He frowned and looked over at me.
Then he stopped and went to catch my arm.
I backed away. Fast. Part of me wanted to cringe. The body remembers abuse. For a long, long time.
“Don’t touch me,” I warned him. I wouldn’t cower. Not in front of him. I could practically feel the fear bleeding out of me, replaced by anger. I am aneira—my heart is strong. And I sure as hell wouldn’t cower in front of this bastard.
Something flickered in his eyes, that frown still tightening his face. But he nodded. “Try to keep the fear under wraps, kitten. You don’t want to go breathing fear over a bunch of adolescent shapeshifters. They’ll think you’re hard up for a date,” he said, starting back up the path. “If you are that desperate for some rough fun, I can give it to you.”
His meaning hit me about five heartbeats later.
I would have laughed if it wouldn’t have hurt so much.
At the doorway, I was subjected to yet another pat-down.
This one wasn’t quite so impersonal, though. As the man’s hands lingered over my breasts, I hissed and drove my head back into his face. Pain bloomed through the back of my skull, but I heard the satisfying sound of his nasal bone crunching. I’d regret it in a second. My head was already pounding and once the adrenaline faded, it would be worse, I knew.
Well, maybe not—I might be dead before the pain caught up with the adrenaline. Either way, I didn’t care.
His hand fisted into my hair as I fought to twist away.
“You little—”
Then I was free and Damon was there. “Please tell me you didn’t just insult the Lady by taking the liberty I thought I saw,” he growled. “That woman is working for the Alpha. An insult to her is an insult to the Lady. Did I just see what I thought I saw?”
Even I could smell the stink of fear crowding the air now.
This time, it wasn’t mine. I cocked my wrist, tried to ignore the heat flaring there. Tried to ignore the sword’s whisper in the back of my mind.
The bastard who’d groped my tits went to the ground on one knee, blood dripping from a nose that had already healed. “Sir, I…I meant no disrespect.”
I stared at him. “You grab my tits and you mean no disrespect.”
Damon shot me a dark look. I glared at him and turned away. “Fuck, I never should have talked to you,” I muttered. I went to turn away, rubbing the back of my aching head, tacky now with the bastard’s blood.
“Get up,” Damon growled.
“Sir, I—”
I glanced over my shoulder in time to see Damon hammer a massive fist into the man’s face. He went flying into the wall about ten feet away. The concrete block cracked a little. The entire place was made of concrete block. If this was a regular occurrence around her, the décor made sense.
As Damon turned around to face me, I looked away.
So far on this job, I’d had the Bitch Queen tell me I was as good as dead if I failed the job. She’d stuck a crazy bastard on my ass to keep me safe and just a few minutes ago, he’d almost killed me. Thirty seconds ago, somebody had groped my tits.
Fifty thousand dollars wasn’t worth it.
“Ma’am?”
It was a quiet, polite voice and I turned, found myself staring into a handsome, lean face. Asian, with liquid black eyes and a courteous smile on his lips.
“If you’d allow me…?”
He gestured.
Oh, yes. They weren’t done patting me down.
“Allow me to apologize for Robert,” he said as he finished with the pat-down. “I assure you, he will be chastised.”
“Yeah. Because after all I’m working for the cat Alpha and nobody wants to piss her off,” I snapped. “But any other female who walks through that door would be fair game. I wonder how you all might feel if your sisters, mothers, daughters were treated so.”
Something flickered in his eyes and he inclined his head. “Point taken. Again, my apologies and I assure you, such a thing will never happen to you again in one of my establishments, even after your business arrangement with the Alpha has ended. And Robert will be dealt with.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a card.
I ignored it. “Don’t bother. I’m probably going to end up dead by the time this job is over anyway.”
“If you wish, there is a washroom just through the gates,” Mr. Courtesy began. “You could clean up…”
I turned my back on him before he could finish and moved through the gates, heading into the said washroom. The blood was still wet—if I rinsed my hair out in the sink, I might be able to get the majority of it now.
