She’s a crazy little thing.
His wolf sent him a picture of Meisha smiling, her eyes twinkling with happiness and her hair dark hair blowing in a breeze.
Now, when have we ever seen her smile?
No more pictures from his wolf.
That’s what I thought.
Then his wolf flashed him a picture of Lajos smiling at Meisha and then another one of both of them smiling at each other.
I’m not here to make anyone happy. Plus after tonight we’ll never see her again. Best to remove her from our mind.
Another picture. This time the wolf was lying down, huddled in a ball and burying his face in his legs.
What? Sulking? You?
Lajos snorted. You’ll feel better when we get home and you can run free.
When the traffic light in front of them turned yellow, he expected Meisha to slow down. Instead she breezed under the light as it turned red, leaving him to follow her.
If I’d known she drives like a bat out of hell, I would’ve told her to obey all traffic laws.
When she finally pulled into to her apartment complex and backed her bike into a parking space, he sighed with relief. She’d made it home in one piece. He’d been more nervous watching her dart in and out of traffic than he’d been when she ran out of the office with Fedir close on her heels.
He pulled into a parking space not too far from hers and watched as she turned off her headlights and the engine came to a grumbling halt. She swung one lean, sexy leg over the bike and adjusted her pants.
She was headstrong and hard-headed, but she was also hot. What she needed was a mate who could tame her wildness without stifling her. Too bad all the human males he knew would prefer to suppress her instead. He’d hate to see her in ten years, after she settled down and had kids. She’d probably end up selling her bike, wear frilly dresses and attend PTA meetings.
That’ll be a waste of a good female.
She walked past him and didn’t give him a second glance. He’d told her to go home, feed Piper, take a shower, put on pajamas and go immediately to bed. He didn’t know why he added the pajama part, but a little piece of him imagined her sleeping in something sexy. Now he regretted that he hadn’t added giving him a goodbye kiss to the list. While the sliver of regret was there, he would never have done something like that. But still. He wouldn’t have minded feeling her lips on his and tasting her—just once. She probably tasted just as spicy as her personality. He pulled his bottom lip into his mouth. He could almost imagine her on him.
When she walked around the corner and out of his sight, a little piece of him became sad. Just a little piece. She was a handful, but with her he’d felt alive. It was something about her spirit and her energy. She was a ball of fire and if the circumstances had been different he wouldn’t mind getting burned.
He shook his head. He couldn’t get caught up with Meisha and she couldn’t get caught up with him. A wolf shifter and a headstrong, death wish having human wouldn’t make for a good couple. Other shifters knew the deal. Sex was sex until a mate was found. Everyone was aware that sex didn’t equal a long-term, committed relationship. Love wasn’t involved. But humans, they expected more than a shifter could give them. To them sex equated to love. That’s why he preferred one night stands.
He opened his car door and got out. Closing it softly so not to wake any of her sleeping neighbors, he jogged to the corner just in time to catch sight of Meisha ascending the stairs to her apartment. He took a big whiff of the air. It smelled like cigarettes, chlorine from the pool that sat in the middle of the courtyard, exhaust fumes from the nearby highway and humans. No other shifters were there besides him.
“Bye, Meisha,” he murmured. He turned away from her and went back to his car, never intending to see her again.
* * * * *
Brriinngg.
Lajos woke with a start and looked around. The Florida sun shone high in the sky, its rays of heat blared down on him. He was in the same parking spot from the night before. Instead of going back to the hotel he’d opted to stay and keep an eye on Meisha, making sure Alexei didn’t somehow find out where she lived and tried to attack. He hardly slept a wink.
Brriinngg.
He reached for his cellphone. Andras’ face showed up on the contact screen.
He accepted the call. “Yeah.”
“Where are you?” Andras’ voice came over the line tersely.
“I’m still in Jacksonville. What’s up?”
“Kristof and Trudy’s plane is missing.”
Lajos pulled himself up in the seat, afraid that he’d heard right and his brother hadn’t misspoke. His wolf came awake with a start. “Say that again?”
“Their plane went missing last night. When it didn’t land on schedule I was notified.”
His free hand gripped the steering wheel. His wolf prowled his mind, ready to act. “Why wasn’t I called?”
“Because you couldn’t have done anything in Jacksonville.”
Lajos slammed his palm on the steering wheel. “Bullshit, I could’ve been on the first plane to…”
He stopped. Right, they didn’t know where Kristof and Trudy were.
“Exactly. I have a feeling that the shifters that you both ran into down there also have something to do with Kristof and Trudy’s disappearance. We need you to continue to track down who’s responsible for the murder and attacks. Before Kristof boarded the plane he’d told me that you and another human were attacked. Did you figure out what pack they’re from yet?”
Lajos hung his head. “No. I can’t get a read on them. But Meisha, the human, did kill one of them.”
“She did?” he asked, obviously surprised.
“Yeah, but unfortunately the other, Alexei, got away before I could interrogate him. I have a lead—an Enterprise license plate number. I’m going to the dealership to find out what I can. I’ll need you to do some research for me. I asked Kristof to do it, but seeing how he’s gone…” Lajos stopped there, his heart dropped.
