CAGED (Mackenzie Grey #2) (3 page)

I hung my arm over Roman’s shoulder and leaned into him. I had long ago swapped my hooker heels for a pair of sneakers. It was a fashion statement I wasn’t pulling off well. 

“They think we’re cute,” I pinched Rome’s cheek. “And they think we’re here to negotiate.”

Roman chuckled. He was, if not more, cocky than I was. We were quite the pair.

“Silly Ogres,” he taunted. “Tricks are for kids.”

We both laughed as the four of them ran toward us. We pushed off each other and rammed into the oncoming boulders. I tackled one to the ground, slashing my claws a few times over his face and chest. Another pulled me off and I caught air until he set me down—not too gentle either. My back slammed onto the ground as I tucked in my chin to my chest to avoid cracking my skull against the concrete street. I didn’t have enough time to get to my feet before he snatched me by my flimsy shirt and pulled me up.

“I beg of you, don’t speak,” I pleaded. Their breath was not something to be desired.

“What Pack do you belong to, Little Girl?” he said. “Lunas aren’t supposed to play with the big boys.”

I placed my hands on his shoulders, and kneed him in the stomach. My arms wrapped around his neck and I flung myself around until I straddled him from behind. With my other hand I palmed his forehead and twisted his head, snapping his neck.
Number four.
I added another notch to my mental kill list.

The Ogre crumpled to the ground as he broke my fall. The one I had tackled jammed his elbow into the backseat window where Danny was.

“Hey!” I yelled. Roman was still dealing with the other two Ogres. I debated on what I should do: help Rome, or stop them from grabbing Danny. I didn’t have much time. One of them had Roman by the neck while the other was breaking off a tree branch to ram it through his heart.
No.
I slipped my pocket knife that was clipped to the inside of my bra and flipped it open. I jammed it into the side of the one that held Roman. He shrieked and back handed me, but it was enough to break Roman free. I landed again on the floor, and shook out the stars that clouded my vision.

The sound of someone tapping the hood of a car stirred me into action. “Come on!” an Ogre yelled. I looked over to our Challenger and saw Lou’s distressed face and knew that Danny wasn’t there anymore. The other Ogre tossed Roman to the side and ran to the SUVs. Before we could do anything, their tires squealed around and they shot down the street, leaving us in the dust.

Roman was on his side, his fangs were out and he was hacking up blood.

“Shit,” I stood and ran to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he grimaced. “Their blood is fuckin’ nasty.”

“Gross,” I jerked away from him. “Was their breath not enough for you to keep away?”

He rolled his eyes. “When I’m getting choked to death and about to get a stake to the heart, it was my only option.”

“Yuck,” I said as I gave Roman a hand and helped him up. “We lost our first and only lead.”

“Lou?” he turned to our car and saw the old man wide-eyed in the passenger seat. “I know he all but pissed himself.”

“Let’s get him back to the station,” I clapped Roman on the back. “What did you guys find at the nightclub?”

“Not much,” he shook his head. “Lou was able to hack into some of his files but all we got was a list of numbers and letters. It’s going to take him a while to decode it all.”

I sighed. “Do you think we have the time before they snatch up more girls?”

“Probably not.”

“You think he’ll talk?” Roman asked as he tossed his keys on the kitchen counter.

“Probably not, but he’ll be fun to mess with,” I wiggled my eyebrows and plopped down on the living room sofa. I reached for the TV remote and changed the screen from cable to Netflix. “Now about that binge you promised…”

Roman laughed. “I’m wiped, Ace. Rain check?”

“You know, there’s only so many empty promises I can accept,” I pouted.

“The sun will be rising in like an hour, I’ll pass out before we even finish an episode.”

“Fine,” I sighed. “I’ll get some shut eye too. Maybe wake up before nightfall and hit the streets—talk to my informant. There has to be something else that we’re missing about this case.”

“Of course there is, but how about we forget it for now, and do something else,” Roman crawled over the sofa and slid above me. His hip aligned with mine and I could feel his arousal against my thigh. “I can’t break all my promises tonight,” he snuggled into me, his lips gliding over my collar bone. I tilted my head to the side and let him trail kisses up to my ear.

“I flicked you off. It wasn’t an invitation,” I tried to sound annoyed, but it never worked with him.

“Why wait until a nightmare for you to crawl into my bed?” he whispered. “Let’s just skip the appetizer and go straight to the main course, shall we?”

I laughed and he lifted his head. “You did not just compare me to a meal.”

“I’ll compare you to whatever you want me to,” he smirked.

I sighed, as I pulled off his shirt. My fingers already tracing the fine lines of his body. Every muscle was taut and frozen in time. He would never get old or fat. He was pure perfection—and I was going to hell for enjoying him. One way ticket for Mackenzie Grey, please.

“What are we doing, Rome?” I asked as I gazed up into his hazel eyes.

“The same thing we’ve been doing for the past few months—having fun. What’s wrong?”

I encircled my arms around his neck, his arm hooking behind my back, bringing me closer to him. “I don’t know, I just want to understand us—whatever
us
is.”

