The Mercenary Read online

  After Danny had gone her father came in, the relief on his face unmistakable. His pace doubled as he hurried to her side.

  “Jodie!” he said, voice cracking.

  John Fletcher had always been a big man, an older version of Luke. Tall with greying dark hair, intense green eyes and a great smile, age had not stolen his good looks. He’d never been an emotional man, so Jodie knew that her incident had really shaken him. I must have been hurt worse than I thought.

  “I’m okay,” she said, her voice soft. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you, I didn’t want to ruin your vacation. I thought I could handle it.”

  “I know sweetheart,” he said, sitting down on the bed beside her. “We’re very disappointed in your brother. Perhaps if he had talked to someone sooner, you wouldn’t have even ended up in that situation. I’m so glad you are all right, we were very worried.”

  After a gentle hug, he pulled away and Jodie saw that his eyes were wet. “Oh Dad don’t cry! I’m okay, honest I am.”

  “Sorry,” said John as he dried his eyes with the back of his hand. She’d embarrassed him and hadn’t meant to. He sat in the chair beside the bed. “So that boy likes you a lot hmmm?” The subject change proved his discomfort.

  “Dad we’re adults, not teenagers!” Jodie laughed, wincing at the needles of agony it brought to her head. “And we haven’t known each other very long.”

  “Well you must have made a great impression on him. Not many young men would sit at someone’s bedside night and day as he has. I don’t know about the hair, but he seems nice. Do you like him?”

  Jodie started grinning like an idiot and had no idea how to stop. Danny of course picked that moment to arrive with the coffee. He saw John and the look on Jodie’s face, and froze mid-step.

  “Should I come back later?” He asked, his ample lips making an ‘o’ shape.

  “No!” Jodie cried. A torrid blush raced up her cheeks and she covered her face with one hand, unable to conceal her embarrassment.

  “I’m going to go home and tell your mother you’re awake, but one of us will be back soon,” John said, in bemusement. “Take care, Daniel.” He said as he shook Danny’s hand.

  “Sure, you too John,” Danny replied.

  They’re already on a first name basis? Horrified, Jodie realized he probably knew Danny better than she did! Oh crap, what did they talk about while she slept? Jodie felt an anxiety attack coming on. Danny must have noticed her panic, as he appeared at her side and clamped her fingers around the disposable cup.

  Jodie took a long gulp of coffee and almost spat it back out. “By the way, it’s pretty shitty coffee.”

  She made a face at him and looked down at the cup. As her eyes fell on the IV in her arm, the reality of the situation hit her. She could have died and owed her life to Danny. Again.

  “Thank you for coming back for me.”

  “I didn’t plan to go home. I would have just waited in the patient lounge or something until your Dad had gone.”

  “No, not then.” Jodie shook her head slowly, “I meant thank you for rescuing me from my idiot brother. As if there aren’t enough people trying to kill me... how many times have you saved my life now?”

  “Oh,” Danny said, sobering up. He sat down on the edge of the bed and rested one hand on his thigh.

  “I wish life didn’t have to be so complicated,” she said with a wistful gaze in his direction.

  “Me too,” Danny sighed. A long moment passed as they just stared at each other, before the hint of a smile played on his features. “Would it hurt if I kissed you?”

  “I don’t know, but I think you should kiss me anyway.”

  He didn’t need to be asked twice. In one smooth motion, Danny moved closer taking Jodie in his arms. Before she had time to blink, they were sharing the most intense kiss she’d ever been subjected to. Jodie had been in relationships before, but somehow Danny made it feel like the first time all over again. The kiss had been more like an out of body experience, seeming to awaken things in her that she didn’t even know existed. It started out gentle and heartfelt, and yet she felt that at any second it might break into something wild. Jodie longed for more and felt disappointed when he broke away.

  “Wow, that was really something,” he murmured, brushing his lips against her neck and nibbling on her ear.

