Dead Shifter Walking (26 page)

Mark and I devoured the food, leaning back
heavily. I smelled the hospital still on me and cringed. “Jerry,
can you help me to a shower?” I asked.

He nodded, making sure Mark was good for a
moment before guiding me to a guest room. The hot water sliced
through the ache between my shoulders, pounding my lower back as I
shifted and arched sighing. The door to the room I was in opened
and closed loudly.

Turning off the shower, I pulled a plush cream
towel over my body before running a second towel over my wet short
locks.

Opening the door, I peeked out at Blake sitting
on the bed, legs wide and muscular arms braced behind him, and heat
instantly flooded my body, sending my pounding headache away for a
few blissful moments.

Opening his eyes, amber lit his gaze as I
dropped both my towels, coming to stand before him. His eyes roved
my body taking time before meeting my own sea-green eyes. Resting
my hands on his shoulders, I straddled him bringing our lips
together. His hands spread wide on my back, pressed me closer to
him. Smiling against his lips, I obliged him, setting my hips down
on his pressing erection.

With a growl, he flipped us pinning my hands
above my head, arching my aching body against him. His soft mouth
trailed down my jaw line to nibble at the soft flesh of my breast
before his cool tongue swept over my pebbled nipple. My hands found
his hair as I tried to pull him back to my lips. A warning growl
had him pushing my hands away. “I will tie you up,” he warned,
which only made me rub my naked flesh over and against him
more.

Smiling at me, he kissed me slowly, a cautious
swipe of his tongue heating when it met mine in his still injured
mouth. Locking my ankles around his waist, I pushed the soft folds
between my legs against him. “You’re overdressed,” I whispered as
his mouth found my other nipple.

Shifting down, he smiled at me between my legs,
my breath catching. “It’s all that is keeping this slow,” he said,
breathing onto my heated core.

“Blake,” I whispered.

Flicking his tongue, he hit my nerve center,
causing me to writhe with pleasure. “I do love how you shave for
me, Olivia,” he whispered before using just the tip of his tongue
to tease my core. Arching, he pressed his hands against my hips,
keeping me in place as he explored farther. The soft sensations he
was building had me forgetting there were other supernaturals here
who, if they wanted, could hear every whisper and moan.

I couldn’t care less.

Bucking against him, I begged with just his
name, “Blake.” Reaching down to run my fingers through his dark
hair, he looked up; pleasure at his skills shown from his amber
eyes. He soon discarded his clothing, landing heavily on top of
me.

I smiled, locking my legs around his hips,
kissing his lips and tasting myself, which only had me applying
pressure to my ankles in order to bring him fully into me. Pulling
back and leaving off foreplay, he looked down at me seriously as he
slipped into my waiting warmth, sending my eyes closed and head
arching back. “Look at me,” he commanded.

I did, thinking he was lucky I took his commands
in the bedroom. His mouth hung open in bliss as he moved within me.
Shifting my hips slightly, I clenched my muscles enjoying his groan
as he nipped my neck. Slowly, furious strokes had me pushing
against him for more as I suckled his bottom lip. Pulling me up
into a seated position, we moved in harmony, driving me to the edge
faster as I whimpered his name.

My breathing was ragged and Blake pulled a few
breaths as well as I squeezed my ankles tighter, feeling my entire
body clench in pure release. Slamming back onto the bed, he kept up
his pace as my vision cleared and his body arched in his own
release.

Blowing out a shaky breath, I wrapped my arms
around his wide shoulders, my contentment seeping into him.

Chapter 23

Reluctantly, I followed Blake back into the den,
plopping back on the couch that I had passed out on earlier,
feeling in perfect health. Mark watched us with a raised eyebrow.
“It just isn’t fair that you can heal with sex,” he said, looking
down at his broken leg.

I shrugged snuggling next to Blake. “But I can’t
shift into an animal and run under the full moon.”

“True,” Mark said, nodding. “It sure pissed off
Logan,” he said with a chuckle.

I shrugged, not giving a shit if Mr. High and
Mighty got his panties into a twist.

“Yes, now that you are done,” Logan said from
behind us, “let’s get down to business.”

I didn’t bother to look at him. “You still
haven’t found him?” I asked, checking my industrial watch.

