Chapter 1

 

Reece pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt, raced to her SUV, and pushed down on the gas pedal. It was after midnight. Not much traffic. She was making good time until she turned off Broadway onto 29^th. Here, it was slow going.

She chewed the inside of her cheek. If Eugene so much as touched Joseph or Jenny, she'd punch him out. She didn't give a damn what her mother said.

Acid churned in her stomach as she looked for a parking spot. How bad was it? Had Eugene pushed past Mom yet? Was he threatening Joseph to hand over Jenny? Joseph only called when things got ugly. The pattern was beginning to repeat itself more and more often.

Row houses lined both sides of the street, and cars were parked in front of each of them. She double parked and switched off her SUV. No one could get through. Too bad. She ran toward her mother's brownstone.

Lights blazed in the front room, framing the family drama in the big, picture glass window. Her mother clutched her bathrobe shut. She stood in front of Eugene, trying to calm him. Dressed in Ninja Turtle PJs, Joseph hid behind her. He'd placed his sturdy, eight-year-old frame in front of his sister to form a second shield. Reece's heart twisted at the sight of five-year-old Jenny, hugging her teddy bear to her chest and cringing in her footed, Cinderella pj's.

The idiot in question was, at this moment, flailing his arms around, yelling and menacing them all. He was still in his work pants and buttoned shirt, but unsteady on his feet. If they were lucky, he'd pass out. Her hands balled into fists. She'd like nothing more than to knock him on his ass.

Her mother reached out to put an arm around him. He leaned against her, and Reece hesitated, halfway up the walk. If her mom could get him upstairs, to bed, without her interference, it would be better for everyone.

A noise distracted her. She glanced down the street and saw a woman sitting on the Patterson's darkened stoop. The woman hugged herself, rocking her body up and down, mumbling to herself in a high-pitched voice. Suddenly, her head snapped up. She sniffed the air. Her eyes met Reece's. "No!" She jumped to her feet, threw back her head…and howled.

Goosebumps rose on Reece's arms. The howl spiraled upward—a primal, animal sound.

"Save yourself!" The woman disappeared into the narrow opening between houses.

Eugene bellowed. Reece jerked her attention back to the window. Eugene yanked away from her mother, stumbling toward Joseph. Time to intervene.

Reece rushed through the front door without knocking. Eugene whirled to face her. "This is none of your business. Go home."

She held up her cell phone, in no mood to play games. "Mom won't call to report you, but I will. Go for a walk and cool down, or go upstairs and sleep it off."

Drink made him belligerent. He leaned forward. "Or what? What are you going to do, throw your weight around?"

Oh, Lord, would she love to. It was against all her training, though. "I won't start a fight, but I sure as hell will finish one. I'll even let you throw the first punch." She enjoyed goading him. It was wrong, wrong, wrong, but she loathed Eugene.

He sneered. "Just because you teach martial arts doesn't mean you can beat a grown man."

"Then let's settle this, once and for all." If he felt enough pain, maybe his attitude would change. She raised her fists to protect her face and assumed a relaxed, defensive stance. She couldn't hurt him too much. Mom would get mad. But she could teach him a lesson. At five eight, he was the same height she was, but he was soft and flabby. She was all muscle, honed and ready. Her posture told him, Bring it on.

He blinked, bleary-eyed. His sneer returned. "Lucky for you, I never hit women."

"Right. Only little girls." He disgusted her. He'd never hit Mom. She had all the money. And he wouldn't hit Joseph. He was too proud he had a son. But he loved to smack Jenny. Probably because she was fair with blond hair and blue eyes and reminded him of his mother. He hated his mother.

Eugene turned on his heel and stalked to the kitchen. The refrigerator door opened, and Reece knew he was getting another beer. A chair scraped, indicating that he was staying out of her sight to drink it.

Her mother's shoulders sagged. "He was only loud tonight. He wouldn't have done anything."

Reece stared. What was wrong with her mother? Sure, she'd been lonely when Dad died. It had been too sudden. An aneurysm. He was laughing on the golf course, and then he was dead. No time to adjust. But why would anyone settle for Eugene?

"Most mothers would put their kids before their husbands."

"Don't go there." Her mother's voice was soft, but lethal.

Reece took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. She and Mom had gnawed on this bone too often, and nothing ever changed. It was frustrating as hell, but Reece could only push Mom so far. If she pushed harder, Mom shut her out—wouldn't return her calls and wouldn't let Joseph and Jenny spend weekends at her apartment.

