by Leo, Rosanna
She continued in the same direction and realized she was just about to pass Gabi’s cabin. Wondering if he’d found a flight to Hungary, she decided to check on him. She felt a little guilty that Anton had decided to stay with her, instead of leaving with his brother. Okay, she felt a lot guilty. And even though Gabi had lashed out at her in anger, the inclination to clear the air with Anton’s brother was strong. After all, she supposed they were related now, sort of.
She always wanted a brother.
As she approached the side window of her new brother’s cabin, her sensitive lynx hearing picked up on a hushed voice inside it. From the gaps in the conversation, she could tell Gabi was on the phone with someone. It all seemed innocuous enough until she heard his final, vehement statement.
“I tell you, Anton will not live to see another day. He may think he can swan in to claim my throne whenever he feels like it, but I’ll teach him the error of his ways.”
Anton? Surely he meant Istvan?
Marci took off her shoes and drew closer to the cabin, hoping to hear more, but Gabi had clearly ended the call.
As her lynx shrieked inside her, she sought to quiet the forlorn animal. Surely what Gabi said was a mistake. Surely it was a slip of the tongue.
And if not?
Oh hell, she needed to find Anton.
As quietly as possible, she turned on bare feet and took a step, only to hear the cabin door creak behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, suddenly terrified of what she’d see there.
“Come now, Ms. Lennox,” Gabi crowed, leaning with a casual air against the doorjamb. “We both know you won’t tell my pig brother a thing. I’ll make sure of that.”
She didn’t waste time arguing with him. Quick as lightning, Marci shifted into her lynx self, bursting through her work clothes. Her change was so swift she fell to her paws, landing hard on the thick pads. And as furiously as she moved, Gabi was faster. He transformed into his immense tiger with a speed that astounded her. And before she could aim for the path to the programming office, he blocked her, forcing her into the woods.
He wanted a chase? Well, she’d give him a chase. She knew this island better than almost anyone and could give him a run for his money. She’d be sure to steer him away from Anton until she could call to her mate and warn him.
Moving with sheer adrenaline and a whole lot of panic, Marci shot into the woods. Even though she felt the presence of the great predator right behind her, she kept moving, and prayed.
* * * *
Anton and Killian stared at the files before them. Anton ran a hand through his hair. He had to confess, he had no idea so many unsavory characters had found their way to Gemini Island. He’d have to have a long chat with Ryland when he returned from his honeymoon.
Honeymoon. Would Marci like a honeymoon? He supposed they had to get married first, although in the shifter world, a mating signified an even stronger bond than traditional marriage. He knew hundreds of mated shifters who’d never bothered to officially tie the knot, which was more of a human custom.
Still, it would be nice to exchange formal vows. Really nice to see Marci get dressed up in a pretty white dress and dance all night with him. Then he could slowly remove that white dress. He grinned at the thought.
Killian elbowed him hard. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Mittens.” He cringed. “You can think about playing with your mate later.”
Anton couldn’t help but roll his eyes in frustration. “That’s if she will have me back. She was really mad that I would dare to question her good friend Killian.”
Moon offered him a slow, smug smile. “See? She really does like me better.”
Anton scoffed. “She might like you better, but she loves me. So go fuck yourself.” When Killian began to chortle, he turned his eye to the files before them again. “What about this man? This Leon Price? He’s on record for assault.”
“I don’t know. I’ve met him. He seemed okay.” Moon ran a hand over his face. “Maybe we’re barking up the wrong tree. If you dig deep enough, I’d bet every shifter is on record for something. We’ve all had to struggle. We’ve all been forced to fight.” His long sigh expressed his frustration at their process.
Even though they’d combed through information on many of the guests and other employees, nothing had stood out as a real red flag. In most cases where shifter guests had been accused of crimes, charges had been dropped. Killian wasn’t exaggerating when he stated most shifters had a past. In a world full of prejudiced humans who didn’t know any better, shifters often stood out as weird or threatening. That didn’t make them actual criminals.
