Not that sex hadn’t tried to shove its way to the fore-front of his mind. There was no question he was sexually attracted to her. Any man in his right mind would be. But Danyon had had more than his fair share of sexual encounters, with most of them beginning and ending the same way. A little spark of chemistry—a tangle of arms and legs—a physical need met, but a soul left empty. Intuitively, he knew that any man lucky enough to be intimate with Shauna MacDonald would be satiated in ways he never thought possible.
His intuition had been right.
Danyon knew he was tempting fate when he’d helped Shauna retrieve the plates from the cabinet shelf. And fate did not disappoint. When he’d leaned over to grab the plates, her scent, a heady mixture of musk and lilacs, nearly shattered his resolve. His undoing, however, had been when she’d turned around, and he first tasted her lips. From that moment on, the rest of the world had ceased to exist.
He lost count of the number of times they had made love, but it hadn’t taken him long to figure out he was already in way over his head. She had left him feeling filled and emptied at the same time, which was nirvana in its purest form. But the sure sign of his demise had been the ache in his heart, when he’d watched her leave this morning.
Danyon was still lost in thought when the smell of blood caught his attention. Puzzled, he glanced down at his hands and then up into the rearview mirror to check his face. No blood. He slowed the car and lowered the driver’s side window. The scent of blood slammed into his nostrils. He swerved to the shoulder of the road and hit the brakes. Fortunately, the road he’d been driving on wasn’t heavily traveled. Aside from an old pickup that had passed him some time ago, his car was virtually the only vehicle on the road.
Following his nose, Danyon inched the car back onto the road, then drove another mile or so before the scent of blood led him to a graveled road on the left. He turned and followed its meandering path to the base of a forest that was part of the Jean Lafitte Wildlife Preserve. The road eventually ended at a small boat launch on a lake.
Danyon parked the car and got out to further investigate on foot. The blood trail led him around the short end of the lake, then deeper into the woods. It wasn’t long before he heard voices. The loudest belonged to a female, and he recognized it almost immediately.
It was Kara Matiste.
“When I tell you to pick it up, that means now!”
“I tried,” a male voice cried. “It makes me—”
“I don’t care if it makes you sick.”
“Swear to God I tried!”
“Quit your sniveling. What kind of man are you, crying like a girl?”
“But I—I can’t.”
“There’s no such thing as can’t. Do you understand me?”
Danyon stepped into a clearing and saw Kara shove one of her weres, who he knew— Lawrence Castille—so hard, the were stumbled backwards and nearly fell. Standing a short distance away to Kara’s left, was James Darbonne, another were from her pack. Lawrence and James had been two of Carl’s top men. Both stood a little over six feet tall and had average builds. In human years, they would have been closing in on their mid-thirties. Although James and Lawrence were twice Kara’s size and topped her by at least four inches, they cowered away from her like frightened puppies.
Kara’s long black hair was pulled back and held in place by a gold barrette, and she wore jeans with the pant legs tucked into black cowboy boots. Her short-sleeved blouse was blood-red with white snaps running down the front. She did a double take when she spotted Danyon. Obviously, she’d been so wrapped up in verbally bashing her weres, she hadn’t caught wind of his approach.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him, sounding a little unnerved.
Lawrence and James looked away shame-faced.
“I have news from August,” Danyon said. The smell of blood had grown so thick, he actually tasted it. From between Kara and Lawrence’s legs, he spotted something on the ground behind them. He suspected it was what led him here. He wanted to walk over and see for himself, but out of respect for Kara’s role as alpha and the fact that he was in her territory, he stayed put.
“Is that so?” Her dark eyes flashed with anger.
Danyon glared at Kara long and hard, making sure she understood— If you think you’re big and bad enough to get me to fold at your feet like the other two, you need to think again.
Evidently getting the message, she broke eye contact first. “How in the hell did you find me way out here?”
“I smelled blood. Followed it here.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Well, you’re just a regular effin’ Sherlock Holmes now, aren’t you?”