  Jodie responded by spilling her coffee all over his pants and the bed. He jumped up in surprise, but he reacted much calmer than Jodie would have. He looked at the spreading stain and laughed. Before she could suggest finding a nurse to change the bed, Laura walked in. She’d been in the middle of a day shift and had decided to spend her lunch break visiting Jodie.

  “You never spill your coffee,” she observed as her eyes took in the spreading stain on the bed. “Though to be fair, it doesn’t stay in the cup long enough to be spilled.” Then she saw Danny’s pants. “Oh, I see.” Reaching over, Laura took a towel off the rail by the hand basin and handed it to Danny.

  Jodie could see that she struggled not to smirk as Danny mopped at his jeans. The whole thing should have embarrassed her. Right now however, still recovering from the kiss to end all kisses, Jodie just grinned. Between her lack of adequate speech and ridiculous smiles, she hadn’t proven her intelligence.

  “So how are you anyway? You look much brighter today.” Laura glossed over the situation and began reading the charts.

  “I’m awake.”

  “Have your parents been in?”

  “My dad came a little while ago.”

  Laura didn’t gush about feelings and it often hard to tell what she’d been thinking. Today she seemed relieved and happy to see Jodie in one piece. Jodie knew she must have given everyone quite a scare.

  “Good.” Laura said. “Well I’ll give you guys some privacy.”

  “No, please stay.” Danny insisted. “It’s good you came in when you did.” He added, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

  Laura quirked a brow, but she sat down in the vacant chair beside Danny and launched straight into new conversation. “Ains said she’d stop by after work.”

  “Cool.” Jodie said and threw the blankets and sheet back. The coffee had soaked right through and the wet fabric adhered to her leg, making her most uncomfortable. It was then she realized that hospital issue nightgowns were more like long tops. In addition to this, she didn’t have any underwear on. How wonderful of someone to mention that. Jodie almost gave everyone a free show.

  “Nice,” chuckled Danny in amusement.

  “Um,” She said, frantically looking around for something to cover herself. It hurt too much to reach for the bedding she’d tossed aside and she had nothing else close by. She groaned inwardly at yet another display of her ineptitude.

  Danny found a robe in the closet and draped it over her legs. “Better?” He asked with a grin.

  “Yes.” She said, relieved.

  About half an hour later, Laura went off in search of an orderly to change the sheets. Danny stayed an additional two hours after that, leaving with reluctance to take a shower and get some much needed sleep. Ainsley and Penny Fletcher arrived together, staying for the remainder of the evening. Though nice to have so many visitors, Jodie really really wanted to rest. She couldn’t do that with visitors, even if they were the people who mattered most to her.

  The next day turned out to be even worse. Jodie became inundated with visitors. Her parents came at different times, Laura again during her lunch break, Ainsley, Danny, Zach, even Irene Fletcher made it. It’s funny, Jodie mused. They keep patients in the hospital so that they can rest and recuperate, and they end up with a busier social life than when they’re well. Jodie desperately wanted to sleep, or at least not have to try to make polite conversation, but that didn’t look like it would happen any time soon.

  The visit from her Grandmother turned out to be the one that Jodie most appreciated. Not just because it was a big deal for her to leave the retirement home, but because she hadn’t just come to check on Jo
die’s health. She sat down in the visitor’s chair and placed an enormous old leather-bound book on the bedcovers.

  Irene had drawn her beautiful silver hair back off her face in styled waves. She wore her best church dress, her good pearls, having gone to considerable effort to make herself look presentable. Jodie didn’t want to be suspicious of her motives; however she found she couldn’t help it. Though Irene Fletcher always tried to look her best, Jodie had the distinct impression that today she’d compensated for something else.

  “What’s this?” Jodie asked of the book.

  “I believe it will answer some of the questions you planned to ask me,” Irene responded with caution.

  Jodie’s eyes widened. She tucked her hair behind her ears and picked up the book, resting it on her legs. “Where did you get this?”

