Avenger's Heat (8 page)

The supernatural grapevine was sometimes more active than human social media. In a city where the different supernaturals interacted with each other more than elsewhere, it made sense that bloodborns would be aware. Not to mention those in power often made it their business to know everything that went on in their domains.

The way Marcus said that the Brethren didn't know about what was going on inferred that he would know if they'd been informed. Which told her he had frequent enough contact with them. And she found that interesting. “You have contacts with the Brethren?” Four powerful vampires who more or less ruled all vampires. They didn't have a pulse on their kind the way the fae or shifters did with their own people though. Vampires were solitary creatures so it made sense.

Marcus snorted, his eyes flashing to a bright amber for a moment before returning to their normal brown, but he didn't directly answer. “I'm going to reach out to my contacts around the city, see what I can find out. I'll call you when I know anything.” He glanced around again. “I don't like how open this place is. It shouldn't take me long to find out what I need to. If vampires have anything to do with the females being taken, it will end now.”

She didn't like the way he was just leaving. Not when she had more questions. “But—”

He shook his head as he slid out of the booth. “I've already paid for the food.” When he reached for her hand again, no doubt to kiss her good-bye, she zapped him with a bolt of her energy. A bright blue spark arced between them, slamming right into his outstretched hand. His palm sizzled with smoke.

He jumped back, surprise on his face. “I told you I'll call you as soon as I have something concrete. I'm not brushing you off.”

She simply gave him one of her rare, lethal smiles. The one she reserved for those who truly pissed her off. “You'd better. And that wasn't for leaving, it was for being rude to Angelo,” she said softly, hoping her show of power reminded him that she might be young, but she was still a powerful member of her race. And Angelo was her partner right now. No matter how helpful this vampire might be in her search for the truth, she wanted him to remember that.

After he'd gone, she looked up at Angelo to find him watching her curiously. She brushed a kiss against his cheek before picking up one of the fig cookies. “Are you hungry?”

“Not for food.” His hazel eyes flickered between wolf and man for a moment, almost making her lose her grip on her cookie.

Fighting a blush, she cleared her throat. “What did you think about Marcus? What he had to say, not him personally,” she clarified when Angelo's face darkened.

His expression slightly relaxed, but she could see the wariness in his gaze. “I couldn't scent any lies but he's an old vampire. I could feel his power. If he wanted to lie, I don't know that I'd be able to tell. Someone like Angus would but . . .” He trailed off, shrugging.

Nodding, she turned away and flagged down a server. They had time for a coffee before she needed to return to her small list of New Orleans contacts. She hated that Angelo couldn't read Marcus any better than she could. She was good at reading people, but she wasn't perfect. For all she knew Marcus was lying about being out of town and was involved with the kidnappings himself. Though she wasn't sure she believed that. From everything she knew about him with her past dealings, he was an honorable vampire. She just hoped he came up with something they could use.

•   •   •

“That bitch is getting antsy,” Malcolm growled under his breath.

Chris Tyson glanced at his brother as they crossed over Chartres Street. “She's fine. You need to calm the fuck down.” The human female they were using to help locate and kidnap pregnant shifters was acting like she always did. Nothing had changed.

His brother was the one getting edgy. Wanting to pull out of their operation early like they hadn't done this half a dozen times before. If he'd just calm down, he'd be able to see that. But Malcolm had always been that way. Hell, he was barely able to contain his anger issues from people.

“Whatever. You really think there's a female enforcer in town? I didn't even know the Council had one.”

Chris shrugged, ignoring the small sliver of fear twining through him. If the Council had sent an enforcer here it meant they needed to be extra careful. He and his brother were raking in so much cash it was sick and he wasn't walking away for anything. Especially not some bitch shifter. But their human contact, Kelly, heard from a vampire she was screwing—not one of their rich patrons thankfully—that there was supposedly an enforcer in town and she'd been spotted at the Full Moon Bar. He and Malcolm stayed away from that place because it was owned by Angus Campbell.

