by Kiki Howell
He looked around the club once more, taking it all in. He had thought about the feasibility of building his own nightclub. It would be the perfect legitimate business to launder the drug trafficking revenue through. The dragon had been right about that. But the time it would take to build a nightclub to rival Inferno would be crazy. And what kind of business would a club like this do in the middle of cat territory? Sure there were plenty of tiger, lion, panther, cheetah, and cougar shifters that would flock to the place, seeing as they were understandably absent from Inferno’s usual crowd. But pulling in any of the Alliance shifter groups or the humans would be a long shot, and he knew it. If he had any hopes of expanding the Cats power and regaining the territory lost to them when the Alliance formed, he needed Inferno.
“No. We need to find another method to bring that flying piece of shit to his knees.” The thought of Dominic Draco standing in his way made him livid. He was smarter than that scaly, fire-breathing dinosaur, and one way or another he was going to prove it. He was going to find a way to destroy the Alliance once and for all. “I want suggestions. Now!”
“A little creative manipulation, perhaps?” The panther shifter smiled at him, and El Tigre nodded.
“Something like that, yes. I don’t believe for a minute that Draco’s operation is as clean as he says. Upstanding businessman, my ass. There’s dirt involved somewhere, mark my words.” El Tigre snarled as his yellow eyes took on a sinister glint.
“But all of our attempts to dig up something on him or his operation have come up empty.” The cougar shifter cocked his head to the side as he pointed out what everyone already knew. “Even after all of Jonathan Lindley’s shady deals came to light.”
“Yes, I know that,” El Tigre snapped, glaring at the man. Draco may have been Lindley’s protégé in the business world, but according to the FTC all of Draco’s businesses were completely legitimate.
“It’s too bad the hot head doesn’t have a mate or fledglings,” the cheetah shifter mused. “That usually makes a man shut up and listen to reason.”
A slow smile spread over El Tigre’s lips. “Yes. That’s exactly what we need.” He gave the cheetah a look of appreciation before his gaze darted around to the others. “That attractive female dragon tart who was sitting here with Draco when we walked up. I’ll admit, I wasn’t paying particular attention to her at the time, but I don’t recall detecting Draco’s scent on her. Did any of you get a whiff?”
Each of his men shook their heads.
“Nah.”
“I didn’t notice.”
“Wasn’t paying attention.”
“Well, one of you find her. Get close enough to her to smell, but don’t engage her at all.” He looked at the cheetah shifter again. “See what you can find out about her. I’ve never heard any rumblings about Draco having a mate or any fledglings, but that doesn’t mean much. Even if he hasn’t marked her yet, he is apparently spending time with her. She may be the key to making him more receptive to letting go of Inferno.”
“What are you gonna do, Uncle?” Stripe asked. “How does knowing who Dominic Draco is dating help our cause?”
El Tigre looked at his nephew with an evil smirk. “It’s not about who Draco is dating, Stripe. It’s about who he’s mated to, about who holds his heart. See, if you know who a man’s mate or children are, you can usually make him do whatever the hell you want him to, as long as you’ve got the stomach for it. Watch and learn.”
.
Chapter Five
“SHE’S NOT ANSWERING her phone. She never just disappears like this. She always checks in with me. That’s how I know something must be wrong. Please! If you know anything ...”
“Mrs. Martin, I’m telling you I haven’t seen or heard from Dinah in nearly a week now.” Dominic brought the woman a glass of water as she sat in his office, clutching tissues and wiping her face. The poor thing was clearly beside herself, but he was at a loss. “Now, that’s not exactly unusual. I mean, Dinah and I are friends, and we do enjoy each other’s company on occasion, but we’re not exclusive. She doesn’t report her comings and goings to me. It is quite normal for me not to hear from her for days at a time. Honestly, I can’t even really say that I know who her friends are. We simply don’t have that kind of relationship.”
