Hunting Her (The Keeping Her #6) (14 page)

Cassandra
laughed at Ben’s words poking at Demon. Mac's lips twitched, and Clytie tried
to hold hers back while Logan grinned, looking down at his lap.

Demon
growled directly at Ben and started in that direction.  Clytie stood up fast,
her pregnant belly leading the way, and yanked him back by his wrist.  It
should not have worked, but the big wolf shifter turned at her first touch and
looked down at her.  Way down. The anger left his face that quickly, and his
attention turned to zero in on his mate.

"Baby
sit down, the way the plane’s moving you could fall."  Since his voice and
manner had switched on a dime from angry and belligerent to gruff and caring,
Xena had to blink again at the big man.  He picked Clytie up with a gentle arm
under her knees and the other at her back, and sat himself down with his mate
in his lap, before she had a chance to comply. 

The hand
not at her back went to the belly bump and he spread that huge hand over the
whole of it protectively.  "What are you doing jumping up like that on a
fu..moving plane?"

Xena had
gone up on her knees in her seat beside Logan to better prepare if she had to
jump out of the way when the fight started when Demon started for Ben.  At the
switch, she put her elbow on Logan's shoulder beside her, and leaned her head
on her hand watching this byplay between the crazy wolf and the human female. 
The whole time thinking they should just let him say 'fuck'.  It sounded weird
when he spoke so stiltingly trying not to say it.

His mate
sounded exasperated but resigned.  "I'm fine Demon.  You don't need to
keep picking me up and sitting me down every time I try to walk."  Clytie
looked from her mate to the rest of them, all staring at their byplay with
ranging expressions of humor, and in Xena's case fascination.  Her cheeks
pinked noticeably before she met her mates eyes again and whispered with a
return of her exasperation.  "I can walk just fine."

Demon
ignored her words and rubbed her little baby belly.  "Should you be this
big already?"

Xena
watched Clytie roll her eyes and then run her hand over the big wolf shifters
brow.  "Stop worrying about how big it is.  The doctor said I am exactly
where I am supposed to be."

Seems
I'm not the only one who considered the size difference between them,
Xena mused.  Entranced by the sight
before her.  She had not spent much time with mated couples, but it seemed so
incongruous that such a big crazy shifter would show so much tenderness for all
to see.  She had the brief thought that he should guard himself better.  This
was a weakness others would exploit, this human wife of his. 

On
the other hand
, Xena
thought.  Watching the way that big rough hand moved from the baby bump to his mate’s
cheek and back into her hair so very softly. 
You'd have to be a fucking
idiot to threaten this woman.
  She doubted anyone would survive the
attempt.

Xena
looked away when Demon kissed his wife.  Something about the gentleness of it
made it more personal than a simple meeting of lips, as did Clytie's softly
whispered, "Demon."

She
looked down directly into Logan's eyes that were turned to watch her, resting
as she was with her elbow on his shoulder.  They were close, but not close
enough.  Xena moved her elbow and dropped her chin directly to his shoulder,
her hand taking hold of his arm to steady herself as she shifted positions on
the chair.

"Are
they always like this?" she asked not bothering to whisper since most of
the people in the room would hear a whisper anyway.

"Yes,"
came at her in three different voices, Ben, Mac, and Logan. 

Xena
grinned at her mate without looking up at the others.  "It's cute."

Logan
looked from her eyes to her smiling lips and back again.  "Fucking
adorable," he agreed.  Though the way he was looking at her Xena thought
maybe they were talking about different things.

“Having
said that," she went on, her smile still in place, her eyes twinkling into
her mates.  "He calls me a 'teeny tiny midget female' or anything else
like it in that dismissing tone again, I'm bringing his giant ass down
hard.”

Logan's
smile went full-fledged, the look in his eyes anticipatory. 
"Understood."

Xena
made getting into the home of a known drug kingpin look easy.  The woman would
be sexy in a burlap sack; but in her black skintight sleeveless cat suit, she
made it hard for him to concentrate on the job.  The utility belt, she had to
have custom made for her tiny waist.  On it was an expandable baton, a
butterfly knife and little throwing stars that were probably more deadly than
their small size suggested.  A small skullcap was tucked in there with a pair
of very thin black gloves, neither of which she pulled on.  Her boots were hard
soled and knee high with a second baton in one and a trio of thin throwing
knives in the other.  Her hair was back in a sleek tail at the nape of her neck
and she wore no make-up that he could see, nor did she need it.  She looked
like a sexy bi-racial cat burglar, which apparently was exactly what she was. 
And she made it look hot, so much so he was having a hard time looking at
anything but her fine ass in that outfit.

He’d
make it his mission in life to never allow anyone else to see his mate in the
figure hugging thief suit if he could help it.

