The Renegade Hunter (Argeneau #12)

Jo spotted the pizza guy the moment she entered the lobby. He stood by the concierge's desk and was hard to miss in his red jacket and red hat with the pizza place logo on the front. She paid him quickly, tipping him handsomely for having to wait, and then headed for the elevators, only to decide they might need more pop. She'd purchased only the two cans earlier; those were now open and no doubt going flat and watery as the ice melted in them and would probably be completely unpalatable by the time they got around to the pizza.

The thought of what would come before the pizza made her smile as Jo detoured toward the small convenience store. She walked in, automatically tossing a smile of greeting toward the cashier, but the man had his back to the till as he stocked cigarettes in the cupboard behind the counter. Shrugging, she continued on her way to the refrigerators at the back.

Once there, Jo shifted the pizza to rest on one hand like a tray and used her other hand to open the glass door. She had just jarred it open with one knee so that she could reach in and grab a couple of cans when someone said, "This is where Jo made the cash withdrawal."

Jo stiffened, recognizing Bricker's voice. She also recognized Mortimer's when he said, "That was almost an hour ago. She won't be here now."

"No." This time it was Anders's voice. "But they're probably staying in this hotel."

"And the cashier might remember her," Decker suggested. "He might be able to tell us if she said anything that might indicate if they're staying here or what."

"Hmm."

Jo turned her head cautiously to peer toward the front of the store where the voices were coming from, but the rows of shelves were in the way and she couldn't see the front of the store. That meant they couldn't see her either, Jo decided as she took her hand off the cans in the refrigerator and gently eased the door closed.

"We're looking for a woman who was in here about an hour ago. She used the ATM and may have purchased something. She's about five foot four inches tall, cute, with dark brown hair she wears in a ponytail."

Jo closed her eyes, sure the man was about to admit she'd been in there, but instead she heard, "Sorry, no one like that today and it's been slow. I'd have remembered."

Jo's eyes blinked open and for one moment she thought the guy was covering for her, and then she recalled the wild mass her hair had been when she'd seen herself in the mirror after returning with the pop. She definitely hadn't looked cute then. She'd probably also seemed a couple of inches taller because of the hair.

"Maybe she's dyed her hair," Bricker suggested quietly. "Or Nicholas could have used the card."

Mortimer cursed. "We'll have to search the hotel. I'm going to watch the lobby and the elevators while I call in all the local enforcers. Decker and Anders, I want each of you at the stairwell exits. Bricker, you watch the door to the parking garage. Once we get some more people here we'll start going floor by floor. Nicholas is not getting away this time and he's definitely not taking Jo with him."

The words had grown more distant as Mortimer had spoken and then silence followed, suggesting that they'd left the store, but Jo waited where she was for a minute, not wanting to risk running into them. She had shifted the pizza to hold it with both hands and was standing there debating what she should do when the cashier said, "Miss? Is there something I can help you with?"

Jo glanced forward, but all she saw was the row of potato chips stacked on the first shelf next to the pop. She then glanced up and around, spotting the man in a rounded security mirror in the corner of the store. It was a damned good thing Mortimer and the guys hadn't checked out the mirror while in here, Jo thought as she met the cashier's gaze. One glance told her that they were gone, however, and she started for the front of the store.

"Hey, there were some guys in here a minute ago and you fit the description of the gal they're looking for," the cashier said as she stepped out from between the aisles.

"Yeah, thanks, I'll go find them," Jo lied cheerfully and hurried out of the store, only to pause just outside the door, unsure which way to go. She couldn't go back out into the lobby to catch the elevator, Mortimer was going to make his calls from there and would be watching them. She couldn't take the stairs either because he'd sent Decker and Anders to watch them. Jo was just debating finding a phone and calling the room to tell Nicholas to get out when someone grabbed her arm.

"Jo? Hey girl, how's it going?"

"Beth?" she asked with surprise, glancing to the brunette who had approached her. "Hey." She held the pizza box with one hand and hugged the girl with the other. "I knew you worked in one of the hotels downtown, but didn't realize it was this one."

"Yeah." Beth grimaced. "And I pulled a late shift tonight. You aren't delivering pizza now, are you? What happened to your job at the bar?"

"Oh..." Jo glanced down to the pizza box she held. "No. I still work at the bar. This is for me and a friend. We have a room upstairs."

