by Meg Allison
Nathan and Liam followed them closely. When they all reached the street, she finally got up the courage to look at Nathan. He was scowling, his dark eyes filled with confusion. Samantha sighed. Obviously having him stay for the meeting had not been the best idea ever. She felt Davu’s hand on her wrist and turned to see him smiling down at her.
“No worries, Baby Girl,” he said softly. “He’ll be fine, just give it time.”
Nathan looked at the four of them. She was glad he at least didn’t run screaming. “Did I hear what I think I heard in there?”
Javed raised the brow over his good eye. “And what would that be?”
Nathan hesitated for moment. “Are you a werewolf?”
“No, of course not,” Javed said on a laugh. “Nothing so ordinary. I’m a were-panther, if you must give it that ridiculous name.” Silence met his pronouncement. “I’m a shape shifter whose main secondary form is a panther. A black one, in my instance.”
Nathan continued to stare. “You’re serious.”
“Yes, very much so.”
“Nathan…” He looked at her and took a step back. Samantha balked. “It’s okay,” she told him, “Let’s talk about what you heard today. Don’t just—”
“Talk about it? Are you people seriously asking me to accept that this man is a shape shifter?”
“You draw dragons, don’t you?” Davu asked suddenly. They all looked at him in confusion.
“Yes…so?” Nathan replied.
“Have you ever seen a dragon?”
“No, of course not.”
“Have they ever existed?”
Nathan shrugged and pushed a hand through his dark hair. “I don’t know. It’s very possible. They’re probably a combination of the dinosaurs and mythology, like ancient urban legends, but they could have been real.”
“Almost every culture on the planet has some type of shape-shifter mythology connected to it. You’re a historian of sorts, Nathan, you know that most myths have some basis in reality. In truth.”
“Yes…” he nodded his head as he watched Javed warily.
“Just as Count Dracula had his basis in fact, so have the werewolves of legend and folklore. But wolves aren’t the only creatures these beings can become, there are many other species. Believe me, I’ve met most of them. Javed here is one of the panther clan,” he glanced at the other man with a twisted, half-smile, “One of the last of his kind, unfortunately. Our modern world hasn’t been kind to the shifters. Such is the cost of progress.”
Nathan stared a moment longer, then took a long, deep breath and let it out in a rush. “I’m still not sure how real this all seems to me, but I get it. I believe you. At least until I’m shown otherwise.”
“Good,” Javed said with bit more enthusiasm than seemed warranted. “And now my lady…and gents…I must be going. I have some business to conduct.”
“Javed—”
“No worries, Princess,” he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, “I promise to keep my claws firmly retracted.” He winked at her and she felt the heat fill her face. “Goodnight, until we meet again.”
With that he turned away and sauntered down the street toward downtown Savannah. He looked like a pirate out to see the world and conquer it. Samantha couldn’t help but smile. She knew his secret now. He wasn’t as confident and blasé as he’d like everyone to believe. Javed Catania had a vulnerable side, as well.
“Liam, care to join us for an early dinner?” Davu asked.
“No, thank you,” her brother said as he glanced at the other council members hovering on his porch, watching them and talking quietly to one another. “They’re still together, which is never a good thing. I need to make sure our guests find their way to their cars as soon as possible. I don’t want my neighbors complaining again. Then I’m going to indulge in a mindless, violent movie, some leftover lasagna, a bottle of red wine and a long night’s sleep. I’ll see you three later…much later.”
He held a hand out to Nathan, and then smiled as he shook it. “We’re not completely insane, Nathan. Just mildly nuts. Hang in there as it all sinks in, okay?”
Nathan smiled slightly. “I’ll do my best, Liam, thanks.”
* * ‡ * *
Nathan stared out the car window as Davu drove. He tried to join their conversation, but there was little he could think to add to their chit chat regarding local cuisine. In less than twenty-four hours his view of the world had been ripped at the seams, shaken to its very foundations, rebuilt from the rubble and then set on its ear in an accelerated orbit. Thoughts spun through his head like a series of waterspouts, upending one another and creating havoc within the chaos of his mind.
Davu and Samantha sat in the front seat and continued to talk, this time about the weather and her family. General small talk. Normal conversation as if nothing had happened. As if they hadn’t just been discussing, even arguing about the reliability and nature of a man everyone seemed to agree was a shape shifter. A being who had, if he understood correctly, been walking the Earth for some time on a quest to kill the man who had murdered his wife.
Nathan shifted in his seat as the sudden urge to jump from a moving vehicle for the first time in his existence gripped him by the throat. He glanced forward and quickly looked away as Davu’s dark gaze caught his in the rearview mirror. Was he crazy, or were they? Hell, maybe he was caught in some sort of dream and would wake up soon in a cold sweat. None of this could be real…
He looked at Samantha and felt a tug of pain somewhere in his chest. But she was. She had to be. He’d waited too long to find her for it to be an illusion.
“Nathan?” Davu’s smooth voice drew his attention. Their gazes met in the mirror again. “You’ve been very quiet. Is there anything you want to ask?”
He stared at the man for a moment and then shook his head. “No, nothing that I can put into words right now.”
