The Mercenary Read online

  She lay there for a long time. All the implications of ‘pigs’ being at the club began to consume her. Just how close to danger had they been? She’d gone to the club to get answers, not further confuse the situation and now she knew even less than she had before. The realization that Danny and Eddie were either part of the world of shifters, or were at least aware of it, complicated things even further. What am I going to do if they were there looking for me?

  From the way that the name ‘Pigs’ had been thrown about with such distaste, Jodie doubted either Danny or Eddie were boars. They’d acted as if they were the enemy. As the greater picture started to reveal itself, Jodie began to understand why Luke didn’t like Danny. There appeared to be a lot more to it than pure alcoholism.

  As Jodie reached over to turn the light off, something clicked into place in her brain. Danny and Eddie could be shifters... She wrenched open the drawer of her bedside table and pulled out the note from the leopard, looking at it for a long time. Jumping up, she retrieved her purse from the chair in the corner. Jodie had to rifle around, but she found the note Danny had slipped her at the club. Side by side, the handwriting looked identical. Hardly conclusive evidence, but she felt positive that Danny and the leopard were one in the same.

  No wonder he’d laughed when she tried to guess what he looked like. She could never have dreamed he would be so breath-taking. Her heart soared and she sank back into the mountain of pillows, a euphoric grin plastered all over her face. Danny must have thought her a complete idiot for not figuring it out sooner, but Jodie didn’t care. She couldn’t wait until she saw him next.

  Chapter 8

  It’s almost nine thirty! Jodie dragged herself out of bed to find Jessie already gone, the others all around the table eating breakfast and drinking coffee. According to Ainsley, there had been no sign of either Eddie or Danny so far. By lunchtime, the pair were tired of waiting.

  Ains decided to walk into town to get her car, just in case someone turned up for Eddie’s cruiser before she got back, and Jodie chose to tag along. Along the way, both Danny and Eddie’s names came up a few times, but they were both unwilling to talk about the previous night and kept steering the conversation in alternate directions.

  Walking toward the front entrance to The Furnace, Jodie and Ainsley ran into one of the guys from the previous night at the gate, rifling through a ring full of keys. Ainsley called out hello and Jodie learned his name. Adam had a tiny birthmark by his right temple that she hadn’t noticed in the dim lighting the night before, so Jodie would remember his name now and no longer confuse him with Leon. Adam’s tussled hair boasted a darker blonde than Leon’s and looked very trendy. Adam also happened to be the one with the rich dark eyes; such a beautiful shade of brown that they resembled fresh melted chocolate.

  “Is everyone okay?” Ains asked.

  “Our lot is.” Adam responded. “I can’t say the same for the pigs, fools that they are.”

  Jodie didn’t know quite how to respond to this. “So do they gate crash often?”

  “Nope, this was the first time. We have run-ins a lot, but never here. There were three of them and five of us. It seemed like suicide on their part, especially with Danny and Rufus here. We were quick and we managed to get them all into the alley before anything stupid happened. The pigs got roughed up a bit, but they were lucky. All of them lived to see another day.”

  What did he mean, ‘especially with Danny and Rufus here?’ Now convinced that the club’s staff were shifters of some sort, Jodie couldn’t decide how that changed things. How could she get a grip on the situation when she still didn’t have all the information? And if they were lucky to live to see another day, did that mean that killing them had been one of the options considered?

  “Do you know where Eddie is this morning?” Ainsley asked. “They’ll all be at home. Leon and I drew the short straws; we were supposed to come back this morning to clean up. Lucky bastard went home with some woman last night.”

  Adam shoved his hands into the pockets of his black skinny jeans and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. The plaid shirt and long sleeved tee he had on now, cast quite a different image than the club uniform, but they looked good on him.

  “Well if you see them, tell them the car is at Jodie’s house, not mine.” Ains added.

  “No problem,” he said with a shy grin.

  Adam had an adorable smile that lit up his whole face, crinkling his eyes at the corners and giving his skin a glow that hadn’t been there a few minutes earlier. When his expression became so animated, Jodie realized that he could be a lot younger than she first thought, no more than eighteen or nineteen.

