For Whom He Fights Read online

  For Whom He Fights

  NaiKa Storm

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter One

  Andronaisa and Stephane, per their usual Friday night routine, sat in Onyx, one of the best nightclubs in San Diego. Andronaisa was drinking her usual Amaretto Sour while Stephane sipped on a rum and Coke. The two friends made hanging out at Onyx their routine because even though they saw each other during the day, this gave them a chance to unwind and talk about things that were not work related. Like Michael.

  “Andy,” Stephane started.

  Andronaisa sighed. “What do you want me to say, Stephane? Huh? I know what you want from me but it just doesn’t work like that.”

  “Andy, are you seriously joking? How long has this been going on? Huh? And you give me the same bullshit answer every time.”

  Andronaisa laughed as she took another sip of her drink. “That’s not true Stephane and you know it.”

  “Yes, it is Andy. You just continue to refuse to see it.” Stephane sighed and took a big gulp of his drink. “I don’t want to be placing flowers at your grave. I don’t wanna have to talk in front of a bunch of people that barely knew you about how you were cheer captain in high school. You need to leave. Now. Because if you don’t? You’re done for.”

  “You don’t get it, Stephane. You do not know how badly I want to just up and leave, but I can’t. I can’t. Not because I’m scared. I mean, yes, I am scared, but that’s not the reason I can’t leave. If I try to leave, if I even make the motions like I’m going to, he’s going to kill me.”

  No one said anything after that. The two friends finished their drinks and left, waving to Chris, one of the bouncers. It wasn’t until Andronaisa had climbed into her car that Stephane spoke again.

  “I know it's hard, Andy, but try. Please. You know you can stay with me. He doesn’t know where I live. Just come stay with me and I’ll help you figure things out.”

  Andronaisa smiled as she brushed the hair from her eyes. “I promise I’ll try.”

  ANDRONAISA WAS NOT prepared for the fist that collided with her face as she entered the house. She gasped and covered her cheek.

  “Where the fuck have you been?” Michael roared.

  “I... I was out with Stephane. It's Friday night. I told you that we go out for drinks every Friday night.” She yelped when Michael struck her again. This time she stumbled.

  “What the fuck have you been doing for two fucking hours?!”

  Andronaisa blinked. Surely they haven’t been out that long. Have they? She swallowed. “We were just talking. I guess I lost track of the time.”

  “You ‘guess you lost track of the time’?” Michael mimicked her. “And I’m just supposed to sit here and believe you?”

  Andronaisa nodded. “It’s the truth. I swear we weren’t doing anything but talking. You can even call and ask Chris.”

  “Who the fuck is Chris?!”

  “He’s the club bouncer. So he would be able to tell you what we did.”

  Michael narrowed his eyes. “When are you going to stop with all the goddamn lies?!”

  Andronaisa blinked before she realized what he was getting at. She rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Michael? When are you going to get it out of your damn head that I’m not cheating on you? Not with Stephane or anyone else. But the way you treat me, I might as well.” That was the wrong thing to say. Andronaisa knew it as soon as the words left her mouth. But it was too late. She couldn’t take them back.

  “Michael, I...” she started. She saw his eyes shift, and she immediately started backing up. “I didn’t...”

  Michael was slowly removing the belt from his pants. “You want to leave? Huh? Well, go on then.” He gestured to the door.

  “Michael...”

  “Go! No one’s stopping you, you ungrateful bitch.”

  Andronaisa swallowed. Was this a trick? It had to be. Right? Oh God, why hadn’t she listened to Stephane? Michael was going to kill her. She was sure of it.

  “Well? What are you waiting for?”

  “Michael, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. You know I didn’t mean it.”

  “Do I?” Michael snarled. He had pulled the last of the belt from his pants.

  Andronaisa didn’t respond. She saw the belt in his hand and panicked. She was done for. There was literally nowhere she could run and not get hit. But if she stayed put, she would probably get hit as well. When Michael got in one of his moods like he was now, nothing she did was good.

  NIGHT TIME WAS THE best time for Kurt. It allowed him to run around in his pelt and not get caught. It technically wouldn’t be a bad thing if he was caught. The town of Cheshire was known for its werewolves, but still, that didn’t mean Kurt wanted people to stare at him. He trotted over to where he and George had found the latest victim and inspected the scene. Incomparable to his human senses, the wolf’s senses were much stronger, which is why even hours later, he could still detect the smell of blood. The victim had a horribly bloody gash in her head. Whoever killed her attempted to make it look like it was blunt force trauma that ended her life. This kept up with the killer’s pattern. The first victim had been found in the same way. However, they found it wasn’t the blunt force trauma that killed the victim. According to the ME, while the first victim had been raped and brutalized, the second victim was not. Was the killer trying to throw them off? Or just was he experimenting with different forms of killing? Kurt wasn’t sure, but he was determined to find out. Watching Criminal Minds and all these other shows were quite helpful in having him try to figure this case out. While he enjoyed shows like Criminal Minds, he watched them purely for research.

  After what felt like an hour, and finding nothing new, Kurt headed home for the night. Maybe what he needed was a good night’s sleep. He’d been pulling overtime since the first murder. In the meantime, he needed to get home. His mother had been alone all day, something he clearly didn’t really like, but she refused to get someone to stay with her.

