The Mercenary Read online

  “Kia ora,” he greeted in Maori.

  “Hi Rufus,” Ainsley chimed as she gave him a hug.

  “Hi Rufus,” parroted Jessie, who also gave him a hug.

  “Who is this?” He mouthed at the others.

  “Rufus, this is Jessie.” Ainsley announced. “She lives with Laura and me.”

  “Sweet,” he grinned. “Have fun girls.”

  Jessie gave Rufus what could only be described as ‘an intense passionate gaze’ and followed Ainsley into the club. Jodie and Laura apologized to Rufus for their strange friend, but judging by his amusement, he didn’t seem to mind much.

  It appeared too early for Eddie’s ‘show’ so the music had been put on autopilot. Jodie guessed he would be out back somewhere.

  Danny on the other hand, was where they’d expected him to be. There were just a couple of occupied tables near the bar and all the barstools were free.

  The foursome parked themselves at the bar, met with a smile as pretty brunette bartender Summer Matthews breezed over to take their order. Danny cut her off.

  “I’ll get this one thanks,” he smiled. She shrugged and went back to slicing limes.

  “How are we all this evening?” He grinned.

  Jessie sighed sweetly beside Jodie, who fought the urge to glare at her. Damn I’m possessive this evening. Bad, naughty Jodie.

  “I’m good, though I’ll be even better once you make me a tequila sunrise...” Laura smiled.

  After they all put their orders in, Danny provided entertainment with his effortless bottle flinging skills. The glass vessels slid through his hands as he tossed them into the air, and he caught each one with ease, despite the fact his eyes never left Jodie.

  “You know, you don’t have to do that for us,” Jodie pointed out.

  “Yes he does,” Ainsley disagreed. “It’s all part of ‘The Furnace’ experience.”

  Danny laughed. “Yes Ains, it is. Plus it’s also habit,” he winked at Jessie who stared at him.

  “Don’t you ever drop any?” The redhead breathed in awe.

  “Nope,” Danny said as he reached for the cocktail shaker.

  “He has the reflexes of a cat,” Laura said to Jessie.

  Jessie nodded with great enthusiasm, having missed Laura’s attempt at humor. Staying at the bar for half an hour, the women chatted to Danny between customers. When a few more people started to arrive, they decided to let Danny get on with his job.

  Even though nobody had ventured onto the dance floor yet, Ainsley felt like dancing. Laura groaned, though she loved to dance and could do so well, dancing when nobody else was did not inspire her. Laura had never been a ‘spotlight’ kind of girl.

  When they were onto the second song, Eddie wandered in from out the back. As soon as he saw them, he came straight over and joined in. Ainsley gave a delighted squeal and threw her arms around him.

  Watching them together proved interesting. With Eddie’s height of six feet three inches, and Ainsley’s height at only five feet, they were an odd pair. Where Jodie’s head rested on Danny’s shoulder in an embrace, Ainsley’s cheek pressed against Eddie’s six-pack. Despite the elbows and knees being in all the wrong places, Eddie and Ains somehow managed to dance together, not looking awkward at all.

  When it came time for Eddie to start his stint in the box, he surprised everyone by inviting Ainsley to join him. Though they played it casual, Jodie and Laura knew that was a big deal, and decided to go back to the bar with Jessie to get another round of drinks.

  A loud crash behind them made Jodie and Laura spin around. Jessie had tripped over who knew what and gone sprawling. She collected four patrons along the way and they all ended up in a pile on the floor. Dear God it’s like going ten-pin bowling.

  Jodie and Laura did their best not to laugh, and decided they wanted no part of that mess. Sitting down at the bar, they watched as Jessie picked herself up. Before she had the chance to make any sort of apology, a fistfight ensued.

  Dicult to know what had happened, it appeared that one of the girls Jessie had run into had spilled her drink all over herself and freaked out about it. Not having seen who had been responsible, she attacked one of the other girls lying on the floor. Jessie stood in the midst of it all, trying to break it up. Four or five more people got involved, taking sides of the two girls scrapping. Adam and Leon appeared quickly and managed to calm things down.

