Bitter Blood (Blood and Moonlight Book 3) (5 page)

“What will you do,” Jane asked again, “if you get free?” Because she could still feel the fire of his bullet going into her chest.

“I won’t stop,” he rasped. “Not until I destroy the monsters.”

She jerked back from him, as if she’d been burned.
Again.
Jane marched into the bathroom, her gaze searching frantically around. And then—then she looked into the mirror. She hadn’t wanted to look in the mirror at Aidan’s place…
because I knew I wouldn’t like what I had to see.
But, sometimes, you had to face the monsters. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at herself. Jane drew back her hand and drove her fist right into the mirror. It shattered.

She grabbed a big chunk of that mirror and marched back to Drew.

The door to his room flew open. Vivian stood there, her body ready to attack. “Jane, what happened?”

Jane just shook her head, and she shoved that broken mirror before Drew’s face. “Take a good long look in there,” she ordered him. “And you’ll see a monster staring back at you.”
Because I’m not the only monster in the family.

His gaze locked on his reflection.

“Aidan never did anything to you. He never would have gone after you. And me…well, I just wanted to love you. You are the only family I have left.” The mirror was shaking in her hand.

Vivian crept closer to the bed. “Jane…”

“You destroyed your own life, Drew.” She was just sad now. “What comes next, well, it will be on you.” She moved away from the bed, taking the mirror with her as she and Vivian headed for the door.

“Mary Jane…” Drew called.

She stopped. Looked back.

Drew smiled at her. “You won’t leave me here.”

What else was she supposed to do with him? Let him out so he could go and attack again? Go after Aidan? Hurt innocent people who got in his way?

“I didn’t leave you,” Drew reminded her softly. “When the vampire had you in our basement. When he was burning your skin and you were crying, I didn’t leave you. I got you out of there. I saved your life.”

She swallowed.

“You won’t leave me,” Drew said, utterly confident.

Jane turned away from him once more. Her eyes squeezed shut. “Goodbye.” And she walked out, as fast as her shaking legs could carry her.

He bellowed her name. She didn’t look back.

He
screamed
for her.

Jane kept walking. From the corner of her eye, she saw Vivian jerk her head toward the guard and then point to Drew’s room. The guard quickly ran inside.

But those screams followed Jane.

“Aidan can make him forget,” Vivian said, voice brisk. “He can make sure that your brother forgets everything that happened in New Orleans. You know an alpha werewolf can control a human—Aidan can control Drew. He can make it so that your brother—”

The screaming had stopped.

Jane looked at Vivian. “So that Drew forgets me?” Because he’d have to forget her—otherwise, she’d just be another monster that he had to hunt.

I didn’t leave you.
Jane exhaled on a ragged breath. “Keep a guard with him until I can get Aidan back here.” Because only an alpha werewolf had the power to control a human’s mind that completely. Other werewolves could influence humans, could charm them, sway them, but an alpha…

Mind-freaking-control.
An alpha was a whole other level of power.

“I’ll make sure my man stays here,” Vivian assured her.

Jane nodded. She looked down at her hand and realized she was still holding the chunk of broken mirror. Her reflection stared back at her.

Hello, monster.

Jane shoved that piece of glass into the nearest garbage can. Then she reached for her phone as she rushed down the long corridor. Unfortunately, there was no signal in that place.

No signal, but she could have sworn she heard the echo of her brother’s screams.

Drew Hart glared at the guard who stood just inside of his room—
more like my prison
. The guy was tall, thin, but with an intense gaze that wouldn’t freaking leave Drew’s face.

Is he one of them?
One of the monsters? For years, Drew had thought that he only had to worry about vampires, but then a werewolf had appeared, literally on his doorstep. A beast who’d worked for Aidan Locke—the bastard who
thought
he was going to keep Jane at his side.

“Get the restraints off me,” Drew demanded.

The guy just smirked at him. “Relax, buddy. You aren’t going anywhere. Captain Harris sent me in to keep an eye on you.”

