Beneath a Darkening Moon (38 page)

Which would be a small price to pay if she got everyone out of this safe and sound.

She squeezed Kel’s knee again. “Why don’t you go get a cup of the good stuff while I talk to Zeke and Tye?”

Kel nodded and rose. She was a little shaky, but otherwise seemed okay. Savannah turned her attention to the two men. “No, you can’t come with me.”

Zeke’s expression was mutinous. “This is the safety of my son we’re talking about. I will not—”

“You will, because one of the wolves we’re dealing with is insane, and the other suffers from bloodlust.
They’ll be expecting Anton and Trista, but if they scent anyone else René and Cade are dead meat.”

“You know from experience that we Sinclairs do not leave pack safety in the hands of others.”

“Then you have the mansion well guarded?”

He blinked. “There is no need.”

“Really? Neva and Duncan are there. These people are mad enough to attempt to bomb your home just to get my sister and brother-in-law. Protect them, and let me and Ronan get these bitches.”

He studied her for a moment, and then he smiled. It was the smile of one hunter acknowledging another. “This is personal, isn’t it?”

“Very. Sinclairs aren’t the only pack who believe in protecting their own, and these women have threatened not only my family but the man I love. They will pay, believe me.”

His gaze flicked from her to Ronan, as if to check his reaction to this news. “I’m very glad I never made an enemy of you, Savannah. I think you’d be a very formidable foe.”

“You bet your ass I would. Now, if you don’t mind, I really have to get going.”

“I’ll keep Neva safe, have no fear.” He glanced at his son. “What if Tye stays here? Kelly might appreciate the company.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Steve’s due in at eight, but it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra person here. But watch the woman in the cell. She should be out of it for a while, but when she comes to, she might attempt a psychic takeover.”

Tye gave her an almost ferocious smile. “She can certainly try.”

Savannah nodded, feeling a little better. As much as she trusted Steve, having Tye standing guard made her far more confident about their prisoner still being here when they returned. She glanced at the clock and fear rose like a demon in the night. She stomped it back down and looked at Ronan. “Let’s get ready.”

A
WARENESS RETURNED IN
fragmented pieces that seemed to make no sense. There were voices in his head, whispering of dark words and darker deeds. There was harsh laughter and soft music. The roar of an engine and the cold touch of steel. The chill of the night caressing his skin, and the rough feel of bark against his spine. The crackle of flames and the scent of desire.

It was
that
awareness more than anything that had Cade struggling through the layers of blackness encasing his mind. Because what he smelled wasn’t the scent of someone who wanted sex. That was a mellower, infinitely sweeter, aroma. What he smelled now was somehow darker, more heated and tense. It was the scent of someone who was after something far more than just sex.

Bloodlust, rather than plain old lust.

But Candy was safely locked away, so who was emitting the scent now?

He forced his eyes open—and, for a moment, had to wonder if he was actually awake and alert or still dreaming. Before him stretched a stone-filled clearing that looked an awfully lot like the one in which they’d found the second victim. In the middle of the clearing, a huge fire blazed, and around it a naked
woman danced to music he could no longer hear. A second woman, this one fully clothed, stood to one side of the flames, her arms crossed and her pale face glowing with the heat of the fire.

Anni. Or rather, Jina.

He glanced back to the dancing woman, but between the darkness and the warm, jumping light of the fire, he couldn’t actually tell if it was Candy or her sister, Lonny. But he had a bad feeling it was Candy, and that could only mean something had gone very wrong back at the ranger station.

Tension cut through him, settling like a weight in his gut. He knew that Vannah was more than able to take care of herself under ordinary circumstances, but there was nothing ordinary about these women or their intentions. He was even beginning to wonder if
he
could, and he’d had far more experience dealing with the lunatics of the world.

He was standing, his feet untied, which at least gave him some means of defense if they attacked. He shifted slightly, trying to get a feel for how well his arms were tied. Rough bark scraped across his spine. He glanced up. There was no canopy above him, which meant he was tied to a stump. His arms had been pulled back and his wrists roped behind the trunk. He flexed his fingers, more to get the blood flowing than anything else, then he tried to move his wrists. The rope slid around his skin, burning sharply. He hissed at the pain, and yet he felt a slight sense of elation. They’d tied him tightly, but not tightly enough. He could move his wrists, and if he could do that, then he could escape. All he needed to do was
make his hands slippery enough with blood to force them past the rope’s tension.

