“Hey! What do you—”
“I suggest you close for the day.”
Heidi scowled, not at all liking his high-handedness, even despite the strangeness of the unknown visitor. “And why would I do that?”
“I will discuss it with you in your office.”
Mrs. Blake touched her arm, briefly stopping her from trailing Javier. “Should I call the police?”
“No, of course not. Javier is a close family friend. I’ll get to the bottom of this.” Heidi gave the tenderhearted lady a pat on the hand. “But in the meantime, why don’t you hold all of my calls and leave the sign off for now. I’ll be back in a moment. If Beth arrives, send her to my office.”
“Okay, but if you scream, I’ll have the phone in hand and the law on speed dial.”
Heidi smiled, nodded and headed down the hall.
Shutting the door once she was inside, she turned on Javier. “All right. Out with it. What in hell was all that about?”
“He didn’t come back here. I would smell it if he had, but then again he didn’t have to. This place reeks of shifter scent.”
“Who?” She let her exasperation show. Reeks indeed.
“Lev Durchenko. The bastard who killed my family.”
Surprise widened her eyes. “Oh. He was— You’re sure?”
He tossed her an annoyed glance. “I would know his scent anywhere.”
“That explains how he knew the so-called panther was a jaguar.” She held up Mrs. Blake’s notes and watched his scowl darken. Heidi set the paper and her unopened mail on the desk, leaned a hip against the edge and crossed her arms and ankles. “Why did you come here this morning?” He couldn’t have known Durchenko was in Leavenworth, could he? Had he picked up the man’s scent elsewhere and tracked him to the clinic?
Javier stilled then shifted his stance.
“With Durchenko here, I don’t have time for an inquisition.”
“It’s one simple question, and I want an answer.”
Javier stared at her for a long moment, so long she wondered if he’d ever respond. “You left the hotel this morning without saying goodbye.”
“And you felt slighted?”
Her question made him uncomfortable, which became obvious when he tried to change the subject.
“You should send your receptionist home. It’s not safe here.”
Heidi straightened. “Goodbye, Javier.”
She turned toward the door, but he grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. “Wait a damn moment—”
“Don’t take that tone with me. You wanted a goodbye—now you have it. You can leave as you promised. I can take care of my own.”
Though she tried to twist free of his grasp, he held on. Anger darkened his gaze. “I needed to see you again.”
“And so you have.”
“I am not leaving now, not while you are in danger.”
“Says who? You?” She pushed against his chest. “Let. Me. Go.”
Instead, he shook her a little. “What has gotten into you? This is not a game, Heidi.”
“I never said it was, but this is my business, my life. You have no right to tell me how to live it.”
He released her so fast she stumbled before regaining her balance. When she met his gaze, his lips were pressed together, his eyes narrowed. He muttered something in Spanish, probably a curse, but she couldn’t be sure.
“You’re right.”
“What?” She hadn’t expected him to agree with her. Her overprotective brothers never did. They just bulldozed over her and anyone else who stood in their way.
“I am not your mate, Heidi, or your alpha. I have no right to tell you what you should or should not do. But I do care about you, and I alone know what Durchenko is capable of.”
“Tell me.” It was the one thing she’d wanted for so long, for him to open up to her about his past, the nightmares.
“My brother was a federal police officer, a good one, who was investigating Lev Ivanovich Durchenko, an international criminal, member of a large syndicate, wanted for multiple crimes in Mexico, most involving high-level drug trafficking, money laundering and multiple murders. He was ordered to kill Juan, my brother, to hinder the investigation. Durchenko uses his shifter abilities to thwart the law. I have been after him since the day I returned from a military mission and found he had murdered my brother, our mate...and the unborn children she carried.”
Heidi stumbled back a step, her gut twisting. “Oh, God...” Babies. No wonder he suffered nightmares.
“I failed to protect them.”
Shaking her head, she reached out and touched his arm. “You weren’t there. You can’t blame yourself.”
“I am the alpha. It was my duty.” He didn’t shrug free of her touch, but his gaze was haunted. “I have been after Durchenko ever since. He is a killer and good at what he does. He leaves a trail of dead bodies wherever he goes, especially if things don’t go his way. I know him better than anyone, so you must trust me when I say you and your family are in danger.”
“Why? You weren’t here long enough, and it’s been days. With all of the other animals in and out of the clinic, he couldn’t have picked up your scent here.”
“Not my scent. Yours, and possibly Beth’s. Even in human form, I can smell Kelan and Reidar all over her. I just thank God she was not here this morning, or she might have been killed...or worse.” He took her by both hands. “You must warn Axel and your family. Beth is human, but so was my wife. No one is safe while there is a chance Durchenko is here.”
He’d convinced her. Worried now, she said, “Beth is coming here.”
“Call her right now, tell her to stay away from here.” He began to strip in front of her. “Send your receptionist home.”
“What are you doing?”
“Shifting. My senses are stronger when I am in my cat. If Durchenko returns, and he will, I will be ready.”
“You can’t fight him here.”
