Ripper (7 page)

“Whoa, slow down, sweetheart.” Sloane turned to Jamie, his eyes wide.

My brother chuckled. “I told you. She’s a bulldog when she’s on a case. She really might be able to see something you missed.”

Sloane seemed to consider it for a moment and a little thrum of excitement rode through me at the thought of looking through Sloane’s files. The puzzle would be there, laid out for me to solve. Just for a second I thought I could do something, something important.

He turned his blue eyes on me. “How about we make a deal? You promise to not get trashed again like you did last night and I’ll let you have a peek.”

Humiliation swept over my body like a wave, and I watched Jamie tense. He was waiting for me to explode, but I was done wasting energy like that. Sloane wanted to be an asshole? Who was I to stop him? I certainly didn’t have to take it though. I stood up. “Keep your files, Sloane. I don’t need ’em. Lock up when you’re done, Jamie. I take it Nate’s looking for drugs?”

I ignored Sloane’s stare and focused on Jamie, who relaxed a bit when he realized I wasn’t going to make a scene. “You know how he is. Someday promise me you’ll throw him a bone and leave a little bag of parsley or something hidden in your underwear drawer for him to find.”

I leaned over and kissed my big brother’s cheek. Sloane didn’t matter. He didn’t mean a thing to me. He was one more hot guy who thought he was better than everyone else. “I promise. Now, I’m going. I can’t stand all the brotherly concern. Call you later.”

I walked out without another glance at the gorgeous man I wasn’t going to be seeing again for various reasons. I heard Nathan going through the drawers in my bathroom. I should have yelled and screamed and told him to keep his hands out of my business, but I didn’t. Nathan had been the one to find me bleeding that day so long ago. If it hadn’t been for Liv, he would have been the one to hold me while I died. He deserved some leeway.

“I hide my hardcore stuff in with the tampons, Nate,” I yelled and giggled a little at the thought of him pawing through feminine necessaries.

Nathan’s head poked out from the bathroom door. “Don’t think I won’t look, Kels.”

“I know you will.” Despite our fight the night before, I felt a great rush of love for him. He didn’t understand me the way Jamie did and I annoyed him greatly, but he never backed away. Dan was wrong. I already had a couple of people who wouldn’t let me push them away. “Your vigilance has kept me from becoming a heroin addict.”

Nate’s face softened and he gave me a little smile. “That’s the plan.”

I decided to needle him a little. He’s my brother. It’s my job. “Hey, and when you get to the little drawer in my nightstand, why don’t you go ahead and change out the batteries on the vibrator? They were low a couple of nights ago.”

I heard his strangled scream. “Disgusting, Kels.”

I was smiling as I turned and ran into the brick wall that seemed to be shadowing me that morning. I tried hard not to blush because it would have been nice to have not mentioned a vibrator around Sloane. “Excuse me.”

“I’m sorry.” Sloane didn’t move an inch. “I didn’t have any right to make a dumbass statement like that. I was rude, but you threw me off a little when you mentioned meeting Nate’s friends. It’s a bad idea to be vulnerable around them. I don’t like the thought of some of them taking advantage of you, but I don’t have any right to judge. I wasn’t really doing that. I was thinking more along the lines of protecting you, and I get that I sounded like a judgmental douchebag. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged, unwilling to think about why I got a warm, gooshy feeling when I thought about Sloane protecting me. He was so stinking gorgeous, from his perfectly square jaw to his broad shoulders. He was so not for me. “Not a problem, Lieutenant Sloane. I’ll keep my drunken affections away from my brother’s friends. Have a nice afternoon.”

A big hand settled on my arm and pulled me around. Before I knew what was happening, I was really close to Grayson Sloane. He was taking up all the space, making me feel small. It takes a whole lot to make me feel small. “Let me make something plain to you, Kelsey. I’m not your brother, so don’t lump me in with them. I wanted to come here today because I’m interested in you and I have been for a long time. I’ve asked Jamie to set us up for a while now, but he thinks you’re too fragile to date. I think if you’re strong enough for meaningless one-night stands, then you can handle an honest to goodness date. Dinner tonight?”

