Eternal Pleasure (12 page)

Neva glanced at Ty again. She didn’t look convinced.

Kelly rushed into speech. “You’ll probably have to stay
in the condo until I find my wolf friend. It’s a lot safer here than the apartment.”

Neva’s panicked expression returned.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stay with you.”

Neva seemed to accept that.

“I’m taking you out of this room now. I think you’re smart enough to know running away won’t solve anything. There’s no way you could find someone to help you on your own.”

Praying she was reading the wolf’s expression right, Kelly opened the door. The men on the other side backed away. Ty followed Neva and Kelly out.

“I’ll stay the night with her.” Kelly hoped her tone sounded calm and unafraid.

“Then I’m staying too.” Ty’s tone signaled not negotiable. “And don’t insult Neva. She’s a wolf right now, and she can smell your fear. It’s an
animal
thing.”

Kelly winced. Payback. She glanced at Neva. The wolf was staring at Ty with new respect.

“Look, she’s my driver. I’ll stay with her tonight. You guys can go home.” Q looked resigned.

Neva’s low growl made her opinion perfectly clear.

Q shrugged. “Hey, I’m deeply hurt, but it looks like she wants to stay with you guys.”

Silence fell as Fin thought about the situation. Then he nodded. “Ty, Kelly, and Neva, follow me.”

Obediently, they all trailed after him. Kelly was beginning to understand a little better how he controlled his men. She for one didn’t even consider not following him.

Fin led them down to the second floor. He stopped in front of a double door, threw both doors wide, then stepped aside. “I’ll send up something for you to eat. Then get some sleep. You have a busy night ahead of you. If you
have to walk Neva, try not to let anyone see her. I’ll hang a leash by the door.”

Neva looked stricken.

“Sorry about that. But Houston has strict leash laws. Be thankful I don’t make Ty carry a pooper scooper.” He strode away without looking back.

“Walk Neva?” Kelly looked at the wolf.

The wolf’s expression said,
Duh?

Ty smiled, a slow slide of wicked anticipation.

Kelly thought she knew why. “Fin only gave us one room. Where’re you going to sleep?”

“Where do you want me to sleep?” His gaze seared her with the heat of all his sexual hunger.

The answer she
wanted
to give fought a silent battle with the one she
ought
to give.

Neva didn’t seem to give a damn about where Ty slept. She wandered past them into the huge room.

Maybe Ty expected Kelly to argue with him, or maybe he wasn’t looking beyond a possible night of pleasure. Who knew what he was thinking? Kelly was thinking they could settle this later, because Neva was back at the door whining.

“Neva needs to go outside.” Without meeting his gaze, she headed for the stairs with Neva padding beside her.

Ty kept pace with her. He had to admit to a little disappointment. Even though he’d resented Kelly’s hint that he didn’t think like a human, she was right. Sex was to be enjoyed. Nothing complicated about the process. But he’d learned enough about human behavior to know there were rituals attached to everything people did. So he’d expected, no, looked forward to an argument about sharing a bed where sex might take place. The fight hadn’t happened. But the sex still might. That thought cheered him up.

Kelly stopped by the front door. “Wait here. I left my jacket in the media room.”

Ty waited until Kelly was out of hearing before turning his attention to Neva. “Look, I know tonight has been rough for you. And if you need any help adapting to your animal nature, just yell.” He thought about that. “Or howl.”

As promised, Fin already had a leash hanging on a hook. Nothing fancy, just a long piece of rope. Ty tied it loosely around Neva’s neck. “It’s just for show.”

Neva still looked suspicious.

“I need a favor. Kelly and I will be sleeping in the
only
bed. She’d appreciate some privacy. Me, I don’t care if you watch or not.” He shrugged. “Guess it’s the animal in me.”

Neva gave him a drop-dead look.

Okay, nice never worked with some people. “Don’t come anywhere near that bed. Sleep on the couch. Sleep on the floor. But don’t set one paw on that bed.” He made sure his smile showed lots of teeth for emphasis.

Neva wilted beneath his threat. She turned scared eyes up to him.

Hell, no. He wouldn’t let sympathy for her get in the way of what he wanted. Did he ever think about how pathetic his prey looked right before a kill? Never. If he let Neva’s expression bother him, it would be proof that humanity was catching. He couldn’t afford to worry about the emotions of others if he expected to help take down Nine.

