Animal Instincts (Entangled Ignite) (13 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Sorry
.

I was, too. I was torn between being with Luc and helping his sister, maybe finding out more about Nuala’s relationship with Shade, and finding Ethan. I had to get him on board and make him believe the unbelievable.

As I made my way inside, I ran into a man in black jeans and T-shirt rushing out. He gave me a quick look and I started. His eyes were dark and molten. He was young and tough-looking, with a scar that ran down one cheek. By the time I realized he was the guy who’d been in my brother’s apartment that night Shade had first appeared, he was gone.

Around me, parents dragged the kids they’d brought to watch the most violent entertainment from the arena. How could they do that to their own children? Blocked at the entrances by uniformed police, they yelled and pushed and tried to get away.

Maybe they could, but the supposed animals in cages outside the fight area—a wolf, a hyena, and a wild dog—weren’t going to escape. Not unless they could shift and use human hands to disable the locks and disappear. Part of me felt bad for them. It had been obvious that the coyote Hank hadn’t wanted to fight, but he’d been forced. Undoubtedly the fate of the creatures below. And it had sounded like the same had been happening to Luc’s sister. I’d rushed inside just in time to see him grab her and vanish.

I stared at the animals, whirling in their cages. Shape-shifters? Once taken in by the ACU, they could be put down. I hadn’t thought about the fact that they were also part human, but there it was. The thought put a knot in my throat.

And that’s when Ethan found me.

“Skye, there you are. Thank God you’re all right.”

I nodded. “And thankfully you got here with backup when you did.”

He was staring across the arena at the cages. “What the hell. This isn’t some ordinary dogfight.”

“Like I tried to tell you.”

“How did you hear about it?” he asked before I could sell him on the real deal.

“Remember the casino?” I asked.

“Stay away from the Lazares.”

“They’re not all bad,” I said. “I don’t think the Lazares are responsible for this.”

Luc certainly wasn’t. And apparently Nuala had been an intended victim. Surely her father or other brother wouldn’t do that to her.

“You’re dreaming. You have no idea of what Cezar Lazare might be responsible for. No idea of the kind of trouble you could be in.”

“Shade lost his life investigating these fights. You think I don’t know that?”

“Then what are you trying to prove?”

Did Ethan think I could sit back and wait for results when I had an in that he didn’t?

“I fell into something scarier than anything I’ve ever experienced. Shade and at least three others died as a result of fights like the one planned here tonight. I don’t want there to be more victims.”

No way was I going to call them
people
, because they weren’t technically. Whatever they were, I mourned for them, too. For their human side. And for their animal side. They might not all be innocents, but they couldn’t be all evil. I didn’t believe Luc was evil. Nor his sister Nuala, not if Shade had cared for her. And Jez had been Luc’s only friend in that world.

Ethan sighed. “You need to stay out of this. I’m warning you—”

“No, I’m warning you. If you don’t listen to me and give what I’ve learned some credence and do something about it now, there will be more deaths.”

Ethan asked, “Why bring me here rather than relying on the ACU?”

“I know
you
. I saw the question in your eyes when I told you Shade heard you thinking about the human and animal blood being mixed up in the victims. You didn’t want to believe me, but I think at least a part of you did.” I swallowed hard. Would he believe what I could tell him? “What if the victims are both?”

“Human and animal? Come on—”

“All right.” I should have known it was too soon. I had no proof. Yet. “Let’s put that idea on hold for a minute, then. You’re already in the middle of the investigation. Maybe I can get information to you that’ll help.”

“If you’re right, whoever is running these fights is dangerous. You get too close and you’ll get yourself killed.”

“I hope not.” Not if I was forearmed with knowledge, something I was pretty sure Shade had been lacking until the end. “But it’s a chance I have to take. I can’t leave this alone. I have to do this for my brother.”

Not simply to get him justice, but to do whatever it took to send him on his way. As much as I wanted to keep him with me forever, it wasn’t right or fair that my brother was trapped here on this plane of existence, unable to move on to the next.

Looking across the arena, I was surprised to see Lieutenant Connelly standing back, watching the proceedings. Ethan must have told his superior where he was going, and Connelly must have decided to tag along. Still puzzled over Boomer’s earlier reaction to the man, I was about to tell Ethan about it when he cut into my thoughts.

“So what do you think I should do?”

I’d been considering that from the moment I’d seen the Campbell-Warren Elementary sign. “This was a public school. It should have been secured by the city. How did the scum who runs these things get hold of it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they just broke in. That’s something I can look into.”

“Right. And the other venues.”

