Animal Instincts (Entangled Ignite)

by Patricia Rosemoor

  I heard a scrabbling sound I recognized.

  Rats.

  Looking around to make certain I wasn’t being watched, I crouched and silently called to the little beasts. Within seconds, a pair of good-sized rodents appeared, their pointy noses sniffing the air. I pulled a little plastic bag from my pocket and set two pieces of kibble on the pier. One of the rats immediately ate its piece. The other sniffed his and rolled it as if the food wasn’t up to snuff. But when the first rat tried to move in on the food, the second gulped it down.

  “More where that came from.” I shook the bag before their pointy noses.

  I got more kibble from the bag. Holding out my hand palm up, I froze and waited. The rodents darted forward. The moment their noses touched my hand, I shared the image I’d gotten from the dog, then swung my thoughts back to the lake, and with my free hand, shook the bag of food. Rats weren’t the most cooperative of animals, but that didn’t mean they weren’t smart. They got the picture: if they gave me what I needed, I’d reward them with more food.

  Continuing to project the images the wild dog had shared with me, I stood. The rats scrabbled along the edge of the pier. My pulse rushing—apparently they knew how to get where I wanted to go—I followed the rodents south along the lake, past Museum Campus onto Northerly Island, where the city’s only casino boat was docked.

  Underwater. The lower deck of the boat would be underwater, and it undoubtedly had portholes.

  Drawing closer to the entry, I read the sign: The Ark Casino.

  Chattering at me, the rats demanded a reward. I gave them the last of my kibble, which they gobbled and fled. Even before entering the boat, I could hear the oddly musical sound of slot machines. There was a connection between the boat and the fight arena: gambling.

  I went inside and was startled when I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure on the other side of the casino floor.

  He was tall, and his medium build seemed whipcord hard beneath his tux as if he worked out daily. Thick, dark hair so long it dusted his shoulders waved around a lightly bronzed face, rugged yet so mesmerizing it could grace a magazine cover. I swallowed hard and cut straight for him, but he was moving, too. He slipped behind a pillar and disappeared. It took me a minute to fight through the crowd, but I was intent on confronting him and getting some answers this time.

  I rounded the pillar. A dead end.

  Looking around, I spotted a black door. When I got close, I saw the “Do Not Enter” sign. Opening the door, I slipped inside. Before me, a set of stairs yawned downward. A long hallway stretched from the bottom of the landing, a strange intermittent glow illuminating the windowed wall that seemed to undulate with the lake’s tide.

  A frisson of fear pierced me. What was I getting myself into? If I called Ethan for backup, what would I say? The rats led me here?

  The boat rocked against the dock, and the swirling water reminded me of a shark tank I’d once walked through. The contents of my stomach swirled, too, and I forced myself to walk down the flight of stairs.

  The lights flickered and suddenly went out. If I wanted to go on, it would be in the dark. But as I reached out to touch the glass wall so I could use it as a guide, the hallway began to glow once more. A mere blip in the system, I thought.

  I could hear sounds now. The murmur of voices. The thump-thump of music. The thrum of sound like the slot machines upstairs. My legs felt heavy as I forced them to move forward. The noise grew louder, the tunnel brighter. A man in a uniform stood guarding another door.

  Who’s this chick? Not exactly dressed for the evening, but she’s a looker.

  I started. The security guard hadn’t actually spoken the words out loud. That meant I’d heard his thoughts. But that was impossible—I could read animals, not people. Unless I had now inherited Shade’s ability. I felt as if my head might explode. Or my heart. My body was unnaturally tight as fear laced it with its poison.

  I reached up to touch Shade’s sea glass for courage.

  “Your invitation,” the guard said, holding out his hand.

  Uh-oh. “Um, I’m not sure where I put it.” Trying to catch a normal breath, I searched my pockets as if I actually had an invitation.

  I’d never been able to read people. Something about my ability had changed. Normally I could communicate with animals, using images. What if that would work here? Taking a chance, I created an image in my mind.

  I took a white, engraved card from my pocket and offered it to the guard. He gave it a quick glance, then ushered me in.

  I blinked and he was actually doing it, standing back and sweeping an arm toward the inner sanctum.

  “Welcome to The Ark. Have a good evening.”

  I caught my breath. The image I’d placed in his head had worked, and I’d never done that with a human before.

  And if you don’t find what you want in there, I’m available after hours.

  Ignoring him, I sauntered past the security guard and into a bank of bright lights and hot sounds and choking cigarette smoke. My heart did double time as I stood there taking it all in—banks of slot machines and gaming tables beyond. The complex seemed to go on and on. Fish swirled against the clear walls, undoubtedly attracted to the bright lights. I looked up and through the waves, I saw the Chicago skyline—nearly the same view the wild dog had shared with me earlier.

  Whoever ran the casino must be responsible for the fights. Dogfighting was another form of gambling. Replacing dogs with exotic animals was an additional heinous crime. No doubt Shade had found this place and had sealed his own fate.

  Which made me wonder about my own safety.

  Thinking Ethan had to see this, that I needed him here, I pulled out my cell phone to alert him. He had to come. When I tried to make the call, I couldn’t get a signal. The battery was good. Huh.