Since this was technically his territory, he and his brother should have announced their presence but there were so many supernatural beings living in New Orleans the normal rules didn't apply. And there was no way in hell they were making an announcement to anyone about their presence. They planned to get shit done, make their money, then get out when the pregnant females had been of enough use to them.

Unfortunately he'd heard on his police scanner earlier this morning that a gnawed-on body of a pregnant shifter matching one of their last victims' description had been found. It didn't make sense since she'd been buried and they certainly hadn't bitten the woman, but he wanted to follow up on that information later.

“This way,” Chris murmured as they cut down a side street. Townhomes and a few businesses lined the quiet road and when they reached the stop sign at the next intersection, he pulled out a cigarette and leaned against the brick wall of a cheese shop that wasn't open yet. He didn't normally smoke, but he and his brother needed an excuse to loiter and peer around the corner toward the bar.

As far as he knew the place was open practically 24/7. They served breakfast to early risers and those who still hadn't gone to bed yet. There was no guarantee they'd even see this supposed enforcer, but it was the only lead they had and he sure as hell wasn't going to start putting out feelers in the city. He could ask some of his vampire patrons, but deep down he knew that would be a mistake. If he tipped them off that someone was in town investigating the pregnant shifters they might stop buying his product. And if word got around that a couple of shifters were asking about the enforcer, he didn't want to chance that this female tortured the shit out of a vampire who actually knew who Chris and Malcolm were. Better to lie low and check things out on their own for the time being.

Half a pack of cigarettes later Chris was ready to give up and come back another time when a very familiar redhead stepped out of the bar with a giant male who was no doubt a shifter too. “Holy fucking shit,” he murmured, barely loud enough for his brother to hear. What was that bitch doing in town?

Malcolm, who'd taken to leaning against the building so they could alternate watching the bar from their angled, hidden position pushed up. “What?”

Chris swallowed hard and braced himself for his brother's wrath. Fuck, fuck,
fuck
. He took a step back behind the building when Erin Flynn and her giant companion started down the sidewalk in their direction. They were on the other side of the road, and would likely pass over this side street, but he wouldn't take the chance that she saw him. “Careful,” he murmured.

Malcolm peered around the corner and let out a low curse. Then he moved away and pressed his back against the wall to face Chris. “What the hell is she doing here?”

Chris's heart beat triple time. This was definitely a complication he didn't need. He was already worried about some enforcer. Now he had to worry about Erin. When the male next to her threw his arm around her shoulders, she nudged him and smiled up at the guy. The movement lifted her jacket and showcased the bottom of two crisscrossed sheaths. Yeah, she was usually armed. Some things hadn't changed.

Motioning that they needed to move, he and Malcolm ducked into the entryway of the store. There was a small enclave that kept them hidden as long as Erin and her companion didn't come down their street.

From where they were standing he could see her crossing onto the next street in the opposite direction from them. But then she paused and turned and stared right in his direction. Because of the shadows and the enclave concealing them, there was no way she should be able to see them, but it was possible she scented him. They were downwind of her so they shouldn't have a problem. When her companion frowned and said something to her, she shook her head and they continued.

Only then did Chris let out a low breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. “Kelly needs to die.” He hadn't planned to kill the human until he and Malcolm split town, but now it was necessary. He didn't like that Erin was in town, and he really didn't like the rumor of a female enforcer being in town. It was way too much heat they didn't need right now.

“That's what I've been saying,” Malcolm grumbled, shoving a hand through his spiked blond hair. “You don't think . . . she's the enforcer, do you?”

Chris paused at the question, then slowly shook his head. “Nah.” But she was incredibly strong. Was it possible? He shut that thought down. No fucking way. “Can you follow Erin and that giant motherfucker without being seen?” he asked quietly.

His brother grunted.