Danyon glanced down at her legs, a signal to let Kara know he’d spotted something behind them. Then he asked, “Anything I can help with?”
Her eyes became black, cold marbles. “Not unless you can raise the goddamn dead.” With that, she shoved Lawrence back, then turned to one side, giving Danyon a better view.
A were lay on the ground about ten feet away. He was in full were-state, wrapped in cable, covered in blood, minus claws or fangs—and was most certainly dead. A roll of plastic sheeting lay on the ground beside him. From the looks of it, Kara had probably been trying to get Lawrence and James to move the body onto it.
“Who is he?” Danyon asked.
“Why in the hell does it matter to you who he is? He’s one of mine.”
Danyon narrowed his eyes, felt his nostrils flare. “It matters because he’s were, Kara. One of us.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”
“His name is Theodore Price,” James said, taking a tentative step toward them. “But everybody called him Teddy.”
“Did anybody ask you?” Kara snapped.
James bowed his head submissively and retracted his step.
“When did you find him?” Danyon asked.
After a long pause, Kara sighed, evidently sensing that she wasn’t going to get rid of him that easily. “About an hour or two ago. I’m not sure of the exact time. Can’t keep track of every damn thing. Been trying to get the body moved before all hell breaks loose out here. If the rest of my pack sees this, they’re going to panic like a bunch of effin’ coyotes.”
Danyon nodded. “I know what you mean.”
She let out a sarcastic snort. “You don’t know jack.”
“I know more than you think.”
She frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”
With an almost imperceptible aim of his chin, he signaled that he didn’t want to discuss the matter in front of James and Lawrence.
Kara turned to James. “Get your ass to town and take the sniveling fool with you. But I want you back here in thirty minutes, no later. Got that?”
“Yes,” James said, head down, eyes averted.
“And this time, bring somebody with you who’s got a set of balls. Now get outta here, both of you.”
In a flash, the two weres darted off, disappearing into the forest on the opposite side of the clearing.
Once they were out of sight, Danyon turned to her, knowing he would get blasted for the question he was about to ask. “Why do you treat them that way, Kara?”
Her face clouded, and her lips tightened into a thin line. She took a step toward him, and he saw the muscles in her forearm begin to ripple. “What kind of pussy alpha would ask a question like that?”
“Being alpha doesn’t mean beating the dignity out of your pack.”
Kara’s feet widened to a fight stance. “Let me tell you something, Danyon Stone—I don’t know how you lead the marshmallows you call wolven over on the East Bank, but I keep a strong hand on mine. If you don’t, they’ll run all over you, doing and saying whatever they want, whenever they want. I’m alpha of the West Bank, and I make damn sure my pack never forgets it. You’ve got to keep your weres tough, sharp, ready for anything.” She pointed to Teddy. “If you don’t, crap like this happens.” She turned away, but not before Dan
yon saw her eyes well up with tears.
He gave her a moment to compose herself, then said, “I know where you’re coming from because I lost two yesterday.”
Kara whirled about, mouth agape. “Two?”
“Yes. Same way, too. Cables, claws and fangs torn off—”
“Human? Had they turned?”
“No. Both still in were-state, just like Teddy.”
Kara brushed a hand briskly over the top of her head. “What the hell’s going on here? Have you ever seen anything like that before? A dead wolven still were, I mean?”
“Not until yesterday.”
She shook her head slowly. “I’ll tell you this much, if some asshole thinks he’s gonna just come out here to the West Bank and pick off my weres, he’s got another thing coming. The sonofabitch better think twice.”
“Whoever or whatever does not seem to be targeting any specific pack. Remember, it happened on the East Bank, too.”
“Anywhere else?”
“Not that I know of,” Danyon said. “I’ve already seen the other alphas, and, thankfully, nothing’s happened within their packs.”
“August sent you to warn us about this, didn’t he?”
