Eat You Up (A Shifter's Claim Book 2)

by Lucy Leroux

  There was something about the way he said the words that made her catch her breath. A shiver ran down her spine. “What do you mean?” she whispered, lowering her voice instinctively.

  “It’s a product of black magic. It can save your life but only by taking someone else’s first. These damn cursed objects always exact a price. In this case, it’s a life for a life.”

  Nina was horrified and fascinated all at the same time. “How does it do that?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not a practitioner, so I can’t really say. I buy my spells. Aside from shifting and rapid healing, I don’t have magic, not that kind.”

  “Really?” she asked.

  “Well, aside from being magic in bed.”

  Nina snorted at his irrepressible grin. “You say saw this collar being used?”

  “Yeah, unfortunately. I saw it bring a bedridden old man back from the brink, but it killed his nurse to do it. I retrieved it right after he used it, but I knew I couldn’t give it to Lawrence. Edward may be human, but he obviously knows what it does, or he wouldn’t be trying so hard to get it. I’m not an easy man to hire, and my services cost a mint.”

  “So, what did you do to fool him exactly?”

  “My contact was adamant the item be returned, but I decided to play it safe.” He broke off with a self-recriminatory sigh. “I should have tossed the damn thing in the river—told Lawrence it had been lost. Instead, I tried to trick him by removing the center stone.”

  “Did you think that would deactivate it?”

  “Black magic is almost reliable that way. Someone had sacrificed a lot of goats to get that thing to work—or worse. Take out the center ruby and it might still do something nefarious, but I was willing to bet it wouldn’t kill anymore. I even replaced it with a ruby of the same size. It was a close match in color, but not close enough. I was hoping Lawrence would think it had photographed darker, but he must have realized I tried to pull a fast one.”

  “But Edward Lawrence is in perfect health. Why would he want something like this? And how did he find out about it?”

  “As for the last, I can’t really say. There aren’t that many humans who know these artifacts are more than myths and rumor. Sadly, a surprising number of old money farts are looped in. Not many, but enough to cause problems every once in a while. Money talks, even to my kind. I also have some idea about what he wanted to do with it.”

  He grabbed a bottle of Stolichnaya from the makeshift bar he’d set up on the cabinet and slid it over to her.

  “You may want to have a swig before I tell you.”

  “No thanks.”

  He reached over for the bottle, uncapped it, and took a healthy swallow. “It’s just a guess, of course, but we think Lawrence Senior was going to give it to Junior so he could use it at the hospital.”

  “What? No—Matt would never do something like that, not at that cost. He’s a jerk sometimes, but he’s not a killer.”

  “You know him best, but you shouldn’t underestimate a man’s ambition—especially if he can make his superstar ex-fiancée look bad in the process.”

  “No, he’s not involved.” Nina was sure of it. Matt was a cheater, yes, but he wasn’t a murderer.

  “He isn’t,” she protested when he threw her a sardonic glance. “Killing a patient on the table—that is something some doctors have to deal with. Doctors kill people every day. But not on purpose and not with some black-magic hoodoo. Matt is too conventional to touch that stuff. Trust me, he’s not capable.”

  “Lawrence Senior could have someone else do it—a nurse or an orderly. Hell, even a candy striper gets a few minutes alone with certain patients. Hospitals aren’t known for their high security.”

  “That’s true,” she muttered grudgingly. “But stop calling him Lawrence Senior. Matt isn’t named after him, so he’s not a junior. That’s really bugging me.”

  “Sorry.” Dmitri’s smile was wry. “I know precision is important to you.”

  “What happens now?”

  “Lawrence doesn’t know what I really am. If he did, those bullets would have been silver.”

  Damn. “That’s not an old wives’ tale?”

  “‘Fraid not, love. Silver is poisonous to us. We can recover from a small amount—say one bullet in a non-critical place—but you have to dig it out quickly because it will kill the tissue around it if you leave it too long.”