“Ace, I thought we discussed this already,” he whispered over my lips. “We’re fooling ourselves if we think a relationship could ever work.” He kissed me and I didn’t hesitate. I opened my mouth and let his tongue slip in. My hands were already in his hair as he worked my shirt off and unclipped my bra. He lifted himself and I grabbed his belt buckle, his lips trailing kisses down my neck.

“I just,” I moaned. “I just thought maybe—maybe, I don’t know,” I tried to form a complete sentence but Roman’s tongue had made its way to my breast and I couldn’t think straight. My hands reached above me and gripped the armrest of the sofa. My claws extended and they latched on to the fabric as I teared through it. Soft suckles and licks made my body purr. The sensation doubled—the wolf heightened every touch and it was ecstasy.

“I guess we’re due for a new couch,” Romans cold breath hardened my nipple.

“Yes,” I groaned.

He chuckled. “Ace, don’t worry about the future, all I care about is the present, and you. Can that be enough for now?”

I didn’t care anymore as I nodded my head vigorously. I started to pull his jeans over his ass, pushing them down his thighs with my bare feet. “Hurry,” I moaned as he slid my mini skirt around my waist. With no warning, Roman flipped me over and pulled my ass toward his hips. My back slammed against his chest as he wrapped his arm around my stomach, holding me steady. His stony lips lingered on my skin as he adjusted himself.

“None of it matters, Ace, because I’ll never get enough of you,” he said as he slammed me down onto him. I screamed into the empty apartment as my eyes flashed silver in pleasure. I couldn’t get enough either.

***

The afternoon sun filtered in through the slits of the curtains. Cold arms wrapped me up against a brick of ice. Roman held on to me as if he feared losing me and I wished these small moments were enough, but they weren’t.

When I moved to LA, staying with Roman was supposed to be temporary until Lucian could find me my own place. But as the nights went by, and my dreams were plagued by nightmares of Caleb—the skinwalker I had killed—I had trouble falling asleep. I wasn’t completely over Caleb, but the nightmares were few and far between. And once I began working with the LAPD, I started keeping a notebook—my own personal kill list. At the moment there were four tally marks in it, a reminder of the bad I’m capable of. Roman was the only thing that helped me sleep. What started off as a friendly bedmate to keep me safe and not alone at night, turned to a cuddle here and there, and then full-on getting naked. If Sebastian and Jonah could see me now, I think I’d give them both a damn embolism.

I had been okay with our arrangement at first. We scratched each other’s itch, without the complication of labels and formalities. Roman didn’t want a relationship because it was rare to find someone who would live forever, so I understood why he didn’t want to get his hopes up. At the time, I didn’t care because I wasn’t feeling anything. I had lost my whole life and needed to do something reckless that would make me feel alive—and it worked—until now. Now I wanted more…

I peeled Roman’s arm off me and I froze when he stirred. I didn’t want to wake him and try to go for another round—I didn’t have the stamina to keep up with him. When I felt it was safe for me to move again, I quickly slipped out of bed. Wrapped in a discarded bedsheet, I tip-toed out of his bedroom. The clock on the microwave said it was just past three in the afternoon. I had less than three hours until Roman woke up and I didn’t want to be here when he did.

After a shower, I dressed and slid into my leather jacket—filling the pockets with some cash, my new driver’s license, and my TAP card which was LA’s version of a metro card. I still refused to drive Roman’s barely functional Jeep. That piece of junk was going to fall apart one day and I wouldn’t be surprised if I was in it when it did—but that was Rome’s baby. He wouldn’t give her up. Using public transportation also reminded me of being back home—although the train stations in LA were cleaner than in New York City. Alas, I took the 733 bus toward Santa Monica, and got off on Main and Grand. A seventeen mile trip to Venice Beach and it took me almost an hour and a half to get there—go figure—but that was traffic in the City of Angels.

The boardwalk was packed with tourists and locals as usual—the smell of weed as potent as ever. Women rolled around in bikinis on roller blades, and steroid-induced, speedo-wearing muscle heads lifted weights as a drum circle played on the beach, and reggae music could be heard on the mile long boardwalk. It always took me a while to find Jorge in this chaos. He was never in the same location, but usually near the drum circle hippies.

“Ay Ace!” I heard my name. I swerved through the crowd toward the pier and found Jorge, a four-by-seven foot imp. “Que pasa? What you doing round’ these parts, Chica? I thought it’d be a while before I’d see you again.” His shaggy hair and overgrown beard were dead giveaways that he was homeless, and if not, his dirty, colorless clothes drove the thought home. I always offered to help him out, but he refused any sort of assistance.

Jorge was of Hispanic background, but he wouldn’t give up exactly from where. The thing was, the imp was my CI—Criminal Informant—a retired soul collector. A really nasty demon who feeds off the essence of humans. Jorge was one of my first busts when I started working with the LAPD.

“You know why I’m here,” I said as I nodded my head toward Zelda’s Corner—an eatery off the boardwalk that was his personal favorite.