“Yes. That and he wants all of us to pick out a handful of our strongest weres and post them around the perimeter of our territories. They’re to stay there until the murderer is found.”
Kara threw her hands up. “I’m busting my ass, trying to keep this quiet, and now I’ve got to stick some of my weres on watch? Just what the hell am I supposed to tell them to watch out for while they’re out there picking their noses?”
“Have them keep an eye out for unusual activity. Anyone new or suspicious in the area.”
She exhaled a loud breath of frustration. “Can I get any more vague? They’ll look at me like I’ve lost it.”
“Tell them whatever you have to,” Danyon said. “With as tight a reign as you have over your pack, I’m sure all you’ll have to do is tell the weres you choose to stay put, and they’d stay put. They don’t have to have a reason.”
Kara sucked on the back of her front teeth and nodded. “True. Good point. Very good point.” Still nodding, she glanced over at Teddy. “You see that? If you had only listened to me. If you hadn’t been so damn weak. How many times did I tell you that you had to toughen up?”
Danyon felt awkward, as if he was eavesdropping on a private conversation. “Want some help moving him?” he asked.
“Nah, I got it.” Shoving her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, she stared up at Danyon and offered nothing more.
After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Danyon finally said, “So I can tell August you’ll be setting weres at post?”
“Yeah. I’ll set ’em up.”
“Good. I’m sure August will summon everyone together in a couple of days, so we can compare notes. Unless something comes up before then, of course. If you notice anything unusual, no matter how slight, give me a call, would you?”
Kara arched her brow.
“All right, so don’t call me. At least call August. He’ll send reinforcements.”
“I don’t need backup,” Kara said. “If anything, or anyone, is brave enough to come out my way, my best weres will definitely mark it—or him. Trust me, if I have to call August, it’ll be for him to send over a grunt to pick up a body.” With that, she turned away and walked over to Teddy.
Taking that as his exit cue, Danyon left Kara alone with her dead were and headed back to his car, following the trail he had created on his way to the clearing.
Mission accomplished. All of the alphas in south Louisiana had been alerted, and in short order. He should have felt some sense of satisfaction about that. Instead, he felt uneasy. Kara’s obvious anger issues, combined with her my-way-or-the-highway attitude, was a recipe for disaster.
She was an explosion waiting to happen.
And that was the last thing any of them needed.
Chapter 10
Fiona’s idea for the three of them to take some time off yesterday in preparation for the Nuit du Dommage tourist rush had been spot on. So had been her suggestion to pick up additional inventory from Keeno’s. Without those extra supplies, most of the shelves in the shop would have been empty hours ago.
It was mid-afternoon, and Shauna had managed to steal only one bathroom break since they’d opened that morning. So many customers were wandering in and out of the shop, that Caitlin eventually shoved a plastic wedge beneath the front door to keep it open and stop the trio of small bells that hung over the threshold from ringing every other second. Her feet and head throbbed; even her face ached from forcing a smile every time someone came to the register. She needed food, another trip to the bathroom, and sleep. If she had gotten an hour of sleep at Danyon’s, it had been a lot.
She was still standing behind the register, ringing up a large number of items for an elderly man, when a black-haired woman wearing too much perfume and a skintight blouse with a neckline that plunged down to her navel, shoved a bag in Shauna’s face.
“What’s these for?” the woman asked.
Shauna held up a finger, signaling the woman to wait, then finished keying in the last series of numbers from a product code.
With that done, Shauna looked over at the woman, forced smile in place. “I’ll be glad to help you as soon as I’m finished with this gentleman.”
“Aw, c’mon. All I want to know is what they’re for. Look, he don’t mind if you help me. You don’t mind, do you, mister? You don’t care if I get a couple questions answered, huh?” She smiled at him, rested an elbow on the counter and leaned forward, giving him a close up of her cleavage. To Shauna’s surprise, and the woman’s shock, the man completely ignored her.
Good for you, Shauna thought.
