Leopard's Prey (36 page)

“It was
her
.” Robert pointed a finger at Bijou. “Her leopard led mine on.”

A growl rumbled deep in Remy’s chest. He bared his teeth at Robert, but he remained absolutely still. Drake was the leader, and he was following the plan they’d devised. Robert had to state his loyalty so there was no safely going back.

“So you’re telling me you’re incapable of controlling your leopard, no matter the circumstances.”

Drake’s voice had gone very quiet, quiet enough to send a chill down Remy’s spine. If that tone had sent a message to him, he couldn’t imagine what Robert was feeling. It was a question no shifter wanted to be asked. If he couldn’t control his leopard, it was a virtual death sentence. No shifter could be around humans if his leopard, with its intense mood swings and violent outbursts, ruled.

Robert shook his head. “No. No. I control my leopard. The circumstances…”

“Don’t matter,” Drake interrupted. “Either you’re in control at all times or you’re not. Which is it?”

“
I’m
in control,” Robert admitted hastily. He was trapped and he knew it. He was facing life or death and there was no getting out of it.

“You were drunk and you allowed your leopard loose when you weren’t one hundred percent,” Drake accused. “You’re totally responsible, not Bijou, not Remy and certainly not your leopard.
You
challenged me and you went after a claimed female. Whether or not she’d mated with her chosen one, she was off limits and should have been under your protection.”

Robert said nothing, holding himself stiff in his chair, clearly terrified as Drake laid out the charges against him.

“Last night at the club, a female leopard of our lair was threatened and every member present with the exception of you leapt to protect her. One of our most sacred laws is to protect our females and our children. I’m waiting for an explanation.” Drake’s voice was lower than ever, and that made him sound all the more lethal.

Robert opened and closed his mouth several times, looking like a fish gasping for air. Sweat beaded on his forehead. “I was with my friends —”

“To clarify,” Drake interrupted, “these are the friends that were harassing one of our women.”

“I didn’t know she was one of ours,” Robert lied.

The room shook with the force of Drake’s roar. He leapt forward and struck Robert’s face, openhanded, but his hand was a large claw and the razor-sharp tips ripped Robert’s cheek open, leaving four distinct rake marks with blood welling up.

Robert howled and cowered back in his seat. Bijou hid her face against Remy’s back. He could feel her trembling more than ever. Bijou had steeled herself to remain in the room and learn as much as she could about leopard law. He had to hand it to her, she had courage.

Saria gently put her hand on Bijou’s shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie as well as to try to tell her to trust in Drake. He glanced at Saria, grateful for the way she read Bijou’s feelings. Drake was scaring the crap out of Robert on purpose. Remy had no doubt that if Robert told any more lies, the retaliation would be swift and painful – that was their law.

Bijou had no brothers. She hadn’t grown up in the environment Saria had. She knew about neglect and debauchery. She knew what alcohol and drugs could do to a man. But she had never experienced real violence, not like leopards were capable of. Remy couldn’t take his eyes off Drake. His leopard was at the ready. If for any reason, Drake needed him, he had to respond within seconds, and that meant he couldn’t be the one to reassure Bijou, no matter how much he wanted to do so.

“I lied. I lied,” Robert admitted, holding the side of his face. Blood seeped through his fingers and trickled down his arms. “I did know she was leopard. It was obvious at one point. I didn’t want Jean or Juste to think I’d turned on them.”

There it was – exactly where Drake had been leading Robert all along. Had Robert not claimed his loyalty was to the lair, Drake would have challenged him in a battle between leopards and Robert surely would have died. As it was, he
had
to answer any questions Remy or Drake posed, whether he liked it or not. Drake had been careful to keep every subject in the context of lair business. That was what Remy admired most about Drake. His leopard might be enraged, but he always kept his cool and thought clearly through every crisis. That trait was what made him such a great leader.

“I see,” Drake said. Deliberately he allowed the silence to stretch out, until Robert squirmed in his chair. “I’m going to give you one chance to come clean. We know about the break-ins, Robert. I want you to give Remy every detail. Every piece of evidence you can provide, anything at all that will help him put those men behind bars.”