Davu nodded. “Very well. I know things are moving very quickly. When you gather your thoughts, we’ll be happy to talk more.”
Nathan looked away. The other man knew his thoughts already, as he was well aware. He could almost feel him sifting through the rubble in his head, picking up every abandoned idea and surety – examining them each carefully before discarding them again. But Nathan honestly did not know what to say to the mind-reading warrior. He had heard everything said in the council meeting. It was obvious those involved were not playing games or pretending. They believed every word they said. Samantha spoke nothing but the truth—or what she perceived the truth to be. He could see it in her clear green eyes; hear it in her smooth, silky voice. She believed in the Sentinels; in the chosen; even in shape-shifters. What was even more amazing…she believed in him, as well.
* * ‡ * *
Somewhere during the mundane lunch conversation, Nathan found he could almost forget the last few hours of his life. Then he would look across the table at Samantha, and it all came tumbling back: the council meeting; the other men and their confrontation with Javed Catania; his own visions. The drawings haunted him now more than ever since Samantha’s lovely face had joined the grisly montage.
He picked up his Long Island Ice Tea and took a long, deep swig and contemplated ordering another. He wasn’t driving. He wouldn’t be going back to work tonight. May as well drink himself into a stupor. Maybe then he could sleep without Samantha’s lifeless eyes staring up at him accusingly.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Samantha said as she stood. What had he missed? She smiled at him and then walked away.
“Restroom,” Davu supplied.
“Oh, yes, of course.” Nathan felt heat creep up his neck and took another long drink.
“You need to stay with her, Nathan. We can’t leave her alone.”
He stared at the other man. “How…?”
“Yes, how indeed? I’m sorry, but you’ve been projecting the image rather vividly. I would have to be unconscious not to see those thoughts.” Davu scowled as he lifted his own drink and downed
it in one swallow. “She’s a stubborn lady, Nathan. Willful and proud, just like her brothers. I’m not sure how easy it will be to convince her that she needs protection.”
Nathan nodded. “She’s already suspicious, I think. The way I just showed up on her doorstep last night.” He looked away as he felt the panic well up again, threatening to choke him. “What can we do?”
“Well, what we cannot do is let you drive tonight,” Davu said with a smile. He signaled the waiter and ordered another round. “One more should be convincing,” he said. “If I know Samantha, her own protective instincts will kick in and she’ll take care of you.”
“But the drawing…she’ll die in her own apartment unless we change things.”
“Then we must get her to stay somewhere else,” Davu said. “Let me take care of it. Just follow my lead.”
Samantha returned at that moment and slid back into her seat. Just then the waiter placed three more glasses on the table. She raised a brow.
“What did I miss?” she asked, her gaze flicking from Davu to him and back again.
“Not a thing,” Davu insisted as he raised his drink. “Just a celebration of sorts.”
“And what are we celebrating?” she asked.
Davu glanced at Nathan and he felt a slight nudge, as if someone were pressing against his forehead. “We’re celebrating my introduction to my heritage.”
She frowned and glanced around before she leaned toward him. “You accept everything? Just like that?”
He shook his head. “No, not just like that, Sam. We all know it’s been coming on for a while. What I heard today…well, everything is falling into place. There are so many things that suddenly make sense that never have before.”
She still looked skeptical. “You were ready to bolt an hour ago.”
“No, I was just feeling a bit overwhelmed.”
“We can understand that, can we not, Samantha?” Davu interjected. “It’s not every day one meets a man such as Catania. He’s enough to overwhelm even the bravest man.”
“Oh, he’s not so tough,” Samantha replied softly.
Davu gave her a thoughtful look but said nothing further about the shifter.
“A toast,” he announced and raised his glass. “To heritage, gifts, and new understanding of both.”
The older man glanced at him meaningfully and Nathan got the hint. He raised his own glass, clinked it slightly against Davu’s and took a long drink. When he lowered the glass, it was half-empty and his head felt a bit like he was floating. It was odd. He never got drunk this easily, but that’s exactly what seemed to happening.
Davu sipped from his glass and smiled. Somehow Nathan knew the other man’s plan was coming together rather nicely. He only wished he knew what it was.
* * ‡ * *
Chapter Nine
Morning light streamed through the curtains and burned bright and hot on his closed eyelids. Nathan pulled himself up from the shallow end of sleep and forced his lids open. A knife of pain stung his eyes and he winced. The slight motion of his head sent another jag of pain through his skull. He moaned and then cursed.
“Good morning, Sunshine.”
Nathan bolted upright at the deep voice. He gasped and grabbed his head in both hands as it throbbed furiously. A shadow fell over him and he looked up with some caution. Davu smiled down at him, two cups of steaming liquid in his hands as he waited.
“Where the hell am I?” he croaked, then cleared his throat. “What happened?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?” the other man asked.
Nathan thought for a long moment. “I remember drinking my fifth Long Island…and that’s about it.”
“Yes, well, we both had a bit too much and Samantha was kind enough to drive us back to her apartment and look after us.”