No, this all seemed off. Wrong, somehow. Anton had been pleased at first that Killian had invited him to review his files, but now he was struck with the uneasy sensation that they were wasting time. That he needed to be somewhere else. His tiger prowled inside him, looking about as if he’d lost something, his low growl a warning.
For some reason, his tiger placed a picture before his eyes, and Anton winced. It was the memory of Mariska lying dead in his suite at home. Her body had been mauled, but the killing wound had been a large tear in the back of her neck. Her attacker had severed several blood vessels, killing her painfully.
Why would his tiger make him think of this now? This was not the time to consider avenging Istvan’s crimes. His concerns were definitely more local now.
And then his tiger showed him another memory, one of Istvan’s other victims. The man had been an opponent of their father’s, vocal in his opposition. Istvan had taken care of the man by ripping out his vocal cords. At the time, he’d commented to Anton about how much he enjoyed making a kill from the front.
The better to witness their fear.
Because the dead man had been no better than a thug himself, supplying his mother with some of her black market drugs, Anton hadn’t bothered to avenge him. Good riddance, he’d thought at the time.
So why hadn’t Istvan killed Mariska the same way? Wouldn’t he have enjoyed drinking in her terror while he ravaged her? Rather, he’d attacked from behind, never letting her see her killer. It wasn’t his style at all.
If he allowed himself to dwell on it, April’s and Charlotte’s wounds had looked very similar to Mariska’s, only in the latter case, the wound had been fatal.
No, surely not.
“I’m going to check on Marci.” He pushed away from the desk and stood.
Sweat broke out on his skin. A chill infested his body, and the hairs on his arms stood on end. Without saying more, he lunged for the office door.
“Hey, wait,” Killian called.
“What?”
Killian’s eyes widened and he put his hands up. “I was just going to say it’s nice being on the same side with you, but…”
“Sorry. But I can’t help feeling something’s not right.”
Moon was on his feet in an instant. “With Marci?”
“Yes, with Marci. Who the hell else?” He paced in front of the door. “The attacks on April and Charlotte. You said they had the hallmarks of a tiger attack. I’m starting to think they were indicative of a particular tiger.” He paused, his head pounding. “I need to find Marci … and my brother.”
Killian didn’t hold him up another second. Anton raced out the door, shifting into his tiger self, and Killian the jaguar followed.
Chapter 16
Shit! She’d forgotten how fast tigers moved.
When Anton sprinted after her in the woods a few days ago, the chase had been oddly exciting. She could admit now that she was actually looking forward to him catching her. But that chase had ended with them finding April on the ground.
April. Oh, God. Could it be Gabi had something to do with the attacks? No. He’d arrived on the island after she was attacked. She was sure of it.
Unless…
She wasn’t about to stop and ask him to clarify his comings and goings. She needed to get out of the woods and back to the relative civilization of the lodge. Around other shift
ers, he wouldn’t dare lay a paw on her, but here in the forest, no one could stop him.
But only if he could catch her.
The deep rumble from his animal throat sounded like a laugh. Pompous bastard.
Marci veered to the left and leaped over a boulder. She landed easily, tore through a clearing and over several fallen trees. On either side of her lay networks of caves. Did she dare escape into one of them, hoping he wouldn’t discover her? No. His senses were too keen. She just knew it. And she would not allow herself to get cornered in the dark where Anton could never find her.
Where to go? Where to go? He was so close behind her she could feel his hot breath through the tufted fur at her ears. She danced around a cluster of maples, swearing at all the fallen leaves on the ground, making the surface harder to grip. She spun around a large oak, thankful for the tree coverage and yet cursing it at the same time because she needed to use all her dexterity to weave around them.
The trees.
Taking a chance, Marci raced up the nearest tall tree. Lynx were naturally strong climbers, and were often known to hide in trees in the wild. With her small lynx body weight of eighty-five pounds, she flew up the gnarled trunk and perched on a high branch, spinning around to watch Gabi.
