Animal Instincts (Entangled Ignite)

by Patricia Rosemoor

  “What? With your doggie charm?”

  I kept him on a leash all the way to the front door. My mind was spinning with what ifs as I rang the bell. A moment later, I saw movement through the curtains covering the glass inset on the door. Apparently Luc’s mother was being cautious.

  I lifted a hand and waved. “I’m Skye Cross—”

  Before I could finish, the door opened. “I know who you are.”

  Elizabeth Reyes was an attractive woman—a young-looking sixtyish—with masses of dark hair that brushed one bared shoulder and a sling that supported the other arm. Right. She’d been shot, too. Her calf-length, mango-colored sundress showed off a perfect figure and played up her lightly bronzed skin and oddly pale gray eyes.

  Both reminded me of Luc.

  I said, “I have some questions I’d like to ask, if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course. Come in.”

  Shade whined in his doggy voice to remind me he was there, then stepped forward and sat before Elizabeth.

  “Um, the dog—where can I leave him?” I asked.

  Elizabeth patted his shaggy head. “I don’t keep a formal home. You can bring him inside.”

  Told you I’d win her over.

  Shade trotted right through the plant-filled foyer into a sun-filled living room. Indeed, the room was more casual than I might have expected, with a cream-colored couch and two flowered upholstered chairs before a fireplace. Plants hung in the windows, a potted tree filled one corner, and vases and bowls of colorful flowers added splashes of pink and yellow around the room.

  I sat gingerly on one of the upholstered chairs, and Shade set his doggy body at my feet.

  “I’m so sorry about your brother’s death.” Elizabeth paced before the large fireplace. “I can’t stop thinking about him.”

  “Thank you. I can’t, either.”

  Well, how could you, considering I haven’t gone anywhere?

  I nudged him with my foot and gave him a look. I didn’t need him distracting me.

  “What kinds of questions do you have?” Elizabeth asked. “I told the police what happened.”

  “But you didn’t tell them who might have wanted you dead.”

  “I don’t know. Truly.”

  “Cezar’s wife, perhaps?”

  Elizabeth blanched. “You know about Cezar?”

  “I know he’s Luc’s father.” Certain that fact had something to do with the aborted hit on her, I hesitated only a second before saying, “I’ve been in the lower level of the casino.”

  “Oh.” The older woman sank into the other chair. “I see.”

  “Do you?” I asked. Luc had indicated she was all human, so how much did she know? “Have you been there and experienced it for yourself?”

  “No. But I’ve been told enough.”

  “By Luc? Or by Cezar?”

  Wanting to get in her head, I’d made Elizabeth uncomfortable. She was staring down at her skirt, smoothing the material as if she needed something to do with her free hand. Odd that she didn’t seem concerned about the killer returning for her. Her place certainly wasn’t built like a fortress, and I didn’t see any obvious security system. Nor a security guard.

  Keep at her. She’s weakening, and you can take advantage of that to get her to talk.

  I flicked a look at my companion. Shade certainly had more experience in interrogation than I did, so I nodded.

  “How much do you know about Cezar?” I asked Luc’s mother. “About what he does? What he is?”

  Elizabeth’s gaze met mine and her eyes appeared haunted. “I try to know as little as possible about his work. When I met Cezar, he was being attacked by some thugs on the street. I stopped to help him, but he wasn’t actually hurt. He was grateful for my concern, though, and so nice to me. Meeting him was like some kind of magic I couldn’t resist.”

  I’d had a dose of that from Luc myself.

  Skye, don’t let her off the hook.

  “So you what? Started seeing him without knowing anything about him?”

  “I’m afraid so. And it wasn’t long before I-I fell madly in love with him.” Elizabeth took a big breath. “I had no idea what he did for a living. Or that he already had a wife and a son. Once I found out, I tried to break off from him, but then I learned I was pregnant with Luc. It didn’t matter who or what Cezar was, Luc had the right to know his father.”

