Family

by Crissy Smith

  She’d run the numbers for hours and everything she’d gotten from the files had told her that the next ritual should take place tonight. What had she missed? Dakota tried to rerun the information she’d read but couldn’t figure out where she’d gone wrong. The sadistic group that had obviously been in the area before should still be here.

  Behind her Damon howled. As she turned, he flew by her.

  Dakota scrambled to catch up.

  The Alpha was tearing over the vast land at an unbelievable speed. This proved to her that Damon had been holding back for her earlier. Panting, she raced to keep him in sight. She had no idea what they were heading into.

  Ahead of her, Damon slowed to a stop. She was still trying to catch her breath as she reached his side. He nudged her to the north and Dakota could smell them. Humans, male and female, had walked through mere moments ago. Holy shit, were they actually going to catch these assholes?

  Not far from where they stood was a break in the rocks. Dakota nosed Damon’s shoulder, nodding to where they could hide. Maybe the group did their rituals closer to sunrise than she’d counted on? Dakota had figured the sacrifices were taking place between midnight and three in the morning. But since the sun would be coming up within the hour, she’d guessed wrong. Luckily, Damon had picked up the humans coming into the area. They’d almost missed them.

  Dakota pressed herself into the tiny space allowed within the cave before Damon practically crawled on top of her. It wasn’t comfortable, but she didn’t want to scare off the other members of the group if they were arriving as well. She wished for a phone to call in back-up but quickly decided that she couldn’t chance going back to the vehicle.

  Kieran had a knack for showing up when she got into trouble, so Dakota hoped he’d come through once again.

  She tried to listen for more activity in the area, but she didn’t hear anything in the quiet of the too-early morning.

  Damon had his head cocked toward the opening in the cave then shook his head.

  Dakota squirmed out from under him and into the open of the cave.

  She called forward her human form and waited until Damon did the same. “Just the two?” she whispered.

  He nodded.

  “Shit.”

  “I don’t smell blood or anything matching the scents from the other sites,” he told her.

  “We need to get closer,” she decided.

  “I believe so.”

  Ignoring the fact that they were both naked in the middle of the desert, Dakota carefully made her way in the direction the humans had gone. Unlike the humans, Dakota and Damon didn’t make any sounds as they walked. Following at a discreet distance, Dakota gave the humans space and time. As much as she wanted to pounce and tear out the humans’ throats, she needed to catch them in the act, to at least setting up for a ritual. Dakota wouldn’t allow another animal—or God forbid human—to get sacrificed.

  “I’m not certain these are the ones we’re after,” Damon whispered.

  Dakota wanted to disagree but remained silent. Until she knew for sure, these were the best suspects she had. She paused at the base of a tall, skinny tree. The sky was starting to lighten, but she was still hidden in the shadows.

  The two humans slipped through a crack between two cave walls. It would be a perfect place for a ritual.

  She waited for a few long moments then jerked back.

  “Yeah,” Damon said with a chuckle. “Pretty damn sure these humans aren’t going to be sacrificing anyone.”

  “We don’t know that,” Dakota replied lamely. She really needed to close this case so she could concentrate to watching out for Kieran and his father.

  There was a soft moan from the cave and Dakota slumped back against the tree. The two humans could be having sex before they set up for the ritual, but with the early morning hour she knew that they hadn’t come across the sickos she was hunting. She didn’t know where to go from here. Damn it, they’d have to do this all over again that night.

  “Are we going to stay here and wait until they finish?” Damon questioned.

  “No, let’s go.” She gave in.

  Damon grinned before gesturing her forward.

  She stomped off with the Alpha at her back. She waited until she would be hidden if the humans came out of the cave then shifted into her jaguar.

  They weaved their way back and forth through the trails until they got back to her vehicle. Dakota was only half-surprised that Kieran was waiting leaning against the hood of the SUV. Usually he couldn’t stay out of her business.

  “I heard you coming back,” he told her. “I decided to wait here for you instead of tracking you down.” He slid his gaze to Damon. “Even with the Alpha with you.” Kieran patted her head before strolling to the back of the vehicle. He opened the back hatch then pulled out her clothes.

  Dakota watched him with amusement.

  Kieran didn’t want her shifting and staying naked. For a paranormal being, he had a strange aversion to her being naked. Well, naked with anyone but him.

  Even though she would never admit it, Dakota loved Kieran’s possessiveness.

  He crouched down in front of her. “Are you going to shift back?”

  She cocked her head, more interested in playing than going back to work.

  “No,” he told her. “We need to get back to the hotel. We didn’t find anything, so we’ll have to do this again.” Kieran frowned. “Although maybe this time, we can send the Alpha with someone else.”

  Dakota took that moment to transform back.

  Kieran caught her in his arms as she wavered. Shifting so many times wore her out. “Here.” He pulled an energy bar from his pocket. “Eat this.”

  “Thanks.” She ripped the wrapper off and shoved half of the bar in her mouth. Once she’d finished it off, Kieran helped her stand. Her legs still felt like Jell-O, but she was steady enough to at least get home.

  “Get dressed so we can get out of here,” he ordered.