"Oh?" Beth grinned and then nudged her. "A man in your life, huh? You never tell me anything."

Jo smiled nervously, and glanced warily toward the front of the hotel. Part of the lobby was visible, but she couldn't see Mortimer.

"It's nice to hear though," Beth added solemnly. "All you ever seem to do is work. A social life is a good thing."

"Yeah, right, like you're any better. You work at least as hard as me," Jo murmured, turning back to her. She then asked, "Beth, is there a service elevator in this place?"

Beth's eyebrows rose at the question. "Yeah. Why?"

Jo hesitated and then decided a lie was really the only way to go. She could hardly start babbling to her about vampires and such and expect Beth to think her anything but nuts, so she said, "There's someone I want to avoid in the lobby. He's a customer who's been going all stalker boy on me and hanging out at the bar all the time."

"You mentioned him a couple weeks ago," Beth said with a frown, and Jo forced a smile, glad that she had. The customer had laid off lately, but was a good cover.

"Yeah, well, he's here and-"

"Say no more," Beth interrupted, patting her arm. "Come on, follow me."

Jo glanced toward the lobby again, but then followed Beth deeper to a narrow hall leading off to the left. At the end there were several doors and an elevator.

"Which floor are you on?" Beth asked, leading her inside and inserting a key in the elevator panel.

"Top floor," Jo murmured as the doors closed. During the ride up Beth chattered easily about the bio class they had together at university. Jo tried to keep up with the conversation, but was a bit distracted with her worries about how she and Nicholas were going to get out of there. She would have asked Beth to stick around and quickly grabbed Nicholas so they could ride down in the service elevator, but Mortimer, Bricker, and Anders were covering all the exits. Basically they were screwed, she thought unhappily, but forced a smile as she said, "Thanks for this, Beth. I owe you one."

"No you don't," she assured her. "You're always giving me free drinks at the bar. However, I am going to want to hear all about this new guy in class tomorrow night."

Jo smiled faintly, but her mind was racing, trying to figure a way to get out of the hotel without using the lobby or side exits. Maybe they could take the window washer's scaffold down, she thought as she recalled it passing the window earlier and waking her.

"Jo?"

She blinked and glanced to Beth who was peering at her with a small frown. "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

Beth smiled wryly. "I just asked if you guys were only staying the one night or-"

"Not even the one night, I'm afraid," Jo said with a grimace. "We'll probably leave right away now that... er... my stalker is here."

"But you have pizza," Beth protested. "And you paid for the room."

"Yeah, well, we'll have to take the pizza elsewhere. I'm just not comfortable here anymore." Jo shrugged and grimaced, annoyed that she was unable to explain anything to Beth. She wasn't used to having to prevaricate with her friends. Sighing, she shook her head and then said, "The room's already paid for. We'll just slip out and..." She waved her hand vaguely.

"You really need to call the cops about this guy if he's getting this troublesome," Beth said with concern. "It was bad enough when he was just being creepy and hanging around the bar all the time, but now he's actually stalking you, Jo. This isn't good."

"I know," Jo muttered. "But for right now we'll just try to slip out without his seeing and following."

"I can help with that," Beth offered. "If you're quick about fetching your friend from the room, I can take you back down in the service elevator and then slip you out through the kitchens. There's a door into the parking garage for deliveries; that way you can avoid the lobby altogether and he can't follow you to the next place."

"Oh, Beth, that would be amazing. You're a life-saver." Jo shifted the pizza to one hand and hugged Beth with the other. "Thank you."

"No problem." Beth hugged her back and then glanced to the number panel above the door as the elevator dinged. "Here we are. Give me the pizza. I'll wait here and hold the elevator while you run and get your friend."

"Thanks," Jo said, handing it over. "I'll be quick."

"Okay. I'll be waiting."

Nodding, Jo rushed off the elevator as the doors opened and hurried up the hall at a jog, pulling the card key out of her back pocket as she went. She had it up and ready to slip into the slot as she slid to a halt in front of the door, but never got the chance to put it in. Before she could, the door was pulled open and Nicholas was there, grabbing her hand and dragging her into the room.

"Finally," he growled, pushing the door closed and whirling to pull her into his arms. "I was worried sick."

"I-" Jo began, but got no further before his mouth was suddenly on hers. Jo groaned, but reached up to push at his shoulders, only to clutch at them instead as he suddenly walked her quickly backward. One hand at the back of her head, holding her in place, the other on her behind, he urged her hips against his so that she felt his erection as they moved in a strange, rather erotic dance across the room until the backs of her legs bumped up against the bed.

