Chapter 105

The phone playing Dire Straits woke me up off the couch, interrupting horrible dreams of Nick killing Monroe and mounting his head on the wall in victory.

"Hey!" Nick said in a rushed tone.

"I thought you'd forgotten about me," I replied while keeping my southern drawl in check.

"No, of course not. We had a slight problem at the station. Sergeant Wu passed out. I'm at the hospital with him. Apparently he has some disorder called pica."

"Pica?" I sat up on the couch. "I've heard of that. It's where you eat random things. I think they've linked it to a form of obsessive compulsive disorder."

"Yeah, that's it," replied Nick with a sigh. "He's been eating everything from paper clips and coins to Chapstick."

"Oh, no. That's not good. Is he going to be all right?"

"Yeah. They caught it in time. The doctors say it didn't cause permanent damage, and they were able to get all the… things out of him."

My heart ached. "Stay with him, and we'll get together tomorrow."

"No, I want to see you tonight," Nick said hastily. "Give me an hour here, and I'll call you when I'm done."

"Okay. But don't keep me waiting too long."

I hung up and stretched. I'd been asleep a few hours. I tried to call Monroe. Maybe he'd calmed down by now. The phone trilled a few times then went to voicemail. Yeah, he was still upset. I didn't leave a message. What else could I possibly say?

My brain didn't want to think anymore, so I idly flipped channels until I ran across the original movie Sabrina. As it played, I settled back, watching the TV to drown out my other thoughts.

David Larabee had finally reciprocated Sabrina's love, but then his brother Linus came into view. For a time Sabrina loved them both, but she couldn't deny that Linus Larabee was who she really wanted. But who wouldn't want a guy like Humphrey Bogart? Why did the movies make even the most complicated love seem so easy to figure out? Everyone knew Sabrina was going to choose Linus. It was the same formula for Bridget Jones's Diary. Clearly Mark Darcy was going to get the girl. Why did I have to choose at all? Why couldn't my ending be that I had two men whom I loved dearly?

I recalled the movie I'd watched at Natalie's. Reese Witherspoon had asked her BFF in This Means War, "Do you think it's possible to love two people equally?"

Her friend had replied, "Love, yes. Be in love, no."

My BFF had told me to shut the fuck up and stop being stupid. I didn't need to call Chloe tonight to get that answer again.

In that movie, two best friends had fought over Reese, but even after she chose Chris Pine, the guys remained friends afterwards. Well, that was obviously fiction. There was no way in hell Nick and Monroe were going to be chummy after this, and that was my fault. No matter who I chose, I was hurting someone else.

I continued to watch Sabrina. Humphrey Bogart's plaid bowtie brought back memories of Monroe in Kentucky. Monroe was there for me when I needed him most. He was always there for me. Nick was just… there. And sometimes that wasn't even true if he got a phone call. I touched my cheeks, which were wet with tears. Darn sappy movies.

I sighed heavily and called Monroe a second time, drying my eyes. More trilling and another voicemail. Dammit! He didn't really mean we were done for good, did he? He couldn't possibly.

As Linus reached out to embrace Sabrina while they were on the boat to France, my cell phone rang. I reached out to grab the phone off my coffee table, expecting it to be Monroe, but it was Nick. What number was he calling me from?

"Renée, I'm sorry about tonight. I know it's late, but will you please meet me at the trailer?" Nick asked with a need in his voice. I loved that need he had for me.

"Sure, I'm still awake. Where are you? I don't recognize the number."

"I'm leaving the hospital now. My cell died, so I had to call you before I left."

"Is that sergeant guy okay?"

"Yeah. Wu is gonna be fine. They said he oughta be able to go home tomorrow. Right now I need you. I need someone who understands me tonight."

"Give me a moment to get ready, and I'll be there soon."

