by Angel Nyx
Lily and Emelise both looked to where Shelli nodded. “One of us is, at least. Or maybe all of us,” Emelise said after she spotted the trio of men looking at them.
Something about them set warning bells off in Lily’s mind but she ignored it for the time being. The way they were watching the three of them just felt a little…off. Whatever, she was probably just on edge. “Let’s get that coffee,” she said as they headed to the food court. Their first stop was at Starbucks because Lily suddenly needed another shot of caffeine to deal with the day.
Before long Lily had forgotten all about the trio who’d been watching them as their day of shopping progressed. She was looking at some little black dresses in Torrid when Emelise squealed.
“Oh my gods, Lily, you have to get this dress. It would be absolutely gorgeous on you, and you’ll never guess what it’s called.”
Lily glanced over to see her holding up a green dress with a sheer lace hem that ran from just above the knees to the bottom of the dress. “What’s it called?”
“It’s the Poison Ivy dress.”
Lily blinked then laughed. “Well, hell, now I do have to buy it.” Poison Ivy was by far her favorite DC Comics villain, closely followed by Harley Quinn.
“Add a sexy lace bra and panties set, and you would knock a man’s socks off both in and out of that dress.” Shelli wagged her brows at Lily.
Lily laughed. “Okay, okay, I’ll get it. We’ll have to hit up Victoria’s Secret and maybe do some shoe shopping too.” She was happy with the purchase, and she found herself wondering what Declan would think of it. She really shouldn’t be thinking about him, but she couldn’t stop her mind from going there.
After spending a few hours roaming through several more shops, they headed back to the food court for lunch. As they were carrying their food to a table, they passed the trio who’d been watching them earlier.
“Jaguar.” Emelise and Lily both whispered it at the same time. Lily remembered what Remy had said about having trouble with some jaguar shifters, and she wondered if the three that they’d just passed were part of the trouble. Since they were in Baton Rouge and not New Orleans, she didn’t stress over it too much. She knew that Baton Rouge was the border between their territories so it could easily be nothing more than nerves on her part.
Emelise gave Lily an arched look as if to ask ‘Should we be worried?’ “This has been so much fun, I’m glad you talked me into it, Lily. I needed a break from working on the cleanup.” Eme flashed her friend a quick smile.
“Has anyone from the group offered to help with the cleanup yet?” Lily was being cautious because not everyone was comfortable knowing there were shifters in their midst.
“Well, I didn’t get around to mentioning it the other night so…”
Lily gave Emelise a dark look. “You mean you deliberately avoided mentioning it. Damn it, Eme, you can’t do it all on your own. That place is huge, and a wreck, and if you want to get it ready in the near future, you’re going to need help. I’m sending Remy a text, right now. He’ll get some volunteers to meet with you. Don’t argue with me either.” She knew that was exactly what Emelise was going to do when she opened her mouth.
“I wasn’t going to. Much. But fine, text him. I do want to get it up and running as soon as I can.”
“What are you planning on calling it?” Shelli asked her. They’d talked about the club on the drive.
“Scarlet Flux. I’m going for a décor that has red tones. It’s the color of passion and both jazz and blues can be very passionate.”
“Oh, I like that. I’ll bet it will be amazing when it’s all said and done.”
“That’s the plan,” Eme said with a nod.
While they talked about the club, Lily focused on her phone.
Hey, Remy, need a favor. Eme is being stubborn but she needs help and I know the Pard will give it. She bought an old bar and wants to clean it up, fix it up, and turn it into a jazz and blues club, but it needs a shit ton of work, more than she can do on her own. Can you gather up some volunteers to help with it? I can text you the address so they can meet with her tomorrow.
All you needed to do was ask, cher. I’ll get some of the boys to lend her a hand.
Thanks. While I’m already talking to you, me, Emelise, and Shelli are up in Baton Rouge at the Mall of Louisiana, and we keep running into the same three guys. We got close enough for me and Eme to catch their scent. They’re jaguars. Dunno if we need to be worried or not but I wanted you to know.