And the only problem with
that
was the dancing woman. Or rather, the lust he could smell coming off her. The slightest hint of blood could set her off, and he had a horrible suspicion that Anni wouldn’t stop her. That was why she was naked—why he was naked. No troublesome clothes to get in the way of a good party.

But it was a party that wasn’t going to happen if he could help it. He wasn’t about to lose the future he’d always dreamed of to some woman’s belated grab of revenge.

He looked around and saw René lying on the ground near his left, as naked as he and trussed up tighter than a turkey at Thanksgiving. His eyes were closed and his expression slack, as if he were still out. But the blood beginning to stain the ropes, and the slight flexing of his leg and arm muscles, told a different story.

As Cade similarly fought the ropes, he glanced back to the two women. Jina was looking his way, and she gave him a cold smile when his gaze met hers.

“So, our chief murderer is awake.”

“Jontee deserved the death he got,” he said, hoping that by talking he’d keep her from noticing what he and René were attempting to do. “He was the one who mutilated and bled eighteen people and, in the end, that’s the only justice anyone cares about.”

Which wasn’t true, not by a long shot, but if it kept her talking, kept her from noticing their actions, then that was all that mattered.

Jina hawked and spat. The globule landed close to
his bare toes, glistening softly against the darker stone underneath it. “That wasn’t Jontee. It was Nelle.”

“Nelle may have been the main force behind the murders, but it was Jontee performing them.”

Surprise touched her weather-beaten features. “If you knew that, how come you never went after her?”

“We had no proof, for a start. It was Jontee’s prints on the weapon, and Jontee whom I stopped from killing the last man. I suspected Nelle, but the suspicions of a raw recruit don’t mean much without proof.”

She snorted softly. “You didn’t try too hard to look for her afterward, did you?”

He had. But the killings
had
stopped, they had a suspect they’d caught red-handed and who’d admitted to the crimes, and there was plenty of evidence suggesting he was the only one behind them. “We had a warrant out for her arrest. She was never found.”

“Hard to find someone if you ain’t actually looking for them,” she sneered.

“Especially when Jontee refused to answer any questions about her.”

She sniffed and looked away. “He had no choice in that.”

“Because Nelle held his mind?”

“Yes.” She glanced his way again, and the maliciousness in her eyes sent a chill running through him. “I watched him die, you know. I was one of the witnesses.”

He had to wonder how, since Jontee’s execution had restricted viewing, but he didn’t doubt what she said. “I was a witness, too. You could have gotten me there, Jina.”

She sneered again. “It was tempting, but you weren’t the first on my list, and you had to wait your time.”

“So who was the first—Nelle?”

“Yes.”

“And she’s dead?”

“It took me nearly ten years to find her, but yes, she’s dead.”

Meaning he’d wasted half his time here searching for a woman who no longer existed. Maybe if he hadn’t been so convinced it was Nelle behind the murders, he might have picked up the clues sooner.

“Then how did you recognize Savannah at the club?”

She snorted. “I saw the stupid bitch leaving her apartment.”

So he and Savannah had both been right—she hadn’t been followed, but she’d definitely been spotted.

“I can understand you snatching me, but why take René? You know he’s a Sinclair, don’t you?”

She sniffed. “The Sinclairs don’t scare me. Besides, Candy fancied the look of him.”

“If the Sinclairs don’t scare you, you’re more of a fool than I thought.”

“We’ll be long gone by the time his pack finds this place.” She glanced at her watch. “Your girlfriend has ten minutes to get here. I hope she’s not late.”

His gut tightened. “What do you mean?”

Her grin was cold, victorious. Counting her chickens before they were hatched, Cade thought, and worked harder on the ropes.

“Meaning I left her a little message at the station
and told her to be here by seven. If she’s not here soon, I’ll let Candy loose on René.”

