Matt: Tales of the Were (Redstone Clan Book 5) (20 page)

“We may not know where he’s gone, right now…” Morgan spoke her thoughts aloud. “But we know where he’ll be. Eventually.”

“The mine.” Marc sounded grim. “And he can just transport in without any of us being the wiser.”

“We’ll have to stake it out,” Philomena added. “Round the clock. Every entrance. Every point along the fault. Every vulnerable spot.”

“Aye,” Cam agreed. “But the one point in our favor is that the kind of magic he needs to do once he gets there canna be rushed. We’ll have a narrow window of time during which to stop him.” A pause while everyone digested that. “I’ve nullified the rest of the magical traps here,” Cam reported. “He didn’t have as many inside the apartment as he had on the way up, and your wolves sprang most of those.” His tone was not approving, and Morgan could imagine all those werewolves standing there with their tails figuratively tucked between their legs in shame. “I’m transporting back to Irma’s house to finish making it safe for the rest of you to investigate and clean up. Then, I’ll pop back to your place, Atticus, if that’s all right. We need to start making plans for round-the-clock surveillance.”

“By all means, Cam,” Atticus spoke up. “You are welcome here, and we value your assistance.”

“Yes,” Marc agreed. “Thank you for making the way safe for our people. We’ll handle the cleanup and bring anything of interest they might find up for discussion as we go along.”

“A solid plan,” Cam confirmed. “I’m giving the phone back to Philomena.”

Philomena came back on the line, and a few more words were exchanged. Marc was conciliatory to the embarrassed Alpha female, and Morgan noticed that Matt made a point to say a few things to make Philomena feel better. It was clear he cared for his Clan and the feelings of those in it.

Any other Alpha might’ve raked Philomena and her people over the coals for losing such a valuable target and failing in the task set before them, but Matt was understanding and kind. It was clear to Morgan that he knew Philomena already felt bad enough. Yelling at her wouldn’t help things. Making her feel valued as part of the Clan, even though she had failed in this mission was more important, right now, and it was exactly what Matt did. Morgan couldn’t be prouder of her mate. He was lethal when he needed to be, but he was also one of the most compassionate men she’d ever known.

Cameron appeared in one corner of the kitchen just as the phone call was ending. He conferred quietly with Ian, for a moment, and then, the two of them went off into another part of the house together. Morgan realized they were probably going to work through the magical traps that had been laid throughout the building, which Ian had already scouted earlier.

After Matt ended the call with a promise to clean up here before rendezvousing back at Atticus’s home, he turned to Morgan and simply tugged her into his arms. She went willingly. Gratefully. She was a lawyer. She’d never been in a real combat situation like this before. Not really. Hunting prey didn’t count because ninety-nine times out of a hundred, she let whatever critter she was after go. Her heart wasn’t in the kill. Not the way it had been minutes before.

She’d wanted Carlos dead with a fury that had nearly overwhelmed her. Both the cat and the woman wanted the evil the man represented eradicated from this earth, never to return. The ferocity of her response had surprised her. She hadn’t known she really had that kind of rage within her. It was startling. And more than a little scary.

But Matt knew what she needed. She needed him to ground her. To hold her and make her feel like her old self again—even if something had fundamentally changed about her understanding of who and what she really was. Once Pandora’s box was opened, the contents couldn’t be stuffed back inside. Morgan would have to deal with the bloodlust she’d felt and the knowledge that she had helped kill a man, albeit a truly evil man, for the rest of her life.

The cat inside her didn’t understand her human reticence about taking another’s life. Morgan had only let the cat out to play under very controlled circumstances up ‘til now. But after tonight, everything would change. The cat was well and truly out of the bag now. It had tasted the freedom to fight and claw, and it would not be denied again.

The human half of her was in agreement, up to a point. Her human side wanted to stop the evil ones. The cat wanted them dead. They had reached a sort of detente where the two would work together and allow Morgan to hold the difficult, half-shifted battle form for as long as she needed it while she fought the bad guys.

