Moonlit Beasts Ch. 02

Jo sat on the sofa silently, staring deeply into her cup of cocoa. Em had just left after stopping by for their regular movie night on Friday. All around her, Jo could hear the sounds of the other apartment tenants.

Shouts from room 401 upstairs (a married couple in need of some serious therapy); soft thumping from room 308 beside her (a relatively young couple that had just moved in a few months ago); the sound of a violin wafting up from room 207 directly below her.

Just your average night at the Reve Apartment Complex. Jo took a long sip of her cocoa before taking a deep breath. It had been a week since she had last seen Tanner, but for some reason, she couldn't get him out of her mind.

Nor could she get the recent news out of her mind. Over the course of the week, three new bodies had been found. Each mutilated like the first two found after her night out with Em. Perhaps it really was some sort of beast. But then again, the police had yet to come any closer to catching the perpetrator. The case was becoming cold.

The only new shred of evidence had been that each of the victims were part of some sort of underground society called The Silver Bullets. They each bore identical tattoos on their right biceps, each in the shape of a lupine paw print.

So far, the police had narrowed down that this was most likely a turf war between two prominent gangs in the city. The only problem, the police couldn't pin any evidence on The Loup, the other gang.

Jo shook her head of such thoughts. Best not to dwell on such negativity right before bed. She stood, making her way into the kitchen. After rinsing out her chocolate-coated mug in the sink and placing it into the wash basin, Jo grabbed her phone and headed to the bedroom.

Plunking down onto the bed, Jo stared at the ceiling, contemplating her next decision. With a deep breath, she pulled up her phone, dialing the number Tanner had left her.

"Hello?" The cheery voice sounded on the other end after the first ring.

"Hey, Tanner. It's Jo. Is this a bad time?"

There was a muffled shout from the other end of the phone. "No. No. It's a perfect time. I was beginning to think that you didn't enjoy my company at that bar the other night." Another muffled shout, as if he kept covering the microphone. "That would never happen." Jo couldn't help the smile forming at her lips. She sat up, curling her knees towards her chest.

"Hey, sorry if this isn't cool to ask, but did you hear about those guys on the television? The ones they found in the alleys?" No answer on the other end. Only the sharp intake of breath. "I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay, you know?"

Tanner's voice was low. "I'm fine. You should probably stay in your house at night. Something is going on that I'm not sure about. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you, Jo." A knock sounded at her front door. "Hey, hold on a minute. It's probably just Em." She stood, phone still in hand, and made her way to the front door.

Checking out of the small peephole, Jo saw nothing. She opened her door, peeking out into the hallway. "Hello?" No reply came. "Whatever. Hey, you still there?" Jo called into the phone, pushing the door shut in front of her. A leg stopped her from shutting it.

With great strength, two men shouldered open the door, stepping into the room. Jo stood frozen to the spot. "Who are you? What are you doing in my apartment?"

The first man made no sound as the second looked Jo up and down. His gaze rested on her scarred hand. "It's her. You need to come with us."

"I don't think so. You need to leave, now."

Jo steeled her fingers round her cell. "Then the hard way." The first man made to grab her. Jo kicked her leg out, hitting him square in the patella, before turning to run into her room. Quickly, she shut and locked the door, hoping to God that that would buy her some time.

Tanner's voice sounded from the cell in her hands. Jo covered the receiver before taking refuge in her closet. "Tanner?" she kept her voice low, begging for the intruders to not be able to hear her. "Tanner, please, get help. These guys...they're trying to get to me...please get help." She pleaded into the phone, praying that her dying battery allowed her message to be heard.

"Jo? Jo, stay where you are! I'll be right there!" She whispered her address into the phone. "Room 307...please hur-" Her phone cut out before she could finish. Pounding sounded in the door leading into her bedroom before the door blew open.

The second man entered the room, followed by the first. Jo clamped a hand across her mouth in an attempt to muffle her breathing. "We know you're here, girl. Better for you if you just come out. Come on out, and we promise not to hurt you." The floor creaked as the first man knelt to check under the bed. The second man checked outside of the window. He turned around, eyes floating over the room. "Not too many places for you to hide. Come out, come out, where ever you are."

His dark eyes met the closet door. "Kev. The door." He inclined his head to his partner before motioning to the closet. The first man, Kev, strode over to her hiding spot. Jo quickly receded deeper into the closet until her back hit the wall. Slowly, almost painfully so, Kev's hand wrapped around the door knob, turning it with a click.

The light from the room slowly filtered in, shining over Jo's figure. Kev reached his hand out, roughly grabbing Jo by her front collar. "Be careful. He wants her unharmed. We need her alive after all." The second man slowly exited the room, only to be thrown back into the room with a great force that sent him flying. He hit the wall, sending cracks running through the plaster.

Kev wrapped his arm around Jo's middle, pulling out a hidden dagger. He pressed the blade to the small of his hostage's back. "Scream, or do anything funny, and I'll forget about my orders." Jo's eyes grew wider as a few tears fell down her cheeks. She kept her eyes pinned to the doorway as a familiar man with emerald eyes entered the room.

Tanner's hands were clenched in fists at his side. "Let her go. You saw what happened to Jax." His eyes stared daggers at the unconscious man against the wall. "It would be a shame for it to happen to you." He shifted his gaze towards Kev, silently daring him to engage.

"I've got the girl now, Tan. I call the shots. And he wants her for himself. She has the mark, you know what that means." Jo watched as Tanner took a shuddering breath. His eyes met her own with an intensity she couldn't identify.

Do you trust me?

Jo blinked in surprise as she heard Tanner's voice seemingly in her ear, yet his lips never moved. The dagger bit into her skin slightly, drawing a slow trickle of blood upon her back. She hissed in pain, arching her back in an effort to get away from the blade. Her captor shifted his grip on her middle, trying to keep her from wriggling out of his grasp.

In a flash, Tanner was across the room, his fist gripped tightly around Kev's throat. Jo fell to the floor in a heap, unable to move from that spot, fright moving like ice through her veins.

"Be lucky I'm in a pleasant mood at the moment, Kev. Now, pick up your friend and go crawling back to your master. Tell him that she is mine, and that if I ever see his goons again, they're dinner." He threw the intruder across the room. Quickly, Kev grabbed Jax, slinging his unconscious partner over his shoulder and hustling out the door.

Tanner turned to face the trembling girl on the floor. "Jo...Jo, I'm right here...It's alright." He reached a hand out to stroke the tears from her face. Jo flinched back, scrambling away from her "savior", if you could call him that. Hurt flashed across Tanner's face before returning back to concern for the girl.

"It's alright. I won't hurt you." Once again, he reached out for her. She did not flinch back this time. Instead, she allowed him to scoop her into his strong waiting arms.

Jo rested her head against his shoulder, reveling in the sharp masculine scent of him. She snaked her arms around his neck and squeezed gently, eliciting a deep growl from Tanner's throat. "I've got you...No one can hurt you now, my precious Josette."

She vaguely registered that he had said her full first name, a name she had never told him. But her mind continued to swim as she fought against fainting.

In the end, she lost her battle, succumbing to the darkness as Tanner carried her from her apartment and to an awaiting vehicle.