by Donna Grant
Delphine leaning over her.
People holding her down.
George pulling up her gown.
George on top of her.
Then George having sex with Elin.
Riley jerked her head to her friend. Though she wouldn’t be able to explain it, she knew those images weren’t fragments of dreams. It had actually happened, but she couldn’t say when or where.
Elin scrunched up her face as she took a step back. “Why are you looking at me like you know something that I don’t?”
“Are you having sex with George?”
Elin’s face went slack before her eyes widened. “What? No. He showed interest in me for a while, but then you came. Everyone knows he wants you.”
“So you aren’t sleeping with him?”
“No,” Elin stated more firmly, her eyes hard. “I already said I wasn’t. What’s wrong with you today?”
Riley licked her lips. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I asked that.”
The lie was an easy one since she used it often enough. But it was the first time it hadn’t been the truth. Riley wanted to clutch her head and shake it. She began to wonder if her mind wasn’t more affected by her attack than she originally thought. Perhaps she should talk to Delphine.
NO!
Her inner voice issued the bellow so loudly that Riley thought it had come from Elin for a second.
Riley backed away from the counter. She wished she could see the one person she did trust, M.... His name was on the tip of her tongue, but more troubling, was that she couldn’t dredge up his image in her mind.
“I’m not feeling well,” she told Elin. “I’m going to go lie down.”
Elin nodded worriedly. “I’ll be up shortly to look in on you.”
Riley left the kitchen and started up the stairs. Halfway to her room, she looked down to find George at the bottom, staring at her with such a covetous expression that it sickened her.
Once in her room, Riley shut the door, only then noticing that there was no lock on it. She glanced around, but there was nothing that she could easily move to bar the entrance. Which meant that she would never sleep easy again.
What was going on that she was suddenly wary and nervous in a house where she had always felt safe?
Always?
Well, maybe not that long, but as long as she had been recovering.
She turned and walked to the bed. There, she lay down and threw an arm over her eyes. It took her several minutes before she was able to calm herself enough that her breathing evened out.
That’s when she began going through every male name that she knew that started with the letter M. She got to the name Mark, and it gave her pause, but she knew it wasn’t quite right. But it had to be similar.
So she started over, using all the “Mar” combinations she knew until she finally landed on it.
“Marshall,” she whispered.
As soon as she said the name, she recalled their two meetings, the boat ride, the kiss, and her promise to meet him today at the market.
Riley jerked upright and looked at the clock on her nightstand to see that it was after five. She could try to get away, but George would only follow her. Hopefully, Marshall would return to the store tomorrow.
She had no way of contacting him, nor did she know where he lived. Everything rested on hoping that she could get away the next day and that he’d return.
Approaching footsteps had her quickly lying down again, though this time, she put her back to the door as she curled on her side. She waited when the footsteps paused outside her room for a few seconds before moving on.
Riley didn’t so much as move a toe. She stared at the wall, waiting to make sure no one was there, wondering all the while why she would forget Marshall. He was the one thing she wouldn’t forget. He’d been charming, gorgeous, and nice. Not once had he hurt her or made her do anything she didn’t want to do.
No matter how many migraines she had, none of them would make her forget a person. And then there were the flashes. They happened. She would bet her life on it. But she couldn’t recall any more than those brief seconds she saw in her mind.
She looked down at her wrists and the bruises. Then she covered her left wrist with her right hand and found that the bruises lined up with her fingers. Which meant that someone had held her down.
Riley knew at that moment that she had to get away from Delphine, George, and the house. She didn’t know who was involved and who to trust, and that meant she couldn’t even tell Elin her thoughts.
Whatever was going on, she wanted to be far from it. Maybe then the migraines would stop, and she could remember things. Like... She fisted her hands. Something had happened yesterday on the boat with Marshall. She recalled a memory that had distressed her, but it was now gone from her recollection.
She sighed loudly.
Why wasn’t she scared like Elin, who refused to go farther than Delphine’s yard? No matter how much anyone coaxed her, Elin wouldn’t go another step. She said it was her fear of another werewolf attack that kept her at Delphine’s. Only now that Riley thought about it, Elin, like her, didn’t have a bite from a were.
How was it that both were attacked yet neither of them sustained any type of injury?
Riley sat up and glanced at her door before looking out the window. It was too far of a drop for her to try and get out that way, and there was no way she could go out any of the doors without George knowing it.
He was always near, always watching. And, somehow, she knew that if she remained at the house, George would have her body—even if she didn’t want him.
Once more, she had no proof of that, only a feeling, a sixth sense that she felt all the way to her soul. So she couldn’t go to Delphine or Elin or anyone with her thoughts. No one would believe her.
But at least her memories of Marshall had returned. If she could get to him, then she had a chance. It was just finding him. And in a city the size of New Orleans, that might very well be impossible.
Riley didn’t remain in her room long. To do so meant that Delphine would pay her a visit to check on her, so Riley rose and returned to the kitchen to finish preparing the evening meal. She ate with the others, keeping involved with the conversation while making sure never to look at George, who sat across from her. After she and Elin cleaned up, Riley went upstairs and took a long bath.