“You were magnificent, my love,” Matt crooned in her ear, rocking her slightly as he held her tight in his arms. “Your battle form was impressive. And sexy as hell.”

“I’ve never held the shift that long before,” she admitted. “I didn’t know I could.”

He drew back to look into her eyes, and she read approval and pride in his gaze. “You are a true Alpha female, sweetheart. And a formidable one, at that. When you needed your cat’s strength, she came, and she didn’t fight your human half for dominance. She worked with you. I know how it feels, Morgan.” He dipped closer to kiss her lightly. “We are well matched in every way. My cougar admires your strength and power. And you should know I think you’re sexy, no matter what form you wear.”

She leaned up and kissed him this time, loving the way he made her feel. Accepted. Wanted. Loved.

For the first time in her life, she had found a true home, and it was wherever Matt Redstone was. He was all she would ever need.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Matt and Morgan cleaned up the kitchen as best they could. There would be time for a more thorough job later, done by people who specialized in making evidence of supernatural occurrences go away. Matt knew a few such specialists were already in Napa, waiting for a call. He’d be making that call on the drive home, and by morning, nobody would ever be able to tell what had happened here by mundane means.

Which meant any human authorities need never be involved.

Someone would also take care of the mean mutt that was still locked in the basement. Cam had already gone out into the backyard and dismantled some seriously dangerous magic that had been waiting out there, so the outside was safe enough.

Within a half hour, they were back on the road, heading toward Atticus’s house. Ten minutes after they arrived, they were in the shower, cleaning off the rest of the blood. Morgan was especially relieved to be able to scrub her hair. Blood had dried in it, and her human side was grossed out by the way her cat side wanted to lick everything clean.

The cat’s impulses were stronger than they ever had been before, and Morgan knew she was going to have to spend some time, after all this was over, coming to a new understanding with her wild side. In the meantime, both her inner cat and her human instincts thought it was a really good idea to jump Matt’s bones while they shared the big shower in the guest suite.

He hadn’t been in here with her before, and the combination of steam, hot water, slippery shampoo and soap, and the sexiest man on Earth was impossible to resist. The shower was plenty big enough for both of them, tiled in a natural stone that made her feel both pampered and as if she was close to nature. The setting appealed to her, but the man appealed even more.

As soon as she’d washed her hair three times to be sure all the dried blood was gone, she turned her attention to her mate. The wildcat inside her, and the woman who wore its human form, wanted him. Now.

She stepped closer to him in the large shower stall. The thing had shower heads all over at different heights and seemed built for two. She put her arms around his waist and slid her wet body against his, reaching up for a kiss.

He obliged her, and then some. Before she knew it, he had her pinned against the stone-tiled wall between two of the largest shower heads. Water continued to rain down around them as steam filled the air.

And then, Matt filled her. There was little foreplay because she needed none. All she wanted was him. Raw. Earthy. Against the wall. Deep within her. Touching her soul and her heart.

Their lovemaking was gritty and harsh but, at the same time, loving and real. Matt pushed her to her limits and beyond, and she loved every second of his possession. He owned her utterly, and she met him thrust for thrust, moan for groan, heartbeat to heartbeat.

Morgan came and then came again before Matt was willing to follow her over the edge into ecstasy. She clenched around his hardness, loving the feel of him within her. His raw power enthralled her, his muscles straining as he fell into completion. She adored the way he let go of his masterful control when he came with her. She cherished the little glimpse of vulnerability in this otherwise potent Alpha. His strength had been almost overwhelming, at first, but now that she knew him—had faced adversity with him—she trusted in his honor and his spirit never to use his power against her.

No, in mating Matt Redstone, she had found a partner she could be proud of and trust utterly. She had also found a protector who, she knew, would go to the ends of the earth to keep her safe. Just as she would for him. He’d been spot on when he said they were well matched.

Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as she rode the final waves of ecstasy. He held her pinned against the wall, his strong body holding her up as if she weighed nothing at all. He trembled slightly as pleasure took him to the stars then returned him to earth, and his forehead rested against hers.

