Animal Attraction

by Patricia Rosemoor

  “I’ll only be gone for a short while. I have some family things I need to take care of. I’ll return before you know it.”

  Of course she didn’t want to leave Maeve so soon. Another look at the cherubic face of her sleeping daughter almost made her change her mind. Almost. Her whole family was at risk, including Maeve, not to mention Ethan, a mere human against a powerful Kindred. She feared for his safety, as well, and now that she was herself again—well, mostly—it was time she became proactive.

  Back to Nurse Leah. “You don’t mind seeing to Maeve for an hour or so, do you?”

  “No, of course not.” The nurse was already setting the basket where it would be safe. “But you only had the baby yesterday. Are you sure you’re up to this?”

  No, she wasn’t sure of anything yet, but she was going anyway. “I’ll be fine.”

  Captivated by Maeve, the nurse was no longer trying to talk Nuala out of going.

  Nuala escaped before she could change her mind about leaving Maeve. She was doing this for her daughter as well as for the rest of her family. And for Ethan. She sensed his protective side could get him hurt or worse if she didn’t intervene first.

  She blinked herself to the brothel deck foyer, decorated in the red and gold tones her mother favored. Strident voices that seared her nerves led Nuala around the corner and straight to the middle of a hallway, where her mother and suck-up cousin Louis Morel stood. A couple of the girls in their doorways watched Beatrix admonish a voluptuous redhead wearing a curve-sucking dress with cutouts that revealed as much as it covered.

  “This is the second time you’ve been late for your shift this month! Three strikes and you’re out!”

  “Yeah, and I’ll personally escort you out!” Morel threatened.

  “Watch your mouth, Louis, or I’ll remove it! You’ve caused me enough trouble!”

  The redhead sneaked away as he argued, “You know I was only trying to do what you wanted, Beatrix!”

  The tension between Mother and Morel seemed to be escalating. Morel had seemed more out of control lately. Right now, the last thing Nuala needed to see was her mother living up to her word.

  “Mother, there you are.”

  When Beatrix turned to face her, a hyper Morel raced off in the other direction. That man was always in trouble with someone!

  “What are you doing down here?” her mother asked. “Where’s the baby you had last night?”

  “What do you care?” Nuala kept any hurt from her tone. “You didn’t even find the time to see your grandchild.”

  “Is that why you’re here? To admonish me?”

  “I came to see you about Nik. Can we talk in private?”

  Mother waived her hand and they popped into her private quarters, decorated elaborately in the red and gold of the foyer. “Do you want a drink?” She was at the bar, pouring herself a glass of some brew from a pitcher.

  “No. I want to know what you have on Max Haider.”

  “Haider? What are you talking about?”

  “I saw you arguing, remember. And you told him to take up something with Pop.”

  “Oh, that. His infernal demand that he be given a position worthy of his talents.”

  “Which would be?”

  Her mother shrugged. “You know men. Always exaggerating their powers.”

  Some men might. Ethan wasn’t like that. And she wasn’t sure Haider was, either. “He must be powerful. He’s lived longer than any other Kindred in The Company.”

  “And without a borrowed soul.”

  “Never?”

  Her mother shrugged. “I guarantee you he doesn’t have one now.”

  Which, in Nuala’s mind, made him even more dangerous. Without a soul, he got no pleasure in life, no joy, which meant he could be seeking other kinds of satisfaction. And if he’d gone his entire several lifetimes without one…

  “He must be a very unhappy man,” Nuala concluded.

  “What is your interest in Haider? I thought you want to talk about Nik.”

  “This is about Nik. He’s being his protective self and doing a disappearing act so he can shadow Haider. If he’s right, Haider’s a threat to the entire Lazare family. He wants what we have.” Or at least what Pop had. Her parents rarely got along, so she didn’t think Pop’s problems would be of help here.

  “And what is it exactly you expect I’ll do about it?”

