Flirting Under a Full Moon (19 page)

Kurt smirked. “It’ll be a hardship, but we’ll try.”

***

Drake accompanied Nick to the Boston Common. They located a bench far from anyone else, and after evaluating the spot for privacy in every direction, they sat.

“I’m going to get right to it,” Nick said. “Do you happen to know a dragon who goes by the name Martin Rossi?”

Drake scratched his head. “No. I—” He suddenly fell silent, then tipped his head back and groaned. “Yes. Dammit. I do. I have an uncle in New York who goes by that alias sometimes.”

New
York. It fits.
“What’s his real name?”

“Irwin.” Drake leaned away and shook his head. “You don’t want to get mixed up with him. He’s the reason I came to Boston.”

Nick raised his eyebrows. Was Drake working for his uncle in Boston? Or afraid of him and hiding here?

“What can you tell me about him?”

Drake bit his lip and hesitated. At last he let out a hot breath. “My uncle has his own brand of ‘family,’ kind of like the Mafia. I may be related to him by blood, but he wouldn’t hesitate to off me, if you know what I mean.”

Nick nodded. “So you’re hiding out from him here?”

“Yes. I’d heard Boston had more than its share of paranormals. Something about the old places reminding immortals of their home cities back in Europe. Not that it looks anything like my native Scotland. I had hoped to locate some other dragons—ones like the family I grew up in, not the distant uncle’s family in New York. Do you happen to know of any other dragons?”

Nick sympathized with the guy hoping to locate others like himself and wished he could help, but Drake was the first dragon he’d met. “No, sorry. So I guess your uncle’s so-called family must not have a presence in Boston if you’re here.”

“Not as far as I know. But why are you looking for him?”

“He might be behind a kidnapping I’m investigating.” After Drake’s long hesitation, Nick decided he needed reassurance. “Don’t worry about talking to me. I won’t let anyone know we spoke.”

“Don’t be so quick to promise that. If he gets wind that either of us is involved, he wouldn’t hesitate to hold your girlfriend hostage to get what he wants.”

Nick’s spine straightened. “You’d never tell him about Brandee, would you?”

“Of course not. I want nothing to do with him.”

“How would you feel about helping to put him behind bars?”

Drake let out a snort, followed by a small curl of smoke. “If I can do it without being seen, heard, or identified in any way, I’d love to.”

“You probably can. I won’t ask you to
do
anything. I just need to know his habits, his weaknesses. Anything I might be able to exploit.”

Drake leaned back and stretched his long legs in front of him. “I didn’t stay with him long. My parents obviously had no idea what he was like, or they’d never have sent me to live with him in the first place.”

Nick suddenly had a glimmer of hope. “So, can you tell me anything about him?”

“Yeah. I can give you his address, but the place is a fortress. You can’t just waltz in there and take him out in cuffs.”

Nick already had the address but didn’t have time to check it out. “Any security I can get around?”

“On rainy days the guards are inside. He has attack dogs and they’d be in too.”

“So all I have to do is get him to come outside by himself in the rain. Sure. That should be easy.” Nick didn’t mean his sarcasm to be so apparent, but nothing about this case was easy.

“Wait. I’ve got it,” Drake said.

“I’m listening.”

“He has a driver. The limo goes in for service once a month. It goes to a car wash once a week. I think if you could meet his driver alone, you could arrange a bribe.”

“What makes you think the driver would give him up?”

“My uncle is a hard man to work for. I personally witnessed him yelling at his driver for driving too slow, too fast, getting stuck in traffic, you name it.”

Nick wished he knew more about this driver. He wished he knew more about Drake, for that matter, but his instincts were telling him Drake was on the up and up.

“What’s his name, and do you know when and where he gets the limo serviced?”

“His name is Tom and I rode along a couple of times, just to get out of the house. If he’s going to the same one, I can tell you where it is. I don’t know if he’s using the same schedule, though.”

“Doesn’t matter. I can call the place and say I don’t remember the exact date and time of the appointment, and I have to be sure it doesn’t interfere with something else that has to be scheduled.”

“That might work.”

“Does the driver have a distinctive voice or accent?”

“He’s a New Yorker with a low-brow Brooklyn accent. His voice isn’t that unusual. A little higher than yours, maybe—and not gravelly like mine.”

“I can work with that.” Nick stuck out his hand. “Thanks, friend.”

Drake took his hand and shook it. “I wish you the best of luck. You’re going to need it.”