I started walking toward the little sandwich shop, knowing the imp would be trailing behind me at a distance. I ordered two Professor Ted sandwiches, two bottles of water, and a box of mini donuts to go for Roman. He would kill me if he knew I stopped here and didn’t bring him some.

I sat on the bench outside the shop with our late lunch as Jorge popped a squat beside me.

“Twice in one week? Are you trying to get me killed, Ace?” he giggled. Not the reaction I was expecting.

I handed him his lunch. “Sorry, I know this is risky, but I really need your help,” I said as I unwrapped my sandwich.

“So you thought a Professor Ted would be a good bribe?” he gave me a lazy smile as he waved the sandwich in the air—a dead giveaway that my buddy was high as a freakin’ kite.

My claws extended and I gripped his tattered shirt. “Are you smoking?” I exclaimed.

He laughed and bread crumbs fell out of his beard, making me gag.

“Of course,
Chica
. What are you going to do, lock me up?”

“Don’t tempt me, Jorge. Your little ass won’t get too far, and my wolf always enjoys a good chase,” I said and flashed my silver eyes.

He slouched in defeat. “Bueno,” he said and took a hearty bite. “What do you need?”

“That tip to check out Ground Zero panned out. Thanks by the way,” I said and he nodded. “We found some files in the main office with this code. A list of numbers and letters that we haven’t been able to figure out. Lou is working on cracking it now.”

“
Y que?
” Jorge shrugged. “What you need me for?”

I rolled my eyes. “Do you seriously need me to spell everything out for you? Do you know anything else that can help us? We’re at a dead end here.”

“What’s in it for me?” he gave me a side glance.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered. “You get to keep your damn freedom, Jorge. That’s what’s in it for you. We have a deal here, you got out on good behavior, and you’re my eyes and ears on the streets. If you’re backing out now, I can always send you back to Ironwood—back to your cage.”

He snarled. “You won’t always be able to threaten me, you know.
Un dia
, your threats will be meaningless.”

“Yeah, yeah, until then, my threats stand. So what will it be, Little Guy?”

He rolled up the sandwich wrapper and threw it into the nearest garbage can. His nose flared in frustration, his tan skin darker and dirtier than the last time I saw him.

“Los docks,” he mumbled. “Check los docks.”

“The—?” I paused. “Oh shit, the docks!” I wrapped an arm around Jorge and pulled him into a hug. “Was that so hard?”

He tried to shrug me off but I wouldn’t let him go. “Get off me, Wolf!” he grumbled.

I squeezed him tighter and tried not to breathe him in. He smelled like he hadn’t showered in weeks. “You know you lurve me, Jorge. And that’s why you’re going to head to Skid Row,” I whispered as I slid some change into his utility jacket. “Go to the shelter and tell them I sent you. Get a shower, Little Man, you reek. And then lay low until this blows over, you understand?”

I released my grip and he pushed off me. “And if I don’t?”

I sighed. “Then that Ogre who’s been eyeing us this whole time on the boardwalk is going to eat your intestines.”

Jorge froze. “I knew you’d get me killed.”

I shook my head. “If you follow my instructions, you’ll stay alive. Now go while I hold him off.”

Jorge paused for a moment and stared at me, his glazed eyes searching for something, and once he found it, the imp was gone in a flash.

I turned in the direction of the speedo-wearing meat head and he had already dropped his weights, and was marching toward me. Except he was staring at Jorge’s retreating figure, trying to catch up. I stood from the bench and intercepted the Ogre with a palm to his chest.

“Whoa, in a hurry?” I smiled, my canines sliding out. “Running in speedos is not a good sight for anyone. I highly suggest a change in wardrobe.”

The Ogre growled.

“Easy there, Big Guy, you don’t want to get into a whose-is-bigger contest with me,” I winked. “I can guarantee you, mine is.”

My fist connected with his abdomen, sending his body to hunch over and level with my height. My claws gripped his neck and I hauled him toward an empty alleyway, slamming his huge torso into the wall.

“Now, let’s do this the easy way. Who sent you?”

The Ogre spit in my face and shredded the last bit of patience I had. I roared into the quiet neighborhood, my claws and canines extended at full length. The hair on my arms thickened, and my face scrunched up like a prune as it morphed into a half-shift—half human, half wolf. My hand on his neck squeezed tighter, cutting off his air flow.

“Now, you’ve pissed me the fuck off,” I growled inches away from his face.

His hands attempted to rip me off his neck but it was no use. He wheezed trying to inhale but I wasn’t giving in.

“Let’s try this again. Who the fuck sent you?” I loosened my grasp and he sucked in a hearty pull of air.

“Ron,” he choked out. “Ron sent me.”

“And who is this Ron fellow? Where can I find him?”

The Ogre shook his head as much as he could. “I don’t know. No one knows.”

I squeezed harder. “You’re not helping me,” I taunted.

He tapped my hand. “The imp,” he choked. “The imp was right. Go to the docks—in Long Beach.”

My eyes flashed silver. “Thanks for the confirmation,” I growled as I twisted my wrist and snapped the Ogres neck. His body slid against the brick wall, his eyes wide open as they fogged over. His large frame slammed onto the ground, unmoving. He was number five.