Moon Captured Read online

  “I guess.”

  My phone beeped. There was another call coming through. I glanced at the screen. It was work.

  “Crap. My work is calling. I should probably answer. Can I call you back later?”

  “Yeah, sure. No problem. I just wanted to call and see how you were doing. Glad you’re okay. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

  “Thanks. I’ll talk to you soon,” I said before swapping over to the other line. “Hello?”

  “Are you planning on coming into work today?” Pamela whispered on the other end.

  “What are you talking about? I wasn’t on the schedule for today.”

  “Yeah, you were, Sugar. Remember, you switched shifts with Sable last week. She needed the day off because of something with her kid, and you said you’d switch shifts with her.”

  My heart dropped to my stomach. “Shit! I remember that now. Is Leon having a cow yet because I’m not there?”

  “No, not yet. But, he already said he’s giving you fifteen more minutes. If you don’t show, you’re fired,” Pamela said. “Figured I’d call and see what was up. Remind you, if need be.”

  “I’m glad you did, otherwise I’d be jobless.” I headed to the dresser and set my plate down so I could rummage through the drawers for something to wear.

  “Get here as soon as you can. I’ll try to stall him.”

  “Thanks, Pamela. You’re a lifesaver,” I said as I squeezed into a pair of jeans.

  “Thank me if you still have a job when you get here,” she said before she hung up.

  I reached for a clean T-shirt next, praying I’d be in time. I needed this damn job.

  9

  I made it to Rosemary’s Diner with five minutes to spare if I was going by Leon’s fifteen minute rule. Tate had come with me, per Eli’s request. Staring at me while I worked should come naturally to him by now. When I used to meet Alec here, Tate would sit at the corner table and stare at me while eating a burger and fries. It used to get on my nerves. However, today it was welcome.

  When I entered the diner, I walked straight to the coffee pot and picked it up. Pamela winked at me.

  “Good call reaching for the coffee pot. I already clocked you in. Just keep on actin’ like you’ve been here awhile,” she said with a smile.

  I lifted the coffee pot into the air. “Done and thank you!”

  “You’re welcome, sweetie.”

  I made my rounds, filling everyone’s coffees while blatantly ignoring Tate in the corner. Twenty minutes passed before Leon noticed I’d arrived.

  “Nearly fired your butt,” he grumbled.

  “I know I was late. I’m sorry,” I said.

  I moved to wipe down the table closest to me, making myself look busy and hard at work. I really needed this job. Eli didn’t make much working at the bar. Even though I knew Bobby would help us out if we needed it—the same went for anyone in the pack—I didn’t want to have to ask. I wanted us to be able to support ourselves. It meant a lot to me. Maybe I was too prideful. All I knew was there was a good feeling that came with being able to pay your own way and standing on your own two feet.

  “It better not happen again. This is your final warning,” Leon insisted. “I don’t take kindly to people wastin’ my time. And that’s exactly what you being late is to me—a big fat waste of time. If you can’t make it to work when you’re supposed to, you need to find a job somewhere else. Understood?” he asked, waving a finger in my face.

  “Yes, sir.”

  My words were said through gritted teeth. His finger in my face was uncalled for, so was his nasty tone. I’d apologized. What more did he want from me?

  My wolf didn’t like his attitude either. I bit my tongue and tried to settle her.

  “Head over to that table and take that boy’s order. He’s been sitting quite a while waiting for you to notice him. That is your section, is it not?”

  I knew who Leon was pointing to without having to look.

  “It is,” I said, hating the fact that I was going to have to wait on Tate. No doubt he would be an ass about it. An arrogant ass. That’s exactly what Tate Vargas was.

  I pulled my order pad out of my pocket and grabbed a pen before heading to his table. A wicked grin stretched across his face. His lips puckered together when I was a few feet away, and he made an annoying kissing noise.

  “I didn’t know you had it in you to be such an ass kisser,” he teased.

  I wanted to slap his smirk right off his face.

