Shadowed Lover

by Lauren Dawes

She felt him fumble with something behind him and realized he’d re-holstered the knife when he stretched her arms above her head with both of his hands. Kicking her legs apart, he pressed his hips against her ass. Katie bit her lip hard as her mind worked, trying to come up with the next step in the plan.

  “You’re going to regret playing with me. By the time I’m done with you—”

  Tom’s words were cut off by an inhuman scream, the smell of blood going from a trickle to a torrent. The anchors of his hands were suddenly gone, and she spun around to find him writhing on the floor, holding the backs of both his ankles. He turned his eyes to her—eyes that were burning with a new level of rage…

  And perhaps also fear.

  His gaze shifted over her shoulder, and she turned to find Leesa holding the hunting knife dripping with Tom’s blood.

  “It’s not over yet, Katie,” Leesa said, handing the knife over to her, hilt first. Katie looked down at the bloody weapon. “You have to finish it,” she said.

  Katie’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “I only cut his Achilles. If you want us to get out of here, you have to kill him.”

  She swallowed. “I can’t.” She wasn’t a murderer, the mere thought of taking someone’s life abhorrent to her.

  “Katie? Katie, look at me.” She did, compelled by the power in Leesa’s voice. Keeping their gazes locked, she spoke very slowly—deliberately. “He was going to rape you. He was going to rape that little girl. He’s responsible for terrorizing us, and now he’s the only way we can get out of this.”

  Katie knew the words she was saying were true, but to kill him? Kill him? Once more, her thoughts went to Neve. She wouldn’t have any qualms about taking out a threat. She was so strong, so sure about what she wanted. Her world was black and white with very little room for grays. Katie was staring at one of those gray areas now.

  “He would’ve done worse to you,” Leesa said, pushing the knife in her direction. “You have to do this. We’re all relying on you to get us out of here.”

  Katie’s gaze flickered over to Luce, her protective instincts flaring. The young female was huddled up against the wall, her face buried into the top of her knees. She wouldn’t look, and Katie knew that was all the permission she needed. If Luce didn’t witness her doing this, then she could go through with it.

  With shaking hands, she took the knife and turned back to Tom. He was trying to get up, but his ankles were folding beneath the weight. The guy’s brown eyes widened as he saw the intent on her face.

  “No,” he begged, trying to edge away from her. “Please.”

  He had never listened to their pleas, so why should she? She glanced back at Leesa, finding the female’s eyes glowing gold with her cat, anticipation a stroking caress along her skin. She couldn’t get too close to Tom. He still had two functioning arms, and he would use whatever weapons he still had in his arsenal.

  She had to be quick, though, to strike then move away before he could react. Leaping forward, she slashed at his torso, cutting through cotton and flesh, past the muscles and into the protective abdominal sac that housed his stomach. She’d watched enough movies to know that stomach wounds could be fatal if left untreated and were severe enough.

  Tom’s scream vibrated around the room, and she heard the other females shift closer to the bars, closer to the smell of freshly spilled blood and meat. Katie felt the pull too. Hunger. It burned through her, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she ate Tom too. Her cat hissed in protest. She had no such qualms, and if Katie wasn’t terrified to let her out without losing control, she would have. But right now—with her jaguar half-starved, and her human side terrorized—shifting now would end in her harming more than just Tom. She would not be able to control her ravening cat.

  His torso was suddenly stretched taut in front of her, one of his arms being held through the bars by Elsie. Elsie’s cellmate grabbed his other arm, pinning it under her knee by the wrist.

  “Do it,” Elsie said in a dead voice that matched the dullness in her eyes. “Do it.”

  “I’ve got his leg,” Leesa said. Katie turned to see her straining against the bar to grab Tom’s injured leg by the cuff of his pants. He was too weak to fight off their holds, she saw it in his face, saw the realization that dawned on him.

  He was going to die by the hands of the females he’d been charged with brutalizing.

  Easing down beside him, she brought the knife up to his chest, her hand shaking violently.

