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  Her stomach churned and a knot of tension built in the back of her neck. As huge an asshole as he was, there was one fact that was irrefutable—Craig never lied. He threatened and sometimes bullied but he never manipulated the truth.

  She couldn’t believe she was considering it, but this wasn’t entirely about her. “What exactly,” she emphasized the word and paused for good measure, “do you want?”

  “What I want, specifically, is a meeting with you and Diskant Black.”

  “There’s no way. He’ll never agree to it.”

  She could just imagine Craig shrugging in that arrogant manner of his as he replied, “Have you had any vampires sniffing around lately?”

  She was shaking now, seething in outrage. The night of her attack, she’d wondered why Craig had specified a time so late in the evening, in a place that no one would be around.

  She hadn’t thought he’d set her up but now…

  “I hate it when you ask questions you have the answers to,” she snapped. “It insults my intelligence.”

  “I’m not involved, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “What is it that you want?” she repeated, unable to think of anything snarky or intelligent to say.

  “Call me at this number when you’ve discussed things with your better half. I want to stress just how important it is that our meeting should occur sooner rather than later.”

  “Tell me what is going on.” Panic overcame her fury. “You can’t leave me entirely in the dark.”

  “Let’s just say…” He didn’t speak for a moment but when he finally did, his voice—eerily serious and somber—gave her the chills. “It’s a good thing fate tossed a shifter mate in your path.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Trey returned to Dougan’s and didn’t bother with the crowds. He knew Diskant and Kinsley would be in the far back room at the base of the stairs, where a table and chairs were placed in a quaint and private alcove. The location provided adequate protection for Diskant’s female as he could monitor who ventured up the stairs while allowing them privacy to talk, ensuring they wouldn’t be interrupted or disturbed.

  When Trey made it around the corner they were just as he expected, seated across from each other with a couple of shot glasses and a bottle of Jack Daniels. Both stopped talking and looked up when he approached. Diskant kicked the chair closest to Trey from the table and sat back.

  “It’s all taken care of.” Trey took a seat, snagged one of the glasses and poured a shot. “Aldon is ready to present a roadblock when we need it.”

  “What about my mate?” The friendliness in Diskant’s face vanished. “Did he have an explanation for why his kind attacked her?”

  Trey shook his head. “He had no idea what I was talking about. He said it had to have been rogues in the market for a blood slave.” At Diskant’s infuriated glare he added, “It would make sense. You can’t say you don’t understand the temptation.”

  “How in the hell did you get involved with Aldon Frost?” Diskant said the vampire’s name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “He needed a security system when he moved here. I helped him out in exchange for a favor owed.” Trey shrugged and downed his shot.

  “Most people pay for that kind of thing with money,” Kinsley remarked. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be in business.”

  “He needed a rush job. I don’t do anything that eats away my private time without expecting something extra in return.” He poured another shot with a steady hand, even though his insides felt as solid as Jell-O. “Where is Emory?”

  “He went to an unoccupied room on the second floor. I told him to get a shower and a decent change of clothes. He might feel like shit but he’s not doing us any favors by looking like it.” Diskant took the lone shot glass from the center of the table and studied it as he rolled it between his fingers. “I sent Nathan to watch over him. He’s on a short fuse, Trey. He’s eventually going to become feral.”

  Trey nodded, unable to argue the point.

  A year before Emory had started having trouble controlling his bestial half. It had been obvious his younger brother was an Alpha; his disposition and temperament made that apparent shortly after his first shift. They were damn fortunate he’d managed to keep the wolf at heel for so long. Now he was too old to deny exactly what he needed. Alphas could survive as a member of a pack without being in charge but only if they were mated. The bond calmed the beast and allowed for a measure of peace—which was exactly what Trey was banking on.

  “We have to reunite him with his mate.” Trey lifted the shot glass full of whiskey, studying the clear amber fluid. “After we take out the Shepherds we have to take him to Colorado to retrieve her.”

  “Have you lost your bloody mind?” Kinsley snarled. “You cannot bring a Shepherd into the city to mate with your brother.”

  Trey turned to the cat shifter, relieved that Diskant had imparted the ugly truth about Emory mating a Shepherd. If he was going to bring an unwilling female to his city he didn’t need prying Alphas making a fuss.

  “What would you have me do? Watch him slowly go mad until we’re forced to put him out of his misery?”

  “He’s been a danger to everyone in his path.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” Trey corrected Kinsley smoothly. “The entire time he was in Colorado he never lost control. It wasn’t until after he was separated from his female that the changes started.”

  Kinsley’s brogue thickened, as it was prone to do when he became angry. “You cannae trust information from your brother.”

  “This is information straight from Gerald Night.” Trey smiled when Diskant’s head shot up and Kinsley’s anger changed to shock. “I contacted him shortly after Emory arrived. He said that Emory was just fine with the pack in Colorado Springs. There were no issues whatsoever with his control.”

  “That’s not possible,” Diskant said. “If I couldn’t break through to his wolf, there’s no way an Alpha could.”

  “I’m not sure why it happened, although Emory was close to his mate so I imagine she was partially responsible.” Trey stared at Diskant and braced himself when he asked, “Ava is telepathic, isn’t she?”

