Chapter 19

Remi paced the length of the kitchen again. If she kept going at this rate, she’d soon wear a groove in the tile.

Emery came in a leaned against the door. “We’re going to open the doors.” She glanced at him and kept moving; he followed her with his eyes. “Are you warming up for a sprint or something?”

Stopping, she huffed out a breath and shook her head. “No. There’s still no word on the auditor.”

He smirked. “How is it that’s a bad thing? According to Vie, he was a greasy jerk.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Being a jerk isn’t a good reason to wish something bad on someone.”

He held up his hands. “I didn’t wish anything bad on him or anyone else.” He looked away from her and then moved his eyes back slowly. “Okay, I’d be lying if I didn’t want something to happen to whoever jumped us last night.” He made a hissing noise. “Corey could have gotten hurt.”

“Is she coming tonight?”

He smiled. “Yeah.”

Brushing her hair back from her face, she studied him for a minute. “Darien doesn’t want anyone of us leaving, so you better find her a place to crash.”

“You like her?” His voice was hesitant, an anxious look on his face.

It was the little things like that, she thought that reminded her how young he really was. “Yes, I like her.” Going over, she stopped in front of him and looked up into his pale eyes. “Just be careful.”

Doubt filled his eyes. “You trust me?”

“Yes.” Remi watched the shock fill his eyes. “Why are you surprised?”

He opened his mouth, but the words came slowly. “You didn’t seem so sure when you walked in on Corey and me in the supply room.”

Remi smirked. “I wasn’t exactly prepared to walk in on that.” She gave him a serious look. “I know you’d never hurt her, Em.”

He stiffened. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because,” she held his eyes with her own, “I know you’d never hurt someone you care about. Just like I know that every time you see this,” she pulled the collar of her shirt aside to reveal the jagged scar from a reckless bite. The one Emery had put there when he’d attacked her. “You feel regret and remorse.” She rubbed a hand over his chest and smiled up at him as his eyes moved over the scar and then slowly back to her face. “That’s how I know.”

His eyes glazed over as a slow smile appeared on his face. “Have I mentioned lately how lucky I am to have you?” With a quick move, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her into his chest. “Thanks, Remi.”

Emery wasn’t big on hugs normally, so she just smiled and enjoyed the closeness while it was on offer.

A low growl filled the quiet space. Slowly Emery dropped his arms away, allowing her to turn and glare at Darien where he stood behind her.

He clenched his jaw, “Sorry, Emery.” Darien shook his head and looked at her. “We better go. The moon’s pull is too strong right now.”

Nodding at him, she turned back to the young vampire and smiled. “Go open up. I’ll be back up in a few minutes.”

Emery saluted her and started to turn.

“Emery.” Darien reached out and took his arm to stop him.

With a wary look, Emery glanced at the hand on his arm.

“I’m sorry.” Darien dropped his hand away. “I don’t have a lot of control this close to…”

“Hey.” Emery shrugged. “No biggie.” He grinned. “Go get in touch with your wolf, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Darien nodded stiffly. He looked at her and then back to Emery. “Keep her safe.”

Emery patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I will.” He gave him a somber look. “Everyone here will look after my dear Mom.” He winked at her before turning back to Darien. “She’s the most important part of Serenity. She’s the glue that keeps all of us and this,” he motioned around them, “together.”

With a loud sigh, Darien gave an abrupt nod and then turned on his heel, heading toward the supply closet.

“I’ll be right back.” Remi followed Darien. Going to the closet, she stepped across the three-foot space and pulled the small panel on the wall open. Pressing the switch, she watched as the shelf slid out of the way and stairs appeared. Hurrying down the cement steps, she caught up to Darien as he reached the door to his room.

She closed the door and watched him pull his belt from his jeans.

“I’m sorry about that up there.” He kept his head down, not looking at her and sat down on the bed.

Remi swallowed the lump in her throat; she could feel the anxiety rolling off him. “You’ve been growling a lot lately, Dare.”

“Yeah.” He still didn’t look at her.

She sat and watched him take off his shoes. “I hate this time of month.”

Darien gave a strained chuckle. “You say that when it’s your time of month too.”

“Haha. The difference is I just bloat and get cranky. You eat people.”

He stood up and pulled his shirt over his head. “I don’t eat people.” A somber look filled his eyes. “I kill anything.”

Remi tried not to notice the perfect muscles in his chest. Turning his back to her, he slid the steel door open. The muscles in his arms flexed as the ones in his back danced with his movement. Unlocking the cage behind the door, he turned and set the key on the table.

