The Renegade Hunter

Jo was quick about her shower. It had been a spur-of-the-moment thing. She'd been about to rush back out of the bathroom after finishing her business, but when she spotted the tangled mess that was her hair in the bathroom mirror, she whirled to turn on the shower instead. Jo washed her hair, quickly lathered and rinsed her body, shut off the taps, and nearly killed herself in her rush to get out of the tub, tripping over the lip and only saving herself by grabbing for the towel rack.

Grimacing to herself, Jo straightened, taking a towel as she did. She ran it quickly over her body in the most perfunctory of drying jobs, and then wrapped the towel around herself toga style and headed back out into the bedroom with every intention of jumping on Nicholas and having her way with him again. Instead, she was barely out of the room before he was slipping past her, jeans in hand, saying, "My turn." Jo whirled toward the bathroom door just in time to watch it close. A smile curled her lips and she took a step toward it, thinking it would be fun to join him, only to come to a halt when she heard the lock being engaged. Her eyebrows rose slightly at the sound, but then she glanced around at a rustle from the corner of the room. She turned to see Charlie yawning as he sat up on the desk chair he'd apparently been sleeping on. The sight immediately made her scowl.

"You know better," Jo murmured, but couldn't be too angry. She'd been letting him up on the furniture all day. Besides, she wouldn't have wanted to sleep on the carpet either. Still, the mild reprimand was enough, Charlie jumped off the chair and came to sit on his haunches before Jo, eyes appearing almost apologetic as he looked up at her.

Jo smiled wryly and bent to pet him, wondering what he'd been doing while she and Nicholas had been "busy." She'd quite forgotten the poor guy, and silly as it sounded, she was hoping he was sleeping. It just felt creepy to think of him sitting there watching them during those passionate moments.

Shrugging the thought away, Jo straightened. She spotted her jeans lying outside the bathroom door, but left them and moved to the bed intending to lie down, only to pause when Charlie whined and moved to the hotel room door, came back, and then moved to the door again. Recognizing the signal that he needed a walk, Jo sighed and then went to fetch her jeans after all. She had pulled her panties and jeans on before going in search of her T-shirt. She found it on the other side of the bed, but the moment she picked it up, Jo recalled that Nicholas had shredded it.

Wrinkling her nose, she tossed it over a chair and was debating what to do when she spotted Nicholas's T-shirt on the bed. As she recalled, it had been tossed on the desk lamp earlier. He must have collected it to take in the bathroom and left it behind in his rush to get in there.

Jo shrugged and picked it up. His loss was her gain. She couldn't walk Charlie topless. Jo tugged it on over her head, smiling as she was immediately enveloped in his scent. She paused to inhale deeply before pulling it all the way on and tucking the over-large T-shirt into her jeans. She then glanced to the bathroom door, considering whether to tell Nicholas where she was going. Jo suspected that if she did he'd protest her taking Charlie out by herself It was probably better just to do it and get it done while he was in the shower, she decided. If she was lucky she might even get back before he finished showering, and he never need know about it.

Jo moved to the table to collect the KFC bag lying there. Her gaze dipped into the bucket as she went, noting with a small, amused smile that it was empty. Nicholas had apparently been hungry when he got back and she'd slept through the meal. She noted the licked-clean paper plate on the carpet, and supposed Charlie hadn't. Jo shook her head, grabbed the bag, a plastic fork, napkins, and one of the key cards from the packet on the table and walked to the door where Charlie waited, whining almost nonstop now. It seemed he really had to go, and Jo supposed she should just be glad he hadn't had an accident in the room while they were sleeping.

Afraid of running into problems on the elevator, Jo led Charlie to the stairwell door. He followed eagerly when she opened the door and then bounded ahead, padding quickly down the stairs at a speed that forced her to jog to keep up. All Jo could think was that she'd better let him run while they were out, because there was no way she was jogging all the way back up.

