Lover Claimed (7 page)

She nodded.

He kicked open the door leading to the stairs
and went down them. It took him minutes to get down the stairs and
outside. A cherry-red sports car was parked on the sidewalk near
the front doors. One sniff and he knew it was the shifters’ car. He
would have to drive it to a safe spot and wait for the clean-up
team. His rental car was in a strip mall parking lot across the
street and was safe for now. He opened the back door and tossed the
body onto the seat and used Fedir’s clothes to cover him
effectively. A naked dead guy lying on the back seat would
definitely cause some alarm.

He made his way back to Meisha. She was on
her knees with paper towels in her hands, scrubbing at the blood
streak leading down the hall. Without a word, he went to the
bathroom for more towels. He returned with wet soapy ones in hand
and began helping her. They worked silently, cleaning up the mess
and, before leaving, he stopped by Trudy’s office to right the mess
he’d made there. When he exited, Meisha stood by the doors leading
to the staircase, waiting for him, with garbage bag in hand.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked as he
walked toward her.

“Peachy.” She put a hand on her head and
closed her eyes. He knew some of the fuzziness that she’d felt from
the push was wearing off. In a minute of two she would be back to
her old self.

“I have the body in the back seat of their
car. I guess Alexei was in such a hurry to get away from here that
he’d forgotten to take it.”

Her eyes were still distant and vacant. When
she didn’t answer, he continued. “Follow behind me.”

In her state of mind he didn’t need her to
trip and fall down the stairs. If she was behind him, then at least
he’d be able to catch her.

She followed him down the stairs and out the
front door. When they stepped out of the building, it was just in
time to see the brake lights on the sports car light up.

“Shit!”

He ran toward the retreating car.

Too late. The car peeled out of the parking
lot and onto the street.

Meisha ran up behind him. “What do we do
now?”

“Now I get you back home and contact my
brothers.”

“Why aren’t we going after him?”

Lajos looked toward her and found her eyes
alive with vindictive fire.

Yep, she’s back to normal.

He raised his eyebrows. “We? There is no we.
I’ll get my security team down here and we—my security team and
I—will comb the city looking for Alexei.”

She shrugged nonchalantly. “You could do
that. Or you could just call Enterprise Rent-A-Car and give them
the license plate number and see what information they have.”

“Enterprise?”

“Yeah, I saw the sticker. And I have the
license plate number too.” She tapped the side of her forehead.

“Tell it to me.”

“Only if you let me go with you.”

“Hell no.”

She handed him the garbage bag and turned and
walked away. “Have fun scouring the city for that asshole. In the
morning I’m going to Enterprise. Let’s see who catches him
first.”

Shit.

“Let me call my brother first.”

She stood with arms crossed, as he dialed the
number.

“Kristof,” he said when his brother answered
the phone. “Meisha and I were just attacked at Trudy’s office.”

“Are you hurt?” Kristof asked.

“No, no. I’m fine. She killed one of the
sh…men and the other got away.”

He flicked his gaze to Meisha. He’d almost
made a blunder. She hadn’t moved, there wasn’t any sort of “ah hah”
recognition written across her face. He’d have to watch his words
around her so that he wouldn’t inadvertently jog her memory.

“What in the world are you doing with
her?”

“I’ll tell you about that later.”

“You’ll have a lot of explaining to do.
Andras wanted us to keep humans away, not bring more in.”

“I know, I know. I’ll dump her tonight,”
Lajos said.

“Wait, hold up,” Meisha said, interrupting
their conversation. “You’re not dumping anyone. I’m getting that
motherfucker.”

Lajos turned away from her. He could deal
with Meisha and her stubbornness later. “I was right, Trudy’s
computer is gone. On the upside, Meisha was able to get the license
plate number and I’ll be contacting the rental company as soon as
they open in the morning. But I did find out something. Their names
are Fedir and Alexei and they’re Russian. I’ll need you to see what
you can find out about them. While you do that I’ll follow the
rental car lead and keep in touch.”