He nodded. “We’ve been thinking they were convenient locations that no one would care about. An abandoned warehouse. An old train yard. A closed-down factory. That property near Wells and Roosevelt. But maybe there’s a connection. If there is, I’ll find it.”

“Good. And when you’re ready to hear what I’ve learned—”

“Show me proof.”

Which might be never as far as he was concerned. But that couldn’t be. On some level, Ethan had to know that. I had to give him a little more time. Or find proof that he couldn’t refute.

…

Skye Cross was trouble. Look at what she’d set in motion. Flashing blue lights gave an unearthly strobe effect to the arrest scene.

He watched from enough distance that he was practically invisible as spectators were arrested and the ACU rounded up the cages of shape-shifters and hauled them off to the vehicles. Disaster in the making. He would have to take positive steps to make certain the shifters didn’t slip back into human form and give the CPD something else to investigate. He would have to make sure the cops didn’t get onto
him
.

This was a potentially explosive situation, and if it blew up on him, he didn’t want to think about the consequences. Cezar Lazare was not a forgiving man, no matter who crossed him.

All that bitch’s fault, he was certain. Skye Cross couldn’t keep her nose out of what wasn’t her business. Bad enough that she’d learned about the Kindred. About the casino. About the fight tonight.

Bad enough that she’d joined forces with Luc, whom he’d planned to destroy from the first. That would give him personal satisfaction in addition to being necessary to achieve his goal of taking over the organization. Another hitch in the plan. Anyone who could support the bastard needed to be taken out. So far he was one for three, since Luc’s bitch of a mother was still alive. Jez was gone, and after tonight, that traitor Nuala should have been as well. Instead, Luc had come to her rescue.

No one would have told the half-breed about the venue.

But Skye Cross? She had some kind of power over animals. And perhaps over certain shifters, too.

She was still with the cop. Shade Cross’s partner. How much had she told him? How much did he believe? Was he going to be an additional problem that needed fixing?

Worry wasn’t his specialty, but he was becoming too familiar with the tactile sensation, which felt like snakes eating away at his gut.

She’d ruined the night for him. Again.

After carefully creating a niche for his taste and talent—one that would ultimately get him everything he wanted—she was threatening to bring it all down on his head. She was another human threat, perhaps more insidious than her brother had been.

Scaring her away hadn’t worked.

What would?

The death of a couple of shape-shifters had the CPD puzzled. They would never be able to identify those bodies. They could identify her.

If
they found her.

That could bring his carefully built plans crashing down around his head.

But if they
didn’t
find her body—now that was something to consider.

She wouldn’t stay away from the casino for long. Hmm. He knew just how to do it.

Now he simply needed opportunity.

…

By the time Luc got Nuala to The Ark, she was able to shift back to human form. She was still shaky, though, and she clung to him all the way through the casino to her quarters. How long would it take for word to get back to their father? Pop would kill whoever had tried to destroy his daughter, and Luc was so angry he wouldn’t try to talk Pop out of it.

Luc waited until he’d settled Nuala on a couch, bottle of water in hand, before he questioned her. “Who did this to you?”

“I don’t know. I shifted and went into the habitat where I could think without interruption. Whoever attacked me did so from behind and darted me with some kind of tranquilizer. I went down so fast that I never got a look. Once I was drugged, I was stuck in my panther.”

“I’d better get someone to check you over.”

Her hand shook slightly as she downed half the water. “I-I’m fine. But the baby…” Her voice broke. “What if he hurt the baby?”

“Baby? What is this about a baby?
Whose
baby?”

“Mine.” Her dark eyes filled with tears. “I’m pregnant and I’m afraid the drugs might have hurt the baby.”

Luc gaped at his sister. Pregnant? “Who’s the father?”

She gave him a look that told him everything he needed to know.

“Fuck.”

“Don’t say that! I loved him.” She put her hand to her stomach. “Now this is all I have left of Shade.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “If the baby is all right after tonight.”

How could he not have realized? Nuala had been moody, not herself at all for the last week, but he’d put that to grief over Shade’s death. He was an idiot not to have figured out there was more to the story.

“We’ll get you checked out,” he promised, pulling out his cell and calling the security office. “Find Dr. Botis and get him to my sister’s quarters now.” Clicking off, he told Nuala, “You’ll be all right. And if there’s anything wrong with the baby, he’ll know what to do.”

No matter his assurances, Nuala was sobbing. Softly. Almost silently. Her beautiful face was drenched in heartbreak. A huge sweep of her emotion encased Luc, pulling him closer. He sat beside her on the couch and put his arms around her. She sobbed against his neck and clung to him as if she would never let go. He mentally urged Dr. Botis to hurry.

