Predator's Refuge (24 page)

She burst into giggles. “I love you too, Mr. Gaspar. Or is it Prince Anton? My liege? Your Highness? I never did ask the correct method for addressing you.”

“You can just call me your tiger.”

“My tiger.” She nodded. “I like that.”

Before long, Marci and her tiger were asleep in each other’s arms.

Chapter 14

Anton and Marci sat the next day by the lake’s edge, watching while the teens in his group frolicked in the cold water. He smiled. One of the best parts of being a shape-shifter was being fairly impervious to the cold. Even now, in autumn, there was barely a shiver in the group as they dived off the deck and splashed each other.

Feeling naughty, Anton toyed with the idea of picking Marci up and throwing her in the lake with the others, just to join in the fun, but she looked so peaceful next to him. Her chin was propped in one hand, and her other hand was linked with his. A dreamy expression ornamented her lovely face as she grinned at the antics of the kids in the water.

God, he loved her. It made his heart stop and start.

She’d piled all her hair up onto her head today, and wisps of sorrel beauty fell softly about her face. Her delicate neck looked so inviting, so kissable.

With an absentminded air, she rubbed at the skin under her ear, and he spotted a scratch. One of his. He frowned, feeling such guilt at marring her perfect skin. They’d gotten so carried away last night. He’d never wanted to take anyone quite so furiously and with such ardor. And she’d accepted him, bites and all. Even now, as she watched the kids in the lake, her face transformed with happiness, she didn’t seem to mind her scratches.

Stop it, Anton. I can hear your thoughts, you know. I wanted it as much as you did. Put the guilt away.

He smiled.
You’re sure I didn’t hurt you?

She turned to him and kissed him on his broken nose. “Yup.”

One of the boys from the class ran out of the lake with a triumphant cry, dripping wet, chasing one of the girls who’d insisted on remaining dry. She ran in front of them and he followed, flicking water at her. The girl shrieked and protected her shiny, flat-ironed locks. As she ran, giggling now more than shouting, she ran right into Shawn, looking very awkward in his swim trunks.

The teen boy braced her and she gave him a coy look. “Aren’t you going to swim too, Shawn?”

On the receiving end of her batting, long lashes, Shawn gulped. He looked over at Anton with a questioning gaze. Anton gave him a thumbs-up and Shawn allowed himself to be led away to the lake.

Marci punched him in the shoulder. “You’re such a softy.”

He exaggerated his accent and replied, “I am big strong man. Not softy.”

She smiled and turned back toward the kids in the water. Her smile faded. “Shawn seems to be fitting in nicely.” She arched an eyebrow. “You don’t think he could have been responsible for anything that’s been going on around here, do you?”

“I don’t think so. If he were guilty of any of it, why return to the scene of the crime?”

She let out a soft sigh. “I don’t know. I called up the fire inspector early this morning and pestered him. He’s not ready to make his findings official, but he seems to believe the fire at my cabin was arson. They found some rags drenched in gas hidden behind a shrub. Someone torched my place on purpose, Anton. While we were in it.” Her lips turned down. “Shawn was there shortly after we got out.”

“No, Marci. I’ve combed through the boy’s file. Aside from the odd fight at school, he isn’t violent. And fire starters always have a history. Like you said, Shawn is coming around. Why would he do something like this?”

“Who else?”

Anton braced himself for the conversation he knew was coming. He took a deep breath. “I took the liberty of doing some digging in the HR office and found something interesting. Did you know your friend Killian started a couple of shed fires when he was a kid?”

At first, she just turned white, but then… He’d been prepared for her rebuke, but he hadn’t been ready to see the utter disappointment on her face. It certainly took him down a few notches after feeling such vindication reading Killian’s details.

She gawked at him, clearly choosing her words. “You sneaked around in personnel files? How could you?”

“When your safety is at stake, I will do whatever needs to be done, sneaky or not.” He held her gaze, and tried not to show how equally disappointed he was at her reaction. Would she go to her grave defending Killian Moon? “You didn’t answer my question about Killian. Did you know?”

“No, but clearly Ryland must know, and he hired him anyway. He obviously didn’t think it was a problem.”

