Emerald: Rare Gems Series - Billionaire Wolf Shapeshifter Romance (8 page)

Getting them settled took an extra five minutes today. No one, it seemed, could focus. As she handed out the muffins she’d picked up on the way in, she thought about what Jul had told her as she left for work.

“Don’t go out unless you can see Tayler. He’s going to be hanging around you all day, but in the shadows. I’m not sure what that means to him, but he said you’d be able to see him when nobody else can.” She nodded. “You understand, don’t you?”

“Yes. I can smell him.” Jul nodded and then smiled. “Yes, before you ask, I can smell you too. You have a scent about you that makes my wolf hum with happiness, if you want to know the truth. Why is all this so much fun to you?”

“To find out the amazing things you can do? I don’t have a clue. But it is. Just knowing that you can go into heat and that anyone around you can smell that we’ve had sex makes me feel like king of the mountain. Who knew?” She wanted to brain him. “When you get home tonight, I’m going to hide in the woods and you can shift and come looking for me again. Then if you find me quick enough, I’ll let you have your way with me. If you don’t, then I’ll have my way with you.” With a quick kiss, he left her. She was still standing in the hall when Tayler came to get her.

Now she knew that Tayler was around, he’d been in to see her twice but he never said anything. When she was finished handing out the small bottles of juice that had been on her desk, she looked up just as he entered her room.

“I just wanted to let the kids know that I’m the new janitor.” The kids looked at him like they had no idea what a janitor was. “I’ll be working around the rooms today too. You all just go on like you don’t see me.”

“What’s your name?” Emerald glanced at Timmy as he stood up to Tayler. “We’re not supposed to talk to strangers. So if you tell us your name, we don’t have to be a scared of you.”

“It’s Tayler. I’m just plain old Tayler.” He moved to her desk and she saw him put something on it. Then he picked up her trashcan and took it out. As she made her way back to the desk, he returned a different can to her. With a quick nod, he was gone again.

As the children enjoyed their snack, she opened the thick envelope. Out of it fell a small cell phone and a note. She held the phone while she read the note.

There’s a tracker in this, so try and keep it on you at all times. I know that we can talk whenever we want, but that doesn’t help Tayler.
Emerald looked out the window and saw the man in question walk the play yard. She went back to the note.
There’s a camera in the trashcan. He said that he can see the entire room, but that he’d very much prefer that he didn’t block it by putting it under your desk. I also wanted to tell you that I love you very much and will see you tonight. Love Jul.

“Stupid man.” But she was smiling as she thought of how much effort he was putting into keeping her safe. Emerald really did feel better knowing that someone was there to help her in the event that Nolan returned.

Mr. Basel was her helper today. He helped the kids cut out circles, a difficult thing for most children at this age, while she went over the writing sheets they’d done yesterday. They were getting much better, and she’d even taken out her stickers and was putting them on the sheets when she felt someone standing next to her. Emerald nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned and saw Opal there.

“You scared me.” The children laughed, and she told them to work quietly please. When she looked at her sister, she knew something had gone wrong. “What is it? The baby?”

“You have to go downtown with Sapphire. There is something that the police want you to look at.” Emerald nodded. “You have to take a breath, honey, or you’ll pass out.”

“Is it Jul? Has something happened to him?” Opal told her no, that he was going to meet her at the station. “Then what is it? Tell me.”

“There was a murder yesterday. A woman was killed in her home, and the police have a video of the person they think did it. They want you to come down and see if you can identify him.” She asked why her. “Because in addition to that murder, they think the same man broke into your apartment again. This time…oh honey, this time he killed your neighbor, Mrs. Grosshandler.”

Emerald stood up then sat again. The little lady was the sweetest thing in the world. Nosey as hell, but sweet. Nodding, she stood up and gathered her things. She looked around the room just as her sister continued.

“I’m going to sub for you. I’ve already made sure that no one will say a word about it.” Emerald nodded. Her sister could do a lot of things now thanks to Ursula. “And I’ve already spoken to Tayler. He’s going to take you.”

“What about you? I can’t leave you here alone.” Opal nodded to the door, and she saw Sloan and Quentin there. “I still don’t want you hurt. He’s dangerous if it’s him that killed that woman, and I don’t feel right leaving you here.”