  “Do it,” Leesa commanded softly at her back. Katie hesitated a moment, reluctant to take that next step. If she’d left him to die from the stomach wound, she could easily brush it off as self-defense. What she was contemplating was murder.

  She would be a murderer.

  How was she supposed to live with that kind of stain on her soul?

  How was she supposed to live with herself?

  “Do it.”

  Katie spun around, her wide eyes finding Luce standing at the front of their cell. Her hands were gripping the bars, her blue eyes flashing gold as her cat stalked closer to the surface. She was shaking too, tears streaming down her face.

  “Do it,” she repeated. “Make him suffer.”

  She turned back to Tom, whose eyes were so wide now that she could see the whites all the way around. She lifted the knife once more and didn’t hesitate. She drove the metal down, knowing that the protective cage of his ribs was going to try and divert her. She put all her strength into it, feeling the resistance of bone but pushing through it anyway. Blood—red heart’s blood—welled, and Tom’s body went slack. As she witnessed the last moments of his life, watched the spark drain out of his wild eyes, she knew she’d done the right thing.

  Leaving the knife in place, she stood up on shaking legs and looked around, wondering how to get everyone out of there. Clothes were a must. Normally, nudity wasn’t an issue for shifters, but she felt particularly vulnerable right now, and doing brave things required clothing. Tracing her steps back to the hallway, she grabbed her torn and dirty shirt and pulled it back on. Next was her underwear and jeans. When she finally pulled her glittery Keds back on, she stared down at the gray satin laces that were stained with blood and dirt. She couldn’t help but draw parallels between herself and the shoes. Sure, they had their practical uses, but the reality was they were frivolous and pretty. Now they were stained from an experience out of their control.

  “Katie?” Leesa called out. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine,” she replied softly, her gaze still on her shoes. “I’m fine.”

  “Find out how you can get us out of these cages,” the other female urged.

  Walking slowly, she approached the only door in and out of the basement, finding another fingerprint scanner—the same as on their cells—attached to the wall.

  “There’s another scanner,” she told the waiting females. “On the door.”

  Leesa cursed.

  Katie came back into the room, her eyes falling on Tom’s slowly cooling body. Sucking in a breath, she walked up to him and gripped the knife still sticking out of his chest. Yanking with all her strength, she pulled the blade free, stumbling back with the force.

  “What are you doing?” Leesa asked.

  “Getting us out of here,” she replied, determined to survive. Pulling him arm back through the bars of Elsie’s cell, she laid his hand out flat on the concrete floor, splaying his fingers wide. Placing the knife just above the first knuckle of his index finger, she started to saw, breaking through the skin, tendons and bone. Bile bubbled up the back of her throat, the visceral scene bringing a roll of nausea that her cat didn’t even blink at.

  When the digit was finally free, she picked it up and prayed the scanner didn’t also rely on body heat or a pulse to work. She placed Tom’s finger against the reader on Leesa’s cell, watching the static red light turn into a blinking green one. There was a click, and the cell door opened on well-oiled tracks. Leesa ran out, wrapping her
arms around Katie.

  “You did it,” she breathed. “Thank you.” They broke apart, and Leesa turned to the other females in the cells. “Quick, get the others out before someone comes down here to check on us.”

  Katie opened the cells, accepting thanks and gratitude from all of the females. Luce wrapped her arms around her waist and refused to let go.

  “Stay with Leesa for a minute, Luce,” she told her as she tried the scanner by the main door. She held her breath as she waited for the red light to go green, then held it a little longer as she waited for the alarm to be raised.

  She let out the breath. “Clear,” she croaked. Leesa was the first around the corner, Luce tucked closely at her side. The others followed behind her, their untrusting eyes darting around. Katie indicated that she would ascend the stairs first, adjusting her grip on the hilt. As she crept forward, she felt her pulse throb through her. She smelled the scent of her fear, but also Tom’s blood on the blade and her hands.

