by Anna Lowe
“You are Jody Monroe, daughter of Ross Monroe?”
“Wait a minute,” Guy yelped as Vasco stepped into the frame.
Jody was so terrified, she couldn’t speak. Horrible images raced through her mind. Had this thug done something to her father or sisters?
“Now, you listen to me,” Richard said.
Vasco didn’t even look back. He simply raised one hand and snapped his fingers. The men holding the manager put him in a headlock and twisted.
One second, Richard was wide-eyed and panicked. The next, he was dead.
“Richard,” she screamed when they snapped his neck like a twig and dropped his body without showing the slightest emotional response.
“Jesus,” Guy yelped, spinning around.
Vasco didn’t pay the least attention as Guy fled, only to be caught by the other men.
Jody searched wildly for something to defend herself with. A stick. A rock. But she could barely move, let alone think.
“You are Jody Monroe, correct?” Vasco repeated in a frighteningly controlled voice.
“What do you want with me?” she cried, clutching the sapphire. Water splashed over her shoulders as she sidestepped through the thin curtain of falling water.
Vasco broke into a grin. “A sip. Just one little sip,” he whispered, looking at her neck. “A taste of your blood.”
His canines were much too pointy. His fingernails, too. Jody froze, horrified.
There are all kinds of evil spirits out in the world, her great-aunt used to say. Ghosts. Demons. Vampires…
She wanted to scream that there must be some mistake. That there was some other Jody Monroe in the world who’d somehow attracted the interest of this monster.
“Let me go,” Guy protested from behind. A second later, he grunted as one of the other men punched him in the stomach.
Cruz! Jody screamed silently. Help! Cruz!
Vasco’s grin grew. “All right, maybe I want more than one sip. But don’t worry, I won’t drain you dry. Someone as unique as you…”
Unique? She wasn’t unique. She was just her.
His eyes dropped to the necklace she wore, and he clucked in appreciation. “Such a nice jewel you have there. Moira will be so pleased with this unexpected gift.”
Her fingers closed around the sapphire instinctively, and a surge of power pulsed through her arm.
It’s not the jewel itself so much as what it represents, Silas had said. But the more you know, the more you enter a world you may not wish to be part of.
Jody had a sneaking suspicion she’d just stumbled into that world, whatever it consisted of. Murderers? Worse, vampires? Was there really such a thing?
Vasco lunged for her so quickly, the movement blurred. Jody barely managed to jump backward, slipping out of his grasp. One of Vasco’s long, pointed fingernails scratched her forearm as she moved, and she yelped, covering the wound.
“Ah.” Vasco grinned. “A little appetizer. Just what I’ve been dreaming about.”
He held up his finger and slowly licked the drop of blood the way a child might lick a lollipop. He closed his eyes, savoring the taste as she backed away, disgusted.
“Jesus, who are you people?” Guy yelled.
Vasco’s yellow-tinted eyes snapped open as his lips moved, testing the flavor. “Wait a minute…”
When he jumped forward and grabbed for her, Jody froze, catching sight of his pointed canines.
Vasco slashed down her forearm, leaving a three-inch gash. Only then did she pull away, watching him lick her blood a second time. His tongue darted out, tasting. Testing. Then his face darkened.
“Human? A mere human?”
Jody wanted to scream. What else would she be?
Dark, remorseless eyes stared at her. “Are you or are you not Jody Monroe, daughter of Ross Monroe?”
Her mind spun. Whatever interest this lunatic had in her blood, it was misplaced if he was looking for a relative of Ross Monroe — the best father ever, but not her biological father. Not that she dared mention that. What if this monster tracked down her father next? Or maybe her younger sister, who really did carry their father’s blood?
Jody tried to run, but all she could coordinate was a splashy shuffle over a large, flat rock.
Then a voice boomed from above, and a shadow loomed. She ducked, yelped, and then cried out in relief.
“Cruz!”
He vaulted from the top of the waterfall, landing in a crouch in one eerily silent move. And, man, she’d never been happier to see someone. Even — whoa — a naked someone. What was that all about?
