Branded by Lust: 4 (Night Seekers)

by Holt, Desiree

  “That’s the past, Jade. This is now. How long have you been back?”

  “What?”

  “Back. In Overlook. What do you do here, anyway? I never expected to see you back here in Montana. You were hell-bent for big-city life and you didn’t mean Helena or Bozeman.”

  Jade looked away for a long moment. “The city isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, Logan. Anyway, you’re still around here, aren’t you?”

  “I have my ranch and no plan to get rid of it. But I also work for an organization based near San Antonio.” Logan shook his head. “I can’t believe you came back here.”

  She dropped her voice to a sultry level. “Maybe I wanted to give us another chance.”

  “Then you need to move on. What is there around here for you to do, anyway?”

  Rebecca was following the conversation with a mixture of fascination and jealousy.

  “I design graphics and websites. That means I can live anywhere and set my own hours.” She tossed her mane of red hair back with a studied gesture. “But as soon as I get enough of a stash, yes, I’m out of here.”

  “Be sure you’re protected at all times. Can you still shoot like you used to?”

  “Of course. You taught me, didn’t you?”

  Rebecca had had enough. “Logan, we need to get ready for the meeting,” she reminded him.

  Jade’s features settled into a hard look. “Yes, take your little friend and go do…whatever it is you do.” Then her lips curved in a smile. “But tonight I’ll bet it’s me you dream about.”

  She turned and headed back down the street, swishing her hips with a deliberate motion.

  “Keep your gun handy and be careful of strange animals and people,” he called after her.

  She waved a hand back at him and kept going.

  “Charming woman.” Rebecca slipped her hand from Logan’s arm and opened the door to his truck.

  “I’ll agree Jade is a little over the top,” he grinned. “Probably the reason we burned out so fast.” He closed her door then walked to the other side and climbed in beside her. “And by the way, it was so little so long ago that I’ve barely thought of it since then.”

  “Will I sound like a jealous woman if I say I’m glad?”

  He reached his hand over and stroked her cheek. “I hope so. I want my woman to be jealous.”

  “Is that what I am, Logan?” She hated that her voice had such a hesitant sound to it. “Your woman? As quickly as that?”

  He smiled at her. “I hope so. I’d like to think so.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “Maybe this is fast, Bek, but…maybe not. And when we get rid of everyone tonight, if we don’t have any disasters crop up, I plan to prove it to you. Again.” His face sobered. “But if you don’t mind, I’d like to run by and just take a look at how Jade’s house is situated. In Maverick County in Texas, the devil beast was able to attack its prey because a house was so isolated from others in town.”

  “That’s okay. I’d just as soon you were able to put her out of your mind. The sooner the better.”

  “Oh trust me, darlin’,” he laughed, “that won’t be a problem. Jade’s what we call all flash and no cash.”

  She gave a hesitant laugh. “I didn’t mean to sound like a jealous harpy. I don’t really have any claim on you, Logan.”

  “Oh honey, you have more of a claim than you know.” Logan closed his big hand over her small one. “You haven’t got a thing to be jealous about, trust me. But I like it that you are.”

  He lifted her hand and kissed her wrist, the only thing not covered by her glove.

  The mortuary was only a ten-minute ride from the sheriff’s office. Logan parked in the back and rang the bell beside the wide rear door. He shook hands with the man who opened it, introduced him to Rebecca as Howard Drake, the owner.

  “Come on into the back,” Drake said, stepping aside so they could enter. “I’m guessing by what the sheriff said you know what a gruesome sight this is.” He shook his head. “Never seen anything like it, not even after a wild bear attack.” He glanced at Rebecca. “You okay with this?”

  She tried for a smile. “I’m tougher than I look.”

  “Okay then. Come on back.”

  He led them to a small room that was actually a smaller version of a morgue’s cold storage area. Sliding out one of the drawers, he carefully pulled back the sheet covering the ranger’s body. When Rebecca tensed Logan cupped her elbow and squeezed gently, giving her his strength. But not all the strength in the world could prepare her each time she looked at the Chupacabra’s handiwork.

