The Renegade Hunter (10 page)

The sound of her footsteps as she reached the door brought Gina's head up.

The blond smiled at the sight of her and

called, "Yo!"

"Yo," Jo responded, pausing in her doorway. "How was the date last night?

Did Dan finally try to get you into bed?"

"No." Gina closed her book with disgust, and uncurled to stand up and walk toward the door. "We had a lovely dinner, watched a great movie, and there were lots of kisses, what seemed like passionate kisses even, but that was it." She stopped to pick up Jo's spare keys from the hook. "We've been dating a year and a half for God's sake, what's his problem? I thought it was sweet and charming that he wasn't pressuring me at first, but now I'm starting to think there's something wrong with him... or me."

"Can't be you," Jo said with certainty, her gaze sliding over Gina's curvaceous figure. The woman was tall with legs that went on forever. She was also pretty. "You're gorgeous, Gina. It isn't you.

Besides, most men would bang a

Jabberwocky... or a hole in the wall if a Jabberwocky wasn't available."

"Then what's going on?" Gina cried with frustration. "He says he loves me, so why doesn't he want to make love to me?

It's a natural expression of love, and vital to a healthy relationship."

Jo peered at her sympathetically and patted her arm as she suggested,

"Maybe he's gay and in denial."

"Oh God," Gina breathed with horror. "Do you think so?"

Jo bit her lip. "Well, it could be erectile dysfunction or something else. But if that's the case, he should tell you rather than let you think there's something wrong with you."

"I don't know. He does like to shop and stuff, and guys usually hate that.

Maybe he is gay," Gina said with mounting

horror. "What do I do?"

"Hmm." Jo shifted uncomfortably, and then sighed, "Gina, honey, I'm the last person in the world you should be asking for advice from on relationships. I don't have them. Not lately anyway.

Between work and study I just don't have time for

men."

"Yeah, I suppose." Gina sighed, and then handed over her spare keys. "I fed Charlie last night and this morning and took him for a walk. He's been real good; no barking or tearing up the house while you were gone. He was sleeping at the foot of your bed when I checked on him earlier."

"Thanks," Jo said, taking the keys. "I owe you one."

"Nah." Gina grinned. "I love that dog. He's a sweetie."

"Yeah, he is," Jo agreed with a grin and started to turn away, but paused when Gina caught her arm.

"I forgot to ask, how was your sister's party?"

"Oh." Jo wrinkled her nose. "It was me, Sam, Alex, and a dozen good-looking guys, and it was boring as sin if you can imagine."

"No way," Gina said with amazement.

"Yes way," Jo said dryly. "I think they were all gay too... or most of them,"

she added, thinking Nicholas definitely hadn't

been gay.

"They are not gay," Bricker suddenly exclaimed, drawing her attention to the fact that he was walking up the stairs toward them. "God, woman, what scandalous rumors are you spreading here?"

Jo grinned at his horrified expression. "It's not rumor if it's true. What are you-Oh," she murmured when he held up her backpack.

"You left it in the SUV," he said.

"Thanks." Jo took it from him, and when his gaze slid to Gina, said, "This is my neighbor, Gina. Gina, this is Justin Bricker.

A friend of my sister's boyfriend. He and another friend brought me home."

"Hello." Gina smiled brightly and held out her hand. Her eyes were positively eating Bricker alive, Jo noted, and thought that if Dan didn't get his butt in gear and make some moves on the girl, he was definitely going to lose her to a more interested party. Fortunately for Dan, while Bricker eyed Gina appreciatively in her skimpy attire, his smile was polite and he-thankfully-didn't give Gina the same penis-eye look that he'd first given her up north and that all the men at the party had been trying on last night.

"So," he said, turning away from Gina to raise his eyebrows at Jo. "You're going in your apartment and I'm going back out to the SUV and you're going to signal us if Nicholas shows up, right?"

"Dream on, buddy," Jo said with a laugh as she slung the backpack over her shoulder. Glancing to Gina then she said, "Later, G."

"Later, Jo," Gina responded absently, her eyes still examining Bricker minutely.

"Oh, come on," Bricker said, following when Jo continued up the hall.

"We're buddies. Practically family, and you hardly know Nicholas."