Captain Harris…
Yes, he knew her. She’d tried to interview him a few times but he’d given her nothing. Then she’d come running into his room a few minutes ago, her badge gleaming like she was some kind of big deal. She wasn’t. “I’ve got to
piss,
” Drew threw back at him.
I am not your buddy.
“I’m about to piss all over this bed. So get the restraints
off.
” He heaved once more. “Where are the nurses? The doctors? They should be coming around. They
always
come around at this time.” That had been the drill since he arrived in the looney bin. He’d gotten patched up at the hospital, then been sent to this hell.

“There was a change of plans for today.”

That wasn’t good. Just what did Mary Jane have in mind? She’d really left him—deserted him. What would happen next?

“The alpha will be coming soon,” the guard added, his eyes gleaming.

Oh, hell, no. He’d met Aidan Locke once, tried to kill him on the same day. Drew did
not
want to tangle with that fellow again. “I’m going to piss myself.”

The guard nodded. “Yep, that’s the reaction most folks have to Aidan.”

What?
He jerked again as he fought his restraints. “Just let me go to the damn bathroom! You can tie me down again as soon as I’m done. There’s no window in the bathroom—no way out for me at all.” Then, hating it, he added, “Please.” Begging. So humiliating.

But the guard actually seemed to soften at the last word. “You’re right. Nowhere for you to go. Not like you’d get past me.” He sighed as he headed for the bed. “And I really don’t want to smell your piss on the sheets.” A few moments later, the straps were gone and Drew was lurching his way to the bathroom.

“Thank you,” he managed, voice nearly strangled. Then he shut the door on the guy. No lock, of course not. But…

Drew smiled.

The guard shouted, “I don’t hear you pissing!”

Drew flipped on the water. Then he bent down and picked up one of the broken mirror shards. The guard should have bothered to look in the bathroom. Hadn’t he heard the breaking glass? Captain Harris had sure run in fast enough.

Drew hid the shard behind his back as he left the bathroom.

“You left the water on, man,” the guard grumbled. “Conserve the damn earth, you know? Take care of it or…” The guard marched toward the bathroom, obviously intending to turn off the water himself. “Or it won’t take care of you,” the guard finished. His body brushed against Drew’s.

Drew attacked. He yanked up that shard of mirror and drove it into the man’s stomach. Once in his stomach.

Then one long slice across the guard’s throat.
The better to stop any screams.

“I take care of myself,” Drew muttered. “Always.” Then he reached for the keys on the guard’s belt.

It was time for him to get the hell out of there, before Mary Jane came back with her alpha lover.

He couldn’t trust her, not anymore.

She’d changed. Now…

You’re one of them, Mary Jane.

And that broke his heart.

***

Aidan kicked open the door of the apartment that sat on the edge of the French Quarter. The place was on the second floor of one of the historic homes that dotted the area. The place had been updated, so that while the outside of the building spoke of its age, the interior was hipster trendy. He and two of his pack members rushed inside, even though he already knew…

The apartment is empty.
He hadn’t been able to pick up any sounds from the apartment as he’d climbed up the stairs, so he knew his prey wasn’t waiting for him.

But this
was
the place that the video camera in that damn god-forsaken alley had been transmitting to—a laptop was still up, still sitting on a desk and a cup of coffee was even perched beside it. Aidan’s pack techs had traced the signal right to this location, and Aidan had closed in for the hunt.

Garrison strode forward and touched the mug. “Still warm,” he murmured. His red head tilted as he stared at the open laptop. “And the computer is still on. Looks as if someone was trying to delete files.”

Files…video footage? “We’ll take it to our techs.” They could retrieve the files, he had no doubt about that.

Paris began to prowl around the apartment. Aidan had picked Garrison and Paris to accompany him on this hunt…mostly because it was particularly personal and he trusted those two the most. Garrison might be reckless, but Aidan knew pack always came first for the guy.

“Fancy place,” Paris murmured. “The guy who was here has money.”

