Hunter's Blood Special Edition (Cursed by Blood Saga) (7 page)

Face impassive, the Lieutenant walked
to the door and held it open. He let her pass, but growled a deep, loud, rumble
as she went by. Lily shot him a dirty look, but caught his stifled chuckle.

“Yuck it up, Lassie,” she answered
before turning on her heel, mumbling something about choke collars and
obedience school as she stalked down the hall.

The Lieutenant caught up to her easily
on the stairs and took her arm. Lily slid her eyes sideways. The young man’s
face held an amused smirk, but at least it was no longer cold and hard.

She didn’t know why, but she felt
sorry for the guy. You didn’t need to be a psychic to know the last thing he
wanted to do was act as her babysitter.

“Look, Jack, I don’t know why Sean is
keeping me here, and I know you wouldn’t tell me even if you knew. But as you
can see, I’m fine. I’m perfectly healed, and I’d like to go home.”

“Again, I’m sorry, but that just isn’t
possible.”

They stepped down into the foyer and
Lily turned, exasperated, throwing her hands up. “Why then? I think I deserve
an explanation, don’t you? Sean had me just about convinced it was because of
my injuries, but now that I’m healed there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be
permitted to leave. Someone better start explaining and fast, or I’m going to
find out for myself. And you all know I have ways of doing that!”

 “You’re absolutely right,” Sean’s
voice answered from across the main hall. The Lieutenant snapped to attention
as Lily whirled in the direction of the voice.

“At ease, Jack.” Sean said
offhandedly, his eyes traveling over Lily. With one glance, it was obvious what
she said was true. She radiated health. A wash of dusky rose colored her cheeks
as a result of her temper, and her scent was intoxicating. She was beautiful.

“I’m glad to see that you were able to
make use of the things I sent up earlier this afternoon. You look wonderful.”

“Thank you, I feel terrific, which
brings me back to the point I was making. I want to go home, Sean.”

Sean didn’t answer. He looked over to
his Lieutenant and flicked his head sideways. “Thank you, Jack, but I think
it’s better if I escort Ms. Saburi this afternoon. You can go.”

The young man left with barely a nod,
but Lily remained, arms folded across her chest waiting for what Sean had to
say. Grabbing a jacket from the hall closet, he opened the front door. “Come
on, I’ll give you the grand tour.”

Arms still folded, she followed him
out into the snow. The grounds were a blanket of white, except where the late
afternoon sun had cast shadows in a deep, amber hue. It was perfect.
Or it
would be if things were different.

Sean was gorgeous. There was no
denying it. And he affected her in ways she didn’t want to admit—there was no
denying that, as well.
You’re weak, you’re letting your body betray you.
Betray Terry,
her thoughts admonished.

Yet, the more she fought it, the worse
it got. How could her body want what she had vowed to destroy?

The snow crunched under their feet,
leaving footprints five inches deep as they walked. Sean didn’t say a word but
led the way across the lawn toward a large greenhouse. The glass walls were
frosted over as if painted with intricate lace. Wrought iron benches lined the
walk way, and there were stone urns with the remains of winter withered
flowers, frozen in ice.

Stopping to clean the snow from one of
the benches, Sean took off his jacket and laid it on the seat, motioning for
Lily to sit.

“What about you, aren’t you cold?” she
asked.

“Nope. It’s a Were thing. Our bodies
naturally run warmer than humans. I guess you might say I’m a hottie,” he
winked sitting down on the bench, patting his jacket again. “Sit down. I won’t
bite.”

Lily sat with a huff. Did he have to
sit so close to her?

“Pretty isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” she sighed. “Sean, I…”

“Tell me about Terry,” he said cutting
her off. Deftly redirecting the subject, he wanted to steer clear of her
questions. “I’ve never encountered a shade before, and I’m curious. Has she
been haunting you long?”

Lily pushed her legs back and forth
digging deep grooves in the snow with her heels. She knew Sean watched, but she
didn’t look up. She also knew he had deliberately changed the subject. “To
answer your question, Terry wasn’t always a shade. She was my best friend. We
grew up together. Our families were extremely close, so when mine was killed in
a car crash, Terry’s family took me in.”

Sean fell silent. The wind had picked
up blowing Lily’s chestnut hair loose. He couldn’t see her face, but he didn’t
need to. Her sorrow was in her scent. “I’m sorry, Lily. How old were you?”

“Ten. It wasn’t too long after that my
psychic abilities showed up.” Lily exhaled sadly, looking out at the horizon.
The sun was low in the sky, casting a halo of gold across the distant treetops.
“Terry believed my abilities were a gift from God, a way for me to still see my
folks. She was the only one who knew. That is until I started working with the
police.”

“But you’re a bounty hunter? You hunt,
and you kill. How does that fit in with helping the police?”

“Bounty hunter? I’m no bounty hunter,
Sean. I hunt for one reason and one reason only. Revenge. And don’t pretend you
don’t know why. Terry was murdered not far from here, by the same thing that
almost killed me out on the cliffs.

“I had been working a lot of cases.
Mostly unsolved homicides and kidnappings. The sadness inherent in that type of
case load became too much for Terry. You see, she was my business partner as
well as my friend. Terry was tired. She wanted to take a break from our
investigations, but I didn’t. I had become immersed in them. The case here in
Maine was supposed to be a compromise. A routine haunting. Something easy.”

A hawk cawed in the sky above them
pulling her attention, but even its shrill sound couldn’t drown out her guilt.
It
should have been easy…it should have been effortless…it should have never
happened, the little voice in her head accused.

“Terry was outside taking baseline
EMF
readings when the beast attacked. It was more animal than human—hairy and
grotesque, with an elongated jaw and razor-like teeth. Hearing Terry’s screams,
I ran out of the house, but I was too late.