  “I love when you bring friends to work.”

  Spinning around, Jodie found Danny depositing drinks in front of her and Laura, grin filled with mischief. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

  “Are you kidding? That was hilarious.” He laughed. “I’m on a break in five minutes if you want to wait out the back.”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Laura said to Jodie, jerking a thumb in Jessie’s direction. “Before she causes a riot.”

  Nodding in agreement, Jodie slid off the bar stool and away they went, Jessie right behind them.

  Leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the outdoor table, ankles crossed Mark flipped through the pages of a magazine. As soon as he saw the women, he straightened up, assuming a more dignified position.

  “Hi,” Jodie smiled, before making introductions. Jessie did her usual thing, batting her eyelashes and flaunting her assets in his direction.

  He hadn’t been there long, having finished work a short time ago and deciding to have a drink with the guys before heading home. Mark still wore his checked pants and double-breasted chef’s jacket, with the only thing missing the toque on his head.

  Laura and Jodie were both relieved when Danny arrived with a tray of drinks. Jessie had been asking the most ridiculous questions about Mark’s line of work though he had answered every single one. Jodie thought he seemed as relieved to see Danny as she’d been.

  After exchanging pleasantries, Danny and Mark launched into a conversation in rapid French. Though Danny had already told Jodie that he spoke five languages, hearing him do it was something else altogether. Jessie sat glued to her seat, open mouthed, while Laura watched the two men with curious interest. Jodie wondered if she should tell them that Laura’s had a French grandmother, and that she spoke it fluently. No, it’s more fun to let them think they are getting away with it.

  “Forgive us for being so rude.” Mark apologized when they’d finished.

  “Boring business stuff,” Danny added.

  Jodie looked at Laura, disturbed by the fact that she sat as stiff as a board in her seat. Uh oh, that’s a bad sign, boring business stuff indeed. She’d planned to say something intelligent, but Danny placed his hand on her thigh and the thought went right out of Jodie’s head.

  “I’m sorry that I disappeared on you the other night. I really did come to your place.”

  “I know, Luke said as much,” Jodie nodded.

  “Oh good.”

  “Thanks for texting me.”

  “You’ve already thanked me for that,” Danny raised an eyebrow.

  “I felt grateful!”

  Mark shook his head and grinned, “Eddie was right, you too are worse than a teen romance.”

  Ignoring Danny’s reaction to the comment, Jodie stole another glance at Laura, now recomposed and drinking her tequila in silence. Jodie began to say something, but lost her train of thought when interrupted by Danny’s advances. If he had been the enemy, she’d have been doomed, though what he’d done started out harmless enough. He’d leaned in closer and she could feel both the warmth of his body, and his breath on her neck. He noticed and started to play on it. Jodie wanted very much to be alone with him in a bedroom somewhere.

  “I need to go to the ladies room,” Laura announced in a sharp tone. “Jodie will you join me?”

  “Uh... sure.” Giving Danny a brief kiss on the lips, she collected her purse and got up.

  “What is it with women going to the bathroom in groups?” Mark frowned. “They all do it, are they incapable of going on their own?”

  “It’s okay; I’ll stay he
re with you.” Jessie offered.

  “I’ve got to get back to work,” Danny chuckled. “Talk to you all later.”

  “Hey wait!” Mark protested.

  Jodie knew what he thought. He didn’t want to be stuck on his own with Laura’s roommate. She didn’t blame him; Jessie’s tantalizing body and brilliant smile weren’t enough of a consolation for what her personality lacked. Laura grabbed Jodie by the elbow and dragged her through the door behind Danny, before anyone could change his or her mind.

  The Ladies’ room overflowed into the short hallway outside, busy as always. They were going to have to be careful what they said. Damn it! Jodie was not in the mood for speaking cryptically. Shuffling past other patrons, they went right down to the far end, past all the stalls. There were no sinks at that counter, just a couple of mirrors, and a very ugly fake plant. Pretending to be freshening up, Laura fussed with her hair and Jodie began to reapply her lipstick.

