Taming the Moon (18 page)

Olivia reined in her impatience. “And where is here?” She freed her hand from Sully’s and walked over to the table where the small notepad lay.

Eddy gave her directions, which she wrote down and then repeated back to him to make sure she’d gotten it right.

“How long will it take you to get here?” he asked.

She blinked. She didn’t know anything about this town. She looked at Declan, who fisted his hand and then flashed his fingers three times.

Fifteen minutes. She’d fudge a little to give them time to scope the place out and get in position while she went in to get Zoe. “It should take about half an hour, I think. I’m not good with judging distance,” she murmured, quite truthfully.

“City girl.” There was enough genuine fondness in Eddy’s voice to cause her momentary regret. Things could have been so much different if
he’d
been different. But she reminded herself that he was a monster, and whatever happened to him he’d brought upon himself.

It was a bitch when bad karma came back around to bite you in the ass.

“All right. I’ll see you in half an hour.” Eddy ended the call.

Olivia slowly closed her phone and eased it back into her pocket. She blew out a breath. “Okay. Here we go.” She looked around at the group of people who had befriended her. “I think we should take two cars. You can park down the road from the ranch so they won’t hear the engine and the car doors when you close them. Once I
drive up, they won’t be expecting anyone else.” She crossed her fingers for luck.

Taite stood.

Ryder stood as well and looked at his wife. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“With you.”

“Ah…no. You’re not.”

She lifted her chin.

He cupped her cheek with one broad hand. “Darling, please. You’re pregnant with our child. Something could go wrong, and it’d be like me handing you and the baby over to Miles on a silver platter. I couldn’t…” He trailed off and cleared his throat. “I’d do anything for you, you know that. But don’t ask me to put you in harm’s way.”

Taite glanced at Pelicia, clearly wanting to say something about her friend being able to go while she wasn’t.

“I’m not pregnant,” Pelicia said, holding up her hands in a surrender gesture. “And I’ll be staying in the car.”

“You’re damn right you are.” Declan planted a hard kiss on her mouth. “Let’s go.”

“Then I’m going, too.” Taite waved a hand at Ryder’s protest. “I’ll take a gun. Pelicia needs someone to watch her back.” She looked pleased at finding an excuse to go.

Ryder didn’t buy it. “And who’ll watch yours?” he asked. “Taite, please.”

“We need somebody to stay here in case we need the cavalry.” Declan raised his eyebrows at Taite’s snort. “You’re the one with the local contacts, darlin’. D’ya think if you picked up the phone right now, called the County Attorney, and told him you needed five squads of police he wouldn’t send them without question?”

Taite’s lips thinned. “Fine. Fine, I’ll stay here. But none of you had better get…hurt.” She’d clearly been about
to say something else, something worse, and had cut off that thought.

Declan raised his index finger. “Hang on a sec.” He left the room and came back a couple minutes later with a gun in each hand and a small box of ammunition under his arm. He gave one of the weapons to Taite and set the box on the end table by the sofa. “Had these made up when we first got back here. Cost me quite a bit, and earned me some strange looks from the gunsmith, but…” He shrugged.

“Silver bullets?” Taite raised her eyebrows.

He nodded. “Just in case.” He handed the other gun to Pelicia, who took it reluctantly. “There’s no trick to it, darlin’.” He pointed to the safety. “Just thumb this off, point, and pull the trigger. Couldn’t be easier.”

She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Well, here’s hoping I don’t have to use it.”

Ryder drew a deep breath and hugged his wife. “That makes me feel better.” He pulled away and pressed his lips to her forehead. “All right, let’s go. Everyone but you.” He stared down at Taite. “If anyone tries to get in here, put one between the eyes.”

Taite nodded. “Hey, I did it before. I can do it again.” She brushed a kiss against his lips. “I’ll be fine.” She put a hand low on her belly. “
We’ll
be fine.”

Olivia couldn’t stand it, the obvious love between both couples, a love she was very much afraid she’d never be able to realize with Sully. Muttering a quiet “Excuse me,” she walked outside and got in her car. It would be dark soon. They had perhaps half an hour of daylight remaining.

