Night Marks (13 page)

“Je t'aime,” he replies. Great, now he thinks he’s freaking French. Whatever. I have work to do.

The guys are a little slow to do my bidding, but I get them alert, without even having to dump water on their heads, and we hit the door running. For a wolf to take their own life is pretty much unheard of, but there is always a first time for everything and with my luck I am afraid I will be too late.

Chapter 16

Things that piss me off…psychotic stalkers

One of the hardest things, probably the hardest, about switching from assassin to private investigator, is meeting the clients. It is something I have on my mind a lot. When they come into my office, it isn't that big of a deal. We are on my playing field and I feel somewhat comfortable.

When I have to go out to a client’s house, like I am now, that is when the nervousness kicks in. I don’t know this person and who’s to say they aren't working for the Collective just trying to draw me out. I think Allison sounded sincere on the phone, but I don’t know her. I guess that is why, in cases like this, I actually enjoy having the guards tag along. Not that I would ever clue anyone in on that.

Allison’s directions lead us to the north side of town. No part of town is really a dump, per se, since paranorms tend to have piles of cash lying around, but it is probably the low end of the social scale. Think in a world full of billionaires, this section is where the millionaires live.

I park in front of a large, two-story cape cod. It is yellow with a bright red front door. There is an attached three-car garage and two cute little dormer windows peaking up from the roof. It looks like a nice little family home.

I get out of the Suburban, yes I drove it even though Demon Boy could pop in any second, and head towards the front walk. Tweedle Dum and Dee take position on either side of me.

Before we even get to the door, it swings open and a woman steps out to greet us.

“Thank goodness you are here,” she says bowing her head subtly. I am guessing it is a sign of my dominance over her. No one has ever done that to me before, so I have no clue. “I told Josephina you were coming and it seemed to upset her more. I don’t know what is going on.”

“Can you take me to her?” I ask curious about why me being here would upset the girl.

“Yes, follow me. I hope the gentlemen don’t mind staying in the living room while I take you up. I don’t think she could handle being around a male right now.”

“Jonas will follow me and stand outside the door so she cannot see him. I know she will still sense that he is there, but he won’t allow me to be on a separate floor. Behind a closed door is already pushing it.” As I finish speaking, I hear something crash on the side of the house.

Not stopping to ask questions, I draw my Smith & Wesson and pursue the noise. I watch as a small form scuttles out of a bush and takes off in a run.

“Stop!” I yell to no avail. The form keeps running and I chase after it. Before we get even halfway to the woods bordering the rear of the house, I overcome the assailant and tackle them to the ground.

“Josephina,” Allison screams as she rushes towards us.

The girl in my grasp struggles to try to break free. She can’t be any taller than I am and I have a lot more strength, so she is wasting energy.

I get her rolled over and subdued. Upon looking at her, it quickly clicks on why she doesn’t want to see me. Her face is torn up and her one non-swollen eye doesn’t match mine, but her hair and general build do. This obviously happened to her because of the resemblance to me. At least it is obvious in my mind.

“There are only a couple people I can think of that would have done this to you. I am placing bets on it being Tommy,” I tell her softly, not wanting to traumatize her any more than I have.

“He kept calling me by your name,” she sobs. “It was horrible. I kept telling him I wasn’t Nyx, but he wouldn’t listen. He kept saying I was finally his and all sorts of things that didn’t make sense. I tried to fight back, but he was just too strong.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” I say hugging her into me. “I am so sorry you had to go through that. He is the scum of the earth and is already on my list for eradication. He won’t be able to do this to you again. I promise.”

The poor girl. Punished because of a psychopath’s obsession with me. At least when he tortured me in the past, he didn’t leave all the scars she will have to bear. She hasn’t had the Collective's training I had that conditioned my mind for this kind of abuse.

“Why don’t we get you back up to your room, so we can talk a little more,” I tell her while I pull her up off the grass. “We need to find a way to help you get through this.”

We make our way towards the front of the house and she leads me up to her room. Jonas follows and her mother takes Jake to the living room. She drags me towards her bed and Jonas softly shuts the door behind us with him on the other side.

On her bed, we sit facing each other. She is still softly crying and my emotionally dead heart hurts for her.

I take a second to check out her room. She is a purple freak with dark purple walls, lavender carpeting and matching royal purple curtains and bedspread. She has a small desk with a computer on it. There really aren’t any pictures lying around that would show what she normally looks like.

“I know it is hard to talk about, and you don't have to tell me everything because sadly I can imagine, but I need you to at least tell me some. You cannot keep it bottled up.”

“How did you know it was him?” she asks.

“Because I bare permanent scars from him already and I am aware that he is obsessed with me. I only know one other person who is mildly fixated, and he would not take it to this level.” At least, I hope Ryan hasn't gone this bat shit crazy.

“Can I see your scars?”

“Sure.” I stand up and pull the back of my shirt up until she can get the full glimpse of my biggest mark.

“That's right along your spine. It must have hurt like crazy,” she says getting closer so she can get a good look.

“It didn't feel great. It was back before I had any super healing active, so it took forever to get to where it is. Luckily, you should be back to normal in a day or two, at least physically.” I put my shirt down and return to my spot on the bed.

“That is one benefit of being a werewolf,” she says with a slight tip upwards to her lips.

“He didn't use any knives on you did he? I can only see your face, so I cannot tell if he used the knife skills he honed on me.”

“No, it was just the beating of my face and, well you know,” she says trailing off. I do know, but it isn't from experience. Somehow after all the years of torment, I had been spared that last little bit that could have crushed my spirit like it did this girl’s.

“He didn't bite you during that time, did he?” I ask. Usually it wouldn't be an issue, but since I know Tommy has broken his mate bond it might cause a problem.

