Six Months
SIX MONTHS
A Seven Series Novel
Book 2
DANNIKA DARK
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2014 Dannika Dark
No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author. You must not circulate this book in any format. Thank you for respecting the rights of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Edited by Victory Editing and Red Adept. Cover design by Dannika Dark. All stock purchased.
April Frost is a compassionate young woman with a steady job and ambitious goals. But the harder she runs away from her past, the more it threatens to destroy her. When three strangers enter her life, April is forced to face her demons and it’s a battle she may not win.
Private investigators in the Breed world are men who take risks, and Reno Cole is no exception. As a Shifter, he’s expected to control his inner animal. But lately his wolf has been venturing dangerously close to the city, and he’s about to discover why. When Reno is reintroduced to a family friend, the attraction is immediate. April captivates him with her secretive eyes and resilient spirit. She’s also in trouble, and despite the fact she’s a human, Reno can’t turn his back on her.
April is caught between two worlds: One that threatens to bury her dreams and another that could fulfill them. Can she trust the wolf at her door and find the courage to overcome her demons?
Book two in the Seven Series
.
THE MAGERI SERIES
Sterling
Twist
Impulse
Gravity
Shine
NOVELLAS
Closer
THE SEVEN SERIES
Seven Years
Six Months
Table Of Contents
This book is dedicated to every person who has found their happy ending in a new beginning, and for those who seek it.
The first time I laid eyes on Reno,
I was afraid of him.
Six months later,
I was afraid of living without him.
Reno parked his Triumph motorcycle off a side road on the outskirts of the city
. He could smell the thick prelude to an oncoming storm mingled with the sweet fragrance of wildflowers. No better scent in the world.
It had been a grueling week and he’d just closed an important case. Reno was a private investigator and accepted jobs at his own discretion. Most of the time he turned down the petty shit like Shifters who suspected their mates were cheating. They’d offer Reno good money to stalk their women and capture damning evidence. He’d learned men like that didn’t have good intentions, and Reno didn’t want to do anything that would endanger a woman’s life because of a jealous man. He’d relocate women when he suspected abuse, but he preferred jobs that led him on a chase, hunting down deplorable criminals. That’s the kind of life he came from as a former bounty hunter.
Bounty hunters went after nefarious men with a price on their head, officially declared outlaws by the higher authority. But plenty of criminals flew under the radar. After years of getting his ass shot at and living out of a suitcase, Reno had decided to settle down and start up a new career. PI work wasn’t as glamorous, but it had its perks. For one, he could hunt men who committed an act not punishable by Breed laws. Because there weren’t many Breed jails, the laws were lax in order to fill their prisons with only the most depraved criminals who were a threat to society. If a man beat his wife, he wouldn’t be arrested. Wolf packs didn’t tolerate abuse and would make those men regret they had ever drawn breath. But not all Shifters followed the same code of conduct, and not all Shifters were wolves or living in tight family units. Reno worked for anyone who hired him, regardless of Breed. Sometimes a little street justice was called for on Reno’s part, but in most cases, he handed the offender over to his client.
It didn’t work like human investigations where evidence was gathered and they’d have a trial. Reno was a Shifter, and that meant he roughed men up in order to set them straight. Sometimes he was hired to find a person gone missing; other times he set up surveillance to help catch people suspected of fraud.
This last job had taken him on a wild-goose chase for two days to track down an embezzler up in Chicago. He’d gotten double the pay to compensate for the travel expenses. After closing the case, he decided to take a little time off because money was good and he needed a vacation.
Reno’s personal life had been scattered for the past few months. His wolf itched to get out more, and on a number of occasions, Reno had woken up far from his bike, deep within the city limits. Humans had no idea Breed existed, so his wolf’s erratic behavior could prove dangerous if someone were to catch him. Reno lived on a hundred acres of rural territory with the Weston pack—plenty of space for his wolf to run. But lately Reno’s usually obedient wolf had been roaming.
To appease him, Reno had begun parking his bike closer to the city. Maybe his wolf was just curious about humans. Shifters had to make peace with their animal; there’s nothing worse than waking up naked, fifty miles away from your bike and clothes because of a cantankerous wolf. So Reno made a compromise and began shifting in a wooded area near the population, establishing boundaries. The change satisfied his wolf’s curiosity but did nothing to suppress his uncompromising restlessness.
Reno had never experienced this level of disobedience before, and it had progressively worsened over the last three weeks. Even after shifting back, he didn’t feel the usual contentment that came with returning to human form. Something was up and he didn’t like it.
Reno kicked off his motorcycle boots and unbuttoned his dark blue shirt. He had brought a waterproof bag to store his clothes in to protect them from the rain, so he neatly folded his shirt inside and stripped out of his jeans and shorts.