They managed to slip out of the building without encountering anyone, but it took a bit of time for Jo to find a park. Once she did, she waited patiently as Charlie, who had been whining with need the entire way, spent a good few minutes sniffing every tree before lifting his leg. He then had to find another spot worthy of his performing the more messy business. Jo cleaned up after him using the KFC bag, and then dumped his offerings in the garbage before leading him back the way they'd come. They were passing a pizza joint halfway back when the door opened and a waft of cooking pepperoni and tomato sauce struck her nose and started her stomach growling. Pausing, Jo peered in the window, her mouth salivating as she watched a worker inside slide a freshly baked pizza out of the oven. She was just debating slipping inside to buy one to take back to the hotel when Charlie suddenly emitted the same strange growl he had in the apartment when Bad-Breath Boy had been outside the door.

Glancing down, she saw that he was stiff and still, ears back and teeth bared as he growled at something to their right. Jo peered in that direction, but couldn't see what had him on edge. Still, it was enough to remind her that Bad-Breath Boy, or Ernie, as Nicholas had called him, was still out there somewhere, possibly looking for them, and Bricker and Anders as well. Now was no time to be wandering the streets unnecessarily. She needed to find out why this Ernie guy was after her... and why Bricker and Anders were after Nicholas. She'd thought it all some grand game when she'd let him out of the cell, but the incident at her apartment had convinced her it was serious.

Charlie released another growl, and Jo cast another' glance around, but still didn't see anything. Suddenly nervous, she turned away from the pizza joint, eager to get back to the hotel.

She'd order a pizza when she got back to the room, Jo assured herself as she continued on her way, slapping her leg out of habit in a gesture for Charlie to come. As usual, the German shepherd hadn't left her side since leaving the room.

They were just approaching the hotel when Jo passed a cute little blond who reminded her of Gina. The girl brought her worries for her neighbor to the forefront of her mind. While she suspected Gina had run down to J.J.'s place or something rather than outside as she'd instructed, she would feel better if she knew for sure.

Frowning over that, Jo led Charlie around to the same fire exit door they'd used earlier. She nudged aside the stone she'd jarred there to keep the door from closing and led Charlie inside. The German shepherd immediately charged up the stairs, but Jo followed more slowly, grimacing at the climb ahead of her.

She was well out of breath by the time they reached their floor. Charlie, however, was still pretty perky, tail wagging and waiting impatiently for her to open the door. The moment she did, he rushed to their hotel room door with an unerring sense of direction that always amazed her. Jo opened that door as well, waited for him to enter, and then followed.

The shower was still running in the bathroom, but she didn't think they'd been gone more than ten minutes, possibly fifteen. She was passing the door when the water suddenly went silent, only to start up again in the next heartbeat. Eyebrows rising, Jo paused by the door and called out, "Nicholas? Are you all right in there?"

"Fine," came the muffled answer. "Just switching to hot water."

"Right," Jo drew the word out as she tried to sort out what he meant by switching to hot water. Had he been showering in cold before this, she wondered with a little confusion. Shaking the concern away, she crossed the room to the phone to make the calls to the pizza place and Gina. She called Gina first, relieved when her friend answered sounding perfectly fine.

"Gina? Are you all right?" Jo asked anyway.

"Jo?" Gina asked, and then said, "Yeah, sure I am. Why wouldn't I be? How was the party?"

Jo blinked at the question and then asked uncertainly, "The party?"

"Yeah, the party at your sister's place," she explained, and then added, "I fed Charlie this morning and took him for a walk, but he'll be wanting more food soon. I can go feed him again now if you aren't going to be home for a while, but surely the party's over?"

"Gina," Jo said slowly, trying to understand what she was hearing. Gina seemed to have no memory of her returning home earlier. Clearing her throat, she said, "Charlie's here with me. Don't you remember me coming home earlier?"

"What did you do, sneak past my door while I was in the bathroom?" Gina asked with a laugh. "You should have stopped in and let me know you were back."

Jo frowned. "You don't remember seeing me earlier?"

"What are you talking about?" Gina asked, and there was a frown in her tone now. "I haven't seen you since you left for Sam's yesterday."

Jo sank to sit on the desk chair by the phone, her head pounding. Gina didn't recall any of what had happened at their building that afternoon... just hours ago, in fact.

