by Sedona Venez
“What?” I snapped.
“I can’t figure out why my presence annoys you so much,” Ryker grunted in a deep, smooth voice.
“Can I ask you a question?” I whispered sweetly.
“Shoot, darling.”
“Why are you here? You don’t care about my family, so you aren’t here for justice. You don’t care about Celina’s death, so you aren’t here because you’re outraged on behalf of the shifter community. And you damn sure don’t care about the death of the reporter. So what is it, Ryker? Are you here to annoy me because I rebuffed you?”
He stared at me blankly. “Nope. I’m waiting.”
Reason leaned back in her chair. “Waiting? Look, Mr. Alfero…”
He stared at Reason coolly. “You can call me Ryker.”
Reason returned his cool stare. “Okay, Ryker. Now, as much as I love watching the foreplay between you and Light, this situation has nothing to do with you or the Other Council. This is a Credence Family issue.” She arched a brow. “So I agree with Light. Why are you here?”
I watched the vein along his jaw pulse. The only telltale sign of how annoyed he was by Reason’s question.
Knox stared at Ryker. “Ryker, tell them.”
Ryker glared at him. “Having a brother is starting to be a big pain in the ass,” he growled. Knox stared right back at him. “Fine. Three shifters were found dead in the span of a couple of days.”
Bullshit! He was hiding something else. I snorted. “So this has absolutely nothing to do with the war brewing between the Others?” I arched a brow. “Or the temporary truce? Because it seems like a bad time for the city of Manhattan to be raining shifter bodies.”
“I’m impressed. Didn’t think a party girl like you gave a shit about Other business,” Ryker jeered coldly.
My body stiffened. Was this prick actually insinuating I was too shallow to care about Others? “You would be surprised at the amount of information a ‘party girl’ like me knows, Wolfie,” I spat. “Like how the temporary truce is bullshit. It has to be or bodies wouldn’t be piling up… all under your watch… Alpha.”
Soar looked at me sharply. “Watch yourself, Fae-Witch.”
Ryker cut him off, looking at me coldly. “A few bodies are a drop of water in the bucket to the amount of death that would be happening right now if I hadn’t fought for the ‘bullshit truce’ you think ain’t worth shit.” His jaw tensed. “I’m the only thing standing in the way of a fucking full-scale Other war. So you think about that shit while you’re sleeping nice and safe in your luxury home, darling.”
My mouth tightened. “Are you expecting some damn gold star for cleaning up the chaos your father created under his reign as Alpha?” I paused, annoyed and disappointed with him. “Others don’t need your fucking diplomacy. They need your unleashed power.”
His eyes flashed, his feral power rolling off him, but he quickly reined it in and just like that, I knew he was a lethal wolf. He was a fucking ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Even now, I could see the slight pulse of his vein along his jaw. The only sign he was pissed at me. God, the man’s control seemed… too forced, which was the exact reason Others were wary of him. Especially since the Goddess of Death appointed him as her “bearer of the Sword of Souls” with the full power and authority to take or give life. No one wanted to cross him, so they nodded and agreed to his demands in front of his face and scoffed at his authority behind his back.
I blew out a calming breath before continuing. “I’m not trying to belittle your authority.” Honestly, I wasn’t. “The Others only agreed to the temporary truce to appease you. You and I know the war and killing between Others never stopped.” This was the truth. The elephant in the room that no one wanted to acknowledge. “It’s like Others forgot our history. A history that included the few humans who knew of our existence hunting us like animals, and Others in retaliation hunting humans.” I finished.
Reason arched her brow. “As much as I hate to admit it, Light’s right. Others kill each other off all the time. Why are these three deaths so important?”
“Because four bodies with their hearts ripped out is too ritualistic,” Ryker stated coolly.
“Four? You said three,” I declared.
He glanced over sharply at Reason. “Three shifters and one vampire… Dimitri.”
Reason’s eyes widened. “Dimitri? As in my father’s second-in-command?”
He nodded.
“This is not good,” Reason responded while fumbling with her cell. She paced over to the corner of the room, saying into the phone. “Let me speak to Dad.”