***

Angie strolled along the shore of Star Island, part of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire. The morning sun hid behind the clouds and a cool September breeze matched her mood. She had been there with her mother when she was a kid. The place was equipped with a very basic inn and offered personal retreats. The rooms were spartan, almost dormitory-like. It seemed like the perfect place to get away, feel safe, and have minimal distractions—which Angie needed desperately to sort out her jumbled thoughts.

She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and mulled over calling Brandee. She was still mad at her, but that didn’t excuse the anxiety she was probably causing her best friend.

She fished her cell phone out of the pocket of her aqua windbreaker. Brandee was her number one on speed dial, reminding her just how close they were. Her mother was second and Boston Uncommon’s manager, Claudia, was third.

She hit speed dial and waited for only one ring before Brandee answered.

“Where the hell are you?”

No
“Hello, how are you?” Shit, I suppose I don’t deserve it.
“Hi. Before I tell you where I am, I want you to know something.”

“What’s that?”

Angie found a boulder and settled herself onto a relatively flat spot. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”

There was silence on the other end.

“I think I know why you kept Nick’s secret to yourself. You’ve always had this misguided loyalty thing going on.”

“Misguided?” Brandee’s voice rose.

“Maybe that wasn’t the right word, but dammit, Brandee, what do you call someone who invites a Lycan into her apartment and doesn’t tell her roommate? I assume you’ve seen enough werewolf movies to know there’s a crap-load of danger involved.”

“Nick is nothing like the werewolves in movies. He knows exactly who I am, even when he’s in wolf form. He’s very protective, so I know I’m perfectly safe. He even let me pet him.”

Angie chuckled. “I think you guys are way beyond that point. I can’t believe he transformed in front of you.”

“It was the only way I’d believe him.”

Angie hugged her windbreaker closer. “Weren’t you afraid? I mean, sure, he probably told you he wouldn’t eat you, but how did you know?”

“I trusted him. And Anthony was there, just in case.”

“What good would Anthony be if a werewolf attacked?”

“I wasn’t worried about Nick attacking me. And Anthony wasn’t there to protect me. He was there for moral support, and because he knows how to hypnotize people. He and Nick thought I might want the memory erased.”

“I guess you didn’t. You seem to remember it pretty well.”

“That’s right. I didn’t. It’s a terrible thing to witness, but it’s even worse to go through. I don’t know how he stands it without screaming his head off. Anyway, if I want to stay with him for the long haul, I ought to know what he has to deal with.”

Angie didn’t know what to say to that. How could Brandee even consider being with Nick anymore? Her roommate was a little too tolerant of people’s eccentricities, and that was one thing Angie both admired and disliked about her.

Angie took a deep breath. “Honey, I’m not telling you what to do, but don’t you think you ought to consider what your life would be like with and without a werewolf in it?”

“I have. More to the point, I’ve considered what my life would be like with and without
Nick
in it. I love him so much, Ange. Wolves mate for life. I don’t like the idea of throwing away a love so true and unconditional, that he says there’s nothing I can do to drive him away. I love that. You know what my story is.”

She had her there. Brandee had big-time abandonment issues. Not only did her parents get divorced, but her father wanted nothing to do with her afterward. Her mother had a string of boyfriends, and after a while, Brandee learned not to get too attached. Her own dating life wasn’t much better. She’d been dumped in just about every way—in person, over the phone, stood up, text message…and for about every reason a creative guy could think of.

Her latest had said he was being transferred to Switzerland and didn’t see the point in carrying on a long-distance relationship.
Ouch.

“Okay. I get it. Nick is part of your life, and it’s nice to have somebody to count on besides me.”

“Can I still count on you?”

Angie’s spine stiffened. “What do you mean? Just because I had to get away and think over a life-altering piece of information, you can’t count on me anymore?”

Brandee sighed. “It’s not that. I mean, can I count on your discretion? I promised Nick and Anthony never to reveal what I know—to anyone. Can you make that promise? Because if not, you might want to have Anthony hypnotize you and remove the information.”

“So, I guess Anthony has that mesmerism thing that vam—” Angie spied a couple of kids playing on the rocks nearby. This conversation could get awkward if she was overheard. “Why? Did he offer?”

“He offered to do that for me, so I assume he’d include you too. It’s
that
important that no one know. Can you imagine what would happen? People would panic. They’d be suspicious of everyone who was a little different. Hell, some paranormals might even wind up as lab rats.”

Angie’s friend spoke the truth—never more so than now. “Look, I guess you’re right, and I’ll consider your crazy suggestion, but I have to go. My privacy is about to be compromised.”

“Before you go, please tell me where you are.”

“I’m on Star Island. The season is almost over, so I have to leave soon anyway. The last boat back is tomorrow.”