  I’m bored, a woman complained. I’m going to ask for another job.

  You know how likely that is, a man thought back at her. The Boss isn’t going to like you asking.

  The boss.

  Lured by the conversation, I stepped forward, tried to place the voices.

  I don’t know, maybe I can find a way to convince him.

  Forget it. I hear he’s not interested in anyone but Luc’s mother.

  I touched the sea glass pendant Shade had given me the last time I’d seen him alive. My heart was thundering now and I was having difficulty swallowing. The voices seemed to be coming from the right, from behind a glass window fronting a forested area.

  The wild dog had shown me this, too. There were no people inside the animal habitat. Only a couple of wolves. I couldn’t be hearing the animals talking. Amazed that I hadn’t realized animals lived here as soon as I had entered, I kept going, staring at the wildlife. As I went on, the habitat changed, from forest to desert to rocky plains.

  Lions.

  Hyenas.

  Panthers.

  All predators like the ones I’d run into the other night. Feeling as if I’d walked into something out of a science fiction movie, I left the path along the habitat and entered the casino proper.

  This one is ripe for the picking. She’s a candidate for the back room tonight.

  Cezar will give you extra credit if you can get her this time.

  I was picking up on more thoughts, all coming from the casino workers. The guests seemed oblivious.

  I was good and spooked.

  A hand on my shoulder whipped me around.

  “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

  I gasped. The mystery man was glaring at me. Again.

  I met his pale gray eyes for a moment before I stepped back. I couldn’t help but stare at his mouth. Wide, with full lips, at the moment turned down in a frown. Still, there was something mesmerizing about him, something that sent my senses off-kilter. My nerve endings felt raw.

  Despite that, I focused on my purpose. “I—I came to see where the animals for the fights were being held.”

  “Who have you been talking to?”
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  I tried to blink away the effect he had on me, but it was no use. The small hairs on my arms prickled and the back of my neck felt hot. I was responding to his sheer magnetism.

  “The wild dog wounded in the fight told me,” I said truthfully. Instinct told me he would believe me. “You know, the one that fought the coyote.”

  He continued to stare at me. Leave now and don’t come back. You’ll forget about this place the moment you step foot outside.

  His forceful thoughts made my spine straighten. I could feel the commands trying to twist my mind. He was trying to control me.

  “I don’t think so,” I told him sweetly, covering the fact that I was trying not to freak. Showing fear wouldn’t get me what I wanted. “I’m not leaving, and there’s no way I’m forgetting anything I see here. And stop trying to mess with my mind.”

  His turn to be startled. His eyes widened and confusion slid through them and down to his sculpted lips. “What are you?” he said.

  His question made my throat tighten.

  Why did he keep asking me that?

  Chapter Eight

  Luc took a step forward but Skye didn’t move back, as if she didn’t fear him.

  She should be afraid, considering the things he could do—had done—he thought grimly, grasping her elbow. The moment he touched her, a shock ran through his hand and up his arm, and he could see from her widening eyes that she felt it, too. Hiding his reaction to her, he easily moved her away from the crowd and into an empty bank of slots where they could have privacy of sorts. He didn’t want anyone to overhear.

  “What are you?” he repeated, wanting to know how she had resisted his mental suggestions.

  “What are you?” she said heatedly. “And what is this place?”

  “Somewhere you shouldn’t be. How did you get here?”

  “I told you, I got directions from that poor wild dog at the fight. I’m an animal rescuer.” Skye shrugged her arm from his grasp. “That’s why I was there. To make sure the animals were taken care of. Why were you there?”

  He stared into her belligerent green eyes that told him so much about her. About who she was if not what. There was an inner core of decency in her that went beyond the ordinary. He tried to ignore that. Tried to ignore the way her mahogany hair framed her angelic-looking face. Or the way her dark T-shirt clung to her feminine curves. Tried to ignore the sheer animal heat distracting him.

  He wondered what exactly she did or didn’t know.

  About the shifter fights.

  About The Company.

  About him.

  “You are a foolish, foolish woman, Skye Cross. Do you know how easily you could have been killed outside the fight arena?”

  How easily she could be killed now. Not that he would let that happen. Now he owed her. He couldn’t bring her brother back, but he could make sure she didn’t end up dead like him.

  “I wasn’t there alone.”

  “But you left the arena alone.”

  “To go after a wounded coyote.” Her tone grew strident. “An innocent animal was being abused and I wanted to make sure it got proper treatment.”

  Trying not to let her humanity touch him—she didn’t belong here and he needed to make her leave—he mocked her. “Are you always that selfless, putting the needs of animals before yourself, no matter the danger? You could have been eaten.”

  Her response was another frown. Her slender brows pulled together and her full lips pursed. He didn’t sense any element of fear.

  Frustrated, Luc stared at Skye and wondered what it would take to intimidate her so that she would leave and never come back. Every minute she spent here put her in danger. Even as he thought it, he sensed a vulnerability in her. An opening. She was feeling some primal attraction to him. Certain he could seduce her away from here, take her in a way that would send her running to never return, for some reason he was reluctant to pierce her fragile armor. To become her worst nightmare. Yes, he could make her fear him, but he wouldn’t.

