by Katie Reus
Erin had pored over the files Jayce had given her, memorizing everything about the missing women on their drive here. But Noah had driven, letting her prep for her first investigation without his interference. Now he wished he’d at least looked at the list of names. He’d known one woman was from his father’s pack, but the rest were felines. He hadn’t thought he’d actually know any of them. Not after being gone for so many years.
The tall, long-legged shifter with dark hair pulled up in a messy bun gave him a small, tired smile. “It’s been a long time, Noah.” Her voice was raspy, hoarse, and the shadows under her eyes made her look almost ghostly.
He crossed the room in seconds, pulling up a high-backed chair on her left side, across from the place Erin had chosen. “I didn’t realize you’d been taken.”
Meli swallowed hard, tears pooling in her eyes, but she didn’t respond. One of her hands rested protectively over her big belly.
Noah watched as Erin gently took the woman’s free hand in her own and lightly squeezed. Meli turned, a look of surprise crossing her face, but didn’t pull away. “I’m Imelda, but you can call me Meli, especially if you’re a friend of Noah’s.”
Erin smiled faintly and glanced at Meli’s large belly. “I’m glad your baby is safe.”
“Me too,” she said on a broken whisper.
Something dark and haunted passed over Erin’s features. It was so painful it sliced right through Noah’s soul. He’d seen that same expression the day they’d found her behind that Dumpster, broken, bleeding, so close to death he hadn’t even been able to hear her heartbeat. . . . But not once since then had he seen that look. Up until a couple of months ago she’d been so quiet and reserved, but she’d eventually come out of that shell fighting. The look in her eyes now threw him off-kilter, reminded him how much she still kept from him. How vulnerable she could actually be when she let her guard down. But it was gone before he’d blinked, her mask firmly back in place.
“Can you tell us about who took you?” Erin asked softly, her mere presence seeming to soothe Meli. He also noticed she hadn’t taken off her jacket, probably so her blades wouldn’t frighten the wounded shifter.
Meli shook her head, a stray tear rolling down her pale cheek. “I never saw their faces. I know there were at least two of them, but they caught me from behind when I was coming home from the grocery store. It all happened so fast. I—” She broke off and quietly began to sob.
Outside and very near the window of the room, Noah heard an eerie howl. Likely Meli’s mate, who would be sensing her anguish. Pain for the male he didn’t know settled in Noah’s chest.
He may not understand exactly what the mate was going through, but Noah had been helpless before to stop the pain of those he cared about. His sister and then Erin. Hell, even before he’d known Erin’s name, he’d wanted to shoulder all the pain that had emanated from her the day they’d found her. Being unable to do so was like silver fucking daggers burning through him. Sharp and jagged.
Erin murmured soothing sounds, the action so at odds with the fighter he’d just witnessed less than an hour ago. It was one of the reasons she’d make a perfect enforcer. So many people thought their job was simply to crack down on lawbreakers. Though that was part of it, enforcers needed patience. She had that in spades. Not to mention empathy and kindness. It wasn’t a side of her everyone got to see, but he had and it made him care for her even more.
He was sorry Meli was in pain and hurting but part of him wanted to demand answers, ask more questions so they could get to the business of hunting down whoever had taken her. Not Erin. She sat patiently holding on to this stranger’s hand as if she had all the time in the world.
Eventually Meli looked at Erin, her eyes bright with more tears. “I’m sorry. I know you have questions.”
Erin shook her head. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Whatever happened to you, it wasn’t your fault. Just take all the time you need.” Another hard swallow, the ghosts of her past rising for a heartbeat in those clear gray eyes.
Meli frowned for a moment, then shook her head briefly. “They didn’t sexually assault me or anything like that. They kept me drugged up and in a dark cell. I was fed three times a day and the only time anyone came into my cell was to take my blood. Over and over. They nearly drained me dry each time until I was almost dead.” She shuddered.
“Why?” Noah asked, unable to stop from interrupting.