Thankfully, there was a lock on that door. She hated having to leave the bathroom, but others had need of it. Inside her room, she sat with her back against the wall, staring at the door. Waiting to see what would come for her.
9
The Witching Hour was real. Marshall stood on the roof of Gator Bait with Kane as the other three LaRue brothers shifted and took up their posts throughout the city.
After spilling everything to the brothers, they had simply asked Marshall what he needed. The problem was, Marshall didn’t have a clue. All he knew for sure was that he had to get to Riley.
And soon.
“Do you hear it?” Kane asked.
Marshall looked over at him. Kane stood as still as stone, his lips rarely lifting into a smile of any sort. All because of Delphine’s curse, a curse that had made Kane her weapon against his will and changed him.
“Hear what?” Marshall asked as he strained to pick up whatever it was Kane heard.
Kane’s blue gaze was directed toward Delphine’s section. “Beneath the noise of the city beats the heart of magic. It’s why New Orleans is a mecca for the supernatural. Anything magical lives and breathes here. Thrives. Magic drives everything. If you listen closely, you can hear it.”
“I know it’s there, but I don’t feel it like you do.”
“You may be lucky in that regard.”
Marshall wondered what Riley was doing. Years on the job and encountering all sorts of vile people allowed him to imagine dozens of ways Delphine could be hurting her. “I don’t consider myself lucky to not be able to fight the supernatural.”
“You’
re fighting.” Kane swiveled his head to him, pinning him with his ice blue eyes that flashed yellow, showing the wolf within. “You fought while you were a detective here, and you fight alongside my cousins.”
“It’s not like I do much good. I’ve learned a few things from the Chiassons, but I’m not nearly as skilled.”
Kane let out a long breath as he resumed his watch. “In many ways, I envy my cousins. If anything supernatural arrives in Lyons Point, they immediately hunt it. We don’t have that option here since this is a Safe City.”
Safe City meaning that any supernatural creature could find solace there—as long as they obeyed the rules. If they didn’t, then the LaRues would hunt them down and kill them.
“Your job is very much like mine,” Marshall said. “I can usually pick out the ones who are going to be trouble, but I have to wait for them to do something before I can arrest them.”
Kane shook his head slowly. “Then you have the ultimate monsters like Delphine. The one time she was weak enough that we could’ve taken her out was when we were just boys, and she killed our parents. If she hadn’t run off the Moonstone pack, we could’ve ended this.”
“She’s smart. I’ll give her that,” Marshall admitted.
“In all my life, she’s the one thing I’ve feared.” Kane drew in a deep breath. “The only other person who knows that is Riley.”
Marshal glanced at Kane. “I don’t think less of you for being afraid of Delphine. She cursed you.”
“And has wreaked havoc on everyone in my family. It has to stop.”
“It will.”
Kane rotated his shoulders as if it was killing him to stand still. But the brothers alternated, and it was his turn to stay behind. “Will it? Or will Delphine finally triumph? She has the one thing neither our cousins nor we will harm. And because of that, she has the ultimate control.”
“Not if I can talk to Riley again.”
The were’s gaze returned to him. “You sound confident. Why?”
“Riley and I had a connection.”
“Apparently a serious one by the way you gave a slight pause before saying it.”
Damn. Kane would’ve been a great detective. Marshall decided there was no need to go into detail. “Yes.”
Kane raised a brow, his gaze knowing. “I see.”
“Riley is special.”
“Very much so. A lot of people are putting their faith in you. Don’t get in Delphine’s crosshairs, and don’t get killed.”
“It isn’t my plan.”
Kane’s face went cold. “It wasn’t mine to be cursed either.”
“One way or another, Riley and I will meet again.”
“It’s time we don’t have. The longer Delphine has her hooks in Riley, the harder it will be to bring my cousin back.”
Marshall put his hand on his hip where the holster of his gun usually hung. He had a pistol in his truck, and he wished he were wearing it.
“There might be something you can do to help,” Kane said.
He turned to the werewolf. “Name it.”
“When we hunted together, I taught Riley the symbol my brothers and I learned from my parents. We mark it on things to let each other know where we’ve been. The sigil is altered slightly for each of us, and I made Riley her own.”
Marshall nodded, liking what he was hearing. “That sounds good, but how is it going to help?”
“Put it someplace Riley goes often. Then leave a trail that will bring her to you. If she recognizes the symbols, she’ll find her way.”
“That could work.”
Kane squatted and looked down at the street below where a man was following three girls. “You’ll be on your own. We’ll head into Delphine’s district to keep their attention on us, but we won’t be able to mark anything.”
“Understood.”
“Good,” Kane said right before he jumped from the third-story roof to the ground behind a man.
Even from the distance, Marshall heard Kane’s growl as he landed. The man whirled around and attacked. That’s when Marshall saw the guy’s red eyes, signaling him as a vampire. In seconds, Kane ended his life as the three women walked on without ever knowing they were in danger.