"I need you," Nicholas growled against her lips as he tugged her T-shirt upward, his hands palming and squeezing her breasts.

"Oh God," Jo gasped, reaching to clasp his hands. She'd meant to pull them away and explain that they had to move, but he was squeezing and kneading, and when she opened her mouth to speak, his tongue slid inside and Jo found herself clutching at his hands, squeezing them even as he squeezed her. In the next moment, Nicholas pushed her away, sending her toppling onto the bed while he remained standing.

Jo blinked her eyes open as she hit the bed, and then gasped as he caught her by the backs of the legs and drew her forward until her butt was on the edge, the jean-covered core of her pressed snugly against him and her thighs on either side of his hips. His eyes were molten silver, his erection standing at attention as he bent to work at the button and zipper of her jeans.

Jo sucked in a breath, shook her head, and then covered his hands and blurted, "Mortimer's here."

Nicholas froze and stiffened briefly and then his head jerked up, his eyes stabbed at her, suddenly more blue than silver. "What?"

Jo sighed and explained, "I went into the store to buy pop after I collected the pizza and Mortimer, Bricker, Anders, and Decker came in while I was there."

"Did they see you?" he asked with concern.

Jo shook her head. "I was at the back of the store. They couldn't see me, but I heard them talking. Mortimer's got the men watching each exit and is calling in more men so they can search floor to floor."

"Jesus," Nicholas muttered, running his free hand through his hair. "We have to get out of here. We'll use the stairs and-"

"They're downstairs watching the lobby and side exits until more men arrive. You have to dress quickly. I have a way out of here."

Nicholas was out from between her legs at once, and Jo flopped back on the bed with a sigh, aware that her body was throbbing and aching with need from just that brief but very hot almost-interlude.

Man, when Nicholas was like that, he was... man, Jo thought faintly, and then gave her head a shake and sat up. Nicholas already had his jeans on and was doing them up. She shifted off the bed and stood to move into the bathroom to check and see if there was anything in there. All she found that was theirs was his brush. Jo took it out and tossed it in his bag as he donned his shirt, and then glanced around that room as well, but she hadn't had anything with her but Charlie, and Nicholas's things were all in his bag.

He was tying up his shoes now, and Jo's gaze slid to the German shepherd as she quickly zipped up the duffel bag. He had been sleeping, but was awake, watching her with interest.

"Come, boy, we have to go," she said, and the dog was on his feet and at her side at once.

"I've got that," Nicholas said, taking the bag from her when she started to pick it up. "Lead the way."

Nodding, Jo turned and hurried out of the room and up the hall. When she bypassed the bank of elevators, Nicholas simply followed, apparently trusting her. His eyebrows rose, however, when they reached the service elevator and he spied Beth standing there with the pizza in hand.

"Beth, this is Nicholas," Jo introduced as she stepped onto the elevator, Charlie at her side. "Nicholas, this is Beth. We have a bio class together Monday nights."

"My, you are a hottie," Beth said with wide eyes as Nicholas stepped onto the elevator.

Jo grinned at Nicholas's discomfort and then said, "Beth's going to slip us out through the kitchens so we can avoid the lobby."

"About that," Beth said suddenly, tearing her eyes off Nicholas and down to Charlie. "I'm not sure I can take a dog through-" She paused abruptly, her face going blank as she said, "It will be fine," and turned to work the elevator.

Jo frowned and then glanced to Nicholas to see him concentrating on her face. It was the guy who had checked them in all over again, only this time she knew what was happening. Nicholas was controlling Beth.

"Stop that," she hissed.

"No," Nicholas said firmly. "We have to get out of here and she was about to back out of taking us through the kitchens because of Charlie."

Jo frowned, her gaze sliding to the dog and then to Beth. "Then we'll have to find another way out. I don't want to get her into trouble."

"She won't be in trouble," he said soothingly. "No one will see the dog."

"Right. How are you going to manage that?"

"The same way I'm managing Beth," Nicholas said calmly. "Now just relax. We're here."

Jo glanced around as the elevator dinged. They'd arrived at the main floor. She waited tensely for the doors to open, relieved when there was no one in the hall, and then quickly led Charlie off and into the small hall she'd passed through earlier.

