Animal Instincts (Entangled Ignite) (10 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Now that he could leave his apartment courtesy of being joined with Boomer, Shade spent the night in Skye’s apartment, sleeping on her couch. The cats watched him with distrustful eyes, but they didn’t let him out of their sight. After he awoke, it took him a good part of the morning, but he finally convinced Skye to take him to see Ethan. His old partner needed to be part of this, and Shade hoped that perhaps Ethan’s involvement would bring back his memory.

When Skye brought him in to the Area office on a leash, coppers he’d known and worked with for years turned to look. Not one of them recognized Boomer or told Skye she couldn’t bring a dog inside. She didn’t hurry, undoubtedly because this could be the last time he would ever see their faces again. He stopped and looked around. Dad wasn’t at his desk. Regret washed through him so that he felt hollow inside. Shade had thought he’d see Dad one last time. Then again, Dad would probably tell Skye to “get that dog out of here,” and that would be the end of that.

“C’mon,” she murmured, tugging at the leash to get his attention. “We need to get to Ethan before someone stops us.”

Ethan was at his desk, chipping away at a stack of files. Shade glanced around at the nearly empty inner office. Detectives were either at lunch or out on a case as Shade wished he could be. This is where he
should
be. Ethan appeared distracted and impatient dealing with paperwork. That feeling he did remember. And so many other details of being a copper.

Having to accept his own life being over hit him harder than any fist could.

To his shock, he could hear Ethan’s thoughts:
So the blood thing—how could that be? Must be some logical explanation.

It was the first time he’d been able to hear anyone’s thoughts since he’d taken the bullet. It seemed the connection with Boomer had brought back his psychic ability.

He’s thinking about the case, Skye. Some weird shit.

Ethan suddenly spun around in his chair to face them standing a few yards away. He seemed uncomfortable, and he frowned when his gaze lit on him at Skye’s side.

“How long have you been watching me?” he asked.

“Just for a minute.” Skye smiled at him. “You looked busy and I didn’t want to disturb your thoughts.”

“What’s with bringing Boomer here?”

She quickly glanced around the office as if to make sure no one else could hear. “I have something important to tell you.”

Ethan gave him a wary look. “Hey, Shade didn’t leave the pooch to me?”

“No. But I need to tell you about the dog and Shade being—”

“You know you shouldn’t be here,” Ethan interrupted. “Well, the dog shouldn’t be here.”

“What about Shade?” Skye asked. “What if
he
was here?”

Ethan leaned back in his chair. “The ghost story again? Sorry, I don’t see him.”

“Actually, you do. We, uh, figured out a way for him to get out of the apartment.” She nodded to him. “Boomer. Sort of
inside
Boomer. They’re bound together, so to speak.”

Ethan groaned. “I know how upset you’ve been over Shade’s death, and I wish I could magically make it better for you. I’m sorry. I wish I could help you.”

“You can help me. A lot has happened in the last few days, starting with what we thought was a dogfight.” She shook her head. “But if you can’t believe that part of Shade is still with us, you’ll never believe the rest.”

The challenge seemed to set Ethan further on edge, Shade thought. Skye’s gaze seared Ethan, making him soften until he raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Try me.”

“The other night at the raid,” she said, “I picked up on the images the wild dog showed me. I used the images as kind of a mental map and found my way in to a very unusual casino—”

Since Ethan was his best friend, Shade had long ago told him about his and Skye’s psychic abilities.

“You’re talking about that casino boat docked at Northerly Island?”

“The Ark, yes, run by the Lazare family. I’m sure there’s a connection with the animal fights. And with the murders you and Shade were investigating. And with his death.”

Ethan stiffened. “How do you know about the Lazares?”

“I met Luc and his sister, Nuala. Luc told me Shade died saving his mother’s life.”

“Yes, I know the Elizabeth Reyes connection.”

“There’s more to the casino than meets the eye. There’s a hidden area below decks not open to the general public.”

He’s not buying it.

Skye glanced from Shade/Boomer back to Ethan, who was frowning at the dog in disbelief.

She rushed on. “You need an invitation to get in. Actually, it’s a whole complex, and—”

“Skye, you need professional help. Like a counselor who can talk you through your grief. Thinking Shade is still around, then telling me he’s inside the pooch.” He shook his head. “And that there’s some kind of underground casino
under
the casino boat. It’s all too much.”

He’s never going to believe any of it.
Maybe if you tell him what he’s been thinking about since we came in
.
Something wrong with the blood tests of the three victims. Something about two kinds of proteins and extra blood types, as if their blood was as much animal as human.

“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked, seeming concerned.

Skye blinked and got herself together. “What you were thinking. About the victims.”

He blanched a little, but he kept his straight face. “Of course I was thinking about the victims. That’s my job.”