  “Jodie, something huge is going on.”

  “What kind of huge?” She asked in a low voice.

  “Well it sounds like the uh...bunnies that have been uh... attacking your carrots are from a much larger rabbit warren than we first thought.”

  Fighting to get rid of the mental image of cute fluffy bunnies hopping around in the back yard and focusing on the problem at hand, Jodie nodded. “Okay...” she said, her tone imploring Laura to continue.

  “Well it would seem that the bunnies share their warren with other forest creatures.”

  “Really?” Jodie’s stomach did a flip-flop.

  “Apparently the bunnies and their friends are not too thrilled to have a woodland friends’ justice system in place. They and their friends have spent the last five years or so forming a bunny army.”

  “So the bunnies are pissed off and ready to get nasty?” “It’s not the bunnies you should be worried about.”

  Oh dear Lord, what’s worse than bunnies? She knew Laura spoke of the pigs. It made sense that they would work with another animal group. The pigs just weren’t leaders, they didn’t reek of intelligence. Jodie could see why Laura looked worried.

  “So do you think that the bunny situation you just heard about has anything to do with my personal bunny situation?” She asked, giving herself a casual glance in the mirror to examine her lipstick.

  Laura shrugged, “I’m not sure. It would be a huge coincidence if it wasn’t.”

  Laura had run out of ways to flip her hair around and just stood next to Jodie, who had reapplied her lipstick four times. Their list of reasons to be in the bathroom had dwindled fast. Studying Laura, Jodie saw that her grey-blue eyes were wide and her posture anything but relaxed. She was really worried. That meant that Jodie should be petrified.

  Chapter 17

  Jodie and Laura discovered that the disabled access toilet next to them was vacant and managed to scoot in there, continuing to talk in low voices. Anything but a procrastinator, Laura wanted to know what they were going to do about it. Jodie told her all about the shifter justice system, including the parts that Danny and his friends played in it. To her amazement, Laura seemed relieved.

  “How can you be calmer after I tell you the scary secret?” Jodie wanted to know.

  “Because now I don’t have to worry that your boyfriend is some kind of hyped up vigilante. He’s authorized to be hunting the - er ... bunnies. And he has the appropriate training.”

  “Okay,” nodded Jodie. “I guess that makes sense but I’m still freaked out though.”

  “Which is completely natural. We need to get some answers. They can’t drag us into this mess and not tell us what’s going on.” Laura seemed adamant and Jodie almost felt sorry for the guys. They were going to get an interrogation.

  “Jodie? Laura?” Mark’s voice rang out.

  What the hell is Mark doing in the ladies room? Unlatching the door, Jodie and Laura both peeked around the corner. “You’re sharing a stall?” His mouth dropped open.

  “Only so that we could talk,” Laura rolled her eyes. “You just want there to have been something suspicious going on, get your head out of the gutter.” “Can you please come out?”

  Doing as he asked, they found the room empty. Suspicion crept in as Jodie looked around. The ladies room in a nightclub is never empty! Perhaps all the women made a hasty retreat once Mark walked in? Jodie and Laura stood there like a couple of school girls waiting to be told off.

  “We have a situation,” he announced, his voice reeking with authority. “You’re going to have to leave.”

  “What?” Jodie cried, her stomach performing somersaults. “Not again.”

  “This has happened to you before?” Laura frowned.

  Jodie didn’t answer as the pair followed Mark out into the bar. Utter chaos awaited them. Someone had smashed one of the small windows high up on the street side of the club and thrown in a burning rag, followed by several more. Jodie and Laura stared at the goings on with their lips parted in shock.

  Jenna and Summer, the two female bartenders rushed about trying to douse the flames. Summer had what appeared to be a wet towel and batted at the flames as they tried to take root in the floorboards. Her brunette head bobbed about as she kept her attention on the burning rags. Beside her, Jenna used a more direct approach, trying to stamp them out with her chunky ankle boots. Her eyes darted around the room periodically, concerned about their safety.

