by V. A. Dold
Prologue– The Plan
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
SETH
K.I.S.S Series
About the Authors
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RICHIE
Le Beau Series
Book 6
By
V.A. Dold
&
Tori Austin
The Five Shifter Rules
Always put your mate before yourself.
Respect another shifter’s mate.
Do nothing to expose the existence of shifters.
Do no unnecessary harm to shifters or humans.
Respect all nonhumans.
Copyright 2014 by V.A. Dold & Tori Austin
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without written permission from the author–except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the web.
This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events; to real people, living or dead; or to real locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and their resemblance, if any, to real–life counterparts is entirely coincidental.
ISBN–13: 9781943896011
This is Dedicated
To all of my readers and fans of the Le Beau Series, I appreciate you more than I can say.
Thank you to my friends and family who cheered me on and believed in me even more than I believed in myself.
And thank you, Tina and Carolyn, the best editors a girl could ask for.
...You all helped make this possible.
...Enjoy the adventure!
RICHIE
Le Beau Series
Book 6
Prologue– The Plan
With great care, Emma Le Beau placed a purple satin cloth on the altar she consecrated to the Goddess Luperca almost two centuries ago.
Emma carefully smoothed every crease and wrinkle until the altar cloth was perfect. Next, she pulled four white candles from her prayer satchel. One for lighting all the others, and one for the creator and source of all, another for the goddess, and the last for the god and lit them.
Gently, she touched each of her sacred stones until she decided on amethyst, citrine, and clear quartz. With great reverence, Emma placed them in a triangle on her altar.
She closed her eyes, centered her mind, and quieted her thoughts. After three deep breaths, she opened herself to her spirit guides, and to the Goddess, God and the Source. She asked them to join her and invoked their assistance.
Emma was greeted by the Goddess’s soft, soothing voice. “Blessed be, my daughter.”
“Blessed be, Mother. How may I be of service?”
“My son, Richie Majors is on the verge of meeting his mate.”
Emma’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped open. “Richie? Is there anything you would have me do to assist you?”
“I have already set into motion the situation that will bring Richie and his mate together. His human friends who attend college here in Louisiana will make sure they meet. He will be invited to attend Theresa Anderson’s wedding. He must attend. There he will meet Piper Sinclair.”
“If it pleases you, I could have Isaac talk with Richie’s place of employment to guarantee he is given the days off he will need to travel and enjoy the wedding.”
The Goddess smiled at that. “It does indeed please me.”
Emma loved it when the Goddess smiled. Her grin revealed laugh lines at the corners of her eyes and made her seem a little less like a deity and a little more human.
“Both Isaac and I will do everything we can to ensure he accepts the invitation and goes to the wedding. Is there anything more I can do to be of service?”
“I am very pleased with all you do. I am most pleased by the assistance you have provided: assuring these new humans are introduced to their destined mate and brought into the fold.”
Emma lowered her head in supplication. “It’s always my pleasure to be of service to my Mother Goddess.”
“Take care, my most precious daughter. Blessed be.”
“Take care, Mother. Blessed be.”
Emma graciously thanked the Goddess, God and Source for partaking in her request and snuffed each of the candles. When working with a deity, politeness and care were always expected.
*****
By the time Isaac returned, Emma was on the verge of bursting. “Isaac! I have another name.”
She danced from foot to foot excitedly while he removed his shoes. “Who?”
“Richie. He’s going to meet his mate, Piper Sinclair, through his friends. Those college girls he befriended four years ago. The Goddess requested that we ensure he is given the time off from work that he’ll need to attend the wedding. That’s where he’ll meet her.”
He took her hand and they walked to the study. “Whose wedding is Richie supposed to attend?”
“One of the girls he hangs out with from the college, Theresa Anderson.”
“I know that group of ladies. Richie talks about them all the time. He even suggested they be invited to a gathering, but without a shifter in their family, I can’t take that chance.”
“I agree. Inviting them would be too risky.”
“I’ll stop by the Crescent City Brewhouse and chat with him about the wedding. You know, get a few details for us to work with.” Isaac grinned, rubbing his hands together like a mad scientist. Then he chuckled again and poured himself a scotch. “This is very exciting! Richie. That’s just wonderful.”
Chapter 1
One month later
Isaac hung up the phone and smiled.
Emma stopped wringing her hands. “Did it work?”
“Perfectly. Thank Goddess we checked his schedule. He’d asked for time off, but the restaurant was short staffed. Todd agreed to pick up Richie’s hours so there’s nothing stopping him from attending the wedding.”
