Author's Note: I'm leaving for vacation the end of this week (for about 12 days) and had hoped to post chapter 5 before I left. It's just about finished but I've decided to wait and post it when I get back. Thanks so much, again, to everyone reading and reviewing Hostage!!

Chapter Four

"So how come you're handling all of this so well? I mean, it's not every day you see half human birds flying around." Dean asked. With his arms surrounding me as I sat on his lap, he somehow managed to type one possible name of our feathered foe into the computer and send it off into cyberspace.

As we waited for a list of sites to pop up, I wiggled around a little, just enough to keep his mind on me as well as the screen and to see if anything else 'popped' up. To my great pleasure, it most definitely did! Then I felt his left hand, which was still buried beneath my shirt, flex and immediately inch lower. He began to draw lazy circles around my belly button, setting off little explosive charges all around the general vicinity.

After this research session, I was certainly going to be a bigger advocate of higher education!

"Right," I said as I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Let me see if I can forget about what your fingers are doing long enough to answer that." He waggled his eyebrows as his hand made a sudden dive south, a decidedly wicked grin playing about his lips while he slipped beneath both hip hugger jeans and girl boxers to pet the sensitive skin just above the apex of my thighs. My breath caught at the sweet invasion, the deep, ever present ache within me somehow increasing.

"You didn't answer the question." he growled against my throat.

That might have had something to do with my rather unstable breathing, which made it difficult to talk at the moment. "Did you ask one?" I forced out.

He started nipping at my neck. "I'm pretty sure I did."

Oh my! I closed my eyes, knowing the loss of one sense magnified the others. Every nibble, every single stroke became the center of my universe. This man was good, so very, very good. I moaned as his tongue joined in, lapping gingerly at my skin.

I could feel the goose bumps rising along my arms with each lick and tender bite. I'm not sure how, but I managed to string enough words together to form a few intelligible sentences. "Something about...how well I'm handling this? Considering my body is about to burst into flames, and, disintegrate into a puff of smoke, I'm not sure I am."

"Not this, Cara." His strategically placed fingers wriggled and my body temperature soared off the charts. "I meant how are you handling the idea of a birdman actually existing?"

His right arm was stretched out on the desk as he held the mouse, so, mindful of his bandage, I reached over and lightly tracked a path up and down its length, reveling in the texture of the crisp hair that covered his muscular forearm. I could tell exactly how much Dean was enjoying the delicate strokes by the arousing feel of his cock hardening even more beneath me. It was double the pleasure because I was certainly getting something out of it as well.

He was still waiting on an answer so I put my mind to the task. "I've always believed there could be other forms of life, although I figured they'd be on some other planet." I told him, the functioning part of my brain articulating better than I'd imagined it could. "I mean, we exist, so why not other types of people? Or creatures. And as for evil, I believe there's good in the world, so where there's light there's gotta be dark."

That answer went over well. "If there were more people like you, my job would be one whole helluva lot easier." Reluctantly, he let his attention drift back to the screen, but his left hand stayed snuggly in place, making me one very happy (not to mention wet) woman. "So, let's see if we can figure out what we're dealing with."

He clicked on several sites that mentioned a Piasa, but nothing seemed to match up. After several minutes of scanning the information, he suggested a different name. I quickly offered up my typing skills. Not because I'm exceptionally fast, but because I didn't want to risk his moving his hand. I liked it where it was, doing the most marvelous things in the most receptive places.

"Tengu." I repeated as we scanned the list of sites. He'd mentioned that one before. Those turned out to be from Japanese legends, but the creature had four limbs in addition to wings and was actually more bird-size in appearance than our visitor. We were definitely not dealing with a Tengu.

"Damn it!" Dean's body tensed up around me, and not in the "I want you so bad my body's gone rigid" sort of way. This was frustration growing as he worked at determining exactly what it was flying around out there. He tapped out a steady beat on the desktop, his mind clearly trying to draw on what must be a vast reservoir of information on...huh, I wondered what you'd call it. The supernatural? That would definitely apply here.

Finally his fingers stilled. "Let's look up the articles on the murders again. Maybe there's something in there that'll help now that I've seen this thing."

