Deceptions: A Collection

by Shiloh Walker

  I opened the door and then found myself on the ground, shoved there by Jude’s hands just in time to avoid a punch that just might have caved my head in.

  “You should show more control, cat,” Jude said icily as he helped me to my feet.

  Damon’s face was fixed in an awful snarl. And something…I bit back a curse as I stared at him. His face was awful. The bones were stretched and terribly wrong and he looked…bigger. Nearly a head taller, broader, with the cloth of his shirt stretched too tight over his chest and shoulders.

  But as I stared at him, the bones shifted. Melted back into place. “What kind of little fool locks herself in a room with a vampire?” he asked, panting out the question.

  “One who has business to discuss with him,” I said dryly. “And you were on the phone.”

  “Business…” Damon shook his head. “You’re otherwise engaged for the time being.”

  “Hmmm. Yes, so I’ve heard,” Jude said. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded slip of paper. “A retainer, Ms. Colbana. For when you’re no longer so occupied. I’d appreciate a call at your earlier convenience.”

  Damon went to snatch the check away.

  I managed to get it first.

  I was not going on retainer for that jerk.

  Except if I didn’t take the damned check, Damon was going to think he had something to do with it. Shoving it into my pocket, I turned away and headed over to my desk. “I’ll be in touch when I can, Jude.”

  Absently I flexed the wrist he’d bitten. He hadn’t taken much. I couldn’t even tell.

  “I can—”

  I tensed.

  His voice was heavier in my head. Fuller.

  Oh, shit.

  Seconds later, he was gone.

  “What in the hell did he want?” Damon growled.

  I dropped down into my seat, determined to ignore the creeping sensation of dread crawling through my stomach. I wasn’t going to freak about this. Nope. Wasn’t going to do it. Folding my hands across my belly, I stared into Damon’s dark gray eyes. “You heard him. He wants me available for a job when I’m done with this.”

  “You shouldn’t work for vampires. They’re dangerous, slippery creatures.”

  “Yes, and it’s so much better working for cats, Hell, for werecreatures of any kind for that matter,” I muttered. “In the past four days, I’ve had a number of them try to attack me, I’ve got a nasty scar on my torso—”

  “Hey, Wolf Haven was your move, not mine,” he interjected.

  “Yes, but we were attacked by weres…not vamps, not humans, not my kind. Weres.” Narrowing my eyes at him, I leaned forward and added, “My so-called bodyguard has almost crushed my throat. Every time I go into a business, I get patted down and twice, I’ve had somebody grab my tits—”

  He slammed his hands down on my desk so hard, I felt the damn thing vibrate. “Twice?”

  I stared at him.

  “What in the fuck does that mean?”

  The phone rang.

  I reached for it only to have him grab my wrist. “What in the fuck does that mean, Colbana?”

  “Do you want me to do my job or not?” I snapped.

  “Answer the fucking question.”

  The call rolled over and a familiar voice filled the air. “Heya, Kitty girl, it’s Lincoln down at Banner Central. I heard you were looking for a runner. I don’t know if this is the one you’re looking for…”

  Damon let go of my wrist.

  As I reached for the phone, I glared at him. “I really wish I’d never laid eyes on you,” I muttered.

  He glared right back.

  Chapter Eight

  I don’t pray much.

  But as we drove to Banner HQ, or Bureau of Non-Human Affairs Headquarters for the Florida Region, I was praying, and praying hard.

  Lincoln had some info on a runaway.

  Actually, what he had was a body.

  And if it was the body of the kid I was searching for, I was going to need Jude’s help in the worst way.

  A way out. That was what he’d offered me and as much as I hated to accept it, if it was the only way out?

  Fine. I’d take it.

  The question was, how fast could he get to me?

  Maybe I should have asked him that.

  “Tone it down,” Damon said from the seat next to me. He was drumming a hand on his knee, staring out the window. “You’re driving me nuts.”

  I ignored him as I started to mentally plot my escape route.

