Punk Rox Warrior (3 page)

the scent of peaches. Nothing about this case was adding up. He’d

found none of what the mother claimed. In any case, he’d let her chill

out and then check on her before he headed to bed, giving him some

time to get his body under control.

He’d seen a lot of things throughout his life, growing up in the

mountains of upstate New York and married to the military since he

was old enough to join. He was a soldier, a hunter, and tracker. He’d

never seen anything like these cartoony, skeletal animals she had

scattered around. When he asked her about them, all she had to say

was, “Even dead animals need love.” She was different all right. Her

apartment was different, dark yet with splashes of color. It was

obvious she lived alone and liked it that way, yet scattered far and

wide there were letters, pictures, postcards, and other tokens that

hinted that she was welcomed and well-liked by the people who

shared her strange little piece of the world.

After he cleaned up the kitchen, he made a lap around the large

studio apartment, cleaning and straightening as he went. He took the

time to study her things, get a feel for her life, rummage through her

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filing cabinet and computer files. After a few hours, it was nearing

midnight. He had to check in with the boss lady in the a.m. It was

time to hit the sack.

The knock at her bedroom door went unanswered. “Rainne, if

you’re in there, you need to answer me.” Nothing. “Rainne!” His

voice rising to a commanding level. He figured if she was going to act

like a child, she would be treated as such. “Open this door or you will

be forced to replace it when I rip it from its hinges!” Nothing.

A split second later he surged into the room boot first as the door

splintered into three pieces. Immediately, he knew she had left.

“Fuck!” Darting around the corner and returning a half second later

holstering his firearm, he threw on his bomber jacket and flung

himself down the fire escape. He figured she had a pretty hefty lead

on him, but he loved to track his prey. He’d find her.

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Chapter 2

Shamrock’s Pub was Rainne’s home away from home. Her band

played here every weekend, and her best friend Annie did karaoke a

couple of nights a week. When she entered the bar through the haze of

smoke, she could see Annie. Rounding the DJ booth, Rainne moved

into her outstretched arms. “Well, Helllooo!” The high octave

welcome always made her smile. Annie was one of the first people

Rainne had met when she moved out of her mother’s house. “So

how’s Carol? Has she calmed down a bit?” she asked with a sarcastic

glint in her eye.

“Hell no! She bought me a mercenary babysitter! Ya know, she

didn’t seem to have time for me or my stalker before I got my head

kicked in at that dinner and embarrassed her in front of all her snotty

friends. That woman!” she growled. “I’m afraid she’s going to try to

get me to move back in with her. She’s been sending hints around that

she’s found a nice cookie-cutter husband for me, if only I’d lose some

weight and behave myself.”

“Oh, lord! I bet he’s an ass kiss from her company, some little boy

who will dress you up in pearls and take you yachting,” Annie said

with mock enthusiasm.

“Oh, dude! I think I just threw up in my mouth a lil’ bit!” she

yelled back. “Besides, what about the band? Who would keep you out

of trouble? That’s a job all on its own. I should get hazard pay for all that shit!” They both laughed as Annie handed her a draft beer.

“Wait a minute!” Annie shrieked. “Did you say mercenary

babysitter? Like Rambo?”

“Yeah!” she proclaimed, wide-eyed. “He’s a real stick in the mud,

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very intimidating.”

“Is he hot?” Annie asked excitedly.

“What is wrong with you? I don’t know! Besides, he’s not my

type. He’ll do his job, report back to Mommy of my sinful lifestyle,

collect his booty, and flee.”

“Maybe he can tap your booty before he leaves?” she asked,

wagging her eyebrows.

“Annie!” she screamed at her friend. “God! I don’t need to get

laid!”

“That, my dear, is exactly what you need. Anybody would be

lucky to have you. Besides, when was the last time you got laid?”

Rainne’s eyes rose to meet hers, and with a ragged breath, she

exhaled and said, “I don’t remember, a year at least.”

“Damn, girl, you are a better woman than I,” Annie said with

disbelief. “Go sit. You’re up soon,” she said as she went back to her

booth.

Rainne picked a seat at the table her friends were at and lit a

cigarette. Waving to the waitress, she mouthed the words, “The

usual.” After a few songs, a few drafts, and some chicken wings,

Rainne was starting to relax. Karaoke always relaxed her. Close

friends, cold beer, and great talent. This was definitely her idea of

heaven. Every song held a different memory, a different emotion.

Rainne sat back in her chair and watched her friends plot her mother’s

punishment with mock enthusiasm. They were always there, always

helping. They were her family.

“I say we kidnap her, dress her in jeans, and take her to yard sales

this weekend.” Markus, Annie’s husband, laughed. Markus had a

great smile. It went well with his short, blond hair and deep green

eyes. He had a kind look to him.

“Yeah, God forbid she has to mingle with the commoners.” Her

business partner and bass player, Rebecca, smiled while she licked

her boyfriend Joel’s ear.

“No!” Joel chimed in. “I say we take her to one of our shows and

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21

throw her into the mosh pit.”

“God, Joel! We want to teach her a lesson, not kill her!” Rainne

exclaimed. Her friends hated her mother for her lack of caring. She

was never a girl who expected people to fight her battles for her, but it made her feel good that she had people to help with hiding the bodies

if the need ever arose.

“Up next, we have Rainne!” Annie announced from the stage.

Rainne set her beer down and rose from her seat. Slapping Markus

in the back of the head and giving him a determined look, she said,

“Touch the wings and you die!”