“Back off,” Cruz snarled at Vasco.
As Cruz straightened, he flung an arm backward, protecting her. She reached out to touch his back, desperate for that sense of sanity. The moment they made contact, a burst of energy pulsed through her, and she gasped, blinking. Fear had slowed down her mind and limbs, but suddenly, she felt invigorated and fully alert. As if she’d just plugged in to a new power source — Cruz. The heat coming from the sapphire seemed to double, too.
There’s a possibility that the jewel — if it’s the one we fear — could find its way into the wrong hands, Silas had said.
She held it tightly. Vasco was definitely the wrong hands. But, shit. What could she do to protect it?
“Are you okay?” Cruz growled without taking his eyes off Vasco.
Jody wiped the cut on her arm, letting the waterfall cleanse the blood away. “Yeah,” she said, hiding the shake in her voice. Because, crap. Even with Cruz there, how was she going to elude five men?
“Take the jewel if you want. Just leave us alone!” Guy cried.
Vasco didn’t blink an eye. He just looked Cruz up and down.
“Now, who do we have here? The hotheaded Mr. Khala, I presume?”
Cruz snarled. “Don’t presume anything about me, asshole.”
Jody kept her hand on his back, trying to keep him calm. Wondering how Vasco knew Cruz. Wondering what the hell was going on.
Then the gears in her mind clicked into place, and she pointed at Vasco. “You were there that night at the party. You tried to kill me.”
Rage bubbled up inside her, and suddenly, Cruz was the one clutching her hand, trying to calm her down.
Vasco tut-tutted. “I don’t try, my dear. I succeed. The shooter was an associate of mine.” He glared at one of his men. “An associate who might have been punished for ineptitude if his actions hadn’t revealed who you really are.”
She stared. What the hell did that mean?
Vasco’s eyes narrowed, and his lips formed a thin line. “Unless, of course, you are not as special as I was led to believe. Or is it that your bloodlines are so diluted, the flavor isn’t there any more?”
His words didn’t make any sense, but they turned her stomach all the same.
“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on here, but—” Guy started to protest. His yelp was followed by a bone-chilling snap and a dull splash.
“Oops.” A big man chuckled as he dropped Guy’s body. Like Richard, Guy floated facedown in the pool, lifeless.
Jody gasped. “You… You…”
Cruz turned slightly, shielding her. His eyes met hers, blazing with outrage and giving her courage at the same time.
Vasco sighed at the killer. “Now, how are you going to cover that up?”
Jody couldn’t believe his casual tone.
“No problem,” the man who’d killed Guy said. “We just make it look like humans did it.”
Jody did a double take. There it was again. Humans. What did that make these men?
Cruz’s body went stiff, and a low, dangerous growl escaped his lips.
Another man snorted to the first and gestured to Jody. “No one will ever buy that she killed them.”
Jody’s jaw hung open. They wanted to frame her?
“It doesn’t take much,” the first man said. “Plant a little evidence, spin a little tale…”
Cruz’s face turned a scary shade
of red. “Planting evidence? Where else have you done that? India, maybe?”
Vasco took a slight bow. “A true aficionado travels the world to sample its best flavors, my dear tiger.”
Jody stared. His dear what?
“You did it. You killed my family.” Cruz’s hands curled into fists, and his voice dropped to a murderous growl.
Jody grasped at the threads in her mind. Cruz’s family had been killed in some horrible event he refused to speak of. By Vasco and his men?
“You killed them, and you covered it up.” A vein in Cruz’s neck pulsed wildly as he stepped toward Vasco.
Jody grasped at his shoulders, trying to restrain him.
“And you, I see, bought the whole story.” Vasco grinned.
Jody cried out. “Why would you kill anyone? What kind of monster are you?”
Vasco’s smile grew, the points of his teeth showing again. “I’m not a monster. I’m a connoisseur, if you must know. A collector of rare tastes.”
She blanched. He was talking about blood as casually as some people discussed wine.
Vasco’s eyes took on a faraway look. “Once you taste shifter blood, you never want to go back.”