  Kurt walked in and spotted her dozing on the couch in front of the news. “Hey Ma,” Kurt said, bending to kiss her cheek.

  “Oh, Kurt!” Mom sat up, placing a hand on her chest. “You scared me! You go running with Will and Gary?”

  “No. I was busy with work.” Kurt shook his head as he plopped next to her on the seat.

  “Oh, that's right. There’s been another murder. They just announced it on the news.” She gestured to the television. “Did you eat? I made some food and left it on the stove.”

  Kurt smiled and nodded. “I did. Thanks. How was your day? Did the nurse come?”

  “Of course the nurse came today.” She glared at her son. “But it was fine. And then Wendy came by and we went walking along the reservoir. It was so nice. I actually can’t wait until I’m fully able to run again. You know how much I love running.” She sighed.

  Kurt knew. His mom always loved running. She was always organizing running parties, even if it wasn’t the full moon. And for her not to run was a devastating blow for her. Especially after her heart attack.

  “I’m sure one day you’ll be able to get back to it. I mean, of course exercise is important. That’s what your doctor said.”

  “Yes, but too much exe
rcise can kill me. That’s what he said too. He said I have to be careful in my runs. I’m no longer a young whippersnapper.”

  “Ma!” Kurt snorted. “No one uses that word anymore! You really are old!” he teased.

  “Not too old to swat your behind! Now go away, the news just came on.”

  Kurt laughed again. “Ma, the news has been on. It's almost over.”

  “Well, go away so I can finish it.”

  Kurt just shook his head as he headed to the kitchen and began to put away the food. He made a note to take it for lunch tomorrow. He felt as if this case was going to be one of his hardest to solve. Two murders in three days, but no connection between the victims. As he headed upstairs, he kissed his mother’s cheek. He knew she would fall asleep in front of the television again. But unfortunately, that was the least of his worries for now. He had a case to try to solve.

  Chapter Two

  “Andy? Andy, can you hear me?”

  Who was calling her? Of course she could hear them. Were they here to lead her to the afterlife? Where was the white light? All she saw was darkness. But she was dead, right?

  “Come on, Andy, I know you don’t want to, but I need your eyes open. I need to see those beautiful brown eyes. Let me see your eyes, Andy.”

  She opened her eyes. Or so she thought, and that's when she spotted the white light. It seemed like everything was bathed in light.

  “Stephane?”

  Stephane laughed, “Oh thank god, you really had me worried.”

  “I’m not dead?” Andronaisa asked as she started to sit up, but Stephane held her down. “Where am I?

  “No, and I’m glad you aren't. But I swear, I thought you were. I thought Michael had finally killed you. As for where you are, you’re in the hospital.”

  Andronaisa squinted and looked around at her surroundings. Yup, she was in the hospital. So that was what the white light was. But what happened, and where was Michael?

  “Where’s Michael? I don’t understand? What happened?”

  Stephane shook his head. “Andy, what the hell do you think happened? Do you know what today is?”

  Andronaisa furrowed her brow in thought before shaking her head. Stephane sighed. “It’s Monday. In the afternoon. I didn’t hear from you all weekend and when you didn’t show up for work this morning, I knew something was wrong. So I came to see you on my break and that’s when I found you in the house. Michael was nowhere to be found but Andy... God I thought you were dead.”

  “Well, I’m not,” Andronaisa smiled. “I’m fine.”

  “Fine?!” Stephane bellowed. “You call this fine!? Andronaisa Mikaela Davis! You are in the hospital! With broken bones! And bruises that cover nearly half of your body. So tell me, in what fucking way is this fine?”

  Andronaisa blinked. Stephane rarely used her full name. He never called out her entire name. Hell, he barely called her Andronaisa. So it was pretty shocking to hear her name come from his mouth. She opened her mouth, but he shook his head.

  “You almost died, for goodness sake! When are you going to stop using the excuse of saying you’re fine? Huh? This isn’t a joke!”

  “Stephane, it wasn’t anything. Just a small disagreement.”

  “Really? So what about last time, huh? When he also put you in the hospital? Or the time before that? When are you going to stop making excuses for him?”

  Andronaisa shook her head as she shifted to sit up against the pillows. “Look, I get you don’t like Michael-”

  “This isn’t about me liking or not liking Michael! This is about me trying to save your life! I’m serious Andy, you need to leave before he officially kills you. I don’t wanna come to your funeral because you refused to listen to me and you let a mad man beat you to death. I wanna come to your funeral when you’re old and have lived a full life.”

  Andronaisa shook her head, “I hear you, Stephane-”

  “Do you?!” He gripped Andronaisa’s shoulders, and she winced. “You need to get as far away from here as possible.”

  Andronaisa started to speak, but then there was a knock on her door, and a doctor entered. He gave her a smile. “Good afternoon. I’m glad to see you’re finally awake.”

  “When can I go home?” she asked.

  “Andy...” Stephane sighed.