She had
expressed a small worry that they would have discovered how she came and went. 
If they had boarded up the escape hatch they were screwed.  But when they
reached the tunnel hidden inside a small, dilapidated hut bordering the poppy
fields, it was still there.  The hatch was locked tight with a sophisticated
key code that looked out of place in its rustic surroundings. Xena took care of
the high tech lock faster than even Eli could have managed.

"Stupid,"
she muttered. "Not to realize how I got in and out and make sure it didn't
happen again."

Now
Logan found himself following behind his mate in the dark, and Logan was not
used to following someone else, but his mate was better than most and watching
her work was a pleasure all its own. 

"This
comes out in Augustine's bedroom, it should be empty but he retires there right
after dinner.  He won't call for a woman until later, if he’s still following
his old habits."

Logan
liked watching her work, but her knowing the secret way into another man’s
bedroom, and when he liked to fuck?  Not so much.  That he did not appreciate
at all.

"What
exactly where you doing here for the council that necessitated you knowing how
to get in and out of the man’s bedroom, and when he liked to…sleep?"

Xena
laughed, but Logan caught the hard edge to the sound that had him wincing.  The
atmosphere between them went cold and he cursed his own thoughtless question. 
If he had given himself time to consider it, as was his way, he would have
never voiced the question.  Apparently mating was affecting his brain.

"His
secret bolt hole comes out through his bedroom," his mate said mildly
enough, but Logan knew she was not so blasé’ about the subject.  "I was a
thief, not a whore.  I don't sleep with marks."

He winced
at both her toneless words and the anger inherent in them.

 
Fuck,
he thought, knowing he was in deep shit.  He kept his mouth shut until they
had moved around the next tight black corner and they were at the entrance to
the drug lord’s bedroom.

 Logan
caught her arm and pulled her close to his body before she could go to work on
the lock.  "I know better than to ask, the question was knee jerk and born
of jealousy."

He knew
she could see as well as he could in the dark and he felt her studying his
face.  Then he felt the tension flow out of her.  "I suppose if you were
leading and knew the things I knew about a woman that now wanted you dead I
would ask stupid questions too."

Logan
winced again knowing from her scathing tone that she was not all fired to
forgive him just yet.  He let her go back to her work, but asked almost
conversationally.  "You never did tell me what the council had you doing
here."

"No
I didn't," was her only answer.

He let
that go, knowing there were somethings he would be honor bound to keep from his
mate as well.  Namely, jobs with Lionsgate that were confidential.  Something
to think about for the future and how that would work with a mate.  If he could
talk her into coming to work for Lionsgate where he could keep an eye on her it
could work.  Because she sure as shit was not going on any more jobs traipsing
through drug dealer bedrooms, at least not without him.

"Any
other questions cowboy, before we get down to the serious stuff?"

"It'll
keep," he said low, thinking they would need plenty of time and space to
have that particular discussion.

"Fucking
fantastic," she muttered back and Logan winced again, knowing without a
doubt that she was definitely put out with him.

A second
later she had the lock disengaged, and the door opened on silent hinges.  On
the other side, he saw only the back of a picture, but beyond that, they could
hear there were at least two people in the room, or more accurately, in the
bed.

He felt as
much as heard Xena's low "damn it."

Guess
Santo started his fucking early this evening.
 

"I
hate it when marks don't follow script," Xena muttered so low only another
shifter like himself would have heard.

They
both settled down to wait it out.  Logan didn’t know about Xena, but he was
doing his best to ignore what was happening on the bed.  He grimaced when the
woman with Augustine gave a particularly fake caterwaul.  At least there was no
danger of being turned on by the pathetic performance, he mused.

Finally,
with many unfortunate grunts and slapping of skin to skin, they finished.  It
did not take as long as it seemed to.

Then,
nearly as soon as they quieted, Logan heard a slap, which he assumed was the
woman's ass, because it was accompanied by a satisfied grumble of "done
with you." And the woman left the bed, and then the room.  If she had
clothes, she didn’t take the time to don them before leaving.

”Charming,"
Xena muttered low again, making Logan want to smile for the first time since
they entered the tunnel.

 She
turned and pulled the door all the way open.   Then, she slowly worked the
picture, covering the door on the wall on its own silent hinges, open, until
they could see the opulent room they entered.

The man
on the bed was laying across the sheets naked, with his arm over his eyes. 
Logan grimaced and saw the same look of disgust on his mates face. That made
him feel better about her seeing a naked man; not all the way better, but it
was clear she didn’t like what she was seeing, and she was probably seeing it
for the first time.

He
noticed absently that the man, while big in the shoulders and the gut, had a
small dick and long wiry hair that even the rough sex of a moment ago had not
shaken from the mousse slicking it back.  His goatee was well kept and his lips
thin.  And he was a disgustingly hairy bastard.

The
first thing Xena did when the man realized he was not alone was divest him of
the gun he was reaching for beneath his pillow.  The second was throw a blanket
over his lower half.