“Oh, no, we found him all right,” Mark said.
“Who do you think did this to me?”

Tilting my head, I guessed, “The undead?”

“No. Steven has a few new skills, including
magic, that blasted the shit out of me,” Mark said, shaking his
head.

I turned to Jerry. “How?” I asked.

Jerry shrugged. “There are various brutal ways
he could be augmenting his power so quickly, but most leave behind
a body trail, so I’m not sure.”

Shrugging, I nestled closer to Blake, knowing it
was only a matter of time before I was on the hunt for Steven
myself. “It doesn’t matter; the twenty-four hours has expired, so
it’s now my turn to find the fucker and eliminate him,” I said.

“Everything always ends in death with you,”
Lorraine said, standing next to Logan, “which is why Logan wanted
to find him first.”

“He did; look how well that went,” I replied,
feeling steel settling over me. “Let’s get Mercer involved, and are
there any other executioners in town?” I questioned Jerry.

He nodded. “Blue is.”

I smiled. “Perfect.”

Now that Logan was willing to cooperate, we now
had Steven’s home address. I did my best to leave the place in
shambles.

“How did you get a tracker on him?” Blake asked,
raising a well-shaped eyebrow at me as we ransacked Steven’s
temporary home.

“When Steven was at Logan’s reporting in,” I
replied, rummaging through a well-organized drawer.

“Why?” asked Jerry.

“Why what?” I asked, flipping over the mattress,
nothing dammit. Better check inside of it, I thought, smiling as I
pulled a knife from my boot.

“Why were you stalking him?” Jerry rephrased,
rummaging through papers.

I looked at him. “To kill him,” I answered
seriously.

He nodded slowly, having no response for
that.

“I nary seen another reason Olivia uses the
buggers,” Blue offered with his heavy Scottish accent.

I shrugged; he was right.

Stopping in my manic searching, I took a look
around the sparsely furnished house. According to Logan, Steven had
been here for almost six months. Yet there wasn’t enough stuff, not
enough clothing, the kitchen was empty, nothing in the trash.
Exiting the bedroom, something was bothering me, nagging at my
subconscious.

Mercer was running his cell phone, credit card,
and bank statements back at the station, and from the lack of an
excited phone call, I assumed he was coming up as empty-handed as
we were.

Turning, I took in the pristine kitchen, the
undented sofa, not a nick on any of the door jams, not an ounce of
mold in the bathroom. Opening up my emotional senses, I picked up
nothing, a void. Slamming my fist against the table, I caused Blake
to peek out from the bedroom.

“This isn’t his place,” I hissed.

“I don’t follow,” Blake said, watching me
closely.

“Logan lied,” I hissed, kicking the coffee table
into two pieces.

“I doubt he ever lived here; the emotional
levels should register with me, but nothing, not a scent,” I said,
sitting down angrily. “My tracker only works within three miles and
it will take too damn long to track him down with it, if he hasn’t
already ditched the vehicle.”

“What the fuck am I going to do?” I asked,
tilting my head back and hitting the thinly covered wood frame too
quickly.

“We’ll figure it out,” Blake said, running his
fingers through my hair.

“You do know of a way,” Blue said, leaned
against the hallway, his short stature and cobalt gaze reminding me
of things I’d rather forget.

I growled at him.

His posture didn’t alter. “You know I’m
right.”

“Yeah, and it also hurts like a mother,” I
answered, slamming my arms across my chest. With a sinking
certainty, I knew Blue was right; it was my only trustworthy option
and I wasn’t going to allow Steven any additional time to kill
innocent people.

Why couldn’t shifters have a way to track each
other, I fumed, kicking out my crossed leg on the couch. It’s Logan
responsibility, anyway; had he handled his shit, I wouldn’t be in
this situation.

“That’s it,” I said, sitting up suddenly.

“What?” Blake and Blue asked in unison.

I smiled. “We are going on a field trip,
boys.”

Sliding into the passenger seat, I asked, “Logan
at home tonight for that shifter meeting crap?”

Jerry nodded, slowly removing the toothpick he
had been chewing on. “Why?” he asked cautiously.

I smiled, shrugging. “Just want to pay a
friendly visit,” I said as Blake closed the door to the back
seat.