  Like all the other victims there were two puncture marks in the throat, the body was sliced down the middle, and although it had now been sewn back together she knew the entrails would have been lying outside.

  “Damndest thing,” Drake said. “Every bit of blood had been drained from the body.”

  “We know,” Rebecca said in a soft voice.

  Drake looked at Logan. “Reminds me of Julie’s and Wade’s bodies.”

  “Too bad nobody listened to me then,” Logan said bitterly. “Maybe everyone would have been on the alert this time.” He pulled out his cell and shot several pictures to send back to Desolation Ranch.

  “You have to admit,” the funeral director said, “it’s about as farfetched as aliens landing from outer space.”

  Neither Logan nor Rebecca said anything, just stood silently while the drawer was closed, thanked the man and headed back out to the truck.

  “I’m going to ask Ric to email me some of the DNA reports,” Logan said when they were back on the highway. “I want everyone at this meeting today to know exactly what we’re up against. Or at least as much as we know.”

  “Did you…want to drive by Jade’s house when we get to Overlook?” Rebecca asked. She was determined to be as objective about this as possible. If the woman was located in a dangerous situation they needed to know. Considering the vastness of the area they’d be searching, anything they could pinpoint as a possible target would be a help.

  Logan stole a quick glance at her. “You don’t mind?”

  Rebecca shrugged. “If she’s in real danger we need to know.” Her laugh was tremulous. “I might hate her for being beautiful and part of your past but not enough to see her killed.”

  Silence hung in the truck for a moment. “You’re one in a million, you know that?”

  “I just don’t want to be one of a million, big guy.”

  “Never.” His voice softened. “You’re the end of the line for me, Bek. Once we get this situation here settled. I want you to know that.”

  She squeezed his thigh in silent answer.

  When they reached Overlook, instead of driving straight through town to the ranch, Logan detoured through part of the residential area. Closer to town the houses were closer together, much as any small-town neighborhood would be. But the farther away they got, the farther apart the houses were. Some were even set on hilltops. And they were such a mixture, Rebecca thought. Expensive, not so expensive. Wood. Stone. Even some brick.

  By the time they reached what she gathered was Jade’s street the houses were very far apart. Jade’s was at the end of the street, a closed dead end. And set back from the road surrounded by a thick stand of ponderosa pines. Rebecca sucked in a breath.

  “Yeah,” Logan said. “I know what you mean.”

  He parked at the foot of the driveway, letting the engine idle while they both studied the setting.

  “It’s perfect for the devil beast,” Rebecca told him. “An ideal setting.”

  “I agree. Remember, the Chupacabra targets its kills within a twenty-five-mile area for some reason. And while Jade’s house is only one of many optimum places for an attack it still makes me nervous. I guess because I know her.”

  “Do you think she took you seriously? About protecting herself?”

  Logan shook his head. “No. And neither will anyone else unless we release something that puts everyone on notice. And if
we do that we panic an entire county.”

  “So what’s the alternative?”

  “That’s what we’re going to discuss this afternoon.”

  * * * * *

  Rance Danvers leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face.

  I’m definitely getting too old for this job.

  He had the file folder on Randy Parker open on his desk, unable to keep from staring at the pictures. Comparing them in his mind to the ones Logan Tanner and Rebecca Black had shown him.

  The idea of what they put forth was so extreme he had a hard time swallowing it. Just the same, he couldn’t ignore it. This time he had to explore every possibility.

  Making sure the door to his office was locked, he sat back down behind his desk, pulled out the tray with his computer keyboard and typed in “Chupacabra”. More links came up than he ever could have imagined. From the killing of Wade Tanner, his wife and their neighbor he’d been determined to write the whole thing off as someone’s nightmarish fairy tale, but apparently he was wrong.

