Blaze of Fury (6 page)

His expression softened somewhat and he
arched both brows. “Maybe you should’ve done the jobs
yourself.”

“I would have if it was my last resort. I
didn’t want to risk getting caught.”

“And someone pointed you in my
direction.”

“Yes. You are not easy to find. I had to
search long and hard just to find anyone who’d even speak to me
about mercenaries. Once I got into the underground network your
contact came to me after my situation traveled the wire.”

“Yeah…my main liaison keeps an ear out for
cases like yours.”

“So are you ever going to tell me about you
and this unique power of yours?” She couldn’t fathom what it would
be like to change into an animal and hoped he’d open up.

“Should I?”

Sasha threw her hands up in surrender. “I’m
not going to drag it out of you.” She turned away with a huff. “You
might feel better talking about it though.”

“I did that and it did me no good. I see no
point in opening myself up to another who will simply walk away
once the job is done.”

She half-turned and tilted her head, slanting
him a look. “The job is done.”

“I have one more target.”

“I changed my mind about him. There is still
a glimmer of hope.”

He grabbed her shoulders and swung her
around. “What’s going on here? Have you decided to back out now
that you know what I am?”

“No!” She wrenched free of his grip and
stepped back. “My daughter sent me a text while you were gone.
Seems word has traveled fast about the other two men. Her
ex-boyfriend has pulled away from the
family
and wants to
change.”

“Do you believe him? Maybe he’s just running
for his life.”

Sasha let out a short, cynical laugh. “I’d be
a fool to believe him so quickly, but I do love my daughter and
that precious little baby. If Sienna believes there is hope then
how can I as her mother, strip that away from her?”

“You love deeply when you love.” A peculiar
softness laced his voice.

“I don’t want to be the one who takes my
grandchild’s daddy away if there is the slightest chance that boy
can turn himself around. He’s still very young, only in his early
twenties, unlike the two bastards you just killed. They were never
going to change and those people hurt me more than anyone I’ve ever
known.”

“What about your daughter’s safety?”

“I am concerned. But she seems to have
herself together and promised to take things very slowly with the
boy. I can’t deny her. Will you allow me to cancel this last job?”
She offered him her cell phone. “Read for yourself what Sienna said
if you don’t believe me.”

Ice accepted the phone and read the messages.
Not a hint of emotion traced his face as he read.

“I rarely see love like this between a mother
and daughter. You travel the same wave with her.” He looked up from
reading. “I will honor your request and let the boy live…for
now.”

“This isn’t a case of backing down. I am not
afraid to finish. I just don’t want to hurt my daughter if a
glimmer of hope exists. The kid is still extremely immature.
Perhaps now that the ringleaders have been taken out he will change
his ways.” She paused with a grateful look. “Thank you…thank you
for taking Jona out. He was pure evil.”

“I must admit, I am impressed by your genuine
nature.” He handed the phone back to her.

Sasha smiled slightly with a casual shrug.
“I’m just me. I don’t bow to peoples’ standards and I follow my
heart. Doesn’t exactly make me very popular as most people I know
turn themselves inside out to fit into this world. I was shut away
from society for such a long time that I have no social circle to
impress.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I own a small bakery. After the divorce I
used my settlement share to open the shop. I make enough to get by
and I can work alone, which I prefer. I do my baking by night and
Sienna runs the sales counter by day.”

“Sounds like you dropped out of the
mainstream a while ago.”

“Yeah…a long time ago…” Her thoughts drifted
for a few moments over her past. So much heartache and trauma—she
wondered how she’d survived at all. “Life doesn’t always play by
the rules.”

“No, it sure as hell doesn’t,” he said, then
added, “Are you hungry?”

She nodded. “Perhaps we should tend to your
wound first.”

“I’m fine. I heal fast.” He grabbed the
cooked fish off the grate then tossed them onto paper plates.
“Let’s eat.”