“Well, are you saying my daughter is good enough for you to take to bed, but not for you to pay attention to?” the woman yelled at him. Dominic felt as though she had slapped him.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Martin, that is not what I meant. Dinah is actually very important to me. She’s a sweet girl. I was merely trying to point out that it’s not unusual for me to go days, sometimes a week or more, without hearing from her.” He sighed as he tried to remind himself that the woman was extremely upset. “But if you haven’t seen her for several days, then I’m sure you’re right and something must be wrong. I’ll do whatever I can to help locate her. Have you spoken to the police?”
“Yes, I filed a missing person’s report a couple of days ago, but I don’t think they’re taking me seriously.” The woman’s hands shook slightly as she held onto the cup of water.
Dominic sat down on the edge of his desk and looked over at the men standing in his office, listening to the exchange — two of his most trusted clansmen. He nodded as he turned his gaze back to the distraught woman.
“Well, I know they always deny it, but it does seem the human police never make much of an effort when the crimes happen on our side of town. However, the mayor is a personal friend of mine. I’ll give him a call and see if maybe he can lean on the police a little in my name. I am a generous donor to their FOP fund, so perhaps all that will carry a little weight. In the meantime, I’ll have some of my men look into Dinah’s whereabouts.” He gestured to his clansmen. “These two gentlemen behind you are going to personally oversee this for me. Anything you can tell them about the last time you spoke with Dinah, anything she may have said about travel plans or seeing friends in the coming days. Any problems she may have been having with anyone. Any boyfriends she may have had plans with ...”
“The only boyfriend I knew of is you,” the woman said, interrupting him. “And you’re so powerful in our community. That’s why I’m here!”
Dominic nodded, feeling like shit. He had been up front with Dinah from the beginning. He’d told her that he wasn’t looking for a mate, and that he only wanted the occasional hook up. Something to distract him from the ever present longing for someone he couldn’t have. Now, looking into her mother’s eyes, the truth was confirmed for him once again. He was a real bastard.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help, Mrs. Martin. We’ll find her.”
Several hours later, he sat in his office alone, quietly working. Or, at least, attempting to. His mind was clouded with thoughts of Lucinda and Dinah, and how he felt about each of them. Dinah was the perfect choice. She was lovely – a dragon shifter, like him. Part of his clan. She knew what it was like to be a shifter in a world run by humans. She also knew how important the Alliance was. She understood the nuances of the different shifter factions, and what their conflict meant to their respective communities. She was the perfect choice for the alpha of the Alliance to make. Maybe if he had paid more attention to her, he wouldn’t have his men out scouring the Alliance territories in search of her right now. She should have been the one he’d chosen. She might have been, if it weren’t for Lucinda.
Beautiful, strong-willed, infuriating Lucinda. Human. Forbidden fruit. Off limits for so many years. But not anymore, not really. She could be his right now if he really wanted her. She wanted to be his, and had made that abundantly clear on a number of occasions. All he had to do was be willing to place her life in danger, bring her into his cut-throat world of money, power and the constant battle for shifter dominance. As badly as he wanted her, he knew he couldn’t do that to her. He wanted her safe, free to live her life and follow her dreams. She should never be burdened by the ugliness of his world, no matter how she set his soul o
n fire.
The soft knock at his office door caught him off guard.
“Guess who’s here tonight?”
Dominic looked up from his desk to see Manny standing in the open doorway of his office. It took him a moment to register what his friend had said, and he frowned.
“Again?” he asked, and Manny nodded. Dominic closed his laptop and leaned back in his chair. How many nights did that make it now? In the last two weeks, El Tigre had shown up at Inferno nearly half a dozen times. Yet, aside from their strained conversation on that first night, he hadn’t asked to speak with Dominic since. So why did he keep coming back?
“How many men are with him this time?” Dominic asked, looking at Manny again.
“Just two. That cheetah who seems to be his right hand man, and a young tiger.”
“Snagged the table down front again?”