Damn, it felt good to be a Shifter. His muscles flexed as he drew in a deep breath, listening to the majestic stillness of the thick woods. Sprinkles of rain created a canopy of sound overhead, tapping against the fragile leaves. Fall was his favorite time of year to shift. He loved the feel of rain against his naked body, the crisp sting of clean air, and the heavy scent of winter trying to push its way in. Winter in Texas was a joke compared to the snowy hills of Colorado, but it appeased his wolf just the same.
Reno had everything a man could want: family, brotherhood, a home, a respectable job, a sweet bike, and life. Yet there was an unshakable emptiness in the center of his chest—one that gnawed at his heart like a ravenous beast whenever he thought of having a woman filling the empty space in his bed. One who could make him a better man, completing him the way that only a good woman could.
Not just any woman, but one in particular intruded into his mind in quiet moments. A girl he’d only met once, but the vision of her sweet eyes and delicate nature had branded his thoughts. Shifter men were notoriously attracted to strong women who spoke their mind, but this girl seemed strong in a different way. Inwardly. He could sense her resilience; it was something he’d acquired over his many lifetimes of witnessing war, famine, and poverty. A quiet strength that made a person keep walking forward in life, no matter what. Sometimes strength wasn’t about brawn, but heart. It reminded him of a horse race he’d once witnessed years ago. Everyone had given the accolades to the impressive thoroughbred that soared through the finish line. But not Reno. He patiently waited and applauded the horse that came in dead last with a broken leg but not a broken spirit. That horse could have fallen and given up, but it pushed through the pain until it reached the finish line. That was the toughest damn animal in the race, whether or not the horse knew it would be his last run.
Reno needed to erase the thoughts he was having of this girl; they were from two different worlds. Aside from that, he remembered the fear glittering in her eyes when she looked upon him. He could hardly blame her because that wasn’t an uncommon reaction when humans looked at Shifters. But for a fleeting moment, he also thought he saw a flicker of desire in the way she blushed and wet her mouth, quickly averting her gaze. Shifters were perceptive when it came to body language, and something about hers was conflicted. But he still felt it—a magnetic pull that threaded between them and piqued his curiosity.
After Reno tucked his handgun in a separate compartment on his bike, he carefully hid the bag beneath some brush.
In a fluid movement too fast to track, Reno shifted into his earthy-brown wolf. He lifted his snout and inhaled the fragrance of red cedar, yellow damianita, and autumn sage. He pawed at the wet dirt and let out a howl that stilled every living creature within earshot. A white rabbit scurried off in the distance and he lurched forward, disappearing into the wild woods.
Ominous storm clouds blackened the autumn sky, and thunder growled like a savage beast
. I looked at the Sweet Treats display windows in front and considered how dangerous it would be if they shattered from straight-line winds or flying debris. Spring storms in Austin weren’t uncommon, but this was fall and I didn’t like the dull green tint blanketing the street.
“We need to close the shop, Alexia.” I tapped my electric-blue fingernail on the glass.
Alexia Knight had recently inherited the candy store when our boss, Charlie, died of cancer four months ago. Lexi had given me an unexpected promotion, despite the fact I was only twenty-two.
I’d never thought I’d be a store manager so quickly. After college, I had submitted my résumé to all the top companies in the area, hoping to get my foot in the door.
Unfortunately, I discovered many businesses preferred experience over education. I wasn’t paid a great deal managing a privately owned candy store, but the position would look great on my résumé if the business became stagnant and I decided to move on. I liked my job because it not only gave me leadership experience, but I also rocked at it. Lexi had relinquished complete control of all the hiring and firing. Luckily our part-timers were reliable and I hadn’t had to let anyone go yet. I not only worked the retail angle but also was in charge of scheduling days off for the staff, coming up with the work rotation, and monitoring inventory.
“April, I keep telling you to call me
Lexi
,” she complained from a crouched position behind the white counter. “That’s what my friends call me and I think you qualify. Where did you put those little coupon books?”
A clap of thunder rattled the windows and we shrieked in unison.
Lexi sprang to her feet, clutching her heart. “What the hell is going on out there?”
“
Armageddon
,” I said in a jittery, singsong voice.
After securing the locks on the doors, I watched people scurry to their cars with shopping bags over their heads. I was thankful to be at work because the last place I’d want to be during a tornado was in my Airstream trailer. It looked like those old-fashioned models you hook onto a truck, only this one was bigger. I’d worked at Sweet Treats for over a year and Lexi didn’t have a clue where I lived. There were nice trailer parks in the area, but mine had a reputation for housing drug dealers and ex-convicts. People often judged me on where I came from, not where I was going.
“Can you turn on the radio, Lexi?” My hands were shaking as I straightened a few packages of Japanese gum on the shelf. “Maybe if we have some music going it’ll block out all the thunder.”