I went to my closet, lingering toward the back. I pulled out my red, button-down blouse that I hadn't seen in ages. When it came to my wardrobe, it was easier to date Nick than Monroe. With Nick I could wear any color in the rainbow. Sure, I was enthralled with the Blutbad, but Nick was human. Granted, I wasn't fully human myself, but I was half-human. And Nick was a Gemini. We were a good match.

I eyed myself in the mirror, and I couldn't help but smile as the bold red reflected back at me. The fiery highlights in my hair were all aglow, and as I thought of Nick, I forced my eyes to glow, too. The green light was bright. I was in love. I donned a black A-line skirt and my red heels. I pulled out my ruby necklace, and I felt incredibly sexy. I'd missed red.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

On the drive to the trailer I hummed 'La Vie en Rose' from the Sabrina movie while I thought about Monroe, then Nick again. No, I was still sure I loved them both.

I only had to knock once before Nick answered the trailer door. He seemed frustrated, but all that melted away from his face when he looked at me.

"How are you doing?" I asked with concern.

"Not so hot." He shook his head as I entered. "Thank goodness you came. It's been one hell of a night." He went through the trail of events from the dinner and the dead bodies to Sergeant Wu as I tidied up the trailer bed. His night definitely seemed hellacious.

Once the bed was empty, Nick sat down, clasping both knees with his hands. "I can't believe that damn Hexenbiest is dating Hank!" He was pissed. His brow furrowed as much as Monroe's.

I leaned against him on the trailer bed. There needed to be less talking and more other things going on in this bed. He turned toward me, taking me into his arms, and I kissed him deeply.

"You know what? Instead of talking about Hank's poor choices, I'd really like to hear that list I asked you to come up with," I said with a coy smile on my lips.

"Well, I didn't get far since it was such a bad night." Nick tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "But I think I can improvise."

"I like the sound of that."

"I think for my list to work," he smirked, "we'll need less clothes than this."

"That I can oblige," I breathed as I unbuttoned my blouse. I wanted them both, and dammit, I'd just have both.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Nick asked pensively. "I know you said you wanted to wait until…"

"Less talking, more this," I replied, taking his mouth to mine.

"Oh, yeah," he murmured. "I like this much better than talking about Hexenbiests."

Nick kissed down my chest and across my bra line. His lips on my skin felt so good, but they were nothing like Monroe's, whose lips jolted a delicious heat down to my core. That was slightly disappointing.

Nick took off his blue dress shirt, and I bit my lip as my eyes traveled down his body. Strong arms and a very nice chest. He was Detective Super Sexy.

"Oh my," I stammered out. "You're even better looking than in my dreams." I ran my fingers through his wisps of dark chest hair as my eyes cascaded down further to his navy blue dress pants. He was already pretty excited from to look of it.

"What, you dreamed about me?" he smirked.

"Oh, many times, Detective Sexy."

"Yeah, I've been having some pretty vivid dreams about you, too." Nick slid my blouse off completely, discarding it on the bed. "God, you're beautiful," he said as his eyes seemed to almost drink me in. And I still had plenty more to take off. "Yeah, and those dreams didn't do you justice, either." He took hold of my face, kissing me some more.

"See, much better than talking shop," I breathed out once he let go of my lips.

Nick grinned as he replied, "It's gonna be even better soon." He slid down my bra strap, kissing my bare shoulder as I closed my eyes. "No more talking about Hank or Adalind."

My eyes popped open. "Adalind?"

"Yeah, the Hexenbiest," he murmured, still kissing down my body as it tensed under his mouth. No... It couldn't be. But, the name was so unique.

I swallowed hard as I asked, "Blonde with blue eyes? A lawyer?"

"Yeah..." Nick stopped abruptly to look up at me. "How do you know that?"

Fuck!

"I've been having lunch with her since I practically moved here," I gasped.

"You have?" His eyes grew wide. "You sure it's her?"

"Adalind Schade?"

"Dammit, yeah that's her." Nick's eyes widened. "How did you meet her?"

"Like I said, we have lunch. She works at the law firm near the bank, so we met at one of the cafés nearby work and started conversing."