"This way," Beth said lightly, sounding more like herself as she slid out to lead the way. She also didn't look quite so blank-faced, Jo noted, and glanced to Nicholas in question.

He merely shook his head and gestured for her to follow.

Sighing, Jo fell into step behind her friend, leaving Charlie and Nicholas to follow. Beth headed straight for a door near the end of the hall. When she pushed it open, the sounds of clanging dishes, rushing water, and shouting voices rolled over them. Jo bit her lip and glanced nervously around, waiting for someone to notice Charlie, but no one even glanced their way.

Bewildered, she peered back at Nicholas to see his eyes moving quickly around the room, touching briefly on worker after worker before moving to the next as they walked. She had no idea what he was doing, but knew he was doing something to make sure they weren't noticed and stopped or interfered with.

The kitchens were brightly lit, hot and humid, and Jo was relieved when Beth pushed through a door, leading them into a cooler, darker area she recognized as the parking garage.

"Here we are," Beth said. "Are you guys parked in here or did you take the subway?"

"Nicholas parked here," Jo said, accepting the pizza Beth was holding out to her and hugging her quickly as she whispered, "Thank you, Beth."

"No problem," Beth said, hugging her back. "I'm sorry your night was ruined. Promise me you'll call the police and get a restraining order or something on that stalker guy of yours though. He's just getting beyond creepy."

"I will," Jo assured her as she stepped back. She glanced to the side with surprise when Nicholas then took Beth's hand.

"Thank you," he said solemnly, concentrating briefly on her face. He then released her and stepped back and glanced to Jo. He took the pizza from her and said, "We have to go. I'll take Charlie to the van."

Jo nodded and glanced back to Beth to see her staring after him wide-eyed. "He is so hot."

She smiled wryly. "Yeah."

"Enjoy the rest of your night," Beth said with a grin and turned back to the door. "I have to get back to work."

"Okay, thanks Beth. See you in class," Jo added as she turned to hurry after Nicholas. She caught up to him quickly, and asked with a sigh. "What did you do to her?"

"I just removed Charlie's presence from her memory so it wouldn't be a problem," he said quietly.

"And the workers in the kitchen?" she asked.

"I just gave them a psychic suggestion that they not notice our presence," he muttered. "Beth won't be in trouble and we got out without being spotted. It's all good."

Jo blinked at the words. It just sounded odd to hear such a contemporary comment like "It's all good" from him. It made her realize that he normally sounded a bit formal and even a little old-fashioned. His age, she supposed, and then glanced around sharply as he suddenly caught her arm and drew her to a halt.

"What is it?" she asked worriedly. They weren't far from the van. It was perhaps four vehicles away, but they had to pass the hotel's guest entrance from the garage to get to it, Jo realized, and immediately recognized the problem. The guest entrance was a double set of glass doors with wide glass windows on either side of it, and she could see Bricker inside. His back was to them at the moment as he peered into the hotel, but if he turned a little to the right...

"What are we going to do?" Jo asked with worry.

Nicholas didn't answer at first, his eyes were slipping around the parking garage, and then he suddenly ushered her between the two vehicles next to them. When he dropped to his haunches, she did as well and peered at him in question, automatically petting Charlie when he slid his furry body between her and the car on her right.

"Wait here," Nicholas ordered. "I'll get the van and pick you up."

"How will you-" Jo began, but he was already gone. It happened so fast she was left blinking in amazement, and Jo rose up a little to look around for him. She barely caught a glimpse of him disappearing around his van, and Jo shook her head at his speed as she glanced toward the door where Bricker stood. She never could have moved that quickly, but he appeared to have managed to make it past the guest entrance without being noticed.

A deep-throated growl from Charlie made Jo drop back down to her haunches and peer around with worry.

"What is it, boy?" Jo asked as she saw that he'd left her side to move to the front of the car on their left and was growling in the direction they'd come from. She heard the van start up and moved toward Charlie in a crouch. Pausing beside him, still between the cars, Jo leaned her head out a little, but all there was to see was the dim garage interior and the rows of vehicles.

Jo ran her hand along Charlie's stiff back, frowning when he gave that strange growl again. It was the same one he'd given when Bad-Breath Boy had been outside the apartment door, and Jo swallowed as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. This wasn't good.