Her frail shoulders lifted. “I don’t know. But . . . it was our kind who did this to me. Lupine shifters. There was a human there too, but he worked for the shifters. That much was clear. I know there were other females nearby that they’d taken. I could hear some women crying, some begging to be set free, but they were all felines, I’m almost sure of it. Their scents are so different from ours.”
“Did your captors ever talk to you? Ever give you a hint of why they were taking your blood?” Erin asked.
She shook her head. “They didn’t say much, kept me blindfolded if they came into my cell. I got the feeling they didn’t care about me one way or another. I was . . . a job to them.”
“How many do you remember?”
“Three, I think. Two shifters and one human. I . . .” She frowned as she trailed off.
“What is it?” Erin pushed when Meli didn’t continue.
“One of the shifters who came by right before they decided to dump me was so angry. Maybe a few hours ago or it could have been a day or two. It was dark where they kept us so I lost track of time. He was angry about something, wanted them to ‘get rid’ of their problems but I couldn’t understand what they were saying at the time. Later I realized they were talking about me. Their voices were so muffled and I was fighting a bad fever then. It sounded like one of the others was angry about something but that’s all I could make out.”
From the looks of it she was still fighting a fever considering the flush in her cheeks. She withdrew her hand from Erin’s and clasped both her hands over her stomach.
“Did you see any distinguishing markings in your cell or even on your captors? Like a tattoo maybe? I know you said you were blindfolded but maybe you saw something?” Erin sat perfectly still, her lack of movement likely designed to keep the other female at ease.
“The cell was empty other than a cot and a bucket for me to . . . uh, anyway, no, I didn’t see anything else. Or I don’t think I did. If I remember I’ll let you know.”
“You’re doing really great, Meli. Would you mind if I took a few pictures of your wounds? I’d like them for our records and I’d like to do some cross-referencing. If this isn’t the first time they’ve taken pregnant shifters I want to know.” Erin’s face was strained as she spoke, her gray eyes turning to almost black.
Meli nodded and held out both her arms straight while Erin snapped shots using her cell phone. Whoever had done this to her hadn’t been gentle. They’d drawn blood so many times, obviously from the same veins over and over. As a pregnant shifter, Meli was almost as weak as a human, her ability to heal and overall strength on the lowest level possible for a shifter. It was why pregnant shifters were taken care of, looked after so carefully. Noah hadn’t realized he’d growled until Meli jerked her arms back to wrap around herself and Erin shot him a sharp look that told him to get under control.
“Why do you think they let you go?” Erin asked as she looked back at Meli.
“They didn’t let me go. They thought I was dead. My heartbeat was so faint I could barely hear it and my baby”—her voice broke again, but she shook her head once and continued—“I thought my baby was dead too. I just lay on the cot, limp. The human was the one who eventually got rid of me. He was in a hurry when he dumped me into the back of some kind of vehicle, an SUV I think. There was another body in there with me, a feline shifter. A tall black woman. She was . . . dead.” Her voice cracked on the last word.
“You’re sure she was dead?”
Nodding, Meli rushed on quickly, as if she needed to get it all out. “Unfo
rtunately, yes. I don’t know how long we drove around but it felt like hours. I thought for sure the human would discover I was still alive, but he never did. Just tossed me in a shallow grave and hurried off.”
Noah looked at Erin and was alarmed to see how pale she was. But her expression was intent as she listened to Meli. “This is really good information. Do you remember anything else about your captors or surroundings?”
Meli shook her head. “No. As soon as I was alone . . .” A shudder racked her and now tears fell in abandon. “Oh God, I thought I was dead. I thought maybe it was all a sick joke. Once I was coherent enough I tapped into my psychic link with my mate—I’d been too drugged before, they kept me that way constantly—and then he was there, saving me and our baby. Oh my God, I thought—” Her voice broke again and this time she sobbed. Before either of them could react the door flew open and a shirtless Evan strode into the room.