  “Of course he did.”

  “In turn, Cezar was protective of his child. Of us both.”

  You were right about who paid for this place.

  I nudged Shade/Boomer with my foot again.

  “Cezar offered to leave Beatrix for us, but I wouldn’t let him leave Nik.” Her face paled. “Or Nuala when she came later. It has been something of a difficult arrangement for all of us. Especially for Luc.”

  So this guy has a brother as well as a sister.

  Focusing, I asked, “Why was it especially difficult for Luc?”

  “He’s torn between our two worlds.”

  And there you have it, the in you were trolling for. Go for it.

  My pulse jumped as I asked, “What is that other world exactly?”

  Elizabeth’s mouth opened and closed, and for a moment I thought the conversation was over, that she would now ask us to leave.

  But she took a deep breath and said, “I thought you’d been to the casino to see for yourself.”

  “A casino with a hidden area under the lake is an impossibility unless something extraordinary is involved. Or someone.” She had to know, I thought, when I asked, “What exactly is Cezar?”

  “He runs an organization called The Company,” she said evasively.

  “The Company. Are they all descendants of the Nephilim?”

  Elizabeth blanched again. Her mouth opened but she couldn’t seem to force out the answer. I waited. Not that I was patient. I simply made myself seem that way. I wanted answers and I wanted them now.

  Press her, Shade urged.

  “Well, at least you didn’t deny it.”

  “Luc told you?”

  “Not exactly.” I wasn’t about to tell her about The Book of Powers nor about the dream I’d had. “I overheard some things, put it all together.”

  “I don’t understand. How does any of this concern you?”

  “My brother is dead because of that casino.” Certain now that she knew exactly what her son’s father was, I decided to be frank. “Shade hasn’t passed on, by the way. He’s stuck here for some reason. I mean right here.” I indicated the dog. “At the moment, his ghost is fused with Boomer.”

  Taking his cue, Shade/Boomer whistled through his nose, sat at attention, and gave a sharp bark.

  Elizabeth didn’t even blink when she said, “Oh, no.” She locked her gaze with mine. “Your brother was working undercover at the casino. He must have played in the high roller room trying to get information.”

  “So he got information that’s keeping him here?”

  “No.” Elizabeth was looking at the dog as she spoke. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “I-I don’t understand.”

  She looked as if she wanted to tell me something, but in the end, she shook her head. “I don’t understand, either. Whoever was out to get me that night killed him instead. I feel as if his death is my fault.”

  “And you have no idea of who that might be? Is that true or did you tell the police that to protect your son and lover?”

  Elizabeth flinched, but she shook her head. “It must have something to do with Cezar’s business. And Luc, of course. I couldn’t tell the police the truth, that it would be a lot easier for Cezar to win Luc over if I was out of the way.”

  “Win Luc over? What do you mean by that?”

  Elizabeth shook her head and got to her feet. “I’ve said too much already.”

  Don’t let her off the hook.

  I wasn’t about to. I thought about the dream-vision, about seeing humans take over predators on the ark. I remembered hearing human voices co
ming from the predators that surrounded me outside the arena when I went after the coyote.

  “So about Cezar and Luc—are they shape-shifters, too?”

  She gaped at me. Then she licked her lips and said, “I’m sorry, but you have to leave now.”

  Without waiting for my reply, she exited the room, reminding me once more of her son.

  Defeated for the moment, I got to my feet. But before I could tell Shade we’d better get going, I was stopped by a wall of what felt like raw emotion.

  “Why don’t you ask me what I am?”

  My gaze went straight to the shadows on the staircase. Luc stepped from them and worked his way down. My heart thudded when I got a better look at him, wearing nothing but a pair of warm-up pants as if he’d been getting ready to work out. Even his feet were bare.