  “Whatever you have to if you want to keep what’s yours.” She gave her mother a moment to stew about that and down her drink, then asked, “Where can I find Haider?”

  “He’s scheduled for the high-roller room today.”

  Then he would be here all day. Good. “I meant away from here.”

  “He lives in one of those old homes on Prairie Avenue.”

  Not far from The Ark. She could be there and back before Maeve was awake.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The moment her mother gave the full address, Nuala thought about it and sifted to one of Chicago’s original south side neighborhoods where the wealthy had once lived in mansions. She quickly took a look to make sure no humans were around and that no one had seen her pop in. Good. She wouldn’t have to wipe any memories. Down the street to the north, a few of those nineteenth-century mansions were still standing and renovated, sprinkled among new condo and rental residences. The two and a half story greystone before her stood alone, vacant lots on either side. The drawn shades and lack of landscaping made the place feel abandoned. Concentrating on the pulse of the house, she determined it was empty of life, human or otherwise, and sifted into the front parlor.

  The inside appeared nearly as un-lived-in as the exterior. A couch sat in the center of the parquet floor, and a flat-screen television hung over the old fireplace, but there were no rugs or chairs or tables to make the space a real room. Nothing to search through here, either. She entered the dining room. No furniture at all in there, though it did hold the massive staircase to the second floor. The kitchen had a small table and single chair, but the cupboards and drawers were empty. She checked every room on the first floor. The place was practically vacant. Still, she decided to check the upstairs.

  The first two bedrooms yielded nothing, but the third, the large master at the front of the house with a lake view—she could see The Ark from here—had a king-sized bed, two dressers, a really large flat screen and a closet that was half-filled with clothes. This must be where Haider spent most of his time when in residence.

  She started with the tall dresser, which yielded nothing but disparate articles of clothing. On to the mirrored dresser. One of the top smaller drawers held some keys and business cards strewn throughout. She checked them all but got no sense of importance from anything there. So why did he have them? Odd, but certainly not telling. She opened the drawer next to the first.

  Empty but for a purple velvet sack.

  Nuala’s pulse flickered as she picked up the bag. Instinct made the flesh around her spine crawl as she pulled it open and emptied the contents in the drawer.

  The first thing that grabbed her attention was her big cat charm bracelet that she’d assumed she’d misplaced. When had Haider taken it? She thought back to her night visit to the zoo. She hadn’t been wearing the bracelet then. And the next day… gone! That he’d been in her apartment at all sent a chill through her. He must have been keeping tabs on her. But to what purpose?

  After slipping the bracelet on, she took in the other objects.

  Pop’s bronzed chip from his first day running The Ark.

  Luc had said he’d misplaced his surveillance headset, and there it was.

  The wolf, snake, and hawk gold ring that Nik always wore—how had Haider taken it from him?

  Last but not least, an object that instilled sheer terror in her heart—Maeve’s silver rattle. Her hand shook as she picked it up and imagined her perfect daughter reaching for it…

  It took a moment for her to focus, to understand that Haider had something that belonged to each of the Lazares
. She could only think of one reason he would have for gathering these items together. He was going to create some kind of spell to have power over them, possibly to destroy the Lazare family.

  Her blood raced as she quickly gathered the items together. She’d barely put them back into the velvet bag when the room came live, sliding a frisson of warning along her spine. Whipping around, bag in hand, she came face-to-face with her brother, whose expression was both shocked and furious.

  “What the hell are you thinking coming here alone?” Nik demanded. “Or at all?”

  “I could ask the same of you.” Half-irritated with his attitude, half-relieved he was all right, she said, “I understand you’ve been shadowing Haider.”

  “Not here!”

  Before she could demand an explanation, the room morphed into the nearby Lakefront Trail near the harbor. Nik had popped them in under a cluster of trees that sheltered them from human eyes.

  “Stop treating me like a helpless child when you know I’m anything but helpless.” Nuala gripped the bag in one hand. “Haider is trouble.” She threw her arms around Nik’s neck, saying, “We need to stick together to take care of the bastard. You, me, and Luc together!”