“Good. I'll take care of Kelly. You follow them and don't be seen. Just find out where they're staying and who they're talking to. Whatever you can get on Erin, do it. I want to know what she's up to. I'll call you when Kelly's dead.”

Malcolm nodded and took off. Without pause, Chris hurried in the opposite direction. It was time to take care of a loose end.

T
hough he wanted to keep his distance as they walked down the sidewalk in the French Quarter, Noah couldn't help himself. He casually slung an arm around Erin and tugged her close. Her magnolia scent twined around him, driving him more than a little insane. While she felt fragile in his embrace he knew that was just an illusion. She nudged him in the side and gave him a half smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. He understood why.

They'd just questioned Hector at the Full Moon Bar and even though the guy was newly mated, he was a wreck over his missing sister. Not on the outside, but the agony rolling off him was almost tangible. Of all people, Noah understood. His younger sister had been killed by vampires many years ago, but the dull edge of his agony still lived inside him. It liked to rear its ugly head every now and then. When that happened he usually took a day away from the pack and roamed the forest in his wolf form.

Fiona had run away because of their father's overbearing ways and been killed. Then when Angus had gone out to put down the vamps who'd killed her, he'd refused to let Noah partake, even going so far as to have packmates restrain him. Because he would have gone no matter what the old man said. He still hadn't forgiven his father for keeping him away.

But right now other shifters' sisters, daughters, and mates were missing and he wanted to do everything he could to help. It wouldn't ease his own constant guilt over not protecting his sister, but it would help a lot of families.

“I thought for sure Kaigen and Leta might have more in common,” Erin muttered as their boots thudded across the sidewalk.

Noah tightened his grip on her hard shoulder. The woman was incredibly lean. “I know. The Pilates class is a start though.” Both women had gone to the same studio, but as far as Hector had known, Leta hadn't been friends with the other woman.

That didn't mean they weren't though. Erin had already called information to get the studio's phone number but it was closed at the moment so they were headed back to his father's place to see Meli.

“I hope Meli is up to talking,” Erin said, her expression pensive.

Noah just nodded, but alarm jumped in his gut when Erin froze. A haunted look flickered in her mercurial gray eyes for a fraction of a second as she glanced around.

“What is it?”

Blinking, she shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts, then looked back up at him, a false smile on her face. “Nothing.”

Every time she shut him out like that it was like a dagger through his chest. Sometimes she let him see the part of her she kept hidden from the world but he was tired of those brief glimpses. He wanted all of her and he would have her.

They continued walking and he used one of the many skills he'd learned growing up and pickpocketed her car keys. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice. This case was only starting and he could see the effect it was having on Erin already. It was a hard case but he didn't want her consumed by it and he just wanted her to smile one time today.

A few blocks later as they reached the car she was obsessed with, she slid her hand into her back pocket and frowned. Then she patted all her pockets and glanced at him. “Noah—”

He dangled the keys from his left hand, swinging them from side to side in a hypnotic motion. “Maybe
I'll
drive your car back to my father's house.”

She let out a soft growl and lunged at him. But he was ready for her. Lifting his hand high—way higher than she could reach—he leaned back against the car and kept his hand in the air out of her grasp.

“Damn it, Noah. This isn't funny.” Erin grasped his shoulder with one hand and climbed his body. She shimmied up him like a damn feline. With her hand outstretched and her knees clenched around his waist, she was eye level with him.

In that instant she froze and so did he. He'd meant only to play with her but feeling her tight body stretched out on his made him react. He couldn't help it. For decades he'd had control of his body but not around Erin. If she was on him, he was fucking hard.

Dropping her hand, she slid down a few inches and rubbed the juncture between her legs right over his erection. If they didn't have clothes on he'd be inside her tight body right now. Thrusting, taking, and claiming everything that was his.

Her eyes slightly widened and her natural magnolia scent got even stronger. When her eyes dilated and her breathing increased he knew he'd affected her. Part of him wondered if he should let this go, but he couldn't. “You feel what you do to me? What you
always
do to me?”