  He took another swig of the whiskey bottle. “I’ll heal faster than Lawrence will expect. I’ll deal with him as soon as I’m able.”

  “Are you going to kill him?” she asked.

  His glance was one of pity, as if she was being naive. “I will remind you that he tried to kill me.”

  “I just want to know.” Nina had stopped shivering, but it felt as if there was a big rock pressing on her chest. They were talking about killing a man she knew. No, she didn’t like him, and her own lover’s life would be in danger as long as he lived, but where did they go from here?

  “I don’t know yet. We have a number of options. Cass can help. That woman’s mind is devious. There are ways around killing.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” She stood, making her way to him. “Take off that shirt.”

  He complied with a little tightening of his chin. She examined him quickly, biting her lip to keep from commenting on how quickly he healed.

  “I’ll be calling that Doctor Kiera now that I know what you are. I assume she’ll be able to tell me how to best take care of you from now on.”

  He was quick to jump on that. Dmitri sat up a little straighter. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

  Nina turned to face him. “I gave notice at work.”

  “Yeah, I heard. Please answer the question. Are you coming with me?”

  It felt as if she was about to step off the ledge of a tall building. “I don’t intend on knocking around the world indefinitely the way you do. I’d want to work again at another hospital if possible. You mentioned Portland.”

  “That’s right. It’s my retirement plan.”

  “How do you feel about retiring young?”

  “As long as you’re with me, I feel good. I feel really good.”

  Nina went up to him, putting her hands on the sides of his waist, where there were no bullet wounds.

  “Then, as soon as you’re healed, yes—I will bond with you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Are you fucking paying attention?” Cass hissed.

  Dmitri plugged his USB into the desktop computer. It was nearly three in the morning, and he was back in Lawrence’s office. He was alone this time. Edward and his high-society wife were asleep somewhere upstairs. If he woke, Dmitri would hear him the second he stepped on the wooden floor.

  Almost two weeks had passed since the shooting. He and Nina had been living it up at the Caislean ever since.

  Dmitri had kept close tabs on Lawrence. So far, the man hadn’t made a move against them despite knowing he survived the shooting. Perhaps he wasn’t planning further retaliation. That or he was bidding his time. Dmitri was betting on the latter. Better safe than sorry.

  “Not really,” he muttered. The computer was the top of the line, with a fancy biometric security system it had taken him less than a minute to bypass with a lifted print.

  “I don’t like this. The man tried to kill you. You should get rid of him now, permanently.”

  “Yeah, you’ve made that clear.” He’d heard this particular argument from her for days now. “I told you… I don’t want to start off life as a bonded man with blood on my hands. If there’s any way to deal with Lawrence using the human authorities, I want to try that first.”

  “You forget I spoke to your precious Nina. For fuck’s sake, she’s no fainting flower. Just tell her the truth—that Lawrence needed to go. She’ll understand. Hell, you laid it all out. She chose to bond with you, no tricks or traps. You didn’t even have to blackmail her.”

  He snorted. “She knows my worth. Blackmail wa
sn’t necessary.”

  “Don’t knock blackmail. It’s how my dad got my mom back in the day.” She sniffed loudly. “Plus, there’s no guarantee your plan is going to work.”

  “It’ll work,” he said, downloading the incriminating files onto the computer.

  The data in the files was genuine. He and Cass had enlisted a hacker friend to do some digging. They’d found evidence of some serious SEC violations and a little light embezzlement. Edward had concealed the crimes with some skill, which was where Dmitri came in.

  Once they were finished transferring, Dmitri was going to conceal them—badly, of course. They’d be easy to decrypt.

  Now for the breadcrumb trail, he thought, opening the web browser. The authorities always checked the search history. This one was going to be highly informative.

  “Trust me, the securities and exchange commission are going to lap this shit up,” he told her.

  “And what if Lawrence has enough clout and cash to make this all go away?” Cass asked, always the pessimist.

  “Not this time. My guy there owes me a favor.”

