by Rebecca York
If something went wrong at Denato’s condo, this could be the last time he made love to her.
Only nothing was going to go wrong, he told himself as he bent to nibble along the side of her neck.
He struggled not to let his fear show as she threw her head back to give him better access. He’d claimed her for his mate, and now the idea of existing without her was unimaginable.
oOo
A car pulling up outside the safe house woke Brand, and he was immediately out of bed, naked, but with a weapon in his hand.
Tory gave him an alarmed look. “What?”
“Somebody’s here. You stay in bed.”
It turned out to be his car, driven by Cole, who had bought new tires and driven down from New York.
Quickly Brand pulled on a pair of jeans and went downstairs.
“Thanks, buddy,” he said as he walked around the vehicle. It would need a paint touch-up, but the new tires definitely put it in driving condition.
Cole was about to say something as Tory came down the stairs. Brand suspected it was a question about whether they’d had “the talk.”
He gave a quick shake of his head as she stopped to look at the two werewolves.
“You want coffee?” she asked.
“Neither one of us drinks coffee,” Brand answered.
“It’s a family thing,” Cole added.
“Then what?”
“Herbal tea.”
She raised an eyebrow but continued into the kitchen where she filled the kettle and put it on a burner.
“The tea’s in the right-hand cabinet,” Brand said.
He took mint, and Cole took cranberry. Neither one of them told her that a werewolf couldn’t deal with caffeine, or cigarette smoke, for that matter.
“And what do you eat for breakfast?” she asked, looking from one to the other.
“There’s more steak. That would be good,” Brand answered.
She rolled her eyes. “You want that with toast and jelly?”
“I can fix the steak,” Brand said, walking toward the freezer. “You can have eggs or oatmeal, or whatever you want.”
“Sure.”
“My wife’s used to it,” Cole said.
“You’re married?” she asked looking at his left hand.
He paused for a moment. “In our line of work, a ring is in the way.”
“Okay,” she murmured.
Brand was thinking that it would be difficult for a werewolf to change shape wearing a metal circle on his finger.
She watched him take out a couple of strip steaks and put them in the microwave to thaw.
“All of your family has strange eating habits?” she asked.
“Just the guys,” he answered, then picked up his phone. While the steaks thawed, he had a quick conversation with Frank, who had already gotten the news from Teddy and talked to Cole while he drove down.
When the steaks were thawed, Brand put them in a pan and cooked them briefly on both sides, before serving himself and Cole.
Tory had fixed herself instant oatmeal, which she topped with canned fruit. When she offered Brand and Cole some, they both declined.
As they ate, the three of them discussed plans to check out Denato’s condo.
“No point in making a career of driving back and forth to New York,” Cole said.
“Then what?” Tory asked.
“Frank’s letting us use the helo again.”
Tory’s eyes widened.
“It’s faster,” Brand said. “And Frank’s made arrangements to land on the helipad at a building near Denato’s place.”
“And we’re leaving when?” Tory asked.
“In an hour.”
She pushed back her chair. “I’d better go wash my hair.”
“For Denato’s empty apartment?”
“For a trip into the city,” she answered, then stopped short, her gaze swinging from one man to the other. “Will you put the dishes in the dishwasher?”
“Yeah, we’re civilized,” Brand answered.
When she had left the room, Cole looked at his cousin. “I think you need to tell her.”
“You don’t have to keep bugging me about it. I know I’m overdue to fess up.”
“But you’re afraid she’ll run?”
“Or be revolted.”
“A woman isn’t revolted by her lifemate.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“At least we don’t have to tell them that half their children will likely die,” Cole said.
“Yeah, lucky Ross found a lifemate with the skills to solve that problem,” Brand agreed.
He also left to shower and change.
oOo
By the time Tory came down, dressed in jeans, a dark tee shirt, and running shoes, they were ready to drive in Brand’s car to the Decorah building in Beltsville for the trip to New York.
“Cole’s going with us,” Brand told her. “Also Ben and Nick Cassidy, who’s up from the Florida office.”
When they arrived at Decorah headquarters, she saw that the other agents were dressed in brown uniforms that had the logo of a delivery company on the pocket.
As Tory eyed the outfits, Ben said, “It’s less conspicuous for you and Brand to go into Denato’s apartment alone. The rest of us will be deliverymen elsewhere in the building.”
While Cole changed, Ben explained the plan in more detail, and she nodded in agreement. The other agents would be in and out of the building pretending to deliver boxes to another condo from a van in the alley.
They made the short trip to the city and landed on the roof of an apartment about two blocks away. The van was waiting for the group, and they drove to the alley that ran parallel to Central Park South.
When they’d pulled up, everyone except Brand and Tory put on visor caps to go with their coveralls. They also donned various facial disguises. Ben and Cole had mustaches. Nick had sideburns and glasses.
When they were ready, Ben called the front desk to say that they had a delivery for number 4C, which was two floors below Denato’s unit.