Jody’s ears got stuck on one word. Shifter?
Cruz hissed. “You bastard.”
But Vasco wasn’t done. “Tiger blood. Wolf blood. Even mermaid blood, or so I’d been led to believe.” His eyes drifted to Jody.
“You’re crazy,” she cried, looking around for some means of escape. The man was delusional. A first-class lunatic she had to get the hell away from.
Thunder rumbled in a long, angry drum roll, and dark clouds swept overhead. The temperature dropped another ten degrees, though the sapphire remained warm against her chest. Jody looked up, checking if there was any way to climb up the waterfall. But the flow was too steady, the rocks too slippery.
The water in the rock pool swirled urgently around her feet, and an image formed in her mind. An image of turbulent water, pulling her enemies away.
No telling when a flash flood could rip through, Kai had said.
She shook her head, trying to keep her wits about her instead of grasping at straws.
Cruz squeezed her hand, signaling something. His left shoulder dipped, and he tugged her forward. What exactly was he planning to do?
An engine buzzed in the sky, and for a moment, Jody hoped it was Kai in his helicopter. But it was only a small plane on the way back to its home base in the impending storm.
“Jody,” Cruz whispered under the engine noise, pulling her close. “The second I say run, you run. You got that? Run and don’t look back.”
She’d witnessed Cruz in a dozen dark moods, but she’d never seen him as grim. His yellow-green eyes glowed, and a muscle in his jaw twitched.
His gaze dropped to the gem around her neck. “Use that.”
Her lips moved, but no sound came out. What use was a jewel in a situation like this?
“Don’t look back,” he repeated in the split second that Vasco and the others were distracted by the plane. “And trust me. No matter what happens, please trust me.”
Jody’s heart pounded and not just from the anticipation of whatever might happen next. Cruz wasn’t just telling her. He was begging.
Please trust me.
“Of course, I trust you,” she whispered.
Cruz didn’t look so sure, making her wonder what exactly he had in mind. But there wasn’t a moment to ask, because Vasco turned his attention back to her.
“I’m not crazy,” he murmured, stepping closer. “Just hungry.” He motioned his men closer and looked Jody right in the eye. “Hungry for new tastes, which is where Miss Monroe comes in. But you, Mr. Khala, will do nicely, too.”
Chapter Eighteen
Jody couldn’t keep herself from screaming at Vasco. “You’re a monster.” A lunatic, too, but she left that part out.
He shrugged. “We’re all monsters, are we not? Humans wage war. They maim and steal. Shifters change allegiances with the seasons.”
“Some do,” Cruz muttered, shooting murderous looks at the others. “Others know the difference between right and wrong.”
Jody stared. What were they talking about?
Vasco went on, unfazed. “Even my kind. We stalk. Select. We suck our prey dry. Oh yes,” he said, seeing the horror on her face. “Vampires. You thought we were bedtime stories?” He laughed, showing his teeth. “Well, let me show you the truth.”
Clouds swept down the mountains, and another roll of thunder shook the air.
“Jody,” Cruz hissed. “Don’t listen to him. We’re not all like him.”
Her eyes went wide. We? What did Cruz mean by we?
“Hubner, Smith.” Vasco snapped his fingers at his men. “Show her.”
One of them grinned and took off his jacket. The other grimaced, not as happy to comply. But they both took off their shirts, revealing broad, steely chests. Then they dipped their chins, curled their backs, and—
“Oh my God,” Jody whispered, backing away.
It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t happening. Those men weren’t turning into wild beasts in front of her eyes.
Except they were. Tawny fur sprouted from their backs as they fell forward on all fours. Teeth extended from muzzles that doubled in length, and their noses darkened to black. No matter how many times Jody shook her head, she couldn’t force reality back into her mind.
“No…”
Cruz stepped forward, shielding her with his body. “Shifters, Jody. Some are evil. Some are good.”
Vasco cackled. “Evil is in the eye of the beholder, my friend. Why don’t you show her your true colors? Or should I say, your stripes?”