  He didn’t bother to tell her that if this plan failed, he’d think of another, and then another. He’d do whatever he had to protect his future with Nina. Unfortunately, that included keeping Lawrence alive. He wouldn’t have the man’s death casting a shadow over their beginning.

  “This might not be necessary. The man got what he wanted—his son got that cushy job at the hospital and the cash prize that comes with the fellowship. The little shit doesn’t even need it.”

  Dmitri glanced around the office. It was decorated with expensive antiques. “No, he doesn’t. But those with the most tend to be the greediest.”

  “How is your mate dealing with unemployment?”

  Dmitri raised his brows. Cass almost sounded interested. “Nina’s fine. Well, fine for her. She spent days organizing her things for the move, but now that everything is packed and shipped off to Oregon, she keeps rearranging my guns.”

  At first, she’d been put off by his large suitcase of weaponry, but then she surprised him. She started watching online videos on how to clean and shoot guns. Dmitri had little choice but to teach her how to use the damn things. She’d done very well at the gun range, but when he asked her if she had fun, she’d shaken her head.

  “I see too many gunshot wounds to be able to enjoy this,” she’d said. “Right now, I’m doing this to learn how to protect you. I hope I never have to use one. In fact, I wish aliens would invade and melt down every single one.”

  Aliens. If only she knew…

  “A woman like that can’t stay idle long,” Cass said, cutting into his reverie. “If I were you, I’d cut the honeymoon trip around the world short, so she can start at the new hospital.”

  He murmured something unintelligible, aware his honeymoon would last only as long as it took for the hospital in Portland to finish remodeling their cardiac wing.

  As predicted, several hospitals had been thrilled to offer Nina a position. The one at Portland Irving had a cardiac surgeon on the brink of retirement. Their aged surgical suites had been almost as old as he was.

  Nina’s impending arrival meant more expensive surgeries would be done there, so they were investing in new surgical suites furnished with the latest equipment. They’d even asked Nina for her input on the process. She’d spent hours on the phone and her computer, exchanging emails and going over blueprints and photos for most of the last week.

  “I’m done,” he said, beginning to pack up. He went out the way he came in, through the kitchen. Gliding out through the garden, he kept to the shadows. Dmitri jogged the half mile to his car in a few minutes.

  “Like a ghost,” he bragged as he got behind the wheel.

  Cass made a wet raspberry sound. “Don’t forget you got shot, asshat. So, you’re a tattered ghost at best.”

  He grinned. “What would I do without these great pep talks?”

  “You know you need me,” his assistant delivered dryly. “Who else is going to keep you humble?”

  He shrugged, driving the long way back to the Caislean. “Nina does a credible job.”

  This time, it was a fart noise. “That’s not what mates do. A mate pumps you up, makes you feel invincible and, by extension, stupid.”

  “You haven’t met Nina. Her sheer greatness is humbling.”

  Cass sniffed. “Well, at least you didn’t end up with one of those ass-kissing dish rag types.”

  He laughed. “I knew you liked her.”

  “Here’s to Nina and the wolf-man,” Jodi yelled at the top of her lungs.

  “Shh. Not so loud. The whole bar can hear you.” Nina admonished with a laugh, wondering why Jodi had chosen that nickname for Dmitri. It was almost as if she knew something…

  They were back at Red’s, the hospital hangout. Dmitri had wanted to have their bon-voyage party at the Caislean or at a fancy restaurant, but since they had done that for their wedding reception, she had lobbied for the bar instead. She wanted to make it easy for her old coworkers to drop by and say goodbye.

  Nina would’ve been content to be married at City Hall, but Dmitri had organized a small and decadent ceremony at their hotel instead. Only close friends and family had been invited.

  It had been a surprise. Their guests had been told it was just a casual get-together, only to be ambushed with a wedding. Her parents had been there, but Kate had been a no-show, most likely because Matt had been scheduled to work. He’d been in back-to-back surgeries at the time. Nina suspected Jodi had made sure of that. Her friend had been the only one who didn’t appear shocked when they made the big announcement.

