Ice Moon Page 17

  Taryn didn’t wear much make-up. She didn’t need it. But I noticed the eye liner and mascara, the light gloss to her lips.

  “Are you all right?” She tilted her head a little, her hair still wet.

  I shrugged, lowering my gaze to my hand. “I need to tell you something, but I don’t want to risk it ruining everything.”

  Her fingers twined with mine. “Just warning you now, if last night was all a trick to get in my pants, this room is going to get really hot, really fast.” I lifted my head to find her smiling. When I wasn’t, hers faded. “I was kidding.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I haven’t tried to make someone laugh since before Charlie was born.”

  I smiled in spite of the tightness in my chest. “There were no tricks last night.” I swallowed, staring into her eyes. “I do love you, Taryn.”

  She let out a sigh of relief. “I love you, too. So whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”

  I hoped she’d keep that in mind when I told her. “All right. Not sure right before you leave for work is the best time though.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You can’t expect me to be able to focus on work if I’m worried all day.”

  “Do you remember anything specific about the wolves during the full moon?”

  “One was brown, the others were black, and the brown one stared at me. I…” She shook her head, her cheeks colored. “It’s going to sound crazy saying this out loud.”

  Crazy was a relative word when your boyfriend was a werewolf, but I hadn’t gotten to that part yet.

  I whispered in case the little werewolf wasn’t in his room. “You can start fires with your mind. Nothing you tell me is going to make me think you’re insane.”

  She met my eyes. “I knew…” She thumped her fingertips to her chest. “I knew in here that the brown wolf would never hurt me. He was protecting us.” Her hands dropped to her lap. “They were all wild animals, but something in his eyes. It’s nuts.”

  “It’s not.” I lifted her hand to my lips. “I was—”

  “Mom!” Charlie burst into the room and crawled between us on the sofa. He was already dressed for the soccer game, journal in hand. “You didn’t write in it. Did you remember to read it last night?”

  Her eyes widened and I could almost see the mom-guilt settle onto her shoulders.

  “I was so tired from the party.” She took the book and got up. “I’ll go do it right now.” She bent to kiss my cheek and whispered, “We’ll talk later.”

  After she disappeared down the hallway I leveled my gaze on Charlie. “Pretty sneaky. But I still need to tell her.”

  He shook his head, desperation in his eyes. “Why? She loves you. I heard her say it.” He threw his arms around my waist, clinging to me. “I don’t want her to make you go away.” He sniffled. “I love you, Jared.”

  I embraced him tight and closed my eyes. “I love you, too, Charlie.” I rested my head on his, caught between a rock and a hard place. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Charlie giggled in the cab of the truck as Tank covered his cheek in slobbery dog kisses. I didn’t want to worry Taryn, but now that we had confirmation Damian found her records from Brightwood, I wasn’t about to entrust Charlie to Sherri’s care. It had nothing to do with Sherri. She loved Charlie, but if Damian decided to come after him for leverage with Taryn, his nanny wouldn’t stand a chance.

  The fall season for soccer was ending soon. I could work my schedule around his games.

  After we parked, Charlie reached for the door handle.

  “Not yet.”

  He stopped and looked at me. “My team’s right over there.”

  “Yeah, but I need you to hold Tank until I can get to your door.”

  It was all bullshit. Tank would stay put wherever I told him to, but Charlie didn’t know that, and he’d do anything for my dog. I slammed my door and walked around the back of the truck, drinking in the scents. No sign of a jaguar. Since Damian was supposed to be home resting, I was pretty confident he wouldn’t be risking being discovered by daddy. So no Nero mercenary teams either.

  Relaxing, I opened Charlie’s door and took Tank’s leash from him. Charlie scrambled out. “See ya!”

  He raced toward his team and got in line to kick the ball. Tank and I grabbed a couple of chairs and his blanket. I’d be fine with my jacket. I checked my phone. Nothing from Taryn. What if Damian came after her at the office?

  He wouldn’t. Hell, he was buying a place up here. He didn’t need to rush this. If he wanted to take her back to his father like a prize to prove his worth, he could take his time.

