Moonlight (9 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Lana

My PI contact in Dallas had assured me he’d call a few people he knew in San Antonio and hook me up with someone who had a Children and Family Services background. Waiting for my phone to ring, though, knowing Gabe’s killer was out there looking for me, made me tense and claustrophobic. Especially since I knew he was the only one who really could give me the answers I needed.

If he really could track my scent, he’d find my new hotel eventually. If he found me there, alone in my room, even with pepper spray, I would be vulnerable. If I lured him out, instead, I’d have the home field advantage. I’d see him coming. No surprises. It seemed like a no brainer.

I wandered around the casino for most of the morning, staying in very public places where kids ran by every few seconds begging their moms and dads for “just five more dollars.”

He finally entered by the slot machines. His dark eyes caught mine, his jaw set. I made a beeline to the restaurant and sat at a table near the buffet. He couldn’t kill me in the middle of a busy restaurant, and with casino security guards hovering around the exits, he wouldn’t be able to carry me out without my consent. And I wasn’t consenting to anything but talking.

Besides, he hadn’t
really
tried to hurt me. Not yet anyway.

We both watched my cell phone ring and then stop. “If I don’t call him back, he’ll come looking for me.” I reached for my cell phone in my purse, but creepy cat man stretched across the table in the restaurant and caught my wrist before I could grab it.

He flashed me a slick smile. “Your wolf is no match for me, Little One.”

“My name is Lana, so you can drop the gross pet name.”

He released my wrist. “I don’t have time for name games. Your scent is all over this casino. You brought me here. I know this was not an accident.”

“I want information.”

“I will take you back to the Organization, and they can give you all the information you require.”

“Why don’t you start by telling me who the Organization is?”

“So now we play twenty questions? I don’t think so.” He grabbed my upper arm, hard, and started to tug me out of the booth. Using my free hand, I smacked him hard across the face. It felt like everyone in the buffet dining room froze and turned to look at us.

“Let go of me, or I start screaming,” I whispered.

He nodded and let go of my arm.

“I’m okay,” I said to the gawkers. “Sorry about that.”

Creepy cat man didn’t look as okay. My handprint rose up in red across his face. His eyes narrowed. I may have taken this meeting further than I should have. My plan hadn’t been to get physical. I only wanted to ask him some questions. I clung to my theory that he couldn’t murder me in front of witnesses.

Now I just needed to get him to talk. “Look, I’m not going anywhere with you, but I am willing to talk.” I let my back rest against the booth, hoping I looked more confident and relaxed than I felt. My thumb toyed with the bump of the pepper spray canister in the pocket of my jeans. “Why don’t we swap information?”

“Because I don’t need information from you.”

“Then what exactly
do
you need me for?”

He wet his lips with a menacing glare. “In case Cyrus and his team failed in their mission, I was sent to find you and bring you back. Nothing more.”

“Why would anyone want to kidnap me?”

“Not kidnap.” The corner of his mouth quirked up into a crooked smile. “Retrieve.”

“You can’t retrieve something that was never yours to begin with.”

He seemed to ponder that for a moment. “You puzzle me. You do not know the Organization?”

“No. The Nero Organization is nowhere to be found.”

This made him grin. “Ahh, so you do know something.”

I hadn’t wanted to be right about Nero, but I was. I tried not to let him see the red warning lights going off in my head and rolled my eyes. “Why are they so secretive?”

“We are elite, not secretive.” He crossed his arms. “You should be honored they are welcoming you back.”

“You don’t get it. I’ve never been there. I don’t know who they are, and I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He frowned slightly. “You are lying.”

“No I’m not.” I leaned in closer to him, lowering my voice. “I only lured you here to find out why you were stalking me. If I was from your Organization, wouldn’t I already know?”

“Perhaps.”

“Are there other…people like us in the Nero Organization?”

He nodded, but seemed like he was miles away.

I sighed. “Can you at least tell me your name?”