He glanced around at the creamy white walls and sunny yellow curtains that matched the flower print bedspread and pine furniture. The room didn’t look familiar. It must be Samantha’s guest bedroom. He swung his legs around the edge of the bed to stand and felt the brush of sheets against naked skin. Heat filled his face.
“And who undressed me?”
“We both helped,” Davu said with a smile that intimated he was enjoying Nathan’s discomfort immensely. “You got a bit sick on the ride back. Sam was kind enough to wash your clothing, as well as my slacks.”
Nathan grimaced and rubbed his face with both hands. “Sorry. I’m guessing you were in the line of fire?”
“Something like that.” Still, that enigmatic smile remained. “No worries, Nathan. My clothes and I have been through much worse.” He held out a cup. “Here, this ought to give your brain a kick-start and clear some of the cobwebs. You and I have quite a bit of planning to do. It will help if your thoughts are clear.”
Nathan took the mug with some heartfelt thanks. He breathed in the aroma of dark roast and sighed. It was just the right temperature, somewhere between scalding and warm. A mouthful and swallow later and he felt a jolt of energy rush through his system.
“That is better,” he acknowledged. “Where is Samantha?”
“In the kitchen, I believe, making breakfast of some kind.”
“Is she angry?”
“About taking care of two drunken men? Not that I can sense. With five brothers in her life she’s been there many times before.” He paused and seemed to be lost in thought for a second. “I’ve known Samantha for many years. She is a very forgiving soul, Nathan. But she does have her limitations.”
He nodded slightly, a bit lost and wondering just what the other man was trying to tell him between the lines. No wonder Samantha accused him of talking like a fortune cookie.
“Why haven’t you told her about the drawing?”
Nathan looked at him. “I don’t know how. I can’t bear to think of the look on her face when I show her.”
“I understand,” Davu replied. “But we at least have to give it to Adam. It’s evidence and might help him in his investigation.”
“Yeah, I would have given it to him already but things just…happened.”
Davu drank his coffee and stared at some spot on the wall over Nathan’s head. “You’ll stay with Samantha today—convince her to go to your apartment.”
“How?”
Davu raised a hand. “I’ll work on that. And meanwhile, give me the drawing and I’ll take it to Adam. I haven’t really had the chance to visit with him. This will give me a good excuse.”
Nathan wondered why the man needed an excuse, but it really didn’t matter. What mattered was keeping Samantha safe.
“It’s in my car, in my bag under the passenger seat,” he told the other man. “Please…we can’t let this happen to her. I don’t understand any of this, but we have to keep Samantha from getting hurt by this bastard.”
“And we will,” Davu assured. “Rest assured, Nathan, we will.”
* * ‡ * *
Nathan rounded the car and quickly opened her door. It was an old neighborhood near the riverfront that was once filled with abandoned warehouses. Many had been torn down to make way for progress, but a select few had been converted into apartments for the up and coming business men and women of Savannah. The area and setting were one that appealed to people without families and with no need or desire for yards and playgrounds.
“You live here?” Samantha asked as she climbed out of the car and stepped up onto the broken sidewalk.
“Yep, I bought the top floor about three years ago. Turned it into a great loft apartment with everything I need for a home office and studio.” He shrugged as he shut the door behind her. “This is where every extra penny goes. I decorate as I can—one piece of furniture at a time.”
Samantha glanced at the five-story red brick structure. It looked simple, innocuous from the outside. It was so unlike the man she thought she was getting to know. Nathan had depth and layers she had only begun to explore and there was nothing in the least bit ordinary about him.
“I�
�d have laid odds that you lived in one of the newer high-rises or old plantation homes,” she said as she closed the car door behind her.
“Disappointed?”
She turned and saw the child in his eyes—the one afraid of being made fun of, being ridiculed. She wanted to reach out and wrap her arms around him. But instead, she shook her head and smiled, keeping her hands at her sides. It wouldn’t do him any good to know the soft feelings he invoked. She wasn’t sure she wanted to continue this relationship or that she could. It wouldn’t be fair to unduly encourage him…not after the feelings he had revealed to her.
“No,” she answered finally. “Just surprised. Right when I think I understand you…” she smiled, “Let’s just say you’re an interesting man.”
“I suppose that will have to do for now.” He turned and led the way inside through swinging double doors.
Once inside the downstairs hall, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. It was dark and slightly dingy. The long, narrow floor was covered with dark carpeting that had been worn to the nub with years of foot traffic. She thought the walls must be painted white, but there wasn’t enough illumination from the sparse fixtures to be sure. They passed several dark oak doors, each with a number in burnished gold and a peephole immediately above it.
“They’re going to update the common areas sometime next year,” he said as he led the way down the narrow hall. “Come on, we’ll take the elevator up.”
Stale odors of sweat and fish filled her nostrils as the remnants of lust and fear bombarded her other senses. She fought to control her gift, to keep from feeding off the smorgasbord of left-over emotions lingering in the dim hallway. But she’d been under so much stress in the last few weeks, and there were so many things trapped within the confined space. It soon proved too difficult. Older buildings which had not been cleansed by someone with the gift of healing often had that effect on her. She clutched at Nathan’s arm when they stopped at the elevator doors.