  “A friend of my mother’s gave it to me. The place I grew up was rife with people like Luke. My parents tried to keep such information a secret, this friend wanted me to be prepared and able to defend myself.”

  “Thank you for letting me read it.” Jodie said in a small voice. Her throat had gone dry as she began to wonder what kind of things she would find beneath the aged leather cover.

  “I figured now is as good a time as any for you to have it. I don’t suppose there is anything better to do in here.” Irene smiled. “I trust you will keep this knowledge to yourself and not leave this lying around?”

  “Of course!” Jodie promised.

  Irene changed the subject after that. For the entire visit, the book dominated Jodie’s thoughts. Relief hit her when Irene had gone; leaving her feeling guilty but no less intrigued. Sucking in a deep, hopeful breath, Jodie turned back the front cover and began to read.

  It turned out to be a diary. The book must have been as old as it looked, written by numerous generations. Her fingers followed the curled script of some of the earlier entries, meticulous recordings of past events. She could feel an aura of importance about the book, almost as if it contained a magic all of its own. Jodie felt compelled to protect it and its information, and she hadn’t even read it yet.

  Jodie learned that there were in fact two kinds of shape shifters. There were the Lycanthropes, (or Lycans). Lycans changed shape during a full moon. Most of the folklore surrounding were-wolves was factual and it applied to other types of Lycans too. Then there were the Therianthropes, (or Therians). These were true shape shifters, who had no tie to the moon. Solely hereditary, Therianthropy could not be transmitted as a virus the way lycanthropy could. Reading onward, Jodie discovered that Therians could change without the pain and energy loss that the Lycans suffered. For them, the change compared to slipping on a second skin.

  Therians had existed since the beginning of time. When life began on earth, all beings had two forms. All creatures were human but had the ability to become one with nature, and every creature imaginable had a human side. At this time, coexistence between the species attained a balance. A circle of life existed, and in the society of the humans, this was understood and respected. Even the primitive justice system of that time functioned with efficiency.

  In time however, there were some clans that loved their animal forms more than their human ones. They spent so much time in this state; that they began to forget how to change back. These clans became the species of animals that progressed through to the current day. Simultaneously, there were certain clans that preferred their human forms and the same thing happened. There became a great divide between the humans and animals, and those who were still able to embrace both lives became forced to hide their abilities.

  Because of this rift, many of the Therian clans became exclusive, forbidding their members to marry elsewhere. As the fertility dropped and the numbers grew smaller, the inbreeding had a terrible effect. Some clans began to suffer great ills. The change became difficult and painful for them, and they got sick. The lunar cycle began to affect when they were able to change, and some could no longer resist changing on the eve of the full moon. The animal side became a curse, and when in animal form it could be difficult to remain sane.

  In desperation these clans began to follow the rest of the Therians and marry humans or into other clans, but it came too late. The damage had been done. When humans were exposed, they contracted the ills of these cursed clans. The madness became infectious and these unfortunate souls began to pass on their curse when they were in animal form. This occurred via the mixing of saliva, blood or other bodily fluids, making them dual natured once more. The new name of Lycanthropes arose, thus separating the two forms of shifters forever.

  Most of the book had been filled with people’s personal experiences. First changes, strange happenings, encounters between Lycans and Therians. Many of the accounts were generalized, but a few were told from the shifter’s point of view, making it a very interesting read. By the end of it, Jodie found she didn’t have any questions left to ask her Gran. However, she had a whole list of things she wanted to know about Danny.

  LUKE PACED THE LIVING room as he waited for his mother to return home with the girls. He grew anxious any time they were out of his sight. He’d gotten so deep trouble he didn’t know what to do and having the girls thrust in the middle of it all made him feel sick.

  When Luke had fled from his life up the coast and allowed Jodie to bring him home with her, he’d been foolish enough to assume all his problems would go away. He knew he’d turned into an alcoholic. He was a mess over losing Mara and the girls, but those things he could handle. Thinking he could outrun the rest of the trouble he’d gotten himself into had been his biggest mistake.