“Yes, sir,” Manny nodded. “Right in front of the stage, just like the last few times. Even made the patrons who were seated there move. A couple of humans and a few gazelles.”
“You allowed it?”
“I intervened. Asked if there was a problem, but the others gave up the table willingly, so I let it go. Figured that was preferable to causing a scene.”
Dominic nodded, but he felt his jaw tighten as he thought about the cat shifter leader and what his true motives were. Why was he suddenly so eager to spend time in the company of his enemies?
“So either that feline dirtbag has taken a real shine to my new singer, or he’s planning something. Showing up here so much over the last two weeks could just be some diversionary tactic. Maybe the plan is to keep us focused on El Tigre so that we don’t see what’s happening in the background. Either way, I don’t like it.”
“How you want to handle it, Boss?”
Dominic was silent for a moment. “Double security here at Inferno and at my home.”
“Consider it done.”
“And call on Talon,” Dominic said, knowing the head of the hawk shifters would help in any way he could. “Tell him I need the hawks flying sentry over the entire Alliance territories until further notice. If they see anything out of the ordinary, I want to know about it.”
“I’m on it.” Manny gave a curt nod. “Anything else?”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “Has there been any word on Dinah Martin?”
Manny shook his head. “Nothing yet, Boss. Everyone the guys have spoken to thus far all say the same thing. No one’s seen or heard from her in days. No one has any clue where she could have gone. It’s like she just vanished into thin air.”
Dominic gave a silent nod, not saying anymore, and Manny turned and left the office. He thought about Mrs. Martin’s words from earlier. “Something’s wrong, I know it!” He was inclined to agree with her now. Something was definitely wrong, and he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that whatever it was involved him somehow. But that was crazy.
He got up and locked away his laptop, and then left his office. He ventured out into the club just as Lucinda took the stage. He stood off to the side and watched her performance for a few moments, as if in a trance, completely enchanted by her beauty and her grace, loving the way she always interacted with the audience. They appeared to love it too, and they had been very generous so far with their praise of her talents.
He felt that now familiar ache as he watched her. Things between them had been strained since that aborted kiss in her dressing room two weeks ago, and since then it had been all Dominic could do to keep his distance from her, but he knew he had to. He kept reminding himself that it was for her own safety, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay away. He had thrown himself into his work in a conscious attempt to keep his mind busy, actively trying to push all thoughts of her away. It wasn’t working.
The song ended and immediately segued into another, and Dominic looked out over the crowd as they applauded. He spotted El Tigre seated right in front of the stage, watching Lucinda with rapt attention. The cat seemed genuinely captivated by her — something Dominic could easily understand. However, the thought of the tiger shifter sniffing around his woman irritated the fuck out of him. As did the sudden realization that he was thinking of Lucinda as his. When the hell had that happened?
His blood began to boil as he watched El Tigre smiling at her, looking her over as though she were a piece of meat. He should have the feline vermin and his associates thrown out of his nightclub on their asses. If it wasn’t for the principle of the situation, he would. Dominic prided himself on Inferno’s status as a safe inclusive place, so he was reluctant to implement an actual ‘no cat’ policy, but he also wasn’t dumb enough to think the man was simply coming to hear the music or to flirt with Lucinda. Something was afoot, he just hadn’t figured out what yet.
He was roused from his thoughts by the cheers of the crowd when the second song came to an end.
“Thank you so much,” Lucinda said, taking a small bow as she stood in front of the stage. Dominic watched as she gracefully gathered the hem of her dress and turned to ascend the three steps back up to the stage. When two hulking arms reached for her waist, something inside him snapped. Before he even heard the surprised yelp escape Lucinda’s lips, he was by her side. His large hand closed around El Tigre’s beefy wrist like a vice.
“Don’t. Touch. Her!”
His words were snarled through clenched teeth, and El Tigre suppressed a grin as a hush fell over the entire nightclub.