She swallowed hard. “Noah . . .”

“Cat got your tongue?” he asked, his words low.

Her gaze landed on his lips and she licked her own in an almost subconscious gesture. She moved up a little then back down, as if she wanted to grind against him. His cock jumped at the unexpected reaction from her. She was clearly letting her body take over for an instant, not getting all tangled up in that head of hers.

His inner wolf cheered, but just as quickly she shoved away from his chest and dropped to the sidewalk with a thud.

Turning from him, she crossed her arms over her chest. “You can drive my damn car if you want to,” she muttered, sounding like a petulant child.

He didn't miss the way her cheeks were flushed crimson. From embarrassment that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her—because he knew the sexy woman was still trying to fight her attraction—or just because she was turned on, he didn't know. And he didn't care. He affected her. Plain and simple.

It was all he needed to know at the moment.

One step at a time, he'd break down that protective wall of hers until it was impossible for her to walk away from him.

The drive back to his father's house was short and he took perverse pleasure in taking the turns just a little too sharp. Erin gasped each time he did, as if she thought he'd actually harm her car. Good. He liked that she wasn't in control for once. Since the moment he'd picked her up off that dirty alley pavement his entire world had rolled off its axis and he'd been spiraling out of control ever since. He wanted her to feel the same need and craziness he did every second of every day.

Before he'd even shut off the engine in his father's driveway, Erin was out of the car and striding up the walkway. He quickly fell in step with her, dangling the keys in her face. “Forgetting something? Or are you going to let me start driving your precious baby all the time now?” His voice was taunting.

With incredible reflexes, she snatched them from him but he didn't miss the slight quirk of her lips. “You are nothing but trouble, Noah Campbell. Stay out of my pants.”

He let out a bark of laughter at her words and her cheeks flushed pink.

“I meant because of my
keys
, not . . . never mind.” She blinked rapidly at him, her embarrassment clear and when a slow grin spread across his face, she turned on her heel and jerked open the front door of the mansion.

The second they stepped inside, all the humor left his body. He could hear a woman crying somewhere upstairs, but other than that the house was eerily silent.

But only for a moment.

Evan, Meli's mate, came storming down the stairs a moment later. He let out a horrific roar and shifted to his wolf form as he reached the bottom stair. Growling at them, he shoved past them and out the front door. The howl that followed made all the hairs on Noah's arms stand up.

Erin shot Noah a worried look and started up the stairs. It was like déjà vu from yesterday as his father and mother quietly strode out of the same room Meli had been in before. His father's face was grim, and his own mother had tears streaming down her cheeks.

Oh no.
He knew what had happened before either of them spoke.

“She lost the baby,” Angus said quietly. “Now is not the time to question her. She won't even let her own mate comfort her.”

When Noah looked at Erin, he was surprised to see that her eyes had filled with tears. He couldn't remember ever seeing her cry. And her next words were like a dagger straight through his chest. “I . . . lost my baby about two weeks before I was due. I could try talking to her to let her know she's not alone if you think it would help.” Erin wouldn't look at Noah or Angus as she spoke, but kept her gaze focused on Iris, his mother.

His mother blinked in surprise, then squeezed Angus's forearm. He simply nodded and let Erin pass. Noah couldn't even move as she shut the door behind her. The grief that had flowed off her as she'd spoken in that trembling voice shredded him. Erin had lost a baby? She'd been pregnant? By who? And what had happened? Why hadn't she told him?

“Did you know?” his mother asked quietly.

Unable to formulate words, he shook his head and stumbled down the stairs. Unwanted images from the day he and the warriors of his pack had found Erin in that alley invaded his mind. She'd never spoken of what had happened to her to anyone in the pack. Well, except for Carmen, but she was dead and had never told a soul. Now things clicked into place like puzzle pieces snapping together.