When she calmed a little, he asked, “Does Pop know?”

“No! Just Nik. I doubt he told anyone else. He guessed after that argument.”

Tightening his hold on her, Luc remembered Nuala running to the bathroom where she’d thrown up. In a way, Nik had been right about the soul she was using doing this to her. But rather than a bad one as Nik had supposed, somehow she’d gotten a good one. Pop’s doing, no doubt. Whatever his faults, he loved his children and wanted nothing but the best for the three of them. Luc only hoped that held true when Pop learned Nuala was pregnant.

“So what did Nik say?” he asked.

“He hated the idea of my having a human’s child. Said I was a fool to chance it.”

“That’s it?”

“What more should he have said?”

“I figured Nik would have a whole boatload of opinions on the matter.”

Like suggesting she do something about her situation. As in terminate it. Luc hated to think it of his brother, but when puberty had struck, and Nik had made his commitment to the Kindred, he’d grown from loving Luc to hating him because of his human half. Would he feel that way about Nuala’s half-human offspring? Luc could see it happening.

But how bad was Nik? Had he consumed enough evil that he could have his own sister drugged and put in a situation where she would lose a child Nik thought of as some kind of aberration?

To his horror, Luc couldn’t say for certain that he wouldn’t.

Chapter Twenty

“Sorry, no invitation, you can’t get in,” the security guard at the entrance to the lower-level casino told me. “Boss’s orders.”

Not the same guard as last time. He wasn’t even thinking lascivious thoughts about me. Still, I gave him my best smile.

“Except that I
have
been invited,” I told him, “even if I don’t have a silly piece of paper. Luc Lazare wants to see me.”

Not an outright lie. I was betting on it, even if I hadn’t heard from Luc since he’d taken off with Nuala.

The security guard’s expression shifted to cautious at the mention of Luc’s name. “Lazare, huh?”

He needed convincing. I drew on a memory of Luc sliding his palm along the side of my face and let the security guard experience the raw attraction that always sparked between us. The guard’s eyes widened, and for a moment he was mesmerized. Then I pulled away the memory, and he jerked back to the present.

“Lazare. Yeah, yeah, okay. Go ahead.”

“Where will I find him?” I asked, as I sauntered through the security point. “He brought Nuala back here a while ago.”

“As far as I know, he’s still with her. Her quarters.”

I nodded as if I knew exactly where that was. Remembering Luc taking the elevators when he’d been called to an emergency the first time I’d been here, I decided no harm in trying that.

But as I passed the habitat, I stopped and looked for Hank. No luck. He must be back in the wooded area again. I wondered what else he could tell me, whether he did know more than he’d said.

Reluctantly leaving the area, I headed for the elevators.

A couple was already waiting there. I guessed the man was human, the woman in a leopard print sarong not. His hand was on her buttocks. He kept flexing his fingers, squeezing. Uncomfortable at the public display, I looked away. Did they all have the power, then, to make one forget one’s self and do things—sexual things—that were out of character?

Not that I’d actually done anything out of the ordinary with Luc. I simply couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even now I imagined him making me quiver with desire without even touching me.

When the elevator doors opened, I swallowed hard and followed the couple inside, hoping they wouldn’t get too into each other with me there. Trying to wipe Luc’s sensual influence from my mind for a moment, I stopped in front of the panel. Noting there were two floors below this, I didn’t know which button to press.

Nuala’s quarters…which floor?
I silently thought.

All the way down,
came the silent answer from the woman.

Pressing 3, I flicked a smile at her, wondering if she realized I wasn’t one of her kind. She seemed too busy mesmerizing her companion to notice. Sexual tension charged the atmosphere of the small space, making my thoughts riot.

Images of Luc and me in a hot clinch.

The woman looked my way, her eyebrows arching nearly into her hairline.

Oh, no, she’d read me. I forced myself to think of supplies that I needed to order for Petopia so I wouldn’t feed her amusement. She snickered and turned her attention back to her companion.

I was relieved when they got out of the elevator before me on two.

A moment later, I was wandering the corridor of the lowest level below the casino and wondering how I was going to find Luc.

Turning a corner, no sooner had I reset my internal radar in hopes of detecting his presence than I sensed he was nearby. I slowed near each door to concentrate on anyone inside and was quickly rewarded when I heard Luc’s voice.

“So what about the baby, Dr. Botis?”

“The baby seems to be fine.”