  Any friendliness in the Omega’s face vanished. “Why the fuck do you want to know?”

  “If we can keep one of the Shepherds alive she can tell us where we can find Mary.”

  Diskant’s eyes shifted color and the fingers around the glass he held slowly fisted. “I’m not taking my mate anywhere near them.”

  “You don’t have to. We can bring one of them to her. All we need is a location.”

  Trey thought his close friend and pack mate would say no. No matter their closeness or connection, the female had overtaken his importance. Then Diskant’s irises became a familiar warm amber hue and the tension left his shoulders as he placed the shot glass on the table.

  “If we do this, we do it my way. You’ll bring him to a place I decide and you’ll follow my instructions.”

  Trey nodded and retrieved the bottle of Jack. “The sooner we do this the better.”

  “You’ve got that right,” Kinsley said. “The prides took my word that this was settled but with Shepherds they won’t believe a word until the threat is removed.”

  “I sent five of my best scouts to sniff them out before I left. We should know something in a few hours.”

  “What are you thinking?” Diskant asked.

  “We find and have Kinsley approach them with an offer to hand over Emory to throw them off the scent, then conduct the actual exchange just before dark. Shepherds won’t expect vampires to be involved so when Aldon does his part it will give us all the opportunity we need. But we have to make sure we take one alive.” Trey filled his glass to the rim and paused. “We need to know where Emory’s mate is.”

  Diskant took the bottle from Trey and began pouring his own drink. “If we can stop them before they leave the state, it shouldn’t be difficult.”

  Tre
y nodded and sagged as the invisible weight on his shoulders lightened considerably. Everything was falling into place. “Once we have the information we need I can start planning a trip to Colorado.” At Diskant’s questioning look he explained, “With your help, Nathan can take care of things in my absence. I’m going to contact Gerald and ask if he’s willing to offer assistance after we arrive. He wasn’t happy when he learned he had a nest of Shepherds living so close, so I have a good idea what his answer will be.”

  “So that’s the way of it then?” Kinsley mused. “No room in your plan for the rest of us.”

  “There won’t be enough of them to go around.” Diskant grinned, revealing elongated canines that matched his gleaming, catlike green irises.

  The sounds of heavy stomping coming down the stairs stalled the conversation. The footsteps approached, coming closer, until Emory appeared with Nathan. He was clean-shaven and his hair was slicked back. The clothing was clean—a black T-shirt and jeans—and fit him decently enough. Though his irises were still bright, he no longer appeared agitated.

  Trey lifted his glass, drank the strong beverage and rose from his seat. As he placed the glass on the table he turned to his sibling.

  No matter what Emory had done in the past, he was still his brother. He wouldn’t be the one delivering the bad news to his mother and father, informing them that their son had returned only to be condemned to death.

  “Come on.” He moved to Emory’s side and clasped his shoulder. “You need to eat and we need to talk.”

  Diskant watched as Trey, Emory and Nathan walked down the hallway and disappeared into the crowd. The bar was still crowded with members of Trey’s pack who would remain until the Shepherds were taken care of. That was the beauty of the location. There were five floors in the building: the bar, the second, third and fourth floors comprised of bedrooms and showers, and the fifth floor apartment for him or important guests they protected during times of crisis.

  When he thought of the apartment, recollections of Ava weren’t far off. He was still stunned by the level of their connection. The telepathic joining was as powerful as the bloodbonding—perhaps stronger in ways. Feeling what she felt, knowing beyond a doubt that she yearned for his touch as much as he ached for hers provided a powerful rush he couldn’t deny.

  “You should probably get back upstairs,” Kinsley remarked knowingly. “If I had a lass as lovely as yours waiting for me I wouldn’t waste my time down here with a bottle of Jack and the company of a friend.”

  He grinned. “She is beautiful, isn’t she?”

  Kinsley bowed his head, studying the shot glass in his hand and nodded. “That she is.”

  He stood and stepped away from the table. “Are you going to stick around for a while?”

  Kinsley lifted his head to look him in the eye. “I think it best I visit a few of the prides before the morn. There is liable to be tension and we need to know if they’re planning on doing something stupid. Not that I think they would, mind you. None of them are willing to risk their tails over a death in the ranks. We’re not the loyal sort wolves are.”

  “Thank you.” He extended his hand and Kinsley shook it.

  “Not a problem. If you learn anything between now and then, you know how to reach me.”

  Diskant turned and took long strides toward the stairs. When he reached them he climbed up three at a time. He finally reached the top floor and stopped, attempting to cool his desire before he opened the door. Images of his mate waiting for him totally naked, spread out and draped across the bed, sent a jolt through his cock.

  He’d never be able to get enough of her. No matter how many times he lost himself in the heavenly cradle of her body.

  He froze when he entered the bedroom and found Ava—completely dressed and perched on the corner of the bed—with a cell phone in hand. She gazed up at him with stormy indigo eyes, her expression unreadable.

  After walking to her slowly, he kneeled in front of her. “What’s wrong?”

