Valentines Heat I

by Ally Shields, Nessie Strange, Keith Melton, CL Bledsoe

  Not rescue, she thought. Buyer and thug.

  “Well, what have we here?” The man’s smug tone put her teeth on edge.

  Katrina stopped and held her hand to the side to halt the others. “Are you the buyer? Rufus is gone, and police are on the way. We’re armed, so just turn around and leave.”

  “You don’t say.” The spokesman glanced at his henchman. “I think we’ve interrupted an escape.”

  “Sure looks that way.” The other man had dropped his rifle into firing position. “And I think our gun is bigger than theirs.”

  No sooner had he spoken than the male panther leaped from the trees behind them and landed on the gunman’s back, knocking him into the buyer. A shot discharged into the air, the rifle fell into the snow, and both men landed on the frozen ground with a thud. Katrina and Tara reacted first and raced forward to claim the rifle. When the buyer attempted to grab it, the other women crowded around, kicking him until he fell back to defend himself. The rifle was yanked out of his reach.

  “OK, stop. That’s enough!” Katrina shouted at the women and then at the big cat, who was poised to sink his fangs into the gunman’s neck. “We have the gun.”

  The women eased back immediately, except for the teen, who landed one last toe jab to the buyer’s ribs.

  Still in full attack mode, the male panther crouched on the gunman’s chest. He flattened his ears and snarled, but cocked his head as if assessing her. Katrina locked her gaze with his and felt the empathic connection. The primal urge faded from his eyes. He took a step back, his ears coming forward, and he sat, watching her. When the man moved to get up, the cat placed his massive paw on his chest and growled.

  Katrina smiled. “That’s good. You watch this one, while I check on his partner.” She moved to stand over the buyer, who was wiping away the blood running down his check from a deep claw mark. He hadn’t made any attempt to regain his feet, because Tara was pointing her pistol at his head. The fierce look on her face might have led him to believe she was still tempted to shoot. Katrina wasn’t sure she wouldn’t.

  Any temptation ended a moment later, when they heard shouts and saw a group of police officers running toward them with guns drawn.

  “Drop the guns and step away,” the officer in the lead shouted. “And somebody take care of that cat.”

  “Don’t shoot him!” Katrina stepped in front of the panther. “He’s a werecat, and he rescued us.”

  “Put the guns down, lady.”

  “I’m the one who called you,” Katrina grumbled. But she nodded to Tara and laid down the pistol and rifle she’d been holding. Tara put her handgun down too, and the officers finally moved forward. They skirted away from the big cat, but no one offered to shoot him.

  The same officer spoke again. “We heard a gunshot. Is everyone OK?” He seemed to assume from their silence that they were. “I’m Officer Sheldon. You’re Katrina?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are these the kidnappers?”

  “Not exactly. I think this guy’s the buyer.”

  “I thought you had one of the kidnappers.”

  “He’s inside the cabin.”

  “Why don’t we talk there? It’ll be warmer.”

  So they all tromped back into Rufus’s cabin. When Katrina turned to look for the panther, he was gone again. She sighed. Was she never to learn who he was?

  Katrina stepped to the side of the room while the officers secured the three prisoners—BJ, the buyer, and his sidekick—and read them their rights. Officer Sheldon asked her for Rufus’s description and called in a BOLO and a request for a crime scene crew to process the cabin. Tara showed the officers the cabinet with the rest of Rufus’s guns.

  When Sheldon seemed satisfied the situation was secure, he turned to Katrina again. “Now can you explain exactly what happened here?”

  “Start with them,” she said, nodding toward Tara and her companions.

  The women all talked at once, until Tara took the lead. Katrina added her part, and they told the story from the kidnappings through the final fight. By that time the crime techs arrived and shooed everyone from the cabin.

  The trip to town took on a much lighter tone as the women realized their ordeal was really over.

  “It must be Valentine’s Day,” one of them suddenly said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” an officer agreed. “Your families will be happy to have you back.”

  Tara grinned. “I have a dinner date with my husband tonight.” The grin changed into a weary smile. “Only I think I just want to stay home and cuddle.”

  “Yeah, me too,” said another.

  Katrina sighed. For a few moments back at the cabin, her day had been looking up too. She’d never seen a creature like the panther…or felt that instant connection. Apparently, he hadn’t been as affected as she was. He was gone again. She’d kept watching—at the cabin and now on the trail—hoping he was lurking out there somewhere, but he hadn’t appeared, and there wasn’t even a hint of his scent on the wind.

  When the city limits came into sight, the women’s excitement escalated. They’d soon be reunited with husbands and sweethearts. But Katrina’s steps began to lag. She had no one. She glanced over her shoulder again. How could she just leave without making an attempt to find the big cat? Wasn’t he exactly what she’d been searching for? Oh, God. Maybe he already had a mate? Is that why he disappeared?

  She had to find out.

  She caught up to Tara and leaned over to whisper, “I’m going back, but I couldn’t leave without wishing you good luck.”

  “You too. I can’t begin to thank you.” Tara grabbed her hand. “And I hope you find him.”

  Katrina widened her eyes.