“Get the fuck out,” he growled at them.
Noah was surprised the male had held out this long. If he were in his place, Noah wasn’t sure he could have. Wordlessly he and Erin stood and headed for the door. As they pulled it shut behind them Meli’s strained voice called out. “Wait, Erin—I remember seeing a ring on one of the men. It was a wolf, probably white gold or maybe platinum. My blindfold had inched up a little and I remember seeing the flash of metal. The eyes were bloodred. I remember thinking it was creepy because it reminded me so much of a feral wolf I didn’t understand why anyone would want to wear it.”
Erin nodded once. “Thank you.”
“Honey, you need to rest.” Evan was slipping into the bed next to his mate and pulling her tight against his chest as Noah shut the door behind them.
For a single brief moment he was actually jealous of the couple. They’d been through hell yet they had each other. Evan was free to hold the woman he so obviously loved and she curled right into his arms.
Forcing his selfish thoughts down, Noah focused on Erin. He wanted to pull her into his arms, hold her delicate, lean body close to him, but knew she wouldn’t welcome it. “Are you all right? You look a little shaken.”
She nodded, but he didn’t miss the stress lines around her mouth. “Fine. I need to send these pictures to Ryan. Now that we know these shifters aren’t being taken for sexual purposes, I want him to cross-reference this with old police files. Maybe the humans know something we don’t. I’m going to contact the Council, see if they have reports of dead bodies showing up with similar markings.”
Ryan, resident computer genius at the Armstrong-Cordona ranch, could hack into practically any system he wanted. And the Council no doubt had a vast array of resources. Right now he didn’t care about any of that. “Erin, you sure you’re okay?” She’d looked so damn pale in that room. If she needed an outlet, he wanted to be a sounding board for her.
Her gray eyes turned cold, stony. “I’m fine. I don’t need you getting all worried or possessive. Pregnant women are being abused for God only knows what purposes. That is what’s important right now. Not”—she waved a hand at him—“your sexual frustration or whatever is going on with you.”
Trying to turn it around on him made him only more frustrated. She wasn’t fine. She was just too fucking stubborn to admit it because she’d view it as a weakness. Didn’t she understand he’d do anything to erase the pain he’d seen lurking in her eyes?
His claws automatically unsheathed, anger lancing through him at her words. “You think this is sexual frustration talking? Because I care about your well-being?” Right now he was so edgy he took a step back, not waiting for her answer. Not really wanting one.
She wasn’t going to let him in. Never had except for a few brief stolen kisses, but deep down he realized she may never let him get closer than what they had with each other now. It drove him insane. He needed space to run, to expend all his energy before he lashed out and said something he couldn’t take back.
Erin fought to pull air into her lungs as she hurried down the stairs and out the front door. All protocol dictated that she stay and speak with Angus, but she couldn’t.
Not now.
She needed space to breathe and wouldn’t find it here. Not with Noah hovering so close. Seeing so much with those dark eyes. When Jayce had assigned her to this case she’d known it would be hard to deal with, but she also knew she could do it. She was stronger than her past. But Noah made her feel vulnerable, made her want to let her guard down and she hated how well he sensed her moods. She’d hidden her discomfort from him, she was almost sure of it. Well, clearly not, no matter how much she wanted to convince herself.
Somehow that wolf always knew what she was feeling.
The thought of him knowing what had happened to her, what she’d lost . . . rubbing a hand in the middle of her chest, she tried to make that near-constant ache go away. As if it was a physical thing. She carried the emotional pain everywhere she went. Like fifty pounds of invisible baggage. She almost snorted out loud. It might as well be physical.
As she stepped out onto the front porch she saw Noah’s discarded clothes. He was obviously out running. She knew he was upset with her and she hated that. Hated the fact that she could ever hurt someone as special as him. But it seemed she did more often than not without even trying. He just wanted so much more from her than she’d ever be able to give. Something she’d told him so many times. That knowledge was the only thing that slightly assuaged her guilt. It wasn’t like she was leading him on. She’d been up front from the beginning about what she could and, more important, could not give to him.