Refusing to be deterred, the woman leaned over the counter and shook the bag under Shauna’s nose.
“Puhlease? I just want to know what this is.”
“I’ll help you—in a minute,” Shauna said, keeping her eyes on the elderly man’s purchases. She despised bullies and people who whined and threw tantrums until they got what they wanted.
“I thought y’all were supposed to help people,” the woman said. “I’m staying with a friend at the Bienville House, and he told me to come over here because he’s feeling poorly and said y’all had natural stuff that would make him feel better. He told me to get some kind of shriveled up berry thing…seesaw or sawmill or something stupid like that. I can’t remember what the name of it is, but if I heard it, I’d probably remember.”
“Saw palmetto berries,” Shauna said.
“Oh.” The woman pulled the bag back with a snap, a huge smile on her face.
Shauna was about to total the man’s order, when the woman shoved the bag under her nose again.
“So what are they good for?”
Shauna glanced up at the man apologetically, then said to the black-haired nuisance, “They’re used for colds, hay-fever, bronchitis, mainly upper respiratory problems.”
“Oh.” The woman snapped the bag back again.
Not two seconds later, the bag was in Shauna’s face.
“So what you got to do with ’em? Eat ’em?”
“Ma’am, please. Just give me a minute to finish helping this man, and I’ll answer all of your questions,” Shauna said.
“All I wanna know is what I’ve gotta do—”
A large hand appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the woman’s arm and yanked it down so the bag was no longer in Shauna’s face. Lurnelle Franklin had arrived to save the day, and she had come in style. She wore a plum-colored, V-neck pullover that reached her mid-thigh, tight black pants, and gold, strappy sandals.
“You got a problem with you ears, Miss Thing?” Lurnell snapped. “The lady here said to hol’ up, and she even asked you nice.”
Shauna smiled a thank-you to Lurnell and finished bagging the gentleman’s merchandise. The black-haired woman with the bag of palmetto berries took a cou
ple of steps back to put some distance between herself and Lurnell. “Well, I never—”
“That’s right you never, and you never gonna neither with them titties hangin’ out like that,” Lurnell said. “Go cover that up, girl. Ain’t nobody tryin’ to see them old nasty things anyhow.”
The man Shauna had been waiting on, the one who had refused to be swayed by the display of cleavage earlier, burst out laughing.
Obviously shamed, the black-haired woman threw the bag on the counter, spun around on her heels and stormed out of the store.
Shauna handed the man his bag of goods. “I’m so sorry about all of that.”
“Oh, don’t be,” he said between chuckles. “It’s the best laugh I’ve had all year. I like this place. I do believe I’ll come back.”
“You a smart man,” Lurnell said. She gave him a big grin.
No sooner did he leave the store than Fiona came out of the reading room, where she had been reading tea leaves for an Asian woman, and walked over to the counter.
“I thought I recognized that voice.” Fiona smiled at Lurnell. “How are you doing, honey?”
“Oh, I’m all good,” Lurnell said.
“Glad to hear it.” Fiona turned to Shauna. “And what about you? It sounded like things were getting a little carried away out here.”
“No, it’s all cool,” Lurnell reassured her. “Some old, nasty hussy was shovin’ stuff in my girl’s face here, so I put a little play on her. I be figurin’ that the hussy’s gots to go, you know what I’m sayin’? You feelin’ me?” She shook her head. “I swear, I don’t know what’s wrong wit’ all the people in the world today. They crazy.”
“I hear you,” Shauna said. “I appreciate you stepping in the way you did. That woman would probably still be waving that bag in my face if it hadn’t been for you.”
Lurnell tsked and flapped a hand at her. “Aw, ain’t nothin’ but a thing, girl.”
“Well, I think every good heroine deserves a reward,” Fiona said. “I’ve got fresh baked chocolate cookies back in the office. Think you can handle a few?”
“A few? Sheee, I can handle a lotta few.” Lurnell slapped a hand to her belly.
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