Lover's Instinct: A Moon Shifter Novella (7 page)

His eyebrows drew together. “No.”

“Well they do and the streets can be very confusing from what I’ve read.” She didn’t have an eidetic memory exactly, but pretty close. Before she’d realized Nikan was coming with her she’d memorized the layout of the city because she always liked to be prepared.

“It’s true,” Thabit said, his deep voice echoing around the enclosed space. “I hate driving in this city.”

Nikan briefly glanced at the other male then looked back at her and nodded politely, as if he was unsure why she was telling him. “Okay.”

“I want to drive,” she said as the elevator dinged and the doors whooshed open.

Now his eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“It’ll be easier if I drive. When we’re following Antoine there will be periods of time when we won’t see the vehicle and since we won’t know where they’re taking him we can’t use the navigator. This way I won’t have to shout out instructions if we get turned around. It will make things smoother.”

Thabit palmed a set of keys. “I’ll let you two figure this out and meet you at the entrance. I’m driving a black four-door sedan. Low key, shouldn’t draw attention.”

Nikan didn’t even glance at Thabit as he left, but kept his focus entirely on her. He gave her this look like he was trying to figure something out. Then he tossed her his keys. “If there’s any damage, you’re paying me back for the deposit.” The slight note of humor and his quick acquiescence took her off guard.

It also pleased her since she’d expected resistance. As an alpha warrior, he’d just let her know how much he valued her without saying a word. By letting her be in control of this situation, he’d made it clear that her beta status didn’t matter in his eyes. They were equals. Something warm blossomed in her chest, spreading throughout her entire body. Nikan was different from any alpha she’d ever known. Different from any man she’d ever known. She planned to tell him just that very soon.

As they headed for the rental, her boots clicked against the pavement. Turning, she started to respond when he gave her a look so hungry and lustful it took her off guard.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten our conversation. No matter what happens with Antoine today, we
will
finish it.” His dark eyes flashed a shade darker and she knew it wasn’t a trick of the light.

Unable to find her voice, she nodded. She had no doubt they’d finish the conversation. Given what she had to say, things between them would change forever.

Chapter 7

Nikan crouched low, peering down from the roof of the run-down two-story building he and Esperanze were on. Neglected duplexes and empty warehouses dotted the industrial area where crime had left its mark. The farther into this northeast neighborhood they’d driven, the more working girls and drug deals they’d seen—in broad daylight.

The abandoned building with boarded up windows and graffiti tags they were using as their lookout was thankfully uninhabited. He and Esperanze had decided to park beside it once they realized they were close to Antoine’s meeting place.

Thabit had chosen the building next to theirs so they weren’t all clustered together. Nikan had his hands-free earpiece in so they were able to easily communicate. He might not have liked the way the guy eyed Esperanze, but Connor had sent him. After they saved Antoine’s woman, he didn’t plan to stick around and grab a beer with the guy. He intended to get Esperanze alone as soon as possible so they could figure out what was going on between the two of them.

Across the street behind a dilapidated chain link fence with huge chunks cut out of it, a flashy black Mercedes had been idling for the past ten minutes in front of a ramshackle warehouse. Though they couldn’t see past the tinted windows, Nikan was sure the Moretti brothers were inside since it was the scheduled meet place. And they’d been early.

“I see him,” Esperanze whispered next to Nikan. Crouching down in the same position as him, her leg was lined up against his as she peered over the building. She passed him the binoculars Thabit had let them borrow.

He could see well without them, but took them anyway. Antoine was pulling up in his gray Land Rover. As he stepped out of the vehicle, he started to glance around, then caught himself. Nikan only hoped whoever was inside the car hadn’t noticed.

A moment later, the driver and passenger door opened and the two men from earlier stepped out. Before they’d even spoke to each other, Marco, the one Nikan had knocked out, punched Antoine in the stomach, then in the face.

Esperanze let out a hiss and Nikan instinctively rested a hand on her knee. Energy hummed through her, but she didn’t make a move. There was nothing any of them could do.

“They’re probably still angry at him for our appearance this morning and they might be testing to see if he brought backup,” he said.

Her mouth was a grim line. “I know, but I hate seeing him get beat up.”

“He’ll heal,” Nikan said softly, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference to Esperanze. With each punch, she tensed underneath his fingers.

After a few minutes, they stopped abusing him and practically dragged him to the car. They shoved him into the back. Then Marco slid into the front seat of Antoine’s Land Rover while Gregorio got back in their own vehicle.

His packmate Ryan had sent what he could dig up on their financials on the drive over and it looked like for the last six months the two brothers had been making sizable deposits into a couple offshore accounts. Since Antoine had only been doing this the past few weeks, Nikan figured they’d had other victims before him. They probably picked the weakest vampires they could find or those who had something to lose like Antoine, then used them up until they killed them.

