Give You A Kid? No Way!

Chapter 7

Aria

It was around three-thirty in the morning when Aria woke up to the sound of Poppie in the shower. It didn’t surprise her because she often took them in the middle of the night, especially if she couldn’t sleep.

Yawning, Aria realized that she was thirsty and slipped out of bed to grab the bottle of water she’d left on the small dinette table. As she walked over to it in the dark, she stepped onto something wet. Swearing, Aria turned on the light and checked her foot. It looked like blood.

Her eyes returned to the carpeting and there appeared to be a trail of it leading from the front door to the bathroom. Worried about Poppie, she raced over to the bathroom door and knocked loudly.

“Come in!” Poppie hollered from the shower.

Aria stepped inside the steamed-up room. “Are you okay?”

Poppie peaked her head around the shower curtain. “What do you mean?”

“There’s blood on the carpeting.”

She stood there silently for a few seconds and then grinned. “Oh, yeah. I stepped on something sharp in the carpeting. It was a small piece of glass. Be careful where you walk. God, this place is such a dump.”

“Shoot, do you need a Bandaid or something? I might have a couple in my duffel bag.”

“Nah, it’s fine now. Thanks, though.”

“Okay.”

Aria washed the bottom of her foot off and stepped back out of the bathroom. Her eyes were drawn to the blood again and she was a little puzzled.

If the cut was on the bottom of Poppie’s foot, wouldn’t there be smears of it and not droplets?

It seemed kind of odd, but she was too tired to obsess over it. Grabbing her bottle of water, she took a few swigs and then went back to sleep.

A few hours later, Aria woke up to find Poppie swearing as she tried cleaning the blood from the carpeting.

“I should have done this last night,” she grumbled, staring up at Aria. “Do you have any rubbing alcohol?”

“No.”

“Shit.” She stood up and headed over to an unopened bottle of wine. ‘Hopefully, this works.”

Aria’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?”

“White wine can sometimes get rid of stains.”

“Oh, weird.”

“It’s similar to hydrogen peroxide I guess.” She poured a little on part of the blood and then tried blotting it with one of the washcloths from the bathroom. When it didn’t seem to be working, she growled in the back of her throat. “Dammit. I definitely waited too long. It’s just making a mess now. My brother is going to kill me.”

“He shouldn’t be mad at you. I mean it’s the motel’s fault that there was glass on the carpeting in the first place. I’d just leave it for them to deal with. We should maybe even call and complain.”

Poppie stood up and grabbed her phone. “I’m calling Mick first.” She headed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

What’s he going to do?

She thought Poppie was way too reliant on her brother. She was always complaining about him bossing her around but the truth was, she couldn’t make a decision on her own if she tried.

Sighing, Aria got out of bed and tried helping with the blood stains. If anything, the stains looked worse. The motel would probably need to have it professionally cleaned. But then again, it was their fault in the first place.

Poppie walked out of the bathroom clearly looking upset.

Aria’s eyes widened. “He’s not mad at you is he? He’d better not be.”

“Oh, it’s always my fault,” she mumbled, grabbing the bottle of wine. She took a couple of gulps and then twisted the lid back on. “Anyway, we gotta go. Now.”

Aria frowned. “Don’t we have until eleven? I’d like to atleast take a shower and brush my teeth.”

Poppie looked at the clock and sighed. “I guess as long as you make it super quick.”

Aria was confused as to what the rush was but then figured it had something to do with Mick. She really wasn't looking forward to meeting him if the guy was really this anal about things.

Grabbing her clothes, she went into the bathroom and started the shower.

Poppie

Poppie was getting anxious as she waited for Aria to get into the car. Mick had literally freaked out about the blood stain and the dead body after she confessed everything, except her humiliating s****l escapade with the vampire.

"Let me get this straight - you were horny, so you picked up a guy in the bar and went into the woods to have s*x, and that's when you were attacked by a couple of vampires?"

"Well, yeah."

He let out an angry growl. "What in the hell were you thinking?!"

"Hey, don't get all high-and-mighty on me. You've had plenty of your share of hookups with random strangers. I've heard you brag about it with the pack."