He stood up from the table and stared down at me. “You can call me Sebastian.”

“You’re leaving?” I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. Why was my stalker running away from me? Not that I was complaining, but nothing was making sense.

“Yes, we are finished for now.” He met my eyes with a chilling stare. “Stay away from the wolves, Lana. They are killers.”

“No different from you.”

He raised a brow. “I was after
you
. The wolf was in my way.”

“Then why did you dump him at the lake?” Then it dawned on me. “You knew I wasn’t alone.”

He raised a brow. “It would be difficult not to notice a filthy wolf scent while I tracked yours.”

Did he see Adam or just smell him? “You wanted me to be blamed for that.”

“I wanted you away from the wolf.”

“He knew I didn’t kill Gabe.”

“His pack does not.”

With that, Sebastian was gone.

I was surprised how quickly he disappeared into the crowd. I pulled out my cell phone and called Adam back, but it rang and went to voicemail. Strange. He’d just called me a few minutes ago. I left a message, polished off my iced tea, and headed back up to my room.

I was new to recognizing scents, but I was pretty sure I covered my tracks with a couple puffs of pepper spray in the hall as I came out of my room earlier. Surely that reeked much more than I did. At least I hoped so. I wanted my stalker to find me in the restaurant, but I didn’t want him to know where I was hiding out. I was fairly certain he didn’t want to kill me, but he obviously worked with someone who had an agenda. Either way, I didn’t want him to know where I slept.

I went outside, and the doorman flagged down a cab for me. I wasn’t sure if Sebastian was still nearby. His scent wasn’t lingering in the area, but trusting these animal instincts didn’t come naturally to me, so just in case, I climbed in a cab and told him I’d like to drive down Virginia Street and take a picture of the big Reno arch.

We made the loop, and I was back at the hotel. Glancing around, I didn’t see or smell any sign of Sebastian, so I slipped back through the glass doors and up to my room.

Chapter Fourteen

Adam

“Luke called me. He was worried when you weren’t here this morning.” Aren locked his car and turned to face me.

“Yeah, I know.” I hooked my thumb in the pocket of my jeans. “I got caught up in what I was doing. I should’ve called.”

“What were you doing out all night?”

I ground my teeth as I glared at Aren. He was really starting to piss me off for grilling me like I was a guilty little kid. But all I saw was the memory of Gareth’s eyes—the eyes of the remaining twin. My anger fizzled.

“I was looking for Gabe’s killer. I told you that. I found his trail, and I know his scent now, but it was too old for me to track him very far.”

“I’ll go with you next time.”

“I’m capable of handling myself.”

“Dammit, Adam, I won’t lose you, too!” Aren shook his head and sighed. It wasn’t like him to have an emotional outburst. He was the levelheaded one of us. “This isn’t an inexperienced jaguar who wandered into our territory. This is someone who knew who we were, attacked one of our Pack, and then was ballsy enough to dump him right at our feet. This is a trained killer, Adam.”

“And we’re taught from birth how to hunt.”

“But we don’t do it for sport or to send a message. This guy did. He may already know you’re the Pack leader’s eldest son. If so, you might as well have a big target painted on your chest.”

I nodded. I couldn’t tell Aren that the jaguar wasn’t after us. He was after Lana. I didn’t know why yet, but the “message” was definitely meant for her.

“I know. I’ll stay in tonight. Okay?”

Aren nodded and seemed to relax a little. “We’re all wound a little tight over this. Losing Gabe was a blow to all of us.” He started back toward his car but stopped to look back over his shoulder. “Dad’s probably coming by soon.”

“Malcolm?” My brow furrowed. “Oh God, Luke didn’t call him too, did he?”

Aren shrugged with a little grin. “You should’ve called someone to tell them where you were.”