The guy liked lots of leather and big screen TVs and tech. Plenty of tech. The laptop wasn’t the only computer in the place. There were plenty of monitors and desktops. And…cameras.

Aidan had pulled strings and gotten the name of the guy who supposedly had been renting the apartment. John Smith. A bullshit name? Oh, he was fucking sure it was. And the fact that the guy had been paying in cash…
You were trying to cover your tracks.

But when a werewolf was hunting, it was impossible to cover those tracks completely.

“There’s no scent here,” Paris announced, a frown pulling his lips down. “Humans always leave scents.”

“I don’t think we’re dealing with an average human,” Aidan said. If only it were that easy. “The guy knew what Jane was. He sent out his bait to lure her in, and he just watched while she was ambushed.” Which fucking pissed him off. The guy had been watching while Jane had fought for her life. He nodded toward Garrison. “Search the place. Every inch of it, got me?” Because maybe the watcher had been smart enough to cover his scent, but he might have been dumb enough to leave some other clue behind. A clue that cops—human cops—might overlook.

But a clue that werewolves wouldn’t miss.

“Yes, sir.” Garrison sprang to attention. The guy almost saluted. Jeez. Aidan barely contained an eye roll as Garrison hurried toward the hallway.

“He’s…improving,” Paris allowed.

Aidan just raised his brows. Garrison had been trouble from the start but…Aidan understood the guy. No, he felt
responsible
for him. Garrison’s parents had been killed by a vampire—by the same bastard who had murdered Jane’s mother and her step-father. Aidan had arrived too late to help Garrison’s family, but he had been able to carry the guy—just a kid back then—out of that blood bath.

And I’ve been watching out for him ever since.
Yeah, Garrison could be a pain in the ass but…

He’s pack. Pack is family. Pack is life.

“About earlier…” Paris began, his voice a bit stilted.

Someone save me.
Aidan’s brows shot up. “You aren’t about to pull some sentimental BS are you?”

Paris rolled one shoulder. “Just going to say that you’re a dick most days, but I’d still hate to see anything bad happen to you.”

“Jane
isn’t
anything bad.” Now he was getting angry. He was—his phone rang, stopping him before he could say more. Aidan pulled the phone from his pocket and saw Jane’s face on the screen.

“Speak of the devil,” Paris murmured.

Aidan’s eyes turned to slits.
Don’t keep pushing, Paris.

Paris coughed. “I’ll just…” He pointed down the hallway. “I’ll go and help Garrison. You know, search for clues. We’ll Scooby Doo the shit out of this place.”

Aidan growled as his friend retreated. Then he turned his back and put the phone to his ear. “Jane? What’s wrong?”

A pause, then she said, “You always assume something is wrong.”

Mostly because with them, something
was
generally wrong. It wasn’t like she usually called and asked him to pick up milk from the store. Instead she called when people were dying or chaos was erupting. Standard shit for them.

“I need you to make him forget,” she said, voice soft. “Can you come to the Hathway Psychiatric Facility? I—I hate asking, you
know
I hate asking, but I’m afraid he’ll just attack again if you don’t use your power on him to make him forget and—”

“I can’t.”

“Wh-what? Aidan, please, okay?
Please.
This is me, begging you for—”

“You never have to beg me for anything.” He could hear the others in the hallway. They’d just opened a door. It gave a long squeak.

“Then do this for me. Just—”

He wished that he could help her. “My power doesn’t work on him.”

Silence. “What? Aidan, no, that’s not—”

“I thought it did, the first time I met him. I thought I got him to tell me his secrets, but he was holding back on me.” Aidan had been over that scene, again and again, in his mind. “That’s how he was able to attack. He fooled me, Jane.” It wasn’t something he was proud of admitting. It was something that enraged him. “So making him forget isn’t an option. If you think Drew won’t stop coming after us, then the guy needs to stay locked up or he needs to be taken out.” There were only two options, and Aidan knew which option he favored.

Kill the bastard.

