Lost Soul (DarkWorld: SkinWalker Book 2) (32 page)

They came up behind me so fast I heard them only at the last second—too late to do anything but struggle as they grabbed my arms and man-handled me across the street. I tried to elbow the guy on my right, but all he did was twist my arm up my back so high I was sure it would slip out of its socket.

I tried to look around, but the thug behind me grabbed my hair and bent my head back, so I was blind to where I was going and had to concentrate as the two other attackers dragged me toward the warehouse.

Just my luck. Even when I had decided to be careful, trouble came looking for me. Logan was going to be so pissed. I guess I'd only care if I actually survived.

They shoved me through the entrance between the hulking pieces of abandoned metal and gigantic coils of metal wire. My heart thudded as memories of my last experience here filtered through my mind. I so did not want a repeat.

The three pushed me into an open space just a few meters away from where Brand and his men had made a meal of that poor human girl the last time I was here. This time he was seated at a rickety metal table, one ankle resting on his knee. His eyes met mine and he stared at me, the expression in his partially transformed golden leopard eyes unreadable.

I couldn't even tell if he was angry.

The relaxed set of his body said he was fairly happy. No anger tensed his shoulders or tightened his jaw. I was confused.

"What do you want with me?"

Brand laughed and his men snickered behind me until he gave them a murderous glare and they all shut up in unison. They let me go and took a step back. When he returned his gaze to my face he said, "Do you really not know what I want with you?"

I shook my head. I knew he wanted vengeance, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of answering his question. I may be his prisoner, but I didn't answer to him.

"You, my little panther Alpha, have been the true bane of my recent existence." He got to his feet and moved toward me. I thought for a moment that I had a chance to run, but one of the men behind me grabbed my hair again, gripping it close to the scalp, so close that if I decided to make a run for it this minute, I'd need to leave my scalp behind.

Brand walked up to me and stared down into my upturned face. He bent until his nose was a fraction of an inch from my neck and then he took a deep breath. "I'm glad you could make it. I was surprised at how easy it was to get you to follow me." His eyes glittered.

"Not as easy as you think. Did you check on your little friend in the alley?" And as Brand lifted his head, his nostrils flaring, I realize how stupid I'd been. I'd been so sure I could track him by smell if he got too far away from me. Why had it not occurred to me then that he could track me just as well? A normal Walker had pretty solid tracking skills. An Alpha was much better, stronger, and faster, but it didn't mean Brand was incapable. In fact he'd just proved that. Even if he hadn't known where I'd hidden in the alley across the street, he certainly had known when I'd followed him.

"Yes. That was a bad move, my dear. I'll have to make you pay for that too." The smile he gave me was so clear, so friendly, it was easy to see how the Walker had run a club and had kept his drug-dealing a secret for so long.

I kept my mouth shut, beginning to worry where Logan was. I had a bad feeling that this time he wouldn't make it here at the last minute to save my ass. I watched Brand, and let my senses free for a moment. I needed to know what I was up against. His men were no match for me if I had my hands free to fight. Three of them and Brand.

And something else teased my senses. An odor that was familiar. Too familiar.

It smelled like Greer.

My heart thumped in my chest. Had Brand abducted Greer? But from what Tara had remembered of them when Brand had ordered Niko's metal claws, Greer seemed to be happy enough with Brand. What if she'd returned to them? Was Brand the person who'd rung Greer? Was he Greer's real coffee date?

I flicked the thought away, having too many other things to worry about right now. Brand hadn't moved. He seemed to be waiting for something. "What do you want?" I folded my arms across my chest. With my fingers out of sight, I let my claws lengthen. They were, in fact, my only weapon. I wanted to turn around and check which one of his men now had my bag of weapons. Not that it mattered anyway. I wouldn't be able to get to them. Even the knife in my boot couldn't help me now.

But my claws just might.

"I want you to pay. There are a few things on the list. You've destroyed a good few things of mine. And you put me in jail."

"Not that you spent too much time there," I countered sweetly.

Brand was pacing. "True, but I'm a busy man. I can't afford to spend too much time away from my business, my dear. I'm sure you can understand how it is. Things just don't do well when left unattended. And imagine my shock when I returned to find no sign of any of my drugs. Clean streets are not good for business."

"I'm sorry. I've been away. Had no idea the streets were clean." I didn't sound sorry and he knew it. He stopped walking back and forth and stared at my face again.

"You know, it's a real pity you aren't working with us. We could use someone like you on our side." His eyes raked me from head to toe.

I wanted to shudder, but stilled the urge. "That's never going to happen, so quit dreaming."

"I thought so. Never mind. So tell me what happened to my partner Niko?"

"He's dead." My voice remained expressionless.

"So, it is true.
So how am I going to get my drugs back on the street?" He was talking to himself now. He sounded focused, determined.

"What's wrong with just running your club and not ruining peoples' lives?"

"Are you crazy? You have no idea the kind of money there was in the Synthe. I need that formula."

"I don't need an idea. I just know the toll it took on peoples' lives."

"You know sometimes you sound a bit too much like Niko. Despite his need to experiment, he often felt guilty for what he ended up doing to his 'patients.' The problem with him was he often went a bit nuts while experimenting on them. And then of course there are the Wraiths. I'm assuming they will be a lucrative source if I can get back in with them."

I raised my eyebrows but he didn't take the bait.

"That Wraith Widd'en? He was very keen on seeing the Synthe on the streets. Said it made the Walkers more susceptible to possession. Said Walker possession had been unheard of, but the Synthe depleted their defenses and allowed the Wraith to possess them. The only problem he and Niko had was once the drug wore off, the Walkers body expelled the Wraith immediately."

