Prey (5 page)

Low wails bounced off the walls, and
she snapped her eyes open, checking to see if someone had snuck
into the room with her. Nae giggled when she realized the cries
were coming from her. Her lids drifted shut. She moved another
digit in her passage and bent her legs, keeping her feet flat on
the bed. Driving her hips up with every lunge of her hand, she
tugged on her turgid tips of her heavy orbs. She pressed down on
the small bundle of nerves, and starbursts of gold and silver
flashed before her eyes. Her orgasm ebbed through her in waves,
leaving her limbs uncoordinated. A Hallelujah chorus rang in her
ears.

She pulled her elbows beneath her and
waited. The choir started singing again, and she searched for her
clothes. It wasn’t a figment of her imagination, only her cousin,
Shay, calling since she hadn’t checked in. She spotted her jeans
thrown over a chair.

Nae swung her legs over the mattress
and stood, her limbs trembled as delicious soreness made her thigh
muscles ache. She padded over to the furniture and picked up her
pants to dig through the pockets. Contents fell to the carpet when
she grabbed the wrong end of the jeans first. She bent over to
swipe the cell up, leaving the folded papers and sat down on the
edge of a chair. After sliding her finger over the phone’s screen
she tapped Shay’s number. Engrossed in her surroundings, she never
heard the line connect.

“
Where the hell are you?”
Shay’s voice held a twinge of anxiety.

Nae took in more of the space. The
room resembled one of those pictures of a spa she saw in a
magazine. “A hotel room.”

“
You’re a bad
liar.”

“
You called all the motels
in the area didn’t you?”

“
I did. Now where the fuck
are you, or do I need to catch a flight up there?”

Nae sighed. “Now, no need to get your
panties in a twist. I’ve found El, and it’s just a matter of time
before I have the opportunity to take him down.”

“
Who the hell is El? For
the love of heaven what have you gotten yourself into? You should
be heading back by now!” Shay’s voice escalated with every
word.

“
You know what Shay, you
stress way too much. I got this.” Nae hopped on one foot as she
pulled her jeans on. “Let me get situated, and I’ll call you
back.”

“
What the fuck does that
mean?” Shay screeched.

Nae ended the call and
took a deep breath. She needed to find the bathroom, finish getting
dressed, and track down her warrant. Just what the hell had she
been thinking? Granted, El was sexy in a bad ass kinda way. She
scrubbed her hands up and down her face. This hunt just went from
bad to worse. She snatched the rest of her clothing and marched to
the only door in the
room, forgetting
about the
items
she’d left scattered across the floor.

Chapter Four

Ellory crouched low dropping his head
between his paws and watched the bar his brother used as the
pride’s headquarters. As the oldest, he should have been in the
position of Chieftain. Instead, his brother had stolen the clan
from him, and for that, he would pay. The plan he’d kicked off in
Reno was coming to fruition. He yawned. Finding a bike that almost
matched El’s had been the biggest pain in the ass, and he’d been
forced to travel through a few states to find one which was even
close. But, he’d done it. What he hadn’t expected was for his
little brother to go and sleep with the bounty hunter. And, he
wasn’t sure if that would count in his favor. If the hottie in the
gun holster chose to believe Eldridge and helped him, she could
unravel everything he’d so carefully put into place.

Once he got El away from the pride,
killing him would be a piece of cake. He’d have to make sure to
leave the body some place conspicuous so it would be found quickly.
Miraculously, he would show up after the funeral, prepared to take
the place of his brother as head of the pride. Ellory rose and
padded across the soft moss forest floor to climb up an outcropping
of boulders. He still had to be careful not to be seen, and that
bitch of a bird might be gliding in the skies above him.

His brother had loyal supporters, that
much was evident by the way the pride chose to follow El to another
country, instead of staying in Africa with him. They could have
hidden, stayed in their lion forms, anything. No, the majority of
his people decided to abandon him, leaving behind the few loyalists
who’d stuck with him. El broke the tribe in two, forcing them to
choose one brother over another, and that alone was unforgivable.
Part of the faction was still in Africa, with the exception of a
few shifters who’d come with him to infiltrate El’s pride. The rest
were waiting for word to come over. Ellory eased back on a warm
flat rock, resting in the shadows of a large overhang. He flicked
his tale, sending the gnats scattering, while keeping a distant
view of the biker club. A quick death was too kind for El. No, he
needed to come up with a way to make him suffer first.

He stared at the building but saw his
past. The dry heat of the day had given way to the cold temperature
of night. Gunter, the man who’d taken him and Eldridge in after the
death of their mother and the ousting of their father, had called a
meeting on his younger brother’s behalf. The time had come to
choose a chief since the old renegade lion had finally died. As the
oldest, he knew it was a given he would be chosen. When he wasn’t,
he’d have sworn his heart had stopped beating for the briefest of
moments. Then, it thumped so hard in his chest he was sure everyone
surrounding him could hear it.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise
that Gunter and the others would side with El. After all, he was
the old man’s favored son. They lacked vision and didn’t understand
where he wanted to take the clan. Of course, the pride feared what
they didn’t understand. It was also piss poor planning on his part.
He would never make that mistake again. Ellory searched the skies.
That Eagle wasn’t something he’d expected when he started scouting
El’s Pride. She was a new addition he would have to counter act.
The bird gazed at his brother as if El was the second coming. No
doubt he probably found her and took her in. His brother had a
knack for finding orphans.

Ellory grunted and sent a squirrel
below him scurrying for cover. He could bring in someone from
Africa to keep her occupied. Gunter would have to die once he had
control of the pride. It was that damn hyena’s fault he and his
brother were at odds in the first place. Soon, he would have
everything that should have been his birthright. He just needed to
bide his time. He chuffed and rose, inching farther under the large
stones as a drizzle started. This was a Goddess awful place to
live. On second thought, perhaps once all his plans were cemented,
he’d pack the whole pride up and take them back to Africa. He
missed the lands, the people.