We read over the articles and Dean seemed pretty interested in one aspect. More than a few of the several dozen local area write-ups had pointed out a connection between two of the men. It seems they shared an ex-wife, one who had recently returned to her native home in the Philippines, but they mentioned no link between her and the third man (though he did work in the same factory as the first victim).

"She's a link, but she's not even in this country right now. What interests you about the connection with her?" I asked, curious as to how Dean's mind worked. After all, he was very smart and very good at what he did. It wouldn't be surprising to learn he was considered one of the best in his field.

"An ex-wife of two of the men? And if the third dude worked with the first one who was killed, then she could have known him, too. As for the out of the country bit, cops ruled her out thinking it's the perfect alibi, but what if she's a shapeshifter, changing into bird form? She's got her own set of wings to get around with."

I was about to ask him if by 'shapeshifter' he meant the sort that I'd read about in books (werewolves and such), when a light buzzing erupted from his pants.

Despite our serious conversation, I was sitting on his lap with his hand tucked into my pants...I couldn't resist a little teasing. "You carrying a vibrator? Kinky!"

I was rewarded with a burst of rich, male laughter that had my toes curling within the confines of my worn out black converses. It was deep and sexy; a sound I could spend an eternity listening to.

"Yeah, the talking kind." he grinned.

He lifted his hips so he could dig the cell phone out of his right front pocket, the mammoth muscles of his thighs tightening beneath me as he rose up and I felt the pressure of his erection riding the seam of my ass. An odd, strangled sound gushed from my lips as a myriad of sensations took hold of the lower half of my body. It was like a furnace had exploded between my legs, the aftershock billowing out and expanding upward at a fast rate. I found the edge of the desk and dug in so tightly it was a miracle all my nails didn't break.

Dean instantly stilled beneath me, all traces of humor gone. "Christ!"

I thought he would pull away, but instead his left hand slipped a bit lower inside my jeans so that the tips of his fingers were nestled in the damp curls. His breath, as it fanned my throat, came in short, rapid bursts. I let my head fall back to rest on his shoulder and eased my shaky legs open wider, inviting a deeper exploration. Just a little lower Dean, my mind begged. Just a little and I was going to fly completely apart.

The phone, however, continued to buzz, reminding him that there was still an important matter to deal with. And so I was going to remain in one piece. One panting, aching, desperate piece!

"I gotta get it." he grumbled, knowing what he had to do, but clearly wishing he didn't as he pulled his warm hand from the even warmer place within my pants. He rubbed at the thin film of perspiration that had formed on his forehead. "But we will get back to that."

Oh, there was no doubt about that. No way was this man disappearing now without my experiencing everything that mouth and body had to offer. I stood up and began to pace back and forth in the cramped area, trying to calm by overheated, sexually frustrated body while Dean answered the call. I noticed he did some shifting around of his own as he talked.

I kept moving, but couldn't help but overhear his end of the conversation. It wasn't like I wanted to eavesdrop, but it was a tiny area and since birdman was probably still hanging around I couldn't leave the room. Dean sounded somewhat stressed. I noticed that the longer he talked the more tense he became. The signs were subtle but clear. His knuckles turned white as his hand tightened around the phone, his lips grew thinner and his voice was a little deeper. Someone had issues with Dad. That hit close to home and my heart went out to him.

The two continued to talk, or rather, his dad did. Dean seemed to mostly listen. From what I could tell, his father was on the critical side because when Dean did get the chance to speak, he alternated between defending his actions and apologizing for them. With each passing moment, I grew more and more upset with the man on the other end of the call. A man I didn't know and had no right judging, but it was awfully apparent that he was far too harsh with his son. A son that had come across to me as extremely competent, well trained and highly intelligent.

When Dean finally hung up, he was definitely edgy. "One more call."

The second one was a bit shorter but much more relaxed. I could clearly pick up on the respect and even a camaraderie with the man he called Bobby. As soon as that call ended he looked at me, the tension gone from his face.