A few minutes later, with damp hair, I met a very brooding Damon out in the hall. We were the only two in the hallway—or so it appeared. I knew better. I could feel eyes resting on me as he crossed over to me. “You ready?” he asked.
I nodded, ignoring the whisper in the back of my head. I swear, I’ve never gone this long without calling her to me, not when I needed her so bad.
With Damon at my back, I headed down the hall.
He was silent for once.
Thank God.
I should have stayed in the restroom longer. I could have used the time to get my head together. A few hours. A drink. I really should have stayed home and done my taxes.
Sighing, I trolled through the club. That’s what this was, I realized. A shapeshifter’s version of a rec club. The scents of pizza and raw meat hung in the air, and a quick look in what appeared to be the café explained why. Yes. They could get pizza, or if they wanted…raw meat. Appetizing.
I moved away fast. As fast as I could, because my gut was churning and I didn’t want to puke. They might not like that. Down one hall, I heard some odd little yips and whines. Following the sound, I pushed open a door and found myself standing on a grate that overlooked what almost looked like a football arena up with one of those insane garden mazes in it. I caught sight of a furred hide, running at a speed too fast for my eyes to really lock on it. There was a growl, followed by the cry of something dying. And a howl rose through the room.
“Hunting games,” Damon said. “Not all of them get out of the city much, so we set up mock hunts in places like this. It spreads out for about a half mile underground and we stock it with game animals.”
I didn’t respond, just turned away and slipped back out the door into the relative quiet of the hall.
“Doyle’s friends were usually more for the arcade or the lounge. None of them were spiking yet, except him. They don’t go for the hunts until they can shift, usually.”
I continued to walk around.
“The arcade is—”
I found it. It wasn’t that hard. Arcades made a hell of a lot of noise and teenaged kids made even more.
Except when I pushed the door open, the noise stopped.
Gazes swung my way and my heart leapt to my abused throat as some of those gazes went predatory.
Damon reached up to rest a heavy hand on my shoulder but at his touch, I moved away.
“Don’t touch me,” I said again, feeling like a broken record. I stood aside and waited for him to go in first. He had an unreadable look in his eyes, but he circled around and fell in front. I stayed about four steps behind him, eying the people around us narrowly.
Some of the kids in there pressed close. Too close. My hand itched—so badly it burned.
Call me, call…I am here…
The sword whispered to me, the voice as clear to me as if I stood by the trunk where we’d locked her away. It didn’t matter what the distance was. I could have her in my hand in a second.
But I wouldn’t.
These were just kids. I didn’t need a damned sword to deal with kids. I am aneira—my heart is strong. My heart is strong—
Keeping my eyes trained on Damon’s back, I continued to walk.
Somebody touched my hair.
I heard the gentle clearing of a throat. Looking up, I saw the Asian man from earlier standing on a catwalk over us. He was st
aring at somebody behind me.
Damon whirled and with a flash of his teeth and a snarl, I was in front of him. “The next person who touches the girl is going to have my boot up their ass, is that clear?”
Whines and weird little mewling sounds flooded the air.
His hand rested on the back of my neck and I tried to jerk away.
“Don’t,” he warned quietly.
That wasn’t enough to stop me, but since I couldn’t exactly break that iron grip, I was sort of trapped. Fighting in here would be bad. Very bad. My instincts were pretty clear on that. And, I’d already noticed, nobody was close enough to touch me anymore. Except Damon.
“There,” he said, pointing to a small clutch of kids gathered around an old-school video game.
Mortal Kombat…awesome.
I twitched under his hand. “This would be easier if I didn’t have a leash.”
His hand fell away.
I swallowed. Kicked myself because it hurt so fucking bad to do that. Then, mentally bracing myself, I approached the kids. They knew I was there. “Man, I used to kick ass at that game.” I mentally groaned at the ruin of my voice..
