Tameka's Smile (21 page)

NeeCee seemed to stop breathing.

Bull buried his nose in the tender area behind her and 138

ZENA WYNN

inhaled. She smelled so good. Like caramel and vanilla with an undertone of spice. He was getting drunk off of her scent.

“Sex? This is about sex?” Her voice was low, deadly. The smell of fear vanished and was replaced with something else.

“Mmm, fuck. Yes. Fuck, mate, claim.” His voice was guttural as he studied the exposed tendon between her neck and shoulder. His cock was hard and weeping, ready to plunge inside her waiting sheath.

A few swipes of his claw and she’d be naked. His fingers flexed, preparing to move when excruciating pain blasted up from between his legs and radiated outward. The pain was so intense, it dropped him to his knees and stole the air from his lungs.

“Seven-feet tall with fangs, claws, and a snout and underneath it all, you’re still just a
man
,” she spat.

NeeCee took her foot and shoved it against his shoulder, toppling him over. “I told you, I don’t do white men.” With that she opened the door and slipped outside muttering, “Am I a dog magnet? Is there a sign on my forehead? One that says,
NeeCee’s
an
easy lay
?” Right before closing the door, she told him, “I’ll be in the car waiting.”

Good thing he had supernatural healing abilities, otherwise she’d have neutered him. He rose to his feet on a pained groan and hobbled to his room to change clothes. It was going to be a long night.

* * * *

“Take as long as you need. I’ll be fine,” she assured him.

Chad told her what happened the last time he’d left so she could understand his worry.

“All right.” He glanced at Alex, then back at her, hesitating.

“Go. I’m okay,” she ordered.

He sighed, grabbed his things and left, reluctance in every line of his body.

139

TAMEKA’S SMILE

“Now that Chad’s gone, let’s get you checked over. Any headaches, pains, anywhere?” Alex inquired.

“No. I feel great. I think I could eat a horse by myself, but other than that…”

He laughed. “That’s your metabolism kicking in. You’ll find yourself eating more to accommodate it.”

“What happens if I don’t?” This high metabolism thing sounded like just the ticket to lose a few pounds.

Alex’s features changed to a serious demeanor, almost stern. “Always feed the beast. Feeding it helps keep it under control.”

“How so?”

He seemed to think for a minute. “You know how irritable you get when you’re hungry?”

“Yeah.” She’d been there and done that more times than she could count.

“The beast—your wolf—operates on a basic level. Eat when hungry. Defend itself. Protect family. Fight when angry. Flee when afraid. Eat, mate, fight, protect, and defend. That’s it. It also has the cunning required to get the things that it needs and a strong survival instinct. When you deny it its basic necessities, you trigger its survival mechanism and it comes to the forefront.

Give it what it wants and it stays quiet and happy, as long as you let it out to play every now and then.”

Freud would have a field day with this, she mused. “You make it sound like a child.”

“In a sense it is. An extremely powerful, highly intelligent child. Life is simple for the beast part of our nature. It sees things in either black or white. No gray areas.” Tameka rubbed her forehead wearily. “I don’t suppose you guys have a book—Werewolf 101—or a class or something for people like me?”

Alex winced. “The first thing you should know is that we refer to ourselves as shape-shifters, not werewolves. If you have to specify, the correct term is wolf-shifter. And no, we do not have a book. There’s too much danger of it falling into the wrong hands. Normally, your mate would be responsible for teaching you all you needed to know over time as you slowly transition from human to shifter. Your case is special in many 140

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ways.”

He sighed. “Since Chad wasn’t raised among us, I’m not sure how much knowledge he has. I’ll have my beta Carol and her mate Mark come by and answer any questions you might have.”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know what to ask and probably won’t know for some time. You say I’m a shifter now, but other than an increased appetite, I really don’t feel any different.

Shouldn’t I?”

“Give it another day or so for the medicine to totally leave your system, and then tell me how you feel,” he counseled.

“I still think there should be a manual,” she muttered, not liking this whole ‘one step at a time, feel your way through’

method he was prescribing.

“Even if there was, it wouldn’t do you much good. Think about it. What if you had to write a manual on being a human being for visitors from another planet? What would you say? The human existence is varied. Would you include everything?

Could
you include everything? We mostly know about ourselves and those like us, but the differences between us vary as much as the similarities. We could no more write a how-to book on being a shifter than you could on being a human.” She hated to admit it, but he was right.

“I’ll have Carol come and talk to you. She can go over the basics and Mark can tell you about his experience. He used to be human before he mated with Carol. He’s good at explaining things,” he finished.

She must have been looking as doubtful as she felt, because Alex rushed to reassure her.

“Don’t worry. Mark’s a pharmacist. He’s used to taking the complicated and breaking it down into in simple terms. I’ll tell them to come by this afternoon. Think of them as your very own mentors. Call on them, on any of us, as much as you need. Pack means family. You’re mated to one of my wolves, that means I’m responsible for you.”

As he left, she sat pondering just what that would mean for her and Chad.

* * * *

TAMEKA’S SMILE

As Chad approached the turn-off to County Rd. 17, his phone rang. He answered one-handed as he turned south onto the road that would take him to Tameka’s house.

“Wilson.”

“You rollin’?” Bull asked.

“Yeah. Alex is with Meka so I’m headed to her house to check on the sister and pick up something for Meka to wear while I’m there.”

“Negative. Don’t come here,” Bull stated emphatically.

“Did you say ‘here’? You’re at Meka’s?”

“Yeah, I stayed the night.”

“I see,” Chad stated slowly as a grin crept across his face.

“Anything I should know?”

“Hell, no!” Bull’s voice abruptly lowered. “Nothing happened,” he finished quietly.

Chad could hear the regret in his voice. “She shot you down?”