“Good. You’ll come back tomorrow, then?”

“I only paid for one night, so I might as well come back today. Do you think I still have a job and a place to live?”

“Yeah, at least I assume you do, if you want ’em.”

“Anthony won’t fire and evict me?”

“I doubt it. He was worried about you, but he didn’t seem angry.”

“Okay. Tell Claudia I’ll probably be late, but I’m coming.”

“Thank God! Can I pick you up at the ferry dock?”

“Do you think your rust bucket will make it all the way to Portsmouth?”

“Maybe. If not, Nick said he’s good with cars…”

Angie rose. “Oh no. You’re not bringing him along, are you?”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone.

“Brandee, you and I need to talk alone first. Maybe you, me, and Anthony.” She strolled away from the kids, who had stopped to study a tide pool. They probably had parents nearby watching them. She lowered her voice. “Does Claudia know about the bar?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Sheesh, are you sure? She’s been there for what…four years?”

“At least. She waitressed to put herself through BU’s business school,” Brandee reminded her.

“I wonder if she would have stayed if she’d known…”

“Probably. I think she has a crush on Anthony.”

“Uh-oh…”

“Don’t even think about it, Ange.”

“Think about what?”

“Telling her.”

Angie set a hand on her hip and huffed. “I told you I wouldn’t tell.”

“Promise?”

Angie crossed her fingers behind her back, as if her friend could see her. “I promise.”

About five hours later, Angie showed up at the bar. Brandee spotted her from across the room and rushed over. She threw her arms around her friend, not knowing whether to hug her or hit her. Hugging seemed like the safer option. She squeezed a little harder than necessary, though.

“Angie! I’m so glad you’re back.”

“Then don’t squeeze the life out of me.”

Brandee let go and Angie glanced over at the bar.

“I see Kathie is filling in for me.”

“Yeah, Claudia called her in. We were lucky she was available because she usually has classes in the afternoon.”

Claudia approached the pair with an unreadable expression. “Angie. We need to talk.” She tipped her head toward the office and Angie followed. Angie glanced over her shoulder at Brandee, biting her lower lip.

“Would you like me to come too?” Brandee called. Robin would be able to handle being the only waitress on duty for a while. She was a bit of a ditzy blond, but she could always knock if she needed help.

Claudia just said, “Nope,” and kept walking.

Brandee wished she could tell her friend it would be all right, but she didn’t know what was going through Claudia’s mind. She hoped Angie would receive no more than a stern talking-to. That much she deserved.

Brandee went back to work without giving it much more thought. She wiped down a table and was about to get Sadie another drink when the office door burst open.

Claudia appeared shaken. “Emergency staff meeting,” she called.

Emergency
staff
meeting?
When had they ever had one of those? Brandee had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sadie aimed a concerned frown at the office but continued to shuffle her cards.

Shit. What did Angie tell her?

“Kathie, can you hold the fort for a few?” Claudia asked the part-time bartender.

“Sure.”

That meant Brandee and Robin were the “staff” needed in the meeting. As if her feet had just met a bad alchemist and turned to lead, Brandee took her time getting to her destination.

Kurt slid off his bar stool as she passed. “I’ll watch the place, kiddo,” he whispered.

“
Now
, Brandee,” Claudia snapped.

Shit.

She made it into the room and shut the door behind her. Angie stood with her back to them, hugging herself.

Brandee hated that her best-case scenario was
only
Claudia calling them in to say Angie had been fired for taking off without notice. Somehow she knew it was more than that. Waaay more.

“Ange?” When she didn’t turn around, Brandee went to her friend and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Angie shook her head, then looked away.

“Uh-oh,” Robin said. “We’re not all getting raises, are we?”

Claudia let out a deep breath. “This is serious. Everyone have a seat.”

Brandee took the chair closest to the door just in case her worst fear came true and she had to barricade everyone inside. How the hell she’d accomplish that, and what she’d do afterward, was anyone’s guess.

“Angie, do you want to tell everyone what you told me?”

“No,” she said in a small voice.

“Uh, that wasn’t exactly a request,” Claudia said.

When Angie didn’t follow through, Claudia sighed. “Okay. First off, everybody, don’t say anything to Malcolm and Wendy about this when they come in. I’ll need to consult Anthony when he gets here, but I’d like both of you to tell me what you know.”

Oh, no. Please say anything but, “Paranormals are running around the city and calling Boston Uncommon home.”
As calmly as Brandee could, she asked. “Know about what?”