  “Now, just a moment, Miss Davis. I know you would like to go home, but with the extent of your injuries, I would like to keep you overnight. Just to make sure we get your breaks settled and also that you don’t have any side effects to the medication we’ve been giving you.”

  Andronaisa slumped. She just needed to go home. Why didn’t people realize she was fine? She was. She could handle Michael. Right? She needed to get him back to where he was when they first met. If she could bring that Michael back, then things would be fine. She would be fine. She snorted. Who was she kidding? That Michael was long gone. It’s been what, three years? Stephane was right. She needed to leave because the next time he might actually kill her. The question was, where would she go?

  ANDRONAISA WAS RELEASED from the hospital on Wednesday and instead of having her go home, Stephane took her to his place.

  Two weeks later, Stephane and Andronaisa were standing in San Diego International waiting on her flight to Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

  “Once you touch down, my cousin George will be there waiting for you. She’s going to drive you to Cheshire,” Stephane reminded her once again. Andronaisa sighed. They went over this several times already since Stephane bought the plane ticket. Andronaisa tried not to get annoyed. She knew Stephane was just trying to help. She looked at him and wondered if he knew how much she appreciated the help and care he gave to her, especially in these last two weeks. After the first few days of staying with him and Michael calling constantly, Stephane eventually smashed her phone and bought a whole new one. The only number she had on it was his.

  “I know, Stephane. Thank you. I promise I will call you when I touch down.” Andronaisa gave her best friend a hug as her flight was just called.

  Stephane hugged her back. “I’m gonna miss you. But this is for the best.”

  Andronaisa nodded and gave a little sniffle. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t you dare start that again, Andy. You have nothing to be sorry for. Now you better go before you miss your flight.” He kissed her temple and gave me a smile.

  Andronaisa gave him a wave as she grabbed her bag and headed to the boarding line.

  KURT GROANED AS HE headed to the shower. He had stayed up way too late last night trying to piece together what he had so far with this case. It really wasn’t a lot. Everything seemed all over the place. But he needed to solve this case before another murder occurred because if that happened, they wold be forced to call in the Feds and no one wanted that.

  After he got himself ready for work, he checked on his mother. He smiled at the sight that greeted him. A brownish-gray wolf was curled in the middle of the bed. Quietly as he could so as not to wake her, he began moving around the room. Medicine and water were placed on the nightstand directly in front of the lamp, and he made sure to leave her bathrobe and slippers on the chair by the closet. Once that was done, he headed out the door. Luckily, he remembered not to get dressed after his shower. He made that mistake once.

  Once he was on four legs instead of two, Kurt broke into a sprint and headed for the trails. The Appalachian Trail was one of his favorite spots to run, especially this early in the morning. No one would really question why a wolf would be on the trails. Well, if you were new to Cheshire, you might, but not those who have lived here for years. And if someone was on the trails at the same time, he could easily duck into the woods and finish his run in the woods. But he liked the trails. He liked to watch the water as he ran. Well, there was the fact that he could watch the water and be alone with his thoughts. Dealing with his mom and the stress of being a detective, Kurt needed some "alone time". Which was why he was annoyed when he ran into a couple of other wolves on the trail. By
their colors, he knew it was Will and Gary.

  Hey Kurt!

  Kurt said nothing. He ignored them, hoping they would go away and leave him to his peace.

  Dude, what's your problem?

  My problem is I want to be left alone. Kurt didn’t dare “voice” that thought though. Instead, he said: Gary, I was up late. I am up early and I still have to work, so if you don’t mind, I'd like to run in peace.

  The others didn’t say anything else after that, which was exactly what Kurt needed. They still ran with him, though, but just didn’t really speak. Much. By the time they were close to the Dunkin on North street, the two split from Kurt. Kurt, meanwhile, headed to the area behind the coffee shop where he kept a bag of clothes. Being as this was his normal routine, he had started stashing extra clothes here. He changed into his outfit for the day and then headed inside the Dunkin.

  “Morning, detective,” the girl behind the counter greeted him.

  “Morning Thea. How’s your day going?”

  “It's well, thank you.” She punched some buttons on the machine in front of her and then started on Kurt’s latte.

  He loved when he came in here and Thea was working because she automatically remembered his order. It was always a veggie egg white omelet and medium hot hazelnut latte. He never understood why the others never remembered that. He wasn’t one to stray from the path. He was soon given his order, paid with a ten-dollar bill and told her to keep the change.

  “Enjoy your day detective.”

  Kurt nodded to Thea as he left and headed toward the road that would take him to the police station. It was a nine-minute walk on a good day. This is why he enjoyed it, among other reasons. The one thing Kurt loved about Cheshire was the rural look it had with all the trees. Along the street that he normally walked, there were trees lining both sides. He wasn’t sure what trees they were, but he knew which ones they weren’t. Especially with Autumn setting in and all the leaves turning colors. These trees along his walk were a mix of red and orange, with a few sprinkles of brown and still some green here and there. In the winter when they are covered with snow, it was, in Kurt’s opinion, the most beautiful sight to see. Each time Kurt walked this route it felt brand new, and he had been walking this route for several years now. He’d usually find a tree or something he hadn’t seen before. Like that tree stump over there. That wasn’t there yesterday.