“You’re sure?” Nuala’s voice, filled with question.

“Everything looks good to me, so relax.”

“I’ll try.”

Nuala pregnant?

My mind immediately made the jump.

I heard footsteps, and the door opened to reveal a congenial looking middle-aged man with a receding hairline, carrying a medical bag. I stepped out of the way. He passed me, leaving me staring straight at Luc.

His expression going from relief to irritation, Luc stepped back to let me in.

Pacing the room like a restless cat, Nuala nevertheless looked limp with relief when she stopped. Her gaze met mine and held.

I could see that she’d been crying. “Shade?” I asked.

She nodded.

My eyes smarted with sudden unshed tears. She was pregnant with Shade’s child. When my brother went on, part of him would still be here with us. Maybe it should matter that his mother was something else, but it didn’t. Without hesitation, I went to Nuala and hugged her. She was so surprised that she stiffened for a moment before hugging me in return.

Luc cleared his throat. Apparently he didn’t like being left out. But when I glanced his way, I noted the quick shake of his head and the arrowed gaze on his sister indicating his concern, and it occurred to me that Nuala didn’t know Shade hadn’t actually passed on quite yet.

And that he didn’t want her to know?

Too bad if true.

“Can you leave us alone for a while?” I asked.

When he glowered in response, Nuala said, “Please, Luc, for me.”

“It’s a woman thing,” I added.

I sensed he wanted to object, but he backed off and headed for the door. “I have to check in at security anyway, but I’ll be back shortly.”

“I’m sure you will be,” I murmured as the door closed behind him.

“Do you the two of you have something going on?” Nuala asked.

“Mutual irritation.”

She laughed and her beauty shone through the layers of worry that had encased her features. “Sounds like Luc.” Hesitating only a second, she added, “He’s worth loving, you know.”

Who said anything about love? I sighed. Lust and love weren’t the same thing. I couldn’t love him—what he was—any more than he could love me.

“Of course you love Luc, no matter what,” I said. “He’s your brother.”

“He would do anything for me, despite everything. That’s the kind of man Luc is, Skye. Don’t let him fool you into thinking he’s something he’s not.”

Whatever that meant. “Well, that’s a challenge.”

“I know he makes it difficult. He’s been caught between two worlds for so long, he sometimes loses himself. But he’s worth finding, I promise you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Nuala’s smile faded into a sad expression. “Like Shade was.” She placed a hand on her stomach and shook her head. “He didn’t even know.”

I took a big breath and said, “I can tell him.”

“You have a pipeline?” Nuala raised her tear-filled gaze as if to the heavens.

“Yeah, but not up there. Shade’s still here.”

Nuala froze. “What do you mean,
here
?”

“Shade hasn’t passed on. He’s trapped here in ghost form, mostly.” Going into the Shade/Boomer connection was a little too much to hit Nuala with all at once. “His still being here must have something to do with the case.” I let my voice drift off when I realized she was shaking her head. “Why not?”

“It has to be his soul.” Her expression was stricken. “He’s still here because he lost his soul.”

Wondering if she could be serious, I gaped at her for a moment. And then I thought about it. Really thought about it. What if she was correct? I had encountered so many things that were unbelievable in the past week, why should I doubt this? It seemed a logical enough explanation as to why my brother couldn’t move on.

“How would he have lost it?” I asked.

“The high roller room, when he was so determined.”

I remembered Luc’s mother saying something about the high roller room, too, but when I’d pressed her, she hadn’t been forthcoming.

“Tell me. Please.”

“It’s where Pop’s best candidates are taken for the ultimate prize. If they win, they get their heart’s desire, whatever that may be.”

“And if they lose?”

“They lose their soul and work for Pop on the outside.”

“You’re telling me Shade was corrupt?”

“No. He wanted in so that he could get information for his case, but he couldn’t get in on his own. I’ll always regret that I agreed to help him. And that I told him where to find Elizabeth, so that he could get her to talk. If he hadn’t been trying to get information from Elizabeth that night, my child would have a father.”

Aware of the guilt that threatened to smother her, I said, “Stop blaming yourself. Shade’s death wasn’t your fault.”

“But if I hadn’t told him—”

“He would have found another way to get to Luc’s mother. He was an excellent detective, and he never let anything get by him.”

I was about to ask her what had happened to Shade’s soul when a
bam-bam
at the door followed by its opening cut off our discussion.

A darker, slightly larger version of Luc stormed into the room, followed by a distinctly smaller blond man who appeared as soft as the Luc-almost-look-alike appeared hard.