  “Oh, hush,” I snapped. I flashed him a nasty look, making sure my back was to Leon. I didn’t need to get on his bad side any more than I already was. “What do you want to eat? I already know you want a sweet tea.” I jotted down the words sweet and tea while I waited for him to answer.

  Tate leaned back in his chair, and he skimmed the laminated menu as though he didn’t already know what the place served by heart.

  “Hmmm,” he muttered. “Let me think.”

  “I don’t have all day. I have other customers to tend to. Hurry up.”

  He ignored me and continued to peruse the menu selection.

  “I think I’ll have the Big Time Breakfast,” he said.

  I rolled my eyes. “You know it’s after eleven. We’ve stopped serving breakfast already.”

  “Right. In that case, I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger. Double the bacon. And, give me an order of fries.”

  “The usual, then. Sure. Coming right up.” I scribbled down his order and headed toward the kitchen. I’d barely made it three steps away from his table before someone entered the diner.

  “Mina!” the woman shouted.

  I glanced at her. She looked familiar, but at the same time, she didn’t. Her hair seemed disheveled and her skin paler than the last time I’d seen her. Blood was smeared across her face, and it stained her clothes. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, and it looked as though she’d ran a great distance barefoot. Through the woods maybe.

  “Mina Ryan!” she shouted as she stumbled away from the door. Her eyes locked with mine, and in an instant I knew who she was—Lucy Appleton, the woman who’d been attacked last night by Roman outside the Caraway Inn. “I-I have a message for you.” Her words were low, barely audible, but I was able to pick up on what she was saying easily with my werewolf hearing.

  I stepped to where she stood, swaying on her feet. Tate was at my side in seconds.

  “Lucy? How did you know I was here? What happened? What message do you have for me?” My voice was low. I didn’t want those around us—all the humans—to hear our conversation because I knew it would have to do with Roman. He was who the message was from, I was positive.

  My heart grew sluggish. What did he want?

  “You’re next,” Lucy whispered.

  Her eyes rolled back into her head, and all of the breath inside her lungs expelled in a final push before she fell to the floor.

  “Lucy!” I bent down to press my index and middle finger to the area beneath her jaw bone, feeling for a pulse. I felt nothing. “Someone call nine-one-one!”

  I lifted her chin and began performing compressions on her chest. It wasn’t something I’d ever done before. Heck, I wasn’t even sure I was doing it right, but there was no one around to tell me different. Everyone seemed locked in a state of fear. Sweat built across my brow as I tried to think back to the class I’d taken as a freshman in high school. I couldn’t remember the placement of where my hands were supposed to be or how many breaths I was supposed to give into her open mouth. My heart hammered against my rib cage. I blinked as I continued pumping on her chest and counting out breaths. Doing something was better than nothing until the paramedics arrived. That’s what I told myself at least.

  “Breathe for her,” Tate insisted. He’d knelt beside me. “I’ll pump. You count and breathe for her.”

  His hands took over and I did as I was told, praying we’d be able to bring Lucy back to life.

  Minutes passed and nothing happened. She didn’t gasp for b
reath like in the movies. Her eyes didn’t open. Her heart didn’t start beating.

  She was gone. Dead. Another victim taken by the Midnight Reaper. Another victim of Roman’s.

  Tate’s eyes shifted to mine as he leaned back onto his heels. He removed his hands from her chest and shook his head.

  “Is she? Oh my,” Pamela gasp.

  Murmurs floated through Rosemary’s Diner.

  “I’m going to step outside for a second. I need to call Eli,” Tate said. He pulled himself into a standing position in one fluid motion and bolted for the door.

  Unease shifted through my core. I couldn’t believe Lucy was dead.

  My gaze drifted over her. She hadn’t deserved to die. Especially not by someone like Roman. My throat grew tight. She’d been a pawn in his sick game.

  My hand reached out to close her eyes. As I did, I made a silent promise that I’d make sure Roman never hurt anyone again. In fact, I’d see to it personally.

  His game was over.