Her shoulders relaxed and she let out a long breath. “That was too close for comfort. I’m relieved it worked out. Did Todd ask for any favors in return?”
“None at all. He was more than happy to help when I told him the Goddess decreed Richie must go. The request coming from his king didn’t hurt either.” Isaac grinned and gave her a playful wink.
“I still won’t get a lick of sleep until he gets on the plane.”
“Come here, mate,” Isaac growled and patted his lap, his eyes glowing brightly with sexual interest. “I’m sure I can come up with a way to help you sleep tonight.”
*****
Richie hit the time clock and turned to head behind the bar. He was prepping drink garnishes when a hand clapped his shoulder.
Todd one of the other bartenders, who also happened to be a shifter, removed his hand and leaned back against the bar. “Hey, Richie. I took a look at my budget and realized I was going to run short of funds before month end. Are your hours still up for grabs?”
&nbs
p; “Yeah, man. They are.” Richie frowned, a little confused. Just yesterday Todd turned him down.
“Great. I’ll take all of your shifts then. Give me a minute to let the manager on duty know so they can mark the schedule and I’ll help you prep.”
Huh. Richie watched Todd walk into the employee area of the restaurant. Talk about luck.
Whatever it was, he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. He had been sick over missing the wedding. Now he had to decide what to pack when he got home. He had a lot to do before heading to the airport tomorrow. Thank Goddess he hadn’t cancelled his flight.
*****
The next morning, Richie rolled down the window of his car as he neared the airport parking ramp, and inhaled the fresh air. It was early for a bartender to be awake, only six in the morning, but he didn’t have a choice. He didn’t care; it was shaping up to be a great day. The sun was up, the weather wasn’t overly hot, and he was on his way to the wedding.
*****
Piper Sinclair woke to the sound of her own screams and drenched in sweat. Huffing out an exhausted breath, she fell back against her pillows. Once her heart stopped racing she glanced at her digital alarm clock and swore a red streak. Midnight. She was going without sleep again.
Sighing, she headed for the shower. Experience taught her it was useless to try to go back to sleep. Once the nightmare made a visit, it was there to stay for the rest of the night. If she fell asleep, she was doomed to relive the horror of her parents’ gruesome deaths. Once a night was more than enough.
The senseless tragedy happened twenty-five years ago. Both she and her little brother, Roger, were asleep. She’d been dreaming about getting a puppy for her birthday when she was jolted awake by something crashing in the living room.
She’d just slipped her feet to the floor, ready to investigate when she heard her father cry out in pain and her mother screaming her name, begging her to get Roger and find a place to hide.
Even at the age of ten, she had a backbone of steel. Silently, she crept down the hall, flattened against the wall. From where she stood she couldn’t be seen. Carefully, she peeked into the living room and froze. Her parents were fighting someone and blood was everywhere.
Now she understood, and her mother had given her the responsibility of Roger’s safety. Quickly, and just as quietly, she went to Roger’s room and woke him. He was groggy, but blessedly, he did as she told him without making a sound.
As Piper opened his window and pushed the screen out Roger got the chair from his desk. She set it under the window and helped him climb through and then silently followed him.
“Come on, we need to hide under the front steps like when we play Hide and Go Seek,” she whispered as she took his hand.
The wooden stairs was one of their favorite hiding spots. The only way under was on the side behind a thick bush. A fine wooden lattice covered the opening. It was easy to pull away, crawl inside, and set the lattice back in place.
Piper waited for Roger to crawl in, terrified the bad man would come out the door and catch her. She watched his tennis shoe covered feet disappear and dove to join him as quickly as possible.
The sounds coming from the house were terrifying. She wrapped her arms around her little brother and rocked him. But she had to hand it to Roger, even though he cried he didn’t make a sound.
After a long time it became very quiet. To quiet. She made Roger stay with her under the stairs while they waited and listened.
Then they heard him, the bad man. He was looking for them in the house. She knew when he found the open window from the cussing.
That was when he started yelling. Saying he would let their parents go if they came to him. She knew he was lying. She’d seen the blood and that was long before the noises had stopped. If her parents were alive, she’d hear them calling her or at least some noise.
When they didn’t do what he wanted, he started describing in great detail what he would do to them once he found them. Piper stiffened and held Roger tighter. His eyes were huge with fear, but he nodded when she put a finger to her lips.
Twigs snapped and leaves rustled as the man searched the yard. When his feet appeared outside the lattice, they both tensed, ready to fight him off. After what felt like a lifetime to her, he stepped away.