“He thinks I am wounded, and your scent will be enough for him to stick around to try to gain the upper hand. Now is my chance.”
“The clinic is too close to town.” Her family could handle themselves, but Heidi had no intention of leaving Javier to fight this battle alone. She had to get him someplace safe, away from the public eye, and preferably away from Durchenko.
“Perhaps.” He shifted quickly. Almost before she could blink, the transition was over. He was so beautiful in his jaguar form.
“Don’t move. I’ll send Mrs. Blake home.”
She stepped out of her office.
Do not set foot outside!
She wouldn’t. She wasn’t stupid. Once she’d sent her receptionist away, promising her a day’s pay if she’d reschedule all the appointments from home, she called Beth and caught her just leaving the office supply store.
“Don’t come to the clinic,” Heidi told her.
“Why not? What’s wrong?”
“I need you to go back to Catamount Outfitters. Tell my brothers to gather there and await my phone call.”
“All right. Heidi, what’s this all about?”
“Please, just do it for me. Go straight there and nowhere else. Okay?”
“Fine, but—”
“Straight there. I promise I’ll explain everything.” She hung up before Beth could argue and watched through the window to make sure Mrs. Blake made it to her car safely.
What took you so long? Javier demanded when she opened the door to her office.
“I didn’t leave the building, so lower your hackles. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to convince my sister-in-law to gather the family without giving a damn good reason?”
Where are they gathering?
“Axel’s store. Catamount Outfitters. It’s in the heart of the tourist district. You coming?” She grabbed her keys, purse and his clothes, stuffing the latter into a bag before heading for the front door.
“Maybe you should limp or something, in case he’s got the place staked out.
”
You watch too many television shows. In spite of his sarcasm, Javier became much more attentive to their surroundings and moved cautiously as soon as they walked outside.
With him at her heels, she locked up the clinic and went to open the passenger-side door for him before getting behind the wheel. She slipped the key in the ignition.
You can drop me off at the edge of the river before you go the store.
“I’m not going there. Are you crazy?”
The safest place for you is with your family. Not even Durchenko would dare to attack with the odds stacked against him. He is a killer, but he is also a coward, running instead of facing a fair fight.
“Why the river?”
I know his tactics. I can’t walk through the town like this, but the river offers cover for me to get close enough. I should be able to pick up his scent and track him. I will find him, Heidi, and stop him, but I must know you are protected.
“So you think I should just dump you out alone and lead him to my family?” She shook her head as she checked the mirror to see if anyone followed. “I won’t do that.”
Her passenger growled. Be reasonable.
“I am. I’m getting you the hell out of the populated areas of town, because none of us can afford to have anyone witness a cat fight. This is how I protect my family, our way of life.”
Her cell phone rang, so she flipped it open and steered one handed. “Hello?”
“What’s going on?”
Axel didn’t sound pleased.
Chapter Thirteen
“Don’t make me come after you, Heidi.”
“You know as well as I do, Ax, that I could never make you do anything.”
“Impertinent—”
“Besides, I’m not asking you to go anywhere but to your own home to protect your mate and kids.”
Her brother’s growl was testimony to his agitated state.
You’re putting him in a tight bind, Javier said telepathically from his perch on the passenger seat.
She cast him a glare for having sided against her.
His nature is to protect his mate and children, but as a single younger sibling, you are-“Not his concern...or yours,” she snapped. “I’m a grown woman who can make decisions for myself.
I’m headed home. It’s remote enough that if there is a confrontation between you and Durchenko, the public doesn’t have front row seats. It’s familiar territory for me, which is an advantage. And I’m not endangering anyone else in my family.”
Her dads had happened to be at Axel’s house visiting with the grandbabies when Beth showed up at the Outfitters with Heidi’s enigmatic message, so they weren’t home where they could be caught in the crossfire. As soon as she’d filled him in on the danger, Axel sent Torsten and Sindre to his home to help guard Dakota and the kids until he got there. Beth, Kelan and Reidar had already left for Axel’s to join the others. Only he and Gunnar remained at the store.
Axel wanted them to meet up with him to be safely escorted to his home, so Javier could brief them further on Durchenko and the dangers posed by the rogue shifter. Of course, Javier had to go and agree with him—with one exception. Javier wanted Heidi to go, but he didn’t plan on joining the Falke family. He wanted to go on the offensive and find Durchenko himself.
And I don’t wish to endanger you. Being with the rest of your family is the wise choice.
Damn alpha egos. “Says you, but I disagree.” She wasn’t prepared to let Javier get himself killed, so wherever he went, she would go. Even he had admitted Durchenko would not be likely to attack if they were all together, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be patient and wait them out. They couldn’t hole up at Axel’s forever.
If she was lucky, Durchenko would come after her and Javier alone. She could be there to watch Javier’s back, and her family would remain safe.
“Do what?” Axel’s tone held more than a fair share of agitation.
“I was talking to Javier.”
Both man and cat started talking at once, but she cut them off. “Stop! Listen. I’ve made up my mind, and nothing either of you say is going to change it. Javier knows Durchenko won’t attack the Falke family all together. The last thing we want is for him to decide to return when we least expect it and are unprepared. If the only chance we have of drawing him out is to be alone, I’m going home.