One kid, hair dyed black and a gold ring in his nose, flicked me a disinterested look. “Fuck off, nugget.”
Nugget. One of the nicer names werecreatures called humans. As in chicken nugget. Snack. Food.
I didn’t really smell much different than the typical human, I’d been told. Some could scent magic on me, but it wasn’t like the witches, and since most of them couldn’t define it and since I didn’t look very strong, they just pegged me as one of the watered-down specimens that popped up every now and then. An interesting peculiarity, but nothing to get worked up over.
As long as they didn’t pay me much attention, I didn’t care.
Moving close to the vintage video game, I peered at the high score.
“Who holds the high score?”
He huffed out that put-upon sigh that the teenaged set perfected. It didn’t matter what their race was. “I do. Go away.”
Excellent. I could top that score. I used to do better than that. Way better. “Bet I can beat it.”
He snorted. “You wish.”
“Try me.”
With another derisive look, he said, “I would, but my dad doesn’t want me touching humans. He thinks I’ll catch it.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “Cute, kid. Don’t worry. You’re not my style. I always wait until the fur comes in before I go chasing them. You’re no fun until then.”
A dull red flush settled over his face and he turned away from the game to glare at me. Ah, that’s better. He was looking at me now. Fishing out one of the bills Damon had used to lure me into this mess, I waved it at him. “Come on. One game. If you can beat me, this is yours.”
His eyes widened on the bill, then narrowed on my face before flicking to the man at my back. Nerves danced on his face and I thought, Please. Just one thing. Let one thing go my way…If I could get them to talk to me without Damon pulling that snarl-and-growl act, I’d feel like I was in control over something at least. Just then, I desperately needed it.
I beat the high score.
Much to the dismay of the boy and the amusement of his friends.
He sneered at me as I pushed the money back into my pocket. “I ain’t got any money, nugget,” he said as he flung his long, skinny body down on the couch a few feet away. “So you just wasted your time.”
I sat down on the coffee table a few feet away, holding his gaze. “Nah. I love Mortal Kombat. They made a movie out of the game, you know. Kind of sucked but had some fun actors in it. Lots of ass-kicking.”
“Humans like you don’t know shit about kicking ass.” He gave me another one of those sneers. I wondered if he had another expression.
Sighing, I said, “I’m looking for Doyle.”
He shot up off the couch. He didn’t make it a foot before Damon was there, shoving him back down. “You’re going to talk to her, Marcus,” he said quietly. “And you’re going to be nice about it.”
The kid went white.
Sighing, I rubbed my hands over my face. “I hate this job,” I muttered. Lowering my hands, I looked at the kid. “Marcus, is that your name?”
That familiar sneer started to spread over his face. I heard a growl coming from somewhere over my head and I swore. “For crying out loud…damn it, kid, if you want to glare at me, I don’t give a flying fuck. I just want to know about Doyle. He’s missing. And if you know much about him, you know he’s probably going to be in trouble if he’s not found soon.”
Marcus swallowed. “He ran away,” the kid said. “The spike was scaring him. Nobody…”
He stopped talking, shooting Damon a look as he suddenly crowded in over my shoulder.
“You’re not helping, Damon,” I told him drily. Leaning forward, I touched the boy’s knee, drawing his gaze back to mine. “Ignore that jerk if you can. I’m trying my damnedest to do it, although it’s kind of hard.”
Something that might have been a smile danced in his eyes before it disappeared, gone all too quick.
“The spike was scaring him,” I prodded. “Did he run away? Was he trying to do something about it?”
Marcus shook his head. “You can’t stop the spiking,” he said. “All you can do is go with it. My brother went through it three years ago and it was hell. But Dad was with him, and both of them said they’ll be there with me when…”
He shrugged. “They’ll be there. Doyle was scared. And nobody cared.”
He flicked another look at Damon. For a second, the faintest glimmer of accusation lingered there. Then it was gone.