  “Isn’t that why you’re going back? You thought I didn’t notice?” Tara’s chuckle was low, and she squeezed her hand. “Go. It’s the day for romance. A good omen, I think.”

  Katrina dropped to the back of the group and slipped away. She’d check in with the police later, but this came first. She retraced her steps, moving quickly now she’d made up her mind. She reached the edge of town and started into the woods.

  He was sitting in the middle of the first turn in the path. Strong, majestic even, his green eyes locked on hers.

  “You’re here.” She barely breathed the words, then cleared her throat. “Who are you?”

  The big cat stood and began to walk away.

  “No, please don’t go. I…I have to know who you are. Won’t you talk with me?”

  He looked back, his eyes glinting in the early morning sun, then started walking again.

  Katrina stood there, her hands clenched in fists of frustration. Why had he waited here, if he was just going to leave again?

  The panther came to a halt, returned a few steps, and cocked his head at her. She walked toward him, and he turned away.

  What the—! “Oh, I’m supposed to follow you, is that it? OK.” Katrina considered shifting, but she really wanted to talk with this guy.

  He trotted to a thick stand of brush and started inside. When she grabbed a branch to follow him, he looked back, flattened his ears, and gave a soft rumble deep in his throat.

  “OK, I guess I’ll wait here.” Katrina backed off, uncertain but hoping he intended to return—and this time in human form. Perhaps this was where he’d left his clothes. She smiled, thinking it might have been interesting if he’d introduced himself by simply shifting into the nude.

  She studied her boots, making small circles in the snow. What was taking him so long?

  “Katrina.”

  Her head jerked up at the sound of a familiar voice. Blane! On my God, was it possible? He stood before her, as gorgeous as ever, his black hair tousled, his eyes glinting with wry amusement.

  She stood rooted to the ground, then ran forward and launched herself into his arms…exactly where she belonged.

  Blane caught her, wrapped his arms around her, and covered her lips with his. A long, intense kiss later, he groaned, “Darling Ka
trina, you cannot imagine how much I’ve missed you.”

  Oh, yes, she could. But he didn’t give her a chance to say so. He’d already captured her mouth in an even deeper embrace. As she melded her body to his, she could almost hear the twang of Cupid’s bow.

  END

  ~ About Ally Shields ~

  Ally Shields was born and raised in the Midwest, along the Mississippi River, and considers herself a “river rat.” The setting and folklore of that area are often incorporated into her urban fantasy series. After a career in law and juvenile justice, she turned to full-time writing in 2009.

  Discover more about Ally Shields here

  Website: http://allyshields.com

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  Also by Ally Shields

  Buy more from The Guardian Witch series

  Awakening the Fire

  Guardian Witch Book One

  Ally Shields

  Arianna Calin has sworn to keep the peace in Riverdale. Most of the Otherworlders prefer to haunt the Olde Town district—partying at vampire strip clubs, dining in elegant supper clubs, and inhabiting the cliffside caverns along the Mississippi. Being a cop is a tough job, but someone's gotta do it, and Ari's got her derringer, a sharp stiletto, and a few handy charms against things that hunt in the night. She's also a fire witch—a pedigree that comes in handy, since her partner's only human.

  When a virtual reality drug hits the streets, people start to die, and an elusive pack of werewolves threatens the status quo. Ari and Ryan are drawn into a web of murder and evil that will lead sworn enemies to a confrontation. While the city simmers around them, Ari struggles to prevent an all-out supernatural war…

  LOST SOUL, LOST LOVE by Nessie Strange

  OK, maybe I was being a wimp. Excuse me for not wanting to step through the glowing doorway. Why would I, when I couldn’t see what was waiting on the other side? It didn’t help that Sam was right behind me, watching every move I didn’t make. And he was laughing at me. Mocking me.

  “Would you like me to hold your hand?” He leaned closer to me. From the corner of my eyes, I caught sight of his spiky black hair and that sardonic grin. I tried to ignore him, which wasn’t easy, considering he was also in my head. Literally. Yeah, Sam and I were still linked telepathically. “I’d love to help you pop your cherry.”

  I shot him a dirty look. “That sounds really disturbing and wrong coming from your mouth,” I said. “Just give me some time. I’m not ready yet.”

  “You said that five minutes ago. How many more do I have to give?” He still looked amused. Asshole. My mentor seemed to thrive on tormenting and teasing me.

  “That's because it builds character.” His voice was an unwelcome intrusion in my head. He nudged me to take a step forward.

  This first trip back to Earth was kind of a big deal for me. It’d been a little over three months since I completed my life cycle there and began my afterlife assignment as a reaper. Basic training had filled most of those three months, capped off by a rite of passage ceremony, sort of like a baptism, where we wore these flowing white robes and Death submerged each of us in the River Styx. This was after we each ingested a drop of his blood. Yeah, ew. The combination of Death’s blood and the river’s water solidified a pact between the new reaper and Death. It also altered our souls, bestowed powers upon us that would allow us to travel between Earth and the underworld, as well as reap human souls.

  Thing was, I didn’t feel any different.

  I also wasn’t sure what made me so nervous about the portal. Reapers used them all the time. I would have to. So…no big deal, right? I closed my eyes and stepped through.

