Lust Unleashed (Night Seekers, Book One) (12 page)

“What do the rest of you think?” Ric looked around the table at the other members of the team. “I’d like to get your opinion before I clear it with Craig Stafford. The final call is his, after all.”

“It’s going to be impossible to keep this organization under the radar for very long, anyway,” Chelsea Roland commented. A trained investigator, she was the only one of the Night Seekers who came to the team from the private sector. “Even when I was working a case I could only hide who I was for so long.”

“I think Craig’s worried how people will react,” Ric told her. “He doesn’t want us to be looked at as some crazed vigilante group running amok and shooting animals and people at will.”

“I think we’re all smart enough and experienced enough to know how to handle this,” Mark said. “And I’m thinking now, if we tell John Denby about the group and I meet up with Jonah, he might see it as much-needed help.”

“Has anyone simply chalked it off to one of the feral animals in that area?” Sophia wanted to know?

“Oh, yeah,” Mark snorted. “Everyone would like to think that’s what happened. But the people who live in those counties come from families with long histories of bad superstitions, and they think if they give voice to something it makes it real. So they just burn oils and pray it goes away.”

“Are you comfortable jumping in here?” Ric asked.

Mark nodded. “I think we’re at the point where I could maybe do some good. Everyone knows I left to work on some special project. Maybe it’s time to let them in on what it is.”

“Do you know anything about this woman Jonah’s now staying with?”

“I’m just shocked he’s doing anything with a woman,” Sophia commented. “We all know how Jenna’s death has continued to affect him.”

“I don’t know her,” Mark said, ”but I can find out about her easily enough. She must be something special for him to have moved in with her.”

“Let’s just hope he’s thinking with his brain,” Ric said, “and not his dick. Pardon me, ladies.”

Chelsea burst out laughing, “What, you think we’ve never heard the word dick?”

“I just didn’t mean to use crude language.” He grinned. “My mother brought me up to be a gentleman. Or at least she tried.”

“Your mother was a shifter,” Mark pointed out, “and might have ripped your throat out if she thought you were insulting women.”

“No offense taken, Ric,” Chelsea told him. “We’re all grown-up people here. Let’s move along.”

“Let me call Jonah and see what he needs me to bring.” Mark was scribbling on the pad of paper in front of him. “Then I’ll load up.”

“I’ll call Craig,” Ric said, “and tell him what we’re doing. If you leave in the next hour when will you be there?”

“Late afternoon. Let’s make our calls and get this thing in gear.”

* * * * *

Dakota had managed to pull herself together for Jonah but inside she was still shaken by what she’d seen at the farm. She was no novice to the destruction animals could wreak on each other. Living in a rural area as well as when she’d worked for Neil, she’d seen the destruction one animal could cause to another. This was the first time she’d ever seen it happen to a human being and she hoped never to see it again. She had no idea how Jonah lived with it. Or how he dealt with the memory of seeing his fiancée this way.

He seemed calm enough as they walked into the cabin but she knew inside he had to be battling immense pain. She needed to suppress her own feelings to be able to provide comfort for him. In whatever manner she could do it.

While he called his team headquarters she started the coffee dripping and gathered eggs and bacon for breakfast.

“I’m not too hungry,” he told her when he disconnected the call.

“Me, either, but it won’t do us any good to starve ourselves to death. I’m going to assume you have a long day ahead of you and you need energy.” She gave him a soft smile. “And I’ll be right there with you.”

He set his phone down on a small table along with his keys and came to stand beside her. She could feel the tension radiating from his body.

“What was that you said about waiting for the next victim?” She made her voice as even as possible, even though her nerves were jumping all over the place. There was a long pause. She glanced over at him, waiting for his answer. “Well?”

“The beast has a pattern,” he said at last. “It attacks three times before leaving an area. Donna Perkins is the second so we know it’s stalking its third prey.”

She stopped what she was doing and crossed her arms in front of her. “And you were going to tell me this when?”

“Dakota, listen,” he began.

“Stop.” She turned form the counter to face him. “Whatever you’re going to say, don’t. If you meant what you said, that whatever’s between us is more than sex, then you have to let me be there for you. Help you, even if it’s only to give you a place to vent your anger or sorrow.” She reached out a hand and touched his face. “And that also means not hiding anything from me. Don’t shut me out. Please.”

He blew out a long breath. “There’s just so much I have to explain to you. So much you need to understand. What if it’s too much?”

“It won’t be.” She stood on tiptoe and brushed her mouth against his. “I promise you that.”

The coffee was ready, so he took two mugs down from the cupboard, filled them and urged her to the table. He handed her one of the filled mugs and sat down with his own.

“Let’s start with when I…disappeared…for a while last night.”

“Yes.” She inhaled the steam from her coffee and took a sip. “Let’s definitely start there.”

He sighed. “I explained to you about shifters and how we came to be. What you don’t know is we can only go a certain length of time before our bodies demand the shift. The desire to run and enjoy our wolven selves is very strong.”

“Do you ever have the urge to, um, shift at an inconvenient time? Like when others are around?”

His laugh was almost a bark. “More than you can imagine. But the herbs I take help me control that aspect.”

“Herbs?” She raised an eyebrow. “Where do you get them?”

He smiled at her. “There are special stores that sell them, but I know what you’re thinking. And yes. We can check to see if any of them are growing in your herb garden.”

“See? I told you I could help.”

“But that’s not all of it. I also shift when I want to scent a crime scene and look for evidence I miss in human form.”

“So you want to visit the Perkins farm as wolf,” she guessed. “And also try to see if you can identify the next possible victim.”

He nodded. “Along with Mark Guitron.”

“Another Night Seeker?”

