by Nancy Gideon
“Find them,” Cale commanded. “Fast.”
“Should we call Row back?” Rico asked in a low whisper. “It’s what he does best.”
“No. Not yet.”
“We won’t fail you, my king.” Colin gripped Cale’s fist and held it tightly over his heart, then the three disappeared inside. Within minutes, their big motorcycles roared to life, echoing their savage purpose in a race down the drive, heading for the city.
Cale stood alone, his back to them. His shoulders rose and heavily fell. Then his head came up and he finally turned to face their questions.
“Casper Lee has Kendra and Tina.”
“He’s dead.”
Cale nodded at Silas’s grimly delivered conclusion. “I’ll see to that.”
“What does he want?”
“To meet with me at Café du Monde in an hour.”
“You’re not going alone.”
Cale studied MacCreedy’s set expression for a long moment, one that Nica mirrored then nodded again. “Let’s go.”
Brigit couldn’t restrain her emotions quite so easily. She squeezed Cale to her in a frantic embrace and challenged, “Don’t let him hurt them, Cale.”
“I won’t, Bree.”
She levered back, still clutching at him. She studied his intense features while her own grew wet with tears. “I’m so sorry. The timing sucks so bad.”
His hand cupped her damp cheek, stroking away the moisture. “We’ll have time to celebrate later. All of us, together.”
She kissed him quick and hard, whispering, “Yes, we will,” before pushing him away, sending him striding aggressively about their family’s business.
*
A knock at his front door woke Alain Babineau from a restless sleep. He’d put in a long night on a fruitless stakeout, and it seemed like he’d just closed his eyes. A squint toward the clock in his son’s room verified that cruel truth.
Pulling on the crumpled tee shirt he’d worn the night before, mentally noting the need to start a load of laundry as soon as he chased away whoever was stupid enough to disturb him, he stumbled to the door to scowl out at a porch full of bristling Terriots.
Colin pushed his way inside, leaving the other two fierce sentries on the steps. Observing his stoic façade, Alain demanded, “What is it? Has something happened to your brother?” He found that notion troubled him more than he expected.
“I’m here to see if you’re interested in saving your wife.”
Tina.
All his conflicted emotions fell away in an instant. “What’s happened?”
Listening to Colin’s terse words, a terrible trembling took hold of his insides. All he could see was the shy, lovely girl peeking up at him with timid interest during Father Furness’s introduction, the way her uncertain fingers unbuttoned his shirt and adored his bared chest on the night they’d finally made love, the laughter they shared as he carried her over the threshold of their new home, the teary devotion in her gaze wile he sat at the table helping Oscar with his homework after he’d come off a brutal shift at work. The heart-stunning sight of her framed by the moonlight filtering through her firehouse red negligée, tropical breezes lifting the ends of her hair.
“Can we go back to the way it was before?” she’d asked as she lay in his arms after they’d shared phenomenal sex. “Could you ever love me again?”
He hadn’t answered her.
Now, with that unspoken, just realized response crushing him, he feared he’d never have the chance.
“What can I do?” he asked.
Colin didn’t waste time. “You’re a cop. You know the system and the streets. We can find anything with a heat trace and heartbeat. We don’t have much time.”
He opened the door wide to invite the others in. “Let’s make the most of it.”
*
Casper Lee brushed powdered sugar off the front of his lavender shirt, the gesture freezing when he glanced up to see a glowering Cale Terriot seated in the plastic chair across from him. Mac Creed and his chilly eyed associate flanked him. No pleasantries.
“I want to speak to them so I know they haven’t been harmed.”
He had no trouble hearing Cale’s low voice even over the noisy chatter around them. He smiled. “All in good time.”
“Now, if you want to continue breathing.”
His mood stayed calm. “You’re in no position to make threats.”
