Wanda turned to face them, tucking her ivory sweater around her waist. “She’s telling the truth. Take it or leave it, Cormac. I think you know my stance on your disbelief at this point. If not. I’ll tell you. I’m over it. Now, the next question, how is the McDaniels fellow connected to Andre? Is he connected to him at all? Why is everyone suddenly coming out of the woodwork and trying to kill Cormac now—after three years? They have to be working toward the same goal, right?”
That made complete sense to Teddy. Maybe this Arty guy was a part of the mob, too? Or someone they paid to handle their dirty work, like a subcontractor for murder, and Cormac was the final loose end?
Wanda suddenly whipped around, her finger in the air. “Can you describe McDaniels to Cormac, Teddy? Maybe he saw him when Stas and his crew kidnapped him?”
As she created a picture of the man she knew as Arty McDaniels for Cormac, a beefy man with a receding hairline, thick New York accent, and penetrating black eyes, he shook his head. “There wasn’t a soul with a New York accent. Everyone was Russian—or they were really good at making me believe they were Russian, with their accents.”
Wanda began to pace the floor, her low-heeled, chic pumps clacking on the hardwood. “But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved. So who is this man? Why does he want Cormac, and anyone in contact with Cormac, dead? What does he have to do with the murder Toni witnessed?”
“He has to be involved with Stas. I just can’t figure the connection,” Teddy replied.
Cormac shook his head, jamming his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “And so what does this all mean in the end? It still means these mob guys want me dead. Now they want Teddy dead, too. Nothing changes except for how many of them we have to look out for.”
“I hate to even say this out loud, but what we need to do is catch them in the act of attempted murder,” Wanda said in her no-bones-about-it way.
Marty was on her feet now, too, her eyes gleaming. “But we don’t just need to catch this McDaniels. We need to catch Andre, and the root of this mess, which is Stas. Don’t they always say to cut the head off the dragon if you want to end its reign of terror? But how are we going to catch Stas when he sends his goons to do his dirty work? Isn’t that what mob guys do? You know, like Pacino in the Godfather. Sort of untouchable, always giving orders, sending horse heads as threats, but never getting his hands dirty? We need to get to him somehow. Find out where he hangs out, who he socializes with, where he socializes. Anybody know any good Russian hangouts in Jersey?”
Teddy jumped up from the couch, panic fueling her need to move. “Here’s something else to think about, too. If Andre is a bear, is Stas one, too? What about the rest of his goons? Are they all bears? Is the whole Russian contingency here in the tri-state bears? This could be much bigger than what we’re capable of handling.”
Wanda’s lips thinned. “If it’s any consolation, we’ve handled what some might consider worse. Maniacal genies, rogue military, vengeful demons. We’ve even been to Hell.”
Wanda didn’t appear concerned at all. Not even a little. They were sitting around, discussing this as though they were planning a murder-mystery party. These men killed without compunction, without remorse. They were diabolical killers.
But you’ve dealt with killers before, Teddy. You’re a bounty hunter, remember?
Yeah. She was a bounty hunter. One who’d taken a real hit last year and was just now getting back on her feet.
Panic set in further. How would they ever catch a man who was capable of murder? If he was smart enough not to have been caught so far, surely he was smart enough to evade a bunch of amateurs like them.
Her phone began to chime from the pocket of her jacket, the Pointer Sisters’ “We Are Family” playing a happy tune on the burner cell she always kept with her for situations just like this.
Her brothers. Probably demanding she come home—which she wasn’t going to do no matter what they said. She was in this for the long haul, whether she came out of it dead or alive.
“If you’re calling to demand I come home, forget it,” she hissed into the phone. “I told you I was staying the course, and that’s what I’m doing. No discussion. I’m a grown woman—”
“Save the I’m-an-adult speech for later, Teds, and listen carefully to me,” Vadim interrupted. “We did some poking around, talked to a couple of guys who’ve helped us in the past.”
Likely ex-cons. They had a cache of them they used from time to time as resources for all sorts of information. “And?”
