Silent Cravings (39 page)

Jessica reached out to set a hand lightly over his on the table, giving a reassuring squeeze. “Thank you for your honesty. Now, here’s my honest answer.

“Reluctance is understandable. You’re in a new place, with new things, and, yeah, I’d think you were out of your mind if you
weren’t
scared about being bit for the first time. It’s the ones who are eager for it that worry me.” She lowered her eyes, toying with the papers on the table. “And you’re right, Mouse is very nice. However, she’s also very sensitive about what she is. More than any Other I’ve ever met. If it’s going to be too much for you to handle, don’t apologize. Just stay away from her. Even if you don’t like the idea, let somebody else assume the claim.”

At his look, she met his eyes unflinching, remaining calm and matter-of-fact despite the words coming out of her mouth and the seriousness of the situation.

“I’d rather see her unhappy for a few days over losing you than tearing herself apart like she did last night because you’ll never let her near you. Find someone else, like Sebastian or Clarisse, who will be patient and understanding if you’re too scared to let them touch you for a while. Don’t do it to Mouse. She doesn’t deserve that.”

Mouse had confided in Jessica last night what had been bothering her about the fighting and Christoph’s reaction, and had thought she’d gotten something of a handle on herself. Obviously not. Her eyes burned like she was tearing up again, and she quickly turned around to face the counter, masking the wiping at her eyes like she was getting more honey out of the cabinet. Judging by the look Christoph had given her when she laid her hands on him, being alone was not the only thing that scared Goliaths.

She didn’t want to go into another long explanation, so she just jotted down a few words, not really believing them.

Maybe you’re right.

Christoph scrubbed at the stubble on his face, looking thoughtful. It wasn’t a common expression for him.

“What’s it like to get bitten?” he asked.

Analie smiled at Mouse. “Trust me. Or, hey, next time you meet him, just shoulder-bump him. Like this.” She made sure Mouse wasn’t holding hot tea before tilting sideways and thumping her shoulder against the vampire’s. “Since there’s a height difference, you’re probably going to want to go for his side so you don’t hit him in the gut or the kidney.”

She grabbed a third cookie and headed out of the kitchen. “I gotta finish my homework. Think about it, okay?”

Mouse blinked at the shoulder-bump thing. There was a familiarity to it that made her smile, just a little.

With a sigh, she relaxed and reached out to ruffle Analie’s hair. She nodded, then paused, considering something. Soon her hands were fluttering, then scrabbling for her pad. She gestured frantically for Analie to wait, then rapidly scribbled down something else. Which she frowned over, crossed out into a big, black smudge, and wrote something else. Also crossed out until it was completely illegible. Frustrated, she put down just a few words, and finally handed it over.

Should I let him go?

While obviously unhappy about it, she shifted her weight impatiently from foot to foot, waiting anxiously for Analie’s answer.

“Kind of like sex,” Jessica waggled her brows and gave him a lopsided grin. “The first time hurts a little, but you get the hang of it pretty quick, and it feels damned good once you get past the ‘holy cow, this is awkward’ stage.”

Analie frowned. “No, I don’t think you should. Honestly, Mouse, I think you’re the coolest person here and I don’t want Christoph getting bitten by anyone else. Just sayin’.”

“I don’t know if that makes it better or worse,” Christoph said. He was silent for a while before he started singing, “Like a virgin...chomped for the very first time...” He rubbed his face, sighing. “Sorry. I get weird when I’m wigging out. I’ll try to get over this really quick. I’d rather stay with Mouse.”

His reaction was so ridiculous Jessica had to smother a laugh with her hand. “Sorry. Okay, just… be nice to her, please? Hell, out of anybody here, she’s the least likely to back you into a corner. Just don’t drag it out forever so she doesn’t turn into a PMS machine.”

She paused, then grinned again. “Besides, I’ve still got twenty dollars on three weeks.”

