Free Marked Clan #2 - Red by Maurice Lawless Page A

handed off her jammer panty to another player and sat down on the bench. One of the refs signaled to someone behind us and a paramedic pushed his way through the crowd. Justin seemed anxious, like he wanted to go out there himself.
    I spoke into his ear over the noise. "I don’t like that new player, Laurie."
    "I know what you mean," he said. "That was a brutal hit. Much more force than necessary."
    "No, no," I said. "I mean, there’s something off about her. The way she moves."
    "What are you saying?" he asked.
    How could I describe it? That Laurie Loveless moved like a wolf? I sighed. "Never mind, it’s probably nothing."
    If ever there was a sport where a wolf could let out their aggression without anyone the wiser, it was roller derby. I watched both teams line up again. This time Laurie was the Hell Dolls’ jammer. She pushed her way through the pack with seemingly no effort, leaving the Roller Girls off balance. They regrouped and prepared for her to come around the second time. This time they crowded together and kept the Hell Dolls from making a hole for her.
    Laurie burst into the pack and slinked past one, two, three of the other team’s girls and under the arms of the front of the pack. She was free and clear without so much as a nudge of the hip. Was I the only one here that thought this was odd? She slipped through them like water, changing direction on her skates with fluid precision.
    I watched Laurie Loveless for the rest of the bout. The Hell Dolls may have been new, but Laurie kept the scores close with every jam. She sent one girl out of bounds on her back, and twisted another one’s ankle. All of this was done with legal–but brutal—hits.
    The first jammer she injured—to her credit—came back and played in the final jam, even though I could tell she was in pain. The Roller Girls banded together and scored enough to tip the bout to their favor, but only just.
    Once the final jam was over, Justin looked at me. "I’m really sorry to do this, but I’d like to see how those injured girls are doing. You can come with, if you want."
    "No, I’m good," I said. "Go do your doctor thing. I want to mingle with some of these roller girls for a bit. Come get me when you’re done."
    Justin nodded, and headed out onto the floor. I threaded my way over to a table where some of the Rocket City girls were selling T-shirts and chatting up the Hell Dolls. For all the ferocity they showed on the track, they laughed and traded war stories like old friends. I approached one of the Rocket City girls who sat off on her own, drinking some water. She was small, almost my size, but solid muscle. Her helmet said "Kat-Aclysm" and was covered in leopard spots.
    "Hi," I said. "I’m sorry to bother you, Kat? Have you seen Laurie Loveless around here? I wanted to talk to her about the game."
    Kat laughed. "Yeah, you and me both. I want to know where she came from. She’s not a regular for this area, that’s for damned sure."
    "I don’t understand," I said.
    Kat took off her helmet and wiped her forehead with a towel. Her hair was blonde, done in a pixie-cut. "She’s a ringer. Somebody brought her in, could be from out of state. There are rules about that. Anyway, neither one of us is in luck. She bailed out the back not two or three minutes ago. If you run, you might catch her."
    I thanked her and did just that, bursting out the back door to see…nothing. I scanned the parking lot behind the rink, but didn’t see any sign of Laurie. Aside from Slate and Dree, she was the first female wolf I’d encountered recently. She was obviously no victim, which meant only one thing.
    "Fuck," I said to no one in particular. "Now I’ll have to start hunting women, too."
    Somehow I doubted Justin would object to the idea.

Chapter Fourteen
    Justin got called in on our way back to my place after the bout. He called me and apologized.
    "I had fun tonight," he said. "I want to see you again. Maybe somewhere less public."
    "Promises,