Cale leaned in, not a muscle moving in his face as he vowed through clenched teeth, “You don’t know that. You don’t know me, who I am, what I’ve done, what I’m capable of. I am not weak. I am not desperate or confused. I became king in the House of Terriot on the bones of many, and I am nobody you want to fuck with. You have my queen and my sister, and if they are more than mildly inconvenienced before they’re returned to me, you will die the second I learn of it. Are we very clear on that?”
“My, my,” Lee mused, sipping from his café au lait. “Who would have thought that sniveling little thug begging for a taste of relief could posture like an Alpha. Have you beaten back your demons then, Mr. Terriot or are they still chewing you up inside? How long before you’re back on your knees begging for a way to earn my forgiveness and generosity?”
Not a flicker of reaction. “A Terriot kneels to no one.”
Lee chuckled. “Oh, I think we both know better, but alas, I haven’t the time to debate the matter and I no longer find you worth the trouble. I have something you want, and you have something I need. Let’s keep this simple business, shall we? Since sex is obviously off the table.”
That lit a deep, deadly spark in Cale’s eyes.
“Talk to me,” Silas intruded with a reasonable calm. “I’m not quite as volatile as my friend here, but don’t mistakenly think I’m any less motivated. Or dangerous.”
“Very well. Let’s be blunt.” Lee sat back, tapping his fingers on the table, speaking to Silas, his focus on Cale who had yet to blink. “I want to control Carmen Blutafino’s business here in New Orleans. To do that, I need him by the financial short hairs. He’s foolishly come to me to ask for my help in getting out from under our friend Brady’s thumb. A falling out of thieves, one supposes. He wants to back Mr. Terry in a three round fight against Brady’s champion from the Northern circuit. I’ve assured him that his investment is secure.”
“And you want me to throw the fight,” Cale sneered.
A laugh. “Oh, no. You’re putting on the exhibition of your life. That’s what you’ll be fighting for. Yours and theirs.”
“Set it up.”
Silas gripped Cale’s arm, cautioning, “Not so fast.” He studied Lee, looking for that catch. “What if Cale wins? Won’t that ruin your plan?”
“He can’t win. You see, he’ll have no advantage. No Kick in his system and a collar to keep him from fully transforming.”
“He’ll be torn apart,” Nica surmised. “Why would we agree to that?”
“Because if I don’t make a phone call in five minutes, my people have orders to, well, you get the idea.”
“You don’t look very worried about what will happen to you if we have no need to keep you alive,” Silas said, still cautious and looking for an angle.
“I’m not worried. Because I do know your Terriot king.” Lee directed the rest to Cale. “I know your arrogance and your ego. You’ll agree because you think you have a chance of winning, despite the odds against you. Because you’re a bold, loudmouthed, prideful piece of work, Mr. Terriot, who thinks he’s invincible and has the scars to show for it. Am I right?”
His goading had the desired result.
“When?”
Lee smiled. “Tomorrow night.” When he picked up his phone, the trio stiffened warily. After a connection was made, Casper passed the device to Cale. “Say hello. Or good-bye.”
Without taking his eyes off Lee, Cale took the cell, saying quietly, “Katy?”
“Cale, they haven’t hurt us. Don’t do anything foolish.”
“I�
�m coming for you, baby. For both of you.”
“I love—” The rest cut off.
Lee retrieved his phone and stood. “It was nice seeing you all again. You’ll be called with the details and directions.” As he moved past, Cale looked up, smiling ferociously.
“How’s the thumb?”
Lee’s mask of civility fell away, showing the razor-edged and coldly lethal soul inside. “Reattached and healing nicely. The way pieces of you will not be.” The fingers of his good hand teased through Cale’s light hair and trailed down the side of his face almost eager to tempt fate. “You looked more attractive the other way.”
Cale tossed his head to the side, and Lee laughed. He angled between the closely grouped tables, speaking on the phone. They could hear his words fading away.
“It’s set for tomorrow night. Yes, he’ll fight.”
Cale closed his eyes, clutching at the memory of Kendra’s voice the way he wished he could her.