“He’s a cop, Teddy. Arty McDaniels is actually Carmine Ragusi. A Jersey cop with the Cherry Hill Police Department.”
Chapter 10
Her heart took a nosedive to her toes as she gripped the edge of the mantle to steady her wobbling knees. “So a cop wants to get rid of Cormac? This matches up with what Cormac’s sister told the people I’m with. She tried going to the police, but the day she was due to go in and talk to some detective, Toni saw him with this guy Stas.”
“Speaking of Stas Vasilyev, he’s some piece of shit. Has people paid off all over the tri-state. Moles everywhere. Bobby Mason gave us the story on this fuck. He’s no joke, Teddy. This is no joke. He’s a cold-blooded, no-remorse killer. Bobby says he whacked some guy just for sitting in his seat at some bar in Brooklyn. Didn’t even blink an eye.”
“Do you know if he’s a shifter?”
“Why would you ask that?”
She explained how Cormac had been turned by Andre, to the sound of Vadim hissing in her ear.
“Look, we’re coming to get you, Teds. This is big. I mean huge. Stas is a monster who won’t think twice about killing you and he has the manpower to cover it up. The hell I’m going to let this Carmine or Stas or anyone else take one more shot at you.”
The worry in Vadim’s voice worried her. “Listen, I know your instinct is to protect me, but don’t you think they’ll send someone back to Colorado just as easily as they’ll send someone here if they want me dead badly enough? They do know where I live. I’m not safe anywhere, Vadim.”
The very words left her feeling exposed and more vulnerable than she liked admitting. There really was nowhere to hide if she hoped to avoid living the way Cormac had for three years.
“But you’re safer with us. As soon as this storm clears, we’re on the next flight out whether you like it or not. Do not leave that house, Teddy. Stay put. If you insist on being a part of this, then you’ll just have to do it with the two of us in the mix. Now give me the address and don’t give me any shit.”
Closing her eyes, fighting off panic, she gave Vadim the address, almost relieved her brothers were coming to help. They were smart and resourceful, and they’d know how to help figure this out.
She’d worry about telling them the life mate thing later. Not that her life mate wanted much to do with her at this point anyway.
Clicking her phone off, she realized everyone was watching her and waiting.
“So that was my brothers, Vadim and Viktor. They contacted a couple of our resources and dug around for some information on the guy who tried to kill me last night. His name is Carmine Ragusi, and he’s a cop. It’s just like Toni said. The cops are in on this. According to my brothers, Stas has moles everywhere.”
Cormac’s head popped up, his dark hair brushing his collar as he ran his hands through the thick strands. “So there really isn’t anyone we can turn to without the risk of telling the wrong people?”
Wiping her hands on her jeans, Teddy nodded. “If we choose to go to the police, we risk the chance we’ll go to the wrong ones, yes.”
Nina nodded her head. “Okay, so the cops are a no-go. We knew that shit anyway.”
“My brothers are coming to help, if that eases your worry a little. They said they’d be on the next flight out of Colorado. They’re strong and smart, and if nothing else, they’ll add some strategizing and muscle to the group. They also have a lot of contacts we could probably use.”
“Good t
o know I’ll get to meet the in-laws,” Cormac offered with dry sarcasm.
Okay, yes. She’d done a bad, bad thing. Yes. He should be angry she’d done a bad, bad thing. But for the love of all that was holy, was it necessary to keep pounding that home every time she spoke?
“Okay, that’s enough!” Teddy hissed at Cormac and pointed at the doorway. “Kitchen, please.”
She could hear Nina’s cackle as she stomped into the kitchen. Spinning around, she planted her hands on the island behind her and waited for Cormac to stroll into the room.
He filled even the enormous kitchen with his presence—all muscle and ire, striding in with a look on his face that dared her to give him hell.
“Look, I apologized. And no, the mere words might not be enough right now, but the hell I’m going to grovel, got that? I did something wrong. I owned it. But I did it because I didn’t know who to believe or trust either.”
