On the Prowl (26 page)

“Sure, it can be done,” Mac conceded, but his tone of voice made sure they knew there was a catch. “But according to him, that would take a minimum of three to four weeks.”

“Unacceptable,” Nic bit out. “I will not have this hanging over the heads of my people for another month.”

“I think we can rule out you as well,” Rafe said, eyeing Nicolas warily. “If the witness is to be believed at all, you clearly don’t fit the profile. We’re roughly the same size, and I can’t imagine a blind idiot mistaking you for a woman.”

Saskia the tigress purred her agreement.

“That still gets us nowhere. Even with Sass and me eliminated, I’m not going to agree that anyone in our families was involved, either.”

“I’ve started looking around to see if I can find any other Tiguri who may be in the city at the moment,” Mac offered, “but it’s slow going. You’re not the most open bunch of so-and-sos I’ve ever run across. Plus customs doesn’t exactly have a ‘check your species’ box on the entry forms.”

“Then all of this has been an exercise in futility.” Nic waved his hand around the abandoned building in disgust. Saskia pressed against his leg, offering the comfort of her presence.

“Not futility.” Dmitri shook his head and watched them with an expression of careful consideration. “We have confirmed that there is a Tiguri connection to the events, and that gives us a starting point to dig deeper.”

Graham rolled his eyes. “Come on. We all knew the tigers were involved. I don’t see how any of this has helped, except to rule out two of them.”

Saskia narrowed her eyes at the Lupine and crouched low, hissing in displeasure.

“Careful, friend,” the vampire warned. “Your prejudice is going to get you into trouble one of these days. Besides, I don’t agree that we’ve learned nothing new. Before we had only suspicions and bad blood. Now we have facts. First, a Tiguri was involved; and second, we should be looking at a smaller man or perhaps even a woman. That is more than we knew a few hours ago.”

“It’s still not enough. Especially not for me,” Rafe said. “After all, I’m the one who’s been attacked twice in the past week. I’d prefer not to prove the old adage that trouble comes in threes.”

“Actually, if you’d all let me finish a thought, I’d share the rest of my news with you.” Mac stood and dusted his hands off on his jeans.

Graham shot him a bad-tempered look. “If you have more to say, say it. We’re all waiting to be astounded by your brilliance.”

“Sadly, honesty forces me to admit it’s only partly my brilliance. The rest came from the reporter we all know and love.”

Dmitri groaned. “Corinne? How is Corinne involved in this?”

“She’s not really involved; she just happens to have taken a shine to Saskia.” Mac nodded to where Saskia sat on her haunches at Nic’s feet and frowned. “You know, she’s made her point. She can turn back into a person now. That way, she’ll be able to contribute to the discussion.”

Saskia chuffed in amusement and felt her mate’s fingers tighten in her fur.

“No. She can’t.”

“But—”

“Do not push him, my friend,” Rafe said, his eyes glinting with amusement. “While I, too, would like nothing more than to look on the beautiful Saskia’s human form again, her mate would prefer to deny us the sight. Apparently, tigers are selfish creatures.”

Graham rolled his eyes. “Don’t you push, either, Rafe. She can’t turn back to her human form, Mac. Are you forgetting she no longer has any clothes? The power of her shift would have incinerated them. You need to spend more time around shifters if you’re forgetting details like that.”

Mac cleared his throat. “Right. Sorry.”

Nic accepted the apology with a baring of his teeth.

“Anyway, like I was saying, I got the idea from Corinne,” the investigator continued, studiously looking away from the tigress and her mate. “She came over to pick up Danice the other day for some girl thing or another, and she mentioned that Saskia had had an interesting idea. It seems that when she thought about the fact that whoever was behind the attacks had to have a grudge against Rafe, she wondered if they were using the Council’s prejudice against the Tiguri as a kind of smoke screen. By striking now, when the Tiguri are new in town and there’s already a lot of suspicion aimed against them, the real culprit could deflect everyone’s attention away from his actual motives and watch while we in the Other community all turned against the Tiguri.”

The men in the room thought about that for a long moment. Saskia could practically feel the wheels of her mate’s mind turning.