This was very interesting. Brand was filling in the many blanks we'd had about Niko and his activities. We could have interrogated Greer, but Grams seemed worried that any kind of questioning could set her off, and we had no idea how crazy the Greylands had made her.

A sound at the entrance drew Brand's attention and at the same time, the dude holding my hair loosened his grip. I tugged my head loose and took the opportunity to spin my arms in a wide arc and rip my claws into Brand's abdomen. He screeched and held his hands to his belly. I sped around a gigantic coil and came at his men from behind in a blur of speed.

A quick swipe with one hand opened up the first Walker's jugular. I avoided the spray and ducked behind him to close in on the second thug. He spun around, his lynx eyes glaring, his hairy-tipped ears sprouting in the blink of an eye. He bent low and growled at me. But I didn't wait for his next move.

I sank low and swiped at his thigh, obliterating the muscle. He howled in agony and grabbed his leg as blood sprouted thick and fast. I landed a punch to his jaw, putting the full force of my strength behind it. My fist connected with a thud, and I felt the crunch of bone beneath my knuckles. He fell heavily to the floor, his eyes rolling back in his head.

The third guy had left to attend to Brand and both were now gone.

Darkness lay thick and ominous within the warehouse and my heart thudded in my chest. I breathed and released my panther senses in full force. The dark became lighter, clearer, shapes more defined. I could smell everything around me. From the sweat on my own body to the blood from the two thugs I'd decimated. Oil and gasoline and metal mingled to remind me how big this warehouse really was. I could even hear the soft murmur of the pigeons that sat within the rafters high above our heads.

And I could smell Brand.

Probably just as well as he could smell me, but I didn't care. I moved to step over the Walker whose jugular I'd ripped open when I had an idea. I bent to rub my hands in his blood, wetting my palms, then wiping the still warm liquid all over my neck, arms, and face. I swiped the rest of the blood off on my clothes, then rummaged in my bag for the demon sword. It seemed more appropriate for fighting a creep like Brand, the curve of the blade, the jagged tip, all saying
don't fuck with me
.

I breathed in and out, lowering my heartbeat, calming my breathing until I was so quiet I would sound much like a rat or a similar small animal. That should confuse the hell out of Brand. I eased myself past stacks of metal, huge broken chunks of what looked like engines, but nothing like I'd ever seen before.

I concentrated on Brand's scent and followed it through to the other end of the warehouse. He leaned against a pile of scrap metal, inspecting his stomach while the last of his men stood guard, waiting for me. The nervous cougar's eyes darted back and forth, but he saw little in the darkness. His night vision power seemed limited. Was he Pariah too? That would make a lot of sense. All these Walkers banding together, all different levels of Pariah. Probably what had drawn Greer to them. I couldn't blame her if she'd been looking for fellowship, but I could blame her for betraying her family.

I looked around for something to throw and found a small tin can, opened and empty. I tossed it off to the side and waited until the Walker disappeared into the row of metal stacks.

"Be careful, she's probably around here somewhere," Brand called.

I frowned. What the hell was wrong with him? Why didn't he just transform and use his leopard sight to look for me? Unless I had hit something vital.

Sniffing the air softly, I followed the scent of fear and Brand's blood that emanated from his goon. He wasn't hard to find. None of Brand's men seemed trained or strong. They were just as hard and just as much a fighter as the next man on the street. Brand had recruited green Walkers to follow him in his quest to regain the streets as Walker drug lord. Selfish asshole.

I ran up behind the cougar walker and tapped him on the shoulder. As he glanced left, I ran around the other side of him and waited for him to look back at me. When his gaze swung back, it was filled with fear, and for a tiny moment I wanted to spare the guy. He had no idea who he was up against. But then he charged at me, yelling like a madman and leaving me no choice but to swipe hard at him with the demon sword.

I let the blade slide through the front of his neck, just enough to sever his life's last threads. I wasn't keen on seeing a headless Walker corpse anytime soon. The thug fell to his knees holding his throat as if it were possible to keep it closed, or to keep himself alive. Blood spilled over his fingers and he sucked in air through his severed throat. He choked, coughing blood everywhere until he grabbed his neck harder before slipping slowly to the floor, dead.

Three down, one to go.

I gave the cougar one last glance. I still hadn't gotten used to killing my own. Wasn't sure if I ever would.

Then I went in search of Brand.

And found him still leaning against the stacked metal. What was wrong with him? Had prison made him soft?

And then I smelled Greer again.

Brand laughed, a loud, braying sound that would have startled me if I weren't on high alert. "Come here."

"Not a chance, asshole." My eyes narrowed as I glared at him, my sword ready at my side.

"Not you." He grinned at me, then looked over his shoulder. My gut clenched as Greer walked toward him, her face impassive. When she got to Brand, he grabbed her arm and faced me.

"Whatever you were planning to do to me, you'll have to do while I have your dear sister close to me."

"Greer, are you okay?" I frowned and glanced at her face.

Her eyes were glacial as she looked at me and folded her arms. "What do you think?"

Ailuros tell me why I had to keep saving Greer's ass even though she behaved like an ungrateful bitch every single time?

"Fine, just stay out of the way." I gave her one last dismissive glance.

"Sure, I'll try my best," she snapped.

"Enough with the sibling chats." Brand shook Greer's arm and she glared up at him, but
something about the familiarity of her expression bugged me.

I just confirmed that Greer had come back to Brand willingly.

But why was he holding her hostage? Was he just pretending or was he using her?

I didn't plan on wasting any time thinking about it. "Let her go," I said, knowing it was a waste of time, but it was still worth a try. "This is between you and me. Why do you want to hide behind a girl?"