  It was on the tip of her tongue to argue, but Kieran lifted his hand to caress her cheek. “It’s been a long night worrying about you. I just want to lie in bed with you for a few hours.”

  She never got tired of Kieran’s softer side. “Yes, let’s get home.”

  Chapter Five

  The buzzing from the nightstand table wouldn’t stop, no matter how long Dakota tried to ignore the annoying sound.

  “I’m going to throw that fucking device out of the window,” Kieran muttered.

  She moaned and rubbed her face against the pillow. Dakota didn’t want to get up. It couldn’t have been more than two hours since she and Kieran had finally made it to bed. She was tired.

  “Dakota!” he complained.

  “Fine.” She threw out an arm, knocking things off the table, until she reached her cell. Dakota held the stupid phone up and saw the string of text messages. “Fuck.”

  “What?” Kieran still sounded groggy.

  “There’s been another ritual, a murder—human victim.”

  “No!” Kieran sat up then flipped the switch on the lamp. “That’s impossible. We had every inch of the rocks covered.”

  “Yeah, well.” Dakota paused to respond to the text from Dare. Then she dropped her phone into her lap and turned to face Kieran. “The scene is only a block from here. In an old apartment complex.”

  “What the fuck?” Kieran growled out. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would they move to the city? It’s much more dangerous.”

  Dakota agreed. Why would this group switch sites? They hadn’t done that in the past. Not even when the police had been close. “They knew we were out there.”

  “How?” Kieran demanded. He was already up and pulling on a black pair of pants, his tight utilities with dozens of pockets. He was going out in full badass mode. Kieran was pissed.

  Well, so was she.

  Dakota threw the covers off and rose. She stretched her back out, much like she would as a cat, then went into the bathroom. As she cleaned up a
nd pulled her hair into a ponytail, she tried to put together her next plan of action.

  Had there been a leak of some kind? Could someone on her team have betrayed them? Why else would the new scene be inside the city? And so close to her home? That couldn’t be a coincidence. Dakota had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  “If you scrub your teeth any harder, you’ll break the brush.”

  Dakota jerked, focusing on what she was doing. Kieran stood in the doorway of the bathroom, peering at her. She recognized the concern in his eyes. Dakota finished rinsing out her mouth then put the toothbrush back. “I’m fine,” she said, as she strolled past him.

  “There’s nothing you could have done,” Kieran said.

  She snorted as she walked to the closet. Obviously, Dakota should have done a better job. If she’d found whatever piece she was missing, someone wouldn’t be dead.

  “Dakota.”

  “I heard you,” she said. Dakota didn’t want to talk to her lover right then. She needed to think. They’d known the group would move on to humans, but she’d thought she’d have more time.

  He sighed but didn’t press her anymore.

  Within fifteen minutes of getting the text message, she and Kieran were out of the door of their suite. Inside the elevator, Dakota tried to center herself. The anger and fury that was bubbling up wouldn’t help. She needed to be able to focus.

  The ding of arriving downstairs jolted her.

  Kieran grabbed her arm before she could exit. “What can I do?”

  Dakota shook her head. He was a good man and didn’t deserve her anger directed at him. “Just help me,” she told him. “I need you to find what we missed.”

  “I don’t think we missed anything. I read through your case notes and we did what we could. You haven’t had the files even twenty-four hours yet.”

  “I know.” She caught the door when it would have closed. “But that doesn’t help whoever was killed last night when we were in the desert.”

  “We’ll catch these assholes,” Kieran stated.

  “Yes, we will,” she vowed. “But how many more people will die?”

  He let go of her arm and she walked out and to the back door. “If we cut through the parking lot, we’ll be at the apartment building.” Dakota pointed to the flashing lights of the patrol cars. “Shit, we can see the door from here.”

  “It’s a message,” Kieran spat. “The fuckers know we’re working the case. They could have seen when we got in this morning.”

  Holy shit. Dakota’s jaguar wanted out to hunt and kill. She actually became dizzy with the need to shift. Kieran squeezed her elbow as he shook.

  “Deep breath,” Kieran murmured. “That’s it. Breathe again. There are humans all around us.”

  “I want to hurt them,” she confessed.

  “I know.” He kissed the back of her head. “You in control now?”

  “Yeah, Thanks.”

  “Come on then,” Kieran said. “I see Remy. What’s he doing here?”

  That was a good question. Technically Kieran and Remy weren’t on this case except to help with searches.

  Remy met them halfway across the parking lot. His hands shook as he rubbed them over his mouth.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “It’s bad,” Remy said. “Real fucking bad. I’ve seen some fucked-up shit, but this…damn.”

  “What are you doing here anyway?” Kieran asked.

  “Caspar called all of us in. We’re to help Dakota any way we can.”

  She nodded. She’d take it. “Thanks. What can you tell me?”

  “A young man was sacrificed sometime last night or early this morning,” Remy said. “The scene looks like the ritual sites, same markings.”

  “Shit, okay. I guess I need to see it.”

  Remy hung back as she and Kieran climbed the steps of the taped-off unit. She knew it was going to be just as bad as Remy had said when the young patrol officer outside the door was actually green.

  Dakota didn’t say anything as she ducked under the tape.