“Okay, I see a certain logic in that,” Graham said, breaking the silence, “but I don’t see where that gets us. We already knew Rafe was the target, and so many of the Others distrust the Tiguri that saying the attacker is using that for his own ends doesn’t really narrow it down much.”

“But that’s where my brilliance took over,” Mac said, grinning. “That was when it occurred to me. Saskia was on the right track, but she didn’t take the thought far enough. The key to the whole mess isn’t actually Rafe; it’s the Council.”

Dmitri’s eye narrowed. “Clarify, please. How did you come to make that leap?”

“I went over the details of the first attack,” Mac explained. “On Friday night, Rafe wasn’t actually hurt. Oh, maybe a little bruised, but the attacker didn’t get much on him; he couldn’t. The attacker followed Rafe from the hotel, yes, but if he really wanted to kill, he would have waited to strike until Rafe reached some place a lot less crowded. Unless, of course, the attacker wanted the attack to be witnessed.”

“You’re saying this tiger is a nutcase who wants to get caught?”

Mac shook his head at Graham. “No, I’m saying he wanted to be
witnessed.
He made sure he had enough cover so no one could really describe what they’d seen, but he clearly wanted people to know about the attack right away. He wanted that news to get out.”

“Why?”

“To get the Council involved.”

“What purpose does that serve?” Rafe demanded. “And why the elaborate ruse? The Council gets involved with any crimes committed by an Other. Of course we would look into an attack, witnesses or not.”

“But the attacker didn’t just want the Council to be aware and watchful; he wanted them stirred up and crying for blood. That, I think, is why Rafe became the target. No better way to piss off an organization than to attack the head of it, especially at a time when they’re already stirred up over something else.”

“The Tiguri,” Dmitri mused thoughtfully. “The Council had already begun to discuss the implications of having tigers move into the city. The membership was split. Several Council members expressed an unwillingness to let go of old prejudices, but there were a few of us who preferred to judge the situation on its merits, and the merits of those involved, rather than on the basis of old and potentially inaccurate beliefs. The attack just drove a deeper wedge between the sides. Those who had already denounced the Tiguri began to demand their blood.”

“Well, then it makes no sense for a Tiguri to be behind the attack.” Graham threw up his hands in exasperation. “Not even a Feline species could be dumb enough not to realize that if the Council is all ready to blame you for the slightest wrongdoing, then actually doing something wrong is only going to make things worse. They’ll watch more closely, and come down harder in the end. You’d practically be inviting the Council to persecute you.”

“True,” Dmitri said. “In fact, one could say you would have turned yourself into a martyr.”

“And there’s nothing a group likes better than to rally around its martyrs,” Rafe said, his expression grim.

Saskia tried to wrap her Feline brain around the human logic and shook it in confusion. She was missing something, but she felt the tension race through her mate and knew he had followed the logic on to the next step.

“If a Tiguri is truly behind this, then he is not motivated by a simple desire to kill De Santos.” Nic sounded so angry and shaken that Saskia stood and wove herself around his legs making comforting chuffing noises. “He is trying to start a war between the Tiguri and the Council of Others.”

“And the second attack on Rafe was truly the first missile strike,” Dmitri agreed. “Take out the head of the Council before the original Tiguri suspect has been cleared and the Council will no longer care about gathering evidence. They would strike back immediately to punish Nic as the suspected killer.”

Rafe nodded. “And by the time they realized their mistake, it would be too late. The war would have already begun and Nic would truly be a Tiguri martyr. All the tiger shifters in the world would rally behind his name.”

“At the very least, they would be able to bring the Council down.” Mac finished the chain of logic with grim certainty. “Even non-Tiguri would have trouble stomaching the council’s having blamed an innocent man. The Council would lose all support and tumble like a house of cards.”

Graham blew out a breath, shaking his head in disbelief. “That’s positively
diabolical
. Who the hell has a mind that works like that? I could barely follow along with it, let alone dream it up. Whoever hatched that plan is the definition of an evil genius. So how are we supposed to find him?”

Dmitri’s mouth curved in a smile that made Saskia’s whiskers twitch. “I believe I may have an idea.”

