Her Wild Protector (Paranormal Romance) (2 page)

Her friend didn’t wait for an answer and resumed her narrative. Tara took the opportunity to focus on a man who
had
caught a bit of her attention. He had dark hair that was just a little longer than was the fashion, but it looked good on him. Sunglasses hid his eyes, but the rest of his face was attractive, if one enjoyed the rugged, dangerous look. Tara did. Pretty boys made her nervous. She could never be with a man who spent more time on grooming than she did. This one looked like he woke up with the same sexy dark shadow on his chin that he now sported. She crossed her legs, a twinge of heat causing her heart to beat faster.

Dark and Dangerous sat with several other men and women who were dressed like they had just come from their office, the same as her group. His rigid posture suggested military training and his facial expression was serious. Unlike the others in his group, he did not appear to be having a good time. She couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked as if he was drinking bottled water. What was he doing at happy hour?

From what she could see of his upper torso through his button-down work shirt, his body was in good condition, a welcome change of pace from most men she dealt with in her work environment. Too many of them had let themselves go, developing beer bellies and sagging chins at a young age. She leaned a little farther in her chair to get a better look.

“Hey now, you checking out that man candy over there? I thought you weren’t interested in the opposite sex,” Lola teased.

“I’m trying to see that woman he’s with. She looks familiar.”

This was partially true. Tara was sure she’d seen his companion in the finance section once or twice. Right now, the woman was laughing loudly with one of those raucous, grating laughs that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

“Yeah, she does something around here. I see her a lot, too. Damn, that laugh of hers is enough to make you want to rip off your ears. You think she’s drunk?” Lola asked.

She was something, if not drunk. Her companion had to move more than once to avoid her sloshing drink. Suddenly, all the noise and bar smells got to Tara. Her mysteriously heightened senses had reached overload and it was time to go. She hugged her friend and dug her keys from her purse.

“We’ll do this again,” Lola said. “You had fun, nothing bad happened, you got a few of those cobwebs blown out of your brain, right?”

“My cobwebs are fine where they are,” Tara replied, but smiled. “Sure, it was fine. I’ll come out again.”

She made her way down the stairs but decided she wasn’t quite ready to leave the tranquility of the sea just yet. Wandering between the various shops and restaurants that lined this area of the port, she came to a quiet spot with an unobstructed view of the water. She stood for a few moments, watching the rays of the sun fan out. Once again, her mind slipped into a peaceful place and she stood motionless, letting the breeze lift her hair.

An odd noise, something between a growl and a whimper, interrupted her reverie. She noticed the edge of what looked like a large cage behind a few boxes. Always curious, she walked around the corner of the building. It
was
a cage and inside was a dog. No, on closer examination she ascertained it was a wolf dog. She’d seen this type of hybrid before and always felt sorry for them. Wolves were not domestic animals. They needed to live differently than dogs and no creature should be kept locked up like this. The cage, while large, barely offered the animal enough room to even stand up. He looked up at her with soulful eyes and she squatted a safe distance from his enclosure.

He didn’t appear to be abused and had plenty of water, but his face looked sad.

“Hey there, sweetie. How’s it going?”

The animal woofed softly and put a paw at the edge of the cage. She wanted to touch it, to give the creature some attention it obviously craved. Tears pricked her eyes. How could someone keep such a beautiful animal penned up alone in this tiny prison cell? Wolves were pack creatures and interacted as a group.

“How about I have a chat with your asshole owner?” she asked, dearly longing to do so, though certain that nothing would come of it if she did. People who didn’t respect animals gave little thought to humans, either.

A sound nearby drew her attention. Great. It was Hyena Woman, still laughing in that grating tone. Tara rose and peered out into the parking lot. Mr. D & D was with her and for a moment all Tara’s attention focused on him. The bottom half was as good as the top. He had long legs and a butt that filled out his work slacks nicely. Her pulse sped up and she bit her lip.