She looks up horrified. She must have an idea of why I asked. “No,” she says moving her shirt to expose bite free shoulders.

“Good. He is more dangerous than a normal wolf out trying to have what they consider a little fun. Do you have any self-defense training? I don’t think he will come looking for you again, but you might feel better if you felt more assured of yourself.” I highly doubt someone would have trained such a young female wolf.

“No. It’s just me and my mom, and neither of us know much on that front. My dad and brother work in the resistance, so they don’t come home very often.”

“What do you say to stopping by my place for an hour or so each day, so I can teach you some moves?” I ask feeling generous. “Guys aren’t the only ones fighting for something in this resistance. We girls need to step up and show them we can help.”

“Do you think I can actually be like you? I have always thought I was too little to even try to learn.”

“Have you actually looked at me? Do you know how often I get teased about being my size? A big knife usually gives the jerks pause. Knowing how to use that big knife knocks them off their high horses pretty fast.”

“I think I would like to learn,” she says still somewhat meek.

“Good. I think it will help with your healing process. Your mom mentioned something about you feeling ruined for your mate.”

“Yeah, well, I am kind of. What mate is going to want me used as I was?”

“I can almost guarantee he won’t be coming into the relationship a virgin. These days I am surprised you were before this happened, which I am just guessing is true, since you are so upset. I have hung out at Sins enough to see exactly how unmated males spend their free time and it isn’t hanging out at home pining after their possible mates.

“I know how you lost your virginity was not what you expected, but your mate isn’t going to renounce you over it. If the punk does, you can send him my way and I will knock some sense into him.” I decide it probably best not to tell her I am still fully intact in that department. The knowledge wouldn’t be helpful right now.

“You smell funny, sorry. I mean that in the nicest way, but I am told you are a werewolf. Have you found your mate?” she asks.

“Rumor is I have and since I can sometimes hear his voice in my head, I imagine the rumors are true,” I reply.

“What was meeting him like? I have heard it is epic,” she claims letting her age and innocence show through a little.

“Now there is a great story. I am guessing yours will be a lot sweeter than mine. I was hired to kill him and we met as I read him his death sentence and I shot him with a silver bullet.”

She gasps and looks appalled by the thought of me shooting my mate. I cannot really blame her. In most cases, silver would have been fatal to him and eventually me.

“So, you didn’t feel an instant connection? Your instincts didn’t stop you from shooting him?”

“He has told me he felt a connection, but it was months before I physically met him. On my side of things, I didn’t feel it, but that is just because I am defective. I am sure you will know when you find the lucky guy and things will work out fine for you.”

“I hope you are right,” she says and then remains quiet for a few moments. “I think I am doing better now. I don’t want to keep you here all night, I am sure you have other plans. Do you have a specific time I should drop by for my lessons?”

“You are right, I should probably be going. My mates are waiting for me. Why don’t you stop by ParaNorm Inc. tomorrow around ten at night? I would invite you to my home gym, but the security is really tight right now and you would have to pass a bunch of background checks first. Maybe soon, but for now I think we have enough room in my storefront.”

“Sounds good. I will be there at ten sharp,” she replies and I move to the door to leave. She is a good kid and I hope I am helping rather than hindering. As I turn the door knob and open the door she says, “Wait a second. Mates?”

I just laugh and follow Jonas towards the stairs. “Yeah. Good luck figuring that one out because the word is plural in my case. I did mention I was defective.”

Chapter 17

Some new decorations for the office

“You did good by that girl,” Jonas says as we get underway. I am happy to hear that he approves.

“I hope so. She is a sweet girl and it’s partially my fault this happened to her.” Stupid Tommy.

“Nah,” Jake says inserting his two cents. “It isn’t your fault Tommy won’t take no for an answer. Something has always been a bit off with him. I never saw him prey on any other girls, but he always had an evil gleam in his eyes.”

“That’s true, but if I would have killed him years ago, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Do you think you could have done it when you didn’t have your hybrid nature activated?”

“When I was younger obviously not or I wouldn’t have the T on my back. I could have done it this last year, though. I am a good assassin and I should have taken him out. I have a lot of places I could have hidden the body and no one would have been able to trace it back to me.” By the time I was done with him, there might not have actually been a body left to hide.

“You don't think you would have regretted killing another member of the Collective while you were still with them?” Jonas asks turning to watch my face as I answer.

“No,” I reply looking right at him. We hold our gazes until he finally sees what he is looking for and nods. I turn back to pay attention to the road in front of me.

“I believe you wouldn't. That's good. You know, we don't do it often because we are still in recon mode and trying to keep our members a secret, but there are times when we need to have someone killed. A lot of us are trained for that type of mission and we just tend to draw straws to see who will carry it out. Maybe you should ask the masters if you can get in on the action.”

I have only been out of action for a few weeks and I sorely miss it. I can't believe Sebastian hasn't brought the possibility of doing some killing up. Me and him are going to have a little discussion about keeping me from having fun.

“That sounds like a great idea. I will talk to the guys.” Taking out Collective agents won't be easy, but it is the kind of mission I live for. The behind the scenes work of learning my mark's movements, deciding where and when to take them out, and what weapon to use against them is second nature to me.

The car lapses into a quiet. We all have things on our minds and this is as good of a time as any to think about them. My mind files through past assassination assignments and starts critiquing my work. Since all, but two, of the assignments ended in a kill I would say I have been pretty successful.

I talked to all my victims before their deaths, something most people don't do, but it did allow for some of them to actually fight back. Those are the cases I am reviewing. Were my fighting skills up to snuff? Just how many hits were they able to land on me? Were any of them innocent of their crimes?

The last one is a big one that hangs heavy on my mind. Sebastian says my kills were all legit, and he cannot lie to me, but the fact that I have learned the Collective used some of their agents to kill threats to them and not real criminals concerns me.