Trouble Comes in Threes (26 page)

“Man, I’m so fucking sick of hearing that.” I glared at Heller. “I
was
human. Was. As in past tense. Know what past tense means? They fed me their blood. You’re a shifter, so you know what that means. Grow the fuck up, man, and get over yourself.”

Heller turned red, veins bulging in his neck and forehead. I squinted at him. Actually, that might be more of a purple color. Could shifters have heart attacks?

“You… you—”

“Yeah, me.” I’d had enough. “Are you mated?”

The purple color faded from Heller’s face as he glared at me. “W-what? What business is that of yours?”

I ran my hands over my face. “I take that as a no. So, you don’t understand that… need. Look, man, Dolf and Tal are the most important things in my life. The most important. You don’t like me because I was human. Humans are a threat to paranormal society. I understand. Heller, if anyone—human or otherwise—threatened my mates, I’d do whatever needed to protect them.
Whatever
needed, man. I’ll get down on my aching knees right here and thank the goddess for bringing them into my life.”

Heller glower hadn’t faded. “Nice speech, but I’m still not impressed.”

Why had I even bothered? “Well, then, let me say fuck you, buddy.”

“Ooookay.” Remi stepped between us. “Heller, you know I’ve been assigned to watch Kirk. I forgot I asked you to help me today. Sorry about that. It, ah, might be better if you left.”

“Like I want to stay here,” Heller sneered.

“Over the top, much?” I asked.

“Kirk, please. If Heller makes a threatening move at you, I’ll defend you. That’s my job. Then Dolf and our Alpha will have to be told. Heller could lose his position… and be challenged by Dolf. No one wants that, right, Heller? A beta’s role is to protect.
Right
, Heller?”

I got it, then. Remi was trying to talk Heller down.

“Y-yes. You’re right. I….” Heller grimaced as he struggled to speak. “I-I apologize, Kirk. I was out of order in how I spoke to you. I… need to go.”

I watched as Heller shot out of the house. Could a person actually choke on words? It seemed I had yet another friend to add to my growing list.

“Kirk? I’m sorry.”

At least Remi was on my side. “This is not your problem to apologize for, Remi. It just… It’ll get better as people meet me. That’s my hope. But people like Heller? There’s more here than a dislike for humans. Come on, let’s get back to work. I don’t want to talk about this. Hell, lately I can’t seem to get away from it, though.”

We worked for several more hours, and then Remi took me home. Dolf and Tal were waiting. Remi and Dolf stepped outside, and I knew, just knew, Remi told him what happened earlier. Sure enough, I heard Dolf’s voice raised in anger and Heller’s name. Since the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, I told Tal. Remi left, and Dolf started dinner. Tal and I sat at the barstools. The three of us talked about what had happened while Dolf cooked dinner. We ate, then settled down to watch TV. Before I was ready, it was time for bed. I wasn’t in the mood to make love, but we cuddled until I fell asleep.

D
ANGER
WAS
thick in the air, the feeling of hate suffocating me. It was the damn dream again. My first response was to fight to wake up, but Dolf’s words came back to me about my subconscious mind trying to tell me something. I stopped fighting, but shit, I did
not
want to do this.

Trying to calm down, I studied the area, hoping to see something useful. It was weird, but this time I was standing off to the side, watching myself pulling my pocketknife out of my pocket. I was observing instead of taking part. I struggled to keep my breathing level as I watched the evergreen shake. I didn’t see anything unusual… outside of something stalking me. The dream went on as I searched for clues.

Then the attack happened. A dark blur streaked toward the dream me. Squinting, I stared at the animal. Okay, it was a dark brown, not black. The cat was as large as Dolf, just like I’d thought. The snarling and growling creeped me out. The damn thing was all over me, claws flying. As I watched the attack, I noticed the cat wasn’t as… militant as they’d thought after I’d explained the attack. There was a lot of anger there, but not much coordination.