"Oh, hang on, someone's at the door," Gina said suddenly, and Jo heard a loud rustling over the phone as if she had pressed it to her chest. Gina's cheerful voice came muffled to her, and then a prolonged silence before the rustle came again and Gina said, "Anyway, where are you?"

"Who was at the door?" Jo asked suspiciously.

"The guy downstairs," Gina answered. "Now where are you? Your friend Justin came around earlier looking for you."

"Justin?" Jo echoed blankly. "Good-looking, dark hair, and hot-looking in leather." Gina paused briefly and then added, "Had a tall, really hot black guy with him."

"Bricker," Jo breathed. Everybody called him Bricker and she'd actually forgotten his first name.

"Yeah, Justin Bricker, that's him," Gina said. "What a cutie. He wants me to call if you come home, so come home soon, 'kay? 'Cause he's hot and I want the excuse to call him."

"Yeah," Jo muttered. "I'm glad you're okay, Gina. I have to go now."

She hung up before Gina could ask anything else, and then simply sat there. Gina didn't seem to remember anything about the incident that afternoon. Jo recalled the blank look that had been on the other woman's face when she'd opened the door and first seen her in the hall with Bad-Breath Boy holding her arm. The memory made her frown. It was the same look that had been on the desk clerk's face earlier when they'd checked in. Like there was no one home and they were being controlled, she thought.

That was crazy thinking, Jo told herself silently. Nicholas had probably slipped the man some money without her seeing to make him more amenable, and Gina had probably been drugged to make her more quiescent. The drug had probably affected her memory, Jo assured herself, and then glanced to Charlie as he suddenly laid his head in her lap.

Jo smiled and petted him, her gaze sliding to the empty chicken bucket on the table. The sight made her remember that she was hungry and had planned to order a pizza.

Sighing, she pulled out the phone book and quickly looked up area pizza places. Jo ordered a large two-for-one special just in case Nicholas and Charlie were hungry by the time it arrived. She then pulled her wallet out of her back pocket. A quick check showed that a run to an ATM was in order. The shower was still going and she wouldn't be long, so Jo grabbed the room card again, patted Charlie reassuringly, and headed out of the room. This time she took the elevator, and was happy to be able to do so. Her legs still ached a little from the walk back up.

There was a little convenience store on the main floor of the hotel. Spotting the ATM sign in the window, Jo nipped in, made a withdrawal, and then purchased a couple of pops before heading back upstairs.

The shower had finally shut off in the bathroom when she reentered. Jo passed the door, set down the pops, and had grabbed up the ice bucket when the bathroom door opened and Nicholas came out.

"Finally, I was starting to think you'd drowned yourself in the tub," she teased as she took the clear plastic bag out of the bucket and opened it to set it back in. She then headed for the door. "I'll be right back."

Nicholas caught her arm as she made to pass him, concern on his face. "Where are you going?"

"To get ice," she said, raising the bucket slightly.

"I'll get it." He took both the bucket and card key from her, but when he turned to the door it was her turn to catch his arm.

"You might want to cover that magnificent chest of yours before you go, stud. You wouldn't want the maids fainting from the excitement of seeing you like that."

Nicholas glanced down at himself, smiling wryly when he saw he'd been about to head out in only his jeans. He glanced to her, his eyebrows rising when he took in the fact that she was wearing his shirt.

"You tore mine off," Jo reminded him with a shrug and then reached for the hem as if about to tug it up and off and asked, "Do you want this one back?"

"No!" Nicholas caught at her hands, stopping her, and then patted her arm and moved past her into the room, muttering, "I have another."

Jo leaned in the bathroom doorway, smiling with amusement as she watched him move to the duffel bag he'd brought up from the van. Nicholas looked a bit agitated as he quickly opened it to retrieve a clean T-shirt. He was definitely avoiding looking at her, and she suspected she'd definitely embarrassed him with her teasing.

"Sorry about your shirt," he muttered, tugging the fresh T-shirt on. "You can keep that one, of course."

"Thank you," Jo murmured, her eyes eating him up as he turned and headed back toward the door.