"True," Jo agreed with amusement as she paused to unlock her door. "But I didn't cut him loose last night just to turn around and help you catch him again. Besides..." she added, and then paused as she started to open the door.

"Besides, what?" Bricker prompted.

"Besides, you've never kissed me like he did last night," Jo admitted with a smile as she opened the door just enough to slide in. She turned to face him through the narrow opening then and added,

"In fact, you've never kissed me at all. Tell

the truth, all you boys that hang with Mortimer really are gay, right?"

Bricker's jaw dropped and Jo grinned and closed the door, calling, "Bye Bricker. Happy watching."

"Just a minute. Open the door. Hey, I'm not gay!" he shouted, knocking at the door. "Open the door and I'll kiss you to prove it. Come on, Jo."

"Sorry, not interested," she said on a laugh and started away from the door, only to jerk to a halt with a startled gasp when a dark shape came hurtling at her, nearly knocking her on her ass.

"Jo!" Bricker called, sounding worried now. He rattled the door. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said on a laugh as she managed to steady herself and began to pet the German shepherd who had greeted her so exuberantly. "It was just my dog, Charlie. Now go away, Bricker."

Charlie barked as if to sound his agreement. His tail was wagging frantically, his tongue trying to swipe at her face as he did.

Laughing, Jo petted Charlie with one hand and tried to push his head away to keep him from licking her with the other.

"Did you miss your mama?" she asked in a coo. "Hmm? Were you lonely here by yourself?"

Charlie barked, his tail wagging becoming even more frantic, and Jo laughed and urged the dog down, "Come on, I'll get you a treat for being so good while I was gone."

Charlie dropped down to all fours at once at the word treat and rushed ahead into the kitchen. Smiling, Jo shrugged the backpack off her shoulder and dropped it by the door. She then peered out the peep hole to see that the hall was empty.

Bricker had listened and left. Good.

Turning away, she went into the kitchen and got the promised treat for Charlie. Leaving him munching on a cheesestuffed dog bone, Jo then wandered into the living room and dropped on the couch.

An old beat-up television sat on its

table looking lonely and dusty. Jo rarely had time to watch television, but now that she'd eaten she was wide awake, and the nap she'd looked forward to no longer seemed appealing. However, she didn't want to risk bringing on her headache again by reading or studying either, so she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

Jo flicked through the channels until she recognized the opening scenes of the original Alien movie. She then dropped the remote, curled her legs up on the couch, grabbed a pillow to cuddle, and relaxed to watch it. Charlie joined her several moments later, seating himself on the floor at her feet and eyeing her with hopeful eyes. Smiling wryly, Jo shifted her legs off the couch and patted the cushion beside her.

"All right, come on up this time, but you know this isn't going to be a regular thing. You still have to stay off the furniture most times," she warned as the dog leaped up onto the couch and settled beside her, his head resting on her lap. Smiling faintly, Jo petted the dog, her attention returning to the television screen.

The movie was nearly over when Charlie suddenly stiffened beside her and raised his head. Jo tore her eyes away from watching Sigourney Weaver shivering and climbing slowly and cautiously into a space suit hanging from the wall of the shuttle where she'd just discovered the Alien was on board. Jo glanced to Charlie curiously, and then toward the door where his attention appeared to be.

"What is it?" she asked, running her hand lightly over the dog. Realizing she'd whispered the question, Jo grimaced, but then stilled as Charlie began to growl deep in his throat, an almost silent sound of warning. Frowning, she urged Charlie's head off her lap and stood. Between the movie and Charlie's strange reaction, she was a bit freaked out, Jo acknowledged, her concern growing when Charlie leaped off the couch to stand in front of her. He was now blocking her way, eyes on the door and still growling that low, quiet warning.

"Jo?"

Her eyes shifted from the dog to the door at that call from Gina. It had sounded strangely wooden and stiff from the usually exuberant girl. Frowning, she moved around Charlie, headed for the door, but paused when the dog growled louder and nipped at the pant leg of her jeans as if to stop her.

"What is it?" Jo asked the dog with bewilderment and then nearly jumped out of her skin at a sudden shriek from the Alien on television. She had to stop watching these horrors, Jo thought with embarrassment over her own reaction.

"Jo?" Gina said again a little louder.