With a disgusted grunt, he watched Kelly return wearing her still-bloody jacket. Picking up the end of Neva’s rope, Ty waited.

Once outside and away from the condo’s floodlights, the night wrapped around them. Kelly rubbed her hands together. “Chilly.”

“Feels good.” If he faced away from the building and stared into the night, he could almost believe he was free again, in the body he missed, with the remembered power surging through him. He glanced at Kelly. But the one thing he wanted to do most, he’d do as a human.

Kelly looked at the big lawn that ended in a small wooded area. “Fin’s protected this building, hasn’t he?”

He nodded. “The building and probably the land up to where the trees begin.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Neva lifted her head, sniffed the air, and took off toward the trees. When she hit the end of the rope, Ty hung on. The rope snapped.

“Hell.”

“Tell me she isn’t trying to run away. She just wants privacy, right?” Kelly took a few steps toward the woods.

“No on both counts.” He knew he sounded grim. “Go back and find Fin. Tell him to get out here.”

Kelly dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “I don’t have Fin’s number. Do you?”

“Nope.”

Ty didn’t need help, and he could call Fin just by opening their mental link. But he wanted Kelly safe before he did anything.

“I can’t believe you don’t have his number.” But she turned and ran back to the condo. He waited until she was out of sight before following Neva. The howling started just as he reached the trees. It wasn’t an angry howl or even a frightened one. If he was reading it right, the howl was just sad.

So he wasn’t surprised when he found the wolf standing over a body, howling mournfully. Shit. One glance confirmed the cause of death. Puncture wounds, blood
drained. Vampire attack. The glance also confirmed the victim’s identity. Double shit.

He extended his senses, searching for the killer. No vampire. But there was something else close by. Neva responded to that something with a growl. “Yeah, a cat. Maybe we’ll go see what it wants.”

“I think if we wait, it’ll come to us.” Fin appeared out of the darkness with Kelly right behind him.

She looked pissed. “I broke speed records getting to Fin, and then I remembered you have instant-messaging capability.” Kelly touched her index finger to her forehead. “You just wanted to get rid of me.”

Ty exhaled deeply. “It didn’t work too well, did it?”

“He wanted to keep you safe, Kelly.” Fin sounded like he was on Ty’s side.

Ty looked down at the body. “Steve. I guess he didn’t make it to Dallas after all. A vampire kill. I hope our new friend Jude isn’t involved. We only have his word that he’s on our side. He did us a favor last night, but he was helping himself too.” He peered into the surrounding trees. “Something else is out there. Not vampire.”

The animal scream came right on cue.

“That’s a big cat. It’s the same cry I heard last night in Memorial Park.” Kelly crouched down next to the body. “What was Steve doing here?” She looked up at Ty. “You terrified him. He didn’t want to be anywhere near you again.” Her words were laced with sorrow.

Ty felt frustration tugging at him. This near-stranger’s death was bringing out all kinds of emotions in Kelly and Neva that made him uncomfortable—sadness, regret. He couldn’t ever remember feeling loss over another’s death. But then he’d always hunted alone, and his matings were fast, fierce, and over.

All he felt now was rage at whatever vampire had killed this man just because he’d worked for Fin. And Ty had no doubt that was the motivation.

“Balan is here.” Fin’s voice was calm, no hint of tension in it. He didn’t even spare a glance at the body.

A cold bastard
. The thought surprised Ty. He’d always admired Fin’s power to handle any crisis with emotionless efficiency. That made him a good leader. But now that Ty was thinking about emotions, he realized Fin had even fewer than he did. At least Ty could express honest rage. Fin got angry when he wanted to manipulate, but he could turn it off at will. He never burned hot about anything.

Kelly’s gasp and Neva’s low growl alerted him that their visitor had arrived.

“A jaguar?” Kelly sounded more awed than frightened.

“Balan,” Fin corrected.

The large black cat emerged from the shadows, its golden eyes fixed on them. It moved with the powerful grace of its kind. And Ty knew exactly how a jaguar moved because among the millions of bits of knowledge Fin had fed to him had been visuals of earth’s animals in their natural habitats. Fin was always thorough.