Please let Kristof and Trudy be all right, wherever they are.
His wolf whined.
“What do you need me to do?” Andras asked.
“The shifter that got away is named Alexei and the one that was killed was Fedir. Check to see what you can find on any Russian shifters with those names. Maybe we can pinpoint what pack they belong to.”
“Those are pretty common Russian names, but I’ll look into it. Keep in constant contact. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”
“I’ll be fine. Once I find Alexei I’ll make sure to interrogate him first—then kill him.”
“Don’t do anything stupid. If I get intel on them and we’re able to locate their pack, I’ll be pulling you home. Meanwhile, if you do catch him I want all the information you can about who hired him.”
“I understand.”
“Be safe.”
“I will.”
Andras disconnected the line and Lajos stared at his phone. His brother and brother’s mate were missing, and from what he knew about these shifters they were out to kill, not negotiate. He would have to find out who they were as soon as possible so that he could hightail it back to Michigan. When his brother called for help, he wanted to be there to provide it. He lifted his seat from the reclined position and started the car. When he eased out of the parking space he looked over to find that Meisha’s bike was gone.
Crap. Where did that little hellion get off to?
Meisha watched Lajos pull out of his parking space. She squinted as he exited the parking lot. She didn’t know what mojo he’d pulled on her last night, but she was sure it had been something. She woke in the middle of the night to find that she’d showered and put on some pajamas and had gone to bed, all with just a faded memory of having done anything. At first she thought that she’d just been too tired to remember going to bed; it really had been a long night. But when she looked down at the pajamas her mom had given her for Christmas three years ago, the ones she’d never worn, it was a d
ead giveaway that she hadn’t done anything of her own will. She hadn’t worn pajamas since she moved out of her parents’ house and into her own place.
The second giveaway that something was up had come when she’d taken Piper for a walk at an ungodly hour. This wasn’t her first time watching Piper for Trudy. When Trudy had to take business trips or planned to pull all-nighters at work, she’d often called Meisha to watch her dog. Meisha knew good and well that, just like her, Piper wasn’t an early riser. But at six o’clock in the friggin’ morning Piper had clawed at her face and didn’t relent until Meisha was up. For some reason she hadn’t taken Piper out when she came home. How could she forget to do something as simple as that? The only reason she could think of was because something had happened to her mind.
When Meisha had walked past the parking lot and spotted the grey Pontiac G6 parked in a space, something tugged in the back of her mind. She’d a fading memory of a car just like that one following behind her the night before. She’d wanted to divert her route and lose whoever was tailing her, but the urge to go directly home was too strong.
She’d crept over to the car, dragging Piper along, and found Lajos lying back, sleeping in the driver’s seat. That’s when her memory began to return. Last night she’d been with Lajos at Trudy’s business. Two other guys had come—big Russians, she’d remembered. But were they members of a Russian mafia? She frowned, a thought was in her mind.
You killed him, a man—a member of the Russian mafia.
She could practically hear Lajos’ voice in her head, telling her that. She remembered trying to desperately hold on to the truth. But what was the truth?
That’s when it hit her, Lajos’ words coming back to her. “Meisha. You never saw a wolf. It was just a man with long hair. He growled at you and you were so frightened that you thought he was some kind of animal.”
Shifter.
She’d killed a shifter. A human that could turn into a wolf. And Lajos was one of them.
She gasped. What the hell is going on?
What kind of craziness was this and was the Yaruzi involved?
She wanted to pound on his window and demand that he give her some answers, but she had a better plan.
She would find out for herself.
She walked Piper to her parents’ house, four blocks from her place, and dropped her off. She explained everything that’d happened to her dad, but left out the wolf-shifting part. She told him that Lajos was sure the men had been out to destroy his company and that Trudy and Mark were unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire. She also told her dad that she wasn’t so sure that the men hadn’t been sent by the Yaruzi. Her dad, being the logical and thoughtful man that he was, agreed with her. Meisha would take her time and assess the situation, gathering as much information as she could before they acted. Only if she found evidence that the men had been sent by the Yaruzi would she begin to put the plan in motion to get her and her family away.
Meisha ran home, dressed, packed an overnight bag, just in case she wasn’t coming home for the night, and pushed her bike to the parking lot across the street. There she waited for Lajos to wake up.
When he made a right onto the cross street, she fired up her engine and followed him. She made sure to stay at least four cars behind him until he reached the interstate. On the freeway she let him get farther ahead to ensure he wouldn’t see her from his rearview mirror. He exited the interstate near the airport and took the turn toward the rental car companies. When he’d gone inside, she’d waited a couple of minutes and then followed him. Once she got inside, following close behind a large group, she hid behind a large plastic tree and watched as he spoke to one of the ladies at the counter.
She strained to hear the words exchanged between Lajos and the clerk, knowing that he was asking her for information regarding Alexei and Fedir. She almost laughed. She’d been joking when she suggested that she would call Enterprise and get information from them. Enterprise was a reputable company. They wouldn’t give out their customer’s information so willy-nilly. But when she saw the lady write something down on a piece of paper, she bit her tongue. Maybe they wouldn’t give information over the phone, but apparently they were more than willing to give up information in person. The lady even made a phone call while Lajos stood there and listened.