Axel, you have your family to protect. Javier is with me. He’s healthy, and so am I. We can protect each other.”
She hung up and stared at the road ahead as she drove home...and ignored the big snarling cat beside her.
* * *
Lev studied the lock at the back of the animal clinic and decided he didn’t give a shit about finesse.
The clinic had been open an hour before, but now it was closed. He cursed himself for the impatience that had led him to enter the clinic. Montero must have scented him and raised an alarm. Still, all was not lost. He knew Montero well enough by now that he’d bet the fortune in his Swiss bank account that the arrogant shifter wouldn’t hide behind a woman’s skirts.
Lev forced the door open and looked for any evidence of a security system. Finding none, other than some kenneled, yappy mongrels and a very annoying bird, he went through the place unhindered and easily found what had to be the vet’s office.
He took a deep breath and hissed when he caught the scent of the shifter who’d become his biggest liability the past couple of years.
The old lady had lied. There was a big cat being treated at the clinic after all. The scent left no doubt to the cat’s true identity, but he wasn’t present now. And there was much more than a lingering jaguar’s aroma.
Leave it to Montero to stumble across more shifters.
Did Javier know them? Doubtful. More likely their encounter was mere coincidence.
He picked up a picture of a female—the veterinarian he assumed—kneeling beside a collared puma.
“How adorably domesticated.”
No relation to the Montero family, obviously. They were not of the same race, his nemesis and these American shifters.
How many? At least one or perhaps two males. He’d picked up on a mix of old scents during his earlier visit—faint and difficult to distinguish amid those of all the animals at the clinic. But there was a feminine scent, stronger and uniquely shifter in nature, that he found the most astonishing. It had to belong to the absent veterinarian since it permeated the room.
The scent of other shifters threw a wrench into his plans, but Montero would more than likely want to distance himself from them as well. And yet, the man’s honor would demand he first make sure the vet who’d helped him was safe. That might prove to be his undoing. If Lev could find them, catch them alone...
The woman might know about shapeshifters, might have shifter blood in her veins, but she was still a mere woman. Montero, even injured, was the true threat...and target. He could not have recovered fully, not if he was still here in this village in the wilds of Washington State.
“After I take care of Montero, I’ll enjoy some time with you,” he told the woman in the photograph.
In all his travels, Lev had never encountered a female shifter, although he’d heard rumor of their existence. The stuff of legend and fantasy, he’d thought, until now. As a lone male, he would definitely make the effort to get better acquainted with her as soon as he’d handled the other nuisance.
Turning toward the desk, he browsed an appointment calendar. Mostly business-related notations, nothing of vital interest, until he thumbed through several stacks of papers and envelopes. On a couple of unopened letters, the address was different than that of the clinic.
Heidi Falke.
Smiling, he pocketed one of the envelopes.
* * *
The big house was eerily silent. It wasn’t often that no one was home. The silence was even worse when fear rode her hard. Heidi locked the door then made the rounds, checking all outside doors and windows, especially those on the second floor
where Kelan, to this day, liked to sneak in when he’d been out and up to no good in the middle of the night. The boy would never grow up.
Heidi came back downstairs to find Javier posted at the dining room window overlooking the driveway. His right ear twitched when she passed him, but he remained vigilant. She headed for her fathers’ den. Normally, she would never enter without their permission. This had been her dads’ private domain her entire life, probably since they built the house. Only her mother had enjoyed free access to their sanctuary.
But today was different. Today, the life of the man she loved was in danger. She crossed to the massive safe on the far wall and used the combination she’d memorized as a kid. The door clicked open and she tugged the heavy steel to reveal an array of firearms. Everything from a tranquilizer gun to a rifle with enough power to drop a half-ton bull moose in its tracks. She opted for the .357 Smith and Wesson revolver, because it was hers, a gift from her dads for her sixteenth birthday. She’d spent endless hours becoming a crack shot with it. She was better with the handgun than any of her brothers, who preferred shotguns and large caliber rifles. They teased her about being Dirty Harry, or Dirty Harriet as Kelan liked to call her. She reminded them every time that Dirty Harry used a much larger weapon.
She loaded the revolver and the extra cylinder, then put the spare in her jeans pocket. She checked that the safety was on, and was about to shut the gun safe when she decided to leave it open, just in case.
What do you think you are going to do with that? Javier demanded when she entered the dining room.
She didn’t answer, just set it gently on the table, pulled out a chair and lowered herself into it. Her stomach fluttered. She had no doubt she could shoot anyone or anything who endangered Javier. Her brothers went hunting every fall, bringing home enough venison to fill the freezer for the year. She fished. That was all. Cold, slimy fish.
But she’d never actually shot a living, warm-blooded being of any kind. This man who’d killed Javier’s family was a shifter. One of her kind, not just human. Until a few days ago, she hadn’t known others like them existed. Today she was in love with one and contemplating the murder of another.
Falke’s Renegade pn-3 Page 13