  I tore my gaze from a bronzed chest that shot a thrill skittering along my nerves. Sexual magic that I’d been experiencing from the moment he’d rescued me outside the arena. As Cezar must have held for Elizabeth. And look what happened to her. But I wasn’t Elizabeth. I didn’t know everything, but I wouldn’t be fooled the way she had been. I knew enough to be cautious around her son. I wasn’t going to let him get to me.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, forcing my voice to remain even. “You live with your mother?”

  “She keeps a room for me. And she needs me now to protect her.” His gray gaze glinted silver as it shot from me to the dog. “You both need my protection.”

  Boomer pressed up against the side of my leg and softly growled, though if Shade had thoughts on the matter, I couldn’t tell. I didn’t know if it was because he wasn’t sending any message or if I was too jittery to receive it.

  “You want to protect us? Why didn’t you protect Shade before it was too late?”

  He moved closer. “I had no control over him, either.”

  “You mean like you can’t control me?”

  His lips twitched. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “Don’t start.”

  “What?”

  “Trying to put your mojo on me.”

  “Maybe it’s you working your magic on me in that dress.”

  He worked his gaze up from my bare legs to the vicinity of my collarbone, covered by a green material that deepened the color of my eyes. I put a hand there as if I could protect myself from his gaze and felt the outline of the pendant underneath.

  “Don’t play games,” I said. “Wrong time.”

  “So there’s a right time? When?”

  He was doing it again. Getting under my skin. Doing his best to distract me. Part of me wanted to go with that for a moment, but I wasn’t going to, not with my brother pressed up against me to remind me why I was here.

  “I’ll tell you if the time ever comes along. Right now I’m not interested.”

  “Your body chemistry says differently.” Luc arched an eyebrow at me. “But I can ignore the pheromones you’re putting out. For now.”

  Was that simple chemistry making my stomach twirl or was it indeed some kind of magic he possessed? “Long enough to do the right thing?”

  “The right thing?” he asked. “What would that be?”

  “Find the bastard who shot your mother and killed my brother.”

  His gaze shifted, and rather than enticing, he suddenly appeared dark and dangerous. “Don’t get involved, Skye. Stay out of it.”

  “I am involved. I plan to stay that way.”

  Are you really going to let her do this?

  I realized Luc wasn’t talking to me anymore. He was focused on Shade/Boomer, who twitched against my leg. Standing in the shadows, Luc must have heard everything Shade had said to me psychically while I was talking to his mother.

  I’m stuck here, man, and Skye is the only one I trust to help me figure out why.

  I went speechless for a moment—a rare, rare moment for me—as I realized how swiftly the conversation had gone underground. Luc had communicated with Shade through thoughts as naturally as he spoke to me.

  Keep your hands off my sister, Luc.

  The way you kept your hands off mine?

  I don’t remember—

  “Hey, what is this?” I demanded. “The two of you are turning this into a testosterone match?”

  Sorry.

  “Right,” Luc agreed, not looking in the least repentant.

  Even so, I pressed the issue. “I’ve already tried bringing Shade’s partner on board, but he’s having a little difficulty with the unusual circumstances of the case.”

  “Just as you are.”

  “You think? I don’t see anyone in the CPD being able to handle something so, well, woo-woo.”

  Luc snickered at that. “You have a point.”

  “My point is that you’ll be sorry if you do nothing and the killer comes back to finish the job with your mother.”

  A blast of anger shot through me. Not my anger. His. Obviously I had raised all his protective instincts for his mother.

  “All right.”

  “All right?” I echoed him.

  “I’ll work with you, help you figure it out and bring the bastard to justice. All you have to do is agree to leave my mother out of this. Leave her alone.”

  I got that we still didn’t have the same definition of what justice would be. But this was a step in the right direction, a direction that could help me. Defining justice could wait a while.

  “I won’t bother your mother again. Not unless it’s absolutely necessary.” When he didn’t protest the qualifier, I asked, “So who is running the shifter fights?”

  His expression closed and I couldn’t read him when he said, “I have no idea.”