“Angie?” Claudia waited until Angie folded her arms and turned away. “Oh, for the love of…Angie seems to think our bar is full of what she calls ‘paranormals,’ in other words, vampires, werewolves, and—”

Robin leaped to her feet. She screamed and bolted before Brandee could get up and block the door.

“Oh, crap! Angie, how could you?” Brandee couldn’t wait around to hear her answer. She ran after the frightened waitress.

Kurt grabbed Robin around the waist and lifted her off the ground.

She thrashed in his arms. “Let me go! There are vampires and werewolves after us.” She tried kicking him. “Let. Me. Go!”

The dozen or so customers seemed stunned. A few rose and moved toward the door.

“Stop,” Sadie yelled above the din.

Everyone froze and gave the fortune-teller their rapt attention.

Sadie laughed. “You can’t honestly believe there are such things as vampires and werewolves. I don’t see anyone ‘after us,’ do you?” She held out her arms and swiveled from side to side. “Everyone, take your seats and finish your drinks. I’m sure when the poor girl calms down, she’ll realize there’s been some kind of crazy misunderstanding. Maybe someone’s playing a joke on her.”

Most of the patrons joined her in an amused chuckle.

Brandee took advantage of the momentary distraction to call Nick. She tucked herself in the ladies’ room, making sure she was alone.

“Wolfensen Investigations.”

“Where are you?” she whispered.

“Not far from Boston Uncommon. The mayor’s office. Why?”

“Angie told.”

“Fuck—I mean, shit. I mean—I’ll be there in five minutes.”

The line went dead and Brandee returned to the bar, hoping Nick would know what to do.

***

Nick ran inside Boston Uncommon, half expecting to find total pandemonium. What he didn’t expect was a bar full of frozen bodies, but that’s what he saw. Humans in various poses, most of them staring in one direction.

“Jesus, it’s about time you got here,” Kurt said.

Nick followed Kurt’s voice and found him in the center of the action, holding a frozen waitress.

“What the…”

“Sorry. It was the only thing I could do. Claudia over here…” Kurt tipped his head to point to the manager, who had her hands on her hips and was leaning forward with a frown on her face, “was demanding I let Robin go. But she was the one screaming ‘vampire’ and ‘werewolf’ and trying to run for the door.”

“So you froze time?”

“Not so much time as physics. I created kind of a slow loop, but only in the bar. As far as these folks know, they’re still having a good time, just laughing and drinking with their friends. Interrupting the time-space continuum has far-reaching consequences. Never mind. Wizard stuff. Would probably make your head explode.”

Nick’s back straightened. “Are you calling me stupid?”

“No, not at all. Look, I barely understand it myself. Just help me! I’ve been holding this chick for several minutes, and my arms are starting to shake under her deadweight.”

Nick grabbed Robin under her arms, which allowed Kurt to step away.

“Why didn’t you just put her down?”

“Do you see the position she’s in?”

Nick chuckled. Her arms were shooting out in front of her and her legs looked like she was in a roadrunner cartoon. Kurt pulled an empty chair away from one of the tables and Nick lowered her into it.
She
doesn’t look natural sitting there, but at least she won’t fall on the floor when she, uh, thaws?

“So, now what?” Nick asked.

“I don’t know. We can’t leave everyone like this until Anthony gets here. It’s a couple hours to sundown, and people will probably be missed in that amount of time. I don’t want nosy cops coming down here to investigate. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“But what else can we do? The patrons and staff need Anthony’s mesmerism to have their minds wiped.”

“You can’t do that?”

“No. Wizards and witches aren’t allowed to do certain kinds of mind control. A suggestion or a bit of influence is okay, but we can’t obliterate a person’s free will. This snafu is apt to take more than influence. We need memories totally erased. Nothing can be left to chance.”

“We need a vampire,” Nick said.

“Exactly. But how do we keep everyone out until Anthony gets here?”

“I know someone.” Nick grabbed his cell phone. Morgaine answered after one ring.

“Uh, hi, Morgaine. Is Sly there?”

“He’s upstairs babysitting his grandson.”

Shit.
“Is there any way you can take over for him? I need his help. It’s an emergency.”

“Of course. He can be with you in a few minutes.”

“The sooner the better,” Nick said.

“Where are you? I’ll send him as soon as I get upstairs.”

“Boston Uncommon.”

“He’ll be there in about five minutes.”

Sly was there in three. Nick heard the door rattle, made sure it was Sly, then unlocked it and let him in.

Sly didn’t need to ask what was wrong. He gaped at the frozen bodies everywhere and asked, “What can I do?”