"This has nothing to do with me. You disobeyed my orders and now we have to worry about an investigation that could potentially lead back to you."

"It wasn't my fault he died!"

"It doesn't matter. You were the last one seen with him, not the f*****g vampires."

"Quit yelling at me," she whispered angrily. "I didn't know this was going to happen."

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Are you sure you put enough weight on the body before you dumped him into the lake? He could rise to the surface and float."

Thinking back, she wasn't really sure. She'd been tired and still reeling from her encounter with Tristan and Dusty.

"Yes, of course."

"I still don't know why you put yourself in such a situation.”

“I told you, I was going crazy and my wolf needed to break loose."

“Poppie, you need to learn to control yourself and your wolf. We’ve talked about this.”

“Easy for you to say. Yours doesn’t have to be contained 24-hours a day. And you’re with those who have your back. I’m all on my own out here,” she pouted.

His voice softened. “It’s almost over.”

“You know, Mick, you didn’t even ask how badly I was hurt."

"Considering you're still alive, it wasn't life-threatening."

That irritated her. "You act like you don't care."

"It's not that at all. You realize that if there wasn't a dead body involved now, I'd send the pack to hunt them down and make them pay. I just can't risk it, though. Do you know if he was there with friends? Maybe one of them saw you together."

She remembered that the guy had mentioned something about his roommates at the motel. She knew they'd probably be wondering what happened to him. Too afraid to tell Mick, she kept it to herself. "No, he was alone."

“I gotta take another call here. I’ll send someone to take care of things. As for you two, I want you to leave ASAP.”

She groaned. “Now?”

“Yes, now,”

“Fine.”

“And quit disobeying me, Poppie. I’m going to start holding you accountable for your screwups from now on. You’re not a child any longer.”

Then he hung up on her.

Damn, she'd never seen him that pissed at her.

Aria opened the passenger door and slid inside just as three squad cars pulled up to the bar, their cherries flashing. Standing outside were two guys that Poppie recognized from the bar. She wondered if they were his friends.

Feeling guilty again, Poppie felt her stomach go sour. All she'd wanted was a harmless hookup and now some schmuck was dead and her brother was probably going to ball her out again when she made it to his cabin.

Aria turned her head to stare at the troopers as Poppie pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. “Oh, wow. I wonder what’s going on over there?”

“Who knows? I’m sure the concert drew all kinds of weirdos. Maybe someone was killed.”

Aria’s looked at her. “Killed? That’s kind of a drastic assumption."

Poppie groaned inwardly.

Yeah, that didn’t sound suspicious at all.

She was being a dumbshit and obviously not thinking clearly. She looked in her rearview mirror as the bar faded from view. “Well, I mean three squad cars? It had to be something pretty bad.”

“True.”

A black SUV headed toward them with flashing lights.

Noticing, Aria looked at her. “Dang, yeah something big happened. I bet that's the FBI.”

“Or DEA. Maybe it’s a drug bust?” As they passed the SUV, Poppie recognized the driver. It was a guy named Christian who worked for Mick.

Her calvary had definitely arrived.

"Yeah, maybe."

Poppie was shocked at how quickly Mick had been able to dispatch someone. Of course money talked and he had oodles of it. When all of this was over, she would too. Only a few more hours and they’d be in Shore Lake, away from this fiasco.

Away from the vampires.

She thought about Tristan again and felt her stomach get all twisted inside. His touch had lit her on fire. Even now she was getting squirmy just thinking about him on his knees and driving her crazy. In her wildest dreams, she never pictured herself getting so turned on by the enemy. Mick was right - she was getting out of hand and needed to control herself and her wolf.

But damn, if she had the chance to do it all over, Poppie decided that she probably wouldn't change a thing.

Dante

Two hours later

Dante was pulling into the parking lot of the packs' clubhouse when his phone began to blow up. He shut off his bike and began reading the texts as he walked toward the entrance. One of them was from a member named Rick Bloodwater, who was a deputy in Wabasha, which was about an hour away. Apparently, a body had washed ashore near a lake. The wounds were suspicious.

Dante called him.

“What do you think? Vamp or Lycan?”