  Which made me believe he did and didn’t like what he suspected. Okay, I could play along with that for the moment.

  “Then how do we start?”

  “At the casino.” He nodded at the dog. “Without him.”

  Hey, I’m the reason for this investigation.

  “He’s right, Shade. I have to take you home.”

  “And I need to get a security guard over here before I leave to make sure no one gets to Mom while I’m gone.”

  “Good.”

  “I’ll pick you up in a couple of hours.”

  A couple of hours seemed like an eternity, but I didn’t argue. I left the house with the dog at my side. I could feel Luc’s presence behind me all the way out. And I sensed him watching us from one of the windows. The sensation followed me all the way to the car before it abated. I glanced back and realized Luc had given his attention elsewhere. Undoubtedly to his mother, who would be glad we were gone.

  About to get in the car, I was stopped when the leash jerked out of my hand and the dog went racing off.

  “Stop!” I yelled, as I saw an official CPD vehicle parking at the curb directly outside the estate.

  But he didn’t stop. He made a weird sound in his throat I’d never before heard. Was that Boomer? Or Shade? What the heck? As I went after him, he stood at the curb, barking and growling at the man getting out of the car.

  I caught up to him and got the leash.

  Shade?

  No answer. For the moment, Boomer had control.

  The dog was still growling and making whining sounds. “It’s okay, boy, it’s okay.”

  “Skye, what are you doing here? And what’s wrong with that damn dog?”

  The familiar voice made me start and I looked up at the man who had been Shade’s superior. “Lieutenant Connelly? Um, I came to talk to Elizabeth Reyes. I wanted to find out what she remembered about the night Shade was murdered.”

  “We have men in the department who already interviewed her.”

  “But Shade was my brother. You understand, right?” Without waiting for his response, I asked, “What is a lieutenant doing working in the field anyway?”

  “Seeing that my men are doing their job.”

  The dog lunged toward him, and I had all I could do to hold him back.

  “I’d better get him ou
t of here. Boomer, come.”

  I practically had to drag him to the car. I felt Connelly’s gaze on the back of my neck. No relief until I opened the door and herded the dog inside. Climbing behind the wheel, I sensed a shift in emotion that told me Shade was back.

  “What the heck came over you?”

  I don’t know. Instincts. Somehow Boomer got the best of me and I had to hold on.

  “Could you tell what Connelly was thinking?”

  He was wondering what the Reyes woman left out of her story.

  He wasn’t the only one.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “For a woman who has a target on her back, it seems to me that you would have an idea about why someone would want to kill you,” Lieutenant Ryan Connelly said.

  Luc kept in the background while the cop grilled his mother, but he was ready to move in on the bastard any moment if the cop got out of line. He’d seen how the dog had reacted to the man. How had Shade gotten into the dog’s body?—that was the question he wanted answered.

  “As I told your charming detective the other day,” his mother said, “I actually don’t know that someone has anything against me personally. Maybe it was a random shooting. They happen all the time in this city.”

  “But not here.”

  “Not far from here,” she argued. “A few blocks west—”

  “Is like another city. The most trouble we’ve had down in this neighborhood in the last few years is burglary. This isn’t gang territory.”

  Luc could sense Connelly’s growing frustration, and he couldn’t help but wonder why the man had taken it on himself to question his mother.

  He was thinking that undoubtedly it had something to do with the casino, when the man said, “Cezar Lazare has a lot of enemies.”

  “Maybe,” his mother said.

  “No maybe about it.”

  Luc went on alert. How much did the CPD lieutenant remember from his most recent visit despite Luc’s effort to erase the man’s memory?

  His mother’s smile didn’t falter. “I know nothing about Cezar’s business. I’m not part of his world.”

  “You had his kid.” Connelly shot a look to where Luc stood in the shadows.

  “More than thirty years ago.”

  “And he pays the taxes on this place. Public record.”