“I’m going to be fine. I swear.” Tayler came into the room, and she found herself being put into the limo that had brought her in. She was numb, and when she felt Jul touch her mind she nearly sobbed with relief.

I’m here at the station waiting. Blair is here, as well as Sapphire and your grandmother.
She told him that she and Tayler were on their way.
I’m here, baby. I’m not leaving you.

He killed that poor little woman. And that other one. What is wrong with him?
He told her he had no idea, but with her help they might be closer to catching him.
I don’t know what they expect me to see that they didn’t.

Blair told them about your apartment being broken into before. The sheets that he used are in evidence now. And they have a surveillance camera outside the house of the woman that was killed that they want you to look at. It’s not good, but you might be able to tell them better than anyone if it’s Bruce or not.

As soon as she arrived, she was taken to a large room. Jul was there as well as Sapphire, but Blair and her grandmother were not. When she asked, Sapphire laughed. This could not be good.

“Grandmother decided that you were not going to be treated like a common criminal. She put up a fuss, and now she and Blair are getting a talking to.” She asked what he’d done. “He was defending her honor, of course.”

“Of course.”

Jul held her hand while they waited, and when two people, a woman and a man, came in, Emerald knew that she was a wolf. At her smile, Emerald felt a little better.

“We want you to look at this and tell us if you can make out the person in this feed.” The officer, Officer Waller, told her that they needed her to tell what she saw, even if it was nothing at all, and then talk about what had happened over the weekend.

The feed started up and she could see the pretty little street. There were several cars going by, but nothing that she could recognize. But then a hand was there knocking on the door and she held her breath. As soon as the door opened, the man stepped into the view.

“It’s him. It’s Nolan.” Firm hands settled on her shoulders, and she knew it was Jul. “It’s him. I’d know that face anywhere. He was also the one that was at the school I was at. He came there to talk to me, but I think he was going to kill me.”

“We think so as well. I’m glad that you’re taking this very seriously. And that you could recognize him. That’s very good.” Officer Waller looked at her partner and he got up to leave. “I wanted to ask you about your relationship with Bruce. When did you first go out with him?”

“I never dated him at all. I was at the bar on Tenth with a friend, and we were having a good time when Nolan came up to the table and told us he was ready to go. I thought he was talking to my friend, but he reached for me.” Emerald looked at Jul when his hands tightened on her shoulders. He let her go but didn’t leave her. She looked back at the officer. “I explained to him that I had no idea who he was, but he insisted that he and I had gone there together. After the bouncer came to help him out of the place, I never gave him another thought. But he continued to act as if we were dating or more. And he’s been stalking me.”

“He came back.” Emerald nodded. “When was this? Dates are important if you have them, but we can figure it out later if you don’t.”

“It was a week later. March fourteenth. I was with another friend. I wasn’t drinking either time, mind you, but Shaffer was. But not much. A beer I think.” She asked him what his name was. “Shaffer Carlee; it was his birthday. Anyway, Nolan came up to us and started screaming at Shaffer to get away from me, that I was his wife. I tried to step between them but was knocked back. Then when the bouncer came this time, Nolan turned to me and said we have unfinished business. I had no idea what he meant.”

“What happened then?”

Emerald had thought about that night often. She hated that she’d stood by and didn’t help Shaffer, but there had been so many people that shifting wasn’t possible.

“He was at the car. Mine. He was standing there waiting on us. And he had a bat. He beat poor Shaffer so badly. He hit me too, but I couldn’t help him. There were too many people there.” The officer nodded, understanding. “I had two broken ribs and had been hit in the head. But Shaffer was nearly dead when the ambulance finally got there. I’m not sure…he won’t let me see him. He said…Nolan threatened him, and he won’t see me. Or let me see him.”

Officer Waller told her they had talked to Shaffer and that he was afraid to help them. “But you’ve given us enough to go on for now. I’d like to talk to you about him coming to the school and the weekend. What can you tell me about those encounters?”

Emerald told her everything she could remember. Even about how the system in the school wasn’t working, and that they’d had no way of warning the other two classes. Officer Waller made notes and asked her a lot of questions, and in the end, Emerald felt as if she’d done all she could. She and Jul went home to their new house. But there was a warning from Officer Waller that scared her badly.