“Come on.” Nikan squeezed Esperanze’s knee before they raced across the roof toward the door that led downstairs.

“I’m already in my vehicle. They’re turning north on New York Avenue. Tell Esperanze to drive parallel to it from the east and if they turn in your direction I’ll keep going straight,” Thabit’s voice streamed through his earpiece.

“Did you hear that?” he asked Esperanze as they slid into the rental.

“Yep.” She zoomed away from the old building, her hands clasped tightly on the wheel and her jaw firmly set.

Minutes later, Thabit told them the Mercedes was heading their way and the Land Rover was following. Nikan was impressed as Esperanze fell in behind the cars, but made sure to keep a couple cars in between them. He kept Thabit apprised of their position and once they’d been following the Moretti brothers for five minutes, they turned off and let Thabit take over.

It took some slick driving, but Esperanze hadn’t been exaggerating. She’d definitely memorized the layout of the city.

“Damn, woman, I’m getting turned on watching you drive like this,” he said, loving seeing this side to his sweet, beta female.

Esperanze grinned even as her cheeks flushed red. When Thabit reminded them that he could hear them, they darkened even more.

After that Nikan forced his gaze to the road in front of them. When they started heading deeper into the downtown historic district, the Land Rover and Mercedes split up.

As Thabit relayed the information to them, Nikan had a split second decision to make. “Can you keep up with the Land Rover?” he asked Esperanze.

She nodded. “I can try.”

“Thabit, stay with Antoine, see where he’s headed. We’ll follow the other guy.”

“Will do. I’ll call you back once we reach a destination.”

As they disconnected, Esperanze took a sharp turn, running through a yellow light as she turned down a street parallel to the one Marco Moretti had turned down a block ahead of them.

“We’re headed into a pretty nice neighborhood,” she said.

Nikan nodded in agreement, keeping an eye out his window, watching the Land Rover move along next to them each time there was a break in buildings. As they pulled up to a light, he saw Marco turning to the right, away from them.

“He’s moving east,” he said.

After a quick glance to make sure they were clear, Esperanze gunned it and made another turn. Weaving in and out of vehicles, she zipped along until they were only a few cars behind the Land Rover. It was hard not to be impressed with her. She was moving smoothly, but not drawing any attention to them.

When the other vehicle pulled down a narrow, brick paved street, Nikan went with his gut. “Keep going.”

“You sure?” Her fingers tightened on the wheel.

“Yeah, he’ll know if we’re following.” It was a very residential place. Nikan figured he wasn’t cutting through as a shortcut. “Turn here.” He motioned to the next street. As she did, he was already gripping the handle. “Pull in behind that van.”

She did as he said, but frowned when he slid out of the car. Before she could ask what he was doing, he said, “I’ve got his scent, I’m tracking him on foot from here. Stay put and I’ll call as soon as he stops.”
If he stopped.
Without waiting for a response, Nikan took off. Even in human form, he was a hell of a lot faster than humans. It might look odd for him to be sprinting through a quiet residential neighborhood, but it wasn’t against the law.

Right now they couldn’t afford to be seen. Luckily it was cold enough outside that there weren’t any moms pushing strollers or people out jogging. The biting wind rushed over him as his feet pounded against the sidewalk. He was moving so fast that if someone glanced out their window, they’d probably question if they’d seen anything at all. He’d prefer running in wolf form but that would definitely get him noticed.

The Moretti brother he was after had a distinctive lemon undertone that was part of his natural scent. Everyone had an odor that was unique to them and Nikan was homing in on this guy faster and faster. Historic homes, bare trees and cars parked on the cobblestone streets flew by him, but when he turned down another street he spotted the Land Rover moving in his direction.

Nikan slowed and ducked behind a parked truck with an extended cab. He could hear a few muffled voices in the near vicinity, meaning some people were in their homes, but it was a very quiet day on the streets.

Peering through the slightly darkened glass of the truck’s back window, he spotted Marco Moretti parking on the street then walking toward a two-story Victorian style home. He paused and glanced around, but it was a quick sweep. As he headed up the front steps, Nikan walked a little farther down the sidewalk to get a better view and watched as Marco slid a key in the front door then stepped inside.

The home was surrounded by trees and shrubbery which was probably for privacy, but it could be a very good thing for Nikan. If he needed to sneak in, he’d have a decent amount of cover.

Crossing the street, he kept his walk casual, but was hyperaware of his surroundings. He didn’t see any curtains in windows fluttering or blinds sliding up from neighbors’ houses. More important he didn’t hear any concerned voices or conversations. Normally he could tune out his extrasensory abilities, especially when it came to overhearing human conversations, but now he centered himself and focused on listening to the people in the surrounding area. With the fences and giant oak trees in so many of the front yards, he had a lot of cover.