Remi and Monty had thought the attacker might be rank, but this was sloppy looking. If whoever this was had training, they seriously sucked. There went another swipe of a paw, and I cringed. Jesus, it was pure luck this fucker hadn’t managed to slice open my throat. I strained to see my attacker, looking for anything. Dammit, there was nothing…. Wait. Oh damn, how had I missed this before? It was so plain to see now that I didn’t have a handful of snarling animal to distract me. Just as I stabbed the fucker, I saw it.

There was a large white spot on the left ear.

Dolf

“I
NTERESTING
. A
white spot on the ear. That’s something we can work with.” Dolf sat against the headboard, pillows stuffed behind him. “Are you feeling better, sexy?”

“Yes, actually. Seeing that distracted me from the fear. I sincerely hope now I’ll quit dreaming about it.” Kirk leaned against Dolf. “I wonder where the spot came from.”

“It’s a scar. Since we heal fast, it’s hard to leave permanent marks on our bodies, but it can be done. Whoever this is, he has a scar on or around his ear,” Tal said from the other side of Kirk. “One thing for sure. It’s not any of our betas. Not one of them has a white spot on their ear.”

“It’s not Heller.”

Kirk ran his hand over Dolf’s chest. “You were really worried about that, weren’t you?”

Dolf captured Kirk’s hand, lifted it, and nipped his fingers. “More so than I thought.”

“Outside of the spot, I also noticed the shifter didn’t really seem like he was trained. He was just all over the place, hissing and scratching.” Kirk sighed. “There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to his attack is what I’m trying to say. I don’t know how you guys train your recruits, but this was just sloppy and anger-driven.”

Tal cuddled next to Kirk, his body pressing close on the other side. “So, whoever this is, he isn’t trained. Could he possibly be just a regular clowder member?”

“But this clowder, or another?” Dolf asked.

“Why would you assume it was someone from another clowder?” Tal reached across Kirk and poked Dolf in the ribs. “What reason would they have for attacking one of ours?”

A surprised meow escaped Dolf. “Hey, now, sweetheart! Be careful, or Kirk and I will gang up on you.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Kirk waggled his eyebrows at Tal.

A sweet little purr came from Tal.

“As far as it being a nonclowder member… it may not be. I’m just keeping all options open.” Dolf shrugged.

“Could have been a rogue too.”

“Oh, good grief.” Kirk rolled his eyes. “Guys, maybe this was just a random attack. Maybe it wasn’t aimed at me at all. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Dolf rubbed at the tension forming between his eyes. “Goddess. There are all these questions and no answers. I’m frustrated.”

Kirk dropped his head on Dolf’s shoulder. “Well, we’re not going to find any answers hiding under the sheets. Let’s go back to bed.” Kirk eased down in the bed.

“Are you staying in the middle?” Tal asked.

“I need to feel the both of you next to me. You mind, Tal?”

“Naw.” Tal scrunched down in the bed and threw his arm over Kirk’s chest. “You won’t be there long. My crew’s going to be here first thing in the morning to break ground on the shop.”

“Hot damn, I can’t wait.”

D
OLF
SCRAMBLED
eggs for them the next morning. After two cups of coffee, Kirk was so bouncy Dolf threatened to restrict his caffeine intake. That got him a saucy grin and a loud slurp of coffee. If it weren’t for the fact Tal’s crew was moments away, he and Tal would have stripped Kirk and thrown him over the kitchen table. From the grin he got, Kirk knew it.

Tal and Kirk left the house amidst laughing, playful shoving, and a few inventive promises. Kirk had the playful attitude Dolf didn’t have, something Tal needed. But Kirk also voiced his opinions, sometimes forcibly so. He wasn’t afraid to get in Dolf’s face, but he didn’t challenge Dolf’s cat either. Dolf sent a quick thank-you to their goddess. Kirk was strong and sweet and loving and kinky and….

He was falling in love with Kirk.

The scary thing was, Dolf didn’t know if Kirk was falling for them. Oh, there was affection. Respect. Need. But love? He wasn’t sure. He
was
sure Tal felt the same as him. That meant he wouldn’t be happy until Kirk was in the same boat as them.

It was only fair.