“Can you possibly win?”
He turned to Nica with a wry smile. “No chance in hell.”
“You’re going to let them kill you.”
“No. I’m going to buy us enough time to find them and see they’re safe. And then, I’m going to enjoy killing that son of a bitch for putting hands on my family.”
Nica sighed. “If you’re determined to go through with this insanity, at least let me help you stay breathing long enough to enjoy fatherhood.”
Silas gave her a shocked look as Cale demanded, “How did you know? Did everyone know except me?” He glanced at Silas’s sagging jaw. “And him?”
“One breeding female can scent the hormones and temper of another and have the sense to get out of the way, which you males have never been able to figure out. So, want to survive?”
“How are you going to make that happen? Why would you want to?”
She smiled. “You’re a pain in the ass, Cale Terriot. But you’re our pain in the ass.” Before he could comment, she pulled out her own phone, saying briskly, “Max Savoie, please.”
*
Kendra reluctantly surrendered the phone to one of the three men who held them captive. Just hearing Cale’s voice brought courage flooding through her. He’d let nothing come between him and their rescue. Knowing that allowed her a moment of relief. For her and her child.
Their child.
The newness of that notion still overwhelmed her. Cale’s child and heir. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to be able to share that news with him face to face. Nothing.
She put her arm around Tina, offering a confident smile. She’d been quiet, but Kendra didn’t mistake that for cowardice. Her sister-in-law had just as strong a reason to survive as she did—a son to return to, if not a loving husband.
Terriot whore.
She’d heard them whispering among themselves as they cast hard, speculative looks her way. She didn’t know who held their leash but hoped it was a firm grip. Two of them bore marks on their arms, those same bold black and red flames her mate. Part of the same brotherhood? Could they be reasoned with? When they caught her eyeing them, lewd remarks discouraged that hope.
When Cale arrived, he’d teach them manners.
And then he’d kill them.
She placed her hand on her yet flat belly, comforted by that certainty.
The threesome turned toward a fourth who joined them in the oily smelling garage. A strange looking fellow, brawny of build with rose-tinted sunglasses and a stiff white Mohawk. He gave his hostages a glance then spoke firmly to the others.
“Look, don’t touch, at least ‘til you hear otherwise. The van’s out front. Load them up. We’re moving out of the city.”
“How long we got to babysit them?”
“Until tomorrow night. Until you get that call, consider the ladies our guests.”
The three looked their way again, their stares hungry and impatient. One of them rubbed his crotch and grinned, promising, “Until tomorrow night,” as Tina turned her head away.
Kendra held his stare, head high, features unintimidated, while inside her bravado shuddered.
Hurry, Cale. We need you!
*
“No, not like that. Again, the way I showed you.”
Cale held to his frustration and attempted the strike again. And again, Savoie smacked his hand aside as if he was a bothersome fly at a picnic. He growled low in his throat and whirled away, angry, anxious, thoughts on tomorrow instead of the moment.
Max caught him by the hood of his sweat jacket and swung him back around to say patiently, “Again.”
“It doesn’t matter how many times I try. I can’t get through. I don’t understand what you want me to do.”
Max put his hands on the heaving shoulders. “Because you don’t understand the basic truth I’m trying to teach you. It’s not about strength of body. You have plenty of that. It’s all about concentration and the power of the mind.”
“There’s your problem,” Nica drawled, joining them in the side yard. “You’re expecting a brawler to become a philosopher.”
Cale turned to glare at her. “Oh, and I suppose you know all about this.” He reared back, feeling the sting of her hand against his cheek without ever sensing movement.
Max chuckled. “She taught me.”
She stood facing him, not quite an arm’s length away. “Let me show you. Pay attention.” She put her hands up on either side of her head, moving them to almost brush his ears, starting a back and forth motion. “Don’t watch my hands. Look at my eyes.”
He obviously struggled until she gave his nose a sharp snap. He grimaced and held his footing.