Nick let out a deep breath. “Thanks for getting here so quickly. The bar’s real identity came out, and a waitress was about to run into the streets screaming it to the world. Kurt’s a wizard and managed to stop her—and everyone else.”

Sly slapped a hand over his eyes. “Crap. This all happened because of what Morgaine told your girlfriend, and we’re responsible, aren’t we?”

“No. Brandee didn’t do this. But she and I were talking where her roommate overheard us. Now, my girlfriend is cool with everything, but her roommate freaked out and told the manager. The manager told the rest of the employees and this one,” he pointed to Robin, “was just about to spread the alarm, Paul Revere style.”

Sly chuckled. “Good thing you had a wizard handy.”

“Daytime watch over the paranormals is sort of my unofficial job,” Kurt said.

Nick smirked. “You mean you’re not an alcoholic? I thought you spent every day here because you liked to drink.”

“Well, there’s that too.”

Sly circulated around the bodies. “So which ones actually know?”

Kurt took a deep breath. “All of them heard the waitress screaming about vampires and werewolves. The psychic over there,” he pointed to Sadie with his thumb, “told everyone the waitress had misunderstood something or lost her mind. One or the other.”

Nick spoke up. “Sadie knows about the bar, but she’s always been fine with it. She’s related to Anthony. I don’t want her memory wiped. Same with Brandee’s.” He had already located Brandee in the back hall to be sure she was there and okay, but upon closer inspection, he saw the horrified look on her face and thought,
Oh, hell. I’ll deal with that later.

Kurt shook his head. “This is a logistical nightmare.”

Sly held up a hand. “Not to worry. I like a challenge. Now, can you both take Sadie and Brandee out back? Kurt, as soon as you unfreeze them—or whatever you do—Nick can explain to them what happened. I’ll need you back inside to help me unfreeze one person at a time.”

“But won’t each one I unfreeze and you mesmerize see it happen to the next one?”

“Nope. I have a plan.”

“While you’re out there, I’ll get the problem waitress here all straightened out, so you might as well unfreeze her now.”

Kurt waved a hand at Robin and she slumped into the chair. A moment later she looked up, startled. Before she could say anything or look around, Sly caught her eye. Her jaw went slack and she stared at him without blinking.

“That’s a good girl,” he said softly, as if speaking to a frightened child.

While Sly did his thing, Nick lifted Sadie as if she were a sack of grain and carried her out back. Kurt acted as lookout, and fortunately, no one was around. Then Nick went back for Brandee.

Kurt waved a hand over both women and slipped back inside.

Sadie and Brandee moved gingerly at first, stretching and groaning, as if they had arthritic joints trying to function first thing in the morning.

“What happened?” Brandee asked. She glanced back and forth. “And what are we doing outside?”

“Kurt had to freeze the action.”

Brandee set a hand on her hip. “Oh, terrific. Another paranormal. What is he? The wizard?”

Nick was about to say she’d have to ask him, but Sadie jumped in.

“Yes, dear. Kurt is a wizard. He hangs around for just such occasions as this one. I’m very glad he was here. Even if…” She stretched her shoulder and something popped. “Ow.”

“Oh, my Oz. So what’s going on in there now, Nick? And you never said why we’re out here.”

“Because Sly is mesmerizing each person one at a time and erasing their memories of what happened. Because you both can be trusted, he’s not wiping your memories.”

Brandee smiled. “You finally trust me?”

He tipped up her chin and looked into her eyes. “Absolutely.”

He was about to kiss her when she asked, “Where’s Angie?”

He sighed. “Getting her memory reset with the rest of them.”

“Good,” she and Sadie said in unison.

Relieved, Nick smiled at his mate. “I’ll be back before closing time, sweetheart. Can I take you to my place after that?”

“I guess so. Will Angie be all right?”

“We’ll make sure she is.” He glanced over at Sadie. “You should probably tell Anthony what happened so Kurt can continue to keep eyes on the place.”

“I will. I’d also like to know why your vampire friend Sly is out and about during the day. If there’s a trick to it that he can share, Anthony could really use that information.”

Nick shrugged. “You can ask. In my experience, vampires are pretty secretive, but Sly seems very different from most vampires.”

Without wasting any more time, Nick grasped Brandee’s shoulders and gave her a quick kiss. “Stay here until Kurt says it’s time for you to go back in. I have to get back to the mayor. He must be wondering why I took off.”

“You didn’t explain?” she asked.

“Nope. If you say you need my help, I’ll be there as fast as possible. I’d say as fast as humanly possible, but…”

“Got it. All is well.” Brandee slapped his butt. “Now get going.”