My mouth went dry. This most certainly was not good. Reason’s father, Oskar Orlov, the leader of New York Vampire coven, was protective of his coven. He was ruthless and frankly a little bizarre, but he kept his vampires on a tight leash. But to kill one of his own, especially his second-in-command, was like declaring war on Oskar, and no one was stupid or crazy enough to do that.
“The shifters, who were they?” Storm replied sharply.
Ryker crossed his beefy arms. “Two top enforcers from the Calem pride and Houston, Harvey Jenson’s beta.”
My eyes widened. Calem was the leader of the most powerful pride of tiger-shifters in New York and Harvey Jenson was Alpha of the Jenson pack, wolf-shifters. I stood up, looking worriedly at Storm, who was already pacing. She stopped and our eyes locked.
“All four of them are our clients,” I whispered.
Storm looked at me calmly. “Okay, wait, this could all be some weird coincidence.”
“Coincidence? No way in hell. First, Celina was found dead—” I stated.
Jackal interrupted. “She was killed. My sources say she was burned alive in her vehicle.”
“Oh God! Burned alive?” Storm stared.
I felt like the walls were closing in on us. “First Celina, then the reporter, and now…” I swallowed nervously. “Four clients?” I looked over at Reason and recognized the panicked look in her eyes. “I need a fucking drink because when our mothers find out, they’re going to kill us.”
Storm pointed at me. “No drinking. I need your ass coherent.” She tapped her foot. “This has to be tied to the break-in at our office. Our stolen client list is at the center of this debacle. I know it.”
“You think?” I spat sarcastically.
“Well, it’s official. The avalanche of shit continues.” Reason slammed her cell onto her desk. “My father has been locked away in an emergency coven meeting for hours. That’s not good.” She looked at Ryker. “The coven is ready to pull out of talks to sign the permanent Other peace treaty.”
“What peace treaty?” Storm and I inquired in unison.
Soar glared at them. “For those of you who have your heads stuck under rocks, the truce was only a verbal agreement. A permanent peace treaty will make the truce binding.”
“Why are you speaking to us like we’re two-year-olds?” Storm snapped.
I rubbed my head as the migraine came back full force. “I am so close to losing it right now.” I stared at Soar. “Why don’t you punch yourself in the face so I don’t have to do it myself?”
I saw the look in Storm’s eyes; she was just as pissed off with Soar. “We”—Storm gestured over to me—“always do our fucking research.” She paused coldly. “We know when Ryker became leader of the Other Council, he also pledged to unite the Others and bring peace to New York.”
I strolled over to Soar. “We also know the only reason the tiger-shifters and vampires agreed to end the killing, via a temporary truce, was if Ryker kept the wolf-shifters on a tight doggie leash.”
I made it my business to watch Others’s antics. It was more entertaining than a reality show, plus there was a lot more blood and sex involved. Most people didn’t know I knew more about Other politics and society gossip than most people suspected. Shit, I watched Other politics and society like an MMA fight, except Others were more ruthless and bloody.
Soar looked at me with ice-cold eyes. �
��There’s a whole lot you don’t know, hybrid.”
I smiled coldly. Oh, I think the wolf-shifter didn’t like me for some reason. And now he was trying to make some sort of an example of me. It was time to teach him a fucking lesson. Thou shall not fuck with my family or me.
I stared at Jackal. “You, Jack Alagona, are interesting.”
Jackal shot me a genuine smile. “That’s what the ladies tell me.”
I continued. “You come from a middle-class family who couldn’t afford to send you to college, which was the only reason you joined the military, to pay for college. And your expertise in the military was hand-to-hand combat.”
“I’m impressed, sweetness,” Jackal responded.
Rip groaned. “Smart and beautiful, now why in the world didn’t I meet you sooner?” he commented with a huge smile on his face.
I winked at him. “I’m a lot of woman, Restin Peace, maybe too much woman for you.”
He glanced over at Ryker, then looked back at me. “Too bad you’re already spoken for because I sure as hell would love to find out.”