Nicholas paused as he came abreast of her, and for a minute Jo thought he was going to kiss her. But after hesitating a moment, his gaze on her lips, he turned his face away and continued on to the door, saying, "There's a brush in my bag if you want it."

Jo's eyebrows flew up at the comment as he slipped out of the room and then she turned into the bathroom and squawked as she caught a glimpse of her foggy outline. The mirror was covered with a film of mist from Nicholas's prolonged shower, but she could see herself well enough to note that her hair was a curly mess around her head. It was only then she recalled towel drying her hair and hurrying out of the room to jump Nicholas, only he'd gone running into the bathroom and she hadn't had a mirror to check herself before rushing Charlie outside so he could take care of his business.

Dear God, she'd taken Charlie for a walk in the park looking like this, Jo thought with dismay as she grabbed a towel and quickly began to wipe the mirror. It probably hadn't been as bad as this right after her shower, though, she reassured herself. Unfortunately, Jo had inherited her mother's naturally curly, flyaway hair. It tended to imitate Ronald McDonald's wild mass if it wasn't styled. That was why she normally scraped it back into a ponytail.

Jo finished wiping the mirror and sighed as she got a better look at herself. Wow, she was some femme fatale. It was no wonder Nicholas hadn't kissed her before leaving; she'd be lucky if he ever tried to kiss her again after seeing her like this.

Muttering under her breath, Jo moved out of the bathroom and to his duffel bag to find the mentioned brush. She then searched the bed until she found the scrunchie he'd tugged from her hair earlier and returned to the bathroom to fix her hair. It was a bit of a struggle. Her hair knotted like no other. In truth, it was one of the few things Jo hated about herself. She considered herself smart enough, she had an okay figure, and her face was pretty enough though her mouth was a little wide and her nose a little too tipped up. But her hair was a misery to her.

Jo had just finished getting the knots out and was giving her hair one final brush to be sure she hadn't missed any when she heard the main door open.

"One bucket of ice," Nicholas announced as he entered the room.

Jo glanced to the reflection of the doorway behind her as Nicholas strode past with a heaping bucket of ice in hand.

"Thank you," she called, starting to scrape her hair back, gathering it for her customary ponytail. "There's pop on the desk if you want one."

"Shall I pour you one?" Nicholas offered, and then-a frown entering his voice-asked, "Where did the soda come from?"

Jo hardly heard either question, her arms were raised, hands holding the hair back from her face, and eyes locked on her now-revealed neck. Frowning, she peered at the marks there for a moment, and then finished putting the scrunchie in even as she leaned forward, arching her neck to get a closer look at the two small punctures. That's what they were-puncture marks. Weird, Jo thought. She had no idea where those had come from. She should have felt something like that. Sam had had two blackfly bites up north that had looked somewhat similar, but there were no blackflies in downtown Toronto.

"Jo? Where did you get the pop?" Nicholas suddenly appeared behind her, a can of pop in hand. "You didn't leave the room, did-?"

The question died as he saw what she was doing. His gaze slid over the puncture wounds, and then he turned and walked out of sight. Jo stared at the spot where he'd been for a moment, and then looked one more time at the puncture marks, glanced back to the empty doorway, and then turned and followed him out of the room.

Nicholas was standing by the table pouring pop over ice in two glasses. "Come sit down," he said without turning around. "I suppose it's time we got to those explanations you wanted."

Jo hesitated. Something about the way he said it made her suspect she was about to learn something she wouldn't like, but when he slid one glass in front of the seat across from where he stood and then settled into the opposite chair, Jo gave up her position and moved across the room to settle in the chair. She glanced at him warily, then picked up her drink and said, "I'm listening. What the hell is going on?"

"Right... well... I'm sorry. I bit you. I'm a vampire," Nicholas started, and then jumped up to rush to her side and thump her back as her drink went down the wrong way and she began to choke.

"All right?" he asked worriedly, his thumping coming to an end when her coughing and gasping slowed.

