"Thanks for the breakfast, guys. Have fun watching my building. I'm going to bed," Jo said cheerfully as Anders stopped the SUV in front of the large Victorian house that held her little one-bedroom apartment. The house had been split into five apartments years ago. Hers was small, and the building was run down, but it was also cheap and close to work and school, both of which were important considerations for a university student supporting herself.
"Yeah, sure, rub it in," Bricker said dryly, and she glanced up from undoing her seat belt to find he'd already slid out of the front seat and opened the back door for her. The man had lovely manners, she'd say that for him, but Jo had noticed that earlier in the summer. He, Decker, and Mortimer all had lovely manners. Even Anders, who was dry as dust and spoke little, had fine manners.
Jo accepted the hand Bricker offered and climbed out of the vehicle. As she stepped onto the sidewalk and straightened, she suggested, "You could always go back to the house and tell Mortimer you lost me."
"Oh yeah, like he'd believe that." Bricker laughed, slamming the back door closed.
Jo grinned and shrugged as she turned away. "Have fun then."
She half expected him to follow her to the house and open the front door for her, but when Jo got there he was still standing by the SUV, watching her. She opened the door and entered, smiling as the muffled sound of reggae music met her ears. J.J. was home. The guy was white as a lily but fancied himself a born-again Jamaican, sporting colorful Caribbean clothes and dreadlocks. He smoked pot too, the malodorous stench often seeping into the hallway, usually on a cloud of the air freshener he used to try to mask the smell. Jo often wondered what it was exactly he was studying at the university, but she hadn't yet gotten around to asking him. He was always so stoned it was hard to hold a conversation with the guy.
Shaking her head, Jo passed the door to his apartment and climbed the stairs to the second level where her apartment waited. While there were two two-bedroom apartments on the main floor, there were three one-bedroom apartments on the second, and hers was the middle apartment. She had to pass Gina's apartment to get there, and as usual the door was open, allowing a glimpse of bright yellow walls, lots of plants, and Gina herself in an overlarge T-shirt and little else, curled up on a chair in her living room, the inevitable book in hand. Gina was a psychology , major and today's book was abnormal psych. It was a course Jo herself had taken as an elective and quite enjoyed.
The sound of her footsteps as she reached the door brought Gina's head up. The blond smiled at the sight of her and called, "Yo!"
"Yo," Jo responded, pausing in her doorway. "How was the date last night? Did Dan finally try to get you into bed?"
"No." Gina closed her book with disgust, and uncurled to stand up and walk toward the door. "We had a lovely dinner, watched a great movie, and there were lots of kisses, what seemed like passionate kisses even, but that was it." She stopped to pick up Jo's spare keys from the hook. "We've been dating a year and a half for God's sake, what's his problem? I thought it was sweet and charming that he wasn't pressuring me at first, but now I'm starting to think there's something wrong with him... or me."
"Can't be you," Jo said with certainty, her gaze sliding over Gina's curvaceous figure. The woman was tall with legs that went on forever. She was also pretty. "You're gorgeous, Gina. It isn't you. Besides, most men would bang a Jabberwocky... or a hole in the wall if a Jabberwocky wasn't available."
"Then what's going on?" Gina cried with frustration. "He says he loves me, so why doesn't he want to make love to me? It's a natural expression of love, and vital to a healthy relationship."
Jo peered at her sympathetically and patted her arm as she suggested, "Maybe he's gay and in denial."
"Oh God," Gina breathed with horror. "Do you think so?"
Jo bit her lip. "Well, it could be erectile dysfunction or something else. But if that's the case, he should tell you rather than let you think there's something wrong with you."
"I don't know. He does like to shop and stuff, and guys usually hate that. Maybe he is gay," Gina said with mounting horror. "What do I do?"
"Hmm." Jo shifted uncomfortably, and then sighed, "Gina, honey, I'm the last person in the world you should be asking for advice from on relationships. I don't have them. Not lately anyway. Between work and study I just don't have time for men."
"Yeah, I suppose." Gina sighed, and then handed over her spare keys. "I fed Charlie last night and this morning and took him for a walk. He's been real good; no barking or tearing up the house while you were gone. He was sleeping at the foot of your bed when I checked on him earlier."
