Split at the Seams (29 page)

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “You know everything I said in there is because I care about you, right?”

I nodded, feeling an overwhelming and strong sensation flow through me.

“Fox, I’m really worried about this thing you want to do,” he continued, wrapping my hand between both of his. “I know you don’t want to interfere in my wolf schedule.” Papan paused to laugh. “But I’m going with you. I’ll take a quick run around the neighborhood to let the wolf go free for a bit, and then we’re going to get Ebony back. Whatever it takes to be by your side, I’m going to do it.”

“That’s sweet, Papan, but you don’t have to—”

“You’re right, I don’t have to, but with you, I really want to.” His lopsided grin made my heart skip a beat. “Let me be your knight in shining armor for one night.”

“You know I don’t need saving.”

“As strong and capable as I know you are, I still believe we all need saving sometimes,” he whispered, lowering his mouth to mine.

I opened my mouth, intensifying the kiss by pulling my hand from his grasp and instead wrapping both around his neck. I let my fingers tangle in his soft hair and got onto my tiptoes so I could give myself better leverage. He enveloped me in his arms and pressed our bodies together while I got lost in the sensation. Having his mouth against mine and our tongues lapping at each other made a warm glow spread from my gut and settle between my thighs.

Papan, you’re so amazing.

When we drew apart we were both breathless, and walked out onto the front porch together.

“Be careful,” I said with a small smile.

He touched my face and I closed my eyes for just a second. “I’ll be back very soon.”

Papan stepped back and jogged down the driveway. By the time he’d reached the other side of the road and strolled past the few cars parked there, he was already a gorgeous wolf running across my neighbor’s yard.

I watched until he disappeared into the bushes across the street.

After closing and locking the door, I couldn’t stifle a yawn. But I didn’t have time to be tired. There was still so much to do.

I grabbed the leather case Oren had given me and headed for my bedroom. As I passed by, I could hear muffled conversation between Conrad and Vixen coming from the kitchen but didn’t feel much like hanging out with them. The last thing I wanted to do right now was engage in useless small talk with anyone. My nerves were so tightly wound I could hardly think straight. I had only one objective and every minute ticking by was making me feel worse. Yet, until both Oren and Papan returned I couldn’t do anything.

Right now, I wasn’t going to be able to concentrate on much but getting Ebony away from Mace.

I headed up the stairs, every step making my mood a little bit darker. It took all the willpower I had to keep moving up and not heading for the front door so I could get this over and done with. Lending Oren the Fairlane had probably been a good idea, because if it was still sitting in the driveway right this minute, the temptation would’ve been too much and I might have done something rash.

After closing myself inside my bedroom, I went to the top drawer of my dresser, where I’d stashed the athame, and tucked the leather case inside. I pulled the dagger and sheath out of the drawer and stared at the ornate covering.

For a moment, I imagined using this silver blade on Mace. I wasn’t going to throw myself into the ensuing battle like some innocent little girl who didn’t know how much was at stake. A lot was depending on our simple plan, and I was determined to get Ebony out unscathed. If it meant using this dagger on Mace, did I really have it in me to kill a fellow human being?

As I moved away from the dresser and strolled past one of the windows facing the street, something caught my eye. What the hell?

With my stomach tangled up into knots and my heart racing, I stepped closer to the window. Between the vertical blinds I spotted the black dog staring right at me from across the road. He sat directly under the streetlight, his huge paws pressed against the wet footpath.

“What do you want from me?” I whispered, tightening my grip around the leather sheath. My heart pounded a frantic beat, because I knew this beast wouldn’t stop haunting me until he got what he wanted.

As if it heard my question, the dark dog shifted into an olive-skinned man. His skin was glossy, either from sweat or the rain, and he had a disgusting gaping hole in his shoulder and one in his midsection. I knew they were the places where he’d been shot, so the silver had obviously gone right through his body.

I shivered at the sight, but was even more disturbed when both holes sealed right before my eyes. What was he going to do now?

Standing naked under the light in the middle of the night probably wasn’t the best way to avoid attention. The street might be empty, but someone was bound to see him eventually.

A car drove past and I gasped. I hadn’t expected it, and while it blocked him for just a moment, it was long enough for him to vanish.

What was the point of showing me what he really looked like?

The thought scared the hell out of me, so I stuck the scabbard into my pocket. It sat reassuringly against my thigh, but I remembered Oren mentioned it was boot-sized. I needed to be armed, in case that dog decided to attack again. And even though Oren reassured me that the shrouding incantation I’d put on it back at the office would keep it safely concealed from everyone but me, I still thought it best to keep it as hidden as possible.

I made my way toward my closet, and instead of grabbing a pair of sneakers I chose a pair of black ankle boots. I stuck the dagger between my sock and boot, which was made easier by the boot clip on the back of the scabbard. It stayed secured in place even when I stood up, and my bootleg jeans concealed it even further.

It would take some getting used to, though.

After another quick glance out the window confirmed the dog was no longer out there watching me, I left my room. It took me a few steps to get my walking straight and not make it too obvious that I had a concealed weapon inside my boot, before heading down the stairs.

Chapter Fourteen

As soon as my boots hit the last step, I knew something was wrong.

My body tensed and I could smell an unfamiliar scent in the air. For a moment, I thought it might be Conrad burning the pizza, but even burnt pizza didn’t smell like this.
And why would he be putting anything in the oven right now?

I gulped down the lump forming in my suddenly dry throat, desperately craving a drink of water and a good dose of normalcy. Maybe if I pretended not to notice, everything would be okay. Except, the way my skin crawled…I was just kidding myself.