  10

  “I think Eli should set up a meeting. Everyone should be there. The pack. The Caraways. The Montevallos. All of them should be present because this concerns us all,” I told Tate after I’d clocked out at Rosemary’s.

  The diner was being shut down due to Lucy’s death. Rosemary’s was now considered a crime scene—one connected to the Midnight Reaper killings.

  “You should call Eli back and tell him to gather everyone,” I said.

  “Okay, but I don’t see why you don’t tell him yourself. Aren’t you headed to the bar to sit with him while he works?” Tate asked. He walked with me through the parking lot. While he was talking to me, his attention was elsewhere. He was skimming the area for Roman.

  “I’m not going to sit at Eli’s work.” I climbed into my car and cranked the engine.

  “What? Where are you going then? Home?”

  I didn’t answer. Instead, I flew out of the parking lot and gunned it toward a place I hadn’t been to in what felt like forever.

  Tate didn’t follow. I hadn’t given him the option.

  Eli would most likely have his head, but I needed a break. I needed to go somewhere I knew no one would be so I could properly decompress. The woods behind the trailer park hadn’t been safe in a long time.

  My hands gripped the wheel tight as I barreled down the street, hoping I remembered how to get where I was going. It had been dark the one time I’d been taken.

  I reached out and flipped on the radio, then turned up the volume. A song I barely knew blasted through the speakers. Sometimes those were the best songs because there was no need to sing along. Instead, you were able to focus on the lyrics or become lost in the beat. I’d always thought of music as a Band-Aid for the soul. It helped heal even the largest of wounds if only you allowed it to touch you.

  And the song playing, it touched me.

  Tears tracked down my cheeks as I listened to the lyrics of a girl just trying to hold on to her sanity. The words resonated with me on multiple levels. I was a tough girl, but I could only handle so much. Seeing yet another innocent person die in front of me had pushed me over the edge.

  I cut a hard right and turned onto a gravel road I remembered. It led to the pond I was trying to get to. Images of the first time I’d been brought here flooded my mind.

  It had been late. I was riding in Alec’s truck with him. My mind had been focused on how I would let him down easy and break things off because I’d imprinted with Eli. Alec had been so sweet that night, same as always. He’d brought me to this pond with the intention of us spending time together and possibly teaching me how to fish. Both had happened, and the night hadn’t ended the way either of us expected.

  I’d told Alec what I was.

  It was the first time in my life I’d ever admitted to a human that I was a werewolf. I thought it would change his view of me, as well as the world, but it hadn’t. Not entirely anyway. I’d learned Alec had already known about my kind. He’d suspected what I was for a while, and it didn’t scare him. Instead, it fascinated him.

  While the night hadn’t been ideal because I did end up breaking things off with him, it had stuck with me. So had the pond. It was too bad the entire memory had been erased from Alec’s mind because it would forever be tattooed on mine.

  The pond came into view, and I cut the engine of my car. I stayed inside, staring out at the water while I thought over everything that had happened since that night. Regina. Finding my mom. Barely having enough time to catch my breath before the Midnight Reaper crap with Lilith and Roman started.

  More tears tracked down my cheeks.

  How were we going to catch Roman? Nothing we’d done had been successful. Everyone had been pitching in to help, but all we had going for us were the searches. We had no other plan. Roman was tricky, smooth, and always one step ahead of us.

  We’d need a miracle to catch him. That and a damn good plan.

  I popped my car door open and strolled to the water. I sat down in the brittle grass and stared out at the pond. The scent of wet earth made its way to my nose. I pulled a long stalk of grass free from the ground and twisted it around my index finger on repeat. This place definitely wasn’t the lake, but it would do. It was a reboot of sorts. Nature always seemed to do that for me. It was quiet here, peaceful, which was exactly what I needed.

  And a plan.

  I needed a plan. One that would allow us to capture Roman before anyone else got hurt. Including me. We needed to get his attention somehow since we hadn’t had any luck finding him during our searches. If we got his attention, he would come to us.