“Please let her be late,” Candy said softly, and whirled to a stop in front of Cade. She ran her finger down his chest, her touch as hot as the heat in her eyes. “I feel the need to rend and tear.”

Her touch drifted down to his cock. She teased him, caressed him, and though he knew his response was automatic and not desire, he still hated it.

And he’d be damned if he’d put up with it. He lunged forward as far as the ropes would allow, and smashed his forehead against hers. There was a sharp cracking sound, followed quickly by Candy’s yelp. She staggered backward and touched a hand to her forehead, feeling for damage. And there was plenty. He’d hit hard enough to split her skin—and his, if the warm moisture dribbling down his nose was anything to go by.

Her fingers came away bloody, and her gaze flew to his. “You will pay for this.”

“And I wasn’t going to pay before?” He snorted softly. “I’m not a fool, Candy.”

She studied him for a moment, the light in her eyes becoming more and more feral. Tension stirred through his muscles, but there wasn’t a whole lot he could do to stop her should she decide to attack.

Thankfully, she didn’t. She merely smiled and slowly licked the blood from her fingers. “I shall enjoy this,” she said, dropping her gaze to his cock. “And then I shall eat you. Piece by tiny piece.”

“Candy, enough,” Jina said softly.

Candy sniffed, but she flounced back to the fire. She didn’t resume her dancing, though. She simply
crossed her arms and regarded him much the same way a hunter might study its next meal.

Jina glanced at her watch again. “Eight minutes.”

“Why wait?” Candy said, her gaze drifting to René’s prone form. She licked her lips, her expression one of feral anticipation. “We intend to kill him anyway, and I want to play.”

Jina looked at Cade. “What do you think, Agent Jones? Shall we let her loose to play?”

“It doesn’t matter a damn what I think,” he said, working furiously on the ropes. Jina
had
to see what he was doing, but she gave no sign of it. Either she didn’t care, or she was sure that even if he did escape the ropes, he’d never escape the two of them.

Not that he wanted to escape them. Take them down, yeah, but not escape.

“Come now, play the game. To attack, or not to attack, that is the question.”

“And it’s not one worth answering, since you’ll do what you want anyway.”

Her smile was cold. “Trust a man to take the fun out of things.” She glanced at Candy, then waved a hand toward René. “He’s all yours, my dear.”

Candy smiled, and the changing haze shimmered over her form. Then, in wolf form, she launched herself toward the helpless René.

And there wasn’t one goddamn thing Cade could do to stop it.

S
AVANNAH GLANCED AT
her watch as she climbed out of her truck. There were still ten minutes to go, and yet she knew she couldn’t afford to place any trust
in the fact that Anni would keep her word and not harm either man until seven. She wasn’t dealing with a rational mind, despite the “harmless old woman” act Anni had put on over the last six months.

Tension slipped through her, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Nothing had happened to Cade yet. They might not have shared a great deal in the way of telepathic thoughts or emotions, but she’d feel it if he were hurt. She loved him, and she’d know.

She glanced up as thunder rumbled overhead and grabbed her thick jacket off the backseat. Not only was it warm, but it covered the bulletproof jacket Anton had insisted she wear. Once she was zipped up, she grabbed her knife belt and clipped it on. Then she tucked her gun in the waistband at the back of her pants, out of sight. Anton had given her one silver bullet to use, and though she’d pointed out that there were actually two women, he’d simply shrugged and suggested she take out the most dangerous of them. It was Trista who’d told her IIS teams were only given two silver bullets per mission, because they were too expensive to produce. They were to be used only as a last resort—and only by IIS personnel. Anton was risking his career just by giving her the bullet.

None of which made
her
feel any easier. One silver bullet was one too few when she was facing those women alone.

She blew out a breath, trying to ease the tension crawling through her. Where the hell had her courage suddenly gone? Or was it natural to be nervous before you stepped into the lion’s den? Sure, she’d led the hunt months ago when a crazy woman had
kidnapped both Duncan and René, but that was different. She hadn’t been the target that time.

And that was the problem, she realized. Not that she was the target, but the fact that it could all go so very wrong so fast.