  As he worked his way through each website the fear in him grew stronger and stronger. There were even a few photos that people had taken of creatures they thought was the Chupacabra. Whether it was the real thing or not, they were enough to scare the shit out of anyone.

  Wikipedia defined El Chupacabra (Spanish for “goat sucker”) as a legendary creature rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. Sightings were first reported in Puerto Rico, then Mexico and the United States. The name came from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats.

  “Physical descriptions of the creature vary,” he read. “Eyewitness sightings have been claimed as early as 1995 in Puerto Rico and have since been reported as far north as Maine and as far south as Chile, and even being spotted outside the Americas in countries like Russia and the Philippines.”

  All the sites he looked at considered it to be a hybrid or mutation of more than one species, with long fangs, a hideous head, muscular hind legs and a scaly torso. The actual descriptions varied but they all had one thing in common. They vanished from the site of their kills without leaving a trace.

  Danvers pushed back from his desk and lifted his mug, taking a deep swallow of the dark liquid. After reading the material he had and looking at the pictures and drawings, he wished he had something stronger than plain coffee. Although he didn’t think anything would erase the images or words from his mind.

  He went to the file cabinet in his office where he kept unsolved cases and pulled out everything on the Tanners, spreading the crime scene photos out on his desk. The more he looked the more chilled his blood became. Logan Tanner was right. This was no kill by any animal he was familiar with. It was vicious but precise. Every body had two deep puncture wounds in the neck, one long slice from sternum to groin with the organs extracted and left at the side, and every bit of blood completely drained. Just as it was with the park ranger.

  Was it possible to have a creature that attacked like an animal and thought like a human? This was the stuff of nightmares for sure. The idea made his hands shake as he shuffled everything back into the folder and stored it away.

  He dropped into his desk chair, rubbing his face as if to scrub away what he’d seen.

  * * * * *

  The devil beast had awakened with a fierce need for exercise. Cold, crisp air always invigorated it. Maybe it was the eclectic mixture of DNA in its body but the sharp cold always made it hungrier for blood. For exercise. For everything.

  Standing on its hind legs, it stretched, unkinking the various parts of its body. From the moment it had woken from a deep, deep sleep in this frozen wasteland the inner force driving it had grown with insistent urgency. A thirst for blood, for prey to satisfy its lust, was with it every moment, although its strength ebbed and flowed in cycles.

  Small animals had sufficed, sated its need, although finding them had proven difficult. As cold as it was this time of year vegetation was scarce and so were the animals that relied upon it to eat and hide in.

  Finding the very large prey had excited the beast and it had drunk thirstily of its blood. Even now the beast could still savor traces of the coppery taste in its mouth, relive the moment when its two sharp fangs had pierced the prey’s hide. Savored the excitement of slicing it open to remove its inner organs and lap up every stray drop of blood.

  Soon the Chupacabra would need another large prey to slake its thirst. Two more before it could finally rest. Before the frenzy that rose within it would subside for a long period of time. There was so much space to explore here, so many places to look. But somehow if it strayed beyond a certain area some trigger in its brain sent enormous jolts of pain through its system. The beast would have to be very careful to stay within the pain-free boundaries while seeking its prey.

  Now.

  Time to start hunting again.

  * * * * *

  Logan’s cell chirped just as they turned into a parking space at the funeral home and he pulled it from his pocket. The readout had the number of the sheriff’s office displayed. There had been a voice mail from him but Logan hadn’t had a chance to return the call yet.

  “Tanner.” He answered brusquely, figuring despite everything Danvers was calling to cancel the meeting. When he didn’t hear anyone he said, “Hello? That you, Rance?”

  “Yeah. It’s me.” The voice was slightly unsteady. Unusual for a man whom hardly anything could ruffle. There was the rough sound of him clearing his throat. “I just went over all the files again. And I, uh, that is, I did some research on the internet.”

  Now Logan knew why the man sounded so strained.

  “Interesting reading, isn’t it?”