“I’ll see what I can find. It might be hard
though. The Russians have five different packs and they’re all
secretive. They might not want to cooperate.”

“Just try.”

“I will. But I’ll have to do it from the home
office. Without Trudy’s computer and with the shifters still out
there, it’ll be safer to take her home and let her finish her work
there.”

“That’s a good idea,” Lajos said. “When are
you leaving?”

“I’ll call the pilot now and have them ready
the plane. How about I send it back tomorrow with some help for
you?”

“It’s just the one here now. I’m okay to
handle Alexei on my own. I’ll call when I’m ready to go home.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to send
Hunter to you?”

Hunter was his cousin and, like his namesake,
was one of the best hunters Lajos knew.

“No, this should be easy. I know who I’m
looking for now. If my team comes that’ll only spook Alexei into
leaving the city. I need him here, where I can get my hands on
him.”

“Okay, your call. Keep safe.”

“You too.” Lajos disconnected the line.

“What did he say?” Meisha asked.

“My brother is getting Trudy out of the
state. He’s going to take her to our headquarters in Michigan.”

Lajos knew Kristof was right when he said
that Meisha shouldn’t be involved with any of this. Alexei had a
read on her and would be out for blood. Shifters don’t take lightly
to anyone killing one of their own.

“I’ll probably regret this, but it’s best if
you come back to the hotel with me. Kristof and Trudy will be
leaving soon and it’ll be vacant.”

She recoiled away from him. Actually
recoiled. “Hell no. I’m not going to a hotel with you. What kind of
girl do you take me for?”

His ego took a blow. His wolf flinched. “No?”
he asked, bringing his brows together.

“No,” she said firmly. “I can take care of
myself. I don’t need your help.”

“Meisha, you can’t be for real. That guy was
Russian mafia. Who knows? He could have his comrades en route to
track us down to kill us as we speak. It’s too dangerous for you to
be out and about on your own.”

“Russian mafia?” she asked confused.

“Yeah, remember, I told you.” He frowned.
He’d pushed correctly. She should still have the memory firmly
implanted in her head. “They don’t work alone.”

“But you’re working alone.”

Lajos shook his head slowly. “I’m working
with my business. My brother and I came here thinking we would get
some vital information from Trudy and then Kristof was going to
terminate her contract. This entire situation is becoming too
dangerous to involve…um…civilians.”

Lajos could almost see the wheels turning in
her head. She didn’t want to give up so easily. So much for
assuming she would be afraid of the Russian mafia.

“But…but I have to go after that guy. I have
to stop him from telling the Yaruzi anything and make him pay for
what he did to Trudy and Mark.”

He put his hands on her arms. “I told you,
they aren’t part of the Yaruzi. Alexei is with the Russian mafia
and they’re out to destroy Dark Wolf Enterprises. He’s probably
been in touch with his mafia friends and by now they’ll know who
you are and what you did. They’ll want revenge.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Do you honestly think you can take down
fifty to sixty Russians and their allies?”

Her eyes shifted to the right in thought.

Crap. He had to get her to see things his
way. If she ever found out what he was about to do to her she would
probably kill him—that’s if their paths ever crossed again. He’d
just have to make sure that never happened.

Meisha, you will give me the license plate
number
, he began, pushing his thoughts into her head.

Chapter Eight

Lajos didn’t bother going back to the hotel.
Since his plan to get Meisha to return with him failed, he’d no
other choice but to send her home. He followed her in his rental,
trailing behind her while she maneuvered through Friday night
traffic, keeping close to her. He thought about pushing her to go
back to his hotel, but he’d remembered about Piper. Plus, he didn’t
trust Meisha to stay at the hotel once she was in complete control
of her mind again. Never before had he expended this much energy to
push sensible thoughts into someone.

She’d given up the license plate easily
enough, but he met the most resistance when he told her to give up
her pursuit of Alexei and get on her bike and go home. He had to
keep pushing that thought onto her. When Kristof had convinced
Trudy to return to his hotel with him, it appeared an easy feat.
With Meisha, Lajos could tell that her mind was working hard to
wrestle him for control. He’d never had this much resistance
before.

