Night Walker's Woman Ch. 06

It was not a task he wanted or would enjoy, but it was one that must be done nonetheless. Now that the thing had her scent, it would be back. Again and again. It would not give up. And Rex could not, would not, allow anything to happen to her. Not now...not ever.

Of course, he was not looking forward to the fight that was too come with the breaking dawn. When she saw his Grandfather drive up with the horse trailer in tow, he knew that all the running into his arms, just being held and holding on tightly in return would fly out the window...fast. He would have to fight her as much as the Chupacabra in order to keep them safe. But he had an ace up his sleeve and he was not ashamed to use it. His mate, his Mitawa Naya, would do anything...anything...to keep her daughter safe.

***

Jaycee came awake slowly. She smiled as she looked at her daughter curled up next to her, soft brown curls askew across the pink pillow case. She sighed half convinced that it had all been nothing more than a nightmare. A very bad nightmare. One she could never forget. The sight of that 'thing' with Blu's neck in its jaw.

It, whatever it was, was the ugliest, scariest thing she had ever seen. In some ways, it looked like another dog or perhaps a coyote. But it was much larger than dog or coyote she had ever seen or even heard of. It was closer in size to Angel's pony. But that was not the worst part. It was completely hairless. Well, excepts for a couple of tuffs of thick hair that looked almost like a porcupine's quills that stood up straight on its prominent back bone. Its eyes...even in the dark of the barn, they glowed...yellow. It was like nothing she had ever seen.

Which was why it simply had to be a nightmare. A bad one. But a different kind of nightmare than her usually one of losing Angel that had haunted her since that first seizure. Those she was used to. Whether the one where she was looking for her daughter in thick banks of fog, crying out for her, hearing her call back but never able to reach her...or the one where she awoke to her daughter's cold, blue, lifeless body next to her own.

The thought of that made Jaycee reach out her hand and brush her child's forehead. Even though she could see the pink tinge in her cheeks and even watch the soft rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, something inside of her forced her to touch her just to be sure that she was still warm...still alive. Even when Angel frowned and turned over in her sleep, shying away from the caress, still the compulsion was there...just to be absolutely sure. She knew it was crazy, perhaps the past few years as her ex Sean claimed had destroyed her sanity. But she was certainly not going to admit it to the man or anyone else. She was not going to give him grounds to take the only thing that mattered to her...her daughter.

She blushed then as she remembered the other part of that dream...him. Rex Ranger. He had been in it too. He had come when she called...no questions asked. And he had held her. She had felt safe in his arms. But she knew that was just a dream too. There was only one person she could count on...herself.

She bit back guilt then. That had not been true either. Hector was there too...in her dream. He had showed up just as that thing had taken its first step towards her. He had his shot gun too. He had gotten off a couple of rounds. One she swore had hit the thing in its shoulder but she must have been wrong because the thing had not so much flinched. Instead it had stood there, its back growing even bigger if that was possible. Then it had let out the most unearthly howl she had ever heard before bounding off through the open barn door...right past the two of them.

She shook her head. Coffee. She needed a nice cup of hot, black coffee. That would put everything to right. She stood up and stretched. She frowned. She was still in her dusty jeans and t-shirt from yesterday. She never went to bed fully dressed. Well, not in a while. She had done that very thing for months after Angel's first seizure.

She had been so frightened that she wanted to ready...should her daughter have another one during the night. But she had stopped doing that once they were given the emergency medication and told not to bring her to the hospital unless they could not get the seizure to stop. After using the medicine a couple of times and the seizures stopping almost immediately, she had relaxed a bit, taken back to wearing nightgowns, though not the sexy, see-through things that Sean liked.

Maybe that had been another reason for the divorce? Not that she cared. She did not need him, she rarely even thought about her ex anymore. Other than when he instigated another court proceeding. It was always the same thing though...he wanted more custodial rights over Angel, which was ironic given that he rarely took advantage of the ones he had already, cancelling more visits than he kept. And, of course, less money, less child support. That was the real thing. Sean loved two things...money and power. He always had. More than he ever loved her or their child.

She stretched her too tired and stiff muscles. Her back hurt. Probably from the way that she had slept. A single Princess canopy bed was not made for two people. Coffee. That would put everything to right in this world...not thoughts of ex-husbands or creatures in the night or seizures. She bent and kissed Angel's forehead. Then she headed into the kitchen.

There was almost a full pot of fragrant coffee. See, everything was right with the world, she had even remembered to set the timer on the damned thing. All just another bad dream, she thought as she poured some into her favorite cup, the extra-large one. She cupped the mug lovingly between both hands as she headed out to the front porch. That was her favorite place to drink her morning coffee, watching the sun come up. On those rare mornings like this one when she woke up before Angel that was.

She frowned as she threw open the front door. The sun was higher in the sky than it should be...much higher. By the looks of it, it was mid-morning...nine at least, probably closer to ten. But that was not all that was wrong. There was an unfamiliar truck sitting in the driveway. With a horse trailer attached.