Sully followed her and leaned in the open window of the car. “Don’t take any chances you don’t have to, sweetheart. Just remember that you’re not in this alone.”

“I know.” When he bent, she reached up and kissed him. “When this is done—”

“When this is done, you can introduce me to your daughter, and then we’ll celebrate.” He kissed her again.

The others came outside, and Declan walked over to the car. “Since I’m familiar with the area, I’ll lead. I’ll hit my turn signal when I reach the road you need to turn onto, but I’ll go on ahead and double back, just in case.” He stared at her a moment, as if asking if she was ready.

She gave him a small smile and a nod. He patted the door and went over to the SUV.

Sully stroked his fingers down her cheek. “Be safe,” he murmured.

“You, too.” She started the car and watched him join the others at the SUV. She noticed that Pelicia carried the bag of clothing the guys had put together so they’d have something to change into once the battle was over.

Olivia fastened her seatbelt, waiting until everyone except Taite piled into the big SUV and Declan drove out of the driveway. She put the car in drive and followed.

She tried to calm her racing heart. She was just minutes away from seeing Zoe, from seeing an end to the monster who’d made her life a living hell the last three years.

And from saying good-bye to the man she loved.

The desert sky was turning pink and blue with the setting sun, and the canyons were dark with shadows. The farther they drove the fewer houses they passed. The left turn signal on the SUV flashed briefly. She slowed and switched on her own turn indicator. As she began the turn onto the road for the ranch where Eddy was, her cell phone rang. She answered it before the second ring.

“Remember, we’re going to come back around,” Sully
said. “Declan says there’s another road that hooks up with this one farther out, one that’s not too well traveled.” His voice lowered. “Just get to Zoe as soon as you can.”

“No worries there.” She paused. She had to say at least one more thing to him. There was a very real possibility one or both of them could be killed. Regardless of what she’d thought earlier, she knew she needed to tell him how she felt.

People deserved to know when they were loved.

Even so, knowing what she knew, it was the hardest thing she’d ever admitted. “Sully, I love you.”

There was silence for a moment. “God, am I glad to hear you say that. I don’t want to be the only one in this boat.” His low chuckle was more a release of tension than an expression of humor. “I love you, too.”

Her heart fluttered at his admission. It gave her a brief moment of hope followed by a plummeting sensation of loss. He didn’t know the extent of her betrayal yet.

She knew that was how he’d see it. She’d turned him into a werewolf.

Betrayal number one.

Then compounded it by not telling him the truth.

Betrayal number two.

He must have taken her silence to mean she was scared about the upcoming confrontation, which she was, because he murmured, “It’ll turn out all right, love. We won’t let him hurt Zoe.”

“I know. See you in a few.” She murmured a good-bye and disconnected the call. Glancing around, she couldn’t see anyone lurking behind any cacti, but if they were in their wolf forms, they could be hunkered down, blending in with the sand. She could easily overlook them, even with her enhanced vision.

She made another turn and drove down a winding dirt driveway, past empty corrals and stables, finally pulling to a stop in front of a ramshackle wood ranch house. It had clearly seen better days; the wood was bare in most places. Where it did have paint the paint was peeling. More than a few of the windows were broken, and an outbuilding to the left leaned to one side, looking as if the first stiff wind would knock it over.

An old well stood near the right corner of the house, along with a squat tub and pump handle. Beyond that was a corral with part of its railings lying on the ground.

It had been a long time since anyone had lived there.

Olivia shoved the gear lever into park and shut off the car. She sat there for a minute, studying the house and surrounding area. There were no other houses that she could see. Certainly she hadn’t passed any on her way down the rough dirt road. It didn’t surprise her that Eddy had managed to find such an isolated place.

The front door opened, and Calvin stood in the doorway. She caught movement from the corner of her eye and turned her head to see Walter approaching the car, his hulking body casting a large shadow behind him.

Let’s get this show on the road.
She drew in a breath and opened the car door. “Walter.”

“Olivia.”

Once she was out of the car, he took her elbow in one hand and escorted her into the house. She wasn’t sure if it was out of courtesy or because he could sense her roiling emotions and wanted to try to keep her on a leash.