Keep an eye out, cher. If they figure out she’s leopard, they might harass you. A few of our females have had some run-ins with the jaguars, and they’ve been pretty belligerent with them. Watch your backs.
Lily bit back a growl at his text before she responded. Will do. I’ll let you know when we’re headed back to NOLA, just in case there are any problems.
I appreciate it, cher.
“What’s wrong?” Emelise heard the noise Lily made, even if no one else had.
“Remy said to watch our backs. Some of the women from the group have had trouble with their Clan,” she said and pointed in the direction of the trio, “and he’s worried if they figure out you’re a leopard they’ll harass us. I told him we’ll keep an eye out and we’ll let him know when we’re headed home.”
“Lovely, just what I fucking need. You know what, fuck them. I’m not letting the day get ruined. Let’s get out of here and head over to the Farmer’s Market before we go home.”
“That’s the spirit.” Lily laughed softly. They dumped their trash, grabbed their purchases, and headed out to Lily’s car. As she was opening the trunk, Lily noticed they’d been followed and decided she wasn’t going to cower. “Hey, dickheads, a little obvious, dontcha think? I mean, seriously, if you’re going to be all creepy stalkers, you shouldn’t make it obvious that you’re following us.”
All three jaguars froze at her words. “What makes you think we’re following you?” one of them asked.
Lily rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You watched us when we first walked into the mall, you were outside damn near every store we went into, you were in the food court while we were eating, and now—surprise, surprise—you’re out here in the parking lot at the same time we are. If you’re trying to work yourselves up to ask us out, let me just tell you now, you blew it four stores ago. Even if we’d been interested, if a man doesn’t have the balls to step up and ask a woman out, he’s not worth the time. Buh-bye, now,” she said, slammed the trunk closed, and slid in behind the wheel. All three women laughed as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the Farmer’s Market.
“Oh my gods, Lily, that was fucking priceless!” Emelise said once they were on their way. “The looks on their faces when you pretty much said they had no balls—I wish I’d had my phone out to take a picture of it.”
Shelli snickered. “You have got one hell of a harsh tongue when the mood strikes you. I was trying to figure out how to tell them to go the hell away, and you did it perfectly.”
Lily laughed. “Yeah, well, I was tired of them following us. Besides, after what Remy said about the jaguars harassing some of the female leopards, I wasn’t going to give them the chance to pull that on us. I know they were headed to my car; I saw the way they’d picked up their pace when I went to close the trunk while you two got in the car.”
“What if they figure out where you work and show up there?” There was worry in Emelise’s voice.
Lily shrugged. “I’ll just send Remy a text and he’ll come deal with them.”
Emelise looked at her. “Okay, but I hope that’s the last we see of them.” She shook her head. “No more gloomy thoughts; let’s just enjoy the rest of the day.”
Hours later, after they’d exhausted themselves with shopping, they’d returned home without any further run-ins with the trio of jaguars, and Lily put the incident out of her mind. She put her purchases away, made herself a light dinner, then spent the rest of the night doing something she loved but hadn
’t given herself the chance to do in ages. Paint. She needed the cathartic release that she got from pouring her emotions out on canvas. By the time she finally collapsed into bed, she felt better, calmer than she had since the night she and Declan’d had sex.
Chapter Thirteen
Declan
In order to stay true to his word and give Lily time to work through her feelings over what happened between them, Declan focused on the work he was doing for the Black Water Pard. Every night he slipped into Baton Rouge and silently recorded the ever-growing group of jaguars congregating in one area on the outskirts of the city. Knowing that trouble was brewing, he’d put in a few calls to some of his old buddies—shifters he’d worked with in Special Ops. They were people who, like him, had finally had enough of killing for the government and retired, but he knew if he needed them, they’d come, just as he’d be there for any of them if he was needed. In two days’ time his old team would arrive in New Orleans to help him, and he would put a plan in motion to stop an attack on the leopard’s territory before it began, or barring that, help the leopards fight them off.