He rolled his tongue in his cheek. “Shouldn’t you always trust your life mate?”
“Oh, lay the hell off, will you?” she yelped. “I know what I know, and you’re my life mate. I don’t understand it. I don’t know how I know. I can’t describe the feeling other than it’s like knowing your own arm or leg. You just know. I can only tell you how it works when you’re a bear, and this is how it works. It’s how it’s worked for centuries upon centuries and it’s still going strong. And FYI, Crabby Gus, I don’t even know how happy I am about it anymore either. On the life mate scale of one to ten, you’ve bottomed out!”
“Well, we can’t have you unhappy, can we?”
That was it. That was the very moment she lost her shit.
Teddy growled just before her fist hit the countertop with a heavy thud. “Knock it off, I said! You can deal with this information however you’d like, but in the meantime, suck it. Who’d put themselves through this kind of humiliation just to save their own hide? Who?”
“Somebody who’d do whatever it took to see me dead?”
Teddy rose on tiptoe and stuck her face in his. “Fuck. You. Vitali. If I wanted you dead, you’d damn well be dead.”
“Are you sure you and Nina aren’t related?”
“Remember when you asked me if you were an asshole earlier and I cut you some slack?”
“Yep.”
“Well earlier, I was willing to cut you some slack. You know, circumstances, long day, dart gun, just spent virtually three years alone in a cabin in the woods. But now? Right now? Not so much. Now, you’re an asshole. You’re the shittiest asshole that ever shit!”
Then Cormac did something completely unexpected. He laughed. Loudly, and with vigor, the hearty sound filling up the kitchen.
“How is this funny?”
He gulped for air like a fish out of water. “It’s not. It’s just that you’re damn cute when you’re angry.”
Did that mean she wasn’t cute when she wasn’t angry? “I repeat. Fuck. You.”
Cormac snorted, placing his wrist over his mouth and composing himself before he said, “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. It just hit me how ironic it is that I want to drag you over the coals for lying to me, but you’re so damn cute, I can’t do it.”
“Is this the way you always react when there’s strain in a relationship?”
“Only when the relationship involves someone as cute as you.”
“Not laughing.”
“That’s okay, too. I can laugh for the both of us.” Then he did. Laugh. Again.
Teddy nudged him in the ribs and fought a smile he didn’t deserve. “Stop. We have something very serious happening here.”
“Indeed we do. We just had our first argument. That done, what’s next, life mate? Buying a house? Planning out our retirement?”
“Or our funerals. I like daisies. You?”
Cormac instantly sobered at that, standing up straight. “Okay, you’re right. So let’s get this out of the way. You lied to me. I didn’t trust too many people before the ladies and you waltzed into my life. It was just me and Lenny Kravitz, the stray I found in the woods, near death. It’s a knee-jerk reaction now, I guess. I just haven’t had enough interaction with other human beings in the last three years to test my boundaries of trust. My reaction caught me off guard, too. Being in that cabin, hiding away like some criminal, it changed me, made me paranoid, and I’m sorry I took it out on you.”
Teddy finally relaxed enough to drop down on flat feet. “Fair enough. Are we done with the snide remarks every time I open my mouth, or do you have more you’d like to unload?”
“I think I’m good for now. So here’s the thing, for me anyway. I hear you telling me we’re life mates. I hear you telling me this is the way of the bear, or whatever. But I’m having a lot of trouble focusing on anything other than keeping all my body parts.” He held up his hand and pointed to his missing ring finger. “I’m also having trouble focusing because I’m worried that they’re after you now, too. Which makes it doubly hard to do much but concentrate on saving our hides. It doesn’t exactly scream romance.”
So basically what he was saying was he just wasn’t that into her. Sure, she was cute, and all the things she’d always been to boys. Always more their friend than their romantic interest. Why would her life mate be any different? Only she could rustle up a life mate who wasn’t feelin’ it.