  “I’m glad you guys got away when you did. I’d have hated to see you get caught up in shifter-politics. Better you leave that to Danny and Eddie.”

  Ainsley looked ready to faint. “What?”

  Suddenly it dawned on Adam that he’d disclosed a secret which had not been his to reveal. “Oh shit,” he said.

  “Eddie’s one of those shifter thingies?” Ains asked in a small voice, going very still.

  “Shit – shit – shit – SHIT!” Adam stamped his foot on the pavement and smacked himself in the head with the palm of his hand, “he is going to kill me.”

  “It’s okay.” Jodie patted Ainsley as she watched Adam continue to paint the air with an abundance of colorful language.

  “No it isn’t!” She cried, breaking free of Jodie’s efforts to soothe her and taking several steps sideways. “How could he not tell me?”

  “It’s not something you just insert into regular conversation,” Jodie pointed out. “Wow honey, you look hot tonight, by the way I’m a were-something, shall we go to the movies later?”

  Adam stopped leaping around, blinking a mile a minute instead. He had fistfuls of his own hair, but he’d calmed down. “Did you know?” He asked of Jodie.

  “Not for sure, but I suspected. After last night I felt convinced something weird must be going on.”

  “Fuck, now Danny is going to kill me as well.”

  “So are you all the same kind of shifter?”

  “Hooo no. I’m not saying another word,” Adam threw his hands up in the air. Nearby, Leon got out of a vehicle and jogged over. Jodie didn’t think she’d ever seen someone so happy to see a familiar face, Adam was beside himself.

  “Lee, they didn’t know and I accidentally told them.”

  Leon’s steel blue eyes widened as he looked at Adam, then at the two women, “about our other lives?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Fucking hell Adam, Danny is gonna have your ass.”

  “Not if Eddie gets there first,” Adam moaned as he shook his head.

  Leon frowned and pursed his lips together. “Something is mighty weird here.”

  “How so?” Jodie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Either you are not who we thought you were, or Danny or Eddie are up to something.” He proposed.

  “I work for the newspaper and Ainsley is a secretary. We don’t have secret other lives, I don’t know what about us could have confused you.”

  “I knew your name sounded familiar,” Adam cursed again. He looked at Leon, “do you think that’s why they didn’t know?”

  “I think you ladies had better be moving along,” suggested Leon. “And there had better not be any unusual articles in the paper next week.”

  Though still good looking, Leon appeared much older than Adam, maybe thirty-ish. His youthful features were deceiving at first, but upon second glance, his eyes told a different story. They’d hardened in the way that could only be attained by some sort of traumatic experience. So when he turned his gaze upon her, it felt comparable to looking directly into the sun, realizing it contained an infinite number of volatile explosions. The unexpected view into his soul unnerved Jodie and made Leon scary to be confronted with. So much so, that Jodie almost took a step backward as he fixed his gaze upon her.

  “Oh for goodness sakes,�
� Jodie muttered as she grabbed Ainsley by the arm and marched off in the direction of her car. Since Ainsley still seemed to be incapacitated, Jodie found the keys in her purse and took the wheel.

  As soon as they pulled away from the curb, Ainsley burst into tears. It had been just what Jodie expected to happen so without batting an eyelid, she leaned over, patting Ainsley’s back while steering the vehicle one handed.

  “We’ve been going out for six weeks.” Ains sobbed. “I would have told you sooner, but you had so much going on with Luke. I like him a lot Jodie, how can he be a shifter thingy? And how could he not tell me – we’ve slept together!”

  “You have?” Jodie echoed. “Well you didn’t turn into anything the other night, so you didn’t catch it.” “Jodie!” She wailed.

  “No, think about it. You like him and he likes you. You had sex, which I’m guessing went well. He seems like a nice guy. Apart from the whole weirdness of last night, is it really too much to take on board?”

  “I don’t know,” she whimpered. “I guess it depends what he changes into. I couldn’t stand it if he were a boar like Luke. Sorry but I just couldn’t. It’s so icky.”

