Dirty Blood

  When I came to, I could hear muted voices. They sounded far away, like a dream. I turned my head toward the sound and realized with some surprise that the movement didn’t hurt. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t feel much of anything, pain or otherwise. I glanced down at my arm and saw it was heavily bandaged. There was a small circular mark on the vein inside my elbow. They must have drugged me; I was pretty numb. It felt nice, especially after the blistering heat that had scorched me from the inside out.

  I heard the voices again and tried to make out the words through the buzz in my ears. The door to my room was cracked open and the conversation drifted in from the hallway.

  “She’s going to be fine, Wes.” Jack. I immediately recognized his baritone voice.

  “Yeah, this time,” Wes shot back.

  I was shocked to hear the desperation in his words. He sounded … bleak.

  “What do you want me to do? I can’t force her,” Jack replied.

  “I know, I know. But we have to convince her, somehow. She can’t be left helpless. What if I hadn’t been there?” There was a pause, and then he rushed on before Jack could respond. “I should’ve been there sooner. I don’t know why I decided to meet her at home instead of meeting up the minute she left school.” Another pause, then, “Or driven her myself. That’s what I’ll do from now on.”

  “She’s got to make the decision for herself,” said Jack. Wes didn’t reply and I could picture the stubborn set of his jaw as he tried to think of some way to force me to do whatever it is he wanted.

  Jack spoke again and this time his voice was milder and unmistakably amused. “Trying to force her to train is not going to work. She’s just as stubborn as you are.”

  “He’s not going to let this go,” Wes said, ignoring the last comment.

  Fee’s voice joined the conversation. “No, he’s not. The question is, is he telling the truth.”

  “Liliana was part of it. He said so himself,” said Wes.

  “Maybe they were involved. We all knew Liliana was turning on us. She could’ve easily told him about you,” said Jack.

  “Yeah. I know but that doesn’t explain how he knows about Tara. If he even really knows. He could’ve said it just to mess with me,” said Wes.

  “I don’t know … I’m going to call Vera, see if she can tell.” That was Fee.

  “We’ve got to convince her. She has to train. Otherwise, you might as well paint a target on her.” The desperation returned to Wes’s voice.

  “We’ll all try to convince her,” Fee said, her tone placating. “One of us should check on her now. She should be awake soon, and I don’t know if I’ve given her enough pain meds.”

  “I’ll do it,” Wes said quickly.

  I heard footsteps, and then the door opened fully. Wes stood there, leaning on the frame. When his eyes met mine, and he saw I was awake, he left his post, and hurried forward. The relief and happiness that rocked through me was overwhelming, and I felt a big stupid grin spread across my face.

  “You’re awake,” he said, taking my hand in his and peering down at me. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m not feeling much of anything,” I admitted, in a croaky voice. “What did you give me?”

  “Morphine. We had to. Jack had to stitch the wound closed.” He looked pained as he said it. “You don’t remember?”

  “No.” I glanced down at my left forearm covered in gauze and decided I didn’t want to look just yet. “But I feel great now. Kind of loopy.” I grinned, unable to help myself. I felt like an idiot in some sober part of my brain, but the drugged part just shrugged and grinned bigger. Wes looked unsure how to respond. I think he was expecting to have to comfort and soothe me, like he had that first night, but I was so far from that reaction right now. Still, I tried to stay focused on the day’s events. “So, are you going to tell me who Leo is?”

  “What makes you think I know who he is?”

  “He talked to you like he knew you. And besides, I heard you talking to Jack.” Oops. I hadn’t meant to admit that part. Dang these drugs.

  Wes’s eyes narrowed at that last part. “How much did you hear?”

  I shrugged, which was kind of hard to do, considering I was still lying on my back. I suppressed a giggle at the awkwardness of the movement. “It doesn’t matter. Are you going to tell me or not? And don’t say ‘or not’ because Jack or Fee will just end up telling me, anyway.”

  Wes sighed. “Leo is adamantly against the message of The Cause. He speaks out against us every chance he gets, but mostly prefers to just silence the messenger, if you know what I mean.”

  “Huh. Sounds like a great guy. How do you know him personally?”

  “What makes you think I do?”

  I threw my hands up in frustration though it was kind of impossible to actually feel angry with this much pain medicine floating through me. “Here we go. Back to dodging my questions. Why are you always trying to keep things from me?” I demanded.

  “I’m trying to protect you.”

  “No, that’s your version of protecting me.”

  He rolled back on his heels. “And what would be your version?”

