by T. A. Grey
“Come in, Gray.”
Zeke entered the tent and Grayson followed. The room was cramped with several desks. It looked like a president’s office. Zeke went to the desk in the center of the room, pulled the chair back from it, then hopped onto his desk. He sat on it with his legs crossed Indian-style. “I can barely contain my excitement. Please do tell me what’s brought you here.”
“I need you to track down Vincent Donato and his son, Jericho. And I need it done today.” The words came off strange on his tongue. When Grayson swallowed it felt rough. Cotton mouth. Just great. He pulled a cigarette out and lit it. Only two left. Even better.
When’s the last time you fed? Fuck off, he growled at himself.
“Why oh why would I do that for you?” Zeke asked. He looked as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
“Because I can pay you. You were elected recently. The kind of donation I can pay will help your campaign.” The cig tasted bitter. The clove flavor instead tasted surprisingly of lemon. Smoke singed his dry throat, chafing it. Lemon…the scent of roses and lemon still hadn’t left him. It was in everything. Even after changing clothes and showering, he could smell it—smell her. His hand shook as he pulled hard on his smoke.
“I’m president of the Were and vampire council, Gray boy. I really don’t think I need your money.”
He wanted to scream in the man’s face or lash out in some way, but he couldn’t do that. Instead he forced himself to show no response. “You owe my family. You owe Dom after what you did.”
Zeke suddenly came to a stand. “I owe you squat. I won that race fair and square.”
“You cheated.”
Zeke shrugged. “Hey, it’s all semantics.”
His smoke was at the end, nothing more than a roach now. “I don’t have time to waste,” Grayson said, his voice raw with emotion. “Either you’ll help me or you won’t. But I need an answer right now.”
“A’ight, the answer’s no.”
“The answer’s yes,” Grayson corrected. He took a threatening step forward. That painful beat at his temple hammered away.
The alpha tossed back his head with laughter. “Nah, I got better things to do,” he said scratching his ass. “I bought a new pair of sneakers I need to break in.”
He had to tell himself to breathe. In and out. Don’t lose it. Just keep your cool.
“I will pretend to ignore the insult you lay upon my dead—by implying your shoes are more important than her vengeance.”
“Don’t you mean your vengeance?”
He paused, thrown off. But then he righted himself. “If you won’t do it, I need someone. We both know Weres make the best trackers. I need someone who can find the Donatos. Someone with a lot of experience. That’s you.”
Zeke bowed dramatically, smiling big. “I do appreciate the compliments, dear boy. Makes me feel young.”
“I am not a boy,” Grayson gritted.
“You are compared to me.” Zeke hopped down from the desk. A commercial on the TV had caught his attention. A glazed, faraway look came over the alpha’s face making him appear only slightly less dangerous than he really was.
“Help me and I protect you personally. I will guard you with my life. I am the best. I could take down any of your guards before they knew what happened.”
“Ah, such braggery. I love it!” Zeke rubbed his chin in thought. “A job offer. I’ll admit, I didn’t expect that out of you, Grayson. However, I’m afraid I’m not hiring at this current time. On the other hand, I might be able to help you.”
Grayson’s gaze narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say I know someone whose tracking skills make me look like a pup.”
“Who” “Well, see, we might have a problem here because I just hired her for a job myself,” Zeke said.
“Then why even tell me about it?” If he ripped out his hair right now, maybe some of the steam building up in his head could escape.
“Hey, hey, hey, now. All things in life are negotiable.” Zeke pressed a button on a phone turning on an intercom. Anita’s life hadn’t been negotiable, he wanted to say.
A woman’s voice answered on the other end of the line. “Yes, Bossley?”
Zeke looked disappointed when Gray didn’t smile at the secretary’s apparent nickname for the alpha. “Get Donahue here, now.”
“On it,” the woman answered and the line disconnected.
“There you go, my boy. She’ll be here soon.”
Grayson rubbed his temple—hard. “I’ll pay anything. Listen, I don’t need her for long. This isn’t a vacation I’m going on. Two people, that’s all I’m searching for. After that, it’s done.”