  Now that he knew differently, the terror had set in. Not only had his bad choices caught up with him, but he’d also put his entire family in danger. It baffled Luke that Mara had dumped the girls on him. He felt relieved to know that they were all right, but wished he had somewhere safer to hide them until he got things figured out.

  Then there was the whole mess with Danny Archer. Luke still fumed over the fact that he’d latched on to Jodie. How dare he? Luke felt certain the pretty-boy had done this to get at him. Did Danny think if he seduced Jodie, that Luke would relent? Nobody forced Luke Fletcher. His blood boiled even just thinking about it. If he could just get Archer alone, he would give him a piece of his mind and demand an explanation.

  While he paced, other thoughts crept into Luke’s mind. He knew he had done something terrible. Jodie had been admitted to hospital, but nobody would tell him anything. He had no clue as to how serious it might be. What had he done? Damn the drink! Damn it all for turning me into such a monster. Thinking of hurting Jodie tore him up inside. His sister had a huge heart and kind disposition, Jodie would never intentionally do anything to hurt anyone. She tried so hard to help people, including dropping everything to take him under her wing. Luke had treated her like shit and hadn’t appreciated her at all. He’d taken her for granted.

  Being the older brother, Luke had always taken his role of protector seriously. Annoyed with himself, he knew he had let her down. If only I could remember what had happened. He agonized over it all in his mind. It must have been bad for his parents to keep him a prisoner in their home. They supervised him twenty-four hours a day and the only time they permitted leaving the front gate was when he attended the AA meetings. That had happened just once so far. He had his second meeting in three days and didn’t look forward to it. They were all a bunch of idiots; none of them had real problems. Their reasons for turning to alcohol were pitiful compared with what he had to face.

  John Fletcher sat at the dining room table with a cup of tea and a newspaper. He read it in silence, oblivious to Luke’s distress. This had to be a good thing. If John had any idea what Luke had been up to in the last three years, he’d have disowned him. Causing his father shame felt almost as bad as hurting his sister and sometimes Luke wondered what in the hell was wrong with him. He just couldn’t seem to do anything right anymore.

  In high school, he had been unable to accept his o
wn achievements. He’d only been able to see that he never measured up to Zach, but didn’t let anyone else know how he felt. Luke had a solid B average all the way through high school, attaining plenty of sports ribbons and trophies for swimming. Zach never dropped below an A. Every time Luke got a silver trophy or a second place ribbon, Zach had been first and got the gold. Zach dated all the pretty girls, Luke never seemed to know what to say to any of them. They all thought him weird.

  When Mara had shown interest in him, Luke thought he’d started winning at last. He felt ecstatic that such a beautiful girl wanted to be with him, now he knew that had all been a lie too. He suspected Grace might not be his biological child, though he’d never want it clinically proven. He loved both the girls no matter whether they were his or some other loser’s. If he even let on that he thought someone else had gotten Mara pregnant, he’d never see Grace again.

  Luke had started to get depressed and despite his most concerted efforts, he couldn’t stop loving the wretched woman. She treated him like shit, didn’t bother to hide the affairs and spent his money faster than he could earn it. One day Luke had snapped and gone on an all-night drinking binge. He’d always had anger management issues when he got drunk and this time he picked the wrong night to lose control.

  The shifter had been half his size but several times stronger. Luke had no idea that shifters even existed when the guy had dragged him into the parking lot at the back of the tavern. He could not have been more shocked when the guy had changed forms right in front of him. Then he’d beaten Luke to a pulp and left him for dead.

  The owner of the tavern had dragged Luke inside and left him in the storeroom to heal, knowing that there would be no question of his contracting the Lycanthropy. When he’d crawled back home two days later, Mara had known right away that he had joined the world of shifters. After a few weeks of avoidance, she’d threatened to leave him, but got pregnant. She’d been horrified at the thought of coping with pregnancy and two children, alone and penniless. Therefore, she’d stayed, and continued to sleep around.