Reece turned her attention to Joseph. "What was Eugene's problem this time?"

"Jenny had to go to the bathroom. She tried to be quiet, but Eugene heard her. She disturbed him."

Disturbed him. Her mother's words. Appropriate. The man was disturbed.

Joseph took Jenny's hand, a sign of unity. He wouldn't call Eugene Dad, even though the man was his biological father. That said a lot, but Mom chose to ignore it.

"Your father hates to have his private time interrupted," their mother said.

"Private time?" Is that what Mom called it when Eugene sat in the kitchen and got stupid drunk? "So what was Jen supposed to do? Cross her legs?"

Her mother's brow rose—a warning. She huffed a sigh, the put-upon sound that told Reece she was being a bother.

Joseph shook his head. "That's when I called you."

"I'm glad you did." The kids were Mom's second family with Eugene, but even though there was a huge age difference between them, they were her brother and sister, and she loved them. When she saw how things were going with Eugene, she bought both of them cell phones and paid for them. She might not live in the same house they did, or share the same father, but they could still count on her.

Jenny came to wrap her arms around Reece's legs. "Can we go home with you tonight? Have a sleepover?"

Reece would feel better if they did, but it was a school night. "Not this time, sweetie. You have kindergarten tomorrow, and Joseph's taking assessment tests." Tests at the beginning of second grade, to see how much he'd learned and retained. Her bet was her little brother would blow them out of the water. "We'll hit the movies this weekend, but for now, we'd better all settle down and get to bed. I'll see you on Saturday." She gave her mom a meaningful glance.

"Don't worry," Mom said. "He's done for the night."

Part of the ritual—Eugene drank, he fussed and threatened, and then he crashed.

"When he finishes his beer, I'll put him to bed."

Mom never had to help Reece's father upstairs or tuck him in. They'd had a wonderful marriage. And what did she have with Eugene? She was his nanny. What kind of relationship was that?

"He'll sleep it off," Mom said. "You can go now." A not too subtle hint.

Reece didn't like leaving the kids when they were upset, but the sooner this episode was over, the better. She pushed her shoulder-length, dark hair behind her ears—a nervous habit to calm herself. Then she walked down the cement steps that led to the sidewalk and stopped to glance down the block to the Patterson's house. Was the woman there? Sitting on the stoop again? The Pattersons were on vacation, Reece knew, but their house had a sophisticated security system. No worries there.

The moon was full. It painted the entire street in stark black and white. Each tree looked like an etching. Street lamps glowed, giving off golden halos of brilliance. She loved this area. To her, as a child, it meant security and happiness. How would Joseph and Jenny feel about it once they were adults?

Sighing, she started toward her car. She was almost there when a bus stopped at the corner to let out a passenger. The guy hopped from the bottom step, saw her, and lifted a hand in hello. Reece guessed he was in his late teens. He had long, wavy hair and a goatee. Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, he had a white apron crumpled and looped around his shoulders. Probably a busboy or a dishwasher, but everyone had to start somewhere, right?

He stopped in front of the Pattersons' and took a cigarette out of his shirt pocket. A match flared, and the tip glowed as he inhaled. A puff of smoke wafted into the air.

"Nice night," he called. It was mild for fall. Cool and comfortable.

A growl made the hairs stand on Reece's arms. She squinted into the shadows. It came from the bushes in front of the second brownstone. It was a low, guttural noise.

The kid picked up his pace, walking faster. He kept jerking his head sideways, glancing over his shoulder. He'd reached the next house when a dark shadow lunged toward him. What the hell? It was too big to be a dog, but it ran on all fours. The kid froze. He raised his arms to defend himself. The beast gathered speed and hurled itself at him. When it hit, the momentum knocked the kid off his feet. He sprawled on his back, the beast on top of him. If it went for his throat, he'd never survive.

"Hey!" Reece clapped her hands, trying to distract it. "Get off him!"

The thing raised its head, looked at her. Yellow eyes. They freaked her out.

She gaped at the size of the animal. A wolf on steroids? Its thick, gray coat looked silver in the moonlight. It snarled at her, its long teeth bone white. She ran for her SUV and unlocked the glove compartment, fumbling for her snub-nosed .38. Sometimes, and this was one of them, there was nothing like a gun to make things right. Her hands shook, and she tried to steady them. Was this gun big enough to kill the thing? Or would she only piss it off? She took aim, about to fire, when a second shadow swooped to the ground.