"My dad was busy, but Bobby said that by the description I gave, it sounds like an Ekek. He said they're based on Philippine folklores and there are several stories floating around about them. One is that it can be conjured up in some sort of ritual. Another is that a person who's descendant of the Ekeks can actually shapeshift into one given the right circumstances."

Fascinating! The things this man and his 'people' knew! Who were they and where did they come from? I would really love to learn more about these hunters before Dean vanished from my dreary world.

Vanished. I didn't want to think about that at the moment. Instead, I thought about the information his friend had shared and it began to register in my normally analytical, but somewhat numbed at the moment, brain. I wondered if Dean could see the lightbulb go on above my head.

"He said it's based on Philippine folklore?"

"Yeah." he said. The gleam of satisfaction on his face was undeniable, giving him the adorable appeal of a little boy who had just been given the key to the candy store.

"You were right. The ex-wife."

I was more than a little impressed with Dean's intuitiveness. He'd picked right up on the woman. He knew his stuff. I felt a wave of excitement hit me, some sort of adrenaline rush I suppose. It was easy to get caught up in the thrill of not only knowing what had terrorized my community but in the idea of being able to help one of these elite hunters put a stop to it. Not that I would be much good in any sort of fight, but I'd do whatever I could to help Dean out.

"So," I said, the breathless edge in my voice self-evident. "Now that we know it's this Ekek thing, what are we gonna do to stop the evil bitch?"

Dean paused, his head slanting to one side as he studied me with curious eyes. "You're starting sound like a hunter."

I had to laugh at that, the deep throaty sound bubbling out of me, and it did wonders to relieve a little of the stress that had been building up over the past hour or so. I immediately caught the change in Dean's expression. His lips parted and those large doe eyes seemed to swallow me up.

"Me?" I said. "I've never hunted anything in my entire life...unless you count hunting down a pair of desperately desired shoes about four months ago."

He smiled as he stood up and pulled me close. "Shoes don't count." He ran his fingers through my hair and the long brown locks that I'd always considered a bit unruly instantly wrapped around them. "You've got a great laugh. Remind me to make you laugh again later."

He gave me the lightest kiss, just a brush of his lips over mine, but it had every inch of me tingling. Picking up on that, he quickly tried to change the mood back to business as he stepped away and cleared his throat.

"Bobby said the best way to take this thing down is with a bow and poison tipped arrow. Then salt and burn it. It sucks cause I can't get to my weapons so I'm gonna have to improvise. I'll see what your brother's got lying around, then I'll make sure the freak's still nearby. If it is, I can end this tonight."

For some reason, I was still stuck on the 'salt and burn it'. Ew! An image of Dean setting that thing on fire sprang to mind and my stomach lurched. I squeezed my eyes closed, working hard to clear away the disconcerting picture. Then I remembered my aunt who had died the previous year. She'd been cremated. Pretty much the same thing.

Except that she hadn't been shot with a poison arrow first. And I didn't take part in the cremating.

Releasing the breath that I'd been holding, I tried reminding myself that this wasn't a human being we were talking about. And not really an animal either. It was evil and it was killing people in a horrible fashion. That did make it easier to deal with.

Okay, I should move onto other things. Maybe think about weapons instead. Anything Tim might have on hand. Sadly, scissors were all that I could come up with.

I flashed what I figured was probably a pretty lame attempt at a smile, but it was the best I could do at the moment. "I can say without any doubt that my brother does not have a bow and poison tipped arrows lying around."

Dean's eyebrows went up as he scratched at the back of his neck. "God, that'd be nice, but scary as hell if he did! With any luck, though, he'll have something I can use."

Judging by the easy manner in which he spoke of weapons and burning bodies, this must have all been pretty common place for him and other hunters. Oddly enough, that was comforting. After all, Dean had kept me safe so far (despite any misgivings his father may have had) and Bobby seemed to believe in him. Staring at that rugged body and confident face, I certainly had faith in the strong, brave warrior.

Dean moved to the door and started to put his weight against the bookshelf. Showtime! Which meant I had to suck it up and prove to him that I was made of tougher stuff. I just hoped that when the time came, I wouldn't make a fool of myself by passing out or vomiting!

With a deep breath, I stepped beside him and started to help. His head snapped up and quickly shook from side-to-side.