“Eddy’s in here,” he said with a wave toward a room on the right.

She walked into what appeared to be a den. A television rested on a small stand against one wall, VCR and DVD
players stacked on top of it. A beige carpet, matted and stained with age, covered the floor. Eddy sat on a leather sofa, Zoe at his side looking at one of her picture books. As soon as she heard noise, the little girl looked up. Her face brightened. “Mommy!” She jumped off the sofa and ran to Olivia.

Olivia went down on her knees and enfolded Zoe in her arms. God, it felt so good to hold her, to feel the warmth of her body, smell that bubblegum and little girl scent once again. “I’ve missed you so much.” She drew in a shuddering breath and fought back tears.

“I missed you, too.” Zoe pulled back and touched her fingers to Olivia’s cheek.

“Walter, I think you should take Zoe into another room while her mother and I talk.” Eddy rose from the sofa.

“No!” Olivia and Zoe said at the same time. Olivia stood and clasped her daughter to her side. “I haven’t seen her in almost a week, Eddy. You can at least give us a couple of minutes.” As his eyes darkened, she added, “Please.”

“Please,” Zoe echoed.

He looked at the little girl, and his face softened. “Fine. Five minutes.”

Olivia nodded. Five minutes should be plenty of time for the guys to make their way to the house. But she needed to get Zoe farther away from Eddy. “Let’s go in here, okay?” She took Zoe’s hand and walked into the large living room. Spotting a window seat by the large south-facing window, she sat down and pulled Zoe on her lap.

She noticed that Eddy and Walter both stood in the doorway of the den, watching her but giving her some space with her daughter. Not that they couldn’t overhear
what she said, but at least they were on the other side of the large room.

Anytime now.
“How’re you doing, baby?” She glanced out the window, at the same time straining her ears to pick up any sign that Sully, Declan, and Ryder were on their way.

As Zoe launched into a detailed account of what she’d been doing at Uncle Eddy’s for the last several days, Olivia realized that she hadn’t seen Peter and Aaron. Oh, dear God. Had Sully and the others had a run-in with those two? Had Peter and Aaron been patrolling the grounds and stopped the guys in the white hats?

When her daughter paused to take a breath, Olivia looked at Eddy and asked as nonchalantly as she could, “Where are Peter and Aaron?”

“Peter…had to go away,” he said with a quick glance at Zoe. “Aaron’s around.”

Peter had to go away? She stared at Eddy. Walter made a quick slash across his throat, then coughed and scratched the side of his neck when Zoe looked his way.

So Peter was dead. That left it four against four. She’d say the odds had just gotten a lot worse for Eddy.

The sounds of a struggle came from the front of the house. As Eddy and Walter both whirled toward the sound, Olivia jumped to her feet. “Whatever happens, Zoe, don’t you go to anyone but me, you understand? You stay away from Eddy, Walter, Aaron, and Calvin.”

“Mommy?”

“What have you done, Livvie?” Eddy turned toward her.

“Promise me, baby.” Olivia spared a second to meet her daughter’s bewildered gaze. She saw that Zoe’s face was in shadow and realized the sun was setting. From somewhere
outside she heard a generator start up and a light outside flicked on. She said again, “Promise.”

“I promise.”

Olivia nodded. “Stay behind me.” She broadened her stance, prepared to take on either werewolf—or both of them—if they started her way before Sully and the others could get inside.

“O
livia, what have you done?” Eddy asked again. He looked at her, rage growing on his face. She saw his hands at his sides, the fingers growing longer and ending with sharp claws.

“I’m giving you that one thing you’ve wanted all these years.” She paused and added, “Ryder. I mean, you do want to destroy him, don’t you,
Miles?
”

At her use of his real name, understanding dawned. His eyes went tawny with rage, his face darkened, and his lips thinned. “You won’t make it out of here alive.” He looked down at Zoe, who was poking her head around Olivia’s side. “Neither will she.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Sully strode into the room from the back. “You okay?” he asked with a quick glance her way.