Sighing, she stood up. Not everyone got to lock their friend in a cage of solid steel bars, surrounded by eight-inch-thick stone walls, once a month. “How much time do we have?” She already knew the answer by how tense he was.

“Not long.”

When she moved over to the door, he reached out and wrapped his thick arm around her waist, pulling her into his firm body. His hold was tighter than it normally was, and, as odd as that was, she was used to it at this time of the month. For the last year, he’d changed the routine when she locked him up to include kissing her. She never asked why he did this, and he didn’t offer any insight either. Remi wasn’t about to complain. The way he kissed was more than worth the internal battle she always had about mixing work and play.

“You always look stressed when we do this.” He brushed the hair back from her face. “It has to be done for everyone’s safety.”

Looking up into his changing eyes, she sighed softly. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

His lips moved slowly into a smile. “Which is why I do this…” cupping the back of her head in his large hand, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her lightly.

Bracing her hands on his chest, she leaned into him until she could feel the outline of his body pressing into hers. She loved the feel of his solid chest beneath her hands.

With a soft growl of approval, he deepened the kiss, his tongue demanding entrance into her mouth. “I don’t like leaving you unprotected,” he breathed against her lips.

She could feel his muscles tensing and knew the rising moon was getting closer. Trying to step back, she stopped when she felt his arm tighten against her movement. “I have four strong vampires upstairs armed with fangs, speed, and tranq darts. I’ll be fine.”

With a quick move, he backed her up against the bars, caging her in with his arms. “Don’t go upstairs alone. Have Emery check the apartment.”

His lips were working their way down her throat; she tried to ignore the way it made her feel, knowing that in a few more minutes, he’d be locked up, and she’d be left cold. “I will.”

He growled low against her skin, sending shivers through her. “Dare…” His mouth on hers again cut off any more words. His tongue stroked hers while his body rocked her into the cold steel.

She almost fell when he jerked away from her and stepped into the cage, moving quickly to the other side and bracing his hands on the stone through the bars. “Now,” he growled in a guttural voice.

Moving fast, she grabbed the door and closed it. Her hands were shaking as she locked it; watching him, she lingered over, pulling the steel barrier back.

Breathing with ragged breaths, he turned his head. The yellow eyes of a werewolf looked at her.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” she whispered and then heaved the door closed. Securing it, she turned and flipped the switch for the air vents to open through the thick walls. She could hear animalistic grunts and growls as Darien took on his true form. It didn’t matter how many times she did this, it still left her shaking. Turning away, she glanced around his tiny room. The cage took up almost half the space.

Pulling the curtain over the door, she grabbed the keys on her way out. Darien spent every day looking out for her and the rest of Serenity staff; one night a month, she watched out for him.

Moving through the tunnel, she went back up the stairs into the supply room. The sound of the music hit her as soon as she opened the door. Closing her eyes, she asked silently for an uneventful full moon and then went into the turmoil that was her life.

A wrestling match, impromptu strip tease, a table of drunk crying women, and an ice machine malfunction later, Remi slumped onto the stool at the end of the bar, dropping her head on her arms for a few seconds, maybe even a whole minute if she was lucky.

“You survive this every month?” Kyran leaned down beside her face and glanced at her in the low light.

A drink appeared in front of her; she looked up and gave Attis a grateful smile, then looked at Kyran. He looked as out of sorts as she felt. “Yes, we do.” She took a drink of the ice water and motioned to the door where Finn and Boden stood. Neither one looked tired or stressed. “Those guys live for the pandemonium every month.”

He sat down and leaned on the bar. “Yeah, I noticed the only ones dragging their asses were us normal humans.” He gave her a serious look. “I just talked to Randell. Still no sign of your accountant.”

Remi closed her eyes briefly before looking at him. “Let’s hope he’s just playing hooky.”

“Think we’ll be that lucky?” he asked, a hopeful look in his eyes.

She took another sip. “Nope.”

“Me either.”

“Uh, Remi?” Elise leaned down closer to her. “There’s a couple in the bathroom.” She looked over her shoulder toward the door.“In the same bathroom.”

Remi exhaled loudly. “I’ll go.”

Finn walked by and shook his head. “Not alone, you don’t.”

Rolling her eyes, Remi turned to look at Elise, who just shook her head and motioned to the drinks on her tray.