“My hands aren’t going to tell you anything. My eyes are. You’re a good fighter. You know about telegraphing punches. I’m going to teach you another kind of tell. Internal energy. Mental direction. Now, relax your body and watch my eyes.”
He shook off his tension and assumed an easy pose. She had nice eyes, a unique dark sapphire blue. Her pupils suddenly swelled, and he caught her wrist just before her palm connected with his face.
“Good. Now you understand. Let’s take it a step deeper. You think three dimensionally. I’m going to show you a fourth where your senses guide you without the distraction of your body.”
“You do it already,” Max added. “You just don’t know how to channel it. You feel the presence of our kind, can pick them out of a room by their signature. You know your mate by the connection you share through bonding. You can learn to link with her mind.”
Cale glanced at Nica. “This is what you were doing this morning. You and Silas were there in my mind, in my memories.”
“Pretty neat, huh?”
He smiled uneasily. “And creepy. But I’m not like you.”
“You want to know a secret?” she teased. “Yes, you are. You’re just like us. Just like Pearl and Brigit, only their strengths are very developed in certain areas.” She looked beyond him to share a knowing smile with Max then studied Cale intently. “Do you want to learn?”
“Hell, yes!”
*
For not having done much physical work, Cale ached all over within the hour. Directing energy took a lot more juice than flinging a punch.
Nica and Max took turns teaching him. Or torturing him, depending on how he looked at it. They forced him to a heightened state of awareness in all his senses. The sound of grass bending under a careful step, the sonar-like vibrations that signaled movement or solid objects, the scent of a telltale droplet of sweat. Seemingly unrelated events that built on one another to expand his concept of spatial limits.
Creepy. But cool.
“Reach beyond,” Max instructed. Cale didn’t get it, his mind still throwing up barriers. “Slow the world around you so that your movements travel faster than it can comprehend.”
Cale shook his head, laughing as he turned away. Until he bumped into Savoie who was suddenly right there in front of him.
Creepy. But very cool.
“How is this po
ssible?” he wanted to know, awed and even a bit afraid of the things he’d been shown. “It’s like some kind of magic, some trick with mirrors and smoke and misdirection.”
“Maybe,” Max allowed graciously. “Bending light, warping space, moving though time, across distance.”
Cale’s eyes rounded. “What?”
“Magic.” Nica humored him with a pat on the head.
“If we all can do it, why do so few know about it?”
Max smiled. “If you owned a pack of dogs that hunted for you, protected you, and obeyed you, would you tell them they could remove their collars, stand on their hind legs, and wear your clothes to converse with you like equals? The knowledge was hidden from us to contain us, to control us, to leash us.”
Nica nodded. “Those in the North understand how the mind works, how to twist it, break and remake it. How to mold it and destroy it with chemicals. But we have the physical power. We can manipulate our form, disguise our nature, use our surroundings as concealment or weapons. We’ve developed our physical being without knowing the potential of our minds.”
“Where did it come from, all these abilities we never knew we had?”
“Magic?” she suggested with a wink. Then she spun him a more palatable tale. “Truth and secrets are like magic if they’re withheld for long enough. We were one in the beginning, and now the gap is closing again. And that scares the hell out of those parasites losing their grasp on our collars. They’re afraid to change, and we can’t afford not to.”
“Magic,” Cale muttered. “I think I’ll stick with that.”
Midday became afternoon and Giles arrived, having picked Oscar up from school. The boy knew something was wrong but Giles left the telling to Max as he’d requested. Not a task Cale envied him.
After speaking with Rico who had no news except, with Babineau’s help, they were taking the Quarter apart block by block, Cale sat on the front steps alone. Heart heavy, he watched fading sunlight and shadows flicker through the stately row of trees shading the long drive, trying to convince himself that all the mystic Shifter bullshit he’d absorbed hadn’t been a waste of time when it came to restoring a mother to her child and his mate to his arms.