“Yeah. Where are Ryder and Declan?” Olivia kept one hand out to her side, holding Zoe behind her.

“Declan’s busy with some big blond guy.” Sully stopped a few feet away, standing between her and Eddy, who looked at Sully with growing realization on his face.

“Son of a bitch,” Eddy muttered.

“You got that right,” Sully responded. “You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you, Miles?”

Olivia tried to keep track of all the players. Declan was fighting with Aaron. That just left…“So Ryder’s taking care of Calvin?”

Sully glanced at her. “No. There’s no one else to fight except these two right here.”

What did that mean? That Ryder had killed Calvin? Or that the other werewolf had run off? She supposed it didn’t matter—As long as he was gone, he wasn’t a threat.

Eddy stared at Sully and sniffed a few times. “Well, well.”

She realized he smelled the wolf that was now part of Sully.

Eddy glanced at her with eyes flecked with amber. Then he looked back at Sully. “You look pretty good for a dead man.”

“Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated.”

“Not exaggerated. Merely premature.” Eddy leaned to one side and looked at Olivia. “Someone’s been busy, turning our Mr. Sullivan here into a werewolf.”

Ryder walked into the room before she had to respond. “I see I’m in time.” He stopped next to Sully and faced his cousin. From where she stood she could only see part of his face, but what she saw made her go cold. She was glad he was on her side, because Death stared at Eddy from that handsome, hard face. “Hullo, Miles.”

A muscle twitched in Eddy’s jaw. “Merrick.” Eddy stared at Olivia over Sully’s shoulder. A slight British inflection crept into Eddy’s voice. “You’ll pay for this, you little bitch.”

“Don’t you call my mommy names!” Zoe danced out from behind Olivia.

Ryder made an abbreviated move as if to grab the little
girl if she came too close, and Olivia sent him a look of thanks as she grabbed Zoe’s arm and hauled her back. “Zoe Marie. Stay behind me.” She appreciated her daughter’s loyalty and admired her spunkiness, but now wasn’t the time.

The little girl muttered a quiet, “Okay.”

Eddy crossed his arms, his gaze going back to the two men standing in front of him. “So…what? You’re going to talk me to death?”

Olivia said a silent prayer. Eddy seemed to want to talk. Otherwise he would have already given Walter the order to attack. She hoped Declan was doing all right with Aaron.

The back of Sully’s neck turned red, but his words were even tempered as he said, “Make no mistake. You
will
die today. Not only for what you’ve put us through, but for what you’ve done to Olivia.”

“Oh-ho.” Eddy’s gaze swung to Olivia. “Do you have an admirer, Livvie?”

She drew in a sharp breath. “Eddy—”

“So she got to you, did she, Sullivan?” Eddy stared at Sully with pursed lips. “I didn’t think she had the guts to betray me, but I suppose once she got a taste of your blood it wasn’t a matter of if, but when.”

Sully frowned. He glanced at Olivia with confusion wrinkling his forehead.

Eddy’s eyebrows rose. “Didn’t she tell you?”

“Miles.” Ryder’s voice was full of warning. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” He sent Ryder a look of innocence.

“I don’t know what you’re up to, except that it’s no good. I’ve seen that look on your face before. Whatever little secret you’re about to reveal, let it be.”

Eddy lifted his chin. “Don’t tell me what to do,
cousin
.”

Olivia recognized the stubborn look in his eyes, on his face. She shook her head. It was useless to plead with him. He was going to further ruin her life.

It didn’t matter. She’d known it would happen sooner or later. She’d just hoped to be able to confess to Sully herself.

She had Zoe, and once the two of them were safely away, that’s all that mattered.

“She didn’t tell you, did she?” Eddy asked again.

“Tell me what?” Sully’s confused expression turned to a scowl. “How you turned her three years ago and have used her daughter to keep her in line? How you’ve threatened to kill Zoe and tried to coerce Olivia into killing me?”

Eddy’s delighted laugh chilled Olivia.
God, here it was.
The end of her hope for love.