Kyran groaned and stood up. “I’ll go.” He shrugged. “Two humans are better than one, right?”

Attis’s laugh sounded from over her shoulder. “I couldn’t agree more.”

At least, she thought as they came back out, no one had all their clothes off.

“Your world is interesting, Ms. Foster,” Kyran said in a low voice near her ear.

“Yes, it is.” She picked up the glass as Attis slid it to her.

Loud cheering had them looking across the sea of bodies. “Looks like I’m up again.” Kyran gave her a dramatic sigh and headed over to see if Emery needed a hand getting things under control.

Glancing at Elise as she moved out of the crowd, Remi was relieved to see her smiling. Whatever the commotion was this time couldn’t be anything threatening. Swiveling around on the stool, she picked up her drink again and watched Attis and Pascal as they gracefully moved around behind the bar keeping up with the orders.

Pascal’s movements seemed slower than they usually did. He came down and hefted a tray of dirty glasses up over his shoulder and took them into the kitchen.

When he came back out, she taped his arm as he went past. “Why do you look paler than usual?”

He finished making the drinks with his swift grace and put them on Vienna’s tray before he leaned down close to her, his green eyes locked on hers. “I’ve been in more heads tonight than I can count.”

Remi looked around. They were packed to capacity tonight, which was completely normal on the full moon. “Then take a break. I don’t need you passing out.”

He flashed a fanged grin. “I’m more likely to go feral and start snacking on throats than passing out.”

Rolling her eyes, she stood up. “I’m serious, take five and have a drink,” she moved behind the bar and gave him a bland look, “out of a bottle.” She set her drink behind the counter and by him. “I’ll cover you.”

He hesitated for a few seconds. “You haven’t asked if I’ve found anything.”

Remi leaned over the bar so she could hear what Vienna needed and then looked at him. “You’d tell me if you found something.” Moving down the bar, she grabbed a pitcher and started filling it. She was tired. All she had to do was keep busy until closing and then wait out the rest of the night or moon until Darien could be let out again. Setting the pitcher of beer on the counter, she flipped over two glasses and swung around to get the bottles she needed. Pascal was still standing where she’d left him. Giving him a questioning look, she finished the last two drinks and nodded to Vie so she would take them.

Pascal turned and went into the kitchen, but before the door closed, Baker came out and grinned at her. “You’re needed in the kitchen. I’ve got this.” He moved by her and leaned across the bar to three women on the other side.

Frowning, she grabbed her drink and went into the kitchen. Pascal stood there holding a bottle of blood. She looked around to see why she was needed.

“You look like you’re going to drop,” Pascal said in a low tone.

“You’re one to talk.” She leaned against the counter and took a sip of water.

He grinned and waved the bottle around. “The difference is, I can drink this and be ready for rounds two and three. Your water isn’t going to revive you.”

Sneering at him, she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it sucks to be normal.”

Pascal snorted and took another drink. “You’ve been vibrating around here all night.” Setting the empty bottle down, he stood in front of her. “How are you really doing?” He rested his hands on his hips and stared down at her with haunting green eyes.

“Still drives you nuts that you can’t just look inside my head and find out, doesn’t it?” She wiggled her eyebrows at him, trying to lighten his somber mood.

Quirking one eyebrow at her, his eyes moved slowly over her face. “Yes, it does, but I’ve also discovered that watching you tells me almost as much.”

“It does?”

“Almost.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he stayed where he was standing and gave her a determined look. “I know you’re stressed with the attacks and the deaths,” his eyes locked on hers, “and we both know that the robust sweaty accountant isn’t off somewhere with a mistress.” He faked a shiver. “That’s an image I’d like to erase.”

Remi exhaled and let her shoulders drop. “Yeah, I guess we can assume he’s the next body to be found.”

Nodding slowly, Pascal squinted at her. “Have you noticed you’re worse on the nights of the full moon?”

Shrugging, she looked down at the glass in her hand. “Our main bouncer is missing. Everyone has to do more without Darien on the floor.”

He smirked. “Everyone has a blast on the night of the full moon, and you know it.” He sighed. “Myself included, except that I’m on brain scan detail tonight.”

She looked up at him again. “Have you found anyone?”

He shook his head. “No. Now don’t change the subject.”

Sighing, she closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. “I don’t know what’s happening with me. It’s like everything is more intense lately.” She opened her eyes and looked at him for a second. “It’s probably just from the attack and threat of something else.”