"Thanks," Jo said, taking the keys. "I owe you one."
"Nah." Gina grinned. "I love that dog. He's a sweetie."
"Yeah, he is," Jo agreed with a grin and started to turn away, but paused when Gina caught her arm.
"I forgot to ask, how was your sister's party?"
"Oh." Jo wrinkled her nose. "It was me, Sam, Alex, and a dozen good-looking guys, and it was boring as sin if you can imagine."
"No way," Gina said with amazement.
"Yes way," Jo said dryly. "I think they were all gay too... or most of them," she added, thinking Nicholas definitely hadn't been gay.
"They are not gay," Bricker suddenly exclaimed, drawing her attention to the fact that he was walking up the stairs toward them. "God, woman, what scandalous rumors are you spreading here?"
Jo grinned at his horrified expression. "It's not rumor if it's true. What are you-Oh," she murmured when he held up her backpack.
"You left it in the SUV," he said.
"Thanks." Jo took it from him, and when his gaze slid to Gina, said, "This is my neighbor, Gina. Gina, this is Justin Bricker. A friend of my sister's boyfriend. He and another friend brought me home."
"Hello." Gina smiled brightly and held out her hand. Her eyes were positively eating Bricker alive, Jo noted, and thought that if Dan didn't get his butt in gear and make some moves on the girl, he was definitely going to lose her to a more interested party. Fortunately for Dan, while Bricker eyed Gina appreciatively in her skimpy attire, his smile was polite and he-thankfully-didn't give Gina the same penis-eye look that he'd first given her up north and that all the men at the party had been trying on last night.
"So," he said, turning away from Gina to raise his eyebrows at Jo. "You're going in your apartment and I'm going back out to the SUV and you're going to signal us if Nicholas shows up, right?"
"Dream on, buddy," Jo said with a laugh as she slung the backpack over her shoulder. Glancing to Gina then she said, "Later, G."
"Later, Jo," Gina responded absently, her eyes still examining Bricker minutely.
"Oh, come on," Bricker said, following when Jo continued up the hall. "We're buddies. Practically family, and you hardly know Nicholas."
"True," Jo agreed with amusement as she paused to unlock her door. "But I didn't cut him loose last night just to turn around and help you catch him again. Besides..." she added, and then paused as she started to open the door.
"Besides, what?" Bricker prompted.
"Besides, you've never kissed me like he did last night," Jo admitted with a smile as she opened the door just enough to slide in. She turned to face him through the narrow opening then and added, "In fact, you've never kissed me at all. Tell the truth, all you boys that hang with Mortimer really are gay, right?"
Bricker's jaw dropped and Jo grinned and closed the door, calling, "Bye Bricker. Happy watching."
"Just a minute. Open the door. Hey, I'm not gay!" he shouted, knocking at the door. "Open the door and I'll kiss you to prove it. Come on, Jo."
"Sorry, not interested," she said on a laugh and started away from the door, only to jerk to a halt with a startled gasp when a dark shape came hurtling at her, nearly knocking her on her ass.
"Jo!" Bricker called, sounding worried now. He rattled the door. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she said on a laugh as she managed to steady herself and began to pet the German shepherd who had greeted her so exuberantly. "It was just my dog, Charlie. Now go away, Bricker."
Charlie barked as if to sound his agreement. His tail was wagging frantically, his tongue trying to swipe at her face as he did.
Laughing, Jo petted Charlie with one hand and tried to push his head away to keep him from licking her with the other. "Did you miss your mama?" she asked in a coo. "Hmm? Were you lonely here by yourself?"
Charlie barked, his tail wagging becoming even more frantic, and Jo laughed and urged the dog down, "Come on, I'll get you a treat for being so good while I was gone."
Charlie dropped down to all fours at once at the word treat and rushed ahead into the kitchen. Smiling, Jo shrugged the backpack off her shoulder and dropped it by the door. She then peered out the peep hole to see that the hall was empty. Bricker had listened and left. Good.
