Charming (A Seven World Novel) (10 page)

“Wake up, Kat.”

A sharp voice cut through the darkness and pulled her awake. She was in the passenger seat of Prince’s Audi, seat reclined, parked in the woods, oak trees shading the windshield.

Disoriented from the time lapse, Kat took a deep breath and sat up straight. “Where are we?”

“I didn’t want to wake you since you were still under the influence of drugs. But it’s almost three in the afternoon, and we’re losing time. We need to find out if this is Vlad.”

“Give me a second to wake up. My leg’s asleep.” Kat lifted her right leg and put her foot on the dash. Her muscles were stiff, not exactly the condition she wanted to be in when going on a chase. She massaged her calf and yawned. “So suspect number two lives out here in the deep, dark woods? I don’t like this, Charming. Not one bit. There’s nowhere to corner him.”

“You said you followed him to Austin? If this is Vlad, then perhaps this is just a rental and he’s ill-prepared for an ambush.”

She put her foot down and studied their surroundings. “Uh-huh. But his plates are Texas, so I’m willing to bet this is home sweet home. If that’s the case, he probably has steel traps in the woods or a bunch of goons protecting his property. Why don’t we hang out by the main road and just tail him when he leaves? Slow and steady wins the race.”

Prince unbuckled his seat belt. “And where is the fun in that?”

She blinked as he got out of the car. “Great. I’m on a mission with John McClane.”

“Who?”

Oops. Kat hadn’t meant for him to hear that. Too many nights watching
Die Hard
.

“Never mind,” she said, quietly shutting her door. “Where’s the house?”

He pointed up the dirt road. “Just around the curve.”

“He won’t get far without his car.” Kat rolled her eyes while adjusting the strap that wrapped around her midsection, making sure her shirt concealed it. “God, I hate it when I rhyme. Anyhow, we should slash his tires before knocking to make sure he doesn’t try to escape. Although, he
is
a Mage and might flash to town.”

“Doubtful,” Prince said quietly, walking on her left. “Vlad doesn’t run; he attacks.”

She tried to keep her voice low, but walking made her breathe harder. “By the way, if something happens and I shift, stay away from my dagger. Obviously my wolf can’t use it, but she’ll take off your hand if you try to disarm her.”

“Duly noted.”

“Just so you know, I really don’t want to let my wolf out. She’s never met your wolf, and that could get ugly. So I’m going to do what I can to keep her in check.”

The property wasn’t paved, nor had anyone laid down gravel. Kat walked quietly on the dirt, thinking what a mess it must be when it rained. When they rounded the corner, she paused behind an overgrown bush. The one-story home worked to their advantage since it offered fewer places for someone to hide, although she would have preferred wood to brick since it was easier to set on fire. One car meant he was probably alone, and there weren’t any animals to announce their presence. The blinds were closed—every one of them. Either this guy had something to hide or he was allergic to sunlight.

Kat gripped Prince’s bicep. “Hey, just in case I shift, do me a favor and stay in human form.”

“Why would I do that if it means putting you in danger?”

“Because you’re an alpha and you’ll be able to get me to shift back. Sometimes my wolf is a stubborn partner and doesn’t want to give up control.”

Humor danced in his eyes. “I’m familiar with that feeling.”

Kat poked him in the ribs. “Very funny. If he takes off in his car, my wolf will try to chase him down on the freeway. She did it once,” Kat said, strolling toward the house. “I ended up with blistered hands and feet and had to shift a couple of times to heal. I’m not going through
that
again. Shall we knock?”

Her attention drifted down to the cigarette butts littering the cement porch. She remembered Vlad smoking in the bar where she’d first seen him. Kat wrinkled her nose and held her knuckles against the door, frozen in thought. If they knocked, would Vlad be stupid enough to just open up? As much as she loved feebleminded criminals, she had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case with him.

Her mind began dissecting their situation. This wasn’t going to work. He was expecting an exchange. The last thing she needed was for him to barricade himself in the house with weapons.

Kat tied her flannel shirt around her waist and got on her knees, her long hair shielding her face.

“What are you doing?” Prince hissed.

“Take your hair out of the ponytail.”

“What?”

She peered up at him, her voice at a whisper. “He’s going to recognize you. Ponytails aren’t exactly the popular trend. Scramble up your hair a little and let’s play this out. He’s probably going to peek through the window so he can get a better look at who he’s dealing with.” She gestured toward the glass. “He’s only ever seen you in a suit, so let’s not tip him off. We just need him to open the door.”

“And then?” Prince removed the elastic band, shaking his hair loose.

Kat forgot her name. As soon as his lush, dark hair came unbound, it slipped in front of his face and gave her goose bumps. He didn’t look like a prince anymore; he looked like a king. She swallowed thickly and leaned against his leg, wanting to rub all over him like a cat in heat.

“Hold me by my hair,” she said.

Prince reached down and gently grabbed a handful of her hair, sending tiny prickles across her spine. When he knocked on the door several times, her heart leapt into her throat. This was going to look really stupid if it didn’t turn out to be Vlad.

After a moment, the door hinges creaked. “James?”

“Yep,” Prince replied.

Kat smiled, remembering when she’d asked rhetorically if he ever just answered with a
yep
.

“You must be new to this line of work. Usually they come drugged and bound. You’ll find out when one of them gets away and you’re out money.”

Kat instantly recognized the voice as Vlad’s.

