The Change: Episode one (27 page)

I was suddenly jerked away from the snake
woman and spun back over the bed. I hit the floor with a heavy
thump and slammed my head against the open door.

Dazed, I watched Candice kill the woman with
her bare hands.

C

I sent my nails into her guts again,
delighting in her scream. I jerked on her insides as I ripped
upward, making sure she was hurt before I lifted my other clawed
hand and slit open her throat.

The blood haze had fallen over me when I saw
Daniel in her embrace, and I turned toward him in raw fury I
couldn’t control.

Angelica burst into the room, weapon drawn,
and I snarled a warning she heeded instantly, stopping.

I closed my eyes, pulling it back in the
same way I was always demanding of her. When I thought I could, I
jerked a hand toward the door where Baker was lurking. “Get him out
of sight.”

Eyeing the scene, Baker grunted in amusement
and looked down at Daniel. “I knew she’d break something the first
time out. Just thought it would be you.”

Angelica shoved Baker back toward the other
compartment as the Network guards entered the hall. My eyes were
solid red orbs that halted the big women in the doorway of our
room. Their eyes went over Daniel, still on the floor, and then the
three bodies.

The ranking female gave me a short nod.
“We’ll report it and send in a crew. You’ll need to clear the
room.”

I motioned Daniel to it and narrowed my eyes
in warning as the women stared at his exposed skin when he stood.
“I’m ready enough if you’d like to try.”

They hadn’t run across a Changeling that
could think and battle the fire at the same time, and each of them
shook their heads and started backing from the room.

“
Wise choice.” I pointed at
the bodies. “They’re all wanted by the Network. Make sure I’m not
attacked again, and this shift can split the bounty by ten
percent.”

My generosity surprised them and gained me
allies I wasn’t sure I’d ever need, let alone use. Still, it was
good to have people on the inside when you could manage it.

“
Thank you, Ms. Pruett.
Please rest assured your remaining time on the Network Rider will
be uneventful.”

The red of my eyes was fading to pink and I
looked at Daniel as they left. I understood that he was trained to
handle horny females in one way, but it didn’t stop the pain. He
was throwing on fresh clothes from his kit, and I waved at my
cloak. His was covered in blood. “Wear that, too.”

I felt his need to apologize, but I turned
away. He’d been saving himself. How could I stay mad at him when
his actions had kept him here? If they’d gotten him off the train,
he could have been lost to me again, and in more ways than one.
When the Snake women finished draining their males, they ate them.
It was part of the Network’s most convincing tool in the
extermination campaign.

The Snake Women were very
secretive and barely surviving the Network’s attempts to make them
extinct. Forced out of the cities, the Snake tribes were mainly
concentrated in Frogtown and the Bama Swamps, but ones like these
had left their people to come farther north for a different life.
Most of them ended up being trackers. With their new tongues, they
could find anything.
This time, it had been
death.

As soon as Daniel was covered, we moved to
the other rooms, and the Network crew went in behind us to clean up
the mess.

D

She pointed to the empty couch between Baker
and Angelica, and I went quickly, feeling miserable. I wished I had
done anything else now, and I had no idea how to make it right.

Able to see us better now, Baker’s knowing
smirk took in the swollen lips I could feel, then Candy’s
half-naked body, and my misery deepened. All I did was cause her
trouble. She’d have been better off just renting me out at
Floozies.

I curled into the corner of the soft couch
and ducked my head inside her cloak. The scent filled my nose, and
I closed my eyes, trying not to shake. I’d ruined everything.

Angelica was talking to her in low tones I
couldn’t make out, and I heard Baker stretch out on the other
couch. What would happen now? I’d shown her a disloyalty and that
wouldn’t be forgiven… would it?

Scared of losing the first real home I’d
ever had and terrified of her not wanting me anymore, I listened to
the sound of the train starting back up. I let its jerky motions
cover my struggle to find a solution for the mess I had made of
things.

C

“
You should take him in the
back room and finish it.”

Baker’s challenging tone sent the flames
back into my guts, but I only snorted. “They don’t make cuffs that
strong.”

Baker’s eyes said that with him, I didn’t
need them, that he never created this type of chaos. I knew that to
be a lie, though, and I raised a brow. “Maybe you and Angel should
take it.”

By the way his face darkened, I knew I’d
guessed right, and I ignored her gasp of anger. She wouldn’t make a
move for him unless I approved it. “She’s generous, too.”

Not wanting to kill anything that might grow
between them, I motioned toward the door. “We’ll stay out
here.”

“
So will I.” Angelica’s
voice was strained.

I shrugged. “Suit yourself.” I gave Daniel’s
huddling form a heated look, implying I wanted this room for my own
purposes, and she jumped to her feet.

“
Fine!”

She stormed to the door with a hard look at
Baker. “You touch me, and I’ll rip your head off after it’s
over.”

Baker chuckled. “Might be worth it.”

The door slammed behind her, and the Convict
flashed me a tight grin that I saw right through. “She’s burning
hotter than you were.”

I nodded, not upset by his interest in my
cousin, but still wounded by Daniel’s attempt to save himself. It
was clear who I valued more.

“
Be gentle and she won’t be
able to resist.”

Baker gave me another of those searching
looks that had me shaking my head. “No test. If you can help her,
and she wants you to, my approval is there.”

Even Baker understood to ask first - it was
the way males were trained now - and I loathed it. I wanted a mate
like those I’d read about, someone to stand beside me, not a man
who would sell himself out for protection.