Turning away, she went into the kitchen and got the promised treat for Charlie. Leaving him munching on a cheese-stuffed dog bone, Jo then wandered into the living room and dropped on the couch. An old beat-up television sat on its table looking lonely and dusty. Jo rarely had time to watch television, but now that she'd eaten she was wide awake, and the nap she'd looked forward to no longer seemed appealing. However, she didn't want to risk bringing on her headache again by reading or studying either, so she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.
Jo flicked through the channels until she recognized the opening scenes of the original Alien movie. She then dropped the remote, curled her legs up on the couch, grabbed a pillow to cuddle, and relaxed to watch it. Charlie joined her several moments later, seating himself on the floor at her feet and eyeing her with hopeful eyes. Smiling wryly, Jo shifted her legs off the couch and patted the cushion beside her.
"All right, come on up this time, but you know this isn't going to be a regular thing. You still have to stay off the furniture most times," she warned as the dog leaped up onto the couch and settled beside her, his head resting on her lap. Smiling faintly, Jo petted the dog, her attention returning to the television screen.
The movie was nearly over when Charlie suddenly stiffened beside her and raised his head. Jo tore her eyes away from watching Sigourney Weaver shivering and climbing slowly and cautiously into a space suit hanging from the wall of the shuttle where she'd just discovered the Alien was on board. Jo glanced to Charlie curiously, and then toward the door where his attention appeared to be.
"What is it?" she asked, running her hand lightly over the dog. Realizing she'd whispered the question, Jo grimaced, but then stilled as Charlie began to growl deep in his throat, an almost silent sound of warning. Frowning, she urged Charlie's head off her lap and stood. Between the movie and Charlie's strange reaction, she was a bit freaked out, Jo acknowledged, her concern growing when Charlie leaped off the couch to stand in front of her. He was now blocking her way, eyes on the door and still growling that low, quiet warning.
"Jo?"
Her eyes shifted from the dog to the door at that call from Gina. It had sounded strangely wooden and stiff from the usually exuberant girl. Frowning, she moved around Charlie, headed for the door, but paused when the dog growled louder and nipped at the pant leg of her jeans as if to stop her.
"What is it?" Jo asked the dog with bewilderment and then nearly jumped out of her skin at a sudden shriek from the Alien on television. She had to stop watching these horrors, Jo thought with embarrassment over her own reaction.
"Jo?" Gina said again a little louder.
Feeling foolish, Jo shook her head and brushed Charlie away, making him release her jeans. "Come on, it's just Gina."
She started forward again, but Charlie was immediately in front of her, trying to trip her up and stop her.
"What is the matter with you?" she asked with irritation. "You know Gina. What-"
"Open the door, Jo."
That made her pause. It wasn't the words so much as the fact that they definitely sounded wooden and unlike Gina. Combined with Charlie's odd behavior, it was enough to make the hairs rise on the back of her neck. Jo swallowed and stared at the door, unsure what to do now. Charlie released another growl, this time a loud, angry sound followed by a worried whine that started Jo's heart pumping. Something was very definitely wrong.
Her eyes slid from the dog to the door to her windows, and Jo had the brief mad urge to rush over, jerk the window up, and climb out... But something was wrong and Gina was out there, possibly in trouble, and she couldn't just leave her.
"Crap," Jo muttered under her breath, and then patted Charlie reassuringly and moved to the door on her tiptoes.
Apparently satisfied that she now understood something was wrong, Charlie didn't try to stop her this time, but stuck close to her side as she rose up to peer out the peephole.
What Jo saw wasn't really all that alarming. Gina stood in the hall still in her T-shirt, a man at her side. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that her face was completely blank as if no one was home inside her head, and that Jo recognized the man, she would have simply opened the door. But Jo did recognize him-it was Mr. Bad-Breath Boy from last night.
Jo straightened from the door and stared at it, her mind working frantically. She had no idea what Bad-Breath Boy wanted, but it couldn't be good, and it definitely wasn't good that he had Gina.
"Jo, open the door or he'll hurt me." The words were spoken in the same dead voice, no emotion at all, and that was scarier than if Gina had been shrieking with fear.
Swallowing, Jo reached for the lock, and then hesitated, her head swiveling to the windows again. She could climb out and get Bricker and Anders and-
"Open the damned door, bitch, or I'll rip her throat open right now," Bad-Breath Boy snapped, his patience apparently at an end.