“What do you want?” Fin sounded politely interested.

Ty was used to hearing only Fin’s voice in his head, so the unfamiliar new one startled him.

“
It is an honor to meet two Gods of the Night
.” The cat’s gaze slid to Kelly and Neva. “
As well as their minions
.”

Both Kelly and Neva looked startled, so Ty knew Balan was including them in the conversation, too.

“Gods of the Night?” Ty smiled. “Sounds like a fancy name for the Eleven.”

“
Those I serve name you such
.” His attention moved to Fin. “
You lead them. My masters wish you not to interfere
with what they have ordained will come to pass
.” Balan circled Steve’s body, his nostrils flaring at the scent of death. “
If you persist in defying my masters, they will destroy all who
follow you
.”

Fin smiled, that icy smile Ty was beginning to recognize as belonging to the real Fin. No warmth lived in that smile. “I and my…minions—” his smile widened a little as he glanced at Kelly, who looked like she wanted to kick the word “minions” around a little and then cover it with dirt—“appreciate your masters passing along their warning. We’ll definitely take it under consideration. By the way, do they have names? I’ve been calling them numbers. The one here in Houston is Nine.” Fin was in full sarcastic mode.

The jaguar’s tail whipped back and forth. “
My masters
do not tolerate mockery. They prefer to be called Lords of
Time
.”

“Good grief. Gods of the Night, Lords of Time? It sounds like we’re living a freaking video game. Can we say pretentious?” Kelly’s muttered sarcasm caught the big cat’s attention.

Balan glared his annoyance at Kelly before dismissing her. “
Individual names have power. My masters choose not to
reveal them
.” The jaguar crouched near Neva, studying her with unblinking intensity from those eerie golden eyes. Neva lowered her head and growled at him. “
This is the one
changed by my masters’ allies
.” Balan swung his gaze to Ty. “
The ones you killed this night. You are a predator like no
other I’ve seen. I would find you a worthy hunting partner
.”

Ty had to make a real effort not to take pride in the jaguar’s compliment. This was his enemy.

“
I am no one’s enemy. I am merely the messenger of your
enemy. I take no sides in battles. I simply observe
.”

“And report.” Ty felt a sense of invasion knowing the big cat was in his head. It wasn’t the same as when Fin was there.

“
And report
.”

“It’s nice to have a neutral party acting as a messenger. But I wonder exactly how neutral you are, Balan? Why have you chosen to carry messages and observe for them”

Fin sounded as if he couldn’t care less about the jaguar’s answer, but Ty was familiar with every nuance of Fin’s voice. There was tense excitement thrumming through it now.

“
How do you know my name
?” Balan rose from his crouch to move closer to the trees, where he became one more shadow out of many.

Fin shrugged. “I tuned in to all the mental chatter going on in Memorial Park tonight.” He looked faintly bored. “Interesting that
balan
means jaguar in the Mayan language. You’re black. I think I read somewhere that the Mayans believed the black of your species was the Jaguar God of the Underworld. Not surprising since you’re a creature of the night. Didn’t they also believe you were a helper to Bolon Yokte, a Mayan creation lord?” Without warning, Fin’s gaze sharpened. “Maybe you’re a little bit more than a lowly messenger.”

“
How do you know all these things?
” Balan’s voice was an angry hiss.

“I read a lot?” Fin had returned to bored indifference.

“
Perhaps we have much to learn about each other
.” And with something sounding close to a dry chuckle, Balan was gone.

The silence dragged on longer than it should have.

Kelly sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “I
don’t even want to guess what that was about. I’m mentally and emotionally done for the night.”

She looked down at Steve, her expression going soft in a way that tugged at a yearning Ty didn’t understand.

“We have to take care of Steve. He didn’t deserve this.” Kelly’s eyes hardened. “I never thought of myself as much of a hater, but I’m beginning to think it’s because I never had true evil set up shop next door to me. I’m building a mile-high mountain of hate for these guys.” She glanced at Neva. “How about you?”

Neva lowered her head, peeled her lips back from a formidable set of teeth, and growled her hatred.

“I’ll take care of Steve.” Fin sounded matter-of-fact about it.