He nodded. “And a shifter like me. I’ve asked Ric Garza, who functions as our team leader, to send Mark down here to work with me. Mark’s a former deputy sheriff in the next county over so he’s very familiar with this area.”

Dakota tensed. “He’ll check me out.”

Jonah closed a hand over one of hers. “Not to worry. He knows I wouldn’t be here with you if there was a danger either to me or our assignments. When he meets you, he’ll feel the same way I do about you.” He grinned. “Well, hopefully not
exactly
the same.”

“I just don’t want him to be turned off by the stories he’ll hear about me.”

“Mark is too smart for that. But it does mean that you’ll have two shifters to deal with. And Mark needs to be comfortable with the fact that you accept it.”

Dakota lifted his hand and brushed her lips over his knuckle. “Even though it’s taking some getting used to. I am comfortable with whoever and whatever you are. And your friends.” An unhappy thought trickled through her. “Will he expect to stay here, too?”

Jonah laughed, the first time he’d done so since getting Sheriff Denby’s phone call. “What he expects isn’t important. It’s what he’s going to end up with that is. And he’ll be staying at the motel in Eagle Pass.”

“Good.” Her instincts told her Jonah would need to find relief in their physical connection, an impossibility if someone else was invading or sharing their space.

“But we will be coming and going at odd hours,” he told her. “And shifting to our wolven form when necessary.”

“I told you, that’s fine. And that’s all we need to say about it now.” She drained the last of her coffee and stood up. “Now I think we need to eat.”

* * * * *

The beast had watched all the activity from a distance, hidden far enough away that no one could see it or would come to look for it. Even from this far away it could smell the fear, so ripe and rich the wind carried it to his nostrils. Its belly was full, at least for the moment. A satisfying feeling that gave it a temporary sense of euphoria. It knew that sense of well-being wouldn’t last long. It never did. The bloodlust that drove the beast would only let it rest for so long. It might need to feast again, charging its energy, before finally leaving the area.

It padded back and forth among the trees, tongue lolling, saliva dripping as its taste buds recalled its feast. The blood! The blood had been tasty. Sweet. Syrupy. The best kind. Too bad there hadn’t been more of it. Coyotes had scented the kill and tried to get in their licks, but the beast had shown them its ferocious side and they’d run off like whimpering puppies.

The scene below was busy for a long, long time. When everyone packed up to leave the beast finally loped off into the woods. It was sated for now, but its next kill wouldn’t be far off.

* * * * *

Jonah had given Mark the coordinates for the cabin which he’d plugged into his GPS. He called to give them a heads up when he hit the narrow country road that led to the driveway.

“Just so you don’t shoot his head off,” Jonah teased when he answered the call and told Dakota his team member was almost on site.

“Who, me?” She arranged her features into a fake expression of astonishment. “Would I do such a thing?”

“In a heartbeat.” He stole a quick kiss, thrusting his tongue inside just enough to take a brief taste of her. “We’ll finish this later.”

It was after four when the dark blue SUV bumped down the dirt road and pulled into the clearing in front of the cabin. Dakota stood on the porch with Jonah and watched the driver climb easily out of the vehicle. Mark Guitron was dark, like Jonah, and just as tall. But where Jonah was lean, Mark was bulkier. No fat, Dakota realized, just thicker muscles. And a much broader frame.

She watched as he and Jonah shook hand. Then Jonah reached for her hand and drew her forward.

“Mark, meet Dakota Furcal.”

Mark’s handshake was firm and his mouth curved in a smile, but the warmth didn’t quite reach his eyes. Jonah had told her Mark had been a deputy in the next county, but she didn’t think she was notorious enough for him to have heard anything about her. Dakota had the shivery feeling he was stripping her skin off to see what was beneath it. She knew his first priorities were Jonah and Night Seekers. If he assessed her as a threat, she had no doubt he wouldn’t hesitate to act on it.

“Welcome to Maverick County.” She made her voice as friendly as possible. This was, after all, Jonah’s friend and teammate.

“Thank you.” Again his eyes assessed every inch of her. “I’m happy to meet you.”

Yeah? Well, I hope you mean that.

“Please come in. I know you and Jonah have things to talk about.”

“That’s all right.” he gestured to the chairs on the porch. “We’ll be fine out here.”

Jonah tightened his arm around Dakota. “It’s okay. She knows everything. We can speak freely in front of her.”

Mark’s eyes were still on her. “Everything?”

“Everything.” He chuffed a short laugh. “After she saw me as a wolf there wasn’t much left to hide from her.”

“You shifted in front of her?”

“Not exactly, but it all worked out. Come on, let’s go inside and I’ll fill you in on everything. But believe me. She can be trusted.”

Dakota could read the “wait and see” look still in Mark’s eyes but he nodded his head and followed them into the cabin.

“I have beer and soft drinks,” Dakota told them. “Or I could make fresh coffee.”

“Coffee would be great, darlin’.” Jonah hugged her and planted a brief kiss on her mouth.

She was sure he was doing it both to show Mark he’d really meant what he’d said about her and to stake his claim. She almost smiled. Men were so territorial.

The men sat down at the small dining table, Mark with the folder and legal pad he’d had in his hands and Jonah with his handheld computer. They also placed their sat phones within easy reach in the event of a call. Dakota busied herself making coffee and listening to Jonah fill Mark in on what had happened so far. They spent some time looking at the photos in the folder Mark had with him and making notes.

“I want to take a look at the farm,” Mark said, smiling briefly at Dakota as she brought filled coffee mugs to the table.

“That was my plan,” Jonah agreed. “But I want us to shift to do it. For one thing, I’m sure the sheriff still has crime scene tape strung all over the place. For another, we have a much better chance of picking up a stray scent.”