With Caution

Sterling? He says—”
    Jake snagged the phone and punched the button before Matt finished talking.
    “Sterling? What’s wrong?”
    A split second later, Rhys poked his head into Jake’s office.
    “Remi.” Sterling sounded upset. “Dirk and Mom got into a fight about Remi.
    Someone told Dirk they saw you, Remi and my mom talking. He thinks you’re investigating him.”
    Jumping up, Jake turned his computer off. “Sterling, are you okay, do you need me to come get you?”
    Rhys came into the office, his head cocked.
    “No, I’m fine. Dirk left. You gotta go check on Remi. I think Dirk went to Remi’s.
    You have to make sure Remi is okay. I can’t get him on the phone. It’s not like him to not answer. I called from my cell phone and he always answers that number.” Sterling sounded on the verge of tears.
    Jake grabbed his keys. “All right I’m leaving now.”
    “Wait! Jake—”
    “I’ll call you when I get there.” Jake hung up and jogged out of the office.
    Rhys started out of the office behind him. “What do you need me to do?”
    “Nothing. Just take care of things here. Find something on that asshole, damn it.”
    Jake ran to his Tahoe. Grabbing his cell phone as he backed out of his parking space, he punched in Remi’s number. It rang and rang. No answer. “Damn it, Remi, pick up the phone.” It forwarded to his voice mail. Peeling his tires, Jake got out of the parking lot and onto the main road.
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    With Caution
    It was the longest drive of his life. He could swear he hit every damn stoplight on the way over and every slow person on the road got in front of him. No one knew how to merge onto the damn highway either. How in the hell did these idiots get driver’s licenses?
    When he dialed Remi’s number again, he got voice mail. His heart raced and his palms started to sweat. So much so that his hand slipped on the steering wheel twice. The image of Remi lying in a puddle of blood, like he’d been when Jake first met him, flashed through his mind. He slammed his foot on the gas, speeding through a yellow light.

    * * *

    “You better call the detective and his goon off or both of them are going to get a whole heap of charges on their heads. They won’t work in New Mexico again.” Dirk punctuated the statement with another kick to the ribs. “Did you think I wouldn’t know?
    You got shit for brains, boy. You want me to ask Sterling what you’ve been up to?”
    Remi saw red. All the fear evaporated instantly and his protective instincts kicked in.
    He just snapped. No fucking way. Not this time. Dirk had best keep his hands off Sterling.
    He stopped trying to dodge Dirk’s boot, and with a burst of energy, he launched himself at Dirk’s legs.
    Dirk hit the ground, his head bouncing off the floor. The air whooshed out of him.
    He struggled, trying to get his breath.
    Using the opportunity, Remi crawled forward and straddled Dirk. He still couldn’t see very well but he didn’t need to. He knew about where Dirk’s face was and he started punching.
    The feel of Dirk’s face under his knuckles and the sound of his fist connecting with skin created a rush of euphoria. Suddenly, Remi could see again, only everything was in black and white.
    Holding his arms up, Dirk attempted to block Remi’s blows. Even now, in this position, the bastard was shouting out insults about how he was going to kill Remi and how Remi was a worthless piece of shit.

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    J.L. Langley
    “No more. No more, you son of a bitch. Do you hear me? No more.” Pounding over and over, Remi yelled until his voice gave out. The smell of blood and something else pierced his attention. Fear. It was fear. He could smell Dirk’s fear.
    It felt wonderful. He wanted to kill the son of a bitch. He could, so easily. Then it would all be over. As he smiled his fangs exploded in his mouth. He was damned close to shifting. He could tear Dirk to shreds in wolf form and no one would miss him.
    No. He couldn’t do it. Remi stopped.
    Still trying to cover his face, Dirk laid there. His fear and helplessness felt good, but Remi relented.
    He stood. His arms were tired. They felt like they weighed a ton and he couldn’t breathe. He was so out of breath his lungs burned, and sweat dribbled down Remi’s temple. “Get the fuck out. You so much as lay a finger on Sterling or Jake and I will fucking kill you.”
    Scooting toward the door on his butt, Dirk tried to glare,