“If what you’re saying is we should put the life mate thing on the back burner, that’s fine by me. I didn’t intend for it to come out the way it did, but I had to say something while still feeling you all out because I felt cornered.”
Moving in a bit closer, he asked, “So what’s the deal with the life mate thing, anyway?”
“I thought we were putting it on the back burner?”
“Let’s put the burner on simmer,” he suggested, his words wrapped in silk.
Cormac so near made her heart pound. He smelled so good, looked so good, she found herself searching for words. “Um…well, there’s a legend about mating. The legend says when you look into your mate’s eyes, you’ll know who’s yours for eternity. I know it sounds silly, but that’s how it goes.”
And she hadn’t believed a word of it until it happened to her.
Warmth crept up along the back of her neck and into her scalp as he used two fingers to tip her chin up. “Is that what happened to you back in Colorado after you shot me with your trusty dart gun?”
Teddy squirmed, shrugging her shoulders, finding a focal point on his shirt. “I thought we weren’t addressing this part of the problem. You know, Russian mob. Death. Destruction.”
“Answer the question. Is that what happened back in Colorado?”
“Something happened back in Colorado, yes. I haven’t had time to process it all yet, okay? It’s sort of like when your mom tells you the poor house is just around the corner and you roll your eyes and ignore her until you find out there really is a poor house, you know? I’m not telling you I’m wildly in love with you. Because I’m not. So if that’s what you’re thinking, relax. I’m just saying that with this information my mother bestowed upon me, I’m supposed to explore the notion that we were meant to be together. I don’t know how those feelings are cultivated. The kind where we’d sacrifice our own lives for the other or whatever it is life mates do. I’m just saying, I felt something. A bond, a thread, a connection, maybe it was just attraction—”
“Me, too,” Cormac interrupted, before he whispered a light kiss over the corner of her mouth, his thumb caressing her jaw with maddeningly sensuous strokes.
“What the fuck are you two doing in here? What about stone-cold killer are you nitwits missing?” Nina yelled as she hustled into the kitchen with Carl not far behind. “Quit stickin’ your tongues down each other’s throats and get the hell back out there where all the shit’s going on! Darnell’s got a line on where Stas hangs his hat and his favorite place to get snockered.”
Teddy scooted away from such close contact with Cormac, avoiding Nina’s eyes by looking at the floor—which was beautiful, in all its
white-and-black checkered glossy ceramic tile. “I’m sorry. We were just trying to—”
“Who the fuck broke my counter?” Nina shrieked, her yelp cutting and sharp. “This shit costs the earth! It’s marble from Italy! This is why we can’t have nice things. Greg’s gonna shit a spaghetti dinner.”
Teddy’s eyes flew to the counter she’d slammed with her fist and they widened in horror. Sometimes she didn’t know her own strength.
But Cormac was all smiles and pleasantries. “I reminded my life mate about her temper, Nina. I did. I told her, Nina’s going to be mad when she sees what you’ve done in a fit of rage. But she was all, ‘Nina-Schmina. I ain’t afraid a no ex-vampire’,” Cormac teased, chucking Teddy under the chin with a giggle worthy of a schoolgirl.
“Tattletale,” she accused from the side of her mouth as Nina ran her hand over the very distinct fissure marring the beauty of the marble, a frown on her face. “Wow, traitor. Why not just roll the bus back over me for good measure? What happened to sacrificing your life for mine?”
“Oh, I’m not there yet, lady. In fact, I don’t know if I’ll ever be there enough where Nina’s concerned.” Then he grinned as he made a run for the doorway.
“I’m going to kick your ass, Vitali!” Teddy yelled, running after him, only for Cormac to catch her around the waist and carry her back into the living room, laughing in her ear.
And it was just another moment she could chalk up to feeling right. For now, that would have to be enough.
* * * *
Cormac stood just outside one of the many turrets in Castle Nina, looking out over the skyline, the gloomy clouds gathering, mashing up against each other in an attempt at another snowstorm.
Bearly Accidental (Accidentally Paranormal Book 12) Page 11