Unleashed by Shadows (By Moonlight Book 10) (36 page)

What the hell?

They jumped up from the table and quickly followed the messenger off screen.

Finally, a voice. One he’d never wanted to hear again.

“Mr. Terriot, I hope you enjoyed that little intimate moment. If you want to experience any more of them, we need to talk.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Finally! Cale’s expression confirmed everything Brigit had already guessed.

Her son was going to have another playmate! Another generation to grow up together, loving each other, protecting each other, surrounded by only good things, this time.

That hoped died as a change came over Cale like massing thunderheads across the sun. In an instant, he went from ebullient expectant father to wrathful Terriot king, his eyes narrowing to glittering slits, his features sharp as fractured rock, his posture charged with a dangerous energy as concentrated as the eye of a storm. The tone of his voice made her tremble. Flat, cold and filled with deadly promise.

“You touch them, I will shred the meat from your bones and devour your insides while you’re still alive to feel every bite I take.”

Brigit felt Silas rise to his feet beside her.

Kendra and Tina. Nothing could awaken that Terriot beast within their new king except family.

“Cale, what’s happened?” she demanded in an unsteady voice when his fierce attention left the phone. He closed his eyes briefly, a terrible spasm working his features before that searing stare fixed on them. He strode over, phone extended.

“Where is this place?” A low, seething growl.

She studied the open air courtyard, its dusky pink walls painted with mural landscapes arched as if they were windows looking out over plantations and city settings.

“That’s the Old Coffeepot on St. Peter, in the Quarter. Cale, what—”

But he turned away, striding to the doors opening into the dining area. One brisk two finger gesture brought his brothers out to crowd close around him where they stood silent, watching whatever played out on his phone, their expressions mirroring Cale’s from moments earlier, morphing from gladness to dismay to grim understanding.

“Find them,” Cale commanded. “Fast.”

“Should we call Row back?” Rico asked in a low whisper. “It’s what he does best.”

“No. Not yet.”

“We won’t fail you, my king.” Colin gripped Cale’s fist and held it tightly over his heart, then the three disappeared inside. Within minutes, their big motorcycles roared to life, echoing their savage purpose in a race down the drive, heading for the city.

Cale stood alone, his back to them. His shoulders rose and heavily fell. Then his head came up and he finally turned to face their questions.

“Casper Lee has Kendra and Tina.”

“He’s dead.”

Cale nodded at Silas’s grimly delivered conclusion. “I’ll see to that.”

“What does he want?”

“To meet with me at Café du Monde in an hour.”

“You’re not going alone.”

Cale studied MacCreedy’s set expression for a long moment, one that Nica mirrored then nodded again. “Let’s go.”

Brigit couldn’t restrain her emotions quite so easily. She squeezed Cale to her in a frantic embrace and challenged, “Don’t let him hurt them, Cale.”

“I won’t, Bree.”

She levered back, still clutching at him. She studied his intense features while her own grew wet with tears. “I’m so sorry. The timing sucks so bad.”

His hand cupped her damp cheek, stroking away the moisture. “We’ll have time to celebrate later. All of us, together.”

She kissed him quick and hard, whispering, “Yes, we will,” before pushing him away, sending him striding aggressively about their family’s business.

*

A knock at his front door woke Alain Babineau from a restless sleep. He’d put in a long night on a fruitless stakeout, and it seemed like he’d just closed his eyes. A squint toward the clock in his son’s room verified that cruel truth.

Pulling on the crumpled tee shirt he’d worn the night before, mentally noting the need to start a load of laundry as soon as he chased away whoever was stupid enough to disturb him, he stumbled to the door to scowl out at a porch full of bristling Terriots.

Colin pushed his way inside, leaving the other two fierce sentries on the steps. Observing his stoic façade, Alain demanded, “What is it? Has something happened to your brother?” He found that notion troubled him more than he expected.

“I’m here to see if you’re interested in saving your wife.”

Tina.

All his conflicted emotions fell away in an instant. “What’s happened?”