Cruz held her hand so tightly, it hurt. His voice was a gruff whisper. “Don’t listen to him, Jody. When I say go, run and don’t look back.”
Vasco laughed out loud. “Oh, I think she should stay and watch, don’t you? Or don’t you want to discover what your bodyguard really is? Oh, wait. Not just your bodyguard. Your lover. Am I right?”
Jody was too busy eyeing the beasts prowling at the edge of the rock pool to retort that her love life was none of his business. Somehow, the lions’ smooth, stealthy movements reminded her of Keiki. No, wait. Not Keiki. Cruz. Why would they remind her of Cruz?
She glanced at him, trying to will away the doubt crowding her mind.
Cruz balled his fists and turned his gaze to her. The green specks in his eyes grew darker, more menacing. “Don’t listen to him, Jody.”
Vasco laughed. “He wants to keep you in the dark, Miss Monroe. Do you know why?”
Jody wanted to jam her hands over her ears.
“All he wants is the jewel, you know. Do you know about his past? He’s a killer. A sniper.”
“Jody,” Cruz said. “Please trust me. No matter what, trust me.”
She didn’t have time to answer. She couldn’t answer because Cruz dropped to his knees in front of her and let out a low groan.
“Cruz,” was all she managed as she reached for his shoulders.
“Here, kitty, kitty.” Vasco laughed.
She wanted to punch the man, but she couldn’t leave Cruz. Something was wrong with him. A seizure of some kind? His torso shook, and his hands clutched at the rock.
“Trust me,” he grunted in a strangled voice.
“Cruz,” she cried, touching his back. Then she froze, because his skin was softer than it ought to have been. Furrier. He pushed his legs back, stretching out in a long line, and then—
Jody fell back and landed on her ass, frozen at the sight of a man blurring into a beast just inches away.
“Cruz?”
But Cruz was gone, and in his place was a tiger. An honest-to-God, orange-and-black-striped Bengal tiger. She stared, wondering when she’d wake from this awful nightmare, watching as the beast’s yellow-green eyes swirled and focused on her.
Trust me, they said.
She stared. “Cruz?”
His nose tw
itched, and sorrow consumed his eyes. Then rage took its place as he whirled to face Vasco.
“Ah, such misplaced courage.” Vasco flapped a hand. “Such futility. Either way, I will kill you, Mr. Khala. I will kill her too, and I shall take the stone. Moira will be so pleased. And I’m sure she will pay me whatever price I ask. Funny, isn’t it, how fate makes things work out?”
Jody forced herself to stand, though her knees shook. The tiger paced in front of her, snarling at Vasco, the three remaining men, and — holy shit — two lions. The soft fur of the tiger’s sides brushed her shins as he stalked two steps right then left, swishing his tail the whole time.
“You find killing funny?” She spat the words at Vasco.
“I find business funny.” He smiled. “This all started as a small job. One little shooting at a society event — just the thing to stir up a little publicity for dear Moira’s new enterprise.”
Jody’s lips twisted into a snarl of her own. “What kind of person sets up a shooting as a publicity stunt?”
“You don’t know Moira.” Vasco chuckled.
The tiger snarled. Or, more precisely, Cruz snarled. Jody stared at him, trying to get that through her head.
The bushes parted, and yet another lion stepped into view. A slightly smaller, younger one, from the look of it.
“Ah, my dear nephew,” Vasco sighed. “Don’t mind him.”
Jody looked around, counting foes as Vasco went on.
“The beautiful part of the plan was the idea of pinning it all on Mr. Khala with some carefully placed misinformation. Everyone would have bought it, too. You know, the unhinged war vet who couldn’t handle transitioning back.”
Cruz snarled, and Jody voiced the words coded into his tone. “What do you know about transitioning back?”
Vasco ignored her completely and rambled on. “Of course, the blunder my associate made just opened the door for opportunity. For me, not for Moira. I have the chance to sample a new flavor, and the stone is icing on the cake.” His eyes dropped to the sapphire then slid to Cruz with a look of utter disdain. “Perhaps it was an opportunity for Mr. Khala, as well.”
