Lust Unleashed (Night Seekers, Book One) (17 page)

The tension eased from Jonah’s body. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.”

“There’s a small apartment off the kitchen that was originally meant for a housekeeper,” Stafford told him. “Why don’t you take that? It’s not a problem. I’ll tell Ric and he can brief the team. When you and your mate arrive she can decide where she wants to do her planting and we’ll get someone out there to till and fertilize the soil for her.”

“You’re being more than kind,” Jonah told him.

“Not at all. I don’t support an enforced solitary existence if there’s a choice.” His voice dropped and Jonah heard a tinge of sadness in it. “Who knows? Maybe other Night Seekers will find mates and bring them here. We’ll make adjustments as we go along. Perhaps that means there’s hope for others of us, too.”

For himself.

“If you could have Ric call me after he briefs the team I’d appreciate it. I’d like to smooth the way as much as I can for her. By the way, her name’s Dakota Furcal.”

“Pretty name. All right, then. Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

Two pairs of eyes swiveled to him when he walked back into the cabin, one appraising, the other nervous.

“Well?” Mark asked. He was lounging against the counter watching Dakota work.

“We’re good to go.” He walked directly over to Dakota and pulled her into his arms, kissing her ferociously despite Mark’s presence. He felt her relax into his body. “I’ll give you all the details later. Meanwhile, let’s have breakfast. They’ll be sending us information from the ranch before too long and Mark and I will need to concentrate on that.”

* * * * *

By late morning the team back at the ranch had gathered all the maps Jonah and Mark had requested and sent them to Jonah’s phone. He transferred them to his computer, then used Dakota’s printer to print them out.

“I think we ought to run this by the sheriff,” he told Mark. “I can see six or seven locations here where there are potential victims but Denby might be able to narrow it down even more.”

“What makes you think his next victim will be around Eagle Pass?” Dakota asked. She was curled in the big armchair, reading and half listening to the men.

“Because he’s never hunted in a wide circle before,” Mark told her. He pulled some of the maps from the bottom of the pile to the top. “Come here and I’ll show you.”

She put her book facedown on the little table next to the chair and rose gracefully, coming to stand behind Jonah. There was a scatter of maps on the table with red circles on them.

“See?” Mark pointed. “Every place there have been triple slayings the sites have been fairly close together. Even where I lived when I was a deputy in the next county over. I liked it outside of town, sort of the way you live here. But my neighbors were as close as a mile away.” He grimaced. “One of the men wasn’t found until two weeks later. He only used his place for vacations and no one knew he’d come to stay there until his brother couldn’t get hold of him.”

“And here.” Jonah pointed. “And here, and here, and here.” He picked up the red pen and drew wider circles encompassing the smaller red ones. “It’s a pattern. Almost as if it scouted sites remote enough not to attract attention when it attacked but not so far away that it couldn’t hang out in the area until it was finished.”

“Hang out?” Dakota frowned. “Hang out how? Other animals would shy away from it and it certainly couldn’t just hunker down in a barn or a garage.”

Mark tossed his pen onto the table. ”If we could answer that question we’d be way ahead of the game here.”

“And aren’t you giving the Chupacabra reasoning powers far beyond those of normal animals?” she asked.

“I think we know too little about it to make any kind of determination. But there are many animals with high levels of intelligence and it’s obvious this creature is in that category.”

“I think we should talk to Denby,” Jonah told him. “At least tell him what we surmise.”

“
You
talk to him. He doesn’t even know I’m in the picture. Tell him the researchers at your magazine dug up some more facts and you want to make sure he has them.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Jonah reached his arms over his head and stretched, then hooked an arm around Dakota’s waist and pulled her close to him. “Want to come with me?”

She shook her head. “If you drag me along he won’t pay any attention to what you tell him. He already looked at me strangely when I went to Donna Perkins’ farm with you.”

“Okay. I’ll give him a call.” He looked across the table at Mark, as if sending a message with his eyes.

Mark laughed. “Don’t worry. She’s safe with me. And from me. No way would I make a move on your mate.”

“And no way would I let him,” Dakota said, smoothing her fingers over his creased brow.

Jonah picked up his phone. “Let’s see if I can get a meeting with him right now.”

* * * * *

“I hear what you’re saying, but…”John Denby scratched his head. “It just seems too farfetched. As if an animal like this can actually plan things.”

“All I can do is look at facts,” Jonah told him. “But if you study feral animals, you’ll see that they live their lives in prescribed patterns. They hunt a certain way, mate at certain times, things like that.”

“This just seems too predictable for a wild animal,” Denby insisted. “I just don’t know.”

Jonah leaned back in his chair. “Are you willing to bet someone’s life on it?”

Denby’s face tightened. “Of course not. That’s the last thing I want.”

“Then pretend you agree with me and help me narrow these possible sites down to two or three.”

The sheriff pressed a button on his desk phone. When someone answered, he said, “Find Enoch Brazile and send him in here, will you? And get someone to bring in a pot of that sludge you guys call coffee and some cups.”

Only seconds passed before there was a soft tap at the door, it opened and Brazile came in with a coffee carafe in one hand and a stack of Styrofoam cups in the other.

“What’s up?” Brazile filled the cups, handed them around and sat down in the unoccupied chair. “I got the word you wanted to see me.”

Denby pointed to Jonah. “It seems our Mr. Grey has a theory about this beast we’re chasing. I wanted someone besides myself to hear it. Get your reaction.”

Jonah patiently went over it all again. He realized the difficulty here. These men were faced with solving horrific crimes, and the only clues they had indicated an animal that no one believed in. Now here came Jonah to embellish the theory even more. If they ignored it and someone else died their ass would be grass.