After she got off the phone, Lajos thanked the lady for helping him and walked toward the door. When he got there he paused briefly to sniff at the air. She watched him with caution. If she had played her cards right he would keep going. The large amount of perfume that she’d put on, but usually never wore, was sure to cover up her scent and throw him off. When he shrugged and walked through the door, she smiled.
Score two for Meisha.
He didn’t get back into his car, but instead waited outside the door and got on his cell phone. The call was brief and just as he was hanging up an employee brought him a motorcycle.
Impressive. A Harley Davidson.
She hadn’t even known Enterprise rented motorcycles, and nothing as high-end as that one. She followed him back onto the freeway. There she wasn’t able to follow him closely and she’d lost him a couple of times. He raced through traffic like he hadn’t a care in the world. He rode just like a professional. Rich guys like him probably could afford to practice on a track at breakneck speeds.
It took almost five hours, but when he pulled off the exit toward Miami Beach she guessed that was their destination. She continued to follow him until he parked in front of a hotel, one that she probably couldn’t afford on her salary. She snorted when he let the valet take his bike. Valet at a South Beach hotel? Who would want to pay an arm and a leg for that?
She parked across the street and fed the meter, then grabbed a seat on a bus bench. There she’d wait for him to make his next move.
Chapter Nine
Lajos let the soft hotel curtain fall back into place. He’d thought he smelled her in the air when he’d gone out to the clothing store a couple of doors down from his hotel. It was her, with just a hint of perfume added to how she normally smelled. He’d made sure not to look in her direction and, instead, used the reflection of a window to spot her. She’d been hiding behind a tree, but had poked her head out to look at him.
What the hell was she doing here? He’d thought he caught a whiff of her at Enterprise, but with all the perfume and exhaust fumes in the air he couldn’t be sure.
She had followed him.
He mentally kicked himself for not being able to detect that she’d been following. Granted he’d been preoccupied. Andras still hadn’t heard from Kristof, and Lajos had possibly left the most interesting human female that he’d ever met three hundred and forty miles behind him. All the way to Miami he’d divided his time thinking about his brother and Meisha.
When he’d found out that the address given to the rental car company was in Miami and not Jacksonville he had the Enterprise clerk call the number that was given and put the call on speaker. While he pushed the clerk to act normal and ask the caller how the car was working out for him, Lajos counted the raucous voices in the background. He’d heard two. If Alexei was on the run, that’s where he would go.
He’d called Andras and told him about the lead. Andras agreed with his assessment that Lajos had no other choice but to head to Miami and get all the information he could on the shifter pack.
Lajos kept his hopes up about Kristof. He wasn’t in Miami—Lajos would feel Kristof if he was this close to him—but he was alive, somewhere out there. If Kristof was taken prisoner, it was just a matter of time before whoever had him contacted Andras with the demands. And when they did, Lajos planned to have all the information about the other shifters to bring them down and get his brother and brother’s mate back.
That’s where his thoughts had trailed to Meisha. Lajos had never wanted a mate before. He understood that a part of mating meant some compromise and give and take, like being married. But Lajos wanted to run free; he didn’t need anyone holding
him back. Wolf or human. He didn’t want to mate with a wolf and definitely not with a human as Kristof had done. There was a reason why there weren’t many shifter-human bonds. During the imprinting process the life-forces of the pair joined.
While Trudy’s life span would be extended as a result of the bond, she would still die before Kristof. A wolf who lost their mate was little more than a walking corpse. They would lose the will to live and slowly degenerate. Not only would Trudy’s death have a negative impact on Kristof, but her death would also affect the pact as a collective.
That was a good enough reason to get Meisha out of his head. If he mated with her he could expect her to die first, leaving him to slowly wither away. No, he didn’t want his life tied to another.
But…
But if he had a choice, he didn’t think Meisha would be a bad one. That’s if she were a wolf and if he had a choice, but neither was the case.
He couldn’t bring Meisha into his world, exposing her to all the dangers that shifters faced. While they were busy remaining unnoticed by the humans, packs were known to fight against each other. Some fights were so brutal that the males of an entire pack could be wiped out by a rival one. That practice hadn’t happened in quite some time, but it wasn’t unheard of. And on top of that, he also shared a world with other dangerous paranormal beings. The werewolves were brutal monsters, Faes were self-centered and egotistical, and the soulless vampires were ruthless and conceited.
But the main reason he couldn’t bring her into his world was because he hadn’t imprinted on her.
His wolf was always interested in Meisha, but he’d been interested in others as well. But always, in the end, it remained just him and his wolf. Whenever he thought he was getting close to someone his wolf would send pictures of being in wolf form, running through the woods. He was by himself—always by himself.
Never with another wolf and of course, never with a human.
Lajos went back to the king size bed and switched on the television, immediately turning to an international news channel. It was one of the best ways to learn what the paranormal community was up to.
Lover Claimed Page 6