“He’s going to try and find you, Ms. Erickson. And when he does, he won’t be stable about his actions. Bruce is a schizophrenic. He may even be a bit of a psychopath and psychotic.” Emerald felt her wolf move along her skin. “He’ll kill you if he gets the chance, and anyone that is with you. If you can…if I were you I’d try to find him first and end him.”

“And what will happen to me if I do that?”

Officer Waller stood up and smiled as she moved closer to her. “If your wolf takes care of him, then there will be little to nothing left of him to be found. And who would believe you’d be capable of such a thing?”

As the officer moved out of the room, leaving her there with Jul, she turned to him.

“She said I should kill him.” Jul said he agreed. “I’ll need help. And a lot of it. Alone a wolf can’t take care of a man like she’s suggesting.”

“Then you take your sisters. But kill him. For us.” He moved out of the room with her, taking her hand. Emerald was back in the limo before what was just said to her sunk in. They thought she could do this. They thought she could actually kill a man in cold blood.

Chapter 8

Nolan knew he’d messed up, and how badly. He’d killed the woman across the hall and he’d not taken the time to clean up after himself. Her screams and that fucking whistle had brought the entire floor out of their apartments, and he’d had to do some quick running to get away. Christ almighty, he was going to get caught because of an old bag. And all because he’d thought to go and finish up with Erickson.

Nolan was on the run now. He’d had to go back to his place, of course, to get his things, but now he was riding around in his car—his clunker, he called it—trying to figure out where he could go until this blew over. There was his apartment over the abandoned garage, but he was almost afraid to go there too. Things were going to cool down soon. He just had to lay low. But going there kind of scared him a little. To admit that he needed to use it meant he was really fucked.

There were plans in place for this kind of thing. Not as well laid out as they should have been, because he’d never considered getting caught. He was just that good. Anything he thought would happen to him would have been death by a cop, not this stupid thing with the old woman. But the old bitch had seen him breaking into Erickson’s apartment, and she’d blown that fucking whistle.

First things first. Two things going to shit in the same day was not going to ruin everything. Nolan decided that he wasn’t going to let it. So the fucking bitch was dead? Not his fault. How the hell was he supposed to know that the old bat would come out of her apartment like some vigilante? She should have let him know that she was going to blow that fucking whistle like she was and it might not have scared him so badly. He might have had time to think before he snapped her fucking neck. And in front of all them witnesses.

And the thing with Erickson’s apartment was not his fault either. Not all of it anyway. He should have scoped the place out a little better and made sure he wasn’t caught. But damn it, somebody had changed the locks from the last time he’d been there, and he’d had to resort to breaking in.

“Okay, calm down.” He liked the sound of his voice. It wasn’t that he was talking to himself, but he wasn’t alone. Nolan needed to reassure himself, and this was just helping. “Go to the apartment and rest. That’s what you need to do.”

He drove there and pulled his car into the building. Nolan sat there for several moments, just a few, so that he could calm himself. It would do him little good to panic. Things would work out. He was a professional, and professionals did not freak the fuck out.

Gathering up his gear, he went to the apartment. He’d bought the building some time ago with the thoughts of bringing his victims here to play. But it was too hard to tie them up, load them in the car, and get them in the building. So he nixed that idea and set up the upper part as a place he could get away if he needed a few moments to himself. Then he’d decided that it was the perfect place for him to hide out. It was, of course, under a fake name.

Darrell Bolton had been his very first murder. Nolan smiled at the memory. He’d been seventeen and Darrell had been twenty. The two of them had been very good friends and had wanted to see what it felt like to cut into someone. Nolan supposed he was lucky to have gone first.

They were only supposed to cut to see how much blood there was. But as soon as he’d cut into Darrell’s leg, he knew that it wasn’t going to be enough, and cut through his belly to his intestine with a quick swipe of his blade. It had taken his friend nearly two days to bleed out in the tall grass behind his parent’s house, but Nolan couldn’t be where he was now if not for his help.

The place was just as he’d left it. There were dust cloths on the furniture, what little there was of it…a bed, a chair, and a microwave. The refrigerator was new, as was the freezer that he kept stocked all the time. Once he was here, he’d been thinking, he didn’t want to take the chance of going out for a pizza. This was his place of cover, and going out for food would defeat the purpose behind that.