  He still underestimated me. That was a good thing. So far, in the past few days, I’d played it quiet, never once calling my blade to me even when I wanted it, when I all but thought I was going to die. So he didn’t know I could summon it at will. That was an ace in the hole.

  I hadn’t needed to pull any of my other little tricks, either. Most of them just included the subterfuge skills, invisibility and all of that—skills suited to assassins and thieves, but useful all the same.

  He could track my scent if he had to, but I knew that and I could compensate, and scent trails only lasted for so long.

  All I needed to do was buy time to reach Jude.

  Granted, I’d be going from one problem to another. If I was alive, though, I could figure a way out.

  Alive was better than the alternative.

  It was a mantra I had told myself very often during a certain point during my life. It had gotten me through hell before. I could rely on it to do the same again. Alive was better than the alternative and if I was alive, I could figure a way out.

  Okay.

  So that was the plan.

  Stay alive.

  Absently, I flexed my wrist again. It didn’t hurt anymore, but I’d swear I could still feel the press of his fangs, and I didn’t like it—

  Suddenly, Damon’s hand on my arm.

  I hissed out in pained shock before I could stop it. Clutching at the steering wheel with my left hand, I tried to keep my focus on the traffic. “You prick, I realize a car wreck isn’t going to damage you much, but it will hurt me pretty bad. Would you stop it?”

  “You drive like a fucking racecar driver,” Damon snapped. “Pull over.”

  “I’m trying to get to Banner HQ, remember?” I jerked on my arm. “They might have the kid there? On ice?”

  “Pull over,” he said again. “Or I’ll fucking make you.”

  I sighed and pressed on the brakes, easing through the traffic until I could turn off International Drive. I ended up in the parking lot of one of the many vacated restaurants, although judging by the looks of it, it wouldn’t stay vacant much longer. Lately the packs had been buying up all the land and turning out some seriously profitable enterprises for use among the were packs.

  “Okay, asshole.” I pulled over. “What now?”

  He didn’t respond.

  Instead…he reached over and grabbed my left wrist. The one Jude had bitten. I hissed out another startled breath as he jerked it to his nose.

  My heart beat jacked up to about ten thousand beats a minute, or so I thought, as he opened his mouth. Oh, hell no—

  But all he did was inhale.

  “Did you let him bite you?”

  “What the hell?” I twisted my arm and tried to pull away.

  “Did you?”

  Again, I tried to pull away from him but it was like trying to pull something out of concrete. “You son of a bitch, you seem to forget something…I’m working a job for your Alpha. That doesn’t mean I owe you answers on every damned thing I do.”

  “You little idiot.” He jerked and thanks to the seat belt, I thought he was going to pull my arm out of its socket. “You don’t get vampires very well, do you? Once you let them bite you, they own a piece of your fucking soul. He can call you, whenever he wants. Can whisper into your dreams…and you can’t fight him. You can’t say no.”

  “Oh, please.” I sneered at him. “He’s been fighting his way into my dreams for years now and I’ve been saying no just fine
.”

  Damon’s eyes narrowed.

  “You haven’t fed him?”

  “What I have or haven’t done isn’t your concern. But here’s the thing.” I jerked on my wrist, and as I expected, he jerked me back, until I was nose to nose with him. “I’m about ass-deep in alligators right now, and not because I invited it or wanted it or even did anything to warrant it. I’m trapped. Whether I like it or not. And if I don’t find this kid, I’m looking at my own death…I figure it might not be a bad idea to have a way out. If that way is a vampire? So be it.”

  “You really are a clueless fool.” He shook his head. “Just how sheltered a life have you led to think that a vampire is better than death?”

  I leaned in, pressed my nose to his. “Sweetheart…you don’t know anything about the life I’ve led. But one thing I’ve figured out? As long as I’m alive? I’ve got a chance to get out of whatever hell I’ve landed in. If your bitch-queen kills me because you all couldn’t keep an unhappy kid from running away? Well…I can’t turn things around if I’m dead. As long as I’m alive, I’ve got that chance.”