  Still did nothing to calm my nerves. I sent her a text to let her know we made it to the game, and I waited.

  Good. Finishing up and I’ll be over soon.

  Now I could breathe. She was fine.

  I set my chair at the center of the field and laid the spare beside me. Hopefully, Taryn would be sitting in it before the game was over.

  The ref blew the whistle and the teams marched to the middle. Charlie met my eyes and gave me a thumbs up. I chuckled and nodded. My life had changed so much in the past few weeks. When did I become a soccer dad?

  Charlie scored a goal and I was out of the chair cheering him on. My phone buzzed. Another text from Taryn.

  Ray’s buyers are still asking questions. Should be leaving soon.

  I tucked my cell in my pocket and froze. Taking another breath, my pulse thrummed. Jaguar. I scanned the area. Sebastian approached from the parking lot. What the hell?

  Halftime whistle. Charlie jogged over to the snack mom and then raced in my direction, with half my attention focused on Sebastian, the little guy almost knocked me over.

  “Jared, did you see me score?”

  I nodded without taking my eyes off of the jaguar. “Sure did.”

  “Where’s Mom?”

  “She’ll be here soon.”

  Sebastian came closer and stopped, frowning. I gave Charlie’s shoulder a squeeze. “Better go stand with your coach. I need to talk to this guy.”

  Charlie turned following my gaze. “Who’s he?”

  “A…customer.”

  “Did you build him a deck too?”

  I sighed. “Not exactly. Go see coach, okay?”

  Charlie handed me his baggie from the snack and ran toward his coach as Sebastian approached. “He’s a…”

  “Yep, he is.” I interrupted before he could say werewolf out loud. The jaguars’ sense of smell wasn’t as strong as ours, but they could track prey and recognize scents. “And he hears pretty damn well.”

  “I see.” Sebastian met my eyes. “Shall we talk someplace else?”

  “Why are you here?”

  He lowered his voice. “Because I need to ask the boy’s mother some questions, and digging into this could get me killed so I’d rather not have an email trail or cell phone records.”

  The whistle blew and the teams started chasing the ball. I walked a few feet away and crossed my arms. “Taryn’s not here, and meeting with her is a bad idea.”

  Something sparked in his dark eyes. “She doesn’t know about you…”

  I shook my head. “Not yet.”

  “About her boy?”

  “Definitely not.”

  Sebastian smirked. “She left school for a werewolf, and ended up proving my father’s theory about his breeding program for shifters without him ever finding out.”

  “Looks that way. Your mother helped her.”

  Sebastian cleared his throat, his attention on the field. “It appears my mother didn’t approve of my father’s research into the jaguar breeding program.”

  “Your mom sounds like a smart lady.”

  A muscle in his cheek clenched. “Shortly after sending Taryn here, to Pack territory, my mother died.”

  “There was a fire, right?”

  He glanced at me, his features, cold and distant. “Ironic, no?”

  “You don’t think it was an accident?”

  “I want to be su
re it was.” He lifted his hand, dismissing me. “Unlike wolves, I use my head first and keep my heart in my chest where it belongs. I’m simply curious why my mother buried Taryn’s case file and why she went to Malcolm Sloan for help.”

  “Aren is digging into the files at Sloan Consulting. Taryn won’t know anything about that.”

  “But she spoke to my mother.” He raised a brow.

  “Okay, I get it, but I’ll be there too. She’s not going to be alone.”

  “Tomorrow night.”

  I shook my head. “Halloween. We have plans with Charlie.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Fine. Monday night. Meet me at Harrah’s in Reno.”

  “That’s far for a dinner.”

  “It’s also far from my brother.”

  Made sense. “Monday night at Harrah’s, make it eight o’clock?”

  “Perfect.” Sebastian walked away like we’d never spoken.

  By the time Taryn arrived, I was wound tight. She opened the other chair and sat beside me. “What’d I miss?”

  “Charlie scored a goal in the first half, and Sebastian paid me a visit. We’re meeting him at Harrah’s in Reno Monday night.”

