Dannika Dark - Six Months

He wanted his woman back.

Reno needed to cool off before talking to Maddox, so he left the table and ordered a cold draft at the bar. April wandered over to the jukebox again and switched the song to Billy Joel’s “Big Shot.” Denver made a snide remark about it, paired with an eye roll.

Before Reno returned to the table, he glanced over his right shoulder. Damn, she looked hot . Not with all that makeup on her face—Maddox must have had something to do with that. The April he knew was a natural beauty. Her white shirt had slipped off her left shoulder, revealing she wasn’t wearing a bra. And the way she turned around and tilted her hip while looking at the jukebox made him want to throw her over his shoulder and haul her out of there, caveman style. It pissed him off to see the other Shifters in the bar checking her out, especially the dead man in the flannel shirt. Her choker would keep most of them away, but not all. Rogues especially.

Reno cursed under his breath and made it back to the table without taking any lives. Even his wolf wanted to take a bite out of every man who was memorizing her ass.

Maddox stood up. “Let’s take this outside.”

“Fine with me,” Reno lied, wanting to stay at the table. April wasn’t acting herself. It didn’t seem like her to get drunk. Then again, it didn’t seem like her to wind up as a Shifter’s pet.

“Finish up your sissy drink,” Maddox said to Randall. “I’ll fill you in later.”

Reno followed Maddox down a narrow hall and out the exit door. As soon as the door closed, Maddox took off his hat and turned around.

“What the fuck is your interest in my former client?”

“Maybe I got reason to think Langston isn’t dead,” Reno said, sliding his hands in the pockets of his leather coat.

Maddox quirked a brow. “Now you have my undivided attention. What makes you so sure he’s alive?”

“Let’s just say that after a little digging, there’s a guy who works at the crematorium who will tell you anything after six beers. The record was falsified and I think his lawyer had something to do with helping him out.”

“ Sonofabitch. Years ago, Langston got into a sticky situation where he needed help.”

“What kind of help?”

A motorcycle engine fired up and sped down the road, briefly catching their attention. Maddox sucked on his teeth for a second before answering. “He got drunk and hit another car, killing the guy. Let’s just say I got a reputation around this side of town for helping people in need. I took care of his problem—had the car launched off the side of a bridge to conceal some of the evidence because the idiot got out and tried to help the poor bastard, who was already dead. Fingerprints everywhere, not to mention the paint from his car. I gave Langston a new identity and his life back.”

“That’s what he was sending you payments for?”

Maddox smirked and looked up at the sky. “If that bastard is still alive, I’m going to kill him myself. No one skips out from owing me.”

Reno stepped in close. “Seeing how that personal loan could land you in a world of trouble, I’d suggest you cut your losses. I don’t want to hear about you showing up at the new business owner’s doorstep for payment due,” he said. “Let’s just say you’d be treading on my territory.” Reno knew how guys like Maddox operated and didn’t want him coming after Lexi.

Maddox dropped his hat on the ground. “Are you threatening me, boy?”

Reno’s lips curled in and he spoke through clenched teeth. “I’m not sugarcoating it. You fuck with anyone in my pack and I’ll take you out. How ’bout that?”

In a flash of magic, Maddox shifted and his clothes fell to the ground. Holy mother , he was a mountain lion. One of the biggest Reno had ever seen, with a muscular body and ravenous fangs. Shifting inside Breed establishments was against the rules, but they were on the streets where rules didn’t exist.

Reno pulled out his gun and aimed it at the wildcat. “Still feeling confident?”

My eyeballs felt like they were vibrating in my skull. The music buzzed like static against my skin, and reality began to feel like needles prickling my nerve endings.

I shouldn’t have drunk the Devil’s Eye.

As quick as I could, I made my way down the hall to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be sick or not, but a little water splashed on my face wouldn’t hurt. What I really wanted to do was wash off the makeup that was beginning to feel like a mask, hiding the monster beneath. Whatever was in that drink should be declared illegal.

“Yeah, but honey, I love a hard man,” a blonde said, reaching in her bra and arranging her breasts closer together. Once enough cleavage to crack walnuts was produced, she stretched her tank top lower and tucked it into her jeans.

“A Shifter like that is a waste of time. He looks like trouble, Nadine.”

The blonde cackled. “ I’m trouble. I bet his animal is a wolf by the way he sized up the room when he walked in. Did you notice that? I love a man in black boots—betcha anything he owns a bike. I’d love to ride him on that bike.”

I raised my brows, realizing they were talking about Reno. Nadine slid an ugly stare my way and I must have made a facial expression because she narrowed her beady little eyes. Ignoring her, I bent over the sink and turned on the cold water. The faucet squeaked and a gush of tap splashed against the porcelain sink.

“Come on, Chelsie. Let’s get out of here. Looks like someone’s mangy pet ran away. I wish they would ban those humans from Breed bars. It’s appalling how they get a free pass because of their slut collar.”

As much as I wanted to engage in an argument with her, it felt like my head was about to explode. Not to mention I’d learned not to mess with Shifters on a whim. It might have been against the rules for them to shift inside the bar, but sometimes rules got broken, and I didn’t have a clue how to fight a werebitch.

The click of their pointy heels against the tile faded away as they left the room. The cool water slid over my hands like liquid stars and I stared at it—mesmerized. Maddox had warned me about house specialties when it came to alcoholic drinks—most Breed bars served strong concoctions made from magic and unknown ingredients.

The next thing I knew, a hand was cupping my breast and a body pressed down over my back. My heart raced because Maddox had never put his hands on me that way.

I looked up in the mirror and saw Stu, the flannel shirt-clad Shifter with an overactive libido.

“Get off!” I yelled, elbowing him as hard as I could.

“’Zactly what I’m trying to do, little human.”

His hand slid down to my jeans and brushed over my zipper. My back stiffened and I tried to stand up, but he was too heavy. Maddox had warned me about overzealous rogues who had a thing for humans.

“Let go of me,” I demanded.

“Shhh.” He unlatched my button and settled his weight on me, pressing my stomach painfully against the edge of the sink.

That’s when things got fuzzy and survival instinct kicked in.

I rammed my elbow into his ribs twice. Stu grunted in pain and then corralled me into the corner stall. I tried to get around him, but he was crowding the door.

“I hear Devil’s Eye makes you horny,” he said. “Never tried that shit, but I’ve seen the aftermath.”

He reached out to touch me and I slapped his hand. Stu gave me a sardonic smile. “Look, I don’t want to have sex with a human,” he said. “That’s not my thing; I have standards. I just want to touch you. Maybe you can touch me back.”

“Maybe I can scream .” The last word trailed off into a scream. He lunged and covered my mouth, flipping me around and pushing me against the wall. His body pinned me until I had nowhere to go.