“Mine,” he repeated.
“Yours,” she agreed, and tumbled into sleep.
Chapter Eleven
Mark arrived shortly after seven in the morning, bringing a copy of the local newspaper which he handed to Jonah.
“Read all about it.” His voice had an edge to it. “In graphic detail.”
Jonah scanned the article. “At least they didn’t publish any pictures.”
“If you notice, most of the information came from ‘an inside source’,” Mark pointed out. “I’m guessing not all the deputies kept their mouths shut. I can’t imagine the sheriff letting a reporter or photographer out to the scene.”
“You’re right. He’s too nervous about the whole thing and figures the less he tells people the better off they’ll be.”
“He won’t be able to keep it hidden much longer. Especially if there’s another kill.”
A shiver like the trace of a ghost slithered over Dakota’s spine. The presence of evil was everywhere. She sensed it. Knew it. She paid little attention to the mystical side of her Native American heritage but she didn’t need special powers to know that malevolence had taken up residence where she lived. It frightened her more than she wanted to admit.
“I hope you catch this devil beast soon,” she said in a very quiet voice.
“No more than we do,” Jonah told her and gave her a quick, hard kiss.
The two men set up their laptops on her small kitchen table. Dakota hummed to herself as she prepared breakfast, her body pleasantly sore and her head filled with wonderful erotic memories. Every so often she felt eyes on her and when she glanced up it was either Jonah with a small, secretive smile or Mark, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Mark initiated the call to their home base after which they both connected laptops to satellite phones and clicked on their webcams. Dakota stole interested glances while she worked. In moments both screens were filled with a picture of a large room filled with electronics and the faces of two people. Dakota tried to watch without being too obvious, but there was no ignoring the conversation. It came through loud and clear.
“Morning, Chelsea,” Mark said. “I see you got the early shift.”
“I drew the short straw,” she laughed. “But no problem. I’m an early riser.”
“Ric?” Jonah’s voice still had its early morning rasp. “Don’t you ever go to sleep?”
A sharp laughed burst from the speakers. “Sleep is highly overrated. All right. Did you run last night? Check out the farm again?”
“Yes.” It was Mark who answered him. “We went over the entire area. Not much more than we’ve found anyplace else.”
“Except for the scent,” Mark broke in.
“Scent?” Ric asked. “I thought the devil beast didn’t leave any.”
“Either he got chased away too quickly this time,” Jonah told him, “or he thought he’d dissipated it all. We got a mixture of turpentine and gasoline. As if its sweat was made of those components.”
“Are you sure you weren’t just catching the scent from farm machinery?” Chelsea wanted to know.
“No.” Jonah shook his head. “Gasoline, maybe. But there was no turpentine around there. At all. I need you guys to do your research and see if there’s any animal listed anywhere that gives off an aroma similar to that.”
“Oh, sure,” she joked. “I’ll just look it up on Wikipedia.”
“Go through all those old case files we’ve got,” Mark told her. “Craig managed to dig up killings we didn’t even know about so follow the trail through them. Talk to the cops who handled them. See if any one of them remembers an odor like that. And pull out all the lab reports on the suspected beasts. See what they listed for animal DNA. There’s got to be something somewhere.”
“Okay,” Chelsea said. “We’ll get on it. What else?”
“Donna Perkins is the second incident here, not counting the dogs or the deer,” Jonah answered. “That means there’ll be a third before it leaves the area.”
“And what about those dogs?” Ric asked. “Six months went by between the killing of those animals and that of the hunters. How do you account for that?”
“Don’t know yet.” This from Mark. “But while you’re checking the old cases, see if there were reports of any animal slaughter in the months before the first kills. That’s something that’s never popped up before. We got lucky this time because the sheriff here wanted to share information with Jonah.”
“As far as that goes,” Chelsea interrupted, “have you talked to him since last night?”
“No.” Jonah shook his head. “He barely thinks the Chupacabra exists. If he had any other answer he’d take it. I think when he called me yesterday morning he was hoping I could pull a rabbit of some kind out of a hat. I’ll hold off getting back to him until we have more information.”
Mark was making notes in a small spiral notebook. “One more thing?”
“What’s that?” Ric asked.
“If we’re going to find out where the beast might strike again we need better info about this area. Satellite maps. Topographical maps. Current population figures. And detailed area maps.”
“You don’t want much,” Chelsea laughed. “All right, we’ll get everyone on it. Hopefully we can send you most of what you need this afternoon.”
Jonah cleared his throat. “Ric. Uh, could you ask Craig to give me a call sometime today?”
Ric was instantly alert. “Some problem I should know about?”
“Not at all. I just need to ask him about something.” Dakota saw him slide a glance at her, then away. “It’s personal.”
“Okay. He’ll be checking in shortly. I’ll pass along your request. Later.”
The screens went blank and Dakota went back to assembling breakfast. She was acutely aware of Mark studying her, watching every move she made. She broke eggs into a bowl and scrambled them, then moved the cutting board that held her chopped veggies for the omelet over next to the stove. She stirred the hash browns in the skillet and added more seasoning to them. Finally she turned to Mark and said, “If you’ve got something to say, to either of us, now’s the time to do it. I thought you were good with everything.”
