The Renegade Hunter (13 page)

"What did you do to him?" she asked with a frown.

"Nothing," he said at once. "You were there."

"Yes, I was, and he was politely refusing us a room when he suddenly changed his tune and, I suspect, not all on his own. Somehow you made him-"

"Sir, I'm afraid dogs aren't allowed in this hotel."

Nicholas slowed, and Jo glanced around to see a man in the hotel's golden jacket approaching.

"The checkin clerk should have told you that, I'm sorry," the man continued, and then suddenly paused just a foot from them, smiled woodenly, and offered, "Enjoy your stay, sir,"

Nicholas grunted and urged Jo forward again, hurrying her to the elevators with Charlie padding along at her side. The dog's head was turning this way and that as he examined this new environment, but he stayed close enough to her that his shoulder kept bumping her leg. They reached the bank of elevators just as one arrived, and followed another couple

on board.

They all smiled politely at one another, but the woman's smile was a bit nervous as she glanced at Charlie.

"He doesn't bite," Jo assured her quietly, and the woman's smile widened a little, but she still eyed Charlie like he might leap up and muddy her skirt or chomp his teeth into her arm at any moment.

It was a relief when the elevator stopped

and the other couple got off. The elevator continued up then, and Jo watched the numbers light up. They rode all the way to the top floor.

Nicholas led the way off the elevator and paused briefly before turning right.

He led her up the long corridor, past a

maid's cart. Jo glanced in the room as they passed, catching a glimpse of a maid making the bed, and immediately picked up speed to get Charlie past the door before the woman turned and noted his presence.

Nicholas led her all the way to the second last door before he paused and inserted one of the card keys. When the light on the door blinked green, he pushed the wooden panel open, and then held it wide for Jo and Charlie to precede him.

Jo stepped past him, glancing appreciatively at the comfortable room as they went... and doing her best to ignore the fact that there was only one king-sized bed.

"Sorry," Nicholas muttered, glancing around as he entered behind her. "I should have asked for two beds. I can go down and-"

"It's all right," Jo interrupted. "The bed is huge. You could practically swim in it."

Nodding, he tossed his duffel bag on the bed and turned back to the door. "I need to go get something to eat. Make yourself comfortable, I won't be long."

Jo turned in surprise to find the door already closing behind him. Cursing, she crossed the room at a quick clip and tugged the door open, but when she stepped into the hall he was gone. The only thing out there was the maid's cart they'd passed earlier, otherwise the hall was empty. Jo stared up toward the elevators in amazement. It was as if he'd just disappeared.

Feeling a nudge at her leg, she glanced down to see Charlie peering up at her worriedly. The dog always got that look

when she was upset. He seemed to pick up on the emotion and it stressed him out. Jo forced herself to relax and bent to pet him even as she urged him away from the open door. "Come on, buddy. I suspect we'll be evicted if you're seen without Nicholas around; back in the room."

Charlie turned in the doorway and moved back into the room, and Jo followed, letting the door close behind her. She then peered around the room again. A small single-cup coffeepot sat on a table beside a large armoire that she suspected held a television. Jo opened the front double doors to find she was right. She grabbed the remote and hit the button to turn on the television as she dropped onto the bed. It was that or pace, Jo thought, glancing to Charlie, who was sitting on the floor beside the bed, eyeing her hopefully. She patted the mattress beside her. "Come on, you can keep me company. You've had a rough day."

Charlie was on the bed in a heartbeat, settling beside her. Jo petted him absently as she flipped through the channels and discovered there was very little on at four-thirty. When the Sunday afternoon Disney movie flashed on the screen, she stopped. It would do. Jo set the remote on the bedside table, rearranged her pillows, and settled in to watch the show, realizing just how tense she'd been when her muscles all slowly began to relax.

Charlie wasn't the only one who'd had a rough day, Jo acknowledged, stifling a yawn.

Nicholas eased his teeth from the neck of the chambermaid and released her.