  “Interesting? I’d say it’s enough to scare the shit out of anyone. Have you looked at the body yet?”

  “Yes.” The image was still vivid in his mind. “It’s definitely the work of this devil beast. Anyway, we just arrived back at the ranch. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m not calling off the meeting, if that’s what you think. Just the opposite. I’m thinking after what I’ve read we don’t want to waste even one minute.”

  “Glad we’re finally on the same page. Okay, head on out. We’ll be waiting for you.” He disconnected the call.

  Rebecca looked at him, curiosity stamped on her face. “Danvers?”

  Logan nodded. “He surfed the web and got religion. Danvers just pushed the meeting up.”

  He slid a glance in her direction. “I’m going to call Jade later,” Logan told her. “And before you get a wild hair up your ass, I just want to make sure she knows to be careful.”

  “It’s okay,” she told him, her voice soft and reassuring. “I know you feel a certain responsibility for her and that’s okay.” She looked up at him. “As long as that’s all you feel.”

  Heat surged through Logan. He did his best to force it away, keep his mind on business. Until he met Rebecca Black he’d never believed there was such a thing as an instant connection. An emotional bonding. All the stuff his sister-in-law and her friends used to talk about. But with Rebecca it was all different. He’d known from the instant Sophia introduced them she was the one. He thought he might have a hard time convincing her but she’d felt it too. That special something.

  Mate!

  His wolf called to her as it never had to any other human.

  He’d had a lot of reservations when that first coil of attraction snapped between them. Until he joined Night Seekers he’d had little experience with mating between humans and shifters. His parents had both been shifters but for some undisclosed reason they weren’t affiliated with any pack. In fact, when he thought about it, he remembered them going to great lengths to avoid any contact. The closest he’d ever come was after they’d been killed in an auto accident and he and his brother were going through their father’s papers. A very brief letter, decades old, from someone who was obviously a friend hinted at a battle between the elder Tanner and the pack alpha,
with a warning to stay far away.

  Their parents had told them from the moment they could understand exactly what their heritage was and how to control it. They ordered the special herbs they needed to keep the wolf under control, herbs that thankfully Dakota Grey now grew in a huge garden at Desolation Ranch. Researching their heritage after the discovery of the letter, he and Wade had read about many battles through history for clan supremacy, often when a better leader challenged the alpha’s leadership and supremacy and did not win the fight.

  Being isolated from a pack brought special difficulties with it. For one thing, the brothers had no support system. For another bonding with a female had to be very selective. The woman had to be very special not to be freaked out by the situation and have them committed to an institution. Dating was one thing. Getting married, mating for life, was a whole different thing.

  The interview with Night Seekers had made a huge difference in his life in more ways than one. Three members of the team had found their mates on the first three cases. Jonah Grey was now married to Dakota Furcal, a human, while Mark Guitron had met Chloe Hanson, a shifter and petite red wolf. And in the one he and Sophia had just worked in Maine, she had met Clint Beltaire, who also turned out to be a shifter. In all three instances the humans had been intrigued and fascinated by the extraordinary circumstances. Of course, both Jonah and Sophia had received full indoctrinations when they joined the team. And the matings seemed to be working out very well.

  Sophia had been very forthcoming about Clint, his abilities and the makeup of Night Seekers. After the initial shock wore off, Rebecca had seemed eager to learn more…about him and about the team. On the flight from Texas, with the two of them alone on the plane, she had exhibited a real interest in his background and his situation. And when they’d made love the night before she’d held nothing back. When this case was over…

  Shaking off his thoughts, he reached over to cover Rebecca’s hands with his free one. “You have nothing to worry about, believe me.” He paused. “I mean that, Bek. Without reservation.”

  Her mouth tipped up in a tiny smile. “Me too.” She blew out a breath. “But right now we’d better get ready for the meeting. And yes, I think you should call Jade. I’d hate for someone else you know to be a victim of the devil beast.”