She’s a crazy little thing.

His wolf sent him a picture of Meisha
smiling, her eyes twinkling with happiness and her hair dark hair
blowing in a breeze.

Now, when have we ever seen her smile?

No more pictures from his wolf.

That’s what I thought.

Then his wolf flashed him a picture of Lajos
smiling at Meisha and then another one of both of them smiling at
each other.

I’m not here to make anyone happy. Plus
after tonight we’ll never see her again. Best to remove her from
our mind.

Another picture. This time the wolf was lying
down, huddled in a ball and burying his face in his legs.

What? Sulking? You?

Lajos snorted.
You’ll feel better when we
get home and you can run free.

When the traffic light in front of them
turned yellow, he expected Meisha to slow down. Instead she breezed
under the light as it turned red, leaving him to follow her.

If I’d known she drives like a bat out of
hell, I would’ve told her to obey all traffic laws.

When she finally pulled into to her apartment
complex and backed her bike into a parking space, he sighed with
relief. She’d made it home in one piece. He’d been more nervous
watching her dart in and out of traffic than he’d been when she ran
out of the office with Fedir close on her heels.

He pulled into a parking space not too far
from hers and watched as she turned off her headlights and the
engine came to a grumbling halt. She swung one lean, sexy leg over
the bike and adjusted her pants.

She was headstrong and hard-headed, but she
was also hot. What she needed was a mate who could tame her
wildness without stifling her. Too bad all the human males he knew
would prefer to suppress her instead. He’d hate to see her in ten
years, after she settled down and had kids. She’d probably end up
selling her bike, wear frilly dresses and attend PTA meetings.

That’ll be a waste of a good female.

She walked past him and didn’t give him a
second glance. He’d told her to go home, feed Piper, take a shower,
put on pajamas and go immediately to bed. He didn’t know why he
added the pajama part, but a little piece of him imagined her
sleeping in something sexy. Now he regretted that he hadn’t added
giving him a goodbye kiss to the list. While the sliver of regret
was there, he would never have done something like that. But still.
He wouldn’t have minded feeling her lips on his and tasting
her—just once. She probably tasted just as spicy as her
personality. He pulled his bottom lip into his mouth. He could
almost imagine her on him.

When she walked around the corner and out of
his sight, a little piece of him became sad. Just a little piece.
She was a handful, but with her he’d felt alive. It was something
about her spirit and her energy. She was a ball of fire and if the
circumstances had been different he wouldn’t mind getting
burned.

He shook his head. He couldn’t get caught up
with Meisha and she couldn’t get caught up with him. A wolf shifter
and a headstrong, death wish having human wouldn’t make for a good
couple. Other shifters knew the deal. Sex was sex until a mate was
found. Everyone was aware that sex didn’t equal a long-term,
committed relationship. Love wasn’t involved. But humans, they
expected more than a shifter could give them. To them sex equated
to love. That’s why he preferred one night stands.

He opened his car door and got out. Closing
it softly so not to wake any of her sleeping neighbors, he jogged
to the corner just in time to catch sight of Meisha ascending the
stairs to her apartment. He took a big whiff of the air. It smelled
like cigarettes, chlorine from the pool that sat in the middle of
the courtyard, exhaust fumes from the nearby highway and humans. No
other shifters were there besides him.

“Bye, Meisha,” he murmured. He turned away
from her and went back to his car, never intending to see her
again.

* * * * *

Brriinngg.

Lajos woke with a start and looked around.
The Florida sun shone high in the sky, its rays of heat blared down
on him. He was in the same parking spot from the night before.
Instead of going back to the hotel he’d opted to stay and keep an
eye on Meisha, making sure Alexei didn’t somehow find out where she
lived and tried to attack. He hardly slept a wink.

Brriinngg.

He reached for his cellphone. Andras’ face
showed up on the contact screen.

He accepted the call. “Yeah.”

“Where are you?” Andras’ voice came over the
line tersely.