The problem was that the bastard in question was Jane’s brother.

A brother who fired fucking silver bullets at me.
Aidan still didn’t know where the guy had gotten those bullets. Drew had acted shocked to learn Aidan was a werewolf.
But if he already had silver bullets, where had the fucking shock come from?

“I can’t kill my own brother,” she whispered.

Why not, baby? He killed you.
But Aidan didn’t say those brutally true words.

Another door squeaked open, the sound coming from the back of the hallway. Garrison and Paris were continuing their search. They were—

Snick.

A bitter, acidic scent hit Aidan’s nose. He whirled, every primal instinct he possessed screaming at him. “No!” Aidan bellowed as he dropped the phone and rushed down the hallway. “Get out!
Get—”

Paris turned toward him. His face showed his shock—and his fear. He must have caught the scent in the air, too. Maybe he’d heard that faint
snick
sound. Paris was starting to run back toward Aidan.

Garrison still stood frozen in the doorway. His head jerked at Aidan’s roar. He looked at Aidan, utterly terrified, his wide gaze holding the same wild fear that it had possessed when he was a child. When Aidan found him covered in blood, cowering in that death-filled house that had been Garrison’s home.

“
Aidan?”
Garrison mouthed his name.

Then the flames erupted. They shot out of the room behind Garrison and the force of that blast lifted him up, throwing the younger wolf toward Aidan.

And then the fire seemed to swallow them all.

***

The sunlight poured down on Jane as she stood just outside of the Hathway Psychiatric Facility. That light was too bright. Too hot. “Aidan?” Jane whispered.

But there was nothing. No response. No whisper of breath. Not even any beeping to signal they’d been disconnected.

“Aidan?” She’d heard him yelling for someone to get out. There had been fear in his voice. Aidan wasn’t normally afraid. He wasn’t…

The bright sky was suddenly dark. Her head tilted as she stared up at a big, black puff of smoke that was rising in the air, rising near the French Quarter.

Jane slowly lowered the phone as she stared at that smoke.
Aidan.
No, no, it didn’t have to be him. The smoke did
not
have to be related to Aidan. It didn’t have to be, but—

Her chest hurt. She felt as if someone were trying to carve out her heart. Trying to
take
her heart right from her.

She started running down the stone steps that led to the street.

“Jane?” It was Vivian’s worried voice, calling out after her. “Jane, we need to—”

Jane didn’t stop. She ran for her car. She dialed Aidan again on her phone, but he didn’t answer. The phone just kept ringing.

Be okay. Be alive. Be—

A strong hand grabbed Jane’s shoulder and spun her around.

“What’s happening?” Vivian demanded as her hold tightened on Jane.

Jane tried to think—tried to shove back the fear that wanted to swallow her so she could focus.
Captain Harris.
Vivian had connections she could use. “I’m afraid something happened to Aidan…”

I’m afraid…
The very stark truth that cut straight to her soul.

I’m afraid.

***

Fire engulfed the historic building at the edge of the French Quarter. The windows had exploded and glass littered the street. Jane ran toward the two-story building, leaving her car haphazardly parked near the curb, and fighting her way past the firefighters and cops who’d just arrived. Broken glass crunched beneath her boots and her frantic gaze stayed on that blaze.

Aidan might not be inside. He might not. He might—

“Get the hell off me!” A dark, dangerous bellow. A
familiar
bellow that stopped Jane in her tracks. “I have to get back in there—my best friend is in that building!”

Her gaze whipped toward that voice. Paris. He was there, currently being held back by five police officers. His clothes were half-burned. Singe covered him, and she could see blisters on his face and arms.

“Let him go!” Vivian bellowed as she rushed to Jane’s side.

If Paris is here…

The flames crackled.

The cops looked at Vivian, recognized her, and followed her orders. They let Paris go and he surged to his feet, running toward the flames.

But Jane jumped in his path. She shoved her hands against his chest. “Stop! Not another step until you tell me exactly what is happening!”