  The question was: How were we supposed to get his attention?

  We could use me as bait.

  The words popped into my head, but I knew Eli wouldn’t go for it. However, it did make the most sense. Roman wanted me. He’d said so in one way or another more than once.

  Using me as bait made perfect sense.

  Dorian would back me up. He would see that it was the best option. Some of the others from the pack might too. We all wanted Roman caught, and this was one way of doing it. Besides, I’d rather be in danger than anyone else.

  My conversation with Ridley at the coffee spot inside the library overtook my mind. Guilt for having asked her to serve as bait surfaced. I’d hated placing her in that position. It hadn’t worked out and she’d been taken, placing her in even more danger than she had been already.

  That wouldn’t happen this time. No one would be in danger besides me. And I could handle myself. After all, this wasn’t my first rodeo. I’d been bait before with Regina’s vampire goons back when the Hopkins boys had been hunting my pack.

  I pulled in a deep breath through my nose and then slowly exhaled. After a few more measured breaths, I headed back to my car. When it rumbled to life, I shifted into reverse and pulled away from the pond. I silently thanked Alec for once upon a time taking me to his second favorite place.

  As I made a mental note to call or text him and Becca to see how they were doing, my cell chimed with a new text. I ignored it. There was no doubt in my mind it was Eli. When it rang a few seconds later, I let it go to voicemail. I already knew what he would say. He would ask where I was and then scold me for having left Tate behind—especially after everything that had happened with Lucy at the diner.

  My foot pressed the gas harder. I turned toward home. Eli would get answers soon enough. In the meantime I focused on the road while struggling to come up with another idea besides me being used as bait in case more than Eli disagreed.

  Nothing else came to mind.

  My teeth sank into my bottom lip. There had to be another way to get to Roman. Something less dangerous.

  A vehicle riding too close to the ass of my car caught my attention in my rearview mirror. What was this guy’s problem? I shifted my eyes between the road and the car, trying to figure out who it was. The car didn’t look familiar. I fixed on the person behind the wheel. It was a male with dark hair and piercing eyes.
>
  Roman.

  My breath hitched in my throat. Shit! Had he followed me from Rosemary’s or just Alec’s pond? I hadn’t been paying attention to my surroundings as much as I should have been.

  I was so stupid.

  Roman could have followed me from the diner. He could have done horrible things to me while I was at the pond miles away from anyone. He could have attacked me and finished sucking me dry and no one would have known.

  So then why hadn’t he?

  The answer was easy—he planned on toying with me first.

  I pressed the gas harder. The trailer park wasn’t too far away. I could make it there. I knew these roads better than he did. That was the one advantage I had at the moment. My fingers gripped the wheel tighter as we came to a sharp curve. There wasn’t a street sign to warn drivers about it anymore. Someone had knocked it down years ago, and the town hadn’t bothered to put it back up. I gassed it around the corner. My tires squealed, but I stuck it out having committed the bend to memory long ago. I glanced in my rearview mirror and noticed when Roman got a little squirrelly.

  A smirk twisted my face.

  For a moment he was out of my sight. I thought I’d lost him, but then he was back. His car nearly kissed the bumper of my car. When I was one street away from the trailer park, he backed off. I watched as he cut a left onto Walnut View Street. I hesitated, wondering if I should make a U-turn and follow him. Probably not the best idea, but I hated seeing him get away again. My wolf nudged me toward home and I listened. She knew as well as I did that going after Roman blindly would only result in us getting hurt.

  Eli’s truck was in our driveway as well as Rowena’s white SUV. A baby blue car pulled into the trailer park behind me. I recognized it as Julian’s. Tate must have done as I said and told Eli to call a meeting with everyone. He must have told Eddie he needed to go home too. Good. Now we could figure out how to capture Roman. Now we could form a plan.

  I pulled in behind Eli’s truck and cut the engine of my car. My stomach rolled as I thought of facing Eli. He was going to be pissed at me for what I’d done.