Ruffskin Read Free

better fighter, though that was a near thing.
    The other wolf finally collapsed and did not get up again. Peyton shifted back and collapsed himself, slumping against the bar and leaving a long smear of blood across it. He looked at Johnnie, and then passed out before he could form the words he was obviously trying to say.
    Swearing, Johnnie pulled out his phone.
    "John?"
    "Father, a wolf just nearly killed Peyton.  Blue is bringing their feuding into our territory and hurting our people."
    Ontoniel hung up without another word; no doubt he would immediately turn around and contact Blue to let them know they had officially pissed off a Dracula.
    Johnnie punched the next speed dial. It rang three times before finally picking up. He didn't give Rostiya a chance to speak, simply said, "Get over to the Bremen, now."
    "On my way," Rostiya replied and hung up.
    Last, Johnnie called Micah. "Get whoever you can and get to the Bremen immediately. Someone just tried to kill Peyton." Micah, like Ontoniel, hung up without a word.
    "If you are finished calling the cavalry," Grim said, "I could use some help."
    Johnnie snorted, even as he obliged. "You do not need my help with him. I would only hinder, I should think." He knelt before Peyton, grimacing at the horrible state he was in. "At least his wounds do not seem too severe, even if he will not be doing much around the bar for a bit. I guess they are hunting for one wolf, but not opposed to bonus kills."
    "I can tend the wounds," Rostiya said from where he and his vampire lover Jesse had just appeared behind them, and he knelt in Johnnie's place as Johnnie stood up.
    Leaving him to it, Johnnie started to inspect the damage around the bar more closely. He stopped short when he saw that Jesse was kneeling beside the other wolf. Moving across the bar, carefully avoiding puddles of blood, Johnnie joined him.
    "Dead," Jesse commented, and he dipped his fingers in a pool of blood and licked it idly. "Hmm, Alpha blood. Peyton just killed either an Alpha or a Candidate."
    "Hardly the first time," Johnnie replied. "Anyway, it was in self-defense."
    Jesse shrugged. "I am not going to lose sleep because a wolf is dead. He is lucky he is dead, really. If he were alive, he would be dealing with your lover and your father."
    "I can take care of myself," Johnnie snapped. "Anyway, he was not attacking me. He was after Peyton, in case you missed that."
    "No, I caught that," Jesse said, amused. "But when wolves are like this, they'll kill whatever falls into their path, up to and including the reckless sons of Draculas." He motioned to the dead wolf. "Know who he is? Other than Blue, obviously."
    Johnnie shook his head. "My father—" He broke off as Ontoniel appeared by the door.
    "What is going on here?" Ontoniel asked sharply.
    Johnnie sighed and stood up. "Grim and I went upstairs to speak in private. I called you. A few minutes after I hung up, we heard a ruckus down here and found them trying to kill each other."
    Ontoniel looked at the mess, eyes dark, mouth tight with anger. When he looked at Johnnie, however, he said only, "We need to find the source of this commotion; you and Grim are best suited to that task. Do it. I will tend matters here. Be careful, John."
    "Yes, father," Johnnie replied and shrugged into the jacket that Grim held out for him, one step ahead as Grim so often was. Accepting his cane and fedora from Grim, he led the way out into the rain.
    "If we are going to be stuck under an umbrella together all day, it seems to me I should be doing something a lot more interesting than hunting for wolves."
    Johnnie pressed a kiss to his jaw, breathing in faint traces of myrrh and musk rose and a hint of the fruit candies Grim occasionally ate. "I'll let you make it up to me later."
    "Brat," Grim replied and stole another kiss.
    "So how shall we begin?" Johnnie mused aloud. After a moment, he quoted, "Where does a wise man hide a pebble?"
    Grim's mouth curved in a slow smile, and he