Jo nodded, wiping her face and breathing deeply as she waited for the stinging in her nose and lungs to stop. Drowning in pop, she decided, would be a terribly painful experience. Shaking her head at the completely inane thought, Jo picked up her drink again, took a sip to clear her throat, and then set the glass carefully back down and turned to glare at him where he still hovered beside her. "What kind of stupid idiot do you take me for? I'm a vampire? If that's your idea of a pickup line, it's about the most asinine, trivial bit of bullshit I've heard in a long time. I've had better lines from the computer geeks at the university. I-Crap," Jo cut herself off when Nicholas suddenly opened his mouth and his canine teeth extended into two very sharp, wicked-looking fangs. Jo was close enough she could see it was no trick. Those were his real teeth growing and shifting, she realized, and suddenly had a flash of her dream-Bad-Breath Boy Ernie, eyes glowing and fangs bared, growling at her like a rabid dog. Only it hadn't had the same feel as the rest of the dream and didn't now either. At that moment it felt like a memory that had somehow managed to stay veiled earlier when the rest had come back to her.

"Crap!" Jo repeated more loudly, and leaped out of her chair and away from Nicholas.

"Jo, wait a minute," he said quickly, grabbing for her arm as she tried to rush for the door.

"Don't touch me," she gasped, jerking away from his hold and facing him as she backed toward the door now.

"Okay," Nicholas said soothingly, hands rising, palms open in the traditional calming manner. "It's okay. I won't touch you. Just calm down. You're safe. I'm a good vampire," he added, and then grimaced as if he couldn't believe he'd spoken the words. Sighing, Nicholas tried a different tactic, saying, "I saved you, remember? From Ernie? Twice?"

Jo had backed into the small entry hall, but Charlie was still lying on the carpet under the table. The German shepherd was peering uncertainly from her to Nicholas as if unsure what they were up to. He didn't look especially worried, however, just kind of curious, like he was wondering what her problem was. Jo slowed to a halt as she realized she couldn't leave the dog behind, and then slowly considered Nicholas's words. He had saved her twice, she acknowledged, eyeing him warily, and if he'd wanted to hurt her...

Her eyes narrowed and her hand rose to her neck, running lightly over the puncture wounds there. They didn't hurt, and while she had a vague recollection of feeling a slight nip while they were... well, earlier on the bed, it hadn't really hurt then either. Still... "You bit me?"

Nicholas grimaced. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just got a little too excited and..." He shrugged unhappily. "I am sorry, Jo."

She relaxed a little, and then shook her head and said with disbelief. "A good vampire?"

"That wasn't maybe the best way to start off," he acknowledged on a sigh.

"You think?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yeah," Nicholas said wryly, and then added, "And I'm not really a vampire anyway, it's just what others like to call us."

Jo propped her hands on her hips. "Right. Sure. Tell me you're a vampire, flash some fang to prove it, and then tell me you're not a vamp? I saw the fangs and the bite, Nicholas. I mean-Oh, hang on," she interrupted herself suddenly. "You were running around under the sun today when you got me out of the apartment. Vampires can't go out in sunlight." Jo scowled. "What's the deal here? Are those fake teeth? Did you bite me with some kind of weird, trick Goth dentures?"

"No," Nicholas assured her solemnly. He then hesitated and suggested, "Why don't you come sit down again and I'll explain everything?"

Jo glanced to the table, and then to Charlie. The German shepherd had apparently gotten bored with their drama. He'd laid his head back down, his eyes closed. Her gaze slid back to Nicholas.

"You're perfectly safe with me," Nicholas promised, and then pointed out, "I was going to leave you at the clinic and have Bricker and Anders collect you to keep you safe. I'd hardly harm you now."

Jo felt herself relax a little. She kept forgetting that the first time she'd met the man was when he'd saved her from Bad-Breath Boy Ernie. She'd met him again today the same way. Why would Nicholas save her, just to turn around and hurt her?

"Fine," Jo said at last, and gestured to the table. "Sit down and I'll come join you."

Nicholas glanced from her to the door, and then to the table, no doubt worrying that she would flee the room when he turned his back to claim his chair. However, he nodded solemnly and did so.