  “I’ll see if I can clear my…”

  I took her cell phone from her hand. Her eyes met mine. “This is serious.” I glanced at the field. Charlie ran down toward the goal and I dropped my voice to a whisper. “Sebastian thinks Sylvia was murdered.”

  Her eyes widened. “It was an accident.”

  “Or it was supposed to look like one.”

  She faced the field. I put her phone back in her lap and kissed her hair. “You were apparently very valuable to Nero. Damian sees you as a game piece to gain favor with his father.”

  She blinked rapidly, but didn’t take her eyes off Charlie. “You’re telling me I’m in danger.”

  I wrapped my arm around her. “I’m telling you we have to be careful, and your company is going to have to take a backseat until we get this handled.”

  She turned, staring into my eyes. “How can you be so calm?”

  The fear in her eyes stoked my anger. If Damian tried to lay a hand on her or Charlie, I’d make him sorry he was ever born.

  “I’ve dealt with Nero before.”

  But the stakes had never been so personal.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Taryn

  Halloween. One of Charlie’s favorite holidays.

  I tried to keep the threat of danger hidden from my son, but behind my smile, my stomach was in knots. Damian hadn’t crossed my path since the Masquerade, but he wasn’t lying about his wire transfer. The escrow would close this week. That meant signing paperwork and delivering keys.

  I’d cross that bridge when I got there.

  Although the deck was finished, Jared brought up some clothes and a few of his things. Until we could get my name off of Damian’s radar, Jared planned to stay close to Charlie and me. And I loved him for it.

  Every day his bond with Charlie grew. Finally, my boy had a father figure he deserved. They made me laugh in spite of the weight of my worry over Damian pressing on me. For now, my hands were warm, but no fires.

  “Mom!” I put the glass away and turned to find Charlie covered in blue fur, his face painted to match. He flexed his foam muscles, doing his best Beast impersonation. “We’re not a threat to humanity. We’re part of it.”

  Jared came around the corner in his Wolverine costume and my body temperature rocketed. After Charlie’s excitement over our X-Men uniforms for the Masquerade, I caved and found him a Beast costume and extended our rental on Wolverine and Dr. Jean Grey for a few more days.

  Jared rubbed Charlie’s blue head. “We watched X-Men again so we could get some of the lines.” He winked at Charlie. “Right, Bub?”

  Charlie giggled and looked up at me. “You better get dressed, Mom. Trick-or-treating starts soon.”

  Sherri came in from the garage with a bucket of candy. “I’ll keep the home fires burning.”

  “Thanks, Sherri.” I caught Jared’s hand as I passed by. “Be ready in a minute.”

  The second I emerged as Jean Grey, Charlie was dragging us out. He’d selected a Spiderman pillowcase for his candy and we took off. Our cul-de-sac bustled with costumed ninja turtles, vampires, superheroes, and princesses. Some whined about being forced to wear jackets, others squealed about candies, and front porches glowed with jack-o-lanterns.

  Some of the decorations were creepy, some funny, and a few were elaborate, with teens lurking to startle the trick-or-treaters.

  I’d never taken Charlie out on Halloween. I’d missed so much. He raced up another walkway to the porch. We stayed behind on the sidewalk.

  Jared nudged me. “You’re not over there dreaming about Cyclops, are you?”

  Lost in my thoughts, it took me a second to remember we were X-Men. I smiled, shaking my head. “No. I’m trying not to regret all the Halloweens I’ve missed. Charlie’s never carved a pumpkin. I’ve never decorated our porch.” I glanced up at him. “Work was the only place I thought people were safe from me.”

  He put his arm around me, drawing me in closer while we waited for Charlie to come back from his latest Halloween conquest. “You can’t change the past, but you’re making great memories now.” He pointed out to the street. “How many other moms do you see out here dressed up with their kids?”

  I rose up to kiss his cheek. “Thanks.”

  He grinned. “Anytime.”

  “Wow!” My bright blue Charlie ran toward us holding up a Snickers bar. “She gave me a full size candy bar.” His eyes sparkled like he’d found the Hope diamond. “I wonder if my friends will come by before she runs out of candy.”

  “Have you had enough?” Jared asked.