Listening to Colin’s terse words, a terrible trembling took hold of his insides. All he could see was the shy, lovely girl peeking up at him with timid interest during Father Furness’s introduction, the way her uncertain fingers unbuttoned his shirt and adored his bared chest on the night they’d finally made love, the laughter they shared as he carried her over the threshold of their new home, the teary devotion in her gaze wile he sat at the table helping Oscar with his homework after he’d come off a brutal shift at work. The heart-stunning sight of her framed by the moonlight filtering through her firehouse red negligée, tropical breezes lifting the ends of her hair.

“Can we go back to the way it was before?” she’d asked as she lay in his arms after they’d shared phenomenal sex. “Could you ever love me again?”

He hadn’t answered her.

Now, with that unspoken, just realized response crushing him, he feared he’d never have the chance.

“What can I do?” he asked.

Colin didn’t waste time. “You’re a cop. You know the system and the streets. We can find anything with a heat trace and heartbeat. We don’t have much time.”

He opened the door wide to invite the others in. “Let’s make the most of it.”

*

Casper Lee brushed powdered sugar off the front of his lavender shirt, the gesture freezing when he glanced up to see a glowering Cale Terriot seated in the plastic chair across from him. Mac Creed and his chilly eyed associate flanked him. No pleasantries.

“I want to speak to them so I know they haven’t been harmed.”

He had no trouble hearing Cale’s low voice even over the noisy chatter around them. He smiled. “All in good time.”

“Now, if you want to continue breathing.”

His mood stayed calm. “You’re in no position to make threats.”

Cale leaned in, not a muscle moving in his face as he vowed through clenched teeth, “You don’t know that. You don’t know me, who I am, what I’ve done, what I’m capable of. I am not weak. I am not desperate or confused. I became king in the House of Terriot on the bones of many, and I am nobody you want to fuck with. You have my queen and my sister, and if they are more than mildly inconvenienced before they’re returned to me, you will die the second I learn of it. Are we very clear on that?”

“My, my,” Lee mused, sipping from his café au lait. “Who would have thought that sniveling little thug begging for a taste of relief could posture like an Alpha. Have you beaten back your demons then, Mr. Terriot or are they still chewing you up inside? How long before you’re back on your knees begging for a way to earn my forgiveness and generosity?”

Not a flicker of reaction. “A Terriot kneels to no one.”

Lee chuckled. “Oh, I think we both know better, but alas, I haven’t the time to debate the matter and I no longer find you worth the trouble. I have something you want, and you have something I need. Let’s keep this simple business, shall we? Since sex is obviously off the table.”

That lit a deep, deadly spark in Cale’s eyes.

“Talk to me,” Silas intruded with a reasonable calm. “I’m not quite as volatile as my friend here, but don’t mistakenly think I’m any less motivated. Or dangerous.”

“Very well. Let’s be blunt.” Lee sat back, tapping his fingers on the table, speaking to Silas, his focus on Cale who had yet to blink. “I want to control Carmen Blutafino’s business here in New Orleans. To do that, I need him by the financial short hairs. He’s foolishly come to me to ask for my help in getting out from under our friend Brady’s thumb. A falling out of thieves, one supposes. He wants to back Mr. Terry in a three round fight against Brady’s champion from the Northern circuit. I’ve assured him that his investment is secure.”

“And you want me to throw the fight,” Cale sneered.

A laugh. “Oh, no. You’re putting on the exhibition of your life. That’s what you’ll be fighting for. Yours and theirs.”

“Set it up.”

Silas gripped Cale’s arm, cautioning, “Not so fast.” He studied Lee, looking for that catch. “What if Cale wins? Won’t that ruin your plan?”

“He can’t win. You see, he’ll have no advantage. No Kick in his system and a collar to keep him from fully transforming.”

“He’ll be torn apart,” Nica surmised. “Why would we agree to that?”

“Because if I don’t make a phone call in five minutes, my people have orders to, well, you get the idea.”

“You don’t look very worried about what will happen to you if we have no need to keep you alive,” Silas said, still cautious and looking for an angle.

“I’m not worried. Because I do know your Terriot king.” Lee directed the rest to Cale. “I know your arrogance and your ego. You’ll agree because you think you have a chance of winning, despite the odds against you. Because you’re a bold, loudmouthed, prideful piece of work, Mr. Terriot, who thinks he’s invincible and has the scars to show for it. Am I right?”