* * *
Riley fought to keep her eyes open. It felt so good to close them, but her life depended on remaining awake. She glanced over at the bedside table to the clock that read 1:57.
This night was the longest of her life. She yawned and stood to get the blood flowing. That’s when she saw something outside through her window. She immediately recognized Delphine’s form in her usual all white, and George, walking shirtless beside her toward the vacant house. They were talking when George looked up at Elin’s window.
Delphine was the first inside the darkened dwelling. Within minutes, candles along the windowsills were lit, casting everything in a soft glow.
Riley’s head jerked to the side. Elin was in the room next to hers, and she was now moving around. Riley silently tiptoed to the wall that separated them and put her ear against it, listening.
The sound of Elin’s door opening had Riley yanking her ear away as she looked at her own door. The floorboards creaked as Elin made her way past Riley’s room to the stairs.
Riley’s heart pounded as she debated whether or not to follow. Elin could be going to get something to drink. Or it could be something much, much worse.
The image of Elin and George having sex flashed in Riley’s mind again.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head to dislodge the scene, but it held fast. Then she moved to the side of her window and looked out, praying that Elin remained in the house.
But it wasn’t long before she spotted the woman making her way toward Delphine and George.
Riley didn’t hesitate this time. She quietly left her room and hurried down the stairs. When she reached the back door, she opened it just wide enough to slip through before softly closing it behind her.
She flattened herself against the house, looking across the yard to the abandoned structure. For some reason, Riley’s hatred of the dwelling grew. She didn’t want to go near it, but she had to. For Elin.
Looking all around her to make sure no one was about, Riley darted across the lawn to the other residence and once again flattened herself against the support.
She didn’t know how she knew to do these things, only that they came naturally to her. As if she had learned them years ago. Whatever the reason, they were aiding her now, so she was thankful.
Listening carefully, she could hear Delphine talking to Elin, but couldn’t quite make out what was said. With the house on piers, she couldn’t easily look through the windows since she couldn’t reach them. But that didn’t stop her.
Riley began searching for something to climb up on to allow her to see inside. After a bit of searching, she found a cinderblock and carried it back to the window. Then she stood on it and peeked inside.
She was so shocked to find Elin standing naked in the middle of the room surrounded by dozens of candles on the floor that Riley jerked back, falling off her makeshift step. It would be so easy to return to the safety of her room, but Elin was her friend. How could she leave now?
With her mind set, Riley climbed back on the block and resumed her watch.
Delphine stood at the front of the room with her eyes closed as she sang. George then walked to stand beside Elin. He grabbed a fistful of Elin’s long, dark hair and yanked hard. Elin kept her gaze on him, never flinching or crying out.
“Get on your knees,” George ordered.
Elin dropped down, waiting. Riley couldn’t look away as George demanded she remove his pants and then take him into her mouth. By the vacant look in Elin’s eyes, she had no idea what she was doing.
Riley closed her eyes and gagged, even as she wondered if they had done the same thing to her. She forced herself to look back at Elin.
George now had her on her back, her legs spread. The glee on his face at his total domination of
Elin sickened Riley. She knew then that her dream of George grinding against her had been real.
And it put into question everything Riley believed. More than anything, she no longer trusted Delphine. How could she when the priestess was part of such horrors?
Riley covered her mouth as George claimed Elin, taking her body roughly. Tears spilled down her cheeks. It was all Riley could do not to bust inside the house and kill George and Delphine—but something held her back.
A deep-rooted fear that loudly cautioned her to be careful.
Riley stepped off the cinderblock and returned it to where she’d found it, and then she stealthily made her way back to her room. There, she stood watch next to her window, hidden from view as she waited for them to finish with Elin.
It was after 4:30 before George and Delphine escorted Elin up to her room. As soon as Riley saw them exit the other residence, she slid beneath her covers and curled on her side, anxiously waiting as she focused all her energy on her hearing. Every sound in the house was as loud as a rocket, but none more so than the footsteps leading up the stairs and past her door.
Minutes after they’d tucked Elin into bed, Riley heard her door open. She kept her breathing even, and her eyes closed even though she was screaming inside.
Her blood ran cold when two sets of footsteps approached her. Soft fingers ran along her cheek. She wanted to jerk away, to plunge a knife into their hearts, anything but lie there and let them do as they wished.
“I ache for her,” George said.
Delphine slid her long fingers into Riley’s hair. “It’s not quite time. She’s fighting this harder than Elin. We can’t push her too soon, or we could break her. And I’ve need of her yet.”
“I have need of her.”
“Your lust is never-ending.”
George’s voice lowered in anger. “Don’t fuck with me, priestess. You gave me this body to possess, but you don’t rule me. I’m tired of waiting for Riley. I want her. Make it happen tomorrow night. Or you won’t like the consequences.”
“But the La—”
“I don’t care about the werewolves. You’ll find another way to wipe them out. I’ve chosen Riley as mine.”