“She has been a Chatty Cathy, hasn’t she?” Eddy shook his head and clicked his tongue. He turned his gaze on Olivia, the dark glee in the depths of his eyes sending more ice through her veins. “Livvie, Livvie. How remiss of you.” He looked again at Sully. “Obviously she told you the sad story of her life in order to get you to help her. Did she tell you she was there on St. Mary’s? That she”—he paused, a slow smile curling his lips—“and I’m only guessing here, but it makes sense. Did she tell you that she’s the one that turned you?”

Olivia briefly closed her eyes. Then she looked at Sully.

He turned his head and stared at her, disbelief on his face. “He’s lying. Isn’t he, Olivia?”

Miles laughed, the humor tinged with madness. “So she
didn’t
tell you. How lovely.” His affected New York accent completely fell by the wayside and his native British dialect colored his words. His upper lip lifted in a sneer.
“She was supposed to kill you then, but she failed. Instead she turned you into one of us, which she never told me.”

“Olivia?”

She swallowed and drew in a shaky breath. She wished she could lie. Sully would believe her over Eddy any day of the week, but she couldn’t do that to him. He deserved to know the truth.

But she couldn’t bring herself to verbally confirm it. When his expression darkened, she knew her silence had condemned her.

“Son of a bitch.” His lips firmed. A muscle began to twitch in his jaw. “It was
you?
”

She lifted her chin. She wasn’t proud of the road she’d taken, but she had changed her mind, after all, and hadn’t continued with the plan. “Yes.”

His nostrils flared. Amber flecked the green of his irises, lighting them from within. His eyes narrowed. “You should’ve finished the job.”

Vaguely aware of Eddy looking back and forth between the two of them, his smile growing ever wider, she fought back tears that sprung at Sully’s words. “You can’t mean that. Sully, you’re still alive! How can you not want that?”

“How can I not want to be a monster?” He turned his back on her with a snarl. “Just…take Zoe and get out of here. Miles won’t try to stop you.” His next words were directed to Eddy. “Will you, Miles?”

Eddy slowly shook his head. “I can find her when I need to.” He met Olivia’s gaze. “She belongs to me, after all.”

Sully’s gut tightened. He didn’t want to believe Olivia was the werewolf that had attacked him on St. Mary’s. He wanted to believe that this cocky little bastard was lying.

But he’d seen the truth in her eyes. Now all those little twitches she’d given every time he’d talked about the bastard who’d turned him made sense.

Why hadn’t she told him?

He glanced over his shoulder again and caught sight of her little girl. Zoe. That was why. Olivia had wanted to make sure she had help getting her daughter away from Miles.

He shouldn’t blame her for that, but somehow he did.

She should have told him.

Sully looked back at Miles. “She doesn’t belong to you.”

“No? Well, she doesn’t belong to you, either.” Mike’s face expressed the words that remained unspoken:
I’ve seen to that
.

“No, she doesn’t.” Sully had thought she had, but he’d clearly been wrong. He drew in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. Enough was enough. There was still an innocent life at stake. It was time to end this.

It seemed Miles was in agreement, because he motioned to the sandy-haired man at his side, who slowly began to move forward. Miles, for his part, started humming a song that took Sully a moment to place.
Ring around the rosie, pockets full of posies. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.

All the while, that bland face stayed expressionless. Sully turned his head but didn’t take his gaze off the man he’d come to kill. “Olivia, take Zoe and get out of here. Now.”

She didn’t hesitate. She grabbed the little girl up into her arms. As she ran out of the room, he heard her whisper, “I’m sorry.”

He saw Ryder shoot a sympathetic gaze his way, but his friend otherwise kept his focus on Miles.

Sully wouldn’t be surprised if Olivia put Zoe in her car and took off, leaving them to survive or not, leaving Pelicia sitting in the SUV a quarter mile away wondering what was going on.

For his part, Miles didn’t seem too concerned by her exit. The bastard was confident he’d win the fight and be able to track her down.

Sully clenched his fists and fought back the wolf that yowled to be set free to chase after Olivia and demand explanations. To exact retribution. He pushed aside thoughts of taking vengeance on the one directly responsible. He’d deal with her later.

For now, he had Miles to deal with.