Panic rose inside of her. Something must have happened. They had come for the horses. Why had Rex not warned her? Because no matter what he says, a career is more important than a few stolen kisses. Hadn't Sean taught her that lesson well enough? If her ex's career came before her or even their sick child, then of course this stranger owed her no loyalty.

She took a deep swig of the coffee, even though it burned her tongue and throat. She would need the caffeine jolt for whatever battle lay ahead. She had started down the steps just as she saw him emerge from the barn with one of the thoroughbreds on a halter. Her heart froze behind her breastbone for a moment. Not warning her was one thing, but coming to take the horses himself only deepened the betrayal. Although why she should care was not something she wanted to think about.

She charged across her front yard, coffee sloshing over the sides of the cup, but she barely registered the pain of the scalding burn. "What do you think you are doing, Mister Ranger?" she demanded as they met face-to-face near the open back of the trailer.

He stared at her. His handsome face was devoid of the smile that she had come accustomed to. He was all business and she read the determined set of his mouth. It was a side of him that she had seen lately, not since their first couple of meetings. She planted her feet firmly apart as if daring him to pass her. She wanted to put her hands on her hips but the cup of coffee she was holding prevented that. She thought for half of a second about throwing the damned thing right in his face. "I said...what are you doing?" she demanded in an even louder voice.

***

Even knowing that this battle was inevitable, Rex did not relish it. He did not like arguing with her. Those lips were meant for kissing, not fighting. But the longer he delayed the inevitable, likely the worse it would be. Besides the sooner they were on the road and away from this place, the better he would like it.

He was tired and on edge. The scent of that monster taunted him, a constant memory of what might have been...all that he could have lost. He had not slept at all last night. Even once the sheriff left, he and Hector had dug a hole to bury the dog. Blu, he remembered its name at last. He knew that the dog's death would upset Angel, but he did not want the child seeing what had happened to her pet. Then together with Lupe, he had soothed Jaycee...convincing her that they would handle everything. That she needed to get a couple of hours sleep at least. For Angel's sake.

For Angel's sake. That was his ace card in all this, he reminded himself. "I am packing the horses up," he stated the obvious.

"I can see that. But why? Why have you suddenly changed your mind about me fostering them until my client's case comes to court?"

He frowned, "After last night, well..."

He watched the color drain from her face. It went from angry and animated to pale and frightened. He watched the cup drop from her trembling fingers. He saw her knees begin to buckle and dropped the horse's reigns without thought. He reached out for her arms just in time to keep her from falling into a puddle in the dusty dirt driveway. Those big eyes of hers stared up into his, "I thought it was all a nightmare," she whispered.

Rex cursed under his breath. He preferred her angry and fighting mad to this. It brought all those feelings of guilt and failure crashing back on him. He inhaled deeply trying to clear his mind but the smell if the evil that was haunting them still hung in the air like miasma that he could not shake. He needed to get them away from this place...now. And that was what he said without preamble, "I am taking you and Angel some place where I can keep you safe."

She shook her head and opened her mouth to protest, but Rex was in no mood for arguing. He wanted out of there, had wanted for hours but not enough to wake her. One of them needed a few hours' sleep that was for sure...given what had happened, given the danger they faced even now.

"I do not want to argue with you, Mitawa Naya. If you will not do this for yourself...for me...then do it for Angel. What if that thing last night had come after you? What if it had broken your neck and torn out your throat instead of Blu's? What then? What would become of Angel? Who would have taken care of her then? Your ex? Would he have given up everything to make sure she has the best care possible the way you have?"

Rex knew he was being tough on her...too tough. He might even be destroying some of the fragile trust that they had built up these past couple of weeks. He might regret this later. But he was tired, on edge, and all he wanted right now was to get his family as far from this place as possible.

He hated himself even more, when she dropped her head, but not quickly enough that he did not see the unshed tears glistening in her eyes. He felt too the fight leave her body as her shoulders slumped beneath his fingertips. But she nodded and when she finally spoke after a moment, it was a soft whisper, "What can I do to help?"

He smiled though even that was strained. "Grandfather and I can manage the horses and Angel's pony. You pack whatever the two of you need. We leave as soon as she wakes up."

"For how long?" she asked, looking back up at him with those unshed tears.

He shook his head and gave her the only answer he had, "Take anything and everything she needs, Jaycee. Or might possibly want. Because you are not coming back here...not until I can be certain it is safe." And likely not even then, he thought but dared not give her that much of the truth. They were his now...his responsibility...his to protect and care for. And never again would he be so far from them when they needed him. When they were in danger.

He could see that she wanted to argue once again, but she did not. Instead she simply nodded her head and turned silently back towards the house. He wanted to go after her. Hold her close in his arms as he had last night. But he knew that he could not. Not now anyway. She did not want his comfort now. And he had more pressing matters as he grabbed the horse's reigns and saw his Grandfather leading the stallion from the barn.

He had things to do...to make them safe...or as safe as he could with that 'thing' stalking them. Because one thing he knew beyond a doubt...it would find them again. Once a Chupacabra had a scent there was nowhere safe. But next time he faced it...it would be on his terms.