  The storm clouds in his eyes darkened to black. Flared. “You need to watch how you speak of her.”

  “You’re right. She’s the Queen Bitch, not the bitch-queen. Absolutely, I’ll give respect where respect is due.” I tugged at my wrist again. “Now come on. Let’s go see what’s going on.”

  He didn’t let go. “You haven’t answered me. Did he bite you?” His thumb stroked over the inside of my wrist and for some reason, it struck me. There was something almost gentle about his touch. “If I’m going to have to protect you from the fucking vampire on top of everything else, I need to know.”

  I curled my lip. “I’ve been dealing with Jude in my life for six years. I think I got this.”

  I carried a picture of Doyle in my back pocket.

  I’d made a copy and tucked it in my pocket the day I accepted the case.

  Maybe it was silly, but I wanted to remember what I was risking my life for. Who.

  A kid.

  A nervous, scared kid who wasn’t even sure he could survive the change from human to were.

  He had blond hair, sleepy-looking eyes and the promise of what would be a killer smile. So much promise. And what was more…he had kind eyes. The kindness in his eyes hadn’t been lost on me.

  It seemed that the cat shifters could do with more kindness in their ranks.

  Chang had seemed the decent sort. A few others hadn’t been too bad. But most of them were caught up in the power play and it pissed me off that somebody who might have been one of the nice ones could be lost to them.

  I knew his face now. He was mine. I’d do everything I could to find him and if I couldn’t find him, it would be because there was nothing left to be found.

  On the way down to the cold lower level of Banner HQ, I slid my hand into my pocket and tugged out the picture of Doyle, rubbing it with my thumb. I didn’t look at it. There was no need. I knew his face well enough now that I could draw his picture. More than once, I’d found myself doing just that.

  He didn’t look like his aunt.

  Queen Bitch.

  Would death be kind—?

  No. I can’t think like that…can’t, I can’t, I can’t….

  A hand came up and closed over my neck as the elevator doors opened. The people trickled out, but before we could follow them, Damon hit the button to shut the doors and then he just held it. “Are you trying to push yourself into a panic attack?” he asked, dipping his head and growling right into my ear.

  I drove my elbow into his stomach.

  I might as well have been hitting steel for all the good it did.

  I did it again anyway.

  He swore and spun around, shoving my back against the elevator doors.

  My hand itched—bad, bad, bad.

  “Listen, little girl,” he snarled.

  He reached for me.

  I darted aside.

  When he reached for me again, the blade was just there.

  He stilled. The only sign of surprise was the slight widening of his eyes.

  “Stop it,” I whispered, pointing the blade at him, leveled at his throat. “I’m tired of this, do you hear me?”

  “You should put that thing away before you hurt yourself.”

  I leaned in enough that it was pressed against his throat, watched as the tip pierced his skin. As smoke drifted from his wound to curl in the air, I glared at him.

  “How did you get it past me this time?”

  “And you keep calling me the idiot.” Blood stained the tip of my sword red now. The blade liked it. She wanted more. A lot more. “You saw me lock the damn thing up in the lockers upstairs, cat. Or are you blind?”

  His nostrils flared, a growl rumbling through his throat.

  “The two of us need to come to an understanding,” I said flatly. I twisted the blade, watched as it pushed a little deeper into his throat. “I’m dead if I don’t find this kid. If he’s down there on a slab, I’m dead, all because your crazed queen needs to blame somebody and it doesn’t matter if he’s been dead for ten minutes or ten days.”

  His lashes flickered.

  “Now I’m not going to whine about how unfair that is. Nor am I going to bitch about the fact that if you all had been doing your job by that boy, maybe he wouldn’t have run,” I added. “The bottom line is…he did run. And I’ve got a soft spot for kids. This is a well-known fact, a card your Alpha knew and worked to her advantage. Now…if that’s not him, we’ve still got a job to do. If it is him…well, I’ll deal some other way. But nevertheless, there’s a job to do and it’s not going to get any easier with us at each other’s throats.”