“What’s going on?” the big one demanded. “I saw Dr. Botis, who tried to reassure me that my little sister was fine.”

“Someone drugged me and was going to make me fight.”

Nik. Lazare’s son, I thought, the reason Elizabeth hadn’t wanted Cezar to leave his wife.

“What? Are you all right? Does Pop know?”

“I’m unharmed. And Pop doesn’t know yet unless someone went to him to report what happened tonight.”

Nik shook his head. “No one would be stupid enough to put themselves in the way of his temper.”

I wondered what Cezar would do if he learned who had been responsible for taking his daughter. Nothing that I would want to see, I was certain.

“Hmm, maybe someone who is offended by your condition did this to you,” the blond man observed.

“Shut it, Doyle!” Nik ordered.

But Nuala’s eyes had already filled with tears again.

Nik scowled and wiped a hand across his eyes as if he was in pain and thought,
You’ll probably end up like Luc. Ostracized by our people
.

Nuala began to sob.

I aimed a furious glare at Nik. “Have you always been such a bully?”

Seeming to finally notice me, to realize I heard his thoughts, Nik refocused his attention and tried to get inside my head.

I sighed. “Don’t bother. I won’t let Luc in, and I certainly don’t want you poking around in there.”

He held out his hand as if he could somehow feel my vibes. I got a quick look at the heavy gold ring adorned with predators before he withdrew it.

His features pulled into an even stormier expression. “What are you?”

That again. “The question of the century, it seems.” For some reason the answer scared me less than it had mere days ago. And yet I wondered if I should fear Luc’s brother. Probably, but I was already numb with the things I should fear. “I’m Skye Cross. Shade’s sister.”

Nik turned back to Nuala. “You invited her
here
? Haven’t you learned anything from the last weeks?”

“I invited myself in,” I informed him.

“That’s impossible,” Doyle said.

Is it? Are you certain you know who you’re dealing with?

Now the smaller man narrowed his gaze on me. “I knew there was something skeevy about your brother.”

Nik could hardly contain his frustration. “Nuala, we need to talk about your situation.”

“It’s been a terrible day.” Her eyes filled with tears again. “I’m talked out for the moment.”

“This can’t wait.”

Nuala looked ready to break, which raised my protective instincts even further.

“Are you through upsetting your sister yet?” I asked. “Because if you are, maybe you should leave.”

“What?”

If you have a hearing problem, I can tell you what I think of you upsetting your sister without voicing my opinion out loud.

Nik looked back to Nuala.

Finding strength somewhere, she said, “Skye is right.”

For a moment, Nik appeared angry enough to smash something. His hands curled into fists and his jaw tightened. He backed off, saying, “We’re not done talking about this.”

He was through the door in a blink. I stared after him, wondering if he was simply a jerk. Or worse.

Doyle lingered. “I know you’re going through a difficult time, and it isn’t going to get easier around here for you, especially once your father knows. I can help you.”

“Doyle, please—”

“Let me finish and then I’ll leave.”

“All right.”

“I don’t need an answer now. I want you to think about this. You’ll need all the friends and support you can get in the coming months, and I want to be there for you. You know I’ve always had a great deal of fondness for you—”

“And you want to be my consort. I remember.”

Doyle pulled Nuala aside and whispered, “I want to make an honest woman of you. I would marry you and be your child’s father so it will never know the sting of being…” He gave me a look. “…different. It never has to know about its real father.”

Nuala began to sob again.

Not know about Shade? “Enough.”

Ignoring me, Doyle focused on Nuala as he backed up to the door. “Just think on it.” Then he darted out of the room.

I put my arm around Nuala and led her to the couch, and as she sat, I asked, “What can I do to make you feel better?”

“Seeing Shade is the only thing that would make me feel better.”

Okay, now that would be awkward. “I doubt it. I mean, maybe. Just not right now. Shade’s memory isn’t what it was.”

“Are you saying he wouldn’t remember me?” Her voice nearly disappeared on the last.

I swallowed hard and shook my head. “I’m sorry.”

She cried even harder.

…

Luc returned to Nuala’s quarters to find her in tears and Skye trying to comfort her. “What happened?” he demanded.

“Your brother Nik happened.”

Luc cursed. “What can I do?”

“Give me some space,” Nuala said, straightening. “I don’t need anyone fussing over me. Let me be and I’ll be fine.”

Luc didn’t believe that, but he knew it was what his sister wanted at the moment. She undoubtedly was embarrassed at her emotional outburst and needed some time alone to regroup.

“All right.”

He held out his hand to Skye. As if she would take it.