That was when they saw flashing lights bouncing off the house outside their hiding place. A neighbor must have called the police.
Roger wanted to crawl out and have the policemen protect him, but she made him stay put. She listened hard, it sounded like some of them had gone into the house and others were searching for the bad man. It wasn’t until she heard the bad man swearing at the police officers, and knew he’d been caught that she let Roger crawl out from their hiding place.
The policemen were shocked to see them emerging unharmed and rushed to get them to safety.
It was a complete accident that she saw into the house before they hustled her and Roger away to the police station. The front door entered directly into the living room and was standing wide open. What she saw still haunted her. She was grateful Roger never saw what was left of their parents.
The next thing she knew they were in the police station with suitcases filled with their clothes that someone else had packed, waiting for Uncle Harry and Aunt Margery to pick them up.
It was through the nightly news that she learned the man who’d killed her parents was an escaped murderer. He was supposed to be in jail. And the real kick in the teeth was he’d picked her house at random because it was convenient.
Her parents died for no other reason than a sick man wanted the rush of killing someone and her family was easy prey.
That was the day she decided she would hunt down bad guys when she grew up. She would never let another murderer destroy a family if she could help it.
*****
Yawning, Piper jumped in the shower to clear her head and then made a pot of coffee. Hanging her nose over her steaming cup, she came to a decision and powered up her laptop.
Ten minutes later she plucked the sheet of paper from her printer. She’d been seriously considering retirement from the bounty hunting business for over a year. The nightmare she had last night, the one she seemed to have every night lately, was the last straw. Chasing her bounties had taken a lot of horrible, people off the streets, but it had never healed the pain of losing her parents.
The only reason she’d stayed in the business so long was the thought of the other little boys and girls who might lose their parents if she wasn’t tracking down the dregs of society.
Today, she was handing in her resignation. Her boss at the highly secret organization that serviced the justice system was going to have a heart attack. She was his best bounty hunter and he wasn’t going to be happy.
She brought a lot of power and clout to the organization. When a criminal escaped during trial or afterward from jail, her organization was called to quietly bring them in. Her name was requested more often than any other hunter.
She waited for eight AM to roll around and headed for the office. She didn’t bother stopping at the front desk as she usually did, instead she walked straight into the director’s office, slapped her resignation letter on his desk, and plopped into a chair.
Jerry glanced at the letter and flicked it with the tip of his pen. “What the hell is this?”
“I quit.”
“You can’t quit.”
“I just did.” She waved at it pointedly. “See, it’s all right there in the letter.”
He leaned back and cross his arms. “To bad, I’m not accepting it.”
“You don’t have a choice, Jerry, and you know it, so stop being difficult.”
“Yeah, I know,” he sighed heavily, “but I got a real doozy of a job this morning and I need you to pull it off. I’ll make you a deal. You do this one last job and I will be forever grateful. Then I’ll throw you a retirement party myself.”
“I can’t, Jerry, I’m burned out.” She looked at her fee
t, and scuffed her tennis shoe on the floor before she met his gaze again. “I can’t sleep. The nightmares are back and they’re worse than ever. I need out.”
Jerry reached across the desk and laid his huge paw of a hand over hers. “I’m sorry, kid. I just thought you’d be hot for this one. He’s a serial killer that likes hacking up entire families. He took out five innocent families in their sleep before they caught him and now he’s on the loose. But I understand, I’ll give it to one of the guys to handle.”
With every word her body stiffened more, and her jaw ached from her grit teeth. “What’s his name?”
“Ryker ‘Qball’ Quintrell.”
She knew that name. Had followed his trial. The sick bastard was the scum of the earth. “I’ll get him for you. But then I’m done, Jerry.”
“It’s a deal, Piper.”
Three weeks later she was grinning to herself as she packed to attend Bob’s wedding. She’d considered not going. Qball was sniffing around her, acting strangely. She’d never had a bounty act the way this guy did. It was like he was hunting her. The whole thing was worrisome. She didn’t want this freak anywhere near her family.
She talked it over with Jerry and he promised the local law enforcement near the wedding would be working with her on the case. He didn’t like Qball’s behavior any more than she did. He assured her, there would be so many officers guarding the hotel, Qball wouldn’t get near the place.
So, she was going. She hadn’t seen her family in over a year and she really wanted to be there.
*****
A few hours later, Richie walked with the mass of people in the airport headed to luggage claim. The flight had been long and he was itching to leave the airport. Stretching his neck, he pulled at his collar and tie. He really hated wearing a suit.