Without stopping to think about whether it was a good idea or not, she snagged the key to the motorcycle from the pile of fabric and got on the bike.
Riding without a helmet gave her the perfect sense of freedom she desperately needed at the moment. She thought she heard someone shout after her, but she ignored it. Ignored everything as she tore down the narrow cobblestone street. Noah would be fine without her. He was at his family’s house. Someone would give him a ride back to the Quarter. If he even came back to the place where they were staying tonight.
Getting away from Noah and the stupid need she had to open up to him was the only thing that mattered.
She zipped along, passing streetcars, a big part of public transportation in New Orleans, and other vehicles. Working this case was going to drive her insane if she let it. And she refused to. She was going to channel her nightmares and fear and make them work for her. No matter what, she would find out who was taking pregnant shifters and bring them to justice.
They’d been taking Meli’s blood, draining her until she was almost dry. Which was really odd. Why would anyone want shifter blood?
Vamp blood she could understand. It got humans high as freaking kites, gave them super strength, and made them totally unpredictable. But shifter blood? What was the point? Obviously there was a reason behind it and she had a lot of research to do if she wanted to get a good grasp on this case. The pictures of the shifter women who’d been taken were seared into her mind and she was determined to help them. Especially now that she’d met Meli. It still blew her mind that anyone could target a female when they were at their weakest. That took a certain kind of monster; one she’d gladly rip to shreds.
The ache in her chest grew as memories clawed at her, pulsing through her in vicious waves until she felt practically numb.
Dealing with this case might end up bringing all her history out into the open for Noah to see and that terrified her. It was bad enough he’d noticed that she’d been affected by simply talking to Meli. If he pushed her hard enough she knew that she’d eventually crack and tell him her secrets. Some days she just wanted to curl into his embrace and let him hold her. Like the day that he’d found her so close to death. So damn close her would-be murderers had thought she was just that. Too bad for them she was a hell of lot harder to kill than they thought.
Noah and the rest of her current pack had found her when they’d been on a trip down South for .
. . something. She couldn’t remember even though he’d told her later. Hell, she didn’t remember much from that day, just that Noah had draped his coat around her and snarled at anyone who got too near, including his own Alpha. He’d wanted to take her to a hospital but she’d refused. Her body had already started knitting itself back together and she hadn’t wanted to face more people, especially humans. So Noah had transported her back to Connor’s former ranch in upstate New York.
Shaking herself, she tried to bury thoughts of Noah and his constant gentleness. Right now wasn’t the time.
The drive back to the Quarter didn’t take long. Not on a motorcycle. She weaved in and out of cars, ignoring the honks and middle fingers she got. The way people drove in this city was crazy. She was just joining in. Getting off this bike, then calling Ryan was her number one priority. And she couldn’t ask Ryan what she needed with Noah hovering, listening.
Not surprised the space from earlier was taken, she drove down a block and parked the bike in between two midsize cars along the curb. The moment she stepped off the vehicle she felt the vise around her chest loosen a fraction.
She was in control. She could do this investigation well. Now that she knew these pregnant women were being taken, not killed right away, she had to find them. Even though the case rattled her on too many levels, she pushed aside her personal issues. There was no room for that crap right now. The past was over, and she would not let it affect her anymore.
As she hurried down the sidewalk, she ignored a few appreciative stares and whistles from a group of drunk frat boys and skirted past them, keeping her stride purposeful. The sound of the zydeco-style music got louder the closer she got to the bar. The mixture of blues and Cajun music—and the only reason she knew that was because Noah listened to it all the time—would have made her want to dance under different circumstances. Hearing a fiddle always did that anyway. Probably something to do with her Irish roots. That or the fact that her mother had played.
The soulful sound of the fiddle combined with an accordion, drums, and bass guitar was too much not to make her smile just a little. New Orleans had an energy all its own.
