Capitol Kidnap: Urban Werewolf Book 1 Page 3

  ""Well, uh…" Naomi's voice caught, realizing she didn't know what to call him or any of them. "Can we start with names?"

  "Sorry, I'm Jeff," he said.

  "Ian," said the farm boy.

  "Marcus." Pretty boy's voice was so deep it sent a thrill through her.

  "Great and I'm Naomi. This is my house."

  "You want to show us around?" Jeff asked.

  "You guys want the official grand tour?" Naomi bit back a sigh. No wonder Mom had been pushing and pushing for her to come home this weekend. She had been trying to set Naomi up with one of these 'boys.'

  "Sure. Why not?" answered Ian the farm boy.

  "You'll have to forgive the mess. I didn't know anyone was coming over. " Naomi gestured to the couch and the lone coffee table. "So you've all seen the living room."

  "No TV?" Marcus asked. Of course the pretty boy would want TV.

  "Yeah, well, I usually have better things to do with my time. Like enjoy that river out my back door. I'd rather go out there and enjoy all the smells than the junk on TV." Naomi realized that she'd been a little harsh."You know, compared with the trashy romance novels that I usually read on the light rail." She pointed towards the kitchen where her mom was clearly frustrated with the lack of space. "Mom's taken over the kitchen or I'd show you all the great view out the kitchen sink. Now it's only a two-bedroom house, so we might be rolling out the air mattress in pulling out the hide-a-bed from the couch to make you guys comfortable."

  "I think were okay sleeping on the floor. Don't worry about us," Jeff, the skinny guy, said.

  "Okay, well thanks Jeff. This is the guest bedroom–or the yoga studio."

  "Yoga?" Ian, the farm boy, asked.

  "Yeah, you know, stretching and relaxing," Naomi said.

  "I know what it is, that is not something old women and hippies do?" Farm-boy was really starting to annoy her. Naomi needed her yoga to deal.

  "Ian. Don't you think that's a little rude?" Marcus said. "Sorry about him. Let's get on with the tour."

  "Here's the hall bathroom. Extra TP under the sink. Towels here in the hall closet. Extra blankets out here in the hall, too."

  "What's that one?" Ian asked. Naomi was starting to not like these men her mom had brought.

  "That's my bedroom and you better stay out of it." Naomi cringed at the thought of dirty clothes, bras, and underwear piled everywhere. That door was staying shut while they were here. Suddenly, Naomi was very grateful that Mindy had decided that her own apartment would be safer.

  As if you were reading her thoughts, just suddenly asked, "Why did your front step smell like vampire?"

  "I have no idea what you're talking about. Tour is over," Naomi snapped. "So, what do you all do for a living?" She herded them back towards the living room. She might only rent, but everything she had she had earned on her own. She doubted if any of them could say the same.

  "I work on the family's ranch," Ian said. Typical. She expected the rest of them to answer the same. If any of them had gone to any kind of school after high school, it was probably an associates in agricultural engineering or something similar.

  "Well, I just got my AA, I'm looking to get on somewhere and I just rolled with the University of Phoenix to get my bachelors," Marcus said. Bingo, but at least he was trying to get on with someone outside the family. Werewolves couldn't stay in their insulated little bubble forever.

  "Jeff, what about you?" she asked the nosy book case guy.

  "Naomi! Breakfast is ready!" her mother hollered from the dining room.

  "Let's go get some eggs," pretty-boy Marcus said. Mom had found her stash of chorizo, not just the bacon. The delicious smell of the sausage filled her nostrils with the spicy kick.

  "Now, what was your all-important bad news? It wasn't hurt by waiting."

  "Mom, I'd rather only tell you."

  "Don't be stupid. We're all wolves here. You can tell them anything." Naomi hesitated. Her mother frowned. "Out with it now."

  "Fine." If Mom wanted the truth in front of everybody, Naomi would give it to her. "I got a strange phone call yesterday. I thought maybe George or someone playing a joke… It wasn't. Bryan's missing. The people who called me, they said they had kidnapped him, that they would make an transform at the Capitol and kill him Monday at nine."

  "What!" Mom immediately started pacing. "This is bad news. We have to find your brother immediately."

