Once Bitten, No Longer Shy by Julie Steimle (to read list TXT) đ
- Author: Julie Steimle
Book online «Once Bitten, No Longer Shy by Julie Steimle (to read list TXT) đ». Author Julie Steimle
âIt is,â Matthew said, as another knife and a few more dangerously sharp things fell off Connor as if he were a human Swiss army knifeâhidden blades and all. Piranha collected them off the ground and out of the impsâ handsâall of itâcoming up with a bag from he did not know where.
âHey!â Connor yelped when the imps extracted Matthewâs gun and car keys.
Jessica caught them both as they flew into the air. She glared at Connor, almost as if she was annoyed he was a better pick-pocket than she was.
Another item also flicked out, and that was Connorâs key fobâthe new version that had been made specifically for the biting victimâs groupâonly it had a gizmo attached to it, jury rigging it for some other purpose.
âWhatâs that?â Piranha snatched it up. She held it to the dimming light.
Tom took it from her hands and peered intently on it. He then handed it to Matthew. âItâs a signal scrambler.â
âFor what?â Matthew asked, wincing, realizing he had also scraped up his leg when he had run from Connor.
âProbably for those who want to call the cops,â Tom said. âWas your phone working?â
Matthew shook his head. And that explained it.
âAlright,â Andrew said, hefting up the headless vampire corpse with effort. âIs someone going to help me carry this? Itâs heavy.â
âIâll carry the head,â Piranha offered, grabbing it off the ground by the hair. She swung the head like she would handbag while on a date. It sent different shudders through Matthew, as the jaw hung open, giving him the impression it could still bite.
Tom hopped over and lifted up the rest of the vampire, making it lighter.
âThanks.â Andrew grinned at him.
As they carried the headless corpse to JJâs police car trunk (where JJ swore he kept a body bag for âemergenciesâ) as if they were two gangsters intending to chuck it in the bay, Connorâs eyes flickered wildly to the area around them, clearly looking for escape though still in his âconfused madmanâ persona. Rick stayed close to Matthew and Piranha, snarling at Connor as Jessica and JJ cuffed him, then forced him to walk.
Jessica looked to Rickâs feet then his face. âWhereâs your shoes?â
Rick gave her a dry look. âWolves donât wear shoes.â
âWhereâs your clothes?â JJ asked, shoving Connor along. A cold gust swirled around them, especially swooping over Connor who was looking around with wide eyes still. The guy then shuddered as the cold increase, almost wrapping around his neck. They could see Connorâs breath though the air everywhere else was warm.
Matthew peeked to it, realizing it had to be Brandonâs ghost. So much relief swelled over him as he heard Rick reply, âAt my car. I had to get here fast.â
âHow did you know to come?â Matthew asked him, growing more relieved. They had saved his life.
âJJ called me,â Rick said. He gray eyes then rested on Connor. âNo one is getting away with hurting Troy.â
Connor whipped his eyes in panic now, onto Rick.
Matthew chuckled, thinking about that. Yet he had to say, âEven though he resents you?â
Their captive looked to Rick who merely snorted with a mild âI donât careâ look.
âHe resents the money,â Rick said. âHe resents the wolf. He doesnât actually resent me.â
Which was true. Troy secretly crushed on Rickâeven secret to himself. He would never openly admit it, but Matthew could tell it was happening. Since the day Troy met Rick Deacon, he had perpetually squashed down his attraction to the devil-may-care werewolf.
âTroy knows you are shapeshifter?â Connor said, gasping.
Matthew turned his head, pulling a foot away from the guy, grabbing Rickâs shoulder to do the same as this time Connor did not have a prepared script of thoughts to cover his real feelings.
âWerewolf,â Rick said, baring his elongating teeth. âAnd we went to school together.â
Jerking him further back, Matthew hissed into Rickâs ear. âThe guyâs a killer. Heâd eat your heart out for your secret. The monster wants to be immortal.â
But Rick merely made a face as he said loudly, âIf a pack of man-eating wolves canât kill me, do you actually think this wimp could?â
âIt takes only one,â Tom said, having dropped his end of the vampire into the body bag. Still far ahead, he and Andrew were at the car which was parked illegally at the corner. JJ had double parked. Tom then pointed at Connor. âTry anything and Iâll break your neck.â
âIâm innocent!â Connor balked, straining against his cuffs. âI would neverââ
âTroy loved that girl,â Rick snapped, baring his teeth again. âYou destroyed what little happiness he had!â
A frightening flicker went through Connorâs eyes, widening with rapturous pleasure before whipping back to panicked, begging-innocence, saying with his eyes that he âdidnât do itâ. Matthew saw it. He looked to Rick who shook his head.
âYour face belies you,â Rick growled, yet keeping his distance.
âBelies?â Connor flinched, his true emotions breaking out once more as if Rick just did that to him. âWho talks like that?â
Tom rubbed Rick on his head, a lot quicker there than expected. âPoor puppy. Moron does not understand your English.â
Rick rolled his eyes, shaking Tom off. But Tom had also drawn Rick away from Connor, which was what Matthew had wanted. Now that he finally heard Connorâs free thoughtsârattled by the existence of a werewolfâhe knew this man had zero scruples. Connor thought that anything he did, if it pleased him, was good. Matthew drew Rick further away.