  “Tell me everything you know. Anything less than full disclosure could get me killed. If I had known who he was before I ran into him, maybe I—”

  He cut me off. “What? Would’ve been able to kill him more easily?”

  “No, but I wouldn’t have gotten out of the car, that’s for sure.”

  Wes looked thoughtful. “I was wondering about that. How did he manage to get you out?”

  I told him how Leo and I had run into each other—literally. “And since I didn’t really know who it was, or that this was the Big Bad Wolf himself, I got out to see if he was okay.”

  Wes’s eyes had gone wide near the beginning, right around the part where I’d hit Leo, but when I got to the bit about wanting to see if Leo was okay, they almost popped out of his skull. He stared at me for a long moment after I was done and then finally shook his head. I waited for the lecture I could see coming. When he finally spoke, his words surprised me. “You’re right. I should’ve told you everything. And I will. But you have to do something for me.”

  “Like a deal?” I asked, skeptical. I tried to raise my eyebrows but they were numb and I wasn’t sure if it worked or if I just looked goofy.

  “Exactly.” He sounded way too cheerful. “A deal.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ll tell you everything I know about Leo, from here on out, if you promise to let Jack train you.”

  I rolled my eyes. I had a feeling that’s where this had been going. Then again, after today’s fight, I couldn’t deny that I needed help. Besides, I still needed to figure out a better weapon to carry. And a better way to carry it. Still, there was the matter of keeping it from my mom, and my friends. But at least this way, Wes could think it was his idea. “I don’t know,” I said, not wanting to seem too eager.

  “Tara, you stabbed him with a pencil,” he said, throwing a hand up. “You need some help, admit it.”

  I huffed out a breath, tempted to defend myself against that move. Then I remembered how well that had gone with the plunger handle conversation and decided to let it go. My fuzzy brain had no shot of winning an argument right now. And I didn’t want to be mad at him, after almost—well, getting hurt like this. “Fine, but only until this thing with Leo is over. After that, the deal’s off. I may or may not continue my training. It’s my choice.”

  “Fair enough.” Wes’s eyes sparkled with his victory. A half smile formed on his lips.

  At some point during the negotiation, he’d leaned closer, and I could feel his breath on my face. It mingled with his scent, an earthy, musky smell that scrambled my thoughts until the only coherent thing in my mind was him. All thoughts of training and blood disappeared. I found myself staring at his lips and wishing they were on mine.

  I sighed. “You’re pretty cute when you get your way.” Oops, something else I
hadn’t meant to say out loud. Things just kept slipping out.

  Wes’ mouth curved in amusement but his eyes were serious and intense. “You’re not so bad yourself. Drugged and tangled is a good look for you.” He brought his hand up and brushed a lock of hair away from my face. The amusement disappeared as some new thought dawned on him; his expression turned sad. “Some bodyguard I turned out to be,” he whispered. “If you hadn’t been okay …” He didn’t finish and I realized some deeper part of me yearned to hear those unspoken words.

  The problem with asking him? Stringing words together was kind of difficult at the moment. Instead, I reached out and grabbed his shirt and pulled his lips down to mine. I felt his shock for a brief instant, and then he relaxed, sinking closer and letting his fingers tangle in my hair. My hands were clasped around his neck, our lips firmly locked, when my phone rang.

  Wes was the first to pull away. “You going to get that?” he asked, his voice husky.

  “Do I have to?”

  He chuckled.

  The phone stopped ringing, and I shrugged. “Too late, it went to voice mail.” I tried raising my head so that I could reach his lips again.

  He inched back. “You’re drugged, Tara,” he said, giving me a scolding look.

  “So?”

  He sighed. “So, I’m not going to take advantage of you this way.”

  “I thought it was kind of the other way around,” I mumbled, as he sat back.

  He grinned down at me.

  I sighed loudly. “Fine.”

  My disappointment seemed to amuse him. I glared at his crooked smile and pushed up onto my elbows. I grabbed my phone and reluctantly dialed my voice mail. I punched the numbers for my password and waited. As I listened, all of the amusement and laughter faded, replaced by panic and horror. Before the message ended, I was already struggling to stand.

  “What is it?” Wes asked, as soon as I’d hung up.

  “George was attacked,” I whispered. I looked up at him. “That was his mom. He’s in the hospital.”

  “Damn.”

  “I have to go see him.” I tried pushing past him but he held me firmly in place, his hands on my shoulders.

  “You’re hopped up on painkillers, and you’re hurt.”

  “I have to see him,” I repeated, my voice gaining volume.

  “Not until the medicine wears off.” The finality in his tone left no room for argument. “What did the message say?”