Seeing how strong Erin was, how utterly capable, he'd
never
understood how anyone could have harmed her the way they had. And there'd been so much fucking blood on her thighs he'd just assumed . . . fuck. Growling, he yanked the front door open and blindly walked down the driveway. He needed to get away from the house and didn't trust himself behind the wheel of a car.

As the gears in his mind turned he realized that if she'd been pregnant before they'd found her it would explain how someone was able to hurt her to the extent that she'd almost died. Pregnant shifters were nearly as weak as humans. It would also explain all that damn blood. But nothing could explain why she hadn't told anyone what had happened to her. Noah knew he was making assumptions but his gut told him he was right in this. If he found out who had harmed her while pregnant—there would be hell to pay. He could only hope he was wrong. But he would find out one way or another.

The farther he walked through neighborhoods, the easier it was to breathe. As if the giant weight on his chest had been raised a fraction. Once he finally got his emotions under control, Noah scrubbed a hand over his face and looked around, taking in his surroundings.
Holy hell.
He'd walked—and run—all the way to the Mississippi River. And he wasn't anywhere near Canal Street or shopping or touristy places.

He turned, heading back up the street of hollowed-out businesses. He could hear heartbeats in the vicinity, likely the homeless, but the place was damn near abandoned. Probably due to Hurricane Katrina. He vaguely recognized the area of town but he hadn't been familiar with it even when he lived in New Orleans. But he still knew how to get home. Well, his father's home.

As he came to the end of the street, he was faced with a clearly abandoned industrial warehouse. The reddish coloring on the outside of the three-story building was peeling, the windows looked as if they'd been blown out and the parking lot attached to the east side of it was overgrown with grass and weeds pushing through the cracks. But what caught his eye was a blond-haired man ducking through one of the blown-out doorframes with a speed that was way too fast to be human. There were too many scents in the area for him to discern, but Noah also thought he smelled a shifter. Possibly more than one.

Curious about any shifters that might be in this area of town, he kept his walk casual as he strolled across the street. Then he ducked inside the building through another opening. He didn't need any time to adjust to the semidarkness of the expanse of the interior.

High crisscrossed beams made up the rafters, a moldy stench he'd barely scented outside was now overpowering, and a slew of couches and mattresses were scattered across the football field–sized area. There were also a couple of metal barrels with fire burning inside them. Definitely a place where the homeless lived. But he couldn't
see
any of them. Interesting.

People who lived on the streets had a more honed ability to sense danger or predators. They had to if they wanted to survive. If the blond-haired man he'd seen enter the building was indeed a shifter, then it made sense why everyone had scattered.

Taking a few steps toward one of the dark corners, Noah swiveled as a body dropped from the rafters. Shit. If he hadn't been so damn caught up in his own thoughts he would have sensed it.

The shifter with blond hair and blue eyes stared at him, his eyes flashing darker to show his inner wolf as he lunged with a knife, aiming straight for Noah's heart.

Noah dodged to the side, the blade slicing through his shirt and barely glancing his upper arm. Most shifters preferred to fight in their animal form, though he had no clue why this guy wanted to fight him in the first place. It wasn't as if he knew him or wanted to take his damn territory.

“I'm not trying to take over your warehouse.” Noah put a few yards between them and held up his hands in a placating gesture. New Orleans might be Angus's territory, but if someone had carved out a small section in an abandoned warehouse to call their own, the guy would definitely try to defend it.

The male snorted derisively, then wielded the blade around a few times. The quick work with his hand made Noah think he'd seen the action done in a movie or something. It wasn't intimidating, just annoying. As the man began to circle him, Noah stepped to the side, refusing to be cornered.

He didn't relish the idea of being in another fight and something told him this wasn't about the warehouse. The male had seemed to think that idea funny.

“What the hell do you want?” Noah growled, letting his claws unsheathe. He might not decide to turn completely wolf, but he was going to defend himself.

“For you and that slut you're with to leave town.” The words were spoken with such hatred Noah realized that something about this was personal.