  Nina returned Jodi’s next toast with a ribald anecdote. Liquor and laughter flowed freely for the next hour. Dmitri hugged the bar, watching approvingly as she took leave of all her friends and a few frenemies.

  Nina was having a little too much fun. She’d just decided to switch to water when Jesse poked her sharply in the ribs.

  “Ow.” Wincing, she rubbed her side and glared at him. He jerked his head to the door.

  Kate.

  She stared at her sister in surprise. It must have been longer than she thought because Dmitri leaned in. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “No, of course not.”

  Kate hesitated at the door. Jodi was shooting Nina’s sister a dark and dirty look from across the room.

  “Simmer down,” she murmured, patting her friend as she walked past.

  Her sister skirted the edge of the crowded bar, around the many wooden tables that filled the space between her and the front door. Kate sat in the only empty booth in the place.

  “I’m sorry I missed your wedding,” she murmured after Nina sat next to her.

  Nina leaned closer. “That’s okay. I’m sure you would have been there if we’d warned you in advance that we were getting married.”

  Kate nodded, her eyes flicking from her to Dmitri and back again. “Congratulations. He seems like a fine man, no matter what Matt says.”

  Nina laughed. “He is.”

  Kate took a deep breath. “You didn’t have to do it that way—a small ceremony. We could have done a big party like my reception. Mom and Dad can afford it. I could have done the flowers.”

  Now Nina felt like crying. “I’m sure they would have been lovely, but I wouldn’t have enjoyed that. I hate having that many eyes on me. It’s one of the reasons Matt and I could never agree on a venue back when we were planning our reception. He always wanted big and glamorous. It’s better he married you. This—” She broke off, gesturing to the bar. “It’s more mine and Dmitri’s speed—a small group of real friends.”

  Tears glittered unexpectedly in her sister’s beautiful eyes. “I’m sorry we’re not friends anymore.”

  Nina sighed. “That’s not true.”

  It was a lie, but it was the kind of lie that was needed to live.

  “Everything is different now because of what I did.” Kate sniffed. “Mom and
Dad act like everything is all right, but the way they look at each other when they think I’m not paying attention… They think I’m selfish.”

  “Kate…you are selfish.”

  Her sister blinked. Nina grinned, reaching out to take her hand.

  “But we helped make you that way. After what you had to go through as a child—what you still have to go through—you get to be selfish sometimes. Just not all the time.”

  Kate sniffled. “You’re a much nicer person than I am.”

  Nina thought about that. “I’m not sure I am. Things have worked out for me. My future bears no resemblance to what I thought it was going to be, but I’m so much happier now.”

  Nina was honest enough to admit the truth. If she hadn’t met Dmitri, she’d still be bitter. Her crazy Russian werewolf hadn’t just given her another chance at love. He’d given her the means to repair her relationship with her sister.

  “I shouldn’t have been that way about Matt,” Kate whispered. “I think we both realized it was a mistake right after the wedding. I don’t know if we’re going to make it. I may have ruined our family for nothing.”

  “We’re not ruined.” Nina sighed. “Well, we’re not ruined anymore. We’re still rebuilding. I don’t know how long it will take, but I will always love you.”

  Kate wiped her cheek with her fist. It was a familiar gesture, one she’d done as a child.

  “What about Matt?”

  “Him, I don’t have to love anymore,” Nina said flatly.

  Kate laughed, and Nina squeezed her hand. “I think you’re better suited to the life Matt wants than I was. He always complained that I never needed him.”

  That and he’d always tried to push her into a supporting role—more like a prop than a partner. Kate made a much better trophy wife. It was kind of the role she’d been born to play. If she accepted it. Nina couldn’t do that for her.

  “I’m going to miss you,” Kate said tearfully.

  “I’m moving, not dying.” Nina leaned back in the booth. “Do you want something from the bar? A soda maybe?”

  Kate’s mouth twisted. “I know it’s hard for you to think of me as an adult, but I’ve been legal drinking age for years now.”