"So, all you've done is just have lunch with her?"

"No, I went to a party at her condo right before you left on your getaway with Juliette."

The ad executive came back to mind. Of course it was inconceivable for there to be only one Hexenbiest. They just didn't operate that way. Dammit, Renée! But I'd touched Adalind and the others, and there wasn't a cold chill. Maybe I didn't do it correctly. Either way, I'd been duped. Dammit!

"Renée, this isn't good." The kissing stopped, and Nick's eyes filled with concern. "She's the same Hexenbiest I told you about that tried to kill Aunt Marie in the hospital."

"It was her?" I held my hand to my mouth. "You never told me her name."

If Adalind knew about Grimms, then she must have known all about me, too. This wasn't making sense. Why would Adalind try to befriend me?

"Couldn't you tell what she was?" Nick asked incredulously.

"No, she's never had a woge or let on that she wasn't human," I responded while shaking my head slowly. "But when I was at her condo, one of her friends had a woge and then they panicked. I thought it was odd since I didn't let on that I saw her." I held my head and cursed under my breath. "I knew something was off about that night."

"What did her friend woge into?"

I gave him a sigh, lifting my chin. "A Hexenbiest."

"Renée! You're smarter than that! Come on!"

"I know, but I touched Adalind and there wasn't a warning chill. Besides, I thought it was silly to think that she was one, too. I mean, she invited me over and kept trying to be friendly." Adalind had been nothing but nice that night, practically forcing her baked goods on me. I still had quite a few of those darn apple tarts tempting me in my freezer. "Even though she wasn't genuine, I just thought it was because of her profession. Lawyers typically aren't the most genuine people."

"So, she's trying to be friends with you, and she's dating Hank," Nick pounded his fist into the trailer bed. "Could she have done something to Hank?"

"Of course she could've. Hexenbiests are witches, Nick. They're always conjuring spells and Zaubertranks to get what they want. And if this one is plotting against you, then I'm sure she's done something to make sure your partner is enchanted."

"Zaubertrank. That's the potion one, right?"

God, he was so cute sometimes. "Yes, that's the potion. But it's more than just a potion Nick. It's like what Monroe was trying to tell you. Zaubertranks mess with your head."

"But why? What would she gain from dating Hank?"

"He's close to you. What better way to snake into your life than by using your partner?"

"I need to talk to Monroe about this," Nick surmised, "but I guess that's out of the question since he wants to kill me." He sighed and leaned back on the bed.

"Yeah, he's done with talking to me, too. He came over tonight." I shook my head as I held back tears. "It didn't go so well."

Nick pushed his hair back with both hands. "Well, we have to do something."

"Rosalee is pretty knowledgeable. Can we call her?" I asked.

He dropped his hands. "Yes, Rosalee might know," he exclaimed and kissed me again. "Good idea!"

"Can we call her tomorrow?" I suggested, leaning against Nick as I ran my hands through his dark mess of tousled hair.

"No, we better call tonight." He walked over to the desk and unplugged his phone from the charger. "But once we take care of the Hexenbiest, you and I are going to pick up where we left off." He gave me an adorable, toothy grin.

I grinned back as I replied, "Oh, you better make good on that promise, Detective Sexy."

A/N: Okay, so we took a trip down movie lane. We're talking movies where the leading lady has two guys they want and antics ensue... Poor Renée still wants both Nick and Monroe, even after Monroe stormed out.

We're back to story mode again. Nick's had his awful dinner with Hank and Adalind, Captain Renard's cousin Anton and Woosley the bodyguard were found dead, and Sergeant Wu went to the hospital.

So now the truth is out and Renée knows who Adalind really is! But it's funny that they think Adalind has done something to Hank, but they haven't questioned that maybe she's done something to them, too. Maybe they're just too oblivious? LOL!

2 more chapters for now... Let's see what Rosalee has to say. (;

Comments, thoughts? I'm all ears!