I was sure my eyes were wide as saucers and I realized Jamie was right. I wasn’t ready for this. No way. No how. Luckily, I had an excuse and it found its way out of my mouth. “I have to work tonight.”

“You can take a couple of hours off,” Sloane said smoothly. “You have to eat, right? I’ll bring my files and we can talk about any similarities in our cases. We can call it a working dinner if date is too much for you.”

But it wasn’t work. I stood there with big, gorgeous Sloane looming over me and knew this wouldn’t be professional. It would be personal and it wouldn’t end there. If I thought for a second I could take what I wanted from Grayson Sloane and happily send him on his way, I would have thrown down with him at the first given opportunity. But something told me he wouldn’t take his walking papers with aplomb.

I smiled with a jauntiness I didn’t feel and pulled my arm out of his hand. “I think I’ll skip working with you, Sloane. I’m kind of a loner. How about I promise when I solve my case, I’ll let you know so you can close yours, too?”

I winked at him and walked out the door, got in my Jeep and took off. I drove to Dallas like the devil was following me.

Chapter Four

I walked across the tree-lined, stately campus of Southern Methodist University. I had unhappily parked about a flipping mile off campus because, unlike Liv, I didn’t have a magical parking pass and I really needed to avoid tickets. I couldn’t afford them. I hated to think about what my drinking binge had cost me last night. My local bar might be a shit hole, but they still charged for drinks.

I stopped and studied the map I’d picked up at the student center then took a quick left as my cell rang. I was prepared to ignore it as I had ignored all of the increasingly pissed-off texts from Liv. If she was escalating to actual calls, I might have to turn off the phone. I glanced down at the number and a cold chill went through me. I ran my thumb across the screen because this person would never accept that I didn’t answer. She would call and call and leave message after message.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Kelsey, this is your mother,” she said in a too-loud voice.

“I know, Mom. You don’t have to yell.”

“I need you to call me, Kelsey” She carefully enunciated each word. “I talked to your brother and I’m worried.”

“Mom, why should I call you? I’m talking to you now.” I was the one screaming because she always thought she was talking to a machine and this could seriously go on forever.

“Oh, it is you, dear.” My mom sounded delighted. “It’s so refreshing for you to answer. You know how bad I am with these new tech things.”

Yes, like cell phones, although my mother might have been talking about regular old telephones. It wasn’t that she was old. Her upbringing had been unusual, to say the least.

“I’m fine, Mom. Nathan didn’t need to call you.” I read the name of the building I was standing in front of. Not the one I was looking for, so I kept walking.

“Well, I’m glad he did, Kelsey Jean,” she said, her voice firming.

I sighed. I was in trouble. “It was no big deal. I’m even up and working. I’m on a case, a paying case, so I should really…”

Mom ignored me entirely. “Nathan believes that drugs might be involved.”

I groaned and rolled my eyes as far back as they could go. “Nathan always thinks drugs are involved. Nathan is clinically insane. Talk to Jamie. He’ll tell you I’m fine.”

“I already talked to Jamie and you’re obviously not fine since you turned down a date with that nice Grayson Sloane. Jamie said Gray was devastated.”

I bet that’s what Jamie said. I was betting Jamie had said it while laughing his ass off at the thought of his sister turning down his superhot friend. “I think he’ll recover, Mom.”

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as the hair on the back of my neck started to tingle. Eyes were on me. I wasn’t anonymous anymore. Someone, something was watching me.

“Well, you’re not getting any younger, Kelsey. That man is quite the catch. He’s attractive and respectful and he has a good job. You already know he gets along with your brother so he would fit in well,” my mother continued as I turned slowly, searching the crowds to find who was watching me.

The students rushed around as the hour changed and classes were being released, only to start again in the next ten minutes. It was Friday and everyone wanted to get where they were going. I studied the campus for signs of someone not terribly interested in getting somewhere.