When he finished he leaned back in his chair and waited while Enoch Brazile absorbed everything that had been explained to him. The deputy sipped his coffee slowly, his eyes unfocused as he processed the information. Finally he put his cup down and cleared his throat in a hesitant manner.

“You want my opinion.”

“Yes.” Denby nodded. “I want your take on it.”

“Okay. I can’t say I actually believe in this whole Chupacabra thing.” He took another swallow of coffee. “But the fact of the matter is, something is killing these people in a hellish manner, and it isn’t any kind of
thing
we’re used to. So if it hunts in a pattern, and there’s a chance to catch it now before it completes its latest pattern, I think we need to give it a shot.”

Denby drummed his fingers on the desk. “Well, then.”

Jonah let out his breath slowly, trying to conceal his gratitude. If Brazile felt this way the sheriff wouldn’t feel quite so much as if he were going out on a limb. He looked at Denby. “Does that mean you’ll set up patrols for the three places I’ve marked?”

The sheriff nodded slowly. “I’m not saying I agree with what you said, but hell! The town—the whole county—has got its collective ass in an uproar over this. I have to do something before they roast my balls over an open fire.”

“That’s the truth,” Brazile agreed. “Since we found Donna Perkins’ body people around here are afraid to go out of their homes or businesses.”

“I’d like to have kept the details under wraps,” Denby said, “but unfortunately my deputies on the scene blabbed and the newspaper got hold of it.”

“It might at least put people on their guard,” Jonah pointed out.

The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know about that. Did it help with any of the other cases?”

Jonah stacked his photos neatly and squared the pile. “Not necessarily.”

Denby grunted. “Just what I thought. People are frightened but they don’t believe what their minds tell them is impossible. If I warned them about a rabid dog I’d have a better shot.”

“I’m with you there,” Jonah agreed. “This is a legend people whisper about but refuse to give credence to. So.” He gave the man across from him a hard look. “Patrols at these three places starting at sundown?”

Denby nodded, one brief dip of his head. “But you stay away from it. I’ll let you know what happens either way. I don’t need some
writer
messing things up.”

Jonah refrained from pointing out the sheriff wouldn’t even have a clue as to what he was dealing with if Jonah had kept his mouth shut, but he didn’t want to rock the boat here.

“I’m good with that. You know how to reach me.”

All three men rose, shook hands and Jonah made his exit. He had no idea how much good the patrols would do, or if the deputies would be too terrified to shoot if they were confronted by the devil beast. But he’d done what he could here. Now it was up to Night Seekers.

* * * * *

“Ric’s sending the helicopter in case we need it,” Mark announced when Jonah entered the cabin. “I also asked for some other Night Seekers.”

Jonah lifted one eyebrow. “Oh?”

Mark shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how it would go with the sheriff and we can’t cover all three places ourselves no matter how fast we run.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” He tossed his folder onto the counter. “So who’s coming?”

“Sophia, Sam, Logan and Chelsea. Dante will fly the chopper.” He glanced at his watch. “They’ll be here about midafternoon for a full briefing.”

“And exactly where is the helicopter going to land? We don’t want to collect a crowd.”

“I told them they could land in that open space past my herb garden,” Dakota broke in. She studied his face. “Is that okay? We’re isolated enough that no one will see anything except the helicopter flying over.”

He brushed his lips over hers. “Yes. Perfect. But what about your friend, Neil Washington? We’re not that far from him.”

“If Neil calls I’ll just tell him your editor decided to pay you a visit.”

Jonah grinned. “Smart. I knew there was a reason I fell for you.” He moved his mouth close to her ear. “But not the only one.”

Mark cleared his throat loudly. “If we’re done with playtime can we take care of business here?”

“How about some lunch first?” Dakota asked. “We can talk while we eat.”

Mark shifted his glance to her. “We?”

“Hey. I’m part of this team.” She grinned. “Get used to it.”

He gave her an answering smile and nodded. “All right, then.”

When lunch had been cleared away they all climbed into Jonah’s truck and drove past the three areas they’d circled. Mark made careful notes about each area. Then they spent the afternoon going over the plans again.

About four o’clock the sound of chopper blades cut through the air outside. All three of them walked out past the herb garden to the somewhat rocky clearing where the helicopter was just setting down.

Dakota hung back to let Mark and Jonah greet the people who jumped down from the open door and bent low to escape the rotor wash. She watched them all shake hands and give each other the half-hug men reserved for each other and for women who were not part of a romantic relationship.

In a moment the rotors stopped spinning, the whine of the engine faded and the pilot stepped out onto the ground.

Dakota took a half-step back, overwhelmed by so many strangers advancing on her at once. For one frantic moment she wondered if she was making a mistake, involving herself in all this. With Jonah.

Then she heard his voice in her head.

Mine!

Jonah reached her first, wrapping his arm possessively around her waist and pulling her close to his body. His hand tightened against her ribs.

Mine!

“Dakota, these are more of the Night Seekers.” He nodded at each one in turn. Dante Martello, the former Chicago homicide detective, was shorter than the other men but very lean and dark. His black hair was cut close to his head and he wore a neatly trimmed moustache. The one who wasn’t a shifter. Next was Logan Tanner. The former Montana sheriff, taller than Jonah and more muscular, with sandy hair and pale blue eyes, and a faced lined by the cold Montana weather.

Sam Brody, tall and blond, once with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Chelsea Roland, tall and lithe with a mass of curly red hair and piercing green eyes. And Sophia Black, as blonde as Sam, shorter and more petite than Chelsea, with dimples that flashed as she smiled and held out her hand to Dakota.