"Why
hello Augustine, I got your invitation," Xena said with a wicked sharp
smile for the angry man.  "No, no, don't get up."  Logan tapped him
on the head with his glock and the man subsided back to his prone position. 
Eyes wary, anger banked.

"I
didn't invite you puta," the man growled at her, but kept his eyes on
Logan as if he was the only threat in the room.  "I don't know who the
fuck you are."

Stupid
bastard.

"No,
well you offered a reward for my death, seems you should know me."

Santo
looked back at her and blinked.  "Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm
tempted to say your worst nightmare, but let’s cut the shit shall we?" 
She pulled her butterfly knife out and flicked it expertly open.  "I was a
minor inconvenience at best, taking a problem captive off your hands, so you
want to tell me first, how you found out who I was, and second, why you went to
the trouble of putting a bounty on my head."

Santo's
look turned to shock as he took in all that was Xena.  "You're the bitch
that helped Montrose escape?"

"I
am, and I appreciate the open communication, but I really need you to tell me
something I don't know...at some point."

"I
don't have to tell you shit.  How the fuck did you get in here?"

"No,
no, no, the time to ask that question would have been the first time I cracked
your security.  Now it's my turn to ask questions," Xena said and then dug
the knife into his bare chest with just the tiniest bit of glee.  Causing blood
to start running as she carved a wide slice across, down and up to just under
his nipple.  "And since I don't have time to play, we need to get down to
business in a quick manner.  So tell me what I want to know or I start carving
pieces off your hide, starting with your nipples and ending with your
dick."

Santo
cursed and hissed in pain, then sucked in a hard breath when her knife found
his nipple.

"And
since I can see how truly small your dick is, and I know how you like to use it
on women who don't want you using it on them, I won't even lose any sleep over
it."

At that
statement Logan no longer had to wonder if the anger he was seeing in his mate
had a deeper reason.  Now he knew, and hearing it, he also had no problem with
whatever she needed to do with the man.

"I'm
going to fuck you before I kill you bitch," Santo said.  The
wrong
thing to say.  She sliced again.

Seeing
she had the matter well in hand, Logan refrained himself with an effort from
sending his own message, and let her work.  

Santo
lasted through several wide gashes, and the removal of a nipple, and then he
gave them what they wanted, and more.  That was all Logan was willing to allow,
while he stood around and watched.

As soon
as Xena had her information, he pushed her gently to the side.  Even with the
man’s screams and blubbering, he had the earlier promises of retribution still
ringing in his ears.  It made breaking his neck less a chore than it might have
been.

***

It was
hours later when Logan opened the door to the shower on the plane.  Having
divested himself of his clothes, he joined his mate in the tiny stall.  It was
a tight fit, but as she was leaning against the wall with the water slushing
over her, he fit, just barely.

"Get
tired of waiting for your shower, or worried I would use up all the hot
water?" she asked, her head falling back so she could meet his eyes. He
was so close her nipple beaded against his chest.  His dick, at attention even
before he opened the stall and saw his naked mate, pressed against her soft
belly.

Logan
didn't answer right away.  Squirting soap into his palm from the dispenser in
the shower wall, he rubbed his hands together to suds up, and then started
washing her arms.  By the time he moved up to her shoulders and neck she had
closed her eyes.  She looked world-weary and spent.

"You
suspected this," he said instead.  His hands trailed between them,
spending a long time at her perky nipples and soft breasts.  "So why does
knowing it is the council make you sad?"

She blew
out a breath but did not open her eyes.  "I just
fucking
hate this
life sometimes."

He
studied her and saw in her eyes that it had taken something from her to do what
she did to Santo.  He cursed, but tamped down his anger and went back to
soaping her up, only saying as mildly as Xena.  "Next time I torture the
rapist and drug lord," he said.  "I can sure as fuck guaranty that it
will cost me nothing to do it.  If I had known it would cost you even a passing
regret I would have handled it today."

"You
think I shouldn't regret carving pieces off a man until he screamed in agony
and confessed?" she asked mildly.  Logan stopped soaping her belly and
raised his eyes to see hers were open and on him.

"I
think that if you had expressed even a hint of regret at the necessity of it I
would have done it, and I would not have to see the haunted look in my mate’s
eyes right now." 

"Well,
it's not that," she finally said.  "Augustine Santo deserved what we
gave him and then some."

Logan
absorbed that, watching his mate for a hint of what she was thinking, and he
had no fucking clue.

"How
about you just tell me straight out what has that look in your eyes and I won't
have to keep trying to guess."

As much
as he tried to keep his anger out of his voice and off his face she still heard
it, because she stiffened, catching his hands.  "I regret the necessity of
it, torturing anyone, even that fucker.  But what I hate, is what we found
out.  What this will bring down on you and yours."  She pressed her lips
together, her eyes searching his.  "What are the chances you will let me
handle the council."

She went
on quickly, clearly seeing his angry reaction on his face.  "This is my
mess to clean up."