Cursing, Jo glanced to Charlie, and then quickly unlocked and threw open the door. Charlie was out of the apartment before she'd even opened the door all the way. Teeth snapping, he lunged at the man beside Gina, catching him by surprise and knocking him down, his teeth buried in his throat. Jo was hard on his heels, catching Gina, whose face was no longer blank, but now confused as she took in the chaos around her.
"What's going on?" Gina asked with bewilderment as Jo grabbed her arm.
"Run!" Jo shouted, urging her past the battling man and dog and up the hall. "Run outside and scream for all you're worth, Bricker will come."
"But-" Gina began uncertainly, craning her neck to peer back at Charlie and Bad-Breath Boy.
"Run!" Jo shrieked. She pushed Gina toward the stairs, and then turned away to hurry back up the hall to help Charlie. But Bad-Breath Boy had recovered from his surprise and was already hurling the dog off. Jo cried out as she saw Charlie fly through the air, and back through the apartment door. The dog's yelp of pain could be heard over the loud crash that followed, and the combination was nearly enough to stop her heart. In a panic now, Jo rushed past Bad-Breath Boy. The man was shifting to a sitting position, one hand pressed to a gushing wound on his neck. Charlie had gone for the throat.
Good dog, she thought grimly. Jo had only had Charlie for a year and a half. Despite his size, he was really still a puppy, but he'd already burrowed his way into her heart. Leaving him to run to safety herself wasn't even an option in her mind.
"Charlie?" She rushed into her apartment to find his still body lying on the remains of what used to be a small hall table just inside the door. Jo dropped to her knees beside the dog, relief roaring through her when Charlie opened his eyes at her voice. He looked stunned, but he was alive, she saw, and then stiffened when his eyes slid past her and he growled.
Jo glanced toward the hall, mouth flattening with anger when she saw that Bad-Breath Boy had let go of his neck and was getting to his feet. The dog had gone after him with a vengeance. It was rather surprising considering the man hadn't really been doing anything threatening. It was as if Charlie had some doggie sense that had told him the man was up to no good and so had done his damnedest to rip out his throat. As bad as the wound looked, though, it wasn't bad enough. Bad-Breath Boy wasn't only on his feet, he was coming toward them, ready to continue the battle.
Jo lunged forward to slam the apartment door closed. She managed to lock it just nanoseconds before he crashed against the other side with a roar of fury. The way the door shuddered under his weight was rather alarming, and Jo didn't think it would hold long.
She turned back to Charlie, swallowing hard when she saw the German shepherd trying to get to his feet, only to collapse back to the floor, landing half on the rag mat in the hall. Jo set her teeth and moved to kneel beside him again.
"It's all right, fella. I've got you. You just rest for now," she murmured, catching the edge of the mat and dragging it down the hall as Bad-Breath Boy hit the door again. She had gotten Charlie into the living room and was dragging him toward the door leading to the balcony over the garage when the third crash came. This time it was accompanied by a cracking sound that put her heart in her throat. They were running out of time. Where the hell was Bricker? Gina half naked and shrieking should have brought help at once.
Jo had nearly reached the door to the balcony when it suddenly opened behind her. She released the mat and whirled around, her eyes widening incredulously when she saw Nicholas standing there. Before she could say anything, Bad-Breath Boy hit the door again, and this time it gave way, crashing open with a thud. For one second everyone froze and simply stared at one another. It was a shout from the hallway that Jo recognized as Bricker's voice that started them all moving again. Bad-Breath Boy growled and started into the apartment. Nicholas grabbed her hand to drag her toward the door, and Jo grabbed for the mat Charlie lay on and pulled him along.
"Nicholas, wait, Charlie's hurt," she cried as he pulled her over the threshold. He stopped at once, his eyes shooting to Bad-Breath Boy and then the German shepherd. Before she could even blink he was past her, scooping up Charlie and turning back.
"Move!" he roared, and Jo moved, rushing out onto the balcony that serviced all three upper apartments. She heard the door slam behind them and glanced back to see that Nicholas had shifted Charlie under one arm like a football and was using the now-free hand to jam one of the wooden deck chairs under the door to slow the man chasing them. Once done, he whirled and pointed toward the backyard. "That way. The van!"