  “That some stray dog had attacked him for no reason when he got out of his car. It had to be Leo. He must’ve gone there right after he left us. I’ve got to do something, Wes.” I struggled to get up again. This time Wes didn’t need to lay a hand on me to send me slumping back to the pillow again.

  Wes frowned. “I’ll go.”

  I stayed down this time, slightly relieved by the suggestion. He didn’t sound overjoyed with the idea, but it made me feel better, and I smiled at him, grateful.

  “I’ll make sure he’s okay and call you from the hospital. Just stay here and do what Fee says. You aren’t out of the woods yet as far as the venom, so take it easy, okay?”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  “And Tara? I’m sorry, for what I said the other day. About it being your fault, for killing Liliana. It’s not your fault. None of it is.”

  “I know,” I said. Any lingering anger over our argument was gone; I was too loopy to be anything but touched by his apology. “Thanks.”

  The darkness in his eyes lightened, making the gold flecks more pronounced. He stood up and looked down at me, still frowning. “I’ll get Fee to come sit with you until I get back.”

  I tried to look insulted. “You don’t trust me.”

  “Not even a little.”

  He left the room, and I could hear him calling out for Fee. Hushed voices followed, too far away for me to hear this time. I waited, impatiently, until I heard the muted sound of the front door clicking closed. Outside my window, I heard the distinct sound of an engine revving and then fading away. Fee came in a minute later.

  “Wes told me about George. Jack went with him to see if they can pick up a trail,” she said.

  I nodded, comforted a little that they were taking it so seriously, but still distracted with thoughts of George. I could only hope he was okay. Broken up or not, I didn’t think I could handle it if I was responsible for something bad happening to him. Is this what Leo had meant when he said he could do more than just kill me? If so, who would be next?

  “Tara,” Fee called gently, reading the panic in my expression. “It’s going to be okay. Wes and Jack can handle this. We’re going to find him, and we’re going to stop him.”

  I nodded, wishing I could feel as sure as she sounded.

  “How’s the arm? Are you in any pain?”

  “No, I’m pretty out of it. You must’ve given me a lot of pain medicine.”

  “I gave you a double dose of morphine,” she admitted. “You were in a lot of pain when you got here. The venom had been in your system a long time and had already worked its way into your chest. I wasn’t sure if I could push it out and trying was very painful for you.”

  “What do you mean ‘push it out’?”

  “Well, usually we can just give you a shot of the antivenin, near the spot of the bite. In your case, that wasn’t enough. So I used my gift to expel it.”

  “You can do that?”

  “It’s not easy, and it’s pretty painful for the patient, but yes.”

  “So, you have a gift for healing? Kind of like with Wes and the memory thing he can do.”

  Fee gave me a funny look, and then nodded. “Not everyone has extra abilities but those of us who do, it comes in handy.”

  “Is it something you can use on George?”

  “Probably not. Humans don’t get infected with the venom like we do. George’s wounds would be tissue and organ damage, and my gifts won’t repair that. I’m sorry,” she added, when my face fell.

  “It’s fine. Thanks for healing me,” I said, not wanting to sound ungrateful. Then something else occurred to me. “He’s not going to turn, is he? I mean, can a Werewolf bite do that?”

  She smiled. “No. A human can’t be turned. Werewolves are born. It’s in the blood, just like Hunters.”

  “Oh.” I was relieved. “I almost forgot. If the offer still stands, I’d like to train with you and Jack.”

  “Wes told me. Of course we’ll do it, Tara. We’re happy to. Just get some rest so you’ll be ready. Jack won’t go easy on you,” she warned.

  I didn’t disagree with her. Even though Jack seemed like the softie she claimed he was, his wolf self was still a hulking mass of fur. The mere mention of the word rest made me sleepier, but there was something else I still didn’t understand. “Fee, what did Leo mean when he said Wes and I didn’t deserve the power of our blood?”

  Fee hesitated and some muddled part of my brain knew that this was important. “Well, we’re not sure exactly, but it sounds as if Leo believes you to be very powerful.”

  “More powerful than other Hunters? Why would he think that? I don’t even know how to properly stake something,” I said.

  “I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out,” she said, patting my hand.

  Her explanation seemed a little too simple and vague but my thoughts were hazy with the morphine, and I couldn’t see her clearly through my drooping lids. I nodded, my head heavy against the pillow.

  Fee saw this and told me she’d look in on me later, before quietly slipping out. With nothing but silence to distract me, I gave in and slept.

  ~ 16 ~