Jonah stared from one to the other, a frown creasing his forehead. “Yeah, I thought the same thing. If you’ve got a problem, spit it out.”
Mark lifted his hands, palms out. “Hey, no problem. I swear.” His voice softened. “It’s just…I noticed a slight difference between the two of you this morning. Something, oh, I don’t know. Stronger? Would that be the right word?”
Jonah was standing beside Dakota now. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her next to him. “We’re mated. Is that enough for you?”
Mark grinned. “That’s what I thought. Good for you.” His face sobered briefly. “You know I only want the best for you, after…”
“After Jenna?” His hand stroked the curve of Dakota’s hip. “I never thought I’d find again what I had with her. I feel blessed.”
“Is that what you want to talk to Craig about?”
Jonah nodded. “But I need to talk to Dakota first. So why don’t you be a good guy and take your coffee out on the porch for a few minutes.”
“My pleasure.” Mark closed his laptop, disconnected the sat phone and carried his mug outside.
Dakota concentrated on the breakfast items she was assembling, not sure if she wanted to look at Jonah or not. This could be good or bad, but whatever it was, she wasn’t sure she was ready for it.
“What’s going on?” she asked, using the edge of her knife to line up the chopped veggies in precise groups.
Jonah took the knife gently from her hand and turned her to face him. “I know things are moving fast, darlin’, but I’m hoping we get this devil beast real quick and then I’ll have to be heading back to the ranch. So we need to talk.”
“Jonah, I have to finish breakfast.” Dakota nibbled her lower lip nervously. ”Can’t this wait?”
�
�Hey.” His hands cupped her cheeks. “It’s all good. Really. I promise. At least I hope it is.”
She studied his face, trying to find some clue in his expression. Happy? Sad? No, just uncertain. “Okay. So tell me.”
“All right.” He blew out a breath. “God, I didn’t think I’d be this nervous. I wanted to take more time before I sprang it on you, but Mark’s already figured it out. All right, okay, here it is.” Another breath. “I want to take you back to the ranch with me when I leave here. Live with you there. Together.”
“What?” Her legs threatened to buckle beneath her and she clutched at Jonah’s arms for support. She was stunned.
But what did I think would happen? He said I’m his. Forever. Of course he wouldn’t just go off and leave me. Would he?
“Think about it for a minute.” His fingers stroked her cheek, warming her skin where he touched her. “There’s really nothing keeping you here. You can have an even bigger herb garden at the ranch. There are hundreds of acres.”
“Herb garden,” she repeated slowly.
“Yeah. And I’ve been thinking. I can get one of the guys to set up a website for you if Craig agrees. You could sell the herbs and stuff on the internet. You could…”
“Wait, wait, wait.” She backed away from him. “Whew! Let’s take this one step at a time. One word at a time. Start from the very beginning.” She gave him a weak grin. “Before I start the omelets.”
“Dakota?” His hand cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes directly. “We’re mated. Last night, we…”He stopped, his face a study in frustration.
“Jonah, listen to me.” She moved the skillet off the stove. “Yes, I am yours. Forever. But there are lots of details to work out. Lots of them. First of all, you need to get Mr. Stafford’s permission. Talk to him while I let my mind absorb all of this. If he approves, we’ll take it from there.”
“Details are just…” He shrugged. “Details. We can take care of them, the team and I. We’re all good at that. And you wouldn’t have to put up with the miserable people around here. You’d also have some female companionship for a change.”
“Assuming they’d even like me.” She couldn’t hide the note of skepticism in her voice.
He whispered a light kiss over her mouth. “What’s not to like? They’ll love you. I promise.”
Dakota gave a nervous laugh. “You don’t know that. Women are funny. They…”
“I do know that. It will work. Okay?”
“Fine. Talk to Mr. Stafford and then we’ll discuss the…details. Meanwhile there’s still the devil beast to catch.” She grinned. “And I’ll bet Mark’s tired of standing out of the porch.”
“All right.” He gave her another kiss, brief but hard, and stepped back. “But we’re doing this, Dakota, however we have to work it out. So start thinking.”
As he went to open the door for Mark his sat phone buzzed. Picking it up, he answered as he stepped out onto the porch.
“This is Jonah.”
“Good morning.” The slightly hoarse voice of Craig Stafford greeted him. “How are things in Maverick County?”
“I wish I could tell you they’re better, but we’re working on it.” He exchanged nods with Mark who headed back inside, automatically giving him the privacy he wanted.
“I understand you’ve picked up the first trace of anything to work on,” Craig said.
“Yes. The faint scent of turpentine and gasoline.” He shrugged, even though he knew Stafford couldn’t see him. “But I don’t know yet what it means. I called the ranch and asked the team to start reviewing all the old cases and lab reports of animals people thought might be the Chupacabra.”
“It would be great if this would help lead us to something.” Stafford’s voice held its perpetual note of hope, the wish that the beast that destroyed his family would finally be run to ground.
“We’re working on it, sir. This afternoon Mark and I will study the maps and tonight we’ll check out the most likely areas.”