My mother continued to expound on the many blessings of Grayson Sloane. “He’s so polite. He’s come to dinner a couple of times with your brother and he always comments on your pictures.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about Sloane studying my high school graduation photos. What was his real interest in me? I wasn’t in his league looks-wise. It was hard for me to believe he’d seen my picture and known instantly he wanted me. I shook my head because I needed to concentrate on figuring out who was following me.

My mother’s voice went low, like she didn’t want anyone overhearing her next words. “And, dear, I think he would be a considerate lover.”

“Then really, Mom, you should give him a try.” Ah, my eyes lit on a familiar face. There was my little stalker. He watched me from a tree across the quad. The wolf from yesterday stood there. Darren’s brown eyes narrowed as he caught me staring. “Look, Mom, I gotta go.”

I bore down on the werewolf, and there must have been something in my eyes as I closed in because he looked startled at what he saw there.

 “Well, I won’t keep you then,” she said breezily. “Don’t forget to come by for dinner and we’ll talk some more about Grayson.”

“Good-bye, Mom,” I said between clenched teeth and I dropped the call. “Don’t you say a word.”

“The hunter was talking to her mommy. Sorry to interrupt,” Darren bit out sarcastically.

I was just about done with Darren. I felt like shit, my head was still pounding despite the caffeine, and I really wanted to be back in bed. I didn’t want be here dealing with Darren’s obvious mental problems. “Look here, wolf, I’m trying to help the Taylors. I haven’t done anything personally to you. I’m not my father. I realized what a horrible human he was a long time ago, and if he were here I would shoot him myself. So back the fuck off and let me do my job.”

I turned and began to stalk away.

The baby wolf was hard on my heels. “Are you really trying to find her?”

 I sighed and stopped. I’d finally found the right building, but I didn’t want to go into the professor’s office with a werewolf in tow. “I’m looking for her. I think she’s in trouble. You dogging my every footstep isn’t helping.”

Darren, who was in another flannel shirt and jeans, seemed to deflate. “I think she’s in trouble, too. She told me she was working, but I followed her one night and she went to this club downtown. It was a school night. She never used to do stuff like that.”

“Did you follow her into the club?” So Joanne had a reason to mask her scent. Darren was obviously nosy.

Darren nodded. “I followed her to the club, but I couldn’t get in. It was real busy. They have this line waiting to get in and the bouncer has to let you go. That night the bouncer was this asshole from the pack who’s jealous that my dad is the alpha. Dad put him in his place a couple of months ago and he was getting back at us by not letting me in. Jerk.”

So it was a supernatural club. That made things harder. “But Joanne got in?”

Darren nodded. “They let her walk right in. I waited for her, but when she came out she was with some guy. I’m pretty sure he was a vamp.”

“Blond guy?” I’d only met one vamp, but in a city the size of Dallas there wouldn’t be many. I hoped it wasn’t Dan. He seemed like a nice guy. It would be a shame to have to kill him.

“Nah, this one was dark haired and really creepy looking,” the wolf said. “I mean the dude gave me the creeps and that’s not easy. I started to yell at him to leave her alone, but then there were bouncers and threats and they kinda hauled me out and told me not to come back. It got me in trouble with…well, everyone. Jo was pissed the next day. She wouldn’t take my calls. She wouldn’t see me. I was worried about her.”

I believed him. At least, he believed himself. Sometimes denial could be a powerful thing. “Why are you willing to talk to me?”

A flush stole across his skin. “My dad came by last night and told me to leave you alone. He said some bigwig came by and ordered all the wolves to either help you out or get the hell out of your way. His name’s Trent. He works for the big guy.”

“I don’t know anybody named Trent. Why would he care who gets in my way?” I glanced at my watch. This was one mystery that would have to wait. I was going to miss the professor if I didn’t hustle. I pulled out my card and handed it to Darren. “If you think of anything else, give me a call.”