Much to her relief the van pulled in front of them then, stopping just past the vehicle on their left. Jo immediately launched herself to her feet and hurried forward. She started out intending to run around the van to the passenger door, but a shout drew her attention to the fact that Bricker had spotted them and was now pushing through the hotel door, heading for her. Knowing how quickly immortals could move, Jo stopped abruptly at the back of the van, pulled the door open, and turned to see Charlie still standing at the front of the car they'd been hiding beside. The fur on his back was standing on end and his ears were down as he growled in earnest.

"Charlie come," she shouted, glancing nervously back toward Bricker. He was moving faster than she would have thought humanly possible.

"Get in," Nicholas roared, and Jo threw herself in the back of the van, grabbing at the still-closed door to stay inside when Nicholas immediately hit the gas sending the van jerking forward.

"Charlie come!" Jo shrieked, holding the other door open for him as the van moved forward and he came into view. The German shepherd was still standing, growling, but turned at her call and launched himself toward the van. Charlie ran up behind the vehicle and was about to launch himself through the open door when Bricker was suddenly there, catching him in mid-jump.

"Get out of there, Jo!" Bricker shouted, holding on to her dog. "Get out of there!"

Jo stared at him silently, watching Charlie struggle to get out of his arms. Bricker wasn't hurting the German shepherd, but he wasn't letting him go either. Grinding her teeth together, she pulled the door closed as Bricker yelled, "Dammit, Jo, he's a rogue. Get the hell out of there!"

The door slammed shut, and Jo leaned her head briefly against it, her eyes closing. She knew Charlie would be safe with Bricker. He'd probably take him back to the house and Sam would look after him, but she felt like she was abandoning a child. She was also suddenly questioning her decision to stay with Nicholas. She'd been following her instincts, but Bricker's words were ringing in her ears making her wonder if she should have. Jo, he's a rogue. Get the hell out of there! The worry and upset on Bricker's face as he'd yelled that had given the words more weight than she liked and she was suddenly having doubts where previously there had been none.

"Hold on to something, Jo," Nicholas ordered, and she glanced around briefly and then simply threw herself to the floor as the van suddenly shot around a corner. Jo slid with the boxes in the back of the van, slamming up against a tire well. She tried to grab it and hold on, but it was smooth with nothing to grasp, and in the next moment she was rolling away and sliding down to hit the back doors as the van straightened out and careened up the street.

"Are you all right?" Nicholas called with concern.

Jo grimaced, but glanced up to see him peering back worriedly.

"Watch the road," she muttered, and crawled to her hands and knees to make her way to the front of the van. Doubts or not, she was there now. Besides, despite everything, she for some reason trusted the man.

"Charlie will be all right. They'll take care of him," Nicholas said quietly as she climbed past the pizza box and into the passenger seat.

"I know," Jo said wearily, pulling out the seat belt and buckling herself in. She closed her eyes briefly and sank back into her seat. "Bricker said you were a rogue."

"Yes."

She opened her eyes and peered at him, but his face was as expressionless as his voice had been. "What does that mean exactly?"

Nicholas hesitated and then sighed. "Maybe I should take you to the enforcer house. You'll be with Charlie and they can explain everything."

"Do you honestly think they'll tell me anything? From all I've learned, they're more likely to wipe my memory, right?"

Nicholas was silent for a minute and then sighed and said, "Maybe that's for the best."

"What?" she asked with amazement, and then growing angry asked, "Is this the immortal version of wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am? Show me the best sex ever and then dump me off with your buddies so that they can erase it all from my memory?"

"They aren't my buddies... anymore," he added wearily. "And I never should have-" Nicholas cut himself off, swallowed, and said, "I have nothing to offer you but a life on the run, Jo. I can't even rent a cheap motel room tonight. I used up the last of the cash I had on hand for the hotel and chicken. I have nowhere to take you and I can't-"

"I have somewhere we can go," Jo interrupted quietly. "Sam's place."

When he glanced at her sharply, she shrugged and said, "It's her old apartment. Sam moved in with Mortimer, but couldn't break her lease. It's fully furnished and I keep telling Sam she should sublet, but she hasn't got around to it yet... which works nicely for us. I have a key. It's free and we have pizza," Jo pointed out. "We can stay there tonight and talk. You can explain what a rogue is and why you're one and then I'll decide whether to let you dump me at the enforcer house or not."

Nicholas was silent for a moment, considering the suggestion, and then asked, "What's the address?"