked me. I was just defending myself. You see?”

             
“Attacked you? You attacked me!”

             
“What? That’s crazy. I was going to help the girl and you grabbed me by the shirt. Isn’t that what happened?” She looked to her audience again. This time there were a few hesitant head nods.

             
She
felt the boy’s body slump
as he realized his defeat. He would not be saying anything to make this already embarrassing and complex situation any worse. Satisfied
,
she slowly stood up and stepped toward the girl
protectively
.

             
“Go ahead. Get up and go home. This has been fun and all, but I have to work tomorrow and I’m tired.”

             
The boy jumped to his feet and wiped the blood from his nose. It was already starting to congeal and crust up around his nostrils. He straightened his shirt and jacket then gave one final look
in
Shyla’s direction before he turned away. She could see the mix of anger, confusion, and bruised ego in his eyes.

             
She watched the small group slowly walk off with their shoulders slumped. She knew the dynamics between them would change after a night like this.

             
“
Holy shit! That was awesome.”

             
Shyla turned toward the girl. Dark mascara and eyeliner encircled her wide eyes. She had a hand on her jutted out hip
and looked at Shyla
like she was waiting for answers or an explanation.

             
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
Shyla asked.

             
“Not really,” the girl shrugged, “a
couple of them pinched me pretty hard but it
’
s
nothing that won’t heal. They’ve bugged me before but never like that. I think
they were going to…”

             
“Don’t worry about that,” Shyla
said.
She
knew what
those boys had intended to do, “t
hey won’
t be bothering you
again
anytime soon
.”

             
“Dang right they won’t,” the girl scoffed,
“n
ot after that
. Where did you learn to do that
?”

             
“I’m a ninja by night,” Shyla
quipped and turned
to
ward
her apartment.
She suddenly
wanted to get
away from the girl’s curious and perceptive gaze. She had already seen too much.

             
She heard the girl’s hurried footsteps as she followed after her.

             
“Hey, wait. I’m serious. How do you know how to do that stuff? Who are you? Where did you come from?”

             
The barrage of question
s
made Shyla nervous. She paused and turned toward the girl again.

             
“It’s really not a big deal. I took a couple of self-defense classes in college. Anybody could do it.
I’m just a secretary. Now you need to be scootin’ and get your butt home.
And s
peaking of home
- why aren’t you there now? Why do I keep finding you out in the middle of the night knee-deep in trouble?
Don’t you have school or something tomorrow? Do your parents know where you are?
Do I need to make a phone call and have them pick you up?”

             
The girl rolled her eyes.

             
“Like they would give a shit where I am or what I’m doing. Go ahead. Call ‘em. They’ll be pissed at you for waking ‘em up.
And no, I don’t have school tomorrow. It doesn’t start till next week.
”

             
Shyla cocked her head and looked at
the
girl closer. She was trying to act like she didn’t care about her parent’s indifference to her well being, but Shyla could see the underlying pain. It lay just under the surface of all that bravado and heavy make-up.

             
“What’s your name?”

             
The girl looked at Shyla with
trepidation.

             
“It’s Carmen. What’s yours?”

             
“Shyla. Come on upstairs for a minute. I’ll get
some
shoes on and drive you home.”

             
Again, Carmen hesitated.

             
“Sure,
” she said,
“
but only if you teach me some of those moves.”

             
Shyla wanted to laugh out loud.
This girl had spunk.
She wanted to spank the little twerp.

             
“Fine,” she sighed, “b
ut you have to promise me that I’m not going to catch you out past nine o’clock at night anymore.
You’re thirteen
. Your butt should be in bed. Not mingling on the streets with boys five
, six
years older than you.
”

             
“Deal. You won’t catch
me out anymore,
” Carmen
gave Shyla a clever little grin.

             
“Very funny, b
ut I’m serious. I’ll turn you in next time.”

             
Ca
rmen’s smile faded slightly.

             
“Aww
, gee. You’re no fun. Fine. It’s a deal. I
’ll
stay in at night. And you
’ll
teach me kung fu or whatever.”

             
Shyla finally cracked a smile.

             
“Come on. Let’s get this show on the road. My feet are freezing.”