I smiled at him. He was a sexy teddy bear. “You, Restin, are a flirt. And you’re also the son of a billionaire oil tycoon who was not happy when you dropped out of Ivy League college to join the army. You’re a weapons expert and recently retired from the military.” I winked at him. “And according to gossip, you’re also what I call a man-whore, a cute one, but a man-whore nonetheless.”
“True, but I can be converted by the right woman,” Rip responded.
“Is the fucking ‘I love Lightning’ tribute over?” Soar snarled.
I arched a brow. “And you, Adam Soar, come from a poor family who, unfortunately, were killed by a clan of vampires. You’re ex-military and your expertise is explosives.” I pursed my lips. “You also seem to have a big fucking chip on your shoulder because of how poor you grew up.”
Soar scoffed. “You don’t know shit about me.”
I stepped closer, ready to kick his nuts up into his throat. “Don’t make me drop you to your knees wolf-shifter.” I leaned over the desk, making sure to brush Ryker’s arm while picking up the heavy letter opener.
“Make your move, princess,” he mocked.
“I really wouldn’t go there, Soar,” Reason mumbled.
I wanted to laugh at the condescending look on his face. Others always underestimated me. That’s a tragic mistake, because if there was one thing every Credence woman learned, it was how to defend themselves. And not bullshit aerobic kickboxing. No, we learned to maim and kill. We had to. Others killed and hunted for sport and the Credence family were hated by Others because, in their eyes, we were an abomination—Fae-Witch hybrids. While Storm was learning how to fight and defend herself via lessons with Noah, I was hanging out in Brooklyn with a rough, scrappy group of wolf-shifters, who embraced me as their own. The leader and my former boyfriend was an underground street fighter who taught me how to fight dirty.
Soar laughed, but his laugh quickly died when he saw the coldness in my eyes. I smiled icily as I threw the letter opener within inches of his head.
Soar jumped back. “You crazy…”
“That skill was taught courtesy of my first boyfriend and underground street fighter.” I winked at Ryker. “He also taught me how to master the art of giving enjoyable blow jobs.” I rolled my eyes with delight. “Lots of hot, sweaty lessons, but eventually I got the hang of it.”
Ryker gave a panty-dropping smile. “Let me be the judge of that, darling.”
Storm cleared her throat. “Okay, all of this is amusing, but let’s get back to the peace pact.”
Ryker sighed heavily. “This information cannot leave this room.”
We nodded.
He continued. “I’m trying to negotiate a peace pact between the tiger-shifters, vampires, and wolf-shifters. Our first serious meeting was scheduled to take place this week. Now that shit will never happen with the recent killings.”
“An official peace pact would be a game changer,” I responded.
“Exactly, and I need to get talks back on track,” Ryker snapped.
The intercom handset rang. “Yes?” Reason spoke into the phone.
“There’s a Detective Burrows here to see you,” Tabitha replied crisply.
Reason sighed, then commented into phone, “Give me five minutes and then send him in.”
I swallowed hard. I didn’t have a good feeling about this. Storm looked at me worriedly while whispering something to Knox. She glided over and reclined on the sofa opposite to his. She patted the spot next to her. “Light, get your ass over here. I don’t want you getting us in any trouble.” She sang it jokingly, but she and I both knew I was seconds away from snapping like a twig.
Ryker quickly stood up. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” I blew out before striding over to sit by Storm as calmly as I could muster.
Reason looked at us worriedly. “Oh-kay. You two don’t do that double-teaming thing you do. We don’t want to aggravate Burrows. We want this to be short and to the point.” She looked at me pointedly. “Light. Please don’t go defensive. I know this is going to be tough given the situation.” She paused, straightening her jacket. “All right. Let’s put on a show to beat all shows.”
We heard a brief knock before Detective Burrows entered the office. Immediately, I was bombarded with his warped sadistic emotions. Emotions that made me sick to my stomach. He stopped short upon seeing Ryker and his enforcers. Bleary-eyed, he glared at Reason.