He held the door for his companion and when she was settled in her car, he reached his head inside. Tara looked on with envy, certain he was giving her a delicious kiss. For just a moment, she pictured herself in that car and tasted his lips on hers. She knew they would have the flavor of sea salt and would set her mouth on fire. A zing of warmth flooded her body and a shiver of wanting ran through her. It had been a long time since she’d looked at a man with desire.

Determined not to start that lustful habit that only led to trouble, Tara began to slowly back away. She certainly did not want to be accused of spying on the couple. For all she knew, the parties involved were married, but not to each other. Just as she was about to turn around and tiptoe away, Mr. Dark and Dangerous started to shine. Tara’s jaw dropped and she stopped her retreat to stare. His body was glowing, a faint blue color that grew brighter by the second. It quickly increased in brilliance and became an electric luminescence, coursing through and around his whole body. It was as if he was made of the light. She closed her eyes to clear her vision and then opened them again. He was still leaning into the car and was still lit up like a tacky dollar-store Christmas tree.

The wolf dog barked sharply and she whirled around in surprise, knocking over a pile of boxes as she turned. She looked back to the parking lot to see Mr. D & D stand up from his bent position. The radiant light faded. He turned toward her and their eyes locked for a moment. Then the wolf dog barked again. Tara tore her gaze away and spun around, attempting to right the fallen boxes. As she did, a man came lumbering out of the nearby shop.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Nothing, I just knocked these over. I’m sorry, I’ll pick them up.”

“What are you doing to my dog?”

The man stood with his hands on his hips and glared at Tara. She stopped what she was doing and glared back.

“I wasn’t doing anything to your dog. But what
you’re
doing is cruel. You shouldn’t keep a wild animal in a cage like that, you know.” Shocked at her own audacity, Tara picked up her purse and turned to leave. The man’s hand on her arm stopped her.

“Don’t you tell me what to do—and don’t you be messing with my property.” The repulsive man stood inches away, his foul breath blowing in her face as he talked. She caught a scent of alcohol and cigarettes. Fear replaced anger and she tugged on her arm.

The animal barked loudly once then growled, the sound coming from deep in his throat.

“Let go of her,” another voice demanded, and Tara turned to see Mr. D & D approaching them.

Her attacker dropped her arm and took a step back. “We’re just having a chat—nothing’s going on,” he said, and with a final snarl at Tara, lumbered back into his shop.

Chapter Two

Tara stared with wide eyes at the stranger. He smiled pleasantly. Around the edge of his body, a faint blue light still pulsed. She blinked her eyes rapidly and rubbed them vigorously, trying to focus.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“F-fine,” she stammered, her heart pounding wildly. She desperately wanted to leave, but he blocked her path.

“Are you sure? Is something wrong with your eyes?” he asked.

She rubbed them with her palms, knowing her makeup must now resemble a Salvador Dalí painting, but determined to clear her vision.

“I’m fine. The light…it’s bothering my eyes.”

His pleasant smile turned to a frown and the hair on her arms stood up. Behind them, the wolf dog growled and barked again.

He momentarily turned his attention away from her and to the wolf dog. “Shhh, easy,” he said soothingly in a low voice. The animal gave a soft whimper and then was quiet. He turned back to Tara.

“What light?” Mr. D & D looked at her intently.

“That blue…” She stopped, her intuition ringing warning bells.

“What did you see just now, in the parking lot?”

“I didn’t see anything,” she said. “I have to go.” Pushing past him, she made her way between the buildings toward her car, and as she reached the lot, she heard a loud and powerful crash.

A short distance down the road, the car that Hyena Woman had stepped into was wrapped around a light pole. Surrounding the car was a bright blue glow, the exact same kind that had emanated from the mysterious man moments earlier. The light now pulsed strong, sparking like a broken transformer.

Tara didn’t even try to clear her vision this time. It wasn’t her eyes playing tricks on her; the light was real. She stopped for a moment and stared.

A young man stepping out of his car held up his phone to get a picture. “Holy shit, did you see that?” he asked.

“No, I didn’t see her hit the pole, but that light. What is that?” she asked him.

He turned to her. “What light?”

“Around the car.”