His physical resilience made her want him all
the more. He ignored pain and killed without mercy just as she’d
been told. She watched him prepare their meal. Though fish was her
least favorite meal, the way he cooked it actually made it taste
good. She picked around the bones, enjoying the moist meat while
feeling Ice’s eyes steadily upon her.

“Do you catch the fish while in your animal
form?” she asked.

Their eyes met and he appeared taken aback by
her straightforward question. He simply stared while chewing. After
swigging water from a bottle, he wiped his mouth.

“Yeah. No need to mess around with bait and
tackle when I can just pluck them from the water with my
hands.”

“You mean your claws?”

He cracked a smile. “Actually, they are
talons.”

“Ah, so you can smile,” she teased.

“Sometimes.”

“Will you tell me about it? How did you get
this way? Were you born with the ability to become a bird?”

“No…” He looked past her with a distant
expression as if he wanted to avoid the subject.

She waited and ate quietly, hoping he’d share
his story.

“I was chosen by the goddess Shae, ruler of
hawks, to protect these woods from those who seek to hunt the
protected creatures which make their homes here.” He paused
expectantly, most likely thinking she’d have another question. When
none came forth, he continued. “A long while back, when I was a
young man attending Forestry school, our class took a field trip
into this part of the country to study the endangered species and
get hands-on training as Forest Rangers. We were ambushed by a
group of poachers…hunters that kill for sport and often target
endangered creatures.” Again, the remote stare indicative of
suppressed rage sent a chill over her. When he spoke, his voice
sounded cold. “Our professor tried to reason with the group of men
and asked them to leave. One guy pulled a gun on him. I jumped the
prick to try and stop him. But another dude shot the professor
point blank. I think everyone went into complete shock at that
point because the men opened fire before any of us gained the
presence of mind to run.”

“Oh my god…I am so sorry,” she muttered.
Tears welled in her eyes over such tragedy and needless loss of
life.

“They left us for dead, but I was the only
one still alive. That’s when
it
happened.”

“What?” She hung on his every word and her
eyes remained locked on the hard lines of his face.

“I drifted between worlds…you know, like one
of those near death experiences where people see loved ones,
angels, or something supernatural.”

“Yes, I have read those kinds of stories but
never met anyone who’d actually experienced one.”

“Well now you have.” He lifted one corner of
his mouth in a derisive manner. “While in that realm a spiritual
being approached me. I saw myself lying facedown in the grass but
at the same time I was suspended in the most peaceful space of time
I’d ever known. The spirit-woman identified herself as the
Goddess Shae
from the
Shasta Realm
and told me I was
favored by the realm because of my brave act. She explained that I
had arrived at the place between mortal and immortal worlds where
the spirits of all creatures converge. In that gap, those chosen
are given a new name, a single name, which embraces the nature of
their animal spirit. She gave me the name
Ice
, because when
I returned to my body I would be the
avenger
…void of feeling
when called upon to kill. I was given the ability to shift and my
chosen animal is the hawk.”

Sasha was speechless. This savage-looking man
who she’d deemed nothing more than a cold-blooded killer actually
had been specially selected for a higher purpose.

“My first assignment was to track down all
the men who took part in that massacre. After fulfilling the
mission a sentinel was appointed to me, a person who watches with
sharp eyes for those in need.”

“Wow…” she said with a soft gasp. “That is
incredible. Had I not seen you shift this would be a very hard
story to believe.”

“You believe me?” He sounded surprised.

“Why wouldn’t I? At least now I understand
you a little better. Is this why you are so outwardly cold? Because
you saw your friends brutally killed?”

“Perhaps. I shut down that day. I never left
the forest.”

“Didn’t you need a doctor?”

“We had learned extensive first aid by then.
I tended my wounds with what nature offered.” He made a sweeping
motion with one arm. “There is life everywhere in the serenity of
these woods. All one needs to do is draw on the sources naturally
available.”

“How does your shifted form help you? A bird
of prey is not a great threat to humans.”

