An hour later, Jill put her bag in the bedroom down the hall from Dereck's. The room was as simple as the others. A queen size sleigh bed with a striped blue bedspread on top. The matching six drawer dresser on the right side of the room had a cobalt vase on top of the flat surface. On the wall above hung a landscape of a valley with the jagged gray Sawtooth Mountains in the distance.
It was a lovely room, but Jill still felt disappointed that Dereck hadn't suggested they share.
Maybe if I hadn't told him that he was just an itch I needed to be scratched, I wouldn't be sleeping alone.
That was the thing about having too much pride; sometimes it kept you from getting what you wanted.
She left the room and went back downstairs. Her phone started buzzing in her pocket as the cleared the last step. The screen flashed with a picture of Greer and she slid her thumb across to answer.
"Hey, babe. I'm sorry I didn't call back."
"It's fine, I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
Jill heard the worried note in Greer's voice and frowned. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be? What's wrong?"
"Xander called to tell me they found a body in the woods."
Jill's heart slammed against her breastbone. "Do you know who it was?"
"Gil Talbert." Greer continued in a hushed whisper, "Xander said he'd been shot in the stomach, then skinned alive."
"Oh my God." Bile rose up the back of Jill's throat. Gil had moved to Twilight a year ago. He was a nice guy in his early fifties, a loner who didn't socialize much. They hadn't realized he was a shifter until after they were turned and they had smelled him. A werefox with no family, Greer had invited him over for dinner a few times with them, but he always declined.
Guilt filled Jill’s gut, making her stomach turn with nausea. If she'd only thought to call and warn everyone, Gil would be alive.
"It was horrible, according to Xander. A couple of joggers found him. It's bad enough having it described to me, I couldn't imagine actually seeing it. I don't understand why someone would do something like that."
Jill didn't either. Now that there was a definite pattern, she needed to tell Greer. She didn't want to worry her, especially with everything she'd gone through, but Jill couldn't keep her in the dark.
"Dereck thinks someone is targeting shifters."
Greer paused a moment. "Why would he think that?"
"Because after he was shot, Dereck's dad called around. There have been murders in other states too similar to be a coincidence."
"Do you think that the man that shot Dereck killed Gil?"
No sense in sugar coating it. "Yeah, I do."
"Oh, God. Xander is out in those woods every day. What if they catch him alone?"
"As long as he isn't wolfy, he'll be fine. They are purposefully keeping them alive so the skin stays...furry."
"Jesus. I have to call him back."
"I am sure Dereck told Xander."
"Told Xander what?"
Jill realized Dereck had been sitting in the living room, listening to their conversation. He sat on the couch in a black hoodie and jeans, watching her intently.
"About the hunter murdering shifters."
Jill deduced by his guilty expression that he hadn't.
"Greer, let me call you back."
"You better!"
Jill ended the call and slipped the phone into her back pocket. "Our friend, Gil Talbert was killed. Gutshot and skinned."
"Shit." Dereck ran his hands over his head. "I thought the guy had moved on."
"Obviously not." She leaned against the back of the recliner. "What are we going to do?"
Dereck stood up and headed into the kitchen. He pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and faced her once more. "I'll call Xander and fill him in. When Ace gets here, we'll handle it." He calmly sipped his water, all the while she glared at him.
"Fine. While you're doing that, I should probably go over and check on Greer. She was really upset I didn't tell her what was going on and shouldn't be alone."
Dereck set the bottle down on the counter and placed his hands on the flat surface, leaning over. "I told you, I'll call Xander. If he can't get home soon, we'll go pick her up together."
Irritation prickled over her skin. "I was very reasonable when you said I'd be safer staying with you."
"Yes, you were."
"But I did not agree to be a prisoner."
Dereck snorted. "That's a little dramatic, even for you. All I meant is that it's a good idea to stick close to the house until Ace gets here and to not go out alone."
"I don't think sitting around here on our laurels is the way to catch either the killer or my supernatural stalker."
"Again, there is no we. We are not trying to catch anyone."
Jill stomped over to the counter, leaning across so she was almost nose to nose with him. "Come on, it is stupid to have me here, a big juicy piece of bait and not use me. You want answers, don't you?"
The dark depths of his eyes blazed into hers. "Not at the cost of your safety."
"Nobody asked you to be my keeper."
"My parents did."
"Well, I didn't."
"No, you gave me your body and told me it was a one-off."
Jill froze, staring at him in disbelief. "Are you pissed at me about that? I figured that's what you wanted."
He backed off, and picked up his water. He rounded the counter so they now stood a foot apart with nothing between them. "You have a habit of assuming you know what I'm thinking."
Had the temperature gone up ninety degrees? Sweat trickled down the back of her neck and her skin burned. "If you want another go-round, then why don't you ask me instead of this passive aggressive bull shit."
Dereck smirked and traced her bottom lip with his index finger. "I thought you said I was out of your system."
Oh boy.
Jill couldn't help snaking her tongue out to run across the tip. His eyes narrowed, staring at her mouth and a rush of power coursed through her. "I might have embellished my indifference slightly."
Dereck inched forward, closing the distance between them. "Slightly?"
"Fine, I'm not over you. Are you happy?"
"I am." He dropped his head a fraction until his lips were a hairsbreadth from hers. "Do you still need to clean up?"
She nodded.
"Then you better go or I won't wait."
Jill grabbed him by the back of his neck before he could back away. "Just because I want you doesn't mean this conversation is over. I'm not going to be the victim again." She loosened her hold on him, her hand caressing its way down his cheek. Coming to rest on his chest. "If I can help find the man who shot you, I'll do anything I have to. With or without your permission."
Dereck's dangerous scowl warned her she'd pushed him too far. "I will protect you, even if I have to tie you to my bed and keep you there indefinitely."
She slid her hand across his abs and reached out to lace her fingers through his. "Is that a promise?"
"More of a threat," he said, with no real menace in his voice.
She brought his hand to her mouth and bit the tip of his finger.
"Bring it on, baby."