  “I don’t know what he is, but he’s not a boar,” Jodie assured her.

  Right after Jodie and Ainsley had gotten out of the car at her place, a black European sports car powered into the driveway behind them, and Danny and Eddie leaped out. Adam must have called them the second the two women had left. Ainsley panicked and ran for the house, while Jodie stood there awkward and speechless. Smoothing down her hair and twisting the ring on her finger, Jodie couldn’t stop fidgeting.

  It didn’t appear that they had thought that far ahead either, as they exhibited very similar behavior. Leaning against the car in their fitted t-shirts and jeans, arms folded across their muscular chests, they looked like they belonged in a ‘Calvin Klein’ advertisement. Jodie found it rather distracting.

  A glance over at the picture window of the dining room revealed Luke’s judging gaze, all but flaming at the nostrils as he glared out at them. Unprepared to give him the satisfaction of her incompetence; Jodie decided to act. Though common sense suggested she might be about to do something stupid, she strode over to Danny. Reaching up and cupping his face in both hands, she gave him a very passionate kiss. Taken by surprise, it took him several seconds to recover and kiss her back. If Danny was surprised, Eddie looked completely gob smacked.

  When they parted some time later, Danny locked gazes with Jodie. His irresistible blue eyes filled with confusion, but somewhere beneath that resided a child-like eagerness. She sighed, not wanting to give him the wrong impression. She needed to think very carefully about what to say next as her fingertips grazed the smooth contours of his torso. Jodie could feel his heart beating out of control, as though it were going to burst forth from his chest. Looking up at him with an almost timid smile, she watched as his full lips turned up at the corners.

  “Some of that was for Luke’s benefit because he’s looking out the window right now, but most of it for you. I wanted to show you that I am capable of being with you, that what you are is not so big that I will run away. I hope I read the signals correctly and you are interested in me, because I would like to get to know you better. Though if we do, you have got to start communicating because there is so much I don’t know about you and I can’t stand it when I don’t have all the information.” Jodie took a deep breath and reminded herself to slow down and punctuate her own sentences. She always babbled when nervous.

  “So what you are saying is that if you and I have a nice long talk, I’ve got a second chance?” Danny questioned her. Jodie tried to look away, not wanting to lose her resolve, and found herself already lost in him.

  “Assuming that you’re interested.” She said, noticing with surprise that her hand still pressed against his cotton t-shirt, soaking up his warmth.

  “Trust me babe, he’s interested,” Eddie chuckled. He stood nearby with both hands on his hips, muscles straining beneath his shirt.

  Danny colored at Eddie’s statement. Jodie’s slow smile evolved into a grin and Danny raised an eyebrow. Drawing her even closer, he leaned in to capture her mouth again. His warm soft lips met with hers and he kissed her with a loving tenderness that surprised Jodie. This time she surrendered total control and melted into his arms. Maybe things changed because the element of surprise had gone. He’d taken charge and Jodie liked that. She desperately wanted more, but she couldn’t. She needed to get herself together they had things to discuss. When he pulled away, Jodie’s lips tingled and a wave of heat shuddered through her.

  “That was all for your benefit,” he said in a serious tone. Eddie burst out laughing and Danny pretended not to notice. “So the fact that I turn into a monster doesn’t put you off?”

  “Let’s just say that I’m pretty open-minded,” Jodie said, fingering her lips and trying to ignore the desires flooding her body.

  “Yes you are, aren’t you?” He murmured.

  “Listen, I gotta go talk to Ains. Feel free to continue making out in the driveway while I’m gone.” Eddie wiggled his eyebrows at them and chuckled as he jogged off.

  With that, Jodie’s articulation vanished and she was back to a goopy mess again, all tongue tied and stuttering. Great. She thought in dismay. Couldn’t I have held on to rational speech just a little longer? There is so much to talk about! She opened her mouth several times to say something, but couldn’t find any words.

  They made their way to the house in awkward silence. Ainsley and Eddie’s hushed tones floated out from the kitchen, Grace and Rose were watching a DVD in the living room and Luke paced in the open space between the two looking ready to explode. As Jodie walked through the door, he grabbed her by the shoulders and began shaking her violently.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” He bellowed.