  He hugged her tight before releasing her. “I should have known better than to try to keep you safe. What about Maeve?”

  “I left her with Nurse Leah. I’m planning on getting back to her as soon as you explain yourself.”

  Being a perfect day, joggers and bikers were using the trail mere yards from where they stood. Nik led her to a bench a bit away from the human traffic.

  “I had one of my premonitions. Haider was up to something. I don’t know what exactly,” he said. “But he was eyeing the cloaked deck like he owned it.”

  “Was he alone?”

  “He’s always alone unless he’s intent on making a human friend.”

  “Human? Like who?”

  “That alderman your cop is keeping track of.”

  “You mean Ethan? He’s not my cop.” Though a little voice in her head begged to differ. She’d spent far too much time thinking about him lately to not realize what was happening between them. “What are you talking about? You don’t mean Booker?”

  “No. I mean Alec Peterson.”

  “I remember Peterson.” Ethan hadn’t ever mentioned him to her, though. “One of Pop’s whales I escorted around the cloaked deck.”

  “Who then made it to the high-roller room.” When she gave him a questioning look, Nik added, “He lost his bet.”

  “I didn’t think he had a soul when I met him. Now a powerful soulless Kindred is hooking up with a soulless human?”

  “A powerful soulless human. After Booker was killed, Peterson was voted vice mayor.”

  A chill shot through her. “Which makes him a likely suspect.”

  “Apparently so.”

  Nuala gazed out at the lake where a few sailboats dotted the horizon and powerboats chugged in and out of the docks lining the harbor. So many humans enjoying themselves without ever having to deal with real evil. This wasn’t the first time Ethan had faced the kind of darkness that lurked in her world. While he hadn’t saved Shade, she had to give credit where credit was due. He’d helped Skye save Luc’s life from other Kindred. He didn’t like her kind, and she couldn’t really blame him.

  She asked Nik, “What do you think Haider wants with Peterson?” And how much did Ethan know about this unholy alliance?

  “To use him, I suspect. He’s hungry for power. Maybe not just in The Company.”

  “If he eliminated the Lazares, he would take over The Company…” Nuala’s hand tightened around the bag. “And maybe with Peterson’s help, the city?”

  “I won’t let him eliminate us.”

  Nuala unfastened the velvet pouch and reached inside. “He got closer than you know.” She pulled out Nik’s ring. “I thought you never took this off.”

  “Only when I shower.” Nik swore under his breath, took the ring from her and slipped it back on his finger. “What else did you find?”

  “My bracelet… Luc’s surveillance headset… Pop’s bronze-coated chip… Maeve’s silver rattle.”

  Looking properly stunned, Nik fell silent long enough to come to the same realization she had. “He was going to use magic to obliterate the Lazares. He has something that belongs to each of us—”

  “Except for Mother.” Something that hadn’t hit her at first.

  Registering that, Nik said, “I need to tell Pop what’s going on.”

  Nuala nodded. And she needed to tell her cop.

  *

  “I just spoke with my contact at the zoo about who might be keeping a wolf hybrid in the neighborhood,” Ethan told Luc when he found him alone in the security office at The Ark. He’d fought the urge to visit Nuala and the baby upon entering the casino. He would take a few minutes to check on them later. “Kelly gave me a name. Marc Madera. Sound familiar?”

  “I don’t know everyone who comes through The Ark. But I can find out if it’s someone who has been to the lower decks.” Luc immediately hit his desktop keyboard with the name. Seconds later, he said, “He was invited.”

  “Why? What’s his value to Cezar?”

  “He helps run the department of business affairs. My guess is Pop has plans to start new businesses and could use someone on the inside to make sure things run smoothly and to his advantage.”

  “Anything else on Madera?”

  More keying. “About a month ago, he was invited to the high-roller room.”

  “And…”

  Luc looked up at him. “He lost.”