“Detective, I believe you’ve met Stormy and Lightning Credence,” Reason pointed out firmly.
We both nodded.
Soar shut the door sharply.
Burrows’s mouth tightened, while he looked around with narrowed eyes. “What’s going on here?”
She gestured toward Ryker. “This is Mr. Alfero and his business associates.”
“I know who Mr. Alfero is. What is he doing here?”
Ryker looked at him silently.
“I wasn’t expecting…” Burrows sputtered.
The constant influx of his emotions was overwhelming, increasing my anxiety. Storm leaned against me casually when my body started trembling. She lowered her mental walls to allow me to take a few sips of her emotions and put my mind into a neutral, calm state. It was the only thing that worked to dull my senses… well, that and alcohol. Gratefully, I latched onto our connection to take the edge off my instability. Desperate for her to soothe me through our bond connection, my heart dropped when my emotional state didn’t change with each pull. It wasn’t working. I tried not to panic as I quickly severed the connection. My forehead dripped with sweat. I squirmed when I felt Ryker staring at me. As if sensing my tension, he strode over and sat beside me. Now I was sandwiched between both of them. He draped his arm behind me, lightly touching my neck. I froze when the unrelenting barrage of Burrow’s emotions started to ebb away. I sighed, almost purring like a satisfied cat. Storm gasped, glancing at me before staring at Burrows.
Reason cleared her throat. “Detective, please get on with it.”
He gritted his teeth. “I have a couple questions for Lightning and Stormy Credence that I want answered.”
Reason steepled her hands, looking at him ruthlessly. “You will do well to remember that we’ve granted this meeting as a courtesy. You can ask all the questions you want, but they are not obligated to answer.”
Burrows’s body tightened. “Exactly in what capacity did Celina Rouse work for you?”
Storm looked at Reason before answering. She nodded. “There’s no magic to this, Detective. Our company caters to the rich and famous, and they pay us to provide beautiful women as arm candy at important events.”
His eyes gleamed. “Go on.”
I smiled prettily. “What more do you want us to say, Detective? Our employees are beautiful women. Some are former models, including Celina. They pretty up an event. They are paid handsomely and get to connect with wealthy men. It’s common among the ric
h. They want pretty and young. And we provide it.”
“There’s nothing scandalous or exciting about our company or our employees.” Storm finished.
His eyes narrowed. “Except that according to my investigation, Celina’s hobbies as a teenager included burglary, shoplifting, and grand-theft.”
I laughed. What an idiot. “Unlike you, we don’t judge, Detective. Celina cleaned up her act years ago, before becoming employed by us.”
“What do you know about her boyfriends?” He arched a brow. “According to a neighbor, he saw a man pounding on Celina’s door before she was found dead.”
Reason scoffed. “And that means what, Detective?”
“Maybe there was a little bit more going on that the Credence family knew about.” He snapped. “The neighbors said she had a lot of men visiting at all hours of the night.”
My mouth tightened. “Celina was young and beautiful. And what she did after hours was her damn business.”
Burrows’s face flushed. “According to the reporter, Jeff Hunter, you were fully aware of what Celina did on her off hours. She was an escort, employed by you, to provide sexual favors to your clients.”
Reason laughed. “All speculation, Detective.”
Burrows’s fists clenched. “Is this really how you bitches want to play it?”
Ryker’s body tensed as he leaned forward with his hands on his knees like he was about to leap forward and pounce on Burrows. “Detective Burrows. Watch your damn mouth.”
It was like a light bulb turned on and all of Burrows’s emotions pounded on me. He was writhing with pure hatred for everyone in the room. I nearly doubled over from pain. Ryker looked at me sharply and casually ran his cool fingers along my neck like a caress. I almost sighed with relief when the pain ebbed away.
Burrows’s hands shook as he snatched papers from his inner jacket pocket, waving them erratically. “Who do you people think you’re fucking with? I received a copy of your client list this morning from an anonymous source. This list has more celebrities than the movie awards.”
Storm responded coolly, “Which means absolutely nothing.”