He then turned her to face the bathroom of

the suite he'd found her working in and stepped back as he withdrew from her mind. Once free of his control, the woman stood still for a moment, and then moved forward to continue the work he'd interrupted, with no memory of his arrival or her ever having stopped her work.

Nicholas slid away then, exiting as silently as he'd entered and continuing on to the elevators. As he waited for it to arrive, he considered what to do about food for Jo. Having to buy a new van and incidentals had really eaten into his funds, and the hotel on top of it all had nearly wiped him out. He had less than fifty bucks in his pocket. Surely that was

enough to buy her something nice for dinner? And then tomorrow morning, he'd have to head straight to the bank to get money from his security box to feed her breakfast.

The elevator arrived and Nicholas stepped on board, absently rubbing his stomach as he went. The maid was the first feeding he'd had since the morning before. In his usual cautious manner, he'd taken only a little bit of blood, and while it had helped, it hadn't helped much. The cramps that had been attacking him since that morning had gone from almost unbearable to just really painful.

Another bite was in order before he returned to Jo. Otherwise, he risked snacking on her without meaning to. Nicholas had no idea where he'd get the next meal, but had no doubt an opportunity would come up before he got back to the room. He was very good at feeding off the hoof. He knew most immortals in North America now fed on bagged blood, but for a rogue, ordering a delivery of blood from the Argeneau Blood Bank was out of the question.

Nicholas left the hotel on foot, eyes scanning the street ahead. Every other storefront seemed to be a restaurant or fastfood joint of some sort, and he hadn't a clue which were good and which were bad. They hadn't had this variety when he'd last eaten. A lot appeared to have changed on the cuisine front since then. Nicholas had been vaguely aware of it on the periphery of his consciousness, but hadn't eaten a bite of food since Annie's death and hadn't paid close attention to the changing face of the food industry. Being confronted by it now was rather frustrating. He should have asked Jo what she wanted before leaving, but he'd worried she'd insist on coming with him and he wouldn't be able to feed.

That thought made Nicholas decide to feed now and worry about what to get Jo after. Perhaps he'd be able to think more clearly if he wasn't so distracted by his cramping body. His gaze shifted from the business fronts to the people on the sidewalks. Most people were in groups of two or three, but he spotted one lone woman hurrying along. Middle-aged, with pink cheeks and some meat on her bones, she was rushing up the street, hands full of bags.

Nicholas focused on her briefly, slipping into her mind to ensure she wasn't ill or coming down with anything. It did little

good to ingest blood from someone ailing; bad blood would just have to be removed from his system, using up what little blood he presently had to do so. She was fine, however, healthy and robust.

Nicholas kept his distance at first to prevent catching her attention and alarming her. He'd followed her for a block when she turned down a side street. Shortly after that, she started up the sidewalk to an apartment building. He then began to close the distance between them and was almost on her heels when she entered the lobby.

The front door wasn't locked but there was a doorman. Nicholas slipped into the man's thoughts, making sure he didn't see or stop him as Nicholas trailed the female to the elevator. It arrived disbursing a mixed group of people in their twenties. Nicholas followed the woman on board once it was clear and offered her a polite smile as he waited for the doors to close. The moment they did, he slipped into her mind and had her turn toward him. He stepped forward, intending to take her in his arms and feed on her, but paused as a fragrant odor enveloped him. Nicholas had been vaguely aware of the scent as he'd trailed her, but it had been faint then.

Now that they were enclosed in the small

elevator, it was impossible to ignore, and he glanced around curiously for the source. It reminded him of something from when he used to eat. Something...

Nicholas traced the smell to a bag she carried and took it from her to peer inside. All he saw was a box. He reached in to open it and was immediately hit with a strong wave of the scent. Fried chicken, Nicholas realized, smiling. Annie used to make it on Sundays. It had been his favorite.

That's what he'd get Jo, Nicholas decided, closing the box and peering at the bag. KFC. He recalled passing a restaurant with that logo.

"What are you doing with my chicken?"