  "It gets worse. Apparently he's not the only one they've kidnapped. I went with a… a… Someone that I can trust to investigate and she brought me to a friend of hers and he told me some vampire fledglings, a leprechaun, some changelings–that nine other people had disappeared."

  "Why would I care about those things? They are not wolves."

  "If they believe these things exist and start hunting down other nonhumans–what stops them from coming after us or starting to believe that we exist to hunt us down." When did her mom gets so jealous of their secret that she stopped considering others' secrets a threat to them?

  "All right, so Bryan's missing. What do we know about how he disappeared?"

  "On Thursday night he was running, hunting rabbits, that sort of thing. You know the moon so close, and he doesn't have any Friday classes I think they took him when he was changing back. I could smell his fear." Then she swallowed over the hard lump of fear in her own throat. She explained as best she could, leaving Mindy out of it. They took a minute to digest the information before they all started talking at once. Each one had a different theory about who could be hunting them down and how they could have known about Bryan.

  "Enough!" Naomi shouted trying to gain control. "Okay, so they think were freaks and they want to kill us, but they're using magic to do it. Doesn't anyone think that's strange? I mean that makes them freaks, too."

  "Don't be silly. There's enough Wiccan wannabes out there that witches have built in protection. We, on the other hand, do not," Jeff said. The nosy guy was actually talking sense. "Even the vampires might manage to blend in with all the vampire wannabes. The only thing in our favor is no one knows we exist and maybe, just maybe, we can stop him from finding out about us."

  "There was a woman's shoe prints at the scene?" her mother asked. Naomi nodded.

  "But no smells you actually recognized?"

  "No. I couldn't sort out any individual smells, just Bryan's. Too many people walked or biked down the path during the day. They covered everything up, I couldn't tell what scents were from the night before or that morning. The scents blended with his kidnapper's. I just…"

  "Naomi, it's okay."

  Naomi shook her head. It wasn't okay. Bryan was missing and she had to lie about Mindy and Mikey, but what else could she do? Mom couldn't decide that hunting down Bryan's lover and a vampire who didn't kill people would be her first priority after she found Bryan. Besides, for a vampire Mindy was actually somewhat nice. A little self-centered, but once you got past that she was actually a good friend.

  "I don't know where to go next," Naomi stammered. "What can we do other than–"

  "We go talk to his boyfriend and his classmates," Jeff said. "I do this for a living. It's kind of a good thing that I'm here. I'm a consultant for the Klamath Police Department. I'd be a private dick if there was more money in it." He winked at Naomi. "Working with the cops is a better gig, and being a consultant, I can keep the hours I want and not be stuck working the moon."

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THEY ALL CROWDED INTO HER mom's Explorer. She'd left the van for Dad and the kids. Marcus and Jeff blocked Naomi in from either side, they all pressed together uncomfortably in the backseat. Farm boy Ian claimed shotgun as he was the tallest.

  "Aunt Megan, can you turn up the air conditioner?" Marcus asked. Naomi couldn't believe he was serious. "It's pretty hot back here."

  "It's 103 outside. The A/C's up as high as it will go."

  "The car's not exactly brand-new either," Naomi said. She didn't bother to hide her irritation. "It takes a long time for
it cool down."

  "I know it doesn't usually get the hot up in Klamath," Mom said. "You'll just have to get used to it while you're here."

  Naomi's phone vibrated between her and Marcus's thighs. He sighed. "Go ahead and answer the damn thing." She wriggled out of her pocket rubbing against Marcus uncomfortably.

  "Who's Aaron?" Jeff asked before she could reject the call.

  "No one." The phone vibrated again in her hand.

  "Naomi, don't be rude. Answer the phone," Mom said.

  Naomi obediently answered. She felt like a young pup doing as she was told.

  "Hey Naomi," Aaron said.

  "Hi Aaron." Naomi chewed her lip.

  "I missed you at the gym last night." Aaron's voice filled the car. With their hearing, no one could miss what he said.

  "Oh, well, I… uh – I had a – uh – family emergency."

  "What's wrong? Should I come over and –"

  "So there is a human male," Mom said. Heat rose in waves to Naomi's face.