“There’s no light.” The man raised his phone again and headed in the direction of the wreck. More people stopped, more cell phones were pulled out and restaurant patrons came running. Sirens sounded in the distance. There were exclamations from the crowd like, “Oh my God!” and “Do you think that person’s okay?!” But Tara knew there was nothing she could do to help the woman, and her instincts told her to get the hell out of there. She trotted as quickly as she could to her car and as she fumbled her keys out of her purse she heard footsteps rapidly approaching. A quick glance up revealed Mr. D & D was running toward her.

She hit the clicker repeatedly.

“Stop, please wait, I need to talk to you,” he called.

The door handle slipped from her sweaty palm. She cursed and pulled again.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” He’d arrived at her car just as she managed to open the door.

“Damn right you’re not,” she said, jumping into the car. He grabbed the door before she could shut it.

“I just want to talk to you for a minute. Please. I promise not to harm you.”

“Then talk through the window,” Tara said, and pulling hard, shut the door and clicked the locks. She shoved the key in the ignition with shaking hands, started the car and slid the window down a crack.

“Tell me what you saw back there,” he said.

“I saw you with that woman who was in that horrible car crash. Right after you kissed her. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tattle. I don’t get involved in office gossip.”

“You saw something else, didn’t you?”

The fearful look in her eyes must have given her away, but Tara was not about to reveal what she’d seen, or thought she’d seen.

“It’s important that you tell me. You could be in danger.”

“I said I won’t blab your secret. Lots of people play kissy-face after a few drinks. It’s no big deal. Now, let go of my car, I need to leave.”

“You have to give me a chance to explain. I’ll meet with you somewhere, in a public place, wherever you feel safe. You work in accounting, right? I’ve seen you there."”

“Hey Marshall,” a voice called and looking around the body blocking her window, Tara saw a man running up to them. So Mr. D & D’s name was Marshall. Good name.

“There’s a cop here. He wants to talk to all of us who were having drinks with Annette. Right now.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow, we’ll meet,” Marshall said to her and backed away from the car.

Without a backward glance, Tara took off and drove home as fast as she could, her hands shaking on the steering wheel. When she got to her building, she sprinted up the stairs and didn’t stop moving until her front door was securely locked and bolted. Then she leaned against the door and slid down the length, sitting on the floor to catch her breath.

What the hell just happened?
This had to be one of the strangest days she’d ever had, pleasantly so up until the end. Did someone slip a hallucinogenic substance in her drink? Tara put her face in her hands and winced as she touched her forehead. No, probably not a mysterious drug—it had to be her injury. The blow to her head had her seeing things. People and cars did not glow.

She rose, poured herself a glass of wine and undressed, deciding to call this an early night. Even if that man, Marshall, wasn’t actually glowing blue the way her eyes told her that he was, she was convinced that he had something to do with the woman wrecking her car. Tara was sure. She detected an air of danger around him and more importantly, it was too much of a coincidence that he was so close to Hyena Woman moments before she crashed. He did something to her, maybe something much more ominous than a kiss. He had somehow impeded her driving ability. And Tara hadn’t stopped to gawk, but she was fairly certain the poor woman was dead. Her car was wrapped around that pole like stripes on a candy cane.

Marshall knew that Tara had seen him with that Hyena Woman Annette and because of that, he was overly eager to talk to her. Something was very off here. Thank goodness she had an unlisted number, because she did
not
want to talk to him. That woman was dead. And what she’d told him was true—she did not get involved with workplace politics or relationships, and if he had some bizarre agenda going on that involved people dying, all the more reason to stay far away.

Tara took a long, steamy shower then climbed into bed and forced herself to read a few chapters of her book. Eventually her nerves settled down and she slept.

* * *

All the next day Tara fought a sense of unease. When she concentrated, she was still able to zip through her tasks as quickly as she had the previous day, but her mind kept wandering to the strange events of the evening before. Though curious by nature, warning bells dinged loudly and her intuition told her not to get involved in this strange incident. She knew whatever was going on spelled danger.