“If I had a dime for every time someone thought it’d be ‘done’ after collecting vengeance. See, that’s the thing with vengeance.” Zeke walked over until he stood uncomfortably close. “After it’s over and whoever you want dead is nice and dead, the hot spot is still there. It doesn’t go away.”
Grayson took a step back to give them room. “What hot spot? What are you talking about?” He heard a feminine voice outside the tent. Good, at least the other tracker was here. Gray wouldn’t leave here without hiring the best tracker.
Zeke formed a loose fist and pressed it to his chest. “Here is where it hurts. It burns, yah? That’s what I call the hot spot. That place right near your heart. It can suffocate ya, or kill ya. It grows there and you think it’ll go away, but it doesn’t. You’ll wait too, days after you’ve killed ’em. You’ll start to think that maybe it just takes a little time for it to settle in before the hot spot goes away. But that’s the shit of it, Gray. It doesn’t disappear just ’cause you killed the guys. It’ll go when it’s ready.”
The hard-hitting words took him aback. He was still reeling when the tent flap suddenly pulled back revealing the tracker. For a moment, he was frozen in time. His eyes only briefly swept over face and form to find her familiar before darting to her hair. That hair. It sprung to mind a mass of blonde waves strikingly similar. As if feeling his gaze on her, the woman looked up at him—and froze, her mouth forming an O. That look cemented the memory from a night so long ago, he’d nearly forgotten.
“I see you two know each other,” Zeke said pleasantly.
She swallowed. “No, I don’t believe we do.”
There was something in the air. It made each breath he took feel short, not enough.
“Then let me introduce you to my pal, Grayson Blackmoore. Gray this is Oprah.”
She actually gasped when Zeke said his name. “My name is not Oprah,” she said quickly. A blush stained her cheeks. “Please, call me Arabella.” She smiled at him.
More and more he couldn’t catch his breath. She was beautiful. Of all the stupid, traitorous thoughts he could have, why this one, why now, why her? He hadn’t seen her since the night of his mating to Anita. That night had been a night of firsts. It was the first time he’d met the girl with golden hair. It was the first time he’d met Anita Redenver, and it was the first time he’d ever kissed a girl. The first kiss he’d ever had with someone not his mother was with this girl. Only she was no longer a girl. The years had changed her. Her beauty had only grown, giving her a full, womanly appearance. It fit her.
Gray frowned over this. e straightened at the thought, eyes going flat.
“Are you a tracker?” he asked.
“W-well, yes I am.” She looked flustered and unsure as she twiddled her fingers.
“How many cases have you worked?”
“I couldn’t say. I mostly do small things around the pack,” she said.
Grayson glared at Zeke. “I thought you said she was a better tracker than you are.”
“She is,” Zeke said, grinning.
“Then why has she never worked any real cases before?” Gray asked.
“Let’s say some folks don’t like me,” Arabella said. The name didn’t quite fit her, he thought. It sounded to pristine, too conservative for a woman like her. She looked wi
ld and free.
“Why? What’s wrong with you?” Grayson demanded. He needed to know everything about her if he was to hire her.
She sucked in a breath. “There’s nothing wrong with me.” Her eyes turned angry.
“My girl here is something special, let me tell ya that,” Zeke said.
“Just tell me what’s wrong with her.”
Her lips inched into a muddled line. He’d like to say it didn’t bother him but a pang of guilt struck him all the same. He’d hurt her.
For the best, he thought. If they were to work together their relationship would have to stay professional.
“I can’t shift.” She met his gaze and cocked an eyebrow as if to say so what.
“If you can’t shift then how can you track? The men I’m looking for are not easy to find. You won’t find them standing in the middle of a street in broad daylight.” Before he went off on a tangent, he reined in his temper. “I need to find two men who make it their job not to be found. Are you capable of doing that?”
She crossed her arms, anger blazing from her eyes. “More than capable. The real question is, can you afford me?”
Zeke tossed back his head with a great laugh. “Better watch out, she’s a sharp one.”
“Name your price,” Grayson said.
A lift to her chin gave her confidence. “A half-million dollars.”