  "No, no, I don't need you to come over." Naomi try to be as firm as she could. "It's just–well, my brother Bryan pulled a disappearing act, but he's–"

  "The gay one?" Aaron asked.

  Mom clicked her tongue and her heart rate shot through the roof. She was pissed. Naomi swallowed hard. She needed to end this call quick before Mom got any madder. No telling what Mom would do to her so close to the moon.

  "Yeah, the gay one," Naomi said. "Look, I'm kind of busy, the whole family's together right now. This isn't really a good time."

  "Okay, I'm here for you if you need any help." Naomi thanked him and hung up.

  "So why did you lie to me about there being a man in the picture?"

  "He might be interested, but I'm not," Naomi said. Interested in lying to him, she finished silently. She just didn't want to date a human against and have to lie to him about the moon. It hadn't worked out well in college. Mom was silent. Naomi wondered if she caught the lie. Her mom was like a lie detector. She could always tell when Naomi lied, which made Naomi nervous about lying, which made it easier for her to spot the lie. Naomi still didn't know if it was from being an alpha or from being a mom. The air was stifling. She swallowed hard and pretended not to notice how awkward Aaron's call had been in a car full of men her mom had brought here just for her. Naomi felt hotter than ever.

  "So, how are we going to find all of Bryan's classmates?" Ian asked, breaking the awkward silence.

  "We have to start with his boyfriend. He'll know who Bryan studies with and where to go from there," Jeff said.

  "We have to be careful so he doesn't get suspicious," Mom said.

  Naomi shifted in her seat. She doubted Mike understood that her mom might kill him as soon as his usefulness was over, just for knowing that Bryan wasn't human. She moved her phone low and tried to cover it with her hand.

  "Quit wiggling," Marcus said. His whining was really starting to get on her nerves, even if he was cute.

  "What are you doing?" Her mom glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

  "Nothing. I wanted to text Mike. Make sure he's home."

  "Don't lie to me, young lady."

  Damn. Alpha-mom lie detector was definitely in full swing.

  "Alright, fine. I just…" Damn. Naomi didn't have any choice. "Mike knows what we are. Bryan told him."

  "What?" her mother's voice rose into a shrill shout.

  "How could he not? They live together. He can't disappear from his boyfriend's bed once a month without him being suspicious."

  "How can you be so careless with our secret?" Mom asked.

  "Bryan told him." Naomi looked down at her phone, avoiding the eyes staring at her in the rear view mirror.

  "How could you let him?"

  "I didn't…"

  Her mother kept driving in silence. "Look, Mike's a good guy. Bryan trusts him, and I don't see him spreading our secret. He understands keeping secrets and how dangerous it can be."

  "Naomi." Her mother's voice sent shivers through her.

  "I didn't tell him. I didn't make the decision to tell him and I didn't want to kill the man that makes my little brother happy." Naomi sighed. "I trust him. I trust Bryan's judgment. Maybe you should trust us more."

  "If one person knows, how many other people could find out?" Her mom paused, then switched gears. "Do any of your friends know?"

  "I haven't told anyone." It was true so far as it went. Mindy was the only one who knew. Her mom studied Naomi's face in the mirror. She slammed on the brakes hard.

  "Mom! You're driving!" Naomi shouted as she caught herself on the seat in front of her. They were lucky no one hit them.

  "I can stop the car if I want to," her mother's voice was icy cold.

  "Not on the freeway!" Naomi shouted.

  "So answer the question. Do any of your friends know?"

  A car horn blared as a car blew by so close the Explorer shook.

  "No one from work or the gym knows," Naomi said. She wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts and stared down.

  "Naomi," her mother growled. Naomi glanced up. Mom didn't even have the hazards on.

  "Fine. The girl who drove me last night knows."

  "How could you? A human couldn't understand – "

  "But she's not human." Naomi swallowed, trying to bite back her fear of being hit and her fear of her mother's wrath. "Mom, please just start driving."

  "That's why your front porch smelled like vampire," Jeff said.

  "A vampire? After we get Bryan back you are quitting your job and he will leave school and you will come back to live on our property. You will settle down with a mate of my choosing and–"

  "No," Naomi mumbled. She couldn't. She couldn't go back to live on the farm.That life would kill her.