Lexi lifted a portable black radio from beneath the register. I’d bought the radio a week after my car had died. My younger sister used to pick me up from work in her VW and I hated waiting in the empty store late at night—the silence rattled me. Rose, my sister, had recently wound up in a whirlwind romance with a guy named Shane. He had a counterfeit smile and sold plenty of cars at a dealership located just a mile up the road. A few weeks ago, they skipped town and moved in with his aunt in Arizona—something about him being promised a better job. I couldn’t believe Rose ditched me on short notice, and I’d been walking to and from work ever since.
Lexi switched on the radio and stopped on a severe weather alert. After the intermittent squelching, an automated message came on. “Sounds like a tornado watch,” she said in a distant voice, adjusting the antenna. The announcer confirmed the adjacent county was under a warning, although no tornadoes had been spotted.
“Do you think we’re safe in here with all this hard candy?” I glanced at all the aisles filled with plastic canisters, laughing at the idea of being whipped to death by licorice.
“If the big one hits, I guess the firemen will have to eat their way to our rescue.”
“
Not complaining
,” I sang.
She slapped a hand over her mouth to smother her quirky laugh.
I threaded my long bangs away from my eyes and hugged my arms when the wind began stripping the leaves from a few pear trees outside. I should have been used to storms by now, but I just couldn’t stay calm when it came to an all-expenses-paid trip to Oz.
Lexi switched the radio station to a classic rock song and belted out a few lyrics. I smiled when my boss swished her brown hair around a few times. Lexi had a sarcastic bite and enjoyed making me laugh. She’d recently hit a rough patch with some personal family stuff and had split with her ex, Beckett. I hadn’t seen him in months, not since the night he drove by and tried to win her back. Lexi seemed like a changed woman ever since she met the new guy, Austin Cole.
Austin was easy on the eyes in every conceivable way. He had the kind of masculine body women fantasized about, except for the bold tattoos on his upper arms and shoulders. I’d never been a fan of ink, but Lexi loved tracing her fingers over the intricate lines whenever he wore a sleeveless shirt. Tall and built, Austin looked like a guy who knew how to take care of himself. Any woman would melt if his thick arms were protectively wrapped around her. His dark hair and brooding eyes made it seem like someone important had just walked into the room. Whenever he swung by the shop, his eyes stayed glued on Lexi. She usually had to leave him and assist customers, so Austin would lean against the counter, watching her with a molten gaze. Sometimes he put on a pair of fringed leather gloves and she’d scowl at him.
Lexi had once admitted she thought the gloves were sexy as hell, but Austin wasn’t allowed to know that. I found out they’d known each other since childhood, but it had taken years before they were both in a place where being together made sense. I was surprised at how quickly she’d moved in with him, but then again, I wasn’t exactly the spokeswoman for relationships.
My love affair was with paperback novels and hair lightener. I had natural blond hair, but I began dying it a platinum shade back in college to change my image and wore it short in back, tapered to the base of my neck. It worked with my fair complexion, and my best friend had told me it was fashion forward. I’d had a rough time in high school. A group of boys used to bully me right up until the eleventh grade, calling me a dumb blonde. Then one day they’d spray-painted “slut” on my locker and hung up a picture of a porn star who resembled me. Crying in front of them had only made it worse. After that, I kept to myself, studied hard, and didn’t date. The less ammo I could give them, the better. My life had changed by college, but I still worried about running into those boys someday. Chances are I would, but I hoped by then I’d be able to outshine them in my achievements.
Thunder rattled the windows, and while we lowered the blinds, the Rolling Stones sang “Gimme Shelter” on the radio.
“Well, at least we can take a break,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I’m not going to be able to serve customers if glass is flying around.”
I gave her a sharp glare. “You should be used to it by now. I’m surprised my little fiasco didn’t end up on the Internet.”
Lexi snorted. “I haven’t figured out how to use the camera feature on my phone yet. Seven years, April,” she teased.
A week ago I’d attempted to straighten a large mirror on the wall. The mirror gave the illusion of extra space, and more importantly, allowed us to keep an eye on mischievous kids who liked to stuff candy in their pockets when they thought no one was looking. I should have just left it alone, but the mirror looked crooked and when I tried to straighten it, the cord snapped and glass shattered at my feet. Two guys laughed and turned away, not offering to help. So much for chivalry.
My mother had once said I was an accident waiting to happen and it started with my conception.
“Whoa, those clouds look
creepy
.” Lexi cupped her elbows as she peered between the slats in the blinds.