She blinked her eyes, trying to make her brain believe what she saw. Could it be? A manlike creature, over six feet tall, grabbed the beast from behind. His skin glowed—a golden tan, luminescent—like alabaster. Muscles rippled across his bare chest and arms. He was built like a weight lifter, solid and strong, and he had wings. Yes, wings. An angel? He was too beautiful to be part of this world, but she'd never imagined an angel with martial arts moves.

Reece couldn't pull her gaze away. He yanked the beast off the kid and squeezed it with all his might. Ribs cracked. The beast turned its head, fangs snapping, but couldn't reach him.

Reece gaped as the beast placed its hind legs on the pavement, bracing itself. In that stance, it looked almost human—only bigger and deranged. Its claws glittered in the moonlight, long and wicked. Reece's mind went to horror movies. Werewolves. The things of books and feature films. The beast looked like something out of Stephen King's Silver Bullet or Harry Potter's Professor Remus Lupin—one of Joseph's favorites. But werewolves weren't real. Were they? She took deep breaths, fighting back fear. For one odd moment, she could swear that the beast smelled of Chanel No. 5.

Wait a minute. She'd caught a whiff of that same perfume when she'd seen the woman on the stoop.

The wolf howled. It twisted and turned, raking deep gashes in the winged man's translucent skin. The man tightened his grip. Bones snapped. Teeth gnashed and the beast struggled. The man's hand circled its throat—one hand, strong fingers. The beast panted, drooled, then convulsed with spasms as the fingers squeezed. Finally, it went limp. The man/angel didn't release it until its fur began to retreat back into its skin.

Creepy. Reece shivered. It was an odd thing to watch the gray fur disappear, revealing pale flesh. The jaw shortened. The beast's body seemed to wither, and at last, a woman sagged to the sidewalk. The same woman she'd seen earlier, only naked. And dead.

Reece rubbed her eyes. She'd seen it, but her mind didn't believe it. It was just like the stories. Were they based on fact instead of fiction? A knot of fear twisted her stomach. Were the legends true? Did werewolves really exist? They must. Were there more? Lord, she hoped not. And why was one in her mother's neighborhood?

The young kid pushed himself off the sidewalk onto his knees, eyes wide. "What the hell?"

The winged man turned to him, took a step forward, but sirens sounded. Someone had called the cops. Brakes squealed and doors opened. He looked from Reece to the kid and back again. Then the wings on his back unfurled. He leapt into the air, and Reece watched him fly away.

What was he? Not an angel. Angels weren't sexy, were they? Or violent. She wasn't sure. The Old Testament wasn't exactly a lark. Where had he come from? The heavens? And was he wandering their city too?

Footsteps hit the pavement. Cops ran toward them. When she turned her attention back to the kid, he was nowhere to be seen. She didn't blame him. She looked at her SUV, tempted to run too. But she didn't have time. Instead, she hid her gun under her sweatshirt and stayed to face the cops.

Rattled and rushed, her story sounded like a mishmash of facts. She wasn't good at prevaricating to begin with. With a naked, dead woman lying on a front lawn, her skills weren't up to the task.

"So let me get this straight," the cop in charge said, looking at his notes. "You watched a kid get off a bus at the corner. He was walking toward you when this woman…" The cop glanced at the slender, fiftyish woman's body…"attacked him. Another man tried to pull her off him and killed her in the scuffle."

"It doesn't sound right, does it? But that's what happened."

"And everyone took off when they heard our sirens."

She nodded. How stupid could she sound? If she were the cops, she wouldn't believe her story either. A knot formed in her stomach. She waited for the cop to start reading her her rights.

The cop's cell phone rang. He frowned as he listened to the voice on the other end. He hung up and looked at her. "Okay, that will do it then. You can go now."

She couldn't believe it. "Aren't you going to tell me not to leave town? Should I get a lawyer?"

"No need. This case is solved."

She stared.

He waved a hand toward her SUV. "You were a good citizen. You tried to help. You stuck around to report the crime. You can go now."

The same words her mother had used. Both times, it was a dismissal. But she wasn't about to tempt the Fates. She turned on her heel and got the hell out of there.