  There was resistance at first. Like pushing through a thin, flexible membrane, before a popping noise filled my head and I was free-falling through darkness at frightening speed. Panic exploded through my body. Lights flickered in my peripheral vision as I struggled to control my descent.

  “Relax.” Sam gripped my elbow, but it was the presence of his voice in my head that forced me to calm down. I braced myself for a heavy impact. The next thing I knew I was standing on solid ground.

  “Congratulations, you’ve just had your first time. How does it feel?” Sam chuckled, although he still held my arm while I waited for the falling sensation to stop. It reminded me of being a kid, when you used to spin in circles and how everything was still spinning after you stopped, leaving you staggering around like a drunk. Except in this case the movement was vertical, not round and round. I felt my knees want to give way. “It’ll take a few trips to get used to the sensation, and no, it won’t always be this bad.”

  “I want to puke.” I crouched and hugged my knees to my chest, groaning.

  Sam knelt next to me. “You won’t.”

  “Just leave me alone, then. I think I’m dying.” I squeezed my eyes shut. Man, when was this feeling going to go away?

  “You’ve already done that.” He flicked my forehead with his index finger. “Come on now, stop being a baby. It’s all in your mind.”

  The first hint of his impatience nagged at my consciousness. Another drawback to being telepathically linked to another person—I also felt many of his emotions as my own. I couldn’t get away from it sometimes. Unfortunately, for now at least, Sam and I were a package deal. I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, then opened my eyes.

  “That’s it.” He stood and offered his hand to help me up. “Just relax and look at your surroundings.”

  It took a moment for my eyes to focus, and to realize all the noise buzzing around my head was actually coming from people. Crowds of them. We were on a city street corner, and it was nighttime, but people were everywhere, pouring through the streets and in and out of buildings. Yelling, laughing, whistling. Loud music. Drunken catcalls.

  “Where are we?” I winced and shielded my eyes. My senses were flooded, overpowered by the noise and the energy of countless healthy, living human souls.

  “Well, I don’t know. Care to hazard a guess?” He folded his arms and looked at me, head cocked to the side.

  “Guess? So you just drop us in some random place and expect me to know where we are. It’s a fucking city. And I don’t recognize it.”

  “Such an attitude. I think even you could figure it out. All you need to do is look at these people.”

  I frowned.

  “You need to be observant if you’re going to survive this line of work. Occasionally a portal will send us off course, so you need to look at the people and the places. What are they doing? Wearing? How are they acting?” He leaned closer to whisper. “Perhaps even, you know, you could read a sign or two?”

  I rolled my eyes, but looked out over the vast crowd. I saw masquerade masks, plastic beer cups, and a metric shit ton of beads. It was a giant drunken mess. Like a frat party had somehow spilled onto the streets and mated with a parade, and these people were the aftermath. I turned to Sam. “My first trip back to Earth, and you brought me to Mardi Gras?”

  He winked. “Think of it as celebration for this wondrous milestone. An epic party for the taking of your supernatural virginity.”

  I snorted. Yes, my first trip back to Earth was a big deal, but the innuendo was getting old. “You’re such an ass.”

  “What better way to tune your senses to filter out living human souls than to be bombarded by hundreds of them at once? Living souls, as you can see, exude powerful energy. As you get used to it, you have to train yourself to separate the dead from the living. Then train yourself to notice the dead first.”

  “Is that all?” He made it sound like it was the easiest thing in the world. “‘That’s right, Jen, all you have to do is notice things. Just notice them and everything will be A-fricking-OK.’”
/>   “It is quite easy if you just put your mind to it.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” I muttered.

  Living humans seemed to have a natural instinct to avoid us, even though they couldn’t see us. Almost like we emitted some kind of invisible danger vibes. As Sam and I strolled down the sidewalk, the crowd parted. It all appeared coincidental at first. Someone taking a step away at just the right time, someone else climbing into a car. Another, flinging herself into the arms of a passerby. By themselves, these actions would hardly be noticeable, but sequentially, as we walked along, it was far more like a pattern of behavior.

  “Perhaps you’re not completely hopeless.” Sam and I stopped just outside a small pub. “The human soul does have a natural instinct to shy away from us, although none of them are consciously aware of it. Also, please remember that you, as a new reaper, have little control over your powers. It’s entirely possible for you to accidentally separate a healthy living human soul from its body.” He leaned closer to whisper, holding his hand to the side of his mouth like he was hiding it from someone. “But enough about that. Care to earn yourself some beads?”

  I scowled and slapped his arm. “Pig.”

  “I was just teasing.” He laughed. “Come on, now. Lighten up and enjoy the atmosphere. Haven’t you ever once thought about cutting loose? Going a little wild? We’ve got some free time.”

  “Party here? It’s not like any of these people can interact with us, so I fail to see the point.”

  “You need to learn not think so literally. It’s not necessary to interact with them to have a good time.”

  For some reason, Jack popped into my head. His carefree attitude. The man I loved in my last life cycle—we’d entered the afterlife together, but then he disappeared. I pictured him coaxing me to have a good time, too, albeit in a much less condescending, assholish tone than my mentor.