Jo turned in that direction, spotting the van parked on the grass in the backyard directly behind the garage. She led the way across the garage's flat roof at a run. The tarmac was tacky from the late summer sun heating it, which was why she and her neighbors rarely used it during daytime. The van's position was a lifesaver. There were no stairs off the balcony, but they could climb over the rail, drop to the van and then the ground, minimizing the chances of twisting an ankle, being slowed and caught.
Jo decided that was a very good thing when the door to the balcony suddenly burst open behind them as she reached the rail. The deck chair made a terrible scraping sound as it shot across the balcony under the impact.
"Go," Nicholas urged when she stopped at the rail. "I'm right behind you."
Jo didn't hesitate but practically threw herself over the rickety rail surrounding the balcony. She landed on the van with a thump and a gasp as her feet slid out from beneath her. She crashed hard onto her bottom facing the building. Nicholas immediately leaped the rail like an Olympic jumper and thumped onto the van roof beside her with Charlie cradled in his arms.
"Down," he barked, shifting Charlie again under his arm so he could push Jo toward the front edge of the van with his other hand. Unprepared, she slid down the front window on her bottom, and right off the front hood. Nicholas was there beside her, steadying her with his free hand so that she landed on her feet. Before she had even quite found her balance, he was hustling her around the van to the passenger door, half carrying her weight as well as her dog.
"The door."
Jo opened the door and climbed in without having to be told. The moment her butt hit the seat, she had a lapful of furry dog and the door was slamming shut. She instinctively reached for the seat belt, but her head shot around when the driver's door was opened before Nicholas could possibly have gotten around the van to it. Her jaw dropped in surprise when she saw that it was indeed he launching himself into the driver's seat.
"Seat belt," he barked, starting the engine.
Jo tugged the belt out, but that was as far as she got before the van shuddered as something heavy hit it. Nicholas shifted into reverse and hit the gas, sending the van racing backward. Jo clutched desperately at Charlie with one hand, the other had a death grip on the undone seat belt and was the only thing that kept them both from flying to the floor.
A thump from above brought her head up in time to see Bad-Breath Boy roll down the windshield and off the hood to crash to the ground as Nicholas backed away from him. They'd nearly reached the back of the yard, and Jo saw Bricker and Anders racing across the garage roof and Bad-Breath Boy getting to his feet. Then Nicholas suddenly spun the wheel, back ing them around across the grass. He barely brought the van to a halt before shifting to drive and hitting the gas again as he spun the wheel in the opposite direction, steering them toward the alley.
Slamming back against the seat, Jo saw first Bricker and then Anders leap the balcony railing as Nicholas had done, with no more effort than she would have exerted to leap a curb. As they landed behind Bad-Breath Boy, she also saw him charging forward, pulling a gun from his waistband. Apparently Nicholas saw it too.
"Down," he shouted. Nicholas grabbed her shoulder and forced her forward off her seat so that her bottom landed on the van floor with a bruising bump as the back window of the van shattered under a bullet's impact.
Jo merely gritted her teeth and did her best to keep from crushing Charlie as they were bounced and bumped around and gunshots continued to ring out. She was pretty sure it wasn't just Bad-Breath Boy shooting. The gunshots were coming too close together and then they suddenly stopped. Another minute passed, however, before Nicholas said, "You can get up now."
Jo hesitated, her gaze dropping to Charlie. The poor dog lay still in her arms, eyes open, but otherwise unmoving, and that was rather worrisome. He hated being on his back, probably an instinctive reaction from a dog. Their bellies were vulnerable to predators when they were on their backs and so they avoided being there.
"It's okay, baby," Jo whispered, but rather than try to get both herself and Charlie up into the seat, she lifted the dog and set him on it so she could take a look at him. Jo quickly ran her hands over the animal, but couldn't find any injuries. He didn't whimper or indicate her touch caused pain in any way except when she gently felt his head, and then he whined and tried to avoid her touch. Frowning, she peered into his eyes, noting that the pupils were slightly dilated.
"Nicholas," Jo said worriedly. "I think we need a vet."