“Son of a bitch.”

“I know. We’re still looking.” Lorn withdrew his satellite phone when it rang, answering it. “Yes?” He paused, listening. “Great. Clean it up.” He ended the call. “They just found another car with a body. It happened about two days ago. At least they didn’t leave the vehicles within sight of the road.”

“Damn.”

“I think this master is trying to start a war by leaving this mess on our doorstep. It’s as if he’s trying to push the blame on us for these murders. The idiot. If the humans discover what we are, they’ll be hunting Vampires next.”

“Jadee is the least of our worries.”

“I hope so.” Lorn glanced down at his phone. “I’ll call Digger. He can fix anything on four wheels. Take me to your human and we’ll keep her out of sight when Digger arrives, or tell her to pretend to be under my control. He tends to gossip. The last thing I need is anyone doubting my leadership. She’d better be worth this, bro.”

“She is.”

Lorn didn’t look convinced but Lavos had no doubts. Jadee was innocent and needed to be protected. He couldn’t stand the thought of any harm coming to her. He wanted her to live. Even if that meant never seeing her again.

Chapter Nine

Thirteen days later

Jadee hated Friday evenings. The bar was packed with drunken idiots and their favorite sports team had lost. It meant a bunch of unhappy customers with little to no common sense. She swept the last of the broken glass into a dustpan. One guy had decided to smash his drink in frustration. It probably wouldn’t be the only time she had to clean up a mess before her shift ended.

She straightened and caught Bob’s eye. He was her backup behind the bar. “I’m taking out the trash.”

“I can do it.”

“I want to get a little fresh air,” she admitted. “I’m getting a headache.”

“Go ahead. Take five. I’ll handle this.”

“Thanks.”

She removed the plastic bag and replaced it with a new one, then lifted the trash. The back door beckoned. She picked up the pace and exited, happier the second the door closed. The noise from inside could no longer be heard. She had to cross the alley to reach the Dumpster, and the narrow lane was blocked off at both ends every evening so she didn’t bother to pause to check for cars. There wouldn’t be any. Deliveries were only made in the mornings. The two big gates also kept the homeless from ransacking their Dumpsters and sleeping behind the bar and the stores attached to each side of it. It meant she was safe from anyone bothering her.

Jadee threw the bag inside and dropped the lid. She looked up. It was a full moon. “All the crazies are out. No wonder,” she muttered, thinking about her customers. They were an unusually rowdy bunch.

She strolled slowly toward the back door, in no hurry to enter. Her threshold of dealing with bullshit had to be at an all-time low. One customer had already tried to lean across the bar in a sad attempt to kiss her. He’d ended up with a stern warning that he’d be cut off if he tried it again. She hadn’t been talking about beers. His nuts had come to mind. She leaned against the building and closed her eyes.

Lavos’s image popped up. It happened often since she’d left Alaska. She thought about him more than she wanted to. He was very memorable. She hugged her waist and crossed one ankle over the other. He’d been a hell of a man, unlike the ones she dealt with at work.

He probably had forgotten her as soon as she’d driven away, but he’d starred in many of her dreams when she slept. Some of them had caused her to wake up with a sense of loss, while others had been of the highly sexual nature. Either way, they’d left her frustrated and missing him.

It could never happen between them, though. Kar had admitted it was a big no-no for Werewolves to hook up with humans. Lavos’s pack would likely have a bone to pick with them having any kind of relationship—probably one from her dead carcass.

Her pocket buzzed and she reached down, sliding her cell phone out. She opened her eyes but didn’t take the time to look at who called. “Hello?”

“Can you talk or are you swamped?”

She smiled, identifying her friend’s voice. “I’m taking a break. What’s up, Maria?”

“I wanted to invite you to a barbeque on Sunday.”

“No way. This is another setup, isn’t it?”

“He’s nice. His name is Mitch and he’s hot. He also has a good job, no mommy issues, and his family lives in New York so you won’t face a firing squad anytime soon.”

Jadee winced. “No.” The last Mitch she’d met had been a killer. It was the night she’d lost her father and met up with a stranger walking around inside his body.

“I want you to be happy.” Concern laced Maria’s voice. “I worry about you.”

“I’m okay.”

“Have they found the bodies?”

She tilted her head up, staring at the moon. “No. They probably never will. The entire camp washed into the river when that storm hit. It’s remote up there and they may never surface, or if they do, they won’t be easy to find. It’s miles of endless woods. I’m just glad my dad had parked his RV away from the rest of their camp.”

“What were they looking for?”

“Some kind of tree beast,” she lied. “Think of a devil in the body of a tree. Someone said they saw a moving tree walking around. I’m sure they were just drunk and it was windy.” She wasn’t sure if that was a legend but it didn’t matter. Her friend wouldn’t waste the time to look it up.

“Why are you working? I know you already talked to your father’s lawyer and the police. Megan told me she’d gone with you to do all that. She also told me the lawyer called yesterday, saying your father had left you everything, but the call was just a formality since he’d already put you on all his bank accounts. You have access to his money. He left you set for life.”

“Bartending keeps me busy.”

“You should take some time off to grieve.”

“I need to stay occupied.”

“I can’t believe they let you return to work.”

“I didn’t tell them about my dad.” Jadee sighed. “For that reason.”