  "What did you say?" Her mother asked softly. Her voice held a dangerous edge, but Naomi was done.

  "I can't." Naomi braced herself for the backlash, but none came. Her mother just stared at her. Naomi shifted uncomfortably. The car sat still on the freeway. "Pease start driving before you get us all killed."

  "Oh, I'll start driving all right. Right after you tell me what you're doing with a vampire."

  "I went out to a club once and noticed the bartender was a vampire. She noticed me. I – I helped her that night, so she owed me," Naomi felt her tongue getting away from her. She just kept babbling to convince her mom that Mindy was on the up and up. "And she's not like you crazy vampire or even the vampires we get traveling through sometimes. She hasn't killed anyone in the last 50 years or so–"

  "How do you know?"

  "She owns a nightclub that serves the human population. Her club's less dangerous than the bigger clubs here in Sacramento," Naomi said. "Now please start driving."

  "You do not tell me what to do." Her mother turned towards Naomi. "After we get this taken care of then I'll–"

  "No." Naomi was as startled as her mother by her second refusal. Her mouth seemed to go without her mind controlling it. It was the moon's pull on her, it had to be. "You can't kill Mikey, it would break Bryan's heart. And Mindy… Mindy's actually good. Please Mom, just… just go back to Auburn. Bry and I will keep doing what we're doing."

  "I am your alpha and you will obey me."

  Her mother's voice sent a tremor through her, but Naomi's mouth just kept going.

  "I don't live with you anymore. I live here. Please, Mom, I'd die if I had to go back to the farm." Marcus inched away from Naomi as if she might be contagious.

  "You think you're an alpha. You think you can…" her mom droned on.

  Naomi didn't want to be ordered around like an obedient little slave any more. She'd always done what her mom said, except for going to school, which had been the guidance counselor's suggestion. Naomi clenched her fist so tight that her phone cracked in her grip.

  "Are you growling at me?" her mother said. "That's it. We are settling this right here and now young lady."

  "Maybe we should take the next exit," farm boy said as an
other car swerved around them.

  "We're almost there," Mom snarled.

  "We're at a dead stop on the freeway," Jeff said. "Why don't you let me drive?"

  Mom was shaking her head. "I'm fine."

  "Please mom," Naomi said. "We'll talk later, where it's safe, but not here."

  "We are not made to live in the city. I let you have a dangerous experiment. Now I'm ending it."

  "I can't hide in the hills any more!" Naomi's heart pounded. She blinked hard, trying to keep her vision clear. She wouldn't cry. She'd rather… she'd rather fight her mom than admit defeat.

  "It's worked for centuries. Why not for you?" Mom unbuckled her seat belt.

  Naomi dropped the phone and dug her nails deep into her palms. cry. How dare Mom try to control her like this? She could feel her patience or something else inside her about to snap. She wouldn't cry. She couldn't obey anymore. She needed to be in control of her own life. Her heart beat changed, becoming an angry drum in her ears. She needed to protect Mikey. Protect Bryan, even protect Mindy.

  Suddenly, Jeff grabbed Naomi's thigh and her face.

  "What the–?" He forced his mouth over hers. Her mom growled from the front seat. Naomi jerked away, elbowing Marcus in the ribs. He grunted. She slapped Jeff, but the kiss had served it's purpose. The fight with her mother was ended, for now.

  "Enough," Jeff said, touching the red hand print she'd left on his face. "Ian can drive the rest of the way. Please switch now." Ian and Mom switched wordlessly. The rest of the drive passed in silence. Naomi texted Mike that they were on their way, what they'd need, and to be careful of her mom.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  WHEN THEY PARKED, MIKE WAS already in the parking lot worrying a piece of paper in his hands. The smell of his fear was heavy in the air. He looked like prey and was careful to stay to the driver's side of the van once he spotted Mom. Maybe Bryan had warned him about their mom after all.

  "Here's the list of classmates," he said. His voice shook. He thrust the paper into Naomi's hand and practically glued himself to her side. He'd met her before and clearly trusted her to protect him from her mother. His eyes darted between the three other men towering above him.