âSomeone has to watch him,â Rick hissed to Matthew, knowing what they were doing. âHe smells of predator.â
Nodding, Matthew wiped his cut once more. âI know⊠Not so much that I smell it, as all I smell is his alcohol breathâbut heâs entirely off.â
âThen why did you follow him?â Rick asked, eying Connor who was fixing his attention on Jessicaâs sword nowâa foolish act if he knew it. The guy ogled her up also, clearly trying to get a read on herâwhich in itself would be a feat. Jessica was not a person who could be read by a glance. Her appearance (when she was not wearing armor and a sword) was ordinaryâeven for a cop.
âHe seemed to be my only lead,â Matthew said, watching them carefully as they continued to drag their prisoner to the police car. âIt all pointed back to Brandonâs connection with Nicole.â
Connorâs cuffed hands grabbed awkwardly for Jessicaâs sword.
Immediately Jessica set one hand on his. Quicker, he jerked it away, screaming. The top of his hand was on fire for a flaming second.
The flames went out in a puff.
âWhat are you?â Connor gasped, trying desperately to jerk away from her. But JJ and Tom both seized him and dragged his unwilling body toward the car as Piranha nearly skipped, still swinging the vampireâs head by his hair.
Snorting, Jessica lifted one flaming hand for Connor to see. âYour worst nightmare.â
Eyes on the licking flames which had not effect on her skinâunlike what it had done to him, Connor made a face of pain. âBut⊠what?â
She rolled her eyes, looking to Rick while thumbing over her shoulder at their captive. âDo you believe this guy?â
Shaking his head, Rick huffed. Then he looked to Connor who was staring like he had never been awake before. He said, âSheâs a warrior for God.â
The manâs recoil from him and her was like he had just stepped into sewer water and it was soaking up his pants. He shivered once more as a cold ghostly presence seemed almost to wrap around him, desiring to strangle him with insubstantial hands. JJ opened the back door. Jessica helped shove Connorâs head in, making him enter. He had nothing on except his briefs. Tom had insisted the imps leave at least that much on the guy. But he was already sticking to the leather of the seats from sweat and goosebumps. Andrew slid into the front seat with JJ while Jessica went back to their car. Matthew asked for a ride to the garage with Jessica, and for his car keys back.
Past Sins
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When Jessica and Matthew got into the car, Tom and Piranha saluted them and headed back up top where they had left some kind of small vehicles or vehicle which Matthew was not familiar with but apparently allowed them to get there fast. Rick knocked on the glass to the driverâs side window as apparent his own car was a little further down the road.
Jessica rolled down the window.
âWho is watching your baby?â Rick asked.
With a laugh as if that was a silly question, Jessica said, âSilvia, of course. She and Randon are at the police station. Theyâve been there all day since they called us.â
Matthew nodded from the passenger side seat, having gotten a similar call, and he had met with them briefly. Though Bobo had also put in a word, he had left immediately for work.
Raising his eyebrows, Rick nodded as well, resigned to Silvia being part of his friendsâ lives though it was obvious he wasnât so keen on an ex-witch watching his best friendâs child. With one more look to them both, Rick fell back on all fours as a wolf and ran ahead to his car. It made Mathew laugh for some reason. Rick clearly felt it was better for a wolf in shorts to be running around a New York street than a half-naked multi-billionaire doing the same thing. And it probably was.
The ride to the station was, for Jessica and Matthew, uneventful. But for JJ and Andrew, they had to deal with Connor who finally realized that no one believed his act and he was going to jail for his crimes⊠if not worse. He tried to tear apart the plastic divide between themâoddly strengthened by something vampire as he actually broke it and was reaching to strangle JJ to crash the car. But Andrew put a stop to that, bringing out his red crystal and someway making a fire barrier inside the car between them. Connor was horrified and deeply singed when they reached the police station. He had soot on his face.
Connor fought his exit from the car. Tom and Piranha were there and so was Officer Johnson and the slew of others who worked on supernatural cases. Most who assisted in bringing Connor in were relieved they had finally caught the perpetrator. Only a few were dismayed that Troy was acquitted.
As they dragged Connor to be photographed, the paranormal photographer insisted on taking a few photos as wellâat JJâs request. He explained to Matthew that Brandonâs ghost had now fixated on Connor. He was actually trying to strangle him, without success of course. JJ was glad to be free of the jerk, but that meant he had to get his haunting picture now before a reaper finally snagged Brandon. They tended to visit homicide cells for that very purpose.
âDid you find Nicoleâs ghost?â Matthew asked.
JJ nodded. âUh⊠yeah. She was in the morgue. Um, right now she is attached to Troy.â He held up a text from his cousin.
Matthew read it.
*Weâve got a problem. I got the pic for evidence, but the ghost girl wonât leave Troy. When she gets
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