Hunger Moon Rising Read online

  Any other time I would have been eager to go with her. It had taken me a long time to earn Dani's trust enough for her to show me this kind of vulnerability. Asking me to come along to a dangerous part of town let me know she felt safe with me and wasn't afraid to let down some of the hard-ass, modern woman facade she kept up so rigorously at work. Even a year ago, she would have gone herself and taken her chances rather than asking me to come.

  So I was glad she'd called me, but worried too. What if she found something out? Something that might blow my cover?

  “I don't know, Dani,” I hedged. “I'm pretty tired—it was kind of a rough day.”

  “Yeah, I know. You nearly bit my head off for no apparent reason.” She sighed. “Look, Ben, I wouldn't ask you, but I have a feeling it's important. I think I smell a story.”

  I ran a hand through my hair and sighed again. Dani and her nose for news. It won her more journalism awards and got her into more trouble than I cared to think about.

  “Dani, think about it,” I said, deciding to try another approach. “I mean, the guy was crazy. We'll be chasing around on the wrong end of town all night for no reason.”

  “So we'll chase around some.” I could almost hear her shrug. “It'll be fun.” Her tone changed abruptly. “Look, Ben, if you don't want to go, I understand. I could see you were under stress today, although you won't tell me why…?” The last word ended on a question, but when I didn't offer any answers, she went on. “If you don't want to go, I'll understand. And I'll change your ring tone anyway. That other one was kind of a joke.”

  Dani dropping a lead? It sounded too good to be true. “If I don't go with you, will you promise not to go either?” I asked.

  “Sure, why not?” She sounded just a little too careless.

  “Dani, are you crossing your fingers?” I demanded.

  “Ben, you don't have to go, really. I'm sorry I called. I'm just…well, I'm sorry.”

  I made a decision. It was better to go with her and know she was safe. That way if she found anything out, I could do damage control. “I'll be there in five,” I told her and cut off the phone.

  Once out of the house, I felt the pull of the moon much more strongly. It was an overcast night, but I could feel it anyway, skittering around under the clouds like a luminous insect, calling to me. I ignored it as best I could and prayed that I wasn't in for one of those all-nighters my overzealous partner was famous for.

  Halfway to her place, my phone sounded again, and this time it was the movie theme she had promised. I let it ring, knowing she was calling me to show it off. By the time I got to her condo, she was already on the front steps waiting for me with an excited grin on her face. Dani on the scent of a story was a fearsome creature to behold. Despite my misgivings, I had to smile.

  “Hey,” she said, climbing in the passenger side of my truck. I noticed she had changed into jeans and a sweater—not nearly as sexy as her usual short skirt, but imminently more practical for where we were going. The sweater clung to the full curves of her breasts in a way that made it hard not to stare.

  “Hey, yourself.” I steered the truck in the direction of the docks and looked at her out of the corner of my eye. “So what's this hot lead we're checking out?”

  “Do you remember how the crazy guy was shouting something about a doctor—a Doctor Locke?” Dani turned to me, her face glowing with excitement. “Well, I did a search, and the only Doctor Locke in our area isn't an MD—he's a research scientist. Specifically, his field is the hormonal and neurochemical basis of animal aggression.”

  “Let me guess what animals he was studying,” I said. “Could it be wolves?”

  “Yes.” Dani nodded. “In fact, he did a well documented study about the hormones in male timber wolves that control aggression and dominance within the pack structure. It was published in—”

  “Wait a minute.” I held up a hand. “So what does this have to do with us driving down to the docks in the middle of the night?”

  “It's not the middle of the night,” Dani objected. “It's barely nine o'clock. And we're going down to the docks because that's where the mysterious Doctor Locke has his lab.”

  “The mysterious Doctor Locke?” I raised an eyebrow at her as we stopped at a red light.

  “Uh-huh.” She nodded, a little smile quirking the corner of her full mouth. Her lips looked very kissable. I made myself look back at the road.

  “So what makes you think he'll be at his lab this time of night?” I asked, keeping my eyes straight ahead.

  “I don't know—maybe the fact that he was there when I called a little while ago?” Dani said, sounding smug. “I explained who I was and tried to ask him some questions, but he wouldn't say a word. Finally, I asked about his research with the wolves—you know, most people you get them talking about themselves and their work, and they'll spill it all.”

  I nodded. Every good reporter knows that. “So what did he say about the wolves?” I hoped my voice sounded calm and natural.

  “He said, 'There are wolves, and then there are wolves. I can say no more over the telephone.' And then he hung up.”

  I shot her an incredulous look. “So you thought it would be a good idea to go down there and try to get more out of him? At this time of night?”

  “Why not?” She shrugged. “No time like the present, right?”

  “Wrong,” I said. “Dani, don't you see how dangerous this is? This guy, this mad scientist, probably heard your voice on the phone and decided to try and lure you down there for who knows what kind of disgusting, kinky reasons.”

  “It's not like I was having phone sex with him, Ben,” she objected. “And why would he decide to try and lure me to his lair on the basis of my voice?”

  I looked at her. “Come on, Dani, you know you have the most amazing…I mean your phone voice is really…” She gave me a strange look, and I let it go, realizing I was digging myself into a hole I couldn't get out of.

  She made an exasperated sound. “Why do you always assume everyone is after me, Ben? That everyone wants me?”

  Because I want you, I wanted to say, but didn't. I just drove. After a long moment, Dani spoke again.

  “Ben, are you getting tired of me?”

  “What?” Her words startled me so much I almost hit the car in front of me. I slammed on the brakes just in time and looked over at her.

  “I mean…” She was looking down, as though studying her nails. “Are you losing patience with me?” There was a vulnerability in her voice that broke my heart.

  “No,” I said at once. “Of course not. Losing patience how?”

  “I don't know.” She looked out the window, refusing to meet my eyes. “It was just something silly that Tara said. I guess…I guess she was wrong.”

  “Of course she's wrong,” I said, feeling like I had missed something along the way. “She's your little sister—isn't that how these sibling things are supposed to work?”

  “Like you would know.” Her voice sounded more normal now. “Being an only child.”

  “I was lonely,” I told her, making the turn that led into the docks. “No one to play with. I always wanted a little brother—or a sister. I wasn't picky.”

  “Neither am I or I wouldn't be hanging around with you.” She slapped playfully at my arm, then pointed to an empty parking lot. “Oh, look, park there. I think this is the place.”

  Actually, it turned out that the building that housed Doctor Locke's lab was down a long row of abandoned warehouses from the parking lot Dani had me park in. I didn't like walking past the deserted buildings with their burned out lights and broken windows, and it wasn't because I was afraid of getting hurt, either. Nothing could stop me but a silver bullet—yes, that part of the legend is true, anyway—or another werewolf. I wasn't worried about Dani, either; I was reasonably certain I could protect her.

  No, the reason I wasn't anxious to go walking along the docks district that night was that the cloud cover had broken, and the nearly full m