“Do you have any idea where he’d go?”
“Sometimes he talked about heading south. Down to the ‘glades.” Marcus smiled, a little sadly. “We always thought it would be fun, you know? Heading down there and doing a real hunt. Not this fake shit they’ve got set up here. But the real deal.”
The Everglades were a protected territory. Nobody can hunt there. Not humans. Not us. Why would the kid think to try? Yeah, there were plenty of wild animals, but still.
Although the forbidden aspect was probably part of the appeal.
Sitting out in the car, resting my head on the steering wheel, I tried to work that piece of information through my aching head.
It wasn’t exactly a quick hike, going to the ′glades, but if the kid was spiking, he’d already have some of the were traits, including speed and stamina. Eventually, even the carriers grew into some of that. They’d never have the full array of shifter gifts, but they’d be stronger than humans, faster. If he was spiking, he could make that trip pretty fast even if he was on foot. Depending on what breed of cat he was, it might even just be a quick jaunt in the park.
The door next to me slammed shut.
“Chang offers his apologies once more.”
I lifted my head and turned the key in the ignition. For the past ten minutes, Damon had been out there talking with the club’s owner—Chang, I assumed. Yeah, yeah. I don’t care.
“I feel like I should say I’m sorry, too,” he added.
I revved the engine and took off flying down the road. I needed to go by my office. Wouldn’t hurt to make a few phone calls. I had contacts with the police forces: mortal, Banner and ANH. More than likely, though, one of my ANH or Banner contacts would be the one who would have inside info on anything related to this.
“He asked me to give you this.”
Something white appeared in my line of vision.
And stayed there.
As I slowed for a light, I took the card and tore it into tiny little shreds. Dumping the bits and pieces in the cupholder that I used as a catchall, I shot Damon a look. “Do me a favor. You’re an asshole. Don’t pretend to be otherwise. You’re willing to throw my ass under the bus to find this kid. Fine—I get that. The Alpha is ready to murder to find him. Maybe if I had a nephew, I’d be willing to do the same. I don’t know. You’re willing t
o rough me up to make sure I understand the rules of your very fucked-up world. Fine. Don’t go getting all bent out of shape because some perverted bastard decided he’d grab my tits and shove his dick against my ass.”
I shot him a narrow look. He stared at me with a stony look on his face.
“You sent me in there as a target—they see me as human, and I had no weapons, nothing,” I said and the words sounded even more stark, thanks to the ruin of my voice. “They saw a target, that’s how I was treated. End of story. Don’t act all sorry about it when it happens.”
Silence fell in the car.
Finally.
Chapter Five
By the time seven o’clock rolled around, I couldn’t have been any more desperate to call it quits. The sun was still burning in the sky, there were still calls I could have made, but I had several irons in the fire and that was going to have to be enough for now.
I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, my throat was killing me and my head wasn’t much better. The ache in my arm had faded fast enough and the headache was stress-related. All in all, if it wasn’t for my throat, I guess I’d come through the day well enough.
Spinning around in my chair with my back to the bastard shadow, I took a moment to massage my temples and then I touched the skin of my neck. It felt hot—swollen and bruised, pretty much what I’d expected.
I’d already checked it out when I went to the bathroom earlier. One place he didn’t follow me, thank God. I’d taken some Motrin, hoping it would help with the inflammation, although it didn’t do much for the pain.
It looked just as bad as I’d figure it would
Angry red marks and ugly black bruises stood out against pale flesh. I now looked like somebody had tried to smash my throat in—imagine that. There was also bruising along the right side of my face where he’d slammed me down against the trunk, but that wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.
Shutting down my computer, I pushed back from my desk and started shoving files into my bag. There were various police reports and Banner reports I still needed to work through and I might try to do a little more work in the privacy of my own home, away from this bastard, but for now? I was done.
Deceptions: A Collection Page 19