The nearer he got to the Victorian home, the more he focused specifically on it.

“Don’t pull my arm so hard, you’re hurting me,” a slightly slurred female voice said.

“Quit complaining and sit down.” Definitely Marco Moretti.

Nikan glanced back at a street sign, then looked at the numbers in front of the house. This place wasn’t listed as their property and it wasn’t the address on his brother’s license. A siren sounded in the distance, momentarily distracting him. Straining, he forced himself to focus.

“When am I going to get to see Antoine?”

“In a couple hours you two are going to be reunited.” The shifter laughed, the sound harsh.

Reunited. That didn’t sound good. He didn’t hear anyone else inside. For a fraction of a second he contemplated calling Thabit, but didn’t bother. Nikan could handle one shifter on his own. Especially one as young as Marco Moretti.

From the direction of the voices he could only guess, but it sounded like they were near the front of the house.

Right now Nikan had the victim practically in his sights. He couldn’t walk away or wait for backup. Not when she was so close. And he didn’t want to call Esperanze. Keeping her as far away from this danger as possible was the most important thing.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Glancing at the ID he saw Esperanze’s name. Cringing, he silenced the call then turned off his phone. She would be pissed, but better that than having her show up and put herself in harm’s way.

He was doing this now.

Using the overgrown bushes and trees as cover, he used his supernatural speed to make it to the side of the house. Slat blinds covered one of the windows but there was enough space at the edge of the window that he could see into a living room. Couches, a television and a few pieces of furniture, but otherwise empty.

The distinctive lemon scent was getting stronger though. At his age, Nikan had honed his skills enough to decipher out scents and sounds. Nikan just hoped Marco Moretti wasn’t as advanced and wouldn’t scent him coming. Considering the shifter was only thirty, he’d have another thirty years before he should be able to completely distinguish sounds and scents to the point where he’d be a decent hunter. Too bad he probably wasn’t going to live that long.

Large bushes blocked Nikan’s movements from the house next door as he inched farther along the wall of the house. Stopping at another window, he peered inside. A dark haired woman with bronze skin and obvious Indian heritage sat at a kitchen table, her hands loosely tied in front of her. The binding had been done quickly, probably because the shifters didn’t view her as a threat or think she’d try to escape. Or she might have been drugged considering the way she’d sounded earlier.

Moving a fraction to the right, he caught sight of Marco Moretti by the kitchen washing his hands. There was enough distance between the woman and Marco that Nikan could take him by surprise.

Before he had time to second-guess himself, he stripped out of his clothes, sprinted across the driveway and part of the yard until he was at the line of bushes. Taking a deep breath he underwent the change. Bones broke, realigned and hurt with a vengeance. Black fur sprouted where skin had been, covering him as his wolf took over. The change was always abrupt and painful, but then a rush of euphoria engulfed him. Using all his strength, he raced back the way he’d come then launched himself through the window.

Not subtle, but he needed the element of surprise. Glass and the wood frame splintered around him, shards flying everywhere as he crashed into the kitchen. The blinds were roughly tossed to the tile floor.

The woman screamed, diving out of her chair and away from him.
Good.
He didn’t want her in the way.

Marco had turned at the initial crash and hadn’t wasted time shifting into his wolf form. Slightly smaller and a little more wiry than Nikan, the light brown and white wolf growled in front of him on all fours, his clothes and shoes shredded on the floor.

Nikan bared his lengthened canines, growling at the other animal. Marco growled back and swiped at the air in front of him with a forepaw.

Circling to the right, Nikan kept his movements slow and measured, hoping the closer he moved toward the woman, she’d take the hint and run out behind him now that he was between her and Marco. When he heard her feet shuffling against the floor and farther away from them, he let his beast go. These bastards had taken an innocent woman for pure profit. Not to mention they were risking vamp and shifter relations. He felt no guilt attacking Marco Moretti.

Snarling, he lunged but kept his head down to protect his throat. It took a lot to kill a shifter. Beheading was one way. Ripping out the heart was the other. Both hard to do because no shifter was going to stay still and let someone kill them.

As he flew toward Marco, he felt the other shifter’s claws dig into his shoulders then swipe down his back. Pain registered but adrenaline was rapidly pumping through him. And Nikan didn’t mind a little blood loss. Not when he could go for the killing blow. Swiveling his head back up, he crunched down on the back of other wolf’s neck.

Howling, Marco jerked back, pulling out of Nikan’s hold. Cursing himself that he hadn’t gotten a better grip the first time, Nikan pounced, refusing to let this drag out longer than it had to.