“If you two are done, everybody’s waiting for ye,” Cam’s voice came to them through the bathroom door.

Morgan gasped as Matt lifted his head and chuckled.

“Go away, you old perv,” Matt shouted above the rushing of the water, still streaming around them. His tone held amusement, and his words indicated a casual familiarity with the fey warrior she hadn’t expected. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Matt was still deep inside her, and she felt him begin to rise once more. Could they?

He kissed her lightly and withdrew. “Much as I’d love to repeat that, it seems we’re being summoned.” He held her steady until she had regained her footing. His every move shouted of his care for her, and she felt sort of…cherished. Which was a new experience for her. One she would hug close to her heart for the rest of their lives together… Goddess willing.

“I don’t know how I’m going to show my face. Cam keeps finding us making out,” she mumbled.

“Doing a bit more than that,” Matt added with a chuckle.

“Okay. Screwing like bunnies?” she asked, giving him a sarcastic smile as she rinsed off, using a bit more soap and quickly taking care of things.

“Hey.” Matt caught her attention by cupping her butt and giving her a little squeeze. “At least, this time, we remembered to close the door.”

The planning session was in full gear when Matt and Morgan arrived a few minutes later. Their hair was a little damp, but nobody seemed to mind. A new addition had been added to the room since the last time they’d all met here. A massive rolling white board stood off to one side of the room. Drawings and plans of the old mine and the new construction had been taped all over it, most with various colored sticky notes adhered in different locations.

It looked to Morgan like they were dividing up the surveillance duties, and someone had thought to use the sticky notes to color code everything. She walked over to the board while Matt joined the other men at the table, near a bunch of computer screens and telephone hookups. Lissa and Kelly seemed to be the keepers of the sticky notes, so Morgan approached them to learn the code they were using.

Within a few minutes, Morgan had a good grasp of the system they were beginning to work out. She added some suggestions and was able to help the vampire women understand more about the capabilities of the shifter personnel who would be helping with the daytime surveillance. It hadn’t been too long ago that both Kelly and Lissa were mortal. They understood sunlight and shadow a little better than some of the male vampires, but they didn’t know much about shifters, and that’s where Morgan was able to help most.

While the men were busy calling in favors and lining up support, the women were working on deploying the people they already had. It was a fair division of work since it was the males who were older and had more power in the vampire marriages. Each of the brides were only newly made bloodletters and hadn’t been around long enough to form the kinds of connections their mates had.

As for Morgan, she had spent most of her life staying away from shifters. Though she understood shifter nature far more than any of the other ladies, she also lacked the kinds of connections Matt had. So, it made sense to parcel out the work that way. They were in a hurry to get coverage on as much of the mine and grounds as they could. All hands were on deck and needed to be used to best advantage.

Before long, they had a workable plan in place, and the men had finished with their phone and video conferences. Morgan saw Marc look over at Kelly, and when she nodded back, it was clear it was time to rejoin the men and compare notes on what they had accomplished. Morgan went to Matt’s side, studiously ignoring Cam’s raised eyebrow and chuckle.

Marc started the briefing, which he kept short and sweet. Time was of the essence.

“With Matt’s help, we managed to get a platoon of Jesse Moore’s men en route. They may or may not get here in time to help us, but at least they’re on the way. I’ve also called in a few favors, and we’ll have maximum coverage tomorrow night from every member of the Brotherhood within range.”

“We’ve developed a plan for tomorrow,” Kelly began, then gestured to Morgan.

“We’ve broken up the current manpower and grouped them by affiliation and location. We also started identifying points in the mine and the surroundings that could be used for surveillance. We need your input on that.” Morgan nodded, spreading the overlay they’d been developing over the topographical map already on the table.

The men crowded around, and everybody went to work, trying to come up with a plan that would provide the most coverage with the few people they had. They moved a few of the spots the women had chosen for various strategic reasons, but for the most part, they had a solid plan within about fifteen minutes.