Argeneau Family 12. The Renegade Hunter(28)

Charlie dropped down to all fours at once at the word treat and rushed ahead into the kitchen. Smiling, Jo shrugged the backpack off her shoulder and dropped it by the door. She then peered out the peep hole to see that the hall was empty. Bricker had listened and left. Good.

Turning away, she went into the kitchen and got the promised treat for Charlie. Leaving him munching on a cheese-stuffed dog bone, Jo then wandered into the living room and dropped on the couch. An old beat-up television sat on its table looking lonely and dusty. Jo rarely had time to watch television, but now that she'd eaten she was wide awake, and the nap she'd looked forward to no longer seemed appealing. However, she didn't want to risk bringing on her headache again by reading or studying either, so she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

Jo flicked through the channels until she recognized the opening scenes of the original Alien movie. She then dropped the remote, curled her legs up on the couch, grabbed a pillow to cuddle, and relaxed to watch it. Charlie joined her several moments later, seating himself on the floor at her feet and eyeing her with hopeful eyes. Smiling wryly, Jo shifted her legs off the couch and patted the cushion beside her.

"All right, come on up this time, but you know this isn't going to be a regular thing. You still have to stay off the furniture most times," she warned as the dog leaped up onto the couch and settled beside her, his head resting on her lap. Smiling faintly, Jo petted the dog, her attention returning to the television screen.

The movie was nearly over when Charlie suddenly stiffened beside her and raised his head. Jo tore her eyes away from watching Sigourney Weaver shivering and climbing slowly and cautiously into a space suit hanging from the wall of the shuttle where she'd just discovered the Alien was on board. Jo glanced to Charlie curiously, and then toward the door where his attention appeared to be.

"What is it?" she asked, running her hand lightly over the dog. Realizing she'd whispered the question, Jo grimaced, but then stilled as Charlie began to growl deep in his throat, an almost silent sound of warning. Frowning, she urged Charlie's head off her lap and stood. Between the movie and Charlie's strange reaction, she was a bit freaked out, Jo acknowledged, her concern growing when Charlie leaped off the couch to stand in front of her. He was now blocking her way, eyes on the door and still growling that low, quiet warning.

"Jo?"

Her eyes shifted from the dog to the door at that call from Gina. It had sounded strangely wooden and stiff from the usually exuberant girl. Frowning, she moved around Charlie, headed for the door, but paused when the dog growled louder and nipped at the pant leg of her jeans as if to stop her.

"What is it?" Jo asked the dog with bewilderment and then nearly jumped out of her skin at a sudden shriek from the Alien on television. She had to stop watching these horrors, Jo thought with embarrassment over her own reaction.

"Jo?" Gina said again a little louder.

Feeling foolish, Jo shook her head and brushed Charlie away, making him release her jeans. "Come on, it's just Gina."

She started forward again, but Charlie was immediately in front of her, trying to trip her up and stop her.

"What is the matter with you?" she asked with irritation. "You know Gina. What—"

"Open the door, Jo."

That made her pause. It wasn't the words so much as the fact that they definitely sounded wooden and unlike Gina. Combined with Charlie's odd behavior, it was enough to make the hairs rise on the back of her neck. Jo swallowed and stared at the door, unsure what to do now. Charlie released another growl, this time a loud, angry sound followed by a worried whine that started Jo's heart pumping. Something was very definitely wrong.

Her eyes slid from the dog to the door to her windows, and Jo had the brief mad urge to rush over, jerk the window up, and climb out… But something was wrong and Gina was out there, possibly in trouble, and she couldn't just leave her.

"Crap," Jo muttered under her breath, and then patted Charlie reassuringly and moved to the door on her tiptoes.

Apparently satisfied that she now understood something was wrong, Charlie didn't try to stop her this time, but stuck close to her side as she rose up to peer out the peephole.

What Jo saw wasn't really all that alarming. Gina stood in the hall still in her T-shirt, a man at her side. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that her face was completely blank as if no one was home inside her head, and that Jo recognized the man, she would have simply opened the door. But Jo did recognize him—it was Mr. Bad-Breath Boy from last night.

Jo straightened from the door and stared at it, her mind working frantically. She had no idea what Bad-Breath Boy wanted, but it couldn't be good, and it definitely wasn't good that he had Gina.