I worked one more horse before my father pulled up in his sleek black Chrysler 300C. Being the Alpha of our Pack made our family relationship complicated. We never had the father-son relationship I’d seen the other Pack members enjoy with their dads. It wasn’t that my father was stern or abusive, but he was more than just my father. He was my leader, and I was his heir. It was difficult for me to see him as my “Dad” rather than Malcolm, our Alpha. It felt too casual to me.

Malcolm got out of his car and straightened up to his full six-foot-three-inch height. Even in jeans and a polo, he turned heads and commanded attention, but attention was the last thing he wanted since my mother died.

I walked over to greet him and shared a firm embrace. Malcolm drew back. “I’m glad you’re all right. Last night was tough. Everyone was worried when you never came back.”

“Aren told me. I’m sorry.” I broke eye contact. The scrutiny of his gaze was too heavy for me. “I should’ve called.”

“That’s not what I wanted to discuss.”

“No?” Puzzled, I glanced back over at him.

“Not really. Can we go inside and speak privately?”

“Yeah, sure. Luke can finish up here.”

I let Luke know what still needed to be done, and then we headed up to the house. Once we were inside, Malcolm sat at the head of the kitchen table. I brought him a glass of water and took a seat.

“So, what’s up?”

“With Gabe’s passing, the elders and I were forced to look at the future of our Pack, and we’re concerned.”

“I’m going to find this guy, and he’ll pay for what he did to Gabe.”

He shook his head. “That’s not what we’re concerned about.”

I frowned. “Then what’s bothering you?”

“We’re getting older, Adam. None of us can conceive children anymore. You’re my eldest son. I know you’re not inclined to take a mate, but it’s your responsibility to keep our bloodline going.”

I rolled my eyes and tried not to crack a smile. “Do you have any idea how…medieval that sounds?”

“Laugh all you want. It won’t change the fact that you are not a rebellious teen anymore. You need to settle down. Find your mate, Adam.” His expression was stern and unreadable.

I stared at my father. What could I say? I wanted to tell him that I’d already found her. I wanted to tell him she was beautiful and brave and funny and intelligent. But then I’d also have to tell him she was a jaguar. I knew my father loved me, but he wouldn’t accept Lana as my mate.

How could we keep the bloodline going anyway? We both needed to be wolves to have children. She was a jaguar—I didn’t know if I could even convert her. Or if she’d let me.

These were all questions I couldn’t face. Not yet.

Malcolm reached across the table and gripped my hand. “I’m not asking you to convert someone tomorrow, Adam. But I need you to stop staying out all night with girls who mean nothing. The rest of your generation looks to you. None of them has found their mate yet either. I want that to change.”

I nodded, but I had no clue what to say.

Malcolm got up. “I’m not asking for miracles, Adam. I’m only asking that you slow down and really look. When I met your mother, I knew from the moment my eyes met hers that she was my other half, and when we touched I felt recognition, like a web binding us together. The wolf inside of me howled, knowing her as my mate. I never doubted it or tried to run from it. Trust your instincts.” He got up. “I’m counting on you, Adam.”

He walked out and left me staring at his empty chair. My head pounded. My instincts were leading me down an unknown path. I didn’t like where I was heading.

Chapter Fifteen

Lana

After a few hours on the internet I’d still turned up nothing on the Nero Organization, and all I had was Sebastian’s first name so that didn’t help me pick up any leads either. But there was a little progress somewhere. My contact came through with a PI in San Antonio. After a few emails and a phone call, he’d be sifting through the red tape at Children and Family Services.

I tried to be patient while I waited and started searching through pages of web images for any sign of the Nero emblem. Similar lion heads adorned Roman breastplates, but so far nothing with an “N,” and nothing I could connect to me. Before I gave up my search for the night, I heard back from Chuck Seefut about his jaguar attack. The details in his email sounded like a shifter attack was highly possible. It happened during a new moon, and he hadn’t heard the big black cat coming before it was on top of him.

How many other people out in the world were like me?

