Read Online Stalking the Others by Jess Haines - Free Book Online Page A

days ago.
    The last few posts were made by “NytStryke289,” “MadeofWIN42,” and “BooksBabesBeer”—and the signatures at the bottom of each post told me they were Hawk, Spike, and Doc. The number of “LOL,” “STFU,” and “newbsauce” comments removed any doubts as to whether it truly was the misfit pack of Weres who called themselves the Nightstrikers. Maybe this wasn’t such a bust after all.
    “Can I make my own account here?”
    Keith shook his head, not looking away from his screen. “No. You have to get a special invitation from an admin to make an account. That’s part of how they keep anyone who isn’t Other out. We had to steal the account info from someone else in order to get in, and I don’t have the time to find another dead Other to impersonate for you.”
    Shit. My tracks wouldn’t be covered, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t use this as a resource. “I’m going to send someone a private message here. Let me know if he replies, okay?”
    That caught his attention. He glanced over at me, frowning, and red splashed across his screen. Cursing, he nodded, then turned his attention back to his game.
    I typed a message to NytStryke289—Hawk—with my lips pressed into a thin line of displeasure as I concentrated on wording it in such a way that he’d know who I was and what I wanted without naming names.

    Hey Hawk, it’s the knuckle-dragger’s girlfriend. You met me upstate last month. I could use your help tracking down the asshole—he’s gone into hiding.Think you could lend me a hand? Watch your reply; don’t know who is looking for me.

    I wasn’t expecting him to get back to me right away, but a reply popped up on the screen while I was scanning over some of the other topics. I was a little too afraid to click on the thread about me, but the ones discussing the White Hats and the “friendly agents”—people sympathetic to Others—might be useful to peruse later. The message from Hawk was short and sweet, but gave me hope.

    ZOMG! Thought you were dead! Lots of people looking for you, including popo and the big fanged kahuna in NYC.You sure know how to piss people off. I’ll see what we can dig up. Might take a couple days if he’s hiding, but we’ve found him before. We can do it again.

    That was more than I expected. I sent him a thank-you note in reply and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The Nightstrikers might not be competent hunters, but they had connections to Others that I was lacking as long as I avoided Royce.
    ‘You don’t need the vampire, ’ the belt snapped.
    I rolled my eyes and didn’t bother with a response.
    With some regret—for as much as I wanted to, it would be dangerous to send e-mails to my mother or Arnold or anyone else who might be missing me—I pushed away from the desk, thanking Keith, who gave me a brief wave without looking away from his monitor. There was maybe an hour left before sunrise, and the belt was radiating an antsy need to work off some residual energy. Detective Smith was probably asleep, but it couldn’t hurt to leave him a voice mail directing him to leave a message for me with Sara if he’d come across any info. I needed to check on her anyway. I hadn’t had any contact with her since I had fled Royce’s apartment building.
    Leaving Sara behind hadn’t been an easy decision, but I couldn’t afford to bring her any deeper into my mess. She didn’t have the benefit of the belt or magic or training as a fighter, so I couldn’t risk bringing her along with me when I left. Hiding her among Royce’s people seemed like a good idea at the time, but I had no idea how he was treating her or what he had done with her since then. It had been a worry in the back of my mind for days, but I hadn’t wanted to contact Royce in case he might trace my whereabouts or somehow figure out where I was hiding.
    Running briskly through the neighborhood was peaceful, surrounded by the scent of the ocean and the whispery rattle of