“You still stewin’ over what that little bitch said at the mall the other day?”
The question caught Declan’s attention and he moved on silent feet to close the distance. His scent was covered so none of the jaguars would know he was there. Something about the remark got his hackles up. He’d been with Remy when the leopard had gotten the text from Lily about her and her friends being followed by some jaguars while in Baton Rouge.
“I might have to go put the little bitch in her place. She talked big out in the open; I’ll bet if I got her alone, she’d change her tune.”
“We know where she works; we should stop in for a visit.”
“Not tonight. You know the Alpha’s waiting. We got business to take care of, and visiting that little bitch will be all pleasure,” he said with a dark chuckle as they made their way to where the Alpha and a large number of their Clan were gathered.
Declan’s eyes narrowed. He would have to send a warning to Lily, just in case she was the woman they were talking about. True, they didn’t mention the woman being with friends, but he’d feel better knowing she was forewarned. When they moved away to join a larger group he followed, keeping to the shadows.
“We’ve been putting pressure on the leopards; we need to keep it up. Our Clan is larger and we have more fighters than they do. They’ve kept control of New Orleans long enough—benefited from being in a city that sees a high volume of tourists every year. It’s time for the territory to change hands. Our plans are coming together. Several of our people have slipped into the city and taken up land in integral areas right under the nose of that arrogant fucking leopard. Soon we’ll put our plan into full motion.”
“How soon? I’m sick of the scraps we get in Lafayette,” one of the jaguars called out to his Alpha.
“Another few days and everything will be in place,” Lucas Cormier, Alpha of the Red Moon Clan, replied.
Declan slipped away, and once he was headed back to New Orleans, he sent Lily a text.
I know I said I’d let you be the one to contact me first, but this is important. Keep an eye out for jaguars tomorrow night. Can’t go into details, but I’m helping Caine with his problem and I overheard something that leads me to believe they may be paying you a visit. Do NOT go anywhere alone tomorrow.’
He just hoped she listened.
Lily
When her phone alerted her that she had a text, she was curled up with a glass of wine, talking with Emelise. They’d gotten together for dinner once Lily’s work day was over, and now they were reminiscing about her brief stay in Phoenix. She read the text and frowned.
“Let me guess, Declan just texted you? I thought he was giving you time to work through things on your own?”
“Yeah, it’s from him, but it’s not what you think. It seems he’s helping the Pard with their jaguar problem, and he somehow overheard a conversation that he thinks has to do with me. He warned me that I might be getting a visit from those dickheads I went off on and told me not to go anywhere alone tomorrow.”
Emelise sat up at that. “Lily, that’s not something to brush off. If they’re causing trouble for the Pard, don’t take his warning lightly. If something happened to you, I think that wolf would flip his shit.”
“I’m not going to take it lightly but I’m not going to let myself get freaked out either. If they show up, I’ll deal with it.” She shrugged and changed the subject.”Have you found a place to live yet?”
“I think so. I’m going to check out an apartment tomorrow over on Henriette Delille Street. It’s eight hundred a month, which I know isn’t bad considering some of the other rental prices I saw while looking. From the photos I saw of it, it’s really cute, and it’s only three blocks from the French Quarter, and it’s not too terribly far from the club so I can walk there most days if I want to. Granted, it’s unfurnished so I’ll either have to rent furniture or make a mad run to Phoenix to get all my shit out of storage, but I can’t pass up such a good deal, you know?”
“Girl, we could so take a road trip, get your stuff out of storage, and get you moved in if you get the apartment.”
Emelise laughed. “You know it’s a twenty-hour drive, one way, right?”
Lily gave her a look. “And your point? Emile would give me the time off; I work my ass off for him.”
