The Renegade Hunter (2 page)

Some were tall, others a little shorter, some white, some darker-skinned, one had a nose that was a little large, another had narrow eyes, and so on, but they were all perfect versions of themselves, with perfect complexions, healthy hair, and very healthy bodies. There wasn't a blemish to be seen, not a single split end on a single head, and not an ounce of fat.

It was enough to make a gal feel a bit inferior. Most men she was acquainted with didn't know from a split end or good blemish creams and moisturizers... unless they were gay.

Maybe she hadn't been far off the mark, Jo thought as she reached the door.

A glance back as she stepped into the hall

showed that Sam and Mortimer had reached Alex with the latest man, and he was doing that weird staring thing, peering intensely at Alex's forehead as if she had a huge zit growing in the center of it.

Shaking her head, Jo hurried up the hall. She bypassed the bathroom, however, heading for the kitchen instead. Much to her relief, the room was empty. Jo moved quickly through it to the dark and equally empty dining room and the sliding glass doors that waited there.

A small sigh of relief slipped from her lips when she managed to step outside without being discovered or stopped. Jo eased the door closed behind her and then paused to glance around. She and Alex had arrived earlier in the evening

when it had still been light out. The yard had been large and peaceful then; a beautifully manicured lawn surrounded by trees softly swaying in a light breeze. But spooky seemed more fitting now, Jo thought with a grimace. The bucolic scene from day became a mass of unrecognizable shapes in the darkness, and all of it was rustling in the gentle night breeze. It was enough to make her glance warily around

and consider heading back inside, but she didn't. Instead, Jo took a breath and started out. She wanted a little walk and fresh air before returning inside to suffer more of the weird encounters that made up this party. She'd really like to cut out and head to her apartment to relax and put her feet up, but she'd ridden here with Alex, and they were supposed to spend the night. Now Jo wished she'd driven herself. If she tried to retire early, Sam would no doubt be all over her, asking what was wrong and why she wasn't still at the party. Jo didn't want to hurt her older sister's feelings by telling her this was the lamest party she'd ever attended.

Heck, working at the bar most nights was more entertaining than this party, Jo thought wryly. The only people here who had really talked to her and Alex were Sam and Mortimer, and his supposed bandmates Bricker and Decker, as well as Decker's girlfriend, Dani, and her little sister, Stephanie. They were all nice enough, but Decker, Dani, and Stephanie had disappeared directly after greeting them, which had left Jo, Alex, and Sam as the only attendees who were female. That fact, added to the fact that every single one of the males in attendance had avoided them after their brief weird behavior on being introduced... Well, it had all put her on edge. Some fresh air and quiet was what she needed, and if she was going to be walking at night, this was the place to do it. Spooky or not, with all the security, she was definitely safer here than anywhere else, Jo thought as she started out across the lawn.

She'd taken only a few steps when it occurred to her that Bricker was working the gate tonight. He'd said he'd volunteered for the job since he already knew her and Alex. Jo had found that comment a bit bewildering. Sam had said the party was to introduce them to Mortimer's friends, and it was true they'd already met Bricker, but still...

Maybe she'd walk down to the guard station at the front gate and see if Bricker was bored or wanted any thing, she thought, turning her feet toward the end of the house. Jo liked Bricker. Not in a kiss-me-you-fool type way. He was cute, but it was obvious there was no real spark between them. He was more like the jokester younger brother of a friendeasygoing, fun to be around, but not boyfriend material. That was all right, though. Jo wasn't looking for a boyfriend.

Heck, she didn't have time for one. Between working full-time at the bar and the full load of marine biology courses she was taking at the university, there was little time for friends, let alone a love life.

Maybe Bricker could tell her what the deal was with the guys inside, Jo thought as she turned the corner of the house.

He'd know if they were gay or not.

Jo had barely started along the side of the house toward the front yard when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned, a gasp of surprise slipping from her lips as she saw the fair-haired man charging out of the darkness, but it became a cry of pain when he crashed into her, body slamming her back against the side of the house. Her head hit the brick wall hard enough that stars exploded behind her eyes, and the agony shooting through her left her gasping for breath.