*   *   *

They decided to discuss the plan somewhere that didn’t smell quite so foul or suffer from quite the same lack of creature comforts. Nic’s resistance was quickly overruled, and all six of them made their way toward the Vircolac club with only minor grumbles. In the end, it was decided the club might be a bit too public, so they detoured next door, where they found Winters’s mate waiting along with another woman Nic hadn’t met.

Saskia entered first, padding into the foyer on all fours to two admiring feminine gasps.

“Sass, you’re positively gorgeous!” Missy Winters cried as she waddled her very pregnant form forward. “Oh, I’ve never seen a coat like that. It’s amazing.”

Saskia the tigress preened and lifted a paw to groom her face.

“She needs clothes,” Nicolas said. “I hate to impose, but is there any way—”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” the Luna dismissed easily. “We’ll fix her right up. I always keep extra clothes on hand in different sizes for emergencies. We’ll find something. Come on.”

Nic watched uneasily as his mate followed the Lupine’s female up the stairs and out of his sight. The other woman stayed behind and offered him a smile.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be fine. Missy’s been mothering people since way before she got pregnant. She’ll take good care of your mate.” She held out a pale, slender hand. “I recognized you from the papers, Mr. Preda. I’m Regina Vidâme.”

Nic grasped her fingers, feeling the coolness of her skin, and noticed her lack of scent. She was a vampire, and her introduction named her as Dmitri’s wife. She was a little thing, especially in comparison to her husband, with lush curves and deeply auburn hair worn long and waving down her back. Her expression appeared sweetly open, and she spoke of the Alpha’s mate with genuine affection.

“A pleasure to meet you,” Nic murmured, but he couldn’t keep his gaze from straying back to the stairs.

Regina laughed. “Ah, to be newly mated again.”

Dmitri wrapped a strong arm around her waist and tugged her firmly against his side. He grinned down at her wickedly. “Do you fear the spark is gone from our love,
dushka
? Perhaps I must spend more time demonstrating my passion for you.”

He bent to her lips, but she slapped her hand against his chest to hold him away playfully. “Thanks, but I like being able to walk, sweetheart. You’re doing just fine as it is.”

Graham Winters stepped around them and rolled his eyes. “Ignore them. They’re always like that. It’s diabetes on the hoof. Let’s all sit down so we can hammer this thing out.”

The werewolf led the way into a comfortable living room with a huge fireplace and plenty of seating. Logs already crackled in the hearth, but he took up a poker and jabbed at them before settling his shoulder against the mantel and waving everyone into seats. Nic sank into one of two oversize armchairs facing the fire. Rafe eased himself into the other while Dmitri settled himself on the end of a sofa perpendicular to the chairs and tucked his wife firmly against his side. Another sofa sat directly opposite, completing a u shape, and Mac took the end closest to the fire.

Nic found himself glancing back toward the stairs.

Graham noticed. “I give you my word your mate will come to no harm under my roof,” he said stiffly. “My Luna will care for her as if she were a member of our pack.”

Nic recognized the gesture. Lupine law decreed that an Alpha was responsible for the welfare of every member of his pack. By making his statement, Winters had taken a vow to keep Saskia safe. But that didn’t mean Nic had to like him.

Nic inclined his head stiffly. “Thank you.”

Mac snorted. “And here I thought the cold war was over.” Wolf and tiger both turned narrowed eyes on him. He threw up his hands and laughed. “Sorry. Sheesh.”

This time Graham glanced toward the stairs and frowned when no women appeared on them. He looked back at his guests and seemed to remember himself. “Ah, can I offer anyone a drink while we wait?
Bratok?
A glass of wine?”

“I would not say no.” Dmitri nodded.

Regina smiled. “I’ll just have a sip of his.”

“Nothing for me,” Mac said.

“Whiskey.” Rafe shifted in his chair and winced. “Neat. Please.”

Nic nodded. “I’ll have the same.” It would give him something to do with his hands, and frankly, he deserved the treat just now.

By the time the Lupine had poured and distributed, the soft sound of footsteps whispered on the stairs. Nic turned to see his mate and the Luna wolf descending to join them. Heavily pregnant and apparently human, Missy Winters made the bulk of the noise, his mate gliding along barefoot wearing a pair of black athletic pants with white stripes on the outsides of the legs and a long-sleeved red T-shirt that proclaimed: “Namaste, mofo.”