  Because her brother’s sacrifice to save his mother burdened him with an obligation. He owed the Crosses and couldn’t ignore that debt.

  “Tell me how those predators were walking around the city loose,” Skye said. “What happened to them?”

  He evaded. “They’re taken care of.”

  “By whom? You?” Indicating the direction of the habitat, she asked, “Are they the same animals I saw back there?”

  So she was already putting things together. Not good. Now that she knew about this place, she might be able to figure out what her brother had been investigating.

  “You don’t need to worry,” he said. You should leave now. Go home and forget you were ever here.

  “I’m not leaving until I get some answers. And stay out of my mind.”

  “What are you?” he asked for a third time.

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  He could tell she was being truthful. He could sense her building anxiety. And suddenly caught a whiff of fear that surprised him and rattled his instincts. But did she fear him or the unknown? He couldn’t tell.

  “About the animal fights,” she said, reminding him of a stubborn terrier he’d once had as a kid. “Do you like seeing living creatures ripped apart?”

  The breath caught in his throat and his pulse tick-ticked. It took all his will not to picture it. “I wasn’t there for sport.” He wouldn’t lie. He couldn’t help his nature, only how he chose to play out his life.

  “Then why were you there?” she asked.

  Before he could decide how to answer—what would best send her on her way—he was stopped by a beep on his headset. “What is it?”

  “We have some trouble,” one of his security guards told him.

  “Take care of it.”

  “I already tried. There’s been violence in the brothel and now Beatrix—”

  “I’ll be right down.” He turned back to Skye. “Something I need to do. You should leave.”

  But she didn’t look like she was willing to go.

  Wondering if he would have to rescue Skye Cross a second time, Luc waved over a guard. Though he was tempted to tell the man to remove her from the casino, he was certain Skye would resist and possibly get herself into trouble.

  Glaring at her, he told the guard, “Keep your distance but don’t let her get into anything she shouldn’t. Don’t let anyone mess with her. And whatever you do, don’t let her out of your sight.”

  …

  I stepped from the protection of the slot machines and watched my mystery man stalk off toward the elevators without looking back. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. My pulse raced and I was having trouble taking a deep breath. Despite myself—despite all logic—I was drawn to him. The only way I could describe it was a case of heightened animal magnetism.

  A long shiver coursed through me, and I shook away the primal energy and turned my back on the security guard he’d ordered to keep tabs on me.

  I was a little weirded out by the things that had been happening to me since entering the underground complex. Maybe I was home in bed. Asleep. Dreaming.

  Only I knew I wasn’t.

  “Excuse me,” I said to a passing waitress.

  The woman turned, her startled expression seeming to stretch her features a little. But when I blinked, she simply appeared normal.

  “Can I get you a drink?” she asked.

  I shook my head and pointed to the elevator where my mystery man was stepping inside. “Who is that?”

  “Luc Lazare.” The waitress grinned at me. “A real looker, isn’t he?”

  “But who is he? I mean, what does he do here?”

  “Luc’s head of security. And he’s the Boss’s son. If you don’t need anything…”

  “No, but thanks.”

  Boss. The conversation I’d overheard in the habitat—something about the boss and the only woman he wanted was Luc’s mother.

  So, the woman whose life Shade had saved was connected to the
mob that ran this underwater casino. As was Luc Lazare, the man who had saved me.

  Needing to know more, figuring I wouldn’t get anything valuable out of Luc himself, I wandered through the casino, the security guard shadowing me, and eavesdropped. I had no clue as to how or why I could hear the thoughts of only certain people—the employees but not the customers.

  How much longer? a dealer asked a waitress who brushed up against him.

  I’m almost there…working overtime to earn it…

  Fear of my unknown power sizzled along my spine. How this was even possible, I hadn’t a clue, but I wasn’t going to let the opportunity to learn as much as I could about the operation go to waste.

  I rounded the table and slowed as I passed a couple of uniformed security guards.

  I heard Cezar lost his temper, almost sent Nik through the dome.

  Good thing Luc was there to calm him down.

  At the reference to my mystery man, my pulse rushed. I pretended interest in the craps game as I edged closer.

  The cops find more bodies, bad for all of us. Someone better figure out who’s responsible soon.

  They must be talking about the murders Shade had been investigating. So the workers I was hearing didn’t know who was running the fights, either. Before I could hear more, someone grabbed my arm—a dark-haired woman wearing a backless sapphire crepe dress. Her eyes were wide and her expression was incredulous.

  “Who are you?” she demanded, her gaze lowering to the sea glass pendant hanging from my neck.

  She went pale and made a choking noise, and then I clearly heard her thoughts.

  And what are you to Shade?

  …

  Luc couldn’t stop thinking about Skye Cross, about how she’d heard his suggestion to leave, about how she raised his primal instincts, about how she’d resisted his trying to manipulate her mind. He could use stronger measures to wipe The Ark from her memory, but knowing he could do permanent damage, he hesitated messing with an innocent. At least hesitated messing with her mind. Her body was another story, hard to resist.