The man was saying something. Jo could hear the rumble of his voice, and smell his vile breath, but his words weren't making it to her stunned brain, and then he was suddenly gone.

Without his body pinning her to the wall, Jo immediately crumpled to the ground, groaning as her knee landed on something terribly hard that sent more pain shooting through her. It took Jo a moment to even care about where her attacker had gone, but then the pain slowly

began to recede and she became aware of the sounds of grunts and curses nearby. Forcing her eyes open, she lifted her head and spotted the two men grappling several feet away.

Jo didn't recognize either of them from the party and was pretty sure she would have had she met them. The blond who had attacked her had a feral look about his face, and his hair was long and lank. As for his clothes, they were dark but

sloppy, with various stains on them that could have been dried blood. The other man had dark hair that was not long like the fair-haired man's, but not exactly short either. He also wore faded, but clean jeans and a dark T-shirt.

The two men were grappling and spinning, each fighting to subdue the other.

They also appeared to be playing for

keeps, Jo realized as she saw that the blond had his hands at her savior's throat and was trying to choke him. In the next moment, the men crashed to the ground and were rolling.

Jo decided she had to get help for her would-be savior and started to get to her feet, but her knee banged against the rock she'd landed on earlier, drawing another hissing breath from her mouth and drawing her eyes down. Spotting the small, palm-sized boulder, Jo instinctively picked it up. Holding the rock tightly, she reached for the wall with her other hand, dug her fingers into the uneven brick surface, and began to force herself upward.

Once on her feet, Jo found she was more than a little shaky and the dark yard had an alarming tendency to spin. Going back around the house and inside to get help no longer seemed a very feasible idea. By the time she got there, this battle would be over, and Jo wasn't at all sure who the winner would be. She had to help. Taking a deep breath, she released the wall and stumbled toward the men as they rolled themselves across the paved driveway. She was only steps away when the dark-haired man managed to throw the blond off him. In the next moment he was on his feet, had grabbed the blond by the collar and dragged him to his feet as well, and the two were struggling again.

Jo stood, blinking her eyes and shaking her head, a bit bemused. The speed the man had moved at was just too quick. It was like watching a movie with several bits cut out; one minute he was on the ground, and then he was up, and then he'd crossed the several feet he'd tossed her attacker and caught him up.

Obviously, she'd slammed her head into the

wall harder than she'd realized, Jo thought, but continued forward, raising her boulder when she saw the dark-haired man had turned the blond so that his back was to her. She grasped the boulder in both hands, lifted it over her head, and brought it down on the blond with all her might. Too much might maybe, Jo thought worriedly as she heard the cracking sound it produced. There was one bad moment where she feared she might have done some serious damage, maybe even a killing blow, but then realized that wasn't the case at all. All she'd done was get the blond's attention... and piss him off, she realized as he suddenly turned his head to growl at her like a dog, baring fangs not unlike a dog's as well.

Jo's eyes widened incredulously at the sight and then shifted to his golden eyes glowing with fury. She took a nervous step back, but before he made a move, the dark-haired man punched him. At least she thought he punched him. She saw her savior's arm and shoulder shift and heard the thud. Whatever he'd done was enough to distract the blond from her.

He turned back to the man who'd hit him and started to strike out at the dark-haired man in retaliation, but before he could finish the action, the dark-haired man struck again. This time, a small gurgle of sound slid from the blond's lips, and he began to crumple to the ground.

"Are you all right?" Nicholas stepped over the rogue lying on the ground, moving toward the female standing just a few feet away. Her expression was shocked, her face pale, and he could smell blood in the air. Frowning with concern, he caught the woman by the shoulders and turned her away to examine the back of her head, silently cursing himself for not moving quickly enough to prevent her getting injured. He'd just arrived at the edge of the woods closest to the house when he'd spotted Ernie charging across the clearing toward the building. He hadn't spotted the woman the rogue was headed for until the man was nearly on her.