Checking the clock, I closed up my laptop. Adam was supposed to pick me up at six p.m. for dinner and more investigating. Even though I shouldn’t, I wanted to know more about him. I wanted to see his barn, the horses, and pretend I had a normal life, whatever that was. Even if it was only temporary.

I had to keep reminding myself I couldn’t stay in Reno. As much as we liked each other, the truth was his Pack would never accept me. And I would never ask Adam to leave his family. If anyone understood how precious a family was, it was me. I’d lost mine before I was a week old. Over the years, I would have given anything to have a family. I wouldn’t take that away from Adam.

I got into the shower and shampooed, conditioned, and shaved. I got out feeling clean and quickly slathered on lotion. Just in case something happened with Adam, I wanted my skin soft and smooth. I couldn’t stay with him and live happily ever after, but I could enjoy what was left of our time together. That was my plan anyway.

When I finished my hair and makeup, I dug around in my bag and sighed. I hadn’t been on a date since before my run-in with Bellevue. Living on the run left my apparel choices extremely limited, too. I finally decided on a pair of jeans and a clean pink T-shirt. Clean being the big selling point.

I headed back into the bathroom for a final look-over in the mirror when I heard the lock disengaging. I turned around to see Adam in my doorway. My breath caught in my throat. He had on black jeans and a form-fitting, green T-shirt that made his eyes stand out even more than usual.

He smiled. “You look amazing.”

I started to make an excuse for my lack of a hot outfit, but his smile was gone in an instant. I followed Adam over to the bed. He stopped by my discarded clothes and spun around.

“He was here. I smell him. What happened today? Why didn’t you tell me he was here? Are you okay?”

I held my hand up shaking my head. “Slow down. He wasn’t in here. I met him down at the buffet.”

“You what?” I could see the muscles in his arms tense, and he was staring at me like I was insane.

“It sounds worse than it was. I found out his name is Sebastian and I confirmed that the Nero Organization sent him after me.”

Adam shook his head. “What part of
stay in your room
did you miss?”

Okay, now my smile was gone too. “I didn’t miss anything except maybe your new job title as my jail warden.”

He shook off my verbal jab. “Why did you go downstairs to eat in the first place? You could have gotten room service.”

“I knew what I was doing. If I could get him to come find me, then our meeting could be on my terms. I was ready for him this time.” His jaw dropped a little so I jumped back in before he could interrupt. “He doesn’t know I’m staying in this hotel. He thinks he tracked me to the restaurant. Besides, he couldn’t get me out of there or hurt me in such a public place. I just wanted to talk to him.”

“Jesus, Lana.” He raked his fingers back through his hair. “Do you know how dangerous that was?”

“He doesn’t want to hurt me.”

“No?” He let out a sarcastic laugh. “Then why did he kill Gabe and leave him dying at your feet?”

“Because he wants me to stay away from you and the Pack. He figured Gabe dying from a jaguar attack would make it impossible for me to stay in town.”

“He knows I’m protecting you.”

“He knows some wolf is. He caught the scent while he tracked me. I don’t know if he ever saw your face.”

Adam nodded slowly and blew out a pent-up breath of frustration and maybe a little relief. He shook his head and held his hand out toward me. I took it without thinking, and he pulled me another step closer. His stare was intense and demanding as he lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of my fingers.

“I’m glad you’re all right. I’m sorry if I jumped all over you, it’s just that…”

“You need to keep me safe.”

He nodded, lowering my hand, but not releasing it. “Yeah. It’s the wolf in me. I can’t help it.”

“Can we call a truce and go see the horses now?” I gnawed at my lower lip. “I promise I’ll tell you everything I’ve found out so far.”

He finally smiled, and my heart skipped like I was a teenager again. No one should be allowed to be that cute, angry, and sexy all at the same time.

Can’t stay in Reno
. I reminded myself for the millionth time.

But my heart was deaf to my head’s warnings. Instead, I grabbed my jacket and leaned up for a quick kiss before I even realized what I was doing.

“Let’s go.”