The streets were black as sin, as if something hellish were preparing to crawl up from the underbelly of the earth. Fat drops of rain assailed the windshields of passing cars, and the wind began to bend the trees in the parking lot. I hurried to the back room, my heart galloping. I stood amid a wooden bench, a plastic chair, a vending machine, a silver water fountain, and a unisex bathroom. It was where I retreated at night, after hours. I’d lie on the bench and read one of my novels until my sister knocked on the front door after her shift ended at Sonic.
Lexi strolled in and examined the antiquated vending machine to her left. “You know what? I think I’m going to request a new line of snacks for this thing,” she announced.
I sat on the floor to the right of the bench and stretched out my legs, crossing them at the ankle. We each wore matching uniforms: bright orange shirts with the store logo written in cursive across our chests and white skirts that stopped just above the knee. My legs looked ghostly compared to Lexi’s warm complexion. She had stunning legs, a cascade of silken hair, a lean frame, and a beautiful shade of whiskey-brown eyes. I also had a slim figure, but more endowed up top and thicker thighs.
Were men more attracted to brunettes when it came to serious relationships? I had hazel eyes—sea green with brilliant flecks of copper. Smokey eyeliner made them appear larger, although it sometimes gave me the appearance of a punk-rock girl. I wanted men to notice me, but after having spent a good part of high school looking like a stereotype, I decided I’d rather be admired for my brains and heart. I worked with what I had, but not in a way that garnered negative attention.
“We need to dump out all these snacks we don’t eat and change the inventory,” she said, looking at the contents in the machine.
“Good. I want those little chocolate donuts.”
“Do they still sell those?” She spun around and knitted her brows.
“Neither of us eats that junk and God knows how long it’s been in there. Is it our machine, or does it belong to an outside vendor?”
Lexi twisted her mouth to the side. “Good question. I’m not sure. If it’s ours, the key might be in one of the envelopes at home. I bet this bad boy is ours. I’ve seen those cute vendors in their shorts refilling the machines in some of the stores, so I know someone would have come around asking about it by now,” she said, patting her hand on the glass. “The last time I bought something was two months ago. Only an idiot would put a snack machine in a candy store.”
“We stare at sugar all day long and that’s what Charlie gave us to snack on? May he rest in peace, but that man didn’t have his head screwed on right.”
We both laughed and Lexi fished out a few coins from a Styrofoam cup we kept on top of the machine. “Oh my God, wouldn’t it be awesome if it’s ours? We can put whatever we want in it. Cookies?”
“I like animal crackers.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“Ding Dongs?” I suggested.
“Now you’re talking. A
man
machine. My friend, Naya, would totally love that concept. What kind do you want? Dark and handsome, tattooed and dangerous, a sexy jock, nerdy and hot…”
“That’s not what I meant.” I removed a candy barrette from my pocket and clipped my bangs away from my face. The hard rain made a clamor against the rooftop.
“I know what you meant, April. We could always put PMS pills in there,” she said with a snort. “Sorry, just having some fun. What’s wrong with you today? You’re always in a better mood.”
“You’re asking me what’s wrong while tornado sirens are blaring outside?” The lights flickered and my heart did a quickstep. I felt an urge to run outside. Despite the fact it was storming, being in the open made me feel safe. I hated the dark.
Hated
.
I’d been known to have panic attacks in a dark room.
Lexi sat on the bench and fumbled with her new phone, sending a text message. “Austin says everyone is okay at the house,” she said in a distant voice. “The storm is south of them and all they see are a few dark clouds. He wants us to sit tight.”
“Sounds like a man with a plan,” I said facetiously. “What was our other option? Because I was thinking we could dance naked in the street with a few gumdrops stuck to our nipples.”
Lexi burst out laughing and texted feverishly with a devilish grin. Then her brows popped up and I knew she was giving Austin the full visual. I could only imagine what his reply was.
A terrible thought crossed my mind. What if something happened to my trailer?
My grandma was sixty-five when she died from lung cancer two years ago. It didn’t come as a surprise since her health had been declining. Some people inherited money, jewelry, or even a house when a family member died. I got a trailer and a stack of bills. The student loans weren’t as bad as I’d imagined, and as tough as it was, I didn’t drop out. Rose had worked part time and helped with some of the expenses until I got a job at Sweet Treats. Grandma had given us a roof over our heads and fussed a lot, but we were grateful she’d taken us in after Mom had left us. Each Friday, she made a trip to the gas station and bought a wad of scratch-off lottery tickets and a carton of Marlboros. I’d had no idea how much debt she had incurred until after her death. Maybe if she’d taken out a loan from the bank it might have gone away, but I quickly found out she’d dealt exclusively with loan sharks. These men didn’t let a coffin get in the way of getting back their money. I had to ignore them for a while until the funeral was paid for, but after that, I squared away her debt. I was finally in a good place where I could put aside money and save for an apartment.