“My gift enables me to travel quickly, do the
job, then disappear without a trace. I have extraordinary eyesight
so I can spot the targets from far away. Nobody can catch something
that doesn’t exist.”

“But you must have to become human to kill.
Do you worry someone might see you?”

He gave a light shrug. “Sometimes, but not
for reasons you might think. I don’t want to force anyone to live
with what I live with. Witnessing violence is a tough scene to
forget…I know firsthand. I have never killed in front of a witness.
I am fast and precise.”

She picked quietly at her food while
processing everything he said. They finished their meal in awkward
silence.

“I have to ask…” She finally spoke up yet
kept her voice soft. “Do you make love to all the women who
contract you?”

For an instant she thought he might explode
in anger, but an intriguing softness returned to his intense eyes.
“No,” he replied. “You are only the second.”

“Oh.” She hesitated, wanting to inquire
further but unsure of how.

Ice released a heavy sigh. “One of my first
assignments was similar to yours except she only needed one target
taken out…not three.” He paused with an openly amused look. “I felt
for her, maybe even
fell
for her. She had a pure heart and a
gentle soul. I can’t understand why men abuse these sweet
women.”

“What happened?”

“I completed the job and like you, she saw me
shift upon my return. She paid me, left, and never looked back.”
For the first time his eyes revealed a glimpse of sorrow. “I
figured all women would react in the same way so I never pursued
another. You caught me off guard.”

“And that made you angry, didn’t it?” she
dared to suggest.

“You drew feelings out of me that I buried
years ago. I didn’t like it.”

“I wasn’t trying to.”

He took their empty plates, tossed the fish
scraps into the woods then the plates into the fire. “My duties to
you are fulfilled now. I can take you back to civilization in the
morning.”

Unanticipated sadness washed over her. “I
take it you made up your mind about our options.”

He turned around with an expression much
warmer than expected. Gently he took both her hands into his.
“Look, babe, you don’t want to leave your life to live here with
me, and I have no desire to coexist with mankind on a daily basis.
Let’s not complicate matters.”

She fought back the tears and nodded. “If it
means anything…I’m not afraid of what you are. I’d stay if you
asked me to.”

With a soul-searching gaze, he offered her a
light smile. “Yeah…it means something. But our worlds don’t blend
and I’ve become too accustomed to living in the wild. I don’t
expect any woman to accept this.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to try my world?
I live a very private life and you just eliminated my biggest
enemies.” She stared up with pleading eyes.

“You make it very hard to say
no
with
those sultry blue eyes and pouty lips.” He brushed her cheek with
the back of one hand.

“I’ve never met a man like you. In your arms
I felt safe even when I should’ve been afraid.” Her hands slid into
the long black strands framing his ruggedly handsome face. “If we
must part then at least love me one more time.”

“I’m surprised you’d want to be with me again
now that you know I am part animal.”

“What you are is blessed by spirits most
people dream about. I don’t see you as part animal. You are all man
to me.”

His eyes locked on hers and he sucked in a
sharp breath. “You are a very special woman. I wish I could return
to your world but I cannot and I don’t want to use you.”

Slowly she began unbuttoning the oversized
shirt—the only garment she was wearing besides her ripped panties.
“The pants were too big.” She offered him a demure smile. With each
release of the fabric, his gaze drifted lower.

“Sasha…” His head dropped to her neck.

He kissed a satin trail along her jaw line
and downward over her shoulders. Easing to his knees, he pushed the
shirt off her shoulders then let his large hands glide down her
back. She closed her eyes and tilted her head upward as he held her
tightly and continued the tantalizing trek toward her breasts.

Kneeling before her, he clutched the cheeks
of her behind with a feral grip while closing his warm moist mouth
over one tingling nipple. She moaned as he sucked. Each tug of his
mouth intensified the ache rising in her core. He licked his way to
her other breast and drew hungrily on the nipple with his hot
mouth.