Grayson sneered. “So cheap? I’m beginning to think you’re sending me on a chase, Zeke. I do not have the time or patience to be dawdled now.”
Before Zeke could say a word, she snapped straight, her hands in fists at her side. “The fee just increased four over.”
He cocked a brow. “That’s all?”
Her mouth twitched like she wanted to say something scathing—it’d probably singe the hairs off his head. “I can’t take the job,” she said.
“What?” he asked, his voice a growl.
Zeke chuckled and began coming his fingers through his hair like a damn woman. “I think she’s referring to the job I gave her.”
“It can wait,” was all he said.
Zeke pretended to contemplate the matter, but who knew what was happening in that brain of his. When he came out of his daze, he looked at Arabella, but he did not crack a smile. The harsh planes of his face showed the alpha’s true appearance; he wore the visage of a dangerous and powerful man capable of great and terrible things.
“I believe I’ll allow this, Gray. After I receive my share, an equal amount shall do. After all, you are hiring my employee and taking her away from a very important case.”
“I do apologize that my bruid’s murder has inconvenienced you, President Hunt,” Grayson said between clenched teeth.
Zeke gave him an easy smile. “It’s cool, bro.”
Grayson wanted to make that smile bleed. But he reined in the anger which had steadily grown like a pot of boiling water. If he didn’t get out of here soon he would explode.
“I’ll get you your money.”
“Great! Then you can have Arabella’s unique services,” Zeke said grandly.
“If she can’t find them, if she isn’t everything you said, I’m coming back here and killing you instead.”
“Pish-posh, you’re just upset because your mate was murdered. You’ll come to your senses, Grayson my boy.”
Grayson’s jaw clenched, grinding side to side. “We start tonight.”
Arabella stepped forward. “Whoa, hold on there, cowboy, vampire, whatever you are. I can’t go tonight. I need to gather things, do some research. You know, I need information on who I’m tracking to start.”
“You’re looking for two vampires both involved with the underground black market. Their names are Jericho Donato and his father Victor Donato.”
Her face paled. “The Butcher, Jericho Donato?” she asked.
“Is there any other?” he replied dryly.
Her jaw flexed. “I guess not. What you’re asking for might take a few days, could be longer. I need to go home and prepare.”
Grayson snapped his head around to Zeke. “Tell me again how this Were is a better tracker than you when she cannot even shift?”
“She doesn’t need to shift. Our little golden Oprah here has an ability I’ve never seen before,” Zeke said. He’d finished combing his hair back and now pulled it into a ponytail.
“When I touch something I can see a vision of the owner. It’s hard to explain, but I’m able to find them,” she said. “I’ll be ready tomorrow morning to start.”
Her intelligence was truly coming into question now. “In case you have forgotten, I cannot go out into sunlight,” Grayson said.
Her flush said it all. There was a brief mumble that might have been an apology—or she was cursing him. “Tomorrow evening come pick me up. Zeke, give him my address.” She left without another word, her long golden tresses whipping behind her as she spun around.
Grimacing, Grayson turned back to the alpha. He still wore that stupid smile. “You can make the check out to Zeke Hunter.”
CHAPTER 8
When Arabella got home after that strange business with Grayson Blackmoore and Zeke, her hopes of having some alone time to digest all that had happened were dashed. Her roommate, Sissy, was home. Sissy was not as quiet or cowardly as her name indicated. Quite the contrary, Sissy was a bigger woman with curves that went on forever—her words not Arabella’s—and a big mouth. At the same time she was the best friend Arabella had ever had; she didn’t care that Ara couldn’t shapeshift like everyone else. Sissy understood what it meant to be different. However that did not keep her from being nosy.
“What is that?” Sissy asked, pointing at the velvet box in Arabella’s arms.
“Just a box,” Ara hedged. When Sissy got a hold of juicy information she wasn’t prone to keeping it to herself. Arabella doubted that Zeke Hunter wanted Sissy of all people to know about the special hairbrush in the box. “It’s nothing. Just another job.”
“Bologna! I know for a fact you were called to the alpha’s tent twice. Dish now or forever hold your piece,” Sissy said.