The back door slamming open startled him so badly he sloshed hot coffee over his wrist. He hissed at the burning pain. “Shit.”

Kirk stormed back into the house, flushed and scowling. “Fuck!”

Dolf quickly rinsed his hand. “What’s going on? And where is Tal?”

“He took the crew onto the site.” Kirk stomped over to the sink and looked down at Dolf’s hand. “Damn, that’s red. What happened?”

“You startled me.”

Kirk blinked, the angry look that tightened his features fading as he stared at Dolf’s hand. “I made you do that? Aw, jeez. I’m sorry, Dolf.”

“It’s okay, but would you like to tell me why you slammed the door open that hard?”

Fury flooded Kirk’s face once more. “Someone clawed the hell out of my truck.”

“W-what? Clawed? You are sure?”

“According to Tal, yes.” Kirk slammed his hand down on the counter. “When Tal and I were pulling out, we passed my truck. Since my garage spot is full of shop stuff, I’ve been parking outside in the drive, right? Well, some asshole scratched my truck. I mean, come on! It’s old, yes. It has several dings. But this? These scratches go all the way to the metal.”

“Tal was sure it wasn’t keyed?”

“He said it was claws. We stopped and checked. He took the crew onto the site, and I came in here to tell you. Dolf, some son of a bitch was out there last night creeping around our house.” Kirk slammed his hand down again on the counter. “That’s…. He’s coming too close.”

A low, rolling growl broke from Dolf. Striding outside, he went straight to Kirk’s truck. Running down both sides were long scratches—although the word “scratch” didn’t really explain how deep these cuts were. Dolf had already seen the damage claws could do to flesh on his mate. The deadly intent behind the claw marks was a reminder of what could be done to Kirk… again.

The angry, screaming roar Dolf released echoed around the area. Within seconds, several calls answered him. Several of the clowder’s betas were on guard duty around the perimeter. A rather immense dark cat came rushing toward Dolf.

“Shit!” Kirk frantically glanced around.

Before Dolf could speak, Kirk grabbed a large wrench from the back of his truck. He held it tightly, arm held back, ready to swing.

“Kirk, no! That’s Remi!”

“Shit.” Kirk eyed the cat that suddenly halted a few feet from them. “You sure?”

“Positive. He heard me and came to check. Put the weapon down, sexy.”

“Shit.” Kirk said again, then dropped the wrench in the back of his truck. He looked at the cat sitting not far from him. “Remi?”

“Meow!”

“Jesus, it’s too fucking early in the morning for this shit. Okay.” Kirk wiped his hand up and down his jean leg. “Sorry, dude, but having a cat rush at me right now…. Not a good thing. I just reacted.”

“Meeer.”

“Remi, could you sniff Kirk’s truck? Someone clawed the hell out of it last night. Would you see if you pick up a shifter’s scent?”

Remi jumped on Kirk’s truck, tail held high. He took his time, sniffing every square inch. Remi ended his inspection sitting on the hood of Kirk’s truck.

“Anything?”

“Meeeeow.”

“Huh, interesting. Is Brier on duty in this area too?”

Remi jumped down. “Meowww.”

“Good. Would you come in for a minute, please?”

“Meow.”

Dolf held the back door open, and Remi followed Kirk inside. Dolf made a quick trip to the laundry room and brought back a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. Remi shifted and Dolf tossed the clothes to him.

“Thanks, man.” Remi dressed quickly.

“Would you like a cup of coffee? It’s fresh.”

“Absolutely.”

Kirk smirked. “Not going to offer me one?”

“After the morning you’ve had, I guess so. But you start bouncing again, and you
might
get to the worksite by noon.”

Kirk chuckled as he took the cup from Dolf.

Dolf handed Remi a cup too, then looked at the beta. “So?”

“No scent blocker this time to hide the scent. It’s a male feline shifter.” Remi sipped the coffee.

“But why not block his scent this time? That makes no sense,” Kirk said.

Dolf shrugged. “Why do murderers send letters to the cops full of hints of what they’re planning to do or who they are?”