The paw of a big cat appeared in front
of him. Ellory waited for his inside man to make the
climb.

Reese moved effortlessly over the
stones, sat down, and shifted. “Ellory.”

Ellory changed to his human form. “It
took you long enough to get here.”

“
I wanted to make sure I
wasn’t followed. El had an unexpected visitor, and the team
dispersed early. I stayed hidden until I was sure everyone
left.”

“
Report.”

“
Ol loverboy thinks that
bounty hunter is his mate, and his ex is none too happy about that.
El threatened to kill her…”

Ellory interrupted Reese. “He
threatened to murder a lioness? There are so few left, and my idiot
brother would hurt one of his own … for a human?” He shook his
head.

“
Like I was saying. She
left in a fit of anger. He also sent his team to find out what the
hell is going on regarding why he’s wanted in Reno.”

“
Of course he would.
That’s the first thing I would do. Is there any chance of you
getting into his inner circle?” Ellory pushed the strands of hair
off his face.

“
I was talking to Gunter
last night. El won’t even look at new member of the pride without
getting Gunter’s input. I thought I had that old man convinced, and
then the sweet assed hunter showed up.”

“
If they won’t pick you as
a sentry, see about getting a job in the bar. I also want you to
ask if you can bring your cousin over from Africa. That bird has me
worried. She wasn’t part the original group, so she’s my unknown
factor. I’m bringing my son over, maybe he can keep her
distracted.”

“
That bounty chick is who
you should worry about if you ask me. I whispered a little
something into Zima’s ear last night to cause a little havoc, and
the human held her own against a shifter. The sooner you cut her
and El away from the pride, the easier it will be to take control.”
Reese stood up and started to pace. “We have to move faster Ellory.
Those beasts make me nervous.”

“
Sit down, already. Now is
not the time to lose your nerve. You’re a lion for Goddess’ sake,
act like one. I have everything under control. You just keep your
ears open, and be prepared to fuck shit up if necessary.” Ellory
returned to his lion form and bounded off the rocks. Damn, it felt
like all the good warriors went with El.

***

Nae placed her hands on her hips and
stared out at the yard. There were no other homes near that she
could see. She turned and studied the house she’d exited. From the
outside, it appeared to be built into the side of the mountain. She
knew that wasn’t the case since she’d stepped out the backdoor.
There was a thin strip of grass between the large boulders and the
exit. She’d followed that narrow piece of land around to the front
of the building. It wasn’t what she expected a biker to live in.
The structure was all clean lines with an almost art deco feel.
Wild flowers, the shades of bright yellow and orange, filled the
two small beds which flanked the walkway. Where the hell was the
rustic cabin in the woods she thought she’d find?

She rubbed her temple. The migraine,
which started above her eye, now spread through her head faster
than a forest fire during dry season. El was a contradiction. He
looked and acted all bad ass biker, but there was a high end SUV in
his driveway. What the hell? If he could afford that, there was no
reason to rob a bank. She pushed wisps of hair from her forehead.
Maybe that was the problem. El was living so large he could no
longer afford it. She needed to get back to her own vehicle; then,
of course, she had to find and take down her bounty.

Shay was probably
scrolling through flights now, and the last thing she needed was
her cousin showing up, guns blazing, and screwing everything up.
She strolled up to the truck, circled it, and tried the lever. The
door didn’t give. He lived out in the middle of nowhere, yet he
locked his vehicle. Nae debated about going back into the house and
finding something to break the window. She rubbed her bottom lip
with her index finger. All she had to do was hotwire his SUV. Too
bad she hadn’t learned how to do that. Of course she could probably
find a how to video on the net if she did a search.
Urgh
- she covered her
face with her hands; some kind of bounty hunter she turned out to
be. Amos trusted her with her first big bounty, and she was fucking
up left and right.

Tears hovered in her
lashes.

Out in the middle of nowhere, with no
real clue where she was, she’d slept with her bounty, and he had
her weapon. Hell, he was probably halfway to Mexico by now. She
swung around and leaned on the fender and was surprised to find a
man and woman staring at her. The man’s black hair had streaks of
dark orange. Sunglasses hid his eyes, but his lips were pressed
tightly together, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. He wore a similar
vest to El’s, minus a few patches, over a T-shirt. Jeans and boots
finished the attire. Nae figured it was some sort of biker uniform
and glanced over at the woman. She was petite with sharp features,
high cheekbones, and a pointed chin. Sable hair, with a large patch
of white at one temple, flowed down her back, and her skin was the
color of cinnamon. Since she too wore sunglasses, Nae couldn’t see
her eyes, but when the woman smiled it was open and
friendly.

She thrust out a hand. “Hi, El sent
us. My scowling brother here is Trace. El thought you might need a
lift to the bar. I’m Ursala, but my friends call me La.”

Nae took her hand, surprised by how
fragile her fingers felt. “I would rather go to my truck if you
don’t mind. I need a few things.”

Trace gave a quick shake of his
head.

“
Sorry, we were given
explicit instructions to bring you back to the bar.” La
shrugged.

“
And if I won’t go?” Nae
eased toward the grill of the truck.

La sighed before adding. “I think
that’s why he sent Trace. My silent brother is the muscle. El said
you might be a little stubborn.”

“
Really?” Nae put a little
more space between them. “How about you call your boss and tell him
to go fu…”

“
Ewww. Way too much info,
there,” La interrupted. “Look, why don’t you make it easy, and come
with us. Then, you can tell him how you feel
personally.”