  He snarled and pushed himself closer, driving the blade a quarter of an inch into his throat. “You think I want to be working with some crazy little bitch who can’t control her emotions?”

  “Well, you worked with your Alpha,” I pointed out with a polite smile. “Face the facts. I’m not were. I respond to fear, anger, grief and all the other emotions. Those are my shortcomings, having human blood. You should have been prepared for that. If you’re not equipped to deal with it? That’s your shortcoming as one of the more alpha cats in the damned clan.” I smirked at him. “I keep hearing about your vaunted control. All the shifters are supposed to be in control. It’s what guides them through the spiking, adolescence. If you can get through that and not lose your marbles, it’s supposed to be smooth sailing.”

  Damon glared at me.

  “It seems to be a myth, if you ask me.” I twisted the blade and watched as blood trickled down. Flesh continued to burn and he just stood there. Oh, he had control, all right. He had it in spades.

  “Is there a point to this or are you just really into having me wring your neck?” His voice was a growl too deep. The storm clouds in his eyes had changed, too—shifting to that eerie luminescence singular to felines. The pupils were changing.

  Pushing too far. Oh, well.

  “The point is…if you want this job done, you have got to get off my ass. I can’t do it with you growling at me. I can’t do it with thunderclouds over my head and I can’t do it if I’m worrying about an ax falling on my head at the first wrong move, if I’m worried about anything other than doing this damn job.”

  Those eyes flashed again, and then, to my surprise, that eerie, flickering glow melted away and he stared at me with a human gaze. “Are you done?”

  “Possibly.” I twisted the blade once more. Maybe I really was crazy. “Are we going to keep doing this or are you going to let me work?”

  He reached up and closed a hand around the blade.

  Shifter flesh met the enchanted silver and started to smoke. As he pushed it away, he leaned in and said, “You can work, little girl. But sooner or later, you and I are going to have a reckoning.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  It wasn’t Doyle.

  Staring down into that battered, unrecognizable face, I cou
ldn’t really even find any relief over the fact that it wasn’t the kid I was searching for.

  Yay. I got to live a little while longer.

  But this kid was dead, and he’d died horribly.

  “It’s not him,” I said to Lincoln, still staring at his battered face.

  “How can you be sure?” Lincoln stood next to him, his dark face dubious.

  “For one…the hair is the wrong color. My kid is a blond. And… He’s not a cat. I think this boy was a wolf.” Even though life had left him, I could sense that fading energy. He hadn’t been dead long enough for it fade completely and I could still see it, hovering over him like a creature in mourning.

  I could almost hear its grieving howl echoing through the air as I crouched down by the table, studying the disaster that had been his face. “Shit, what did they do to him, Linc?”

  “Tortured him, poor kid,” the cop said, his voice heavy and tired. “How can you tell he’s not a cat? Our tests haven’t come back yet.”

  I shrugged. “I just can.”

  “You’re certain?” Lincoln asked.

  Rubbing my temple, I sighed. “Certain? No. Not one hundred percent, but…”

  “He’s a wolf,” Damon said from behind me.

  Lincoln looked at him, then at me.

  I shrugged. “Meet my bodyguard. One of the cat shifters. My gut says this is a wolf, but his nose would know for certain.”

  Lincoln narrowed his eyes. “Bodyguard, huh? Who exactly did you piss off enough to need a bodyguard?”

  “You know me.” I rose and started to circle around, studying the boy’s body. Spying a box of gloves on the table, I snapped a pair on and reached for his hand, eying it closely.

  “Yeah. I know you. So the better question would be who haven’t you pissed off.”

  I glanced up at him and saw the concern in his eyes. I shrugged. I wasn’t about to go into detail here and there wasn’t really any point anyway. How did I explain that I was working an impossible case where I was making people angry and the bodyguard was both my ball-and-chain and my life preserver? Linc would be worried enough to ask questions and those kind of questions wouldn’t help him, or me.