There was a television but no cable. He didn’t think his company would give him free access to a second account, so he was without it here. Which, he supposed, was all right. He had a lot of movies on his computer that he’d downloaded, and figured he was set.

The bed was a problem. He’d kept thinking that he needed to get a bigger one, but the twin would have to do for now. Nolan knew that he was a big man; not fat, but he was tall. At six foot three, a twin just didn’t cut it.

He made up the bed with the sheets he’d sealed in plastic and then lay down. He was tired because of the added stress, and knew that he’d think better if he had a nap. He was ready to close his eyes when his cell phone rang.

It was work. He wondered what the hell they might want. Nolan had done all the jobs, except the one with the dead woman’s house. Instead of answering it, he let it go to voicemail. He was off and there was no way they were going to call him in this late.

The phone signaled that he had a message, and he smiled. Closing his eyes again, he let his mind drift over the events of the day. He had to have a better plan. Today was a major fuck up.

“First thing is that I have to finish those last two projects. Winter has to go, and so does Erickson. Both of them left me high and dry.” He got up to get his notebook to make notes on the murder of the old broad, but couldn’t find it. “I left it in the car. It’s in the car. Don’t panic.”

But he was and he knew it. Going down to his car, he searched everywhere, even taking out the carpet in the trunk and floorboards. Nothing. It wasn’t with him. He had to think again…his mind was spinning. If he lost that…well, worse if it fell into the wrong hands. He was so fucked.

Nolan got into his car and started for his place. It had to be there. He remembered taking it out of the floor and putting it on the duffle he was packing. There was something that made him turn around, something on the television, but he’d been too busy to focus too much. It had to be still on the table, and if it was, then he’d just go in, get it, and get the fuck out.

“Easy. It’s going to be right there. Easy.” He kept nodding to himself and saying it over and over. “Easy, easy, easy.” But as he turned on his street, he knew that easy had just gone out the door with the trash. They knew where he had been living.

There were about twelve cruisers around his building. An ambulance had him hoping that someone was sick, but nothing was going to be that easy. Parking his car, he sat there watching things as they unraveled, and wondered if he should chance going to see. But when one of the cops came out, he was holding his notebook, wrapped in plastic. Nolan knew then that someone had placed him at Erickson’s apartment, and now they were looking for him.

Nolan started his car and turned at the next street. He left his mind blank, knowing that if he thought about all the things in that notebook, all the notes he’d kept and pictures of the dead bitches, he was going to go into panic mode. And that would not help matters right now.

The drive back to his new place was done in a blur. Had he stopped at lights? Used his turning signal? Christ, he hoped so. Right now he did not need to be pulled over for anything. When he next became aware of his surroundings, he was sitting at his table and had a gun in his hand. He laid it gently on the table and tried to think if he’d been planning to end his life. He didn’t think things were that bad, were they? Close, but not that bad yet.

“Now what?” There was no plan for this. Nothing. He’d fucked up so badly by leaving his book that he had no idea what to do now. Did he turn himself in? Did he leave the country? Could he?

Nolan went back to his bedroom and lay down. Panic mode was taking over, and he needed to calm down. Closing his eyes, he tried to think of anything other than what was happening to him right now. And his thoughts drifted to Erickson. He had no idea why, but he let them center on her.