Exhaling slowly, I headed for the kitchen. On my way, I noticed the front door was still closed—locked, in fact. Though I did have to spin around when I could’ve sworn I felt someone’s breath on my neck.

It’s the damn bite!
It was tingling again, and seeing the creature watching me from across the street had given me the creeps.

“Hey, Conrad, what are you doing in here?” I raised my voice, trying to put some cheer into it before speeding up and strolling into the kitchen.

As soon as I walked inside, I stopped. Shock paralyzed me to the spot because the overhead lights were off. The kitchen was empty, with no sign of Conrad or Vixen.

“Hey, Conrad, where are you?” Had he ducked downstairs to help Vixen back to bed? The door leading into the lower story was wide open, and although I couldn’t hear any noise coming from down there, I took a step toward it.

A screeching sound brought my motions to a complete stop.

I spun around to face the window above the kitchen sink. The noise was coming from there.

It took me a few seconds to draw up the courage to head toward it, and when I was standing right in front of it I froze. The blinds were half closed but because the lights were off I could see outside. I leaned over and noticed black gunk on the window pane and smudged on the outer ledge. When I looked up, the feral dog was on the other side of the window, staring right at me.

Had Oren reset the protective barriers around the house?

The thing opened its gaping mouth and sneered. Blood dribbled from its snout and down its chin, red eyes piercing right into my soul. As I stared back, almost hypnotized, the kitchen walls bled to black.

Oh shit, I was heading into the dark patch.

No, I can’t let that happen.
If I did, the barrier between us would shatter and nothing would keep us apart.

I shut my eyes and curled my hands into fists, pressing my nails tightly against my palms to help keep me focused and in control. I didn’t want to lose it now, not when we had a plan of action.

The bite mark burned against the bandage and I winced, but it also helped keep me grounded. When I snapped my eyes open, the kitchen was back to normal and the dog was gone.

Maybe I
had
just imagined it.

I turned around and found the screen door leading out to the backyard wide open, swinging in the breeze. Shit! I was pretty sure it hadn’t been open just a minute ago. Someone had
just
opened it and I hadn’t even heard a sound.

Turning in a half-circle, I looked around the kitchen, wide eyed and terrified, hoping not to miss anything important. The light might still be off, but I could see well enough.

The house was so quiet it made my skin crawl.

I grabbed my mobile phone from the kitchen table and dialed Oren’s number. The dog was in here somewhere. I could feel his dirty presence squirming beneath my skin from the bite that refused to heal.

Come on, Oren, pick up!

I tiptoed to the door leading downstairs and took the first step down.

“Conrad, Vixen?”

No one responded, but when I looked down I noticed someone was lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. My heart jumped inside my chest.

“Hello?”

The sound of Oren’s voice in my ear made me jump. “Oh, thank God, Oren…listen, something’s happened!”

“Sierra, calm down. What’s wrong?”

“I—” was the only response I got to say before the phone was violently snatched out of my hand. I turned around, reaching for it in vain. I lost my footing and nearly tumbled down the stairs, but a hairy human hand grabbed me by the arm and forcibly shoved me backward so hard I slammed into the table.

My worst fear was now standing in front of me. He was no longer in his black dog guise, but was the olive-skinned man I’d seen across the street.

“You don’t need to call no one,
niña,
” the slimy, slightly accented, male voice said. “I was wondering if you would call your boyfriend or your
abuelo
.” He glanced at the phone in his hand with a wicked smirk on his lips. “I guess blood is thicker than water. Although, your boyfriend is not available at the moment, is he?”

I ran around the side of the table, putting it between us. How did he know Oren was my grandfather?

Now I understood why he’d been watching me from across the road. He’d been keeping an eye on the house, waiting.

The bite on my collarbone itched like crazy and I wanted to tear the bandage off and pour acid over it. Anything to stop the horrid connection I had with this monster. The bite pounded to its own rhythm, like a demented heartbeat on my skin.

“What the hell do you want?” I said through gritted teeth, staring at him. At least he wasn’t naked anymore, but had donned a pair of shorts. He was slight and not much taller than me, his chest covered in dark hair. I spotted a dragon tattoo on his left bicep that looked a lot like the one Jonathan had on his upper thigh. The muscles on his skinny frame moved like that of a wild animal every time he got a little closer.

The last thing I wanted to do was exchange useless chitchat with this maniac. Not when I could feel the creep’s presence rattling my bones and slowly tearing into my nerves.

He pressed back against the kitchen cabinets as if we were two friends enjoying a late-night discussion. “You like to get straight to business, don’t you?”

“We don’t have any business.” I tried to keep my voice as strong as I could, but my hands were shaking. He was still holding on to my mobile, so I thought about racing out to the phone in the hallway to call Oren again before this intruder could stop me, but maybe he was already on his way back. Oren said he’d be quick, but I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since he’d left. I glanced at the kitchen clock. It had just hit on ten thirty, and I couldn’t be wasting time with this thing.

The man noticed me staring at the mobile phone still in his hand and held it up in front of him. “You want this?”

I didn’t respond because I was too busy trying to get my breathing under control.

“If you catch it, you can have it.” Before he’d even finished the sentence, the phone was airborne.

I reached, knowing there was no way I could save it. It bounced off the tabletop and hit the floor with enough force to litter the tiles with chunks of broken plastic. The casing seemed to have cracked, but the front looked fine. I could also hear Oren’s voice calling my name, and wondered how much he’d heard.