  For a terrifying moment, Jodie thought he planned to hit her, but then his line of sight shifted and he saw Danny. Luke shoved Jodie sideways, setting her off balance. Stumbling backward, her back hit the entrance table and she crumpled to the floor. It hurt, and it hurt a lot. She couldn’t believe the way her brother had just behaved, nor could she believe the force he had used. Now, it appeared he was going to go after Danny. Jodie was still trying to get her breath back so all she could do was watch, blinking back the tears that cursed her eyes.

  As Luke dove at him, Danny stepped out of the way with ease. Infuriated, Luke picked himself up and swung a wild punch. Danny caught his arm, and using some kind of martial arts move, flung the taller man over his shoulder. Glass exploded everywhere as Luke sent a lamp crashing to the floor. “Stop it!” Jodie shrieked.

  Ainsley and Eddie had come running at the first sign of trouble, and the two little girls sought refuge behind them. Thinking fast, Ainsley shepherded them into the kitchen out of harm’s way. Eddie extended a hand and helped Jodie to her feet. She scuttled out of the line of fire and watched in horror as the fight continued to escalate.

  “Stop it! Just stop it!” She yelled, her face crumpling in disappointment. Securing her arms, Eddie had restrained her, but she wasn’t stupid enough to think she could break it up.

  Luke hadn’t managed to land a single punch, though he kept trying. Clearly more experienced, Danny blocked everything Luke threw at him without even breaking a sweat. Potted plants went flying, a mirror got knocked to the floor, and Luke managed to punch a hole right through the wall. Jodie could see that Danny’s capabilities extended a lot further than he demonstrated; he just hadn’t tried to cause damage. It didn’t seem to matter to Luke.

  Sidestepping another punch, Danny slid on the rug and lost his footing. In the second or two that Danny’s arms flailed to regain his balance Luke socked him in the jaw with enough force to send him staggering backward. Hitting the back of the couch, Danny tumbled over and Luke dove after him. They rolled across the coffee table and ended up on the other side of the room, neither one prepared to back down. Jodie could hear herse
lf screaming but she couldn’t seem to make it stop.

  Now that Luke had the upper hand, Danny began to fight back. He didn’t appear to want to hurt Luke, but he didn’t want to become a punching bag either. Rolling out from underneath him and jumping into a crouching stance, Danny knocked Luke off his feet with a low sweeping kick. Luke twisted and put himself out of reach, trying to give himself room to recover. Danny moved with intricate precision, hitting Luke with the side of his hand across the bridge of his nose. While Luke was dazed, Danny took his wrist and swung him around into a hammerlock. It had taken less than a minute once Danny had committed himself to the task.

  “Don’t ever treat your sister like that again,” Danny said, his voice quiet. “I don’t know why you think I’m your enemy; I’m trying to help you for fucks sake.”

  In the moment of silence that followed, Grace and Rose wailing from the kitchen and Ainsley’s soft voice sounded as she tried to calm them.

  “Look what you’ve subjected your daughters to! Look at the damage you caused!” Danny added.

  “Tell her what you are,” Luke rasped.

  “I know he’s a shifter,” Jodie interjected, desperate to end the chaos that had unfolded.

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  She thought about that for a moment, eyes darting from Luke to Danny and back again. “Then what do you mean?”

  “Tell her!” Luke demanded.

  “Not in front of you,” said Danny through gritted teeth.

  “I won’t let you lie to her. I won’t let you bring her into all of this,” Luke said, emotion creeping into his tone.

  “It’s too late for that,” Eddie put in from beside Jodie. “She was in it the moment you turned. She was in as soon as you moved into her house. It doesn’t matter whether or not she gets involved with Danny. She’s already in it because of you.”

  “Damn you,” growled Luke as he shoved Danny aside in his haste to storm out of the house.

  As soon as the door slammed behind him, Danny appeared at Jodie’s side. “Are you hurt?” His gentle hands tilted her face up to his, concern marring his handsome features. “A little, I’ll be okay.”