The tiger spotted her, leaned back on his haunches, and showed his teeth. Once again, the low rumble from his chest made her heart sink. With his black lips pulled back, he appeared to be offering her a vicious smile.
She knew it was unusual for tigers to climb trees, certainly to be as stealthy as lynx. Their bulky body weight often prevented them from climbing very far, and it wasn’t unheard of for tigers to get stuck in trees. However, others could climb just fine. She watched as Gabi moved back a few paces, took a running leap, and latched onto the thick trunk.
With an ominous grumble, he moved one large paw in front of the other, slowly ascending. Clearly, he was the variety of tiger that could climb.
She didn’t wait for him to reach her on her branch. Even though her lynx was ready for a fight, raising a paw to swipe, Marci overrode its decision and jumped from one branch to another. From her new perch, she avoided his extended paw and raced down the other side of the trunk. He let out a growl of frustration.
She knew getting down could be tricky for tigers. They didn’t have the dexterity to descend headfirst. They usually had to scramble down backward. Not stopping to analyze Gabi’s technique, Marci tore into the woods.
Her heart hurt and she wanted Anton. Oh, how she wanted Anton! In desperation, she let out the keening cry that was one of the lynx’s only vocal expressions. The shriek rang throughout the forest, and as she dashed onward, already exhausted, she prayed Anton heard her.
* * * *
At the edge of the lake, Anton’s tiger roared upon hearing its mate’s unusual cry. He froze and shifted back to human form. Killian followed suit.
“Did you hear that? She’s in the woods.” He pointed to the east end of the island. “Over there.”
“I don’t think so,” argued Killian. “I could have sworn it came from behind the cabins. Maybe it was another lynx.”
“I know the cry of my mate. Let’s split up. I’m heading into the woods.”
Killian nodded, shifted into his snarling jaguar, and raced to the living area. Anton sprinted into the woods. As he traveled, he tried to tune in to Marci, begging her to talk to him. Mated shifters could often communicate by telepathy, but she had only done so with him once, and under slightly less stressful conditions. Would she be able to harness this ability now?
Marci, kitten. Where are you? I heard you cry, baby.
Nothing.
Cursing, he ran toward a clearing, peering into the mess of maples and silver birches before him. The forest went on for miles. He closed his eyes and concentrated on her smile, on her melodious voice, on her awe-inspiring scent.
Marci, please talk to me.
Once again, the lynx’s cry erupted from someplace deep in the woods. She sounded terrified. It was likely her fear overrode her telepathic abilities.
If anyone hurt her…
He bounded in the direction of her pitiable noise, crashing into tree trunks along the way. Woe to the animal who got in his way right now, for they would be trampled. He didn’t care. He just wanted her back.
As he ran, another memory crashed into his brain, something he’d once glimpsed, but to which he’d never given thought. He recalled being at a New Year’s party one year at the castle. Istvan had been entertaining Father’s cronies, and Anton had quickly grown tired of the whole affair. He remembered stalking the halls of the castle, needing an escape. As he’d slipped from one hallway to another, a door had opened and Gabi had emerged, laughing and slapping the ass of a woman. Although Anton had never seen the woman’s face, he recalled the unique shade of her red hair.
Mariska.
Oh, hell. Had she bedded Gabi too?
As disgust hurtled through his system, so many things became clear. The way Gabi used to glare at Istvan. The way Anton sometimes found Gabi glaring at him too. And, in particular, the manner in which Gabi used to follow Mariska around.
If he’d really loved her, would he have been angry enough to seek revenge on anyone else who’d slept with her, including his brothers?
Anton!
Her voice. He could hear her voice!
Good girl, baby. I can hear you now. Where are you?
I’m just approaching Ursa’s Fortress. He’s chasing me and I’m so tired. I can’t get away. He blocks me at every turn.
Ursa’s Fortress. He knew the craggy mountain that sat at the far end of the island. I’m coming.