“Well, I swear I wasn’t trying to molest the dear girl,” El Tigre said with all the innocence he could muster. Then he turned to Lucinda. “I only wanted to get your attention, Ms. Lindley, to ...”
The sharp jab to the tiger shifter’s chest was swift and deliberate, like the strike of a cobra. It knocked the man backwards a step, away from Lucinda. “You don’t need her attention,” Dominic said as he positioned himself between them, staring into El Tigre’s eyes with a murderous gaze. “And if you ever touch what’s mine again, I will kill you.”
“Yours?” El Tigre smiled, looking pleased with himself. “Well, now that is news. Especially since I detected no male’s scent on the pretty human. And here I thought you were romancing that other little brunette you were sitting with when we spoke before. You know the one I mean, um ... what was her name? Deena? Diane?” He suddenly snapped his fingers. “Oh, Dinah! Yes, that was it.” An insincere chuckle rumbled from his chest, and Dominic fought a sudden wave of nausea.
“You dragons. Always hoarding treasures, hmm?” El Tigre turned back to Lucinda and looked her over as though she were his lunch. “You know, you really shouldn’t leave your toys unmarked, Draco. Some unscrupulous fellow might take undue advantage. Wouldn’t want the poor girl to be violated, now would we?”
“And you really shouldn’t go around playing with fire, puss,” Dominic said as his hazel eyes lit up like flames. “You’re liable to get burned.”
El Tigre laughed, but he held up both hands as if in surrender. Then he blew a kiss at Lucinda and motioned to his men. They all slowly backed away as the crowd parted to let them pass. As they headed for the doors of the nightclub, Dominic caught the eye of Loup, the leader of the wolf shifters, and they exchanged a nod. The man moved and half a dozen wolf shifters followed him out.
Dominic took a breath and turned around. He met Lucinda’s probing gaze just as it sank in that the entire nightclub had witnessed that unpleasant exchange. They were silent even now, a captive audience eager to see what would happen next. He had to admit, he wondered the same. He had all but declared his love, hadn’t he?
Fuck!
Nothing he could do about it now. But he was determined to end the floor show. “Sing something,” he quietly demanded as he stared at her.
Lucinda stood totally stunned by the whole ordeal. She hadn’t seen him in the crowd, yet when that tiger shifter grabbed her, Dominic pounced, ready to kill. He called her his. She had been around shifters long enough to know exactly what that kind of language meant. It was like an
unwritten law for them. Messing with another man’s mate could get you killed, and once a female had been marked with another man’s scent — marked as his — she was considered off limits to any other male. Not honoring that could get you killed just as quickly. Didn’t matter the species, it was a rule they all adhered to.
“You make me cry, when you hide your love ...”
She stared into his eyes as she did exactly what he asked, and began to sing. Lyrics to a song she had written about him. Words that tortured her every time she sang them.
Nothing but pride
Got me messed up inside
Bitter and confused
The pianist finally picked his way into her melody as the drums and bass joined in, and Lucinda belted the melancholy torch song from her heart as Dominic stood directly in front of her.
I’m an indigo shade of blue
All because my heart aches for you
Sometimes I ask myself
Indigo girl, what will you do?
And all I can say is
You make me cry when you hide your love
The crowd around them began to softly buzz again, but Dominic paid them no attention. How could he? He heard her words, and he knew they were meant for him alone. How many times had he been the cause of her tears? And had Dinah suffered the same? Both of those thoughts unsettled him as he silently turned and walked back to his office. He closed the door behind him, shutting out the music and the rest of the world as he pondered those questions and buried himself in work.
Four hours later, that’s where he remained. He could hear the pounding rhythm of the dance music the club DJ was spinning, and he knew Lucinda’s set had been over for some time. He was aware that he’d most likely hurt her feelings when he walked away from her as she was singing, but he couldn’t worry about that at the moment. Not when there were vital matters of the Alliance that needed to be dealt with.