The super unlocked the backdoor and watched while they unloaded a couple of boxes. But when it appeared that the delivery was going to take some time, the man went back to the basement.
“What are the people in 4C going to do with a ton of gourmet popcorn and Belgian chocolates?” Tory asked.
Ben laughed. “Hopefully, they’ll like it. Or they can give it away.”
“But what happens when you knock on the door?”
“We don’t knock. We just slowly pile it up in the hallway. We keep our heads down, so any surveillance cameras can’t get a shot of our faces. And we’ll stay in touch with you by phone. You should check in every twenty minutes,” Cole said to Brand.
“Got it.”
oOo
Tory had tried not to focus on their next moves, but finally she knew it was time for her and Brand to go into the scene of the crime. She’d hated the idea of sending him into danger alone. But now that she was here, the reality of being here made her feel like she was stepping into her own grave.
They rode up with the other men as far as the 4th floor, then stayed on for the trip to the sixth. Once outside the elevator, they stopped to check their communications equipment.
“Brand here,” he said into the phone when he reached Cole.
“I hear you loud and clear. Try Ben and have him call you back.”
Tory suffered through the delay. She wanted to get this over with, and at the same time, she was glad for every second that kept her in the hallway and out of the place where she’d hidden from murderers.
Finally they had established the link, and she led Brand down the hall to Denato’s door. She was thinking it should have had yellow crime-scene tape blocking it off, until she remembered that nobody had found a body in the apartment. She was the only one who had seen it.
They both pulled on thin latex gloves, and Brand turned toward the door with the set of lock picks that he’d
brought along.
Tory’s stomach knotted as she watched him working. Like many New York City residences, the door had three locks. He started on the upper one and worked his way down.
Finally the door opened, and the apartment of horror yawned before them.
There were no lights on inside. And when Brand closed the door behind them, Tory felt the breath solidify in her lungs. .
When she started to gasp, Brand turned to her with concern. “Are you all right? Are you choking or something.”
“Just a flashback reaction. I’ll be better when I get out of here,” she answered, trying not to look toward the spot on the floor where Denato’s body had been lying. She couldn’t stop herself from dragging in a breath and took in the strong smell of bleach.
She wanted to keep her gaze straight ahead, but finally she turned toward the place where she’d last seen the gangster lying.
The body was long gone, and the floor had been scrubbed clean. Thus the bleach smell. But she imagined bloodstains in the grout separating the marble squares.
Brand touched her arm, and she jumped.
“Sorry.”
“I’m nervous,” she answered, unable to speak above a whisper as she listened for any sounds in the apartment. It was still as a tomb—another death image.
Brand slung his arm around her shoulder, pulling her against his side as he rubbed her chilled flesh. “I understand. I’m not so happy myself. The sooner we can finish here, the better. So where would Denato stash money and papers?”
“I was thinking about it on the ride up from Maryland.” She glanced toward the living room where she’d hidden behind the drapes while the men had been going about their nasty business. With a shudder, she turned away. So far, this place was full of unpleasant memories, but soon she’d be in territory she hadn’t seen before.
She was glad she had studied the floor plan the night before and had an idea of the size.
“Maybe we should start in the den. That’s a logical place,” Brand said.
“Why?”
“Well, he did business there, didn’t he?”
“Okay.”
“And if we don’t find anything, we can keep going to the bedroom.”
She answered with a tight nod.
The light might be dim, but it felt like Denato could step back in here any moment and turn on the lights. Except that was impossible because he was never coming back, she assured herself. She’d seen him as dead as a lion shot by big-game hunters.
Still she half expected to open a closet and have his limp and bloodied body tumble out—a pretty fanciful notion, she silently admitted.
Brand searched the closet while she opened desk drawers. He’d given her a lesson in how to do it effectively, and she felt the bottom of each drawer before she closed it.
He emerged from the closet and checked along the baseboards, then rolled back the rug and examined the floor before dragging the carpet back into place.
This was taking too long, she thought, as the phone in Brand’s pocket buzzed.
When she jumped, he put a reassuring hand on her arm.
“That’s the guys,” he said, clicking the talk button.
“Everything okay?” Cole asked.
“Yes. We check in again in twenty minutes.”
Brand put the phone back and finished searching the office. When they found nothing useful, they started for the bedroom.
Before they reached it, lights flashed on, and an angry voice called out, “I guess you can’t do anything right.”
Tory instantly knew who it was.
“That’s Denato,” she moaned.
“It can’t be.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Brand silently cursed as he realized someone was between them and the door to the condo.
“Turn around,” a clipped voice ordered. “And don’t try anything funny.”
Cole and Tory turned, and he saw a man holding a gun, which was pointed at Tory. Although the guy looked to be in his fifties, he was in excellent shape, with a trim figure and a full head of dark hair flecked with a scattering of gray.
“Who are you?” he asked, focusing on Brand.
“Tory’s friend.”
“How’d you end up sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?”
“She asked for my help,” Brand answered, trying to buy some time.