I wasn’t sure why Daniel had reacted that
way to the attack, but now that I had myself almost under control,
I moved toward him to find out. If he’d thought to secure a place
with the Snake Leader, then we had more trouble than I thought.

I pulled the edge of the cloak down and was
shocked to find tears. He looked at me in utter dejection.

“
I didn’t know what else to
do!”

In that instant, I let go of my anger. He
was so fragile, so vulnerable… I sighed, running a hand along his
pale cheek as my heart broke. He may never turn back into the
Daniel I’d loved as a boy, but there was no doubt that I wanted him
anyway, in any condition. “I forgive you.”

His eyes swung to mine in shock, and I
dipped my head to his lips without another worry over his loyalty.
He hadn’t wanted to be split from me and had relied on the only
skill he’d been taught. It was enough.

When his arms tightened, I gently pushed him
back. He’d had enough trauma for one day, and so had I. “Try to
sleep.”

Daniel stared at me in worry, still not sure
things were okay between us, and I leaned forward to place another
easy kiss to the mouth that I was beginning to think I might be
addicted to. “I’ll be right here the whole time.”

He obediently laid his head back down, and I
moved to the other couch to stretch out. I would miss the feel of
him next to me, but with blood still drying on my hands, I was
dangerous, and not just to him. Even a trip to the washroom would
have to wait until I was seeing through flat black again.

Someone had tried to take what was mine, and
I’d killed them. It wasn’t the first time, and I knew I’d be doing
it again soon enough. After our betrayal with the Hounds, I wasn’t
entirely sure this hadn’t been a case of the same thing. Had the
Network paid the Snake females? I thought back to the bullets we’d
taken as I had grabbed Baker. Maybe the Trackers had been the ones
shooting.

When we returned home, I would check into
it. No one double-crossed the Pruetts and lived to tell the story.
The Network would not be excused from that strict rule.

Chapter Eighteen

Atlanta

D

Morning brought another long hour of riding
in the same room as we waited to reach our stop. Angelica and Baker
seemed to have worked some things out. They were playing Hob Jong
at the small table, exchanging threats that weren’t so hostile as
to cover the sexual tension flaring between them. Did that bother
Candice? I couldn’t be sure. She was stealing quick looks at them
the same as I was, but her face was blank, and I couldn’t guess at
her thoughts.

I knew she was fond of her cousin, but I
doubted that type of comfort was the norm for a close family.
Still, sharing one male among the entire household was an accepted
practice, and I wondered if the Pruetts agreed.

“
Atlanta, five minutes to
Atlanta.”

The cheery train voice had me turning to
peer out the closed blinds in anticipation. I’d read the articles
on the Georgian city, but I had never dreamed I would actually get
to see it. Last night’s horror was locked away with the rest of the
ugliness in my life. She’d forgiven me, and it would never happen
again. I’d... I would fight next time. Satisfied with my own
progress, I turned to look at our destination.

The city had once been a beautiful southern
Mecca backdropped by magnificent mountains and majestic blue skies.
I had seen it once, in a very old magazine one of the other
bachelors had swiped from a renter. That image had been in my mind
every time the Pruetts said Stone Mountain.

It wasn’t like that now. Every inch of the
city was covered in green vines. It looked like the jungle pictures
on the next page, and I stared in amazed disappointment. “What
happened to it?”

I felt them all turn to me, but I didn’t
understand how this city could be so overgrown. None of the others
we had seen on the wall screens were like this.

Angelica explained. “They used to keep the
vines back by trimming them. It grew a foot a day. When the War
came, this area was contaminated, and the Kudzu plant took over in
man’s absence. It now grows a foot an hour.”

Baker’s voice was low. “It makes it the
perfect place for us.”

I turned to look at him, surprised by the
tone. “Us?”

Candice flashed the convict a sharp
look.

Baker shrugged in response. “It wasn’t like
they weren’t going to notice.”

“
They didn’t need to spend
the time worrying about it,” Candice snapped back.

I was gratified to see Baker flinch back
from her anger, but I hated it, too. He might be a harder class
than me, but he was still a scarred, scared man looking for a
loving owner. The Network had robbed us, and in more ways than just
the obvious. I kept my eyes on the jungle of vines as the train
rolled to a gentle stop, and Candice filled her cousin in.

“
There are males. A lot of
them.”

Angelica snorted. “Figures.”

I heard her shove herself to her feet and
heard Baker grunt in pain.

“
What was that for?” He
questioned in surprise and I guessed she’d hit him.

“
Don’t go against Candice
again. Ever.” Her loyalties declared, Angelica’s steps took her to
the door. “I’ll do a sweep.”

The door slid closed behind her, and I
listened to the rest of the conversation with an intensity I was
glad they couldn’t see.

“
Where will we pick up the
ride?”

“
Two miles in. Already
there and stocked.”

“
Quiet?”

“
Unlikely.”

“
They’ll want to talk to
him and see if he wants to stay.”

“
I don’t.”

“
He’ll talk to
them.”

She ignored my words, and I stopped a
protest. Candice wouldn’t let them keep me. I knew that.

“
What about your cousin?
Will we need to lock her in a cell?”

Candice snorted. “Not unless you throw in a
male. She’ll rip the doors off to get to them if she really wants
one.”

After seeing Angelica’s compassion, even I
knew that wouldn’t happen. Candice was joking. It was another
discovery.

“
We have the titanium
cuffs,” Baker taunted.