Nicholas glanced to the woman with surprise. He'd gotten so distracted by his find that he'd released his control over her and she was now peering at him with confusion. Setting the bag on the floor, he slipped into her thoughts and took control again. Nicholas then quickly took her in his arms and sank his teeth into her neck, using more speed than finesse.

His distraction had cut into the time he had for this endeavor. Fortunately, he still had time to do what he had to do. He'd finished feeding and just released the woman when the elevator dinged, announcing their arrival at her floor. Nicholas picked up the bag of chicken and gave it to her, and then sent her off the elevator before releasing her mind.

He felt much better now, the cramps had eased considerably. One more bite and he should be good to get the chicken and head back to the hotel, Nicholas thought as he hit the button to return to the ground floor.

The elevator had traveled down only two floors before it stopped to allow a young man on. The fellow was all alone, and a quick check of his thoughts proved he was healthy as a horse, a real health nut, in fact, into natural foods and something called green tea. Nicholas smiled to himself as the doors closed.

It seemed fate was on his side for a change.

He'd be back at the hotel in no time... then he just had to figure out some explanation to give Jo for everything that had been going on.

That or tell her the truth, Nicholas thought as he slid into the young man's thoughts and leaned in to bite his neck. His preference was to tell Jo the truth, but he doubted she'd be allowed to keep her memories of that truth once they had her back at the enforcer house... and he would eventually have to take her there. On the other hand, they hadn't taken away her memories after the first time. True, she didn't really know much, but still...

The elevator dinged. Nicholas finished feeding and stepped back from the young donor, rearranging his thoughts and making him move to the doors as they opened. He kept control of him until they were out of the building, and then released his thoughts and turned to make his way back to the busy street where he'd first spotted the chicken lady.

Twenty minutes later Nicholas let himself back into the hotel room, his arms weighted down with a large bag marked KFC. He let the door close behind him and strode into the room, mouth opening to speak, but closed it again when he spotted Jo sound asleep on the bed. He peered at her blankly and then to Charlie. The dog lay beside her, but his head was up, eyes open and alert.

Sighing, Nicholas set the bag on the small table by the window. The moment he did, Charlie was off the bed and at his side, tail wagging frantically.

"Hi, buddy," he whispered, giving him a pat.

Charlie promptly lifted up, resting his feet on Nicholas's leg so that he could reach more of him, and then turned to nose the bag of chicken curiously.

"Hungry, huh?" Nicholas asked quietly. "Luckily for you I thought you might be and got a bucket. But you'll have to wait until I strip the meat for you. I'm not sure you can handle chicken bones."

Charlie dropped back to sit on his haunches patiently, and Nicholas smiled wryly as he opened the bag to retrieve the food containers and paper plates inside. He then settled in one of the two chairs at the table and set to work, selecting three meaty pieces of breaded chicken and then using one of the plastic forks provided to strip the meat onto the plate.

He'd barely started on the first piece of meat when he couldn't resist and popped a bite of the delicacy into his mouth.

The flavor exploded on his tongue, making him moan softly. Charlie whined in complaint.

"Sorry," Nicholas muttered, making himself resist trying any more until he had the meat from the three pieces he'd selected stripped and cut into small chunks on the plate. He then set the plate on the carpet for Charlie, watched him begin scarfing up the treat, and then turned and pulled out a piece for himself. Nicholas hadn't felt like eating since Annie's death fifty years ago, but now had to wonder why. The chicken was incredible and he was reaching for a second piece before he'd even finished the first.

He'd just have one more and then he'd lie down and try to sleep before Jo woke up and started demanding her answers, Nicholas told himself as he finished the second piece. He hadn't slept since the day before and could really use a couple of hours of shut-eye before trying to explain things that she would no doubt find impossible and upsetting by turn. The bed was big enough she wouldn't even know he was there.

Jo was dreaming. She knew it was a dream because she was back at the party at Sam and Mortimer's place, but the dream was a little different than the reality had been. The buzz of the guests'

conversation was incredibly loud yet at the

same time muffled, so that she couldn't understand what was being said...