Feeling foolish, Jo shook her head and brushed Charlie away, making him release her jeans. "Come on, it's just Gina."

She started forward again, but Charlie was immediately in front of her, trying to trip her up and stop her.

"What is the matter with you?" she asked with irritation. "You know Gina.

What-"

"Open the door, Jo."

That made her pause. It wasn't the words so much as the fact that they definitely sounded wooden and unlike Gina.

Combined with Charlie's odd behavior, it was enough to make the hairs rise on the back of her neck. Jo swallowed and stared at the door, unsure what to do now. Charlie released another growl, this time a loud, angry sound followed by a worried whine that started Jo's heart pumping. Something was very definitely wrong.

Her eyes slid from the dog to the door to her windows, and Jo had the brief mad urge to rush over, jerk the window up, and climb out... But something was wrong and Gina was out there, possibly in trouble, and she couldn't just leave her.

"Crap," Jo muttered under her breath, and then patted Charlie reassuringly and moved to the door on her tiptoes.

Apparently satisfied that she now understood something was wrong, Charlie didn't try to stop her this time, but stuck close to her side as she rose up to peer out the peephole.

What Jo saw wasn't really all that alarming. Gina stood in the hall still in her T-shirt, a man at her side. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that her face was completely blank as if no one was home inside her head, and that Jo recognized the man, she would have simply opened the door. But Jo did recognize him-it was Mr. Bad-Breath Boy from last night.

Jo straightened from the door and stared at it, her mind working frantically.

She had no idea what Bad-Breath Boy

wanted, but it couldn't be good, and it definitely wasn't good that he had Gina.

"Jo, open the door or he'll hurt me." The words were spoken in the same dead voice, no emotion at all, and that was scarier than if Gina had been shrieking with fear.

Swallowing, Jo reached for the lock, and then hesitated, her head swiveling to the windows again. She could climb out and get Bricker and Anders and-

"Open the damned door, bitch, or I'll rip her throat open right now," Bad-Breath Boy snapped, his patience apparently at an end.

Cursing, Jo glanced to Charlie, and then quickly unlocked and threw open the door. Charlie was out of the apartment before she'd even opened the door all the way. Teeth snapping, he lunged at the man beside Gina, catching him by surprise and knocking him down, his teeth buried in his throat. Jo was hard on his heels, catching Gina, whose face was no longer blank, but now confused as she took in the chaos around her.

"What's going on?" Gina asked with bewilderment as Jo grabbed her arm.

"Run!" Jo shouted, urging her past the battling man and dog and up the hall.

"Run outside and scream for all you're

worth, Bricker will come."

"But-" Gina began uncertainly, craning her neck to peer back at Charlie and Bad-Breath Boy.

"Run!" Jo shrieked. She pushed Gina toward the stairs, and then turned away to hurry back up the hall to help Charlie.

But Bad-Breath Boy had recovered from his surprise and was already hurling the dog off. Jo cried out as she saw Charlie fly through the air, and back through the apartment door. The dog's yelp of pain could be heard over the loud crash that followed, and the combination was nearly enough to stop her heart. In a panic now, Jo rushed past Bad-Breath Boy. The man was shifting to a sitting position, one hand pressed to a gushing wound on his neck. Charlie had gone for the throat.

Good dog, she thought grimly. Jo had only had Charlie for a year and a half.

Despite his size, he was really still a puppy,

but he'd already burrowed his way into her heart. Leaving him to run to safety herself wasn't even an option in her mind.

"Charlie?" She rushed into her apartment to find his still body lying on the remains of what used to be a small hall table just inside the door. Jo dropped to her knees beside the dog, relief roaring through her when Charlie opened his eyes at her voice. He looked stunned, but he was alive, she saw, and then stiffened when his eyes slid past her and he growled.

Jo glanced toward the hall, mouth flattening with anger when she saw that Bad-Breath Boy had let go of his neck and was getting to his feet. The dog had gone after him with a vengeance. It was rather surprising considering the man hadn't really been doing anything threatening. It was as if Charlie had some doggie sense that had told him the man was up to no good and so had done his damnedest to rip out his throat. As bad as the wound looked, though, it wasn't bad enough. Bad-Breath Boy wasn't only on his feet, he was coming toward them, ready to continue the battle.