Mouse was so surprised at Analie’s answer, she didn’t react right away. As soon as the shock wore off, she snagged Analie up in a fierce hug, more reassured than she’d been by hours of “girl talk” with Jessica last night.

Analie immediately hugged Mouse right back, giving her shoulder a quick nuzzle. It was the closest pack-like gesture she’d received since leaving home, and for a Were used to constantly being in physical contact with friends, it meant quite a lot to her.

Mouse beamed at her, though Analie couldn’t see it.

Maybe things would turn out all right after all.

Christoph nodded, grinning like a wolf. “Okay. Smack me upside the head if I’m an ass again—I don’t always know.” He got up. “Thank you. That was a big help. I’m going to go pick pieces of door out of my arms and back now.” He paused. “Who do I tell about this sort of thing?”

“You got it. And… err… I’ll take care of it. I don’t think now’s a good time for you or Ashi to be talking to John.”

Chapter Fifteen

A
shi woke up at six a.m. sharp and immediately showered. Washing would dull his scent. It also gave him time to go over his plans. After the shower, he dressed in his old sweats, a light shirt, tied a jacket around his waist, and put on his shoes. Then he prodded Christoph awake.

“M’go
’
way,” Christoph mumbled into his pillow. “Mus
’
as claim…”

“Get up or I’ll haul you downstairs and throw you into John’s apartment,” Ashi hissed.

Christoph lifted his head and blinked slowly. “What do
you
want?”

“I’m getting out of here. Get dressed. You’re coming with me.”

Christoph put his head back down. “Mmmm—no.”

“What?” Ashi prodded him sharply. “Why not?”

“Knee hurts,” Christoph mumbled. “And Analie is bringing home some lamb tonight.”

Ashi grabbed one of Christoph’s shirts and stormed to the kitchen. So much for having Christoph along to draw the vampires away from himself. He packed bottled water into the shirt and tied it into a makeshift backpack. He drank a glass of orange juice with eggs in it and headed down to the first floor. He hoped no one was up and about at this odd hour.

Unfortunately for Ashi, there was always someone on guard duty.

One thing was in his favor. It was Lisa’s turn to take the late evening through mid-afternoon shift. She was bored out of her skull—she’d been on watch since one in the morning, and had a number of hours to go. She was in her apartment with the door open, reading a paperback instead of keeping watch in the foyer like she was supposed to.

Once in the first floor hallway, Ashi took off his shoes and crept along like a ninja, breathing as lightly as possible. After he was outside there was nothing they could do—the vampires would burn into ash in seconds.

If Gregory had been truthful about
that.

Lisa heard him creeping down the hall.

She was a bit too involved in reading a scene where the hero gave his full attention to freeing the heroine’s heaving bosoms from the constraints of a corset to bother investigating.

Ashi almost didn’t believe it when he put his hand on the doorknob of the front door. He turned it slowly, very quietly, and all but leapt into the morning light. He shut the door behind him, put on his shoes, and started jogging. He’d warm up for about thirty minutes, then start pounding the pavement.

He headed south.

Ken was wide awake. He and Reece were seated at the glass and chrome table just outside the kitchen. Reece fussed with the flower arrangement while they talked.

“Okay, so they look good in a suit. So what? Have they ever worked this scene before?”

“No,” Ken said, crestfallen. “They’re just for show, eye-candy. Alec wants them doing something to earn their keep.”

Reece scowled and shook one of the flowers at Ken. “You realize this is going to be a disaster, don’t you? I heard Christoph had a knee injury and the other one has no passion at all. Where are we supposed to put them?”

“The cages, I suppose.”

“Ugh. I suppose that will work. At least they won’t be in the way.”

“They’re supposed to start on Friday night. We’ve only got two days. Can you teach them some moves so they don’t make complete asses of themselves?”

Reece made a face. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Ashi was making good time. He’d head south for a few miles, then veer west and keep going. He could figure out the collar later. There had to be some mage out there willing to take it off.