  Charlie stashed the Snickers in his bag and shook his head. “No way. A kid dressed as the Joker told me the next street over has a haunted house. Can we go?”

  I pulled out my phone and checked the time. “Okay, but then we need to get home. You have school tomorrow.”

  “Yes!” Charlie struck out ahead of us, his pillowcase slung over his shoulder like he’d just robbed someone of more than chocolates and candies.

  We followed him, Jared shining the flashlight on Charlie’s feet. When we rounded the corner, there was a line of kids waiting to go inside the haunted house. An impressive spread of Halloween ghouls, flickering lights, and jack-o-lanterns filled the front yard. The arbor archway was covered in spider webs, with random body parts hanging like a beaded curtain. On the other side was a tunnel made from giant cardboard refrigerator boxes. Big enough to walk through.

  What waited inside was a mystery, but through the seams, strobe lights flashed, and the screams of kids and adults alike echoed down the street. Thriller pumped out from the speakers set up on the stairs leading up to the porch.

  Something about the stairs seemed…familiar. I glanced at the mailbox. The address rang a bell. I toured so many properties both for vacation rentals and home purchases that it was tough to keep them all straight. This place had been on the market, or for rent. Either way, I was pretty sure I’d been up those steps recently.

  I squeezed Charlie’s shoulder. “Sounds scary in there, are you sure you want to go?”

  He turned and gave us both a big Beast growl. “We’re the X-Men. Nothing can scare us.”

  I chuckled and straightened up. Jared stared at the dark tunnel. The color had drained from his face and a muscle along his jaw contracted. My smile faded.

  “Can you hold Charlie’s candy?” I ran my hand up his back. “I’ll take him through.”

  Jared blinked and met my eyes. “I’m fine.”

  I raised a brow. “You look far from fine.”

  He pulled in a breath through his teeth and tipped his head, cracking his neck. “You’re not going in there alone.”

  A bead of sweat trickled down his cheek. I shook my head. “You don’t have to do this. We’ll be right out.”

  He stepped up and took Charlie�
�s hand. “Ready?”

  Beast roared in answer and I rolled my eyes. Boys.

  It wasn’t quite wide enough for the three of us to go through side by side. “We’ll clear the path for you, Mom.”

  They walked through the body part curtain first, with me right behind them. The second we entered the tunnel my eyes widened, struggling to see in the dark. Cobwebs hung down, making me crouch to keep them from brushing my face.

  “How are you doing, Charlie?”

  “I’m fine, Mom.”

  “Jared?”

  He didn’t answer, but he didn’t keel over hyperventilating either, so I figured he must have the claustrophobia under control, at least for now.

  Ahead, two girls shrieked. We turned the corner and were instantly blinded by the bright flashing strobe light. A man rose up from a coffin.

  Charlie screamed.

  For a moment, time slowed. The vampire rising from the box met my eyes. Damian. He wore claws for nails and catlike contact lenses. The light flashed, making his movements jerky, inhuman. He jumped from the casket, blocking Charlie’s exit, and grabbed his wrist. Charlie jerked and tugged, trying to break free.

  Damian yanked Charlie’s closer, but his gaze was locked squarely on me. “Show me what you can do.”

  Fire exploded inside of my chest, but before the cardboard surrounding us ignited, Jared moved in. While Damian focused on me, Jared grabbed Charlie, shoving him back toward me, before punching Damian so hard his body flew right through the cardboard tunnel, ripping open a huge hole in the side.

  Jared followed him out, landing punches until his knuckles were shiny with blood. Damian hit him in the jaw, knocking his head back and they rolled over and over, taking down more Halloween decorations in the process. Shrieks deafened my ears as I struggled to contain the flames aching to break free. My body burned, but if I didn’t do something soon, Jared was going to get arrested for murder.

  “Charlie, wait here.”

  I ran to Jared and touched his back, the plastic and polyester melting on contact. “We need to go.”

  The heat from my hand stunned him back to reality. He straightened, raw, primal anger lining his features. “Touch them again, asshole, and nothing in the world is going to keep me from tearing you apart.” His final word was more of a growl. “Nothing.”