  She shook her head and shrugged. “I have to tell you something but I don’t know where to start.”

  “The beginning is often best.” He patted her chin playfully, hoping to lift her mood. Instead she averted her eyes and sighed.

  “Everything is so confusing.”

  “Why don’t you start by telling me who was on the phone?”

  When her blonde head lifted to meet his concerned gaze, she looked torn and afraid. “I don’t want you to freak out. You have to listen to me.”

  “I’m listening.”

  She took a deep breath and answered, “It was Craig Newlander.”

  Several volatile emotions overcame him as his protective nature awakened. He rose and moved away from her before she could see his facial features changing or notice that his canines were beginning to elongate. As it was, his fingers burned as his claws attempted to break through the skin.

  He faced the wall, willing his temper to ice. “You said you weren’t involved with the Villati.”

  “Diskant…” He heard her weight shift from the bed, as if she were standing to move closer.

  “Don’t, Pinkie,” he cautioned in a low, steady growl. “Stay where you are.”

  She didn’t listen.

  He felt her arms wrap around his waist, her chest pressing into his back. “Craig approached me shortly after my parents died. I met with him a few times and accepted the information he offered but when I got a bad vibe I decided that whatever it was he wanted it wasn’t worth the risk. Then Thomas stole something I treasured and sold it to Craig to pay off a gambling debt.” Diskant’s anger receded as she continued speaking, her fingers gently stroking his chest. “I made a deal to get it back but the meeting never happened.”

  “Why?”

  She released him, stepped around and placed her body between him and the wall. Gazing up, she rested her hand on his chest, over his heart. The frantic tempo immediately slowed beneath her palm and the tension left his body, causing the muscles under her fingers to go soft.

  “The night I was supposed to meet with his liaison was the night I met you—the night you saved me. The next morning, after I left your home…” She shook her head, as if embarrassed by the memory and her decision to leave him high and dry. “I told Craig I was done. He tried to contact me but I threw away the phone he’d given me and refused to take his calls at the club.”

  He brought a hand up and placed it over hers. “What does he want?”

  “I don’t know but whatever it is, it’s not good. He knows that vampires attacked me that night in the alley.” Diskant’s hackles rose at the memory and when he growled softly she soothed him by rubbing her hand over his chest. “There’s something he’s not telling me. Something important. I tried to get him to talk but he wants to arrange a meeting with you before he’ll spill.”

  Diskant studied his mate’s pensive face. Meeting with the Villati would cause an unavoidable shit storm. For the most part shifters had managed to fly below the radar and keep their secrets secret. It was too dangerous to have mortals sniffing around, especially when they liked to record things to pass down through the generations. That could very well change depending on what Craig Newlander wanted.

  “It’s okay.” She finally broke the awkward silence. “We don’t have to meet him.”

  He brought his hands to her hips and tugged her into his arms, keeping her close. Concern for her safety overrode everything else. If the bastard knew something important concerning his mate, he had to know what it was. Ava wasn’t a shifter and could be easily harmed. Since vampires were involved it was likely he would need to be on the offensive, keeping one step ahead.

  “As soon as this thing with Emory is done I’ll make all of the arrangements. I don’t want you to worry about anything. From now on I take care of you.”

  “I don’t want to be any trouble.”

  “Never.” He cupped her chin and held her gaze. “It’s my right and privilege to see to your needs.”

&nb
sp; She smiled wistfully. “Privilege, huh?”

  “Damn straight.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her face into his chest and sagged in his embrace. Then he sensed her exhaustion. She was hungry, she was tired and she needed a good night’s rest. The bloodbonding was in full swing now. Soon she’d notice the changes that indicated she was bonded to a shifter. Sex was just the icing on the cake when you had enhanced strength, reflexes and longevity to look forward to.

  “I’m going to go downstairs to get you something to eat. Dougan keeps the kitchen stocked so I’m sure I can find you something you’ll like.”

  “I’ll go with you,” she murmured into his shirt, nuzzling him affectionately. The cat in him reciprocated the amorous display, rising to the surface as he brushed his chin over the top of her head and inhaled deeply, drawing her sweet, feminine fragrance into his nose.

  Shifting his arms around her midsection, he turned her in his arms and started walking to the door. They traveled down the stairs like a couple of infatuated teenagers, sneaking kisses at each floor. When they made it to the final hallway he kept her exactly as she was—her back to his chest, her head beneath his chin—and grinned at the amused expressions of the pack members as they moved aside, giddy from Ava’s giggling as she wriggled back against his ever-growing hard-on.

  Glancing to the left, he noted that Trey, Emory and Nathan were seated in the booth with an empty pizza pan between them. Another pizza was placed alongside the cleared tray, the steam rising from the cheesy surface indicting the kitchen was hard at work.

  They came to the large double doors behind the bar and went through. As Diskant expected, several females were busy preparing meals for the pack. Most had traveled from their nearby homes to see to the needs of their brethren, including those who were still too young to mate. The moment they saw him and Ava, all activity stopped.

  The women with prepared food brought the trays forward, bowed their heads and lowered their gazes. He waited for Ava to choose what she wanted but realized she had no idea how profound the gesture was.