“Yeah, to steal my money. I see a bulge under your jacket. You’re carrying. Drop your weapon. Take it out slowly, and hold it between your thumb and finger,” giving the same directions Freemont had used when he’d gotten the drop on them at the Refuge.
“You don’t really want me to drop it, do you?” Brand asked.
“Don’t be smart with me. Put it down on the floor.”
Brand pulled the gun out of his pocket and reached down to lay it on the floor. He also pulled his phone from his other pocket and pushed the send button. He knew Denato would be focused on the weapon. And as he put the Sig down, he scooted the phone across the polished wooden floor. When Denato spun to see what was making the noise, Brand grabbed Tory and dragged her around the corner. Denato got off a shot, but they were already into the bedroom, then into the large bathroom.
“Oh God. Oh God,” she moaned as he slammed and locked the door behind them.
Thank the Lord the room was the shape he’d seen in the plans, with a section of wall sticking out to block the tub from the door. Brand pulled Tory into the tub where she’d have some protection if the guy outside started shooting again. Or maybe he realized that someone might already have heard the shot.
“Lie down.”
She flattened herself in the large tub. Climbing in, he covered her body with his, praying that pushing the send button would alert the others.
“That’s really Denato out there?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I guess he’s not dead.”
“That’s what everyone was supposed to think,” the man’s voice called out from the other side of the door. “She was supposed to call the cops and tell them I had been murdered, but instead she ran.”
“And what were the cops going to do when they didn’t find a body?” Brand challenged.
“I had an arrangement with a couple of patrol officers who were standing by and were going to fix that,” Denato answered. “But Ms. Robinson screwed up my plans. And then she and Gary Freemont started working together. Or maybe they were already pals.”
“I wasn’t working with Freemont,” Tory answered. “I didn’t even know him.”
Denato made a scoffing sound, then said. “Don’t bother with the lies. I know you and him were up at some fancy refuge upstate.”
Tory made a low sound.
“If you think that’s what was going on, you’re dead wrong,” Brand said.
“Cut the crap,” the gangster replied, then addressed Tory again. “I knew you’d come back. I have this whole floor, and there’s a surveillance system in here.” His voice had turned smug. “All I had to do was wait for you to return for the money. And I knew I could get to you before you could find my stash. It’s under the floor in the bedroom. But that won’t do you any good. There’s no bathroom window. I’ve got you trapped in there. Come out, and I’ll make it a quick death.”
“Screw you,” Brand answered.
A hail of bullets hit the door, and Brand pressed Tory against the bottom of the tub. Slugs bounced off the porcelain, but none of them could plow through the sturdy old fixture.
“Maybe the cops will come,” Tory whispered.
“I wouldn’t count on it. They didn’t come the first time. Probably he’s got this place soundproofed, too.”
The observation made her look sick.
“But I have backup coming.”
“Yeah, right.”
When Brand started to push himself up, Tory grabbed his arm and shook her head.
He turned back to her, knowing the other Decorah agents might not get there in time. He had to save her life�
��even if it meant that she ran screaming from him.
He came back down and put his mouth to her ear. “He thinks I don’t have a weapon.
She turned her head and whispered back. “But you do?”
“Not in the conventional sense.” He dragged in a breath and let it out. “I was going to tell you. I knew I had to tell you. But I didn’t know how. You saw a wolf in the woods. That was me. You said we had the same eyes—remember?”
She stared at him, and he knew she wasn’t taking it in. But who would?
Brand heard the door rattle. Quietly he stood and pulled his shirt over his head.
“I love you Tory, and this is the only way I can save you,” he said. Then, in a whisper, he began to say the chant of transformation.
He felt Tory’s eyes on him as he shucked off his pants, still chanting, rushing through the change so he’d be ready when the bastard came in.
He kept his gaze focused on the door, but he heard Tory moan behind him.
One more shot hit the barrier. Then the door slammed open, and Denato stepped into the room.
Brand was still making the last of the change from man to wolf, and heard the mobster make a gurgling sound as he backed away from a vision he had no way to understand.
Finally, in wolf form, Brand sprang, coming in low, under the gun, smashing the mobster backwards into the tile floor, hearing his head crack. The gun fired, but the shot went wild. Brand chomped down on the man’s wrist, shaking it until the fingers went limp and the gun dropped to the tile.
But Denato wasn’t giving up. He raised his other hand, aiming his fingers for the wolf’s eyes.
A gunshot rang out, and Denato jumped, then tried to scramble away. As he put distance between himself and the wolf, another round split the air, and Denato went still as a red stain bloomed on his chest.
Brand pawed the man, making sure he was gone. Turning, he saw Ben standing in the doorway with a gun in his hand. The other two Decorah agents were behind him.
Brand nodded at them before walking into the hall where he silently said the chant that reversed the transformation process.
He heard someone clear his throat and saw Cole holding his clothing.
“Thanks,” he said as he dressed.
“No problem,” Cole answered.
“Can you give me a minute?” Brand asked.