“I beat her into submission,” Prince said. “Step outside and I’ll show you the goods.”

Kat watched patiently as he drew closer.

“Wait a second… I remember those shoes.” Vlad stopped in his tracks and backed up a step.

She flipped her hair back and bounced to her feet. “You better believe it, Dracula, because they’re going to be kicking your ass in about two seconds!”

Vlad narrowed his eyes at Prince and splayed his fingers, sharpening his Mage light.

Kat’s stunner was infused with enough magic to paralyze him—if she could just get him to stand still long enough for her to drive it into his chest.

As if their minds were linked, Prince and Kat began to space apart and flank Vlad from either side.

Vlad reached out to grab her wrist, and she snapped it back, tightening her grip on the knife. Prince rushed Vlad and managed to get his right arm locked behind his back, but Vlad struck him in the face with his elbow and maneuvered out of his grip. They fought with incredible speed and agility—Prince holding his own in hand-to-hand combat against a Mage.

“You’re moving too fast!” Kat yelled, flustered at the thought that she might end up stabbing Prince in the neck instead of Vlad. It wasn’t easy to get her hands on a good stunner, and Kat didn’t want to chance losing her knife.

“Get back!” Prince said in clipped words.

“Did you really just say that to a bounty hunter?” she asked, twirling the knife in her hand. “I’m going to stab you if you don’t get out of the way.”

Prince slammed Vlad against the wall, hand on his throat. “You scum. I’ve waited centuries to get my hands on you.”

Vlad put his hands up as if he were going to gouge out Prince’s eyes. “You left Russia like a dog with its tail between its legs.”

Prince roared and flew back two feet, covering his eyes.

It took Kat a minute before she realized he’d taken a blast of energy to the face. She sprang forward and lunged with the dagger, but Vlad flashed around her.

“Fight like a man!” she yelled, turning around.

“Only if you fight like a woman.” He glanced down at her jeans. “Are you sure you don’t have a penis in there?”

“Are you goading me? Bad idea.”

Prince lunged a nanosecond later, knocking Vlad off the porch and into the dirt. He struck him with repeated blows, but Vlad used his hands to shock Prince with more of his energy. Vlad struggled to his feet and gave his car a passing glance.

“Forget your keys?” Kat sang. “Come inside and get them. You’re not going to get far without a car.” Kat tapped the dagger against her thigh, irritated by her unintentional rhyme that made her sound like Dr. Seuss. “You can only flash for so long before I’ll find you asleep in a ditch, drained like a dead battery. I’m willing to bet this Audi can drive a hell of a lot faster than you can sprint down the main freeway. All I want are answers.
Where
is my father?”

Vlad flashed forward and punched her in the face, leaving her no time to react. When he reached for the knife, she thrust it into his left side, but he moved too fast and it only pierced his flesh.

Kat’s lip throbbed and she reacted in anger, slicing the blade in crisscross motions. With each swing, Vlad stepped farther out of reach.

A blood-curdling growl sounded to her right, sending a chill up her spine. From the corner of her eye, she could see Prince had shifted into a stunning black-and-grey wolf. The closer he stalked toward the house, the more she recognized him by his brown and blue eyes, a piercing contrast against his dark pelt.

Vlad backed up against the banister, cornered and eyeing the wolf.

“I’ll leave you alone if you just give me what I want,” she offered.

“Daddy’s precious little girl can’t let go, can she?” He settled his eyes on her in a different way this time. “Just how close were you two?”

“What the hell does
that
mean?”

Prince’s wolf snarled, his fangs intimidating Vlad, who knew exactly how fast a wolf could strip flesh from bone.

“Did he leave you any parting gifts?”

Kat frowned and couldn’t figure out his angle. Why did guys like him have to be so damn difficult? She thought he might be going for the incest jokes since that was the most common insult made toward wolf packs, but before she could formulate a reply, he flashed past her so heart-stoppingly fast that the force knocked her down. Stunned, Kat looked up just in time to see him leaping through the treetops.

“A Jumper. You slick little bastard, I should have known.”

Prince’s wolf took off after him like a torpedo, and Kat was left alone on the dirty porch with a trail of fire ants chilling out near her face, oblivious to the battle of giants happening all around them. Kat hopped up and put her dagger back in the sheath before going inside. Vlad wouldn’t stay away for long, so this was a good opportunity to search his house.

“What was I thinking eating six tacos?” She groaned, rubbing her belly. Spicy food and hand-to-hand combat rarely mixed.

She did a quick check inside to make sure the house was empty, wishing she had brought her gun. “You live like a pig.”

A beer can clacked against the dingy wall when she kicked it out of the way and sat on the living room sofa—a checkered monstrosity that was crying out for someone to take a blowtorch to it and put it out of its misery. She shuddered at the crusty stain on the carpet and reached for his laptop. The computer screen came up without a password lock.

“Not only that, but you’re a tool. Didn’t anyone ever teach you about password protection?”

Kat scrolled through his files. He’d labeled his folders in Russian, so she was able to figure out which ones were important. One had pictures of the Shifters he’d bought and sold, while another listed every transaction he’d made over the past ten years. Since he was an outlaw, he couldn’t use a Breed bank without getting caught, even with an alias. Vlad must be hiding his money somewhere.

When the door creaked, she glanced over her shoulder at Prince and then turned away. He moved silently around the couch and knelt before her, his slender fingers lightly touching her face.