  On the landing at the top, there was another reader. Putting Tom’s finger to good use, she waited for the blinking green light then eased open the door an inch. She sniffed the fresh air rushing to get in and didn’t smell anything other than cigarette smoke, stale food, and alcohol. Inhaling once more, she tried to decide whether the scent of her captors were strong enough to indicate they were still in the house.

  They couldn’t sit there forever, though. As her dad would say, “Shit or get off the pot.” There was no use waiting for them to get caught—not after everything she’d sacrificed. She looked down the stairs and motioned for Leesa and the others to come up. If they went out as one, there was a good chance a lot of them would escape.

  “On three,” she breathed. “One. Two. Three.”

  Katie was out the door first, the knife held out in front of her. A few steps into the hallway, she realized there was no sound coming from anywhere in the house. She lowered her arm and took a good look around when they came to the living room. The place was barely furnished, just an old couch and an upturned milk crate being used as a coffee table. The carpet was stained and smelled of mold, and the paint on the walls was peeling. On the table, there were empty booze bottles and food containers, and the desperation for food almost had her stopping to cram whatever was left in the bottom into her mouth.

  “We need to check out the rest of the house,” Leesa said quietly.

  The other females were still huddled together, their fear like a separate entity in the house. The living room was safe as far as they could see, so she told them all to wait there while she and Leesa began another sweep.

  “Don’t leave me,” Luce whimpered, clutching at Katie’s shirt. She eased her hands away and kneeled down so they were level.

  “I promise I’m coming back,” she told her softly, running her fingers over her unbruised cheekbone. “I promise. Then I’ll take you back to your brother.”

  Standing up, she turned around and inhaled deeply to sift through the other less pervasive scents. At least two other men and one male had been in the house recently. The strongest scent belonged to Tom. The other scent was Leroy’s, but it was faint, like he hadn’t been there often or for any real period of time. The third male was a stranger to her, although he was a shifter.

  Together with Leesa, she crept down the shallow hall, eyeing the closed doors that were on its perimeter. Leesa pulled up in front of one door, nodding at Katie decisively before opening it.

  Tom’s scent rolled out, causing Katie to take an unsteady step back. The guy was dead, but it was like his ghost was still in the house with them. The next room was completely empty, save for a couple of folding chairs and a cheap card table. The carpet in here had been torn up, revealing slashes of unvarnished floorboards. The only other door was a bathroom that would’ve been original to the house, which placed it as a seventies build. The toilet, sink, and bath were all a gaudy avocado green, the color clashing against the brown starburst tiles on the floor and walls.

  “I think it’s empty,” Leesa murmured, looking longingly at the bath. Katie would’ve killed to take a shower, but now wasn’t the time. They weren’t out of danger yet.

  They rejoined the others in the living room, and Leesa peered past the too bright lime green, orange, and yellow diamond-patterned drapes.

  “It’s getting late.”

  Katie peered around the other side, stunned by what she saw. They were in a suburb, a white-collar one, judging by the BMWs and Mercedes parked in driveways. How had nobody noticed what was happening in this house?

  “There’s a car pulling up next door,” Leesa said, her voice betraying her giddiness. “It has…fuck. They’re New Mexico plates.”

  They were in New Mexico?

  “How in the hell are we going to get out of here?” she asked, not expecting an answer to just leap out and present itself. There wasn’t a car parked in the house’s driveway, nor was there one on the street.

  Leesa turned around, her eyes scanning the room. She approached the brown couch, sliding her hands down between the cushions. Her frown turned to a look of triumph when she pulled her hand free, and she held up a cell phone. It must’ve been Tom’s. She picked it up and swiped a finger across the screen. Internally, Katie prayed that the guy was a dumbass who didn’t believe in password protecting his devices.

  “Bingo!” Leesa said, flashing the device her way.

  “Who are you calling?”

  “First, my parents, then my cousin. He lives in New Mexico, although I don’t know where we are specifically right now. Thank God for Google Earth, huh?”

  She wrapped her arms around Luce. “We’re going home,” she said. “We’re going to get you back to your brother.”

