Flirting Under a Full Moon - By Ashlyn Chase Page 0,18
and focused her attention directly on him. “I was hired to keep the police out of this, Brandee. She’ll get home much faster if I take her myself.”
“But—but, the kidnappers! What about them?”
“They’ve been dealt with,” Anthony interjected.
“How?”
Nick and Anthony stared at each other. At last Nick answered. “I knocked them both out. Anthony tied them up. Later we’ll make an anonymous phone call to the police.”
She seemed mollified.
Anthony said, “Now, let’s get you home. Your roommate is worried sick about you.”
“She must be. Angie and I always tell each other if we’re spending the night somewhere else. Hell, we tell each other everything.”
Nick pulled Anthony aside and whispered so softly that only a vamp could hear him. “I hate to ask, but can you glamour her? She saw me shift. She thought I was a dog, but can you erase her memory of seeing an animal at all?”
Anthony nodded.
“Thanks. One less mess to contend with. I really care about her and I wish I could tell her more, but the code…”
“I understand,” Anthony said. “And I have more to tell you later.”
“Brandee, go with Anthony. Let Angie see that you’re all right so she can get some sleep. I’ll come over to your place later and check on you.”
“But…what if I’m asleep too?”
Nick set his hands on his hips. “Are you really apt to go right to sleep after all this? It’ll take me fifteen minutes to take Katie home and get to your place.” He frowned, almost daring her to defy him.
She sighed. “You’re right. Just let me say good night to Katie.”
He nodded and stepped away so she and her cousin could hold each other for a moment. When Brandee let go of Katie, she said, “As soon as you’re safe and things are back to normal, we’ll have a girls’ day out. Shopping. A movie. Whatever you want. Okay?”
Katie grinned and nodded. “Okay.”
Brandee ruffled the white hair on her cousin’s head. “See you soon, kiddo. You were very brave back there.”
“You were too.”
With that, Katie took Nick’s outstretched hand and he escorted her to a taxicab.
***
Anthony let Brandee watch until they pulled away. As soon as she turned to look at him, he snared her gaze. Her jaw went slack and he knew he had her.
“You saw nothing unusual tonight. You were not kidnapped or tied up. You did not see a wolf or a dog anywhere. All you remember is having a wonderful night out with Nick.”
Brandee nodded, and reiterated, “…a wonderful night out with Nick.”
“Very good. Now I’m taking you home, because Nick got called away on business. But he said he’d come over to your place later.”
“Okay. Why?”
“He cares about you very much.”
Brandee nodded, smiling. “And I care about him.”
***
Back in her apartment, Brandee rubbed her wrists and wondered why they were sore. She didn’t want to turn on a light, however, because that might wake Angie.
She tiptoed to her bedroom, but before she got there, Angie’s bedroom door flew open and her roommate stood there in her flannel pajamas with a baseball bat cocked and ready to swing. As soon as she saw Brandee, she dropped the bat and rushed to hug her roommate.
“Brandee! Oh my God, I thought you had been kidnapped, raped, and left for dead.”
“Jeez, Ange. Get a grip. I’m fine.”
Angie took a step back. Her mouth hung open. “Excuse me, did you just say, ‘Get a grip?’ Because if you did—and I’m fairly sure you didn’t—our friendship is in trouble.”
Brandee reared back, surprised by this crazy lady who had taken over her friend’s body. “Okay…I guess I didn’t say that. What’s wrong? Why are you so jumpy?”
“Are you kidding me? You were MIA for hours. You didn’t answer your phone. Didn’t leave a note. What the hell?”
“Oh.” Brandee wondered how in the world time had gotten away from her like that. Was one night with Nick Wolfensen that mind-blowing that she didn’t remember most of it?
“‘Oh’? That’s all you have to say for yourself? Just ‘Oh’?”
Angie’s tone irritated her. She’d be worried about a missing roomie too, but did Angie have to sound like her mother? That’s why Brandee moved out on her own in the first place. Ever since her dad left, she’d had a smother.
“Look, Ange. I know this is going to sound strange, but I don’t remember being gone that long. All I remember is being with Nick and having the time of my life.”
Angie crossed her arms. “Nick. You went out with One-Night Nick,