  Broadening her visual sweep of the room, Jodie saw that people were running around like idiots. I mean really, if there is a fire, wouldn’t you run out of the building? She looked around in disbelief. No, not those dunderheads. They’d fallen into such a panic, they seemed to have forgotten where the exits were. Though the risk of the place burning down might have been minimal, evacuation was standard procedure, even if it did seem to be going badly.

  While Rufus escorted patrons out onto the street, a group of guys wormed their way in. It all happened in a matter of seconds and Laura and Jodie barely had enough time to take everything in before knives started appearing. Danny had been behind the bar getting a fire extinguisher. His gaze jerked upward and as Jodie turned her head to see what had grabbed his attention, she noticed a group of the thugs were trying to attack the two female bartenders.

  Summer’s bewildered expression tugged at Jodie as she watched the scene unfold, glad to see the shy bartender staying behind Jenna. With her wild strawberry blonde hair bouncing around, Jenna held her arms up in defense, keeping a close eye on the impending threat. She placed herself between Summer and the guys, and must have known she couldn’t take on all three alone. A short distance away, Danny had leapt over the wooden countertop, running toward Summer and Jenna with the fire extinguisher gripped tightly in his fist.

  Quick to lend a hand, Mark dived into the ruckus alongside the others, taking on his own cluster of the intruders while Leon and Adam struggled to secure the back door where more of the idiots attempted to get in. It had turned into a real brawl. Jodie’s throat went dry as she envisaged worst case scenarios.

  As she swept her gaze back to Danny, Jodie saw him battling with three guys at once. He cracked one over the head with the fire extinguisher and cut the legs out from under another with a sweep of his foot.

  Before that guy had recovered enough to get back up, Danny had elbowed another guy behind him in the sternum, turned the guy’s arm back on itself, and grabbed him around the neck. With the pressure on his throat, the guy passed out and fell to the floor.

  One of the first two guys found his feet again. He began thrusting with a knife, but Danny caught the arm and with his free hand, hit the guy hard in the stomach. They wrestled and fought a little longer, with Danny in control for the entire duration.

  Everything happened so quickly, Jodie’s eyes could barely keep up with it all. The more she watched him fight, the more Jodie began to understand just how well trained he was. The combination of speed, martial arts, and street fighting looked like something out of a movie.

  In a similar po
sition to Danny, Mark plowed through the wannabes with a variety of carefully choreographed moves. Omigod, these guys are like machines! Jodie felt so awed by the skills demonstrated, the panic she would have exhibited could not be found, almost as though she’d become numbed by the sheer reality of the violence.

  Having finally managed to secure the exit, Adam and Leon came back, doing what they could to help. While they didn’t quite have the skill that Danny and Mark possessed, the pair more than held their own. Jodie knew their initial training hadn’t been as unforgiving as Danny and Mark’s. Adam and Leon were not authorized to execute, only defend themselves or protect other innocents and civilians. Adam’s younger age also implied a degree of inexperience.

  Leaping down from the DJ’s box, Eddie took out two guys at once with just the landing. Not content to leave them lying dazed on the floor, he grabbed the scruff of their necks and butted their heads together. He gave a satisfied nod as they collapsed and turned to see where else he could help.

  Eddie’s style proved very different from Mark and Danny’s, using a lot more punching and shoving, and a lot less martial arts. He also made better use of nearby objects. Eddie’s way achieved just as much as the other two Therians’, but then the effects of bashing someone with a bar-stool were undeniable.

  The Furnace staff continued to defend their territory against three times their number of intruders and without the weapons. While it seemed the Therians had the upper hand, Jodie knew sooner or later one of the intruders was bound to get a hit with a blade, then the tables could very well be turned.

  “We should find Ainsley and Jessie, and get the hell out of here.” Laura suggested.

  Jodie gave no argument. After a brief search, they were unable to find Jessie and could only hope Mark had already gotten her to safety. Climbing up into the DJ’s box, they found Ainsley exactly where they expected her to be - cowering beneath Eddie’s desk. She couldn’t stop crying and Jodie knew they couldn’t go anywhere with her in that state.