“Do you really think Declan would want you driving there with me? He’d be afraid you weren’t coming back.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “That’s his problem. Seriously, if you get the apartment, we can take a road trip, load your stuff up in a U-Haul, and bring it back here.”
“Fine, I’ll let you know if I get the place. I should probably head back to the hotel; it’s getting late.” Emelise stifled a yawn behind her hand.
“Just crash here tonight, Eme. The sofa pulls out into a bed, and I have plenty of extra pillows and blankets.”
Emelise debated a moment before she shrugged. “Why not? I really don’t feel like going back to the hotel tonight anyway.”
“You can use one of my big sleep shirts to sleep in,” Lily told her. They soon had the sofa bed pulled out and set up for Emelise to sleep on. When Lily went to bed a little later on, she couldn’t help thinking about Declan. The man had gotten under her skin, and she couldn’t get the feel of his hands on her body, or the feel of him inside her, out of her mind. She ached to be with him again, but was it her, or was it just the mate connection causing it?
Declan
Declan was sure his behavior would count as stalking but he couldn’t stay away from Lily. He stood outside her apartment until the lights went out and he was sure she was in bed. He imagined what it would feel like to fall asleep with her in his arms and stifled a growl of frustration. He sure as fuck hoped she worked her shit out soon because being away from her was slowly driving him insane. He’d sent a text to Caine letting him know he had some information for him about the jaguars and was waiting for Caine to respond. Caine’s response was:
Meet Remy at the docks tomorrow night at eight and he’ll bring you out to the compound. I’m in business meetings all day tomorrow or I’d meet with you sooner.
Will do. See you then.
With that out of the way, he made his way back to his hotel. He really needed to look into renting a place; it would probably be cheaper than staying in a hotel in the long run, especially since he wasn’t planning on leaving New Orleans. If his mate was calling The Big Easy home, so was he.
Lily
All day long, every time she went out, Lily was on edge. She was beginning to feel paranoid and realized she was driving herself crazy worrying about whether or not the jaguars they’d run into in Baton Rouge were stalking her. Realizing she needed to calm her frazzled nerves, she took several deep breaths and held them for a moment before letting the air flow out of her. She imagined the tension flowing from her along with it. If they showed up, she would deal w
ith it. Feeling better, she went about the rest of her afternoon errands without constantly looking over her shoulder, got her grocery shopping done, and then headed into work.
Carla, one of the other women who worked at the shop, was behind the counter when Lily stepped inside. “Thank God you’re finally here. Emile had to leave. Marie was in a car accident. I think she’s okay but you know how Emile is: he was in a panic over it. I’m supposed to be picking my little boy up in fifteen minutes.”
“Oh wow, I hope she’s okay. I don’t blame Emile for rushing out.” She could just imagine how frantic Emile felt when he got the news. “So it’s just me tonight, what fun. Go on, Carla, I’m good. I can handle it. Have a good night.”
“Thanks. I’m really sorry. I’d stay if Andy wasn’t working tonight, because he could just pick Toby up from daycare.” Carla removed her apron and grabbed her purse so she could leave.
“Don’t worry about it. I got this.” Lily waved her off. It was bound to be a rough night, but at least it wasn’t the middle of tourist season. Otherwise, she might have had to resort to calling Shelli in on her day off.
The night flew by, and Lily was glad her regulars understood when she got a little behind on orders. She’d only had a couple of disgruntled customers, which she fixed by giving them their order for free and covered it out of her own pocket, and by the time it was nearing closing time, she was worn out. She rubbed her tired eyes, and was sending Emelise a text to see how the cleanup at the club was going, when the front door opened. “Welcome to Gathering Grounds,” Lily said from behind the counter as she glanced toward the door. When she saw who had just walked in she froze. Fuck fuck fuck. She recognized the three men who entered the shop—the jaguars she’d mouthed off to.
“Oh, now she’s changing her tune. A few days ago we were dickheads; now you’re being all nice and shit.”