His goading had the desired result.

“When?”

Lee smiled. “Tomorrow night.” When he picked up his phone, the trio stiffened warily. After a connection was made, Casper passed the device to Cale. “Say hello. Or good-bye.”

Without taking his eyes off Lee, Cale took the cell, saying quietly, “Katy?”

“Cale, they haven’t hurt us. Don’t do anything foolish.”

“I’m coming for you, baby. For both of you.”

“I love—” The rest cut off.

Lee retrieved his phone and stood. “It was nice seeing you all again. You’ll be called with the details and directions.” As he moved past, Cale looked up, smiling ferociously.

“How’s the thumb?”

Lee’s mask of civility fell away, showing the razor-edged and coldly lethal soul inside. “Reattached and healing nicely. The way pieces of you will not be.” The fingers of his good hand teased through Cale’s light hair and trailed down the side of his face almost eager to tempt fate. “You looked more attractive the other way.”

Cale tossed his head to the side, and Lee laughed. He angled between the closely grouped tables, speaking on the phone. They could hear his words fading away.

“It’s set for tomorrow night. Yes, he’ll fight.”

Cale closed his eyes, clutching at the memory of Kendra’s voice the way he wished he could her.

“Can you possibly win?”

He turned to Nica with a wry smile. “No chance in hell.”

“You’re going to let them kill you.”

“No. I’m going to buy us enough time to find them and see they’re safe. And then, I’m going to enjoy killing that son of a bitch for putting hands on my family.”

Nica sighed. “If you’re determined to go through with this insanity, at least let me help you stay breathing long enough to enjoy fatherhood.”

Silas gave her a shocked look as Cale demanded, “How did you know? Did everyone know except me?” He glanced at Silas’s sagging jaw. “And him?”

“One breeding female can scent the hormones and temper of another and have the sense to get out of the way, which you males have never been able to figure out. So, want to survive?”

“How are you going to make that happen?  Why would you want to?”

She smiled. “You’re a pain in the ass, Cale Terriot. But you’re our pain in the ass.” Before he could comment, she pulled out her own phone, saying briskly, “Max Savoie, please.”

*

Kendra reluctantly surrendered the phone to one of the three men who held them captive. Just hearing Cale’s voice brought courage flooding through her. He’d let nothing come between him and their rescue. Knowing that allowed her a moment of relief. For her and her child.

Their child.

The newness of that notion still overwhelmed her. Cale’s child and heir. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to be able to share that news with him face to face. Nothing.

She put her arm around Tina, offering a confident smile. She’d been quiet, but Kendra didn’t mistake that for cowardice. Her sister-in-law had just as strong a reason to survive as she did—a son to return to, if not a loving husband.

Terriot whore.

She’d heard them whispering among themselves as they cast hard, speculative looks her way. She didn’t know who held their leash but hoped it was a firm grip. Two of them bore marks on their arms, those same bold black and red flames her mate. Part of the same brotherhood? Could they be reasoned with? When they caught her eyeing them, lewd remarks discouraged that hope.

When Cale arrived, he’d teach them manners.

And then he’d kill them.

She placed her hand on her yet flat belly, comforted by that certainty.

The threesome turned toward a fourth who joined them in the oily smelling garage. A strange looking fellow, brawny of build with rose-tinted sunglasses and a stiff white Mohawk. He gave his hostages a glance then spoke firmly to the others.

“Look, don’t touch, at least ‘til you hear otherwise. The van’s out front. Load them up. We’re moving out of the city.”

“How long we got to babysit them?”

“Until tomorrow night. Until you get that call, consider the ladies our guests.”

The three looked their way again, their stares hungry and impatient. One of them rubbed his crotch and grinned, promising, “Until tomorrow night,” as Tina turned her head away.

Kendra held his stare, head high, features unintimidated, while inside her bravado shuddered.

Hurry, Cale. We need you!

*

“No, not like that. Again, the way I showed you.”

Cale held to his frustration and attempted the strike again. And again, Savoie smacked his hand aside as if he was a bothersome fly at a picnic. He growled low in his throat and whirled away, angry, anxious, thoughts on tomorrow instead of the moment.