“Honestly, I sense a little of both. One is definitely a female Lycan.”

His gut told him that Poppie was somehow involved. The moment he saw her he knew she was going to cause problems. Not murder though. Apparently, big brother was teaching her a few things.

“You I.D. the victim yet?"

"Yeah. An out-of-towner named Gary Simmons. He was last seen at Moody's just after 1am."

"Isn't that the bar across the street from The Silver Star Motel?"

"Yeah. the VIC was staying there with his friends. They returned to the motel about midnight and Gary stuck behind."

"Anyone notice him leave?"

"No. One of the bartenders saw him with a blonde on the dance floor."

"You check the cameras yet?"

"Not yet."

Dante sighed. He had little doubt that it was Poppie. He didn't want to share this with Rick yet, just in case he was wrong, however. The vampire scent wasn't really making sense. She'd never associate with a bloodsucker.

"I gotta go," Rick said. "I'll update you later."

"Sounds good."

An hour later, twelve top officers, and two new pack members, gathered around a large, iron circular table as Dante called their monthly meeting to order. A few minutes into it, he brought up the suspicious murder in Wabasha.

“They have any suspects?” Jax asked. “Like possibly a smart-assed blonde who was passing through yesterday?”

Dante sighed. “She’s definitely a suspect. There was also some evidence that a vampire might have been involved.”

“Which blonde are you referring to?” asked a pack leader from Minnesota.

Dante told them. “Poppie Reynolds.”

“Look, I know Poppie’s brother is an a-hole, and she can be a handful at times, but murder? In your honest opinion, do you think she’d kill someone, even a human?” another Alpha asked.

Dante hoped not. As much as he didn’t trust Poppie, he didn’t want to believe she was capable of cold-blooded murder. Of course if Mick ordered it, now that might be another story. But Dante figured that if he wanted a man dead, he wouldn't send his little sister.

Dante shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know, which is why I’m going to Wabasha right after the meeting to speak with Rick and do some digging.”

“I always said we need to do something about all the damn vampires,” muttered Jax, staring at the lighter in his hand as he flicked it on and off.

“I hear yeah,” Dante replied, thinking about Shore Lake's. He’d had some run-ins himself, although nothing lately. They mostly kept to themselves and avoided confrontation.

Jax asked if it might be possible that Poppie was just hanging out with the guy and a vampire snuck up on them.

“You mean they were f*****g like rabbits,” laughed one of the other members, a man named Dale. “Don’t sugar coat it. We all know Poppie has a wild side.”

Some of the other guys laughed.

Dante smiled grimly. Everyone knew she was promiscuous with a large appetite. She also had no qualms about hooking up with humans, unlike most Lycan females who usually saved themselves for an Alpha.

"It's very possible. We need to find out what happened because when the Council gets wind of it, they'll be asking questions. I'd like to have some answers when they do."

The others agreed.

"Have you thought about going right to the source? I mean, she's your cousin, right?" asked a newer pack member.

Knowing the relationship he had with his cousins, some of the others chuckled.

"She'd talk to the police before talking to me," he replied. "We're not exactly on the friendliest of terms."

"s**t, let me have a run at her," said Dale with a wicked grin. "I'll have her talking, howling, and calling me daddy before you know it."

The guys laughed.

"Stay away from her," Dante snapped, not appreciating the joke. As much as she pissed him off, they were still family. He didn't want anyone f*****g around with her.

"Sorry, man. I was just playing," Dale replied.

He relaxed. "I know. I'm just wound up from all of this bullshit. Not like I don't already have enough on my plate." He looked around the table. "I'm just grateful for all of you. Our pack is growing like wildfire, mainly because of Mick's greed. We may have the numbers now, but he still has more power and money. We have to be careful in dealing with him AND Poppie."

They all agreed.

When the meeting was over, Jax told Dante he'd ride out to Wabasha with him.

"Okay. I'm also heading out to Shore Lake tonight to do some scouting. Hopefully, we'll get some idea as to why Poppie is really bringing Aria out there."

"Sounds good. I'll head to Wabasha with you."

"I was hoping you'd say that."