He should have shot him then, Nicholas supposed. It would have saved the woman one hell of a head banging, but he'd been worried the noise would bring Mortimer and the others down on him.

He'd rather take care of the rogue and slip

away than straight-out sacrifice himself, but Nicholas would if it became necessary. It wasn't like he had much to look forward to now anyway, but flatout suicide wasn't in his nature, so he'd kept his gun in its holster and gone for brute strength instead, dragging the man off her and battling him hand to hand.

Unfortunately, Ernie was a wiry little bastard and he fought dirty. On top of that, Nicholas had been a tad distracted trying to see if the woman was all right. When she'd taken it upon herself to help him out by slamming a boulder over Ernie's head, Nicholas had decided it was time to stop playing. It had been obvious the woman wasn't smart enough to go for help, but would instead stick around and make herself a target should Ernie have gotten in a lucky shot and incapacitated Nicholas. So he'd resorted to his blade, stabbing the man in the chest but missing his heart the first time.

He'd then stabbed him again, piercing the heart with the second blow. At least he hoped he had. Otherwise the guy would heal in a few minutes and be up causing problems again.

The thought made him release the woman to turn back to Ernie, but a gasp made Nicholas glance back in time to see that he'd released the woman so abruptly, she'd lost her balance and was even now tumbling to the ground. Nicholas reached out quickly, grabbing her up before she hit the dirt. He set her back on her feet, a frown plucking at his lips.

"Are you okay?" he asked, holding her to be sure she was steady on her feet.

"Yes," she breathed. "Thank you."

Nicholas released her more carefully this time, and then glanced to Ernie.

"Is he dead?"

The question from the woman brought his gaze back around to find her leaning to peer around his bulk at the man on the ground.

"No, he's just incapacitated for now," Nicholas said grimly.

"You must have hit him pretty hard to knock him out," she muttered, starting around him toward the body. "I've never seen anyone knocked out from a punch to the chest and I've seen a lot of bar fights."

Nicholas caught her arm to keep her from going near Ernie and raised an eyebrow in question when she glanced his way.

"Have you now?"

"Hazard of the job," she explained, and then added, "I manage a bar by the university. Fights are a regular occurrence.

Not in the bar itself," she added quickly. "We have bouncers to prevent that, but they start up outside sometimes."

Nicholas merely nodded and shifted to block Ernie from her view. It was obvious she hadn't yet noticed the knife sticking

out of the rogue's chest, but then it was dark and she was mortal, without the night vision he enjoyed. He suspected she'd be upset if she did see it, though, so shifted to the side again when she tried to peer around him.

"You should go to the house. It's safer," he said quietly.

"Yes, but what about him?" she asked, trying to look around him once more.

Nicholas merely shifted his bulk to block her again. "I'll take care of him."

"Oh, well..."

She frowned, her gaze moving back toward the house uncertainly, and Nicholas turned her in that direction and gave her a little push both physically and mentally. "Go on."

As far as he was concerned that should have been enough to send her on her way, so forgetting about the woman, Nicholas moved back to kneel beside Ernie. He needed to be sure the knife rested in the rogue's heart and that the man wasn't likely to get up and make a nuisance of himself. Then he could slip off the property, get back to his vehicle, and call to let Mortimer know he'd left him a little gift.

"What's your name?"

Nicholas stiffened and glanced over his shoulder with surprise. The woman should be halfway to the house by now; he'd pushed the thought at her to go back inside. Instead, she was standing right behind him, peering over his shoulder at Ernie. He saw her frown and squint to see better and then she asked, "What's that in his chest?"

Cursing, Nicholas stood and caught her arm to urge her toward the house.

This time he actually tried to slip into her

thoughts rather than simply send out a general thought. However, his footsteps came to an abrupt halt when he came up against a blank wall in her mind.

"What is it?" she asked, peering up at him curiously.