“I don’t want you near him.”

“Oh, Anton, come on. Killian’s my friend. He wouldn’t do anything like that.”

“Well, he was quick to accuse me when Charlotte was attacked, deflecting suspicion away from himself. Maybe he attacked April as well. For all we know, Killian Moon is hiding a psychopathic personality under all that charm.”

Her face reddened in anger. “You’re so wrong.”

“I just think we need to keep all our options open.” He took note of her pink cheeks and flared nostrils, and his heart plummeted when he realized just how strongly she supported her former lover. Struggling to steer the conversation from a flat-out argument, he said, “Perhaps we should get the police to question all the cats on the island. Myself included.”

“You know as well as I do they’ve already been quietly questioning people. They’ve spoken to most staff members and even some guests. At the same time, I’m trying to run a resort here. I can’t scare everyone away. We need to be discreet.” She put a hand to her head, as if overwhelmed by sickness.

Damn. He’d caused her pain. Again. That didn’t mean he was ready to exonerate Killian. “Why don’t I talk to him?”

“No!” Her eyes grew to twice their size. “If anyone’s going to talk to him, it’s me. I mean it, Anton. Don’t go looking for trouble.”

“Is that what you think I’m doing? Causing trouble because I want you safe? Women are being attacked on this island, and someone tried to roast my girlfriend in her bed. And you’re worried I’ll offend Killian’s
feelings
. Well, guess what, kitten? I couldn’t give a flying fuck about his feelings.”

She didn’t say a word, just stared at him with those big, brown eyes that held so much disillusionment. She jumped to her feet and marched away, down the pathway to the lodge. Anton watched her the entire time, making sure she actually entered the lodge. At least in there, she was surrounded by people and not in harm’s way. No doubt she’d run off to go warn Killian about her lunatic boyfriend’s vendetta.

Well, let her. He welcomed a confrontation with Moon and had been expecting it for some time. Was he targeting the man because he was jealous of his former intimacy with Marci? Probably. Was he envious because Killian had the honor of taking her virginity? Definitely. But none of those issues erased the fact Moon had a violent history. They needed to finally have it out. Frankly, he rather looked forward to it.

That did not appease the horrible gut-churning sensation in his belly. His head hurt and he wanted to vomit. Marci had walked away from him.

And he didn’t think he’d ever felt quite so alone in his life.

* * * *

An hour later, after discreetly calling the front office and determining that Marci would indeed be locked in her office for the foreseeable future in a phone conference with a supplier, Anton went off in search of Killian. He had time before his next class, and felt it was about time he and the jaguar shifter had a heart-to-heart. About a lot of things.

He spotted Moon on his way back from his own class, tramping along one of the paths to the programming office. The man’s face was scrunched in quiet concentration and he looked at the ground while he walked. Clearly he had things on his mind too.

“Moon,” he called, and caught up to him.

Killian acknowledged him with a slight nod but continued walking to the office. Anton followed him in and closed the door behind them. Killian sat at his desk, propped his legs up on it, and linked his hands behind his head. “How’s Marci?”

Rankled that his first words should be about his mate, Anton offered him a snide smile. “Much better, thanks. But she’s not very pleased with me right now.”

He perked up in his chair, gripping the desk with his hands. “Really? I’m going to ask if you hurt her, Gaspar. I advise you consider your answer carefully.”

Anton felt his tiger’s eyes shine with malice, and closed them for a second, warning the animal to back down. “You don’t need to worry about me hurting Marci. I’m the last person who’d hurt her.” He slowly walked over to his own desk and sat down. “She’s angry at me because I had the nerve to suggest her friend Killian might not be all he seems.”

The jaguar’s eyes narrowed on him, a golden-hued gaze full of mistrust. “Come again?”

“I read your file. All of it. The contents of the second page are very illuminating.”

Killian leaned forward, his eyes fairly blazing. “You read my personal information?”

“Yes,” he replied calmly. “Yours and several others. Just trying to see who has dirty secrets.”

“Why, you…” He almost jumped out of his chair but forced himself back into it for some reason. Killian took a few bracing breaths. Clearly he wasn’t pleased about this spotlight on his fiery past.