Ara slipped past Sissy’s snatching hands. “I believe I’ll forever hold my piece then.”
Sissy sucked in a breath, aghast. “You wouldn’t dare! I am your breast friend and as someone who’s like a sister to you, I demand to know why my best girl was called to see the alpha twice in a day.” Sissy crossed her arms, both dark eyebrows cocked. She’d wait all night in that pose if she had to. Ara sighed. She’d have to give her something or else she’d never hear the end of it.
“I may have taken a job.”
“I knew it! What’s in the box?”
“Oh this? Just a hairbrush.” Ara thought quickly, then opened the box. The silver brush must not look particularly spectacular to Sissy because she didn’t look impressed.
“So what? It’s a brush. Tell me about what he said. You know Zeke’s been teasing me for years. It’s only a matter of time before I get him in my bed.”
“Bragging does become you, Sissy.” Ara laughed and took the box into her bedroom, sliding it under her bed for good measure. Sissy followed closely, her hot pink high heels snapping against the wood floors.
“Don’t gotta tell me, girl. I know.”
Laughing, Ara faced her friend seriously, “I got a job. From the alpha and president. Sissy, I’m the most scared and excited I’ve ever been in my life.”
Sissy’s eyes widened. “Well hell, girl, spill already. I’m dying to know!”
“I have a tracking job working with Grayson Blackmoore.”
Wide, sparkling eyes narrowed. “The vampire boy you, like, kissed or something a long time ago?”
Ara slapped Sissy’s arm playfully. “Shh! It wasn’t like that. I shouldn’t have even told you.”
“Too late now. You already started telling me. Now you must finish. You may begin,” prompted Sissy.
“He was such a jerk, Sissy! You wouldn’t even believe it. Cold and mean and why? I didn’t do anythin
g to him. The second he saw me it was like he hated me.”
“Damn shame, ’cause that man is fine. He’s got that gruff manly thing going on.”
Now it was Arabella’s turn to glare. “He is not fine.”
“Girl, you can lie about all kinds of things, but don’t lie about this. Every Were, vampire, and human with an Internet connection knows how hot the Blackmoore family is. I think it’s that exotic dark hair and golden skin. Just makes a woman shiver.” Sissy did in fact pretend to shiver. Arabella rolled her eyes at her friend.
“You’re silly. Every time you see a pretty face you get all addled in your brain,” Arabella said.
“I know,” Sissy sighed dreamily. “So tell me about the job.” She hopped onto Ara’s bed making, bouncing.
Ara grabbed a duffle, then decided against the bag and went with a backpack. She had a feeling this special assignment would involve some hiking and lugging around a heavy duffel did not sound pleasant. “I have two jobs, actually. Alpha Zeke wants me to find the owner of that hairbrush.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” Ara hedged. “I suppose because that person it important to him.”
“He probably wants to kill whoever’s behind it!”
Arabella smiled even though she didn’t agree. “Possibly.” She didn’t want to let on to the alpha’s secret assignment. Though she hadn’t been sworn to secrecy, she had a feeling Zeke would not like Arabella sharing news of the assignment to anyone.
“What does Grayson Blackmoore want? You know, I read he once ripped a man’s head off,” Sissy said.
Ara laughed. “I doubt that, Sissy. Besides, you know those vampires aren’t as strong as we are. They might be fast but if anyone can pull a man’s head off it’d be one of us.”
Sissy grinned. “True enough. So what is this job with the infamous Blackmoore brother then?”
Ara’s smile died. “Someone murdered his bruid.”
Sissy’s back snapped straight. “No way! How have I not heard about this?”
“I think it just happened. Sissy, he looked so sad and lost when he wasn’t being a jerk. It makes me want to cry.” Even now her heart went out for him. She could tell he must have cared for his bruidvery much. The pain around her heart turned hard as ice as a flare of jealousy pierced her. How would it feel to be loved so much by another? Not by a parent or family member, but by a partner, a lover. How in these last hundred years could she not find a single person to spend her time with? Sure she had Sissy and she loved her, but that wasn’t what she was looking for. Grayson had been mated all these years to the same woman.