“I couldn’t face her parents after the
funeral. Regardless of what the coroner’s report said, I knew it wasn’t a freak
attack by some kind of animal. I’d witnessed too many extraordinary things in
my life to discount the facts. It was a werewolf.

“Terry showed up in her current form
about two weeks after her death. I had already started hunting. She said she
was here to help me, but I don’t see how. She’s dead, and nothing is going to
change that. I don’t even know if she’s still around.”

Sean didn’t know what to say, so he
just stayed silent. The ramifications of what was happening in his world had
just increased tenfold. He needed to let the Hunter’s Council know, needed to
up their patrols. As if on cue, his phone buzzed.

“What is it Mitch? When? Well, who’s
on it? Get Jack and his company out scouting the grounds, a.s.a.p.! This is no
joke, Mitch. If he gets past the Compound boundaries, the chances of
us finding him before he hurts someone, are next to nil. We got lucky the last
time. Just do it. I’m heading back to the manor now.”

Sean’s face was grim, and from the
sound of what Lily heard at this end, there was a reason for it. “What’s going
on?”

“Nothing that concerns you. Let’s go.
I need to get you back to the manor. It’s getting late, and it’s not safe for
you to be out here after dark.”

“But I’m with you. I honestly don’t
want to go back yet, Sean, I’ve been cooped up all week.”

“I’m sorry Lily, but I have to get
back. There’s something I need to attend to.”

It was no use arguing with him.
Tomorrow was another day, and maybe then she’d be the one to ask all the
questions. “Wow, touchy, and the full moon isn’t until tomorrow night!”

Sean shot her a look…if she only knew.
The wind had changed suddenly, and there were shouts coming from somewhere
behind them. Sean raised his head and sniffed. A low menacing growl left his
throat. “We have to go!” Grabbing Lily by the arm he yanked her up, all manner
of polite chivalry gone. “Move your ass, Lily, and don’t argue with me! We have
to get back to the manor, now!”

Jerking her arm away, Lily reached
back and smacked him. “Don’t manhandle me! What the hell do you think you’re
doing? What happened in the last two minutes that’s made you crazier than I
thought? One minute you’re concerned and interested in me and my story, and the
next you’re all Gestapo— what are you, a Good Samaritan or a Guantanamo Bay
wannabe? Pick one, because you’re giving me whiplash!

Sean tensed, ignoring her. It was too
late. The air around them shifted, and even Lily felt the difference. A foul
smell drifted toward them, and she gagged. It was the same stench she
remembered from the beast on the cliffs. “It can’t be,” she whispered, the
blood draining from her face. “It’s dead. I shot it!”

“Lily, get behind me and stay close.
We’re going to back up slowly. Whatever you do don’t turn and run. Wrap your
arms around my waist, slowly. We need to stay attached. This one may still be
lucid. If it is it will recognize my scent, and mine will mask yours enough to
confuse it.”

Lily didn’t argue. She had no idea
what Sean was talking about, but did as she was told, wrapping her arms around
Sean’s waist and pressing herself against him. A terrified giggle welled up her
throat, but she swallowed it back. She’d fantasized plenty about wrapping
herself around him, but this certainly wasn’t the circumstance she envisioned.

The two moved slowly backward. The
beast came into view, rounding the corner of the greenhouse. It chuffed and
sniffed, pawing the snow like a wild animal posturing before a strike. There
were more shouts and the beast reared up. A spray of gunfire pierced the air,
and Sean reached behind yanking Lily beneath him as they hit the ground.

The beast was surrounded, as more
shots were fired. A loud crash echoed against the trees as the beast flung
itself through one of the greenhouse walls. Glass shattered everywhere,
spraying shards like tiny pieces of shrapnel. A bloody trail smeared across the
snow, steam rising into the air as it cooled, obvious even in the dim light.

Sean got up, pulling Lily to standing.
Brushing the snow from her jacket and legs he wrapped his arms around her. “Are
you all right?”

“All right? Are you fucking serious?
This is insanity, Sean, and I’m getting out of here right now!” She pushed him
away and took off full speed toward the house.

Sean’s men were still working,
assessing the situation. He knew he had to take their reports, but he also
needed to go after Lily. If she tried to leave, it would be bad. He flipped
open his cell and pressed speed dial.

“Mitch. Get out here and take over for
me. I’ll take the report synopsis from you later. There’s been a complication
with the girl I need to attend to.” Snapping the phone shut, he took off after
Lily.

Chapter Six

***

L
ily slammed
the door behind her. She knew she didn’t have much time, so she grabbed
whatever she could find—clothes, toiletries, any food she had, and threw it all
into the clean, plastic bag she took from the wastebasket. Tying it in a knot,
she slung it over her shoulder Santa Claus style.

She sent her senses out, trying one
last time to get a read on the place hoping to smooth her escape, but all she
got was the same damn static.
Shit!
Chewing on her bottom lip, she
climbed out the window onto the narrow decorative ridge that surrounded the top
level of the manor.

How the fuck did I end up in all this?
Terry’s right, I must be insane.

With her legs straddling the window,
she scanned the roofline for a possible escape but nixed the idea, immediately.
The pitch was too steep. Her only chance was to maneuver herself lower to the
ground, so she dropped her bundle to the balcony below and inched around,
turning her body to face the house.

On her toes, she carefully crouched
down to grab the edge of the ridge on either side of her feet. She got to her
knees, one at a time and then gradually lowered her legs.
Thank God for all
those pull-ups,
she thought, as she hung from the ridge with her fingers
gripping the edge of the decorative wood, a silent prayer on her lips that it
didn’t give way.

“You know, getting to the second floor
is much easier if you just use the stairs,” Sean smirked from the open window.
He leaned nonchalantly against the frame, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Stay away from me Sean, I mean it.”