  After Leesa gave her cousin the details of their location, the phone was passed around the group so everyone could contact their respective parents or mates. Katie waved the phone on each time someone offered it to her. She had no idea who to call. Her parents would’ve been sick with worry, but she was ashamed for them to see her. She had done something unspeakable. She was tarnished, and she didn’t want to bring that to their house. When it was finally her turn, she dialed Neve’s number.

  “Hello?” her cousin said suspiciously when she picked up.

  She felt like her throat was closing up. Katie tried twice before any words came out, and when they did, it was a croak. “Neve?”

  “Katie? Where are you?”

  With those words, a rough sob escaped her throat, and she finally let the tears fall.

  Epilogue

  Leroy whistled through his teeth. Hot dayum, Tom had been torn open, his intestines falling down his sides. The scent of death was still cloying, so he couldn’t have been taken down any longer than a couple of hours ago. Crouching down beside his former colleague, he ran a finger through the puddle of cooling and congealed blood on either side of his torso and brought it to his mouth.

  Hmm, terror and death.

  "Are you quite done?” someone drawled from behind him. He turned around slowly, readjusting his Stetson as he grinned at the shifter standing stiffly at the mouth of the hallway. Asher looked all wrong standing in the basement, his bruised purple smoking jacket clinging tightly to his tense shoulders. His blond hair was perfectly styled and coiffed, and if Leroy didn’t know what lurked beneath his skin, he’d call the guy a dandy to his face. As if sensing his thoughts, Asher’s eyes flared a brilliant green, a sure sign that the male’s jaguar was close to the surface.

  “What happened?”

  Leroy looked down at Tom. “Looks like Tom lost control of the situation.”

  Asher gave him an irritated glare. “Clearly,” he drawled. “But what I want to know is how he managed to get himself killed. They were all secured behind bars.”

  Leroy shrugged and resettled his hat, staring at all the wounds. Whoever got him had showed no mercy. “My guess would be he tried to get one of the females to submit to him—”

  Asher hissed, the sound more feline than hum
an.

  He put his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I didn’t do it, and it wouldn’t be the first time he took one of them,” he lied. Tom was jealous as fuck that Leroy’d gotten some action.

  “You allowed one of your men to be alone with them?”

  He snorted. “Of course not. The guy probably snuck down here while he was drunk and I or the others were sleeping.”

  Asher took a few steps forward until they were standing nose to nose. The scent of his cologne tickled his sinuses. “That stops now,” he growled, his eyes flashing green. “These females aren’t a commodity so easily secured—yes, we collected the first lot easily enough, but that was because they weren’t ready for it. Now they’re on high alert.” He looked away, his eyes shifting from cell to cell to cell. “How many did we lose?”

  “Nine—four humans and five shifters.”

  He turned those cold, dead eyes to him. “If you ever want more arnastu, it would be in your best interest to acquire some more humans.”

  “I thought we only needed the shifters. Why are you so pissed there are no humans?”

  Asher roared in frustration, his face morphing into a terrifying mask of rage. “Without the humans, there’s no drug supply!” He tore his gaze from Leroy and said more calmly, “What about the other locations?”

  He shook his head. “We centralized to this one.”

  “Zero? We have no females left?”

  Leroy shrugged and rubbed at his nose. It was tingling again. He needed another hit. How long had it been since his last one? Less than twenty-four hours.

  Asher bared his teeth at him. “You need more?” he asked with a sneer. “You can get more once you get those five females back.”

  Avah juggled the box in her hand, shifting it from arm to arm in an attempt to pull her phone from her back pocket without dropping her collection of vintage perfume bottles on the floor.

  “Hello?” she answered, flustered. The phone fell from her grip, and she swooped down to get it. “Hello?” Her new boss was supposed to be calling her today to let her know what time she had to be in on Monday to get all her security credentials in place. She’d driven the almost twelve hours from Portland to Great Falls, Montana over two days, stopping at Couer d’Alene for the night to break up the journey.