As Rainne took the stage, the bar disappeared. She couldn’t see

anything but the gel lights above her head. Adjusting the mic stand,

she felt the rush of adrenaline that always hit her when the music was

turned up. Hearing a great song was like a religious experience. Her

heart seemed to beat in rhythm with the tempo. All was right with her

world when the music was on and she had the microphone. Knowing

that for the next five minutes the world wouldn’t be able to bother

her, it was her and her song, it gave her a sense of peace.

* * * *

God, this place is a dump. Her mother was right about that

anyway,
James thought as he took a seat in the shadows at the back of the grungy bar. As he sat watching her, he was initially going to go sit with her, but he figured if she ran because she was hiding something,

he’d get more information back here. Her mother had given him a list

of places she frequented along with a laundry list of things she was

sure she did at these places. “God, karaoke!” he scoffed under his

breath.
This should be good,
he thought, with an eye roll.

Carol had told him in detail of how Rainne had been singing since

she was a little girl. “Her father put that insane thought into her empty head,” she had sneered. The woman assured him her talent, or lack

thereof, was the family joke. “She thinks she’ll be famous!” she had

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proclaimed. “Always has music on. Plays it so loud in her car it

shakes the windows of the house when she drives up. It’s

embarrassing! It’s not normal. She must be a drug addict. I’m sure she

has orgies with those deviants in her band. She was not raised to be so

wild, so out of control.”

Sitting watching her interact with her friends, he could tell, even

from a distance, that she was comfortable. For the first time since

she’d bounded to the floor in that hallway, she seemed to relax, smile

even. She had an amazing smile. Warm and friendly, it reached her

eyes, giving her a glow. Boy could she eat. She’d been downing

wings and beer since she sat down. That had always been something

he’d seen men do. It was incredibly sexy to see a woman eat like that.

He hated the women he had dated in the past, when he would ta take

them out to a restaurant just to sit and watch them sip water and ration a crouton.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the DJ announcing

Rainne’s turn at the mic. He was taken aback at how the bar seemed

to be anticipating her song. Amid the cheers, she jumped to the stage

and adjusted the mic stand. When the music started, he saw something

shift in her. She was confident, graceful, determined. She opened her

mouth to sing, and his jaw hit the floor. He by no means knew

anything about music, but she was good. Her voice was powerful,

sensual. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. When the song ended, the

crowd erupted into applause. She flushed with this look of

amazement. She was beautiful.

* * * *

Taking her seat at the table, Rebecca leaned over to her ear and

with a bob of her head motioned to the shadowed table in the back.

With a wicked grin, she chimed, “Someone’s got a new fan.”

Rainne felt the hairs on her neck stand up. Her first thought was

that her stalker had invaded her safe house. In the six months he’d

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23

been following her, he’d never come here. Her stomach churned.

Swallowing tightly, she shifted in her chair to glance back. When she

did, she came eye to eye with James. As a curse slid through her lips,

she turned around in her chair and folded her arms over her breasts.

“Dammit!”

“Well? Who is that?” Rebecca asked.

“That’s the guy I was telling you about. I can’t believe he

followed me.”

“Well, isn’t that his job?” Annie said as she took a seat next to

Markus. Glancing over Rainne’s shoulder to get a better look, her

mouth dropped agape. “Damn! That has to be the best thing your

mother has ever bought you! Ouch!” she yelled as Rainne kicked her

from under the table.

“I just need him to do his job and leave so I can have my life back.

Speaking of leaving, that’s my cue.” Rising from her chair, she

dropped some money on the table for her food. After hugging her

friends goodbye, she headed for the door, not even glancing in

James’s direction to see if he was following.

* * * *

Did she really think by ignoring me I would just go away?
James thought as he got up and stalked after her. He hit the street, giving her some distance. The Bluetooth device securely attached to his ear

hummed. Tapping it, he whispered, “What’s the word, Alton?”

“Hey, James,” Alton stammered surprisingly, as if anyone else

would be calling him on this line. “I finished the test on the swabs you ran in her apartment.”

“And?” James sighed impatiently. While he searched her

apartment, he swabbed surfaces for drug residue. He had also sent the

contents of her hard drive and her cell phone to the mobile lab for his

partner to analyze. If she was familiar with her stalker, Alton would

know.

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“Nothing,” Alton stated plainly.

“Nothing? There can’t be nothing, Alton!” He growled. “There

has to be something.”

“James, I’m telling you there isn’t. I ran the tests three times to be

sure. No illegal substances,” he sighed, “and her credit report is

immaculate. The only thing she has is the payments on her car, and

they are all up to date. No suspicious transactions to or from her bank

accounts.”

“What?” James hissed into the headset. “That can’t be, Alton. Her

mother claimed that the stalker had called and e-mailed her.”

“He has, but Rainne never called him back. The numbers he called

from were traced to several prepaid cell phones. They were probably

paid for with cash. A dead end. The e-mails were never replied to,

only forwarded to the sheriff’s department. The e-mail address is a

Yahoo account. I hacked the mainframe, and our boy registered with

fake name, address, the whole bit. I also found…”

James cut him off as Rainne entered the park and tripped over

what appeared to be her boots. “Gotta go, Alton. I’ll call you later.”

James raced up to her as she stood up from the ground, bending at

the waist to grip her torn and bloodied jeans. “Ah! Crap!” She gasped

loudly.

Leaning down on one knee, he attempted to grasp her hands to

assess the damage she’d done to herself.

Jerking away from him, she screamed, “Don’t touch me!”

Jumping, she lost her balance and fell straight backward, slamming

her head on the sidewalk. James flinched at the crack that followed.

Shifting his weight to both knees, he looked down at her face.