  “So another soulless human has the wolf hybrid. I assume you keep an address for him.”

  Nodding, Luc pulled it up. “He lives on one of the feeder streets to Lincoln Park.”

  Ethan peered over Luc’s shoulder at the screen and memorized the address. “Which puts him walking distance from where Booker’s body was found. Speaking of Booker, have you checked him in your database?”

  “I did.” Luc shook his head. “Not there. He was never invited.”

  He’d pretty much gotten that from Cezar. “Just checking. Thanks for Madera’s address. I’ll let you know if this pays off.”

  “You won’t have to.” Luc got to his feet. “I’m going with you.”

  About to say he was going alone, Ethan stopped himself from doing so. Luc could literally think himself there the way Nuala had when she wanted to go to the zoo and could get whatever proof he could find before Ethan even arrived.

  “Fine, but I’m driving.”

  Luc didn’t argue the point.

  Rush hour hadn’t yet clogged Lake Shore Drive with innumerable vehicles. Luc was in a quiet mood, so as Ethan drove, he couldn’t help but think about Nuala and Maeve. He’d brought them a change of clothing for Nuala and a bag of baby supplies that Luc’s mother, Elizabeth, had helped him gather from Nuala’s apartment. And then he’d bought an infant car seat on the way to The Ark. Even so, he hadn’t checked in on the recipients before leaving. Luc had gotten one of the bar managers to bring everything down to the recovery suite. Maybe after they followed this lead, he’d have time to at least see for himself that Nuala and the baby were doing well.

  He’d begun by considering Nuala an obligation he’d wanted no part of. How had that changed so rapidly? Any time the case wasn’t running through his head, she was. He kept reminding himself she was Kindred and he should keep a personal distance from her, but somehow that didn’t seem to put him off as it should. His attraction to her was more powerful than his will.

  What was so damn intriguing was the way she kept him on edge. He couldn’t predict what she would say or do next, her visit to the zoo being proof. Seeing her shift had freaked him out, but had also made his heart race like nothing else had in a very long time. And then there were the contractions they’d shared when Maeve had announced her arrival…

  The differences between them seemed to be the very things that made Nuala irresistible
. And lately she had softened toward him, making him yearn for something he never thought he’d want again. What good would it do him? He couldn’t get into more than a friends-with-benefits situation. A relationship required honesty. He knew how that would go. If he told her the whole truth about Mike’s death—considering she would do anything for her own brothers—chances were she would never want to see him again.

  Realizing they were coming up on the Fullerton exit, Ethan put thoughts of the fascinating if irritating woman to the back of his mind.

  As they exited LSD, Luc asked, “How are you going to approach this?”

  “Straightforward. ID myself and ask Madera where he was the night Booker died. And how Peterson and Haider were involved.”

  Hopefully this would be what he needed to get justice for Booker. If he could get Peterson, as well, perhaps he’d be able to connect him to Mike’s murder. Wouldn’t that be a way to celebrate after ten years of not knowing. Of course the man would lawyer up, not admit to anything. No death penalty in Illinois meant no sure way to make a deal to get to the whole truth from the perpetrator himself.

  “Or we could try it my way,” Luc suggested.

  “You mean the Kindred way?”

  “Influence is a powerful tool, and I would be using it for good. You have a problem with that?”

  Ethan hesitated only a second before saying, “Not as much as I probably should.”

  Being able to influence a criminal to confess would make a cop’s job a whole lot easier if not exactly legal. He wouldn’t do it under normal circumstances, but with Haider involved, this case was anything but normal.

  He turned onto the street along the west side of Lincoln Park, then onto the tree-lined side street where Madera lived. Century-old single-family homes were tucked between three-story apartment buildings. There was never any parking in this neighborhood, so he pulled the car directly in front of the man’s brownstone residence and double-parked again.

  They left the vehicle and made for the stairs. The doorbell didn’t get any response, not even animal noise from the wolf hybrid.