"No, Cara. You're gonna wait in here where it's safe."

"Safe? It's not gonna be much safer in here once we move this thing" I argued as I helped slide the heavy piece of furniture out of the way. "Besides, I'd feel safer with you. You know what you're doing."

I got the look, the one guys give when they know you're right but they're not going to admit it. Then he shrugged and said, "Fine. Let's go. Just try to be quiet and do everything I tell you. If birdman, or woman, is still here and decides to come in before I'm ready to go after it, you get the hell outside and run. As fast and as far as you can."

I prayed it wouldn't come to that, but I let him know I understood. "Got it."

Stepping out that door was going to be one of the scariest things I'd ever done. What if the Ekek had found a way in, a means of getting into the store without us hearing it, and was waiting for us to deliver ourselves right into its nasty, vicious claws? Improbable, I know, but hey, anything seemed possible now. A chill rushed through me and I couldn't suppress the shiver. Unfortunately, Dean had just taken hold of my hand and must have felt me shudder because he immediately stopped and stared at me. So much for coming across as the brave and confident heroine.

"You don't have to do this. Stay inside while I go and..."

"No! No, I'm going with you. We should stick together." All the horror movies I'd watched over the years seemed to flash through my brain and I remembered the cardinal rule. "Never separate. That's when people get, you know, chopped up or chewed up." In case he thought I was crazy, I quickly added, "At least they do in all the scary movies."

I caught yet another glimpse of admiration in those breathtaking eyes. "Godzilla and horror flicks? Damn! You Nebraska chicks are amazing."

He grinned and I felt the floor drop out from beneath me. How he could stay so calm and cool about all of this while at the same time completely turning my world upside down by saying and doing the sexiest things was beyond me. And even stranger, I'd found myself responding to it. In the middle of the most bizarre situation I'd ever found myself in, I was struggling with lust more than fear.

Dean had the most unusual effect on women.

I returned the smile, wondering just how long that trail of broken hearts he'd left behind actually was. He was the stuff fantasies were made of, a sinful pleasure that a woman was only allowed to indulge herself in once in her lifetime. But unfortunately, he was also like that first potato chip, or first mouthful of rich, creamy chocolate. You did not want to stop at just one taste, no matter what the cost. Who would have ever thought a guy that hot truly existed?

"What?" he asked as I ogled him.

If he only knew how badly I wanted to eat him up at the moment... Then again, he was probably more aware of my baser needs than I was at this point.

"Nothing." I kissed him and nodded toward the door. It was time to end this so we could indulge ourselves in one of those sinful fantasies without any interference. "Let's go find some poison or whatever." I pointed to the left. "There's a stock room that way. We should check in there. I doubt we'll find anything good, but it couldn't hurt to look. Hell, worse comes to worst we can fling an arsenal of books at it."

That got me a lovely eye roll and a comical snort before Dean cautiously opened the door and checked the darkened hallway. With no bird in sight, he led me the short distance to the other room where we started rummaging around. I was shocked when he quickly declared he'd hit the jackpot. He held up a cache of gardening weapons - a machete, a sickle and a hoe.

"Okay, what kind of bookstore is this?" he asked, though clearly happy with his find.

Sorting through the clutter on the floor-to-ceiling shelves that lined the back of the room, I shrugged. "I have no idea! There's a small open field behind the place. Maybe my brother does the weeding?" The things I was learning about my own flesh and blood!

"That means he should have some sort of poison around here. You know, for field mice or rats. See if you can find some."

Things were looking up. If we actually found poison, I was going to have to make a vow to myself to treat my brother kindly for a month. Okay, it would probably end up being more like a week. That was about as long as my gratitude would override his arrogance.

I grabbed the stepladder that was leaning against the wall and climbed up, searching the higher shelves while Dean continued the hunt on the other side of the room. It didn't take long before I found myself holding the large container of rat poison that was going to force me to be nice to my older sibling.

"Dean." When he looked up, I held out my treasure and felt my heart stutter at the responding grin.

"Sweet. Goes perfect with this." He showed me a pitchfork. "Let's go kick some Rhodan ass."

TBC