“Be sure to let me know if you need anything more.”
“I will. Thank you.” Jonah leaned his hip against the porch rail, inhaling the fresh scent of the morning and trying to figure out how best to approach the subject at hand.
Stafford broke the silence. “You had a specific reason for asking me to call, right? Whatever it is, if it’s within my power to give, it’s yours.”
“You might want to wait until you hear what I have to say,” Jonah warned.
“Let’s have it, then.”
Here goes nothing.
“We’ve never discussed having a situation like this come up,” he began, “but I’ve met a woman in the course of the investigation, and she’s been helping me. A lot.”
He heard a soft chuckle across the connection. “I’m assuming you want to bring her back here with you?”
“If that fits within the parameters of the program. She could be a big help for those of us who are shifters. She’s an herbalist, and many of the herbs she grows are those we need to manage the cycle of shifting.”
“Well,” Stafford drawled, “it sounds as if she’d be an asset to the team. But I sense there’s more to it than that.”
Oh, yeah. You’d better believe it.
“I know it’s just been a short time, sir, but…we are mated.”
The silence this time was longer. “Well.” Was that a smile in his voice? “You certainly work fast, I have to say that. But as someone who knows what it’s like to lose your mate and never expect to find another, I can only say I’m very pleased for you.”
The tension eased from Jonah’s body. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.”
“There’s a small apartment off the kitchen that was originally meant for a housekeeper,” Stafford told him. “Why don’t you take that? It’s not a problem. I’ll tell Ric and he can brief the team. When you and your mate arrive she can decide where she wants to do her planting and we’ll get someone out there to till and fertilize the soil for her.”
“You’re being more than kind,” Jonah told him.
“Not at all. I don’t support an enforced solitary existence if there’s a choice.” His voice dropped and Jonah heard a tinge of sadness in it. “Who knows? Maybe other Night Seekers will find mates and bring them here. We’ll make adjustments as we go along. Perhaps that means there’s hope for others of us, too.”
For himself.
“If you could have Ric call me after he briefs the team I’d appreciate it. I’d like to smooth the way as much as I can for her. By the way, her name’s Dakota Furcal.”
“Pretty name. All right, then. Good luck.”
“Thank you.”
Two pairs of eyes swiveled to him when he walked back into the cabin, one appraising, the other nervous.
“Well?” Mark asked. He was lounging against the counter watching Dakota work.
“We’re good to go.” He walked directly over to Dakota and pulled her into his arms, kissing her ferociously despite Mark’s presence. He felt her relax into his body. “I’ll give you all the details later. Meanwhile, let’s have breakfast. They’ll be sending us information from the ranch before too long and Mark and I will need to concentrate on that.”
* * * * *
By late morning the team back at the ranch had gathered all the maps Jonah and Mark had requested and sent them to Jonah’s phone. He transferred them to his computer, then used Dakota’s printer to print them out.
“I think we ought to run this by the sheriff,” he told Mark. “I can see six or seven locations here where there are potential victims but Denby might be able to narrow it down even more.”
“What makes you think his next victim will be around Eagle Pass?” Dakota asked. She was curled in the big armchair, reading and half listening to the men.
“Because he’s never hunted in a wide circle before,” Mark told her. He pulled some of the maps from the bottom of the pile to the top. “Come here and I’ll show you.”
She p
ut her book facedown on the little table next to the chair and rose gracefully, coming to stand behind Jonah. There was a scatter of maps on the table with red circles on them.
“See?” Mark pointed. “Every place there have been triple slayings the sites have been fairly close together. Even where I lived when I was a deputy in the next county over. I liked it outside of town, sort of the way you live here. But my neighbors were as close as a mile away.” He grimaced. “One of the men wasn’t found until two weeks later. He only used his place for vacations and no one knew he’d come to stay there until his brother couldn’t get hold of him.”
“And here.” Jonah pointed. “And here, and here, and here.” He picked up the red pen and drew wider circles encompassing the smaller red ones. “It’s a pattern. Almost as if it scouted sites remote enough not to attract attention when it attacked but not so far away that it couldn’t hang out in the area until it was finished.”
“Hang out?” Dakota frowned. “Hang out how? Other animals would shy away from it and it certainly couldn’t just hunker down in a barn or a garage.”
Mark tossed his pen onto the table. ”If we could answer that question we’d be way ahead of the game here.”
“And aren’t you giving the Chupacabra reasoning powers far beyond those of normal animals?” she asked.
“I think we know too little about it to make any kind of determination. But there are many animals with high levels of intelligence and it’s obvious this creature is in that category.”
“I think we should talk to Denby,” Jonah told him. “At least tell him what we surmise.”
“You talk to him. He doesn’t even know I’m in the picture. Tell him the researchers at your magazine dug up some more facts and you want to make sure he has them.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Jonah reached his arms over his head and stretched, then hooked an arm around Dakota’s waist and pulled her close to him. “Want to come with me?”
She shook her head. “If you drag me along he won’t pay any attention to what you tell him. He already looked at me strangely when I went to Donna Perkins’ farm with you.”
Lust Unleashed (Night Seekers, Book One) Page 16