Christoph couldn’t get back to sleep after Ashi prodded him awake. Grumbling, he got up and shaved, showered, brushed his teeth, and wandered back into the bedroom. He was starting to feel sleepy again. With a sigh, he crawled back into bed.

Ashi was going to get himself killed.

One of the people Ashi ran past caught a good whiff of him and turned to watch him with wide eyes. Her pack tattoo was hidden beneath her blouse and blazer, but the Moonwalker was well aware that there were some stray Weres from one of the banned packs who were supposed to be in the hands of Alec Royce right now.

The mix of vampire and unfamiliar Were-reek, along with the collar and ragged sweatpants, alerted her that she’d just had a brush with one of them.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed her alpha.

Rohrik wouldn’t be happy about this.

With every block Ashi put behind him, he felt better. Free. A little more like a Were rather than a human. Being pink and weak twenty-four-seven was a nightmare. He didn’t like to be reminded what it was like to not have a side of himself that was so powerful it could throw trucks or tear people apart.

He opened his first bottle of water and sipped, slowing to a jog so he wouldn’t spill it all over himself. He wouldn’t eat until tomorrow. Where he was going to get food, he didn’t know. He couldn’t shift to hunt.

At least he was
out
. That was a good start.

Though he didn’t know it, he was being paced by the Moonwalker. She was keeping tabs on him, but had no intention of trying to stop or hinder him.

After making arrangements to keep a tail on him, Rohrik called Royce and gave him the news. Royce apologized for the inconvenience and promised suitable recompense if Rohrik’s people could keep an eye on him until nightfall, when one of the vampires could collect him. Rohrik agreed.

Royce, though tired and grumpy, immediately went downstairs and proceeded to harangue Lisa, who was suitably chastened by the end of it to consider burning her romance novel collection. He then collected every other vampire in the building for an impromptu meeting in his office upstairs.

Ashi paused just inside an alleyway to catch his breath, walking back and forth to keep his legs from cramping. It was time to head west. He’d keep moving—at some point he could probably hitchhike and make better time. Getting far away from Royce was his primary goal. Once he was on the West Coast again he could focus on getting the collar off and figuring out how to return to the pack.

As the sun blazed toward noon, he headed south for one more block before turning at the corner and running west.

Christoph got up after a while and wandered downstairs, yawning and scratching. He went into Mouse’s apartment and found Analie blearily eating cornflakes in the kitchen. Wordlessly, he joined her and they sat in amiable silence that was broken only by the crunching of cereal.

“I think Ashi escaped,” Christoph commented.

Analie choked on her cornflakes and spent the next couple minutes coughing. When she could speak again, she gasped, “Are you shitting me? How’d he get out?”

“I don’t know. But I haven’t seen him since he said he was leaving early this morning.”

Analie wiped the bits of cornflake she’d coughed up off the table. “Where’s he gonna go? It’s not like the pack will welcome him with open arms.”

Christoph shrugged, making a little whirlpool with his spoon for the last cornflake in his bowl. “He wanted me to go, but I refused.”

“Wow. You think Royce is going to care?”

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Think Gregory is going to care?”

“Oh, definitely.”

While they were discussing the probable outcome of the day’s events, Mouse came stumbling wearily back into the apartment. She was exhausted and didn’t seem to notice or care that Christoph was in the kitchen, tromping into her bedroom to get some uninterrupted rest for what remained of the day.

At some point, Ashi would run into a problem.

He was on an island. A rather large one. Sometime during the day, he would have to make his way toward one of the bridges that spanned several miles over the channel of the Hudson to get to the mainland.

Analie washed the dishes and moved into the living room to do homework. Freddy had given her a “cheat sheet” explaining equations in terms she could easily understand. He’d gone through her math book and changed the wording of some of the word problems to better reflect things that concerned her. Freight trains moving at a constant speed became running Weres and block A and block B colliding became Amberguard heads knocking together.