“Probably,” he said softly, letting the end of the word linger for a second. Clearing his throat, he backed up but continued to watch her. “Have you noticed anything off with our favorite werewolf lately?”

His tone was nonchalant, but if Remi knew one thing about Pascal, he didn’t bring things up without reason. “What isn’t everyone telling me?”

He stared at her for a moment, almost like he was concentrating, and then he sighed. “Everyone who?”

Setting the glass down, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Nadine, Darien.” She gave him an accusing look, “You.” As he stood there, she watched the expression in his eyes become masked. There was something going on. She was certain of that.

“I’m not sure what there could be.”

Curbing the urge to smack him, she barred her teeth instead. Maybe she hung around with too many fang bearers, but it was how she felt. He glanced at her teeth, a look of amusement changing his expression. “Nadine tells me it’s not her place to explain anything. Darien just says later or after…” Moving over, she craned her neck so she could glare at him. “What’s going on? Is something wrong with Darien?”

Pascal rested a cold hand on her shoulder. “I’d love to say there are so many things wrong I can’t list them,” he sighed, “but I can hear your heart hammering away in that fragile chest of yours, so I won’t tease you.” He lifted one red eyebrow, “This time.” Leaning down, he kissed the center of her forehead and then moved away in a blur of movement. He stopped and looked out the window into the bar. “I would love nothing more than to tell you all of Darien’s deep dark secrets, but in truth, it’s really not my place.”

He gave her a sympathetic look that made her want to scream in frustration.

“What have you noticed with Darien lately?” Flicking his eyes from the window to her, he studied her briefly before looking back to the window to keep an eye on what was going on.

She felt like he was suddenly playing the role of her shrink. “Well, he’s been anxious lately, but with the moon cycle so close and all the crap hitting us, I guess it’s understandable.”

“Is it?” He motioned out the window. “We’re all catching the crap hitting us lately.”

Remi shrugged and tucked her hands into her pockets. “Darien’s more intense than everyone else…”

Pascal turned his head enough to give her a steady stare. “Darien is as mild-mannered as a week-old puppy ninety percent of the time, and you know it.” He shook his head. “Calmest damn werewolf I’ve ever met. Usually, they’re all grr and growl.”

She knew he was right and couldn’t think of any other reason for the behavior lately. “I asked him why he was growling more lately.”

“Oh?” He finally turned from the window to look at her. “What did he say?”

“He” —she frowned, realizing that Darien hadn’t given her an answer— “just agreed with me and didn’t explain.”

Pascal smirked. “So, he avoided answering.”

Remi shrugged again. “I guess.” Taking a deep breath, she let it out quickly. “Is there a point to all of this, Pascal? You won’t tell me what’s going on.”

“Something’s going on?” Emery came into the kitchen. He looked from Pascal to her and then back again. “We have a few food orders, so Baker needs to do his job now.”

Pascal nodded and moved toward the door. “Go get some rest, Remi.” He paused in the door. “Why don’t you take Darien’s bed? Then we can put Elise and Vienna in yours for the night.”

“I was going to stay and help out…”

“We’ll be fine. You have to work in the morning.” He glanced at Emery, an odd look passing between them. “Darien will feel better if you’re on the other side of his wall.”

She frowned. “He’ll know I’m there through all that steel?”

Emery grinned. “Yeah, he’ll know.”

“It will soothe him,” Pascal said with a big smile. “I’m sure his beauty side is worse lately because he’s worried about you with a killer running around.” He winked at her. “With you secure in the basement, the rest of us won’t have to watch over you.”

For some reason, she felt like she was being set up, but she couldn’t quite figure out for what. She did know that she hated being the weak human in the group, everyone feeling like they had to look after her. “Fine.” She looked at Emery. “Do you need me to help out for a bit longer?”

Emery shook his head. “Nope. We’re good. It’s almost one, so the crowd is starting to settle down.” He smirked. “Somewhat.”

She glared at Pascal. “We’ll finish our conversation tomorrow.”

Pascal inclined his head in that regal way he had and then left.

“What have I missed?” Emery was beside her, a concerned look on his face.

Remi rubbed a hand over her forehead. “Honestly, I don’t know. Everyone is getting weirder and weirder around here.”

He chuckled. “Or you’re just beyond exhausted and think it is.” Wrapping a cool arm around her shoulders, he turned them toward the back door. “Let’s get you settled in downstairs so I can help to start clearing out the joint.”

Sighing, she nodded and let him lead her to the supply closet.