The thoughts of killing her calmed him. Making her suffer as he was right now was a priority. As he began to drift off to sleep, he thought of all the ways he was going to hurt her. Cutting her wouldn’t do. She needed to suffer. Smiling, he felt his mind calm, his body relax, and in no time, he was asleep. Erickson was going to make things right for him, even if she didn’t know it yet.

~~~

Jul watched Em pace. She did that almost as much as he did. The security team that he’d hired was patrolling the property, and the gatehouse was now set up to not allow anyone but family in. And they were being very careful as well. He didn’t want anything to happen to Em, not ever.

“Mr. Whitney, there’s a gentleman at the gate. He says that he has an appointment with you. Mr. Colby Bass.” He told Curtis to let him in. “He has his family with him as well. Shall I set up rooms for them?”

“Please. As well as…I was thinking that setting up a couple more rooms might be good. I know that my mom will be here today, as well as Blair and a couple of Ms. Em’s family.” Curtis nodded and walked away.

The staff had come with the house as the realtor had told them. And when Em had told them that she was a wolf, each of them nodded. He supposed working for a vampire had jaded them somewhat. But Curtis Mann had been the best thing that they could have gotten with the house.

He knew the house, the yards, and who was who in the area. The day they had moved in, he gave him a list of each person that worked there and what they did, as well as a list of what they might be. It had taken him ten minutes to figure out what the “h” was next to some of the names, and Em had laughed for another hour after telling him it was for “human.” The rest had been easy in comparison.

Colby came into the house with his wife and children. They stood behind the lovely young woman who looked to be pregnant until Em came down the stairs and greeted them. She got down on the floor and spoke to them as if she’d known just what they needed to come out of hiding.

“Hello, my name is Em. Well, it’s Emerald, but Jul calls me Em. You must be Jane and Austin. And you must be Darcy. Your family must like Jane Austen.” The taller little boy nodded. “I bet you guys are hungry. I have had Curtis, the big man in the kitchen, fixing stuff; he’s been working all day for you guys. I even had to have him tell me what ants on a log were.”

“Celery with peanut butter and raisins.” Em nodded and Jul watched the little girl move to stand beside her brother when he spoke. “We like peanut butter and banana sandwiches. They’re the best.”

“Are they?” Em stood up and put out her hand. “If you and your mom will come with me, we’ll go and see if Curtis knows anything about those. I bet he doesn’t. He’s really smart, but I bet he’s never eaten one of those before.”

As they walked off, Jul looked up at Colby. The man was staring at him as if he knew something that he didn’t. Which was more than likely true. The man was a wonder.

“You’ve a mate.” Jul laughed and nodded. “A wolf too. Nice. If you open a winery business here, can we stay? I’d have to clear it with the alpha first, of course, but this is a really nice place.”

“I happen to know him too. He’s my future brother-in-law. He’s married to Em’s sister.” Colby grinned. “And I have a house for you and your family to move into. I’ve taken the liberty of buying one for you that is close to the school where Em teaches. The kids are already enrolled.”

“You didn’t waste any time.” Jul told him that he didn’t have time to waste. “You don’t. The label’s production lines are on hold. They’re just waiting on the new artwork. The crop coming in from France, the grapes are perfect. I’ve been talking to the foreman there, and he said that—”

“Wait. Business is top on my list, but not first.” Colby stopped talking and smiled. “How are you? How is the family? Growing, it looks like.”

“It is. We’re going to have a baby soon, and we’re excited about that. The school sounds good. If she teaches like she interacts with my children and wife, I think they’ll love it as well.” They moved to his office as Colby spoke. “I take it you’re not pissed about me not telling you what we are?”

“She’s that good. And she was excited to meet you. And no, I’m not pissed. Surprised, but not mad. They thought I knew what they were, all of them, because they could smell you on me. And that is something I wanted to talk to you about as well.” Jul sat at his desk and tried to think the best way to say this. He smiled. Straight up, he supposed. “I want you to…I have a favor to ask of you. It’s not business related, but I need help with the family. I’m clueless about all things that are paranormal.”

“You mean every one you’ve had contact with, or just the wolves? I can smell panther on you, as well as vampire. More vamp than anything.” He told Colby about Sloan and Rufus helping him out. “They’re related to you as well?”

“Yes. Em’s sister is mated to the vampire who converted her. One of the other brothers is a wolf and panther. I guess that doesn’t happen often, but in this case it was a good thing. And then there’s the tiger that works with Jade. Oh, and she works with wild animals. A few bears might be shifters too, but I’m not entirely sure.” Colby started laughing. Then the longer he sat there, the harder he laughed. Jul just let him. He thought his life had taken on a sort of surreal aspect as well.

“When you go into the paranormal field, you really go into it.” He laughed again before nodding. “I’ll help you were I can. Mostly I can direct you to the right people to get answers, but I would suggest you simply ask your family. They’ll love helping you out.”

As they drifted into business, Jul told him about the appointment they had with Sapphire and Blair tonight. The family was coming for dinner, and he wanted them to meet them. Colby said that he had to contact Blair.