Jerry took a slow look at Blake, who shrugged.
Starting the Beast, he murmured, “I hate it when you’re happy.”
Casting a sidelong look at me, he added louder, “It means you’re
going to do something stupid and enjoy the hell out of it.”

Blue came up to the rolled down window. “I gotta
see ’bout a few matters, now that I’m home. I’ll be seeing ya,
Olie.”

“Bet your ass, Blue,” I responded. He smiled,
the exhaustion and unshaven stubble evident of a hard run. I hated
to bring him into this, but I needed the backup.

Jerry was right; I was ecstatic. I finally had a
real lead, a viable option, and a plan. So my plan might involve
beating the shit out of Logan; I saw no downside to that one. I
giggled, and Jerry sunk lower mumbling to himself.

“Mark there?” I asked, smiling using muscles I
hadn’t used in a long time.

He nodded, not looking at me.

“Fantastic.”

We pulled into the shifter compound, which now
had a few guards out and about, but not enough by my count,
especially if what I was guessing was true.

When there is unrest in the packs, an
executioner is called upon.

Skipping up the steps, I rang the bell with
equal measures of annoyance for taking so long to figure out the
clue and excitement at the thought of harassing Logan.

Kass opened the door with Hannah on her hip, who
squealed when she saw me. “What are you doing here?” Kass asked
warily, shifting Hannah.

“Taking care of business; stay with Jerry,” I
said, kissing Hannah’s cheek, brushing by her and Kass.

I followed the voices, seeing Darren, sitting
bored and looking down into his glass. His brother sat behind an
ornate desk, a new addition to the house, as were the gargoyles out
front.

“You knew,” I said softly as all eyes turned to
my leather clad form.

“Knew what?” Logan asked, standing while
buttoning his camel jacket uncomfortably.

“You knew,” I said again louder. “You fucking
knew that the killings were shifter related and did NOTHING!” I
screamed, slamming my fists on his desk. “I wasn’t the first one to
have these visions. I was just the one who did something about it,”
I hissed, watching his face pale.

Standing back up, I snarled, “I’m right, and you
know it,” my disgust for him dripping from every word.

Darren came from behind, standing next to me.
“Please tell me she’s wrong,” he said, horror shading his
features.

Logan closed his light brown eyes, shaking his
head.

“Oh, no, just wait a minute, you bitch,” said
Lorraine, pushing toward the front of the crowd. “Those were just
nightmares, nothing more. The fact that you have your wires crossed
doesn’t mean Logan does as well,” she stated, hands on her hips,
her snooty face inches from my own.

I smiled and she wilted, but not far enough as I
slammed my crown into her nose. “Oops, my bad,” I said still
smiling as the blood gushed from her nose. No one made a move to
help the conniving, materialistic, selfish bitch.

Crouching down I tilted my head at her. “Listen
well, human, these matters do not involve you. Do not mistake your
species again,” I added softly as Logan hauled me up by my shirt.
Finally, a good fight, I thought smiling as he threw me onto the
designer antique couch back, smashing the delicate wood trim as it
fell to the ground under my weight.

“You fucking know I’m right,” I yelled as he
barreled at me, his face a mask of rage.

Smiling, I twisted left, giving him a swift kick
as he went by. “Gotta fight smarter than that, sweet cheeks,” I
taunted merrily, jumping to the other side of the couch as I
eagerly watched him strip out of the camel jacket, breathing
heavily.

“You’re going to pay,” he growled.

“Bring it on,” I taunted, my arms wide as he
flew over the couch, tackling me. Ouch, didn’t see that launch
coming. Our momentum carried us into the ornate desk smashing the
back of my head.

Grunting under his weight, I taunted, “That’s
what I’m talking about.”

Logan pulled back a punch, a moment of
indecision crossing his face, before Lorraine’s scream of outrage
echoed the halls, and he landed the punch home. Blackness crossed
my vision as I pulled my right leg, pinned so perfectly between his
legs up into the family jewels. I didn’t get to see his priceless
expression of pain as I rolled away, shaking the blood from my nose
as my vision returned.

I smiled on all fours watching him rolling
around before I leaned back, popping my nose back into place.
Giving Lorraine a bloody smile, I informed her, “That’s how it’s
done.”