FOURTEEN

             
Shyla let out a soft moan and tilted her head back. The moon was directly overhead
,
watching the way
Victor’s hungry mouth was exploring her neck
. She closed her eyes and shoved aside the nagging knowledge that she was making out with a criminal who she intended to put in jail for a very long time.

             
She ran her fingers through his thick, wavy hair and pulled him closer.
She couldn’t let nerves throw her off course.
The picnic had gone well. They had flirted
and talked
while watching the sun set over the mountain.
As night enveloped them, Victor had turned up the charm. Before Shyla knew it, she was in his arms.

             
As his hand
slid over her jeans and
inched up her inner thigh she tried to stay relaxed. But when his fingertips brushed
her center
,
every muscle in her body tensed up. It wasn’t just the fact that it was Victor. She responded that way every time a man
touched her intimately.

             
“Is everything okay, Shyla?” Victor
asked, his lips hovering over
her throat.

             
“Yes, I’m fine. I think…I’m just
a little chilly,
” Shyla lifted his chin and kissed him fully on the mouth, hoping to assure him.

             
Victor’s body responded as she wanted.
He deepened the kiss. S
he
tried to return
his intensity.
His movements were strong, almost a demand. Again, she was reminded of her past
and she shivered.
H
e p
ulled back and lifted her off
the blanket they’d been picnicking on.

             
“
Well, we can’t have that. Can we?”

             
Shyla let him carry her to the car, knowing he liked to play the chivalrous gentleman. When he leaned over to buckle her in, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and gave him another
intoxicating kiss.

             
“But I’m not ready to go home yet,” she purred in his ear.

             
“I’m not ready for you to go home yet
,
either,” Victor groaned, “y
ou can come back to my place. Just let me grab our things.”

             
As she
watched him
, Shawn’
s warning
crept into her mind:
‘
…none of us are thrilled about you dating this
guy…he’s dangerous…be careful.’

             
She clenched her jaw. There was no doubt that Victor was dangerous. Charming or not, Shyla was very aware that unde
rneath that smooth veneer
was a cold, calculating
man who insisted on things being his way.
If they weren’t, he would make it so they were, even if it involved killing someone. She had to keep that in mind.

*

             
Brennan started
awake when he heard the crunch of gravel as Victor’s car pulled up the long drive. His heart was racing and there was saliva pooled in the back of his throat. He swallowed. He’d been dreaming of
taking a live prey.

             
In the facility, he’d been expected to take live prey on a monthly basis during routine experiments. The schedule was always the same. For three weeks they would provide his supplement via intravenous fluids
, poking him, prodding him, observing and theorizing
. Then the first few days of the fourth week they would
deprive him while injecting him with all sorts of drugs, chemicals, or whatever Shinto felt necessary for that particular experiment.

             
Each time, he would spend those three weeks mentally preparing for the starvation period. He would
tell himself that he was stronger than the craving, stronger than the need. But no matter his preparation or his will, by the time he slipped past the thirty-six hour period, his basic survival instincts reigned supreme
. There was no rational thought
or moral code. There was only a craving so strong, so visceral
,
that to deny
it would be physically painful and
probably impossible.

             
Two
months had passed since Victor helpe
d him escape the facility. Two
months without a live prey. Though he had ample supply to fresh blood, thanks to another of Victor’s invaluable contacts, he was disgusted to admit that he still had to fight an internal struggle against the basic desire to take a live prey
from time to time
. It was ingrained.

             
The dreams had been coming about once a week, but when they did, they triggered
and exacerbated
that instinct. They were so vivid, so real. He often woke shaking and sweating as his body anticipated the thrill of the kill, the high which came as he took life and drank it to sustain his own. The prey would die in his arms,
and its blood would pulse through his veins, their adrenaline mixing into one
intoxicating
elixir.

             
He didn’t want the dreams. They made him crave something he didn’t ever want to crave again. He was determined to be satisfied with his daily supplements. He shook off the last remnants
of the dream
and stood up. He shuffled to the window and peeked out.

             
From his apartment above the large shop across the circular drive
,
he could see the front of the house perfectly. H
e stood in the dark in nothing but
sweatpants and watched as V
ictor stepped out of the car,
then ran around the front to get the door for his guest.

             
Brennan held his breath when he saw Victor
shut Shyla’s door and back
her up against the car. He was kissing her.
Her hands were in his hair and his hands were on her ass.