Or not, as the big behemoth started toward him.

“
Bon appétit
, Walter,” Miles murmured.

Sully backed away a few steps, putting some distance between him and the other combatants. He rolled his eyes. Walter. Sounded like the guy should be an accountant somewhere, not a madman’s enforcer. “I guess Miles is all yours,” Sully muttered to Ryder.

Keeping his attention on Walter, Sully saw the man’s fingers morph into claws. Then his face changed, elongated, as he turned into something more than human and less than complete wolf.

Shit. How the hell was he supposed to fight the wolfman?

Sully focused and tried to do the same thing.

All he got for his effort was a slight headache and a tingling in his fingertips. “Fuck.”

A broad smile crossed Walter’s face. “Problem there, newbie?”

“For you, maybe.” Sully wasn’t going to let this giant see just how much trouble he was in. How could he fight
against a guy who could easily flatten him? In the few seconds it would take for him to shift to his wolf form, Walter could pound him into the floor.

He saw Ryder launch himself at Miles, grappling with the other man. Harsh grunts came from both of them, then a low cry of pain as Miles raked across Ryder’s chest with razor-sharp claws.

Damn it. Miles had morphed, too, into something not quite human but not yet wolf. From what he understood, Ryder
couldn’t
transform that way. His type of lycanthropy precluded being able to be anything but either human or wolf. Nothing in between.

Sully dodged the clawed hand reaching for him and sent a hard-fisted punch to Walter’s face. The man’s head snapped back, but it didn’t seem to faze him. He gave himself a little shake.

Shit
.

He punched Walter again, and all it seemed to do was anger him. The wolfman snarled and rammed his fist forward, catching Sully in the jaw hard enough to jerk his head around.

Sully blinked his eyes, shaking his head to dispel the ringing in his ears. He ducked another blow and came up on the other side of the sofa in front of the large picture window.

Declan sauntered into the room. “Looks like I got here just in time.”

Walter whirled to face the new threat, his head turning from Declan to Sully and back again, trying to keep his gaze on both of them.

With a lazy grin on his face, Declan held up his hands. Covered in blood, his fingers were thicker, longer, and ended with sharp claws. He laced his fingers together and
then stretched his arms forward, turning his hands outward to crack his knuckles. “Let’s play, laddies.”

Ryder had one arm pressed against Miles’ throat, holding him against the wall, and glanced at Declan. “When the fuck did you learn how to do that?”

Walter took advantage of the momentary distraction and reached for Sully again. Sully dodged out of the way. Sweat trickled between his shoulder blades, and he tried not to let the behemoth see how scared he was. If he couldn’t shift to wolf, and soon, the fight would be over.

“I’ve been practicin’.” Declan did a little boxer’s dance, holding his hands in front of him in loose fists. “Come on, then, you bleedin’ sods. Show me what you got.”

Taking everyone by surprise, he launched himself at Walter, hitting him in the chest with both feet and knocking him to the floor. Declan bounded off him and went for Miles. “Now would be the time for the two of you to shift. Don’t hold back on my account.”

By the time Sully was able to quiet his mind enough to focus, Ryder had gone wolf. He dove for Walter’s throat, but the big man was able to get his forearm up in time. Ryder latched on to his arm, worrying it like a dog with a toy.

Neither Walter nor Miles could take the time to finish their transformation into their full wolf forms. Sully only hoped that would be to the good guys’ advantage.

He took deep, calming breaths and focused his attention inward, calling upon his wolf. As bones, muscles, tendons, and sinew shifted, he groaned and hunched over. Fur sprouted from his skin, his skull flattened and lengthened, his teeth elongated. The agony was just as bad as he remembered it, and just as short.

He drew in a quick breath and shook his head, chasing
away the lingering pain. Getting his bearings, he saw Declan had Miles in hand for the moment, so, paws scrabbling on the tile floor, he went to help Ryder.

Olivia reached the SUV and opened the passenger door. She glanced at Pelicia behind the wheel and set Zoe down on the seat. She took her little face in her hands. “Baby, I need you to go with Pelicia, all right? I have to go back and help the others.”