“Care to explain your penchant for watching things burn?”

His burst of laughter was grim. “While you were snooping, you neglected to read the info carefully. Those incidents happened years ago. I was barely a teen.”

“But old enough to know right from wrong.”

“Oh,” Killian replied quietly, his very tone a threat. “Do you really wanna go down that road with me, Gaspar? Because I know a few things about your sordid history too.”

Anton dared him to continue with a look.

“For instance,” he said. “I know your family has an astounding record of violence. I know your father is one of the most ruthless leaders your people have ever endured. You have skeletons in your closet, too, probably way more than I have.”

“I guarantee you I have more skeletons. And Marci knows about them. She was, however, saddened to learn of your background.”

“You ignorant asshole.”

“Spit it out, Moon. Tell me about those fires. Convince me I’m wrong about you.”

The man gritted his teeth and said nothing.

“Look,” Anton prodded, trying another tack. “I just want Marci to stay safe. I will do everything in my power to eliminate any threat to her. And from what I know of you, you’d do the same.”

That seemed to change Moon’s mind. After a moment, he began to talk. “I set my first fire when I was ten. My brothers and I grew up in a really strict household, with very religious parents. Because of our animal natures, they virtually kept us under lock and key when we weren’t at school. It made me resentful. I set fire to my father’s toolshed one day. It was a stupid act of rebellion, nothing more.”

“You have brothers, too?”

“Yeah, two of them, both younger. Percy and Byron. They’re twins. They were the reason for the other fire.”

“How so?”

“Percy and Byron have always been … different. On another wavelength. From birth, they had a very strong bond. Maybe they weren’t as close to me, but I was always protective of them. Some kids at school teased them for being such tight brothers. I mean, they were a little weird sometimes.” He grinned. “Used to hold hands in the schoolyard as kids, that sort of thing. One guy really bullied them, so I set fire to the shed that housed his prized BMX bike. It was a warning to leave my brothers alone, which he did afterward.” He paused. “I got into a lot of trouble and was forced to repay him and apologize. It’s one of the reasons I became a mentor. I learned from my mistakes, and I care way too much about Marci to torch her cabin.” He let out a huge breath and ran his hand through his hair.

Anton could almost swear Killian felt better for the confession. He stared at the jaguar man, unsure what to say, and not quite ready to give up his grudge.

“I’m not an arsonist, Anton. And I would never hurt those women. I’ve worked with Marci and Charlotte for years, looking out for them when they needed it. And April, fuck man, she’s just a kid. Do you honestly think I could do that to a little rabbit?”

“I don’t know. People can be driven to bizarre lengths when angered. You were pretty upset at me when I showed up. You made it very clear you hated me being with Marci. How do I know you wouldn’t run into the woods, high on adrenaline and frustration, and hurt someone?”

Killian looked him in the eye, and Anton could see he’d dropped all pretense at being his nemesis. “Look, I wasn’t very nice to you when you started here. I apologize. And for what it’s worth, I can understand you spying on me. You’re right. If roles had been reversed, I probably would have done the same. But Anton, I don’t love Marci, despite what you may think. She’s just a friend, and I told her I just wanted her to be happy.”

“You did?”

“Yeah.” He cracked a begrudging smile. “And if she’s happy with a surly tiger, who am I to argue?”

Anton narrowed his eyes at him, determined to find any crack in Moon’s armor, but saw none. He wore no armor, nothing to indicate he was prevaricating in any way. And if he’d learned anything being around his always brutally honest father, it was how to spot a liar. “I believe you’re innocent of these crimes.” He stood, walked over, and put out his hand.

Killian looked at it, waited a second, and then shook it. “Awesome. So now, let’s get back to the business of finding out exactly who is terrorizing this resort.” He indicated a few files on his desk and fanned them out. “As it turns out, I’ve been doing some snooping of my own. We have a few very interesting characters staying with us right now, parents of some of the teens. One was once suspected of rape, although charges against him were dropped. Another has a history of using his fists way too much for his own good. Another is a binge drinker. And those are only a few examples.”

“Shit,” Anton said on a breath. “We’d better get to work.” He took a seat at Killian’s desk.