“Like a torpedo,” he answered in that same low voice.

NeeCee must be nearby. “Tried to neuter me, man. I’m still trying to coax my balls back down into position. Put the fear of God into them, I tell you.”

Chad snorted and almost choked on the gum he was chewing, then burst into laughter as he got a visual. Bull was one of the few people that could make him laugh. Just one of the many reasons he considered Bull his friend. “If she said no, why are you there?”

“Thought since NeeCee was here, we could play decoy and draw the perp out.”

“You know, that’s not a bad…
SON OF A
…!” The windshield spidered and splintered, small fragments of glass flying everywhere. Chad dropped the phone, swerved hard to the left and stomped on the brake, bringing the backend of the truck fishtailing around to the side in a screech of rubber.

He flung open the driver’s door with his left hand while shoving the gear in park with his right. As he bailed out of the vehicle, his passenger window exploded seconds before he heard the sharp, echoing report of a shotgun. Shit! This truck, a black Ford F150 crew cab fully loaded, wasn’t even a year old.

142

ZENA WYNN

“
CHAD, WHAT’S GOING ON
?”

He ducked as another blast sounded. Gravel kicked up as some of the pellets ricocheted off the ground underneath the truck. “Enemy fire. Twelve gauge. Took out the windshield and passenger side windows. Probably using buckshot,” he finished calmly, his voice as cold as an arctic breeze.

He snatched off his shades and dropped them on the bench seat, tossing his hat beside them. Hoping not to get his fool head blown off, he raised up to see if he could get a visual on the shooter. Nada. Nothing ahead but empty road and dense woods on either side. Couldn’t even catch their scent. All he could smell was the strong aroma of burnt rubber and the faint tinge of lead. Whoever the shooter was, they were well hidden. He couldn’t even tell if the shoots came from the right or the left.

“Location?”

“CR 17 just past mile marker 53.” The engine sputtered and died. Then it was silent. Too quiet. Nothing stirred. Not even the wind. The shooter was either reloading or retreating. Hopefully it was the former. He wanted this bastard. Just one more shot and he’d have a fix on the location.

He could clearly hear the squawk of Bull’s police radio as he called it in, even though the phone had slid halfway under the passenger side seat in the open position. “
Base, this is Unit
Nineteen. Code One, Officer needs assistance. Pinned by
gunfire. CR 17, mile marker 53
.” He reached underneath and grabbed it, before hunkering back down in the open doorway.

“
Roger, units responding
.”

Three more shots fired in rapid succession. Chad dove behind the front driver’s side tire, cell phone clutched in his hand.

“Chad! Speak to me!”

“I’m fine. Definitely buckshot. Large pellets. Getting closer.”

“Hang on, buddy. I’m on the way.”

“Don’t bother. I can handle my end. Go after the assailant.”

“I said I’m on the way,” Bull insisted stubbornly.

Chad sighed. “Proceed with caution. The enemy is hidden in the woods between us.”

“Roger.”

143

TAMEKA’S SMILE

Chad kept a wary eye on his surroundings, listening intently. He didn’t hear any movement in the undergrowth, but the hair on the nape of his neck stood on end, warning that he was being watched. He wouldn’t put it past the bastard to come around and try to get a hit. The open door of the vehicle provided little protection. He’d probably survive a direct shot from a twelve-gauge, but he wasn’t interested in putting it to the test.

Good thing it was as late as it was. Most of the morning commuters were long gone. The road was empty—for now. That could change at any moment. He looked around again.

Cautiously, he came around the driver’s door and reached into the cab, putting the truck into neutral. He was in the center of the road. If he could just get it to the side, it would serve the dual purpose of getting the truck out of harm’s way and putting him within running distance of the safety of the wood. The engine had stalled out minutes ago. He didn’t want to attract the perp’s attention by cranking it back up.

He got a good grip on the frame and gave the truck a shove to get it rolling. So far, so good.

“You okay, bud?”

“Yeah. Moving the truck out of the road. Trying to get to the side, make it to the woods and shift.” Three more shots rang out. Both passenger side tires went flat and the last shot missed him by a hair. “
Shit
!” He ducked back for the protection of the wheel.

“Status!” Bull demanded.

“Truck stalled in southbound lane. Two flat tires. Shooter switched ammo. Slugs.”

Damn, what a time for him to be unarmed.

Chad was tired of sitting here like a duck. He wanted to shift forms and track the shooter, but he couldn’t take the chance of an outsider discovering what he was. Of course, if this is who he thought it was, that might just be what they were waiting for.

In the distance, he heard sirens approaching. Bull must have hit some back roads and circled around to be coming from the north instead of south where Tameka’s house lay. Being real subtle about it, too. Not. So much for catching the perp unaware.

The cruiser came screeching to a halt less than ten feet 144

ZENA WYNN

away, lights flashing, dirt and gravel flying. Chad waved a hand to get the dust out of his face. Bull jumped out with his Glock drawn and an M-16 in his left hand, running in a bent over crouch until he was by Chad’s side behind the truck. “You get a bead on him?” He handed Chad the rifle.

“Negative. Couldn’t lock onto target.” Much to his disgust.

“What’s with the sirens?”

As Chad spoke, he heard an engine turn over, then the motor rev as the driver gunned the engine. “Damn it, she’s getting away.” He jumped up to dash around the front of the truck to see if he could spot the vehicle.

“Negative. Units five and thirteen took point, covering all the exits. They’ll catch her.”

Chad paused, then sank onto the ground, sitting with his back against the side of the truck and waited. He wasn’t going anywhere without a tow truck. “Bitch probably rode right past them, pretty as you please.” Hernandez and Casanova were good cops, but they were probably expecting the perp to be a male.