  If she hadn’t already studied the photos in the previous investigations, Dakota would have likely vomited on the crime scene. As it was, she clamped a hand over her mouth and nose as she peered around.

  There was blood, so much blood, and it was everywhere. The floor, walls, ceiling. She couldn’t pick up any scents other than blood.

  The carpet had been torn out at some point so bare concrete showed the gleam of blood and body fluids. Dakota didn’t know if the killers had stripped the room or if it had already been like this.

  “We’ll need to talk to the management of the complex,” she said.

  “I’ll have Remy get their information,” Kieran said.

  As sick as she felt, she had to view the scene with the eyes of an investigator and not think about the horror the young man had gone through.

  She knelt down beside the nude body.

  The poor kid couldn’t have been older than twenty-five or so.

  His throat had been slit and marks cut into every inch of his flesh. The lack of bruising and other injuries was consistent with the victims from the other cases. The symbol that had connected her case to the other two was right over where his heart was. He’d suffered terribly.

  “Who are you?” she asked the deceased young man. “How’d they pick you?” Dakota knew there wouldn’t be answers, but she didn’t normally have work homicides. The Organization was there to stop anyone from the paranormal community from committing crimes. This wasn’t what she’d been trained to do, but Dakota wasn’t giving up this case.

  “Dakota.”

  She peered over her shoulder as Caspar stepped into the room, with Kieran behind him. Her boss flinched as he took in the scene.

  “Jesus,” Caspar whispered.

  “I’m not letting the locals take this case,” she said as she stood. “I’m getting these bastards.”

  Caspar nodded. “I have the pull to make that happen. We know from your research that there’s been two other cases.” He continued to look around. “Be sure, though. This is a lot to deal with.”

  Dakota dropped her gaze to the poor young man who’d lost his life in the most brutal fashion. “I’m sure.”

  Caspar nodded. “Dean is here. He is going to run the forensics for this. He’s lead tech, so make sure everything is run by him.”

  She hadn’t gotten to work with her old partner since he’d moved to the lab after they’d met Kieran. “Okay. Warn him before he comes up here.” Dean hadn’t liked the field much. He much preferred being in his lab, looking through a microscope.

  “I will. The city coroner will take custody of the body,” Caspar said. “There’s nothing I can do about that, but he’ll work with us. He has before.”

  Dakota started to argue but stopped when a tall, slim man stepped up to the doorway. She immediately scented the shifter. Dakota narrowed her eyes as he entered the apartment. Bird of some kind, and her jaguar did not like him.

  “Dr. Bryce Gilmore,” he announced when he’d taken a few steps forward. “I take it we won’t have a problem here?”

  She knew he was asking about her feline. Dakota was a professional, though, and simply nodded. The doctor still remained wary of her as he made a circle and approached the body from the other side.

  “Poor bastard,” Dr. Gilmore murmured.

  Dakota crouched. “Can you tell me anything? Anything that might help?”

  “He was alive when the cuts were carved into his skin. He would have fought—you can see the abrasions on his wrists and ankles as he struggled. I’m surprised no one heard him.”

  That would need to be looked into. Even if they’d tried to muffle him, someone should have heard something. Mentally, she began a list of everything that needed to be done. Caspar wanted to give her back up with all the teams available, but she didn’t actually think that was a good idea. Someone had to have told the killers not to go into the desert.

  “Anything els
e?” she asked.

  “Not right now. I need to get him back to the office. I’ll try to ID him for you.”

  “I might be able to help with that,” Dean stated from behind her. He wasn’t looking at the body but around the room. “My team can come in?” he asked her.

  Dakota nodded. “Whenever you want.”

  “Let me get the body removed first,” Dr. Gilmore said. “Then we’ll be out of your way.”

  “Dean, you’re in charge of this scene. Don’t release it after you’re done. I want someone on the door at all times,” she ordered. Dakota turned to the coroner. “I’ll check back with you later, but if you come across anything that might help, please give me a call.” She passed him a card.

  “Yes, Agent.” Dr. Gilmore actually smiled at her with amusement. She didn’t know why and it made her suspicious. She’d have the doctor watched, closely. Gilmore turned to her former partner. “Dean, it’s good to see you again.”

  Wait, they knew each other?

  As her ex-partner began to converse with the doctor, Dakota stepped back, watching. After a few boring minutes in which they spoke about a conference they’d attended, she let her gaze wander.

  The apartment was small. A living room slash bedroom and a bath and kitchen. The entire space couldn’t be much bigger than three hundred feet or so. It was such a small area but had served the purpose well enough, she supposed.

  How had they known it was an empty apartment, though?

  She strolled to the open door and stared across the long parking lot to the back door of her hotel. The home she’d made with Kieran.

  Kieran was right.

  The group was taunting them. They had known that the investigators would be out of the city. Which led her to think about who could have betrayed him. The problem was she knew the agents she worked with, except for James and Caden. But they were both just like them. To go against the Organization was almost unheard of.

  The Organization wasn’t like normal human police agencies. There was no recruitment or change of minds later. With the Organization being a birthright, the members served until they were too old to be an agent, or died. To betray the Organization wasn’t something easily done.