“About the blood tests. Blood that turned out to be as much animal as human.”

Now Ethan looked shaken. “You know that’s impossible.”

“But it’s what you were thinking. Shade’s the one who heard you.”

Ethan went silent for a moment, looked from her to the dog. Shade sensed his old partner was beginning to believe, though he didn’t seem ready to admit it.

“How did you hear about that?” he asked instead.

“I told you,” Skye said. “You have to believe me about what’s been happening. We can help you close this case.”

“What you can do is go home and get some rest.” With tense hands, he picked up a file. “I have a shitload of work to do.”

At least he didn’t tell Skye to get professional help a second time.

You’re not going to get anywhere with him. Yet. Let him think about it for a day before you start in on him again. Trust me, he won’t be thinking about much else. He needs to believe you, because we need his help.

What in the world am I going to do on my own in the meantime?

It suddenly came to Shade.
My casebook.

Skye immediately picked up on that. “Ethan, before we go, what about Shade’s casebook? If you’re through copying it, can I have it now?”

Ethan couldn’t keep it from her forever, despite Dad’s feelings on the matter.

“Yeah, I have everything.” Appearing reluctant, Ethan pulled it from a drawer and handed it over.

“What about his cell phone?” she asked. “Anyone ever find it?

Ethan shook his head. “Skye, if you need anything—”

“Don’t say it unless you mean it.”

She turned her back on him and walked straight toward the entry until a familiar voice stopped them.

“Skye, what are you doing here?” their father asked. He lowered his voice. “And with that dog?”

“Dad, nice to see you, too. I dropped in on Ethan for a few minutes. I wanted to know how the investigation was going.”

“I’ll let you know when there’s a break in the case.”

The censure in his tone saddened Shade, as did the disapproving expression when Dad’s gaze focused on him.

“Right,” Skye muttered, tugging on the leash as she headed for the door. “We’ll be going now.”

Shade glanced back once and thought he caught a little sadness in Dad, too, but he was probably imagining it. Too bad. Dad was the only family Skye had left. He’d never been easy on her. Or loving. Shade had always gotten the feeling that Skye reminded him of their mother, and because of that, he distanced himself from her. Shade only wished his death could have changed things between them.

A wave of emotion from Skye enveloped him, but she somehow blocked her thoughts from him. She didn’t want him to know how much Dad hurt her.

He was glad to get to the car.
Well, at least that wasn’t a complete bust.

Skye got the door for him.

Once they were settled in the car, she opened the casebook. “What should I be looking for?”

If I could remember, you wouldn’t have to look.

“Right.”

Shade/Boomer snuggled against her arm to stare at the casebook as she perused his latest notes about the murder. Her responding smile made him melt inside. He had no idea if he could make sense of the notes while in the dog’s body, but he would try to help Skye any way he could. If he had figured out what had been going on to cause his death, he still didn’t remember. Weird about the cell phone being missing, he thought. How had that happened? His short-term memory might be affected, but his obsession with keeping that damn phone handy was clear in his mind.

Turning a page, Skye made a sound indicating she’d found something she could use. “The letters ER and an address with the letters. Elizabeth Reyes,” she guessed.
Luc’s mother
. “The woman whose life you saved the night you died.”

If you say so.

“My talking to her might jog your memory.”

Then what are we waiting for?

“For you to move over. Better yet, get in back.”

Why?

“Because I can’t buckle you in.”

Jeez.
He leaped into the backseat.
You didn’t make me do this before.

Grinning at him, she said, “I know.” And started the car. Then she sobered. “In addition to giving me information about the night you were murdered, maybe the Reyes woman could give me some important insight into her son.”

Good.

The more she knew about Luc Lazare, the more tools she would have in her arsenal to resist him.

Shade didn’t know why exactly that was important, but he was convinced that Luc Lazare was someone his sister should avoid at all costs.

Chapter Sixteen

Twenty minutes later, I exited Lake Shore Drive and forced my mind to the investigation. Elizabeth Reyes lived off Marine Drive on Hutchinson. I knew the street was part of a historic district. What I wasn’t prepared for was the size of her estate. And an estate it was, like something you’d see in a North Shore suburb, with a circular drive in front of the two-story red brick building, the yard professionally landscaped, all behind a black wrought iron fence.

“Elizabeth Reyes is a retired social worker. How does one afford a mini-mansion this close to the lake on a social worker’s pension?”

Ask her.

“Oh, right.”

She probably comes from money.

“Or maybe the father of her child supports her in style. If that’s it, I can’t see her telling me anything that would ruin that situation for her.”

I found a parking spot a few houses down.

I’m going with you this time
, Shade told me, then whistled through his doggy nose.

Wanting him to be with me, I let him out of the car. “Just be prepared to stay outside.”

Nah, I’ll win her over, and she’ll let me in.

“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 coming 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.