Oh, Anton. It’s your brother!
I know. And I won’t let him get you. I swear it on my life. Please keep moving, Marci. He’s bound to be tired too.
I can’t keep this up…
The soft voice in his head trailed away. Fuck. She was ready to drop.
Channeling all his rage, which had grown considerably in the last few minutes, Anton leaped into the air, landed on his feet, and sped toward Ursa’s Fortress.
He’d kill Gabi for this.
* * * *
Marci backed toward the lake’s edge. Ursa’s Fortress sat near the edge of Lake Gemini on the opposite side of the island. If she needed to, she could jump in the lake. Thanks to their broad paws, lynx made excellent swimmers. She couldn’t remember if tigers could swim or not. She looked at Gabi, who advanced in his human form, a cocky grin splitting his face.
Clearly, he didn’t doubt his own swimming prowess. He stepped toward the water’s edge, dipping his toes in the lake. “Gorgeous day for a swim, isn’t it?”
Arrogant bastard. He faced her full on, nude and intimidating, his body a veritable wall of muscle. Formed just like Anton, only dead in the eyes.
Maybe she could get him to talk and stall for time. She dipped down in the water and shifted into human form. She crouched so the water would cover her breasts from his harsh gaze. “Why are you doing this?”
“So your tiny lynx brain hasn’t made all the connections yet? A shame. I always cautioned Anton about associating with inferior creatures. And yet he rutted with you.”
Oh, he’d pay for that one. Despite her desire to splash water in his appraising eyes, she remained calm. “Why do you want to kill your own brother? It’s unthinkable.”
“On the contrary, Ms. Lennox. I think of nothing else.” His neutral, offhanded tone frightened her more than a crazed war cry.
“Shouldn’t you be more worried about Istvan? After all, he’s the one on the throne.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Actually, Istvan’s dead. I’ve already taken care of him.”
As the truth slapped her across the face, she struggled to remain upright in the water. “You lied to your own brother? How could you?”
His cold laugh chilled her through, more effective at lowering her body temperature than the lake water. “You say that as if lying is a dreadful sin. Marci, ther
e are much worse sins, and I’ve committed them all. Patricide, matricide, fratricide … isn’t it charming how they all rhyme? Just like a song.”
“You’re sick.” She inched deeper.
He took another step into the lake. “Allow me to fill you in. Did my brother tell you about Mariska?”
“His former lover.” She nodded. She’d never forget.
His eyes blazed. “My former lover! She was my lover before Istvan ever put his filthy hands on her. But our father, my beloved parent, decided Istvan could have her, and she was taken from me. I never forgave him, either of them. Imagine my surprise, when I discovered afterward when Anton, the brother who said he loved me, took her to his bed as well.”
“He said she instigated it.”
“And he should have put a stop to it.” Gabi grimaced and mumbled in Hungarian, shaking his head. “She was a passionate woman, too passionate for her own good. When I found out she was cheating with Anton, I had no choice. I had to end her life.”
“You let Anton think Istvan killed her!”
“All part of my plan to turn people away from Istvan. He was no leader. He was an imbecile with muscle and an empty space where his brain should have been.” He considered. “He was easier to kill than I expected him to be. Of course, he’d never expected me to fight back. You see, Marci, it’s good to be the underdog. No one ever suspects the underdog of treachery. But treachery was all I knew. I learned it at my parents’ knees.” He laughed out loud. “And guess what? I find it oddly fulfilling.”
“You killed them all. You’re a monster.”
“I am the Grand Prince of the federation of the Hungarian tribes, and I will not be defied!”
Marci took small, measured steps, circling backward toward the beach. If she could quickly hit the beach, she’d be able to shift and make another run for it. Gabi didn’t seem to see her anymore; he was looking past her, no doubt at the invisible scenes playing out before his eyes.
“Anton is the elder brother, it’s true. While he lives, my people will never revere me as they should. And I will stand for nothing less than complete obedience, just as my father had.”