The color drained out of Robert’s face. He opened his mouth but Drake held up his hand to stop him from speaking.

“One chance, Robert. I’ll know if you lie. Remy will know if you lie. You have a death sentence hanging over your head, so whatever the Rousseau brothers have on you, it will never be as bad as what I’ll do to you. Start talking.”

Robert licked his suddenly dry lips. Immediately Saria left the room to get him a drink of water. He swallowed several times. “They’ll kill me. They like to kill. They both call themselves
bokor
, a kind of priest for voodoo black magic. I don’ know if they really know what they’re doin’, but they hold regular rituals out in the swamp and sacrifice animals. They love to cut the heads off of chickens and spray the blood around. They call on demons. They even have a human skull they use for their rituals.”

He confessed in a rush and gratefully took the glass of water Saria handed to him, drinking it down almost in one gulp. He almost sounded relieved to be telling someone, anyone. “They’re crazy, you know. But smart. Real smart. They have eyes and ears everywhere.” He shivered. “Maybe they really have demons looking out for them. I swear, they’re the devil on earth.”

“They masterminded the gang robbing and beatings of the elderly,” Remy stated.

Robert nodded. “We all had to participate. I joined not knowin’ what I was getting into. It seemed like a party at first, the initiation and all. They promised huge amounts of money and great kicks. Ryan Cooper and Brent Underwood both told me I’d make tons of money. So I went with them.”

“Went where?” Remy prompted.

“They have this place in the swamp where they conduct their rituals.” His entire body shuddered, and he lifted the glass to his mouth, not realizing it was empty. “They took me out there blindfolded the first time. We were all drinkin’ and then Jean and Juste began to undress and got naked except for loincloths. Both drew intricate symbols in the dirt. I laughed, thinkin’ it was all part of the party until I noticed no one else was laughin’ and the others looked scared.”

Robert shook his head and drew his hand over his face as if wiping the memory away. “They cut the throat of a pig and watched it bleed out, dancin’ around and invokin’ some demon, and then they painted us with the blood of the pig.” He looked at Remy with stricken eyes. “Once in, you can’t ever get out.”

“Did Ryan Cooper want out?” Remy asked.

“Coop was always talkin’ like he was goin’ to get out if Jean and Juste didn’t give him a bigger cut, but it was all talk. He didn’t want to chance crossin’ them any more than the rest of us. He didn’t want the money to stop, but he thought he should get more than the rest of us because he did a lot of the beatings. Brent and I kind of hung back most of the time. Juste and Jean liked hurtin’ people and every single time it seemed to get worse. I was afraid they’d kill someone. It was almost as if they each tried to outdo the other.”

“Your leopard could tear both of them apart,” Drake pointed out.

Robert shook his head. “They’re demons. The devil. No one can stop them. I’ve seen them do things no one can do.”

“How is it we don’ catch the scent of anyone but the Rousseau brothers in the break-ins?” Remy asked.

Robert ducked his head, refusing to meet Remy’s eyes.

“You gave them Charisse Mercier’s experiment that masks all scent, didn’t you?” Remy prompted.

“I had to contribute somethin’,” Robert burst out. “I
had
to. I wasn’t beatin’ up old people. And if I didn’t do somethin’ to help, they were goin’ after Dion.” He looked up at his leader. “That’s the gospel truth, Drake. I was in way over my head.”

“You should have come to me,” Drake stated. “You have a responsibility to this lair as well as to your brother and the community.” There was no sympathy in his voice and no back up in him. “The Rousseau brothers clearly are a threat to everyone in your community. There’s no excuse for not coming forward.”

Robert pushed his forehead into the heel of his hand. “You don’ know them.” His voice was filled with loathing and despair. “They’ll kill Dion and me. They’ll use their voodoo magic and kill us both.”

“Is there a stash of stolen articles somewhere?” Remy asked.

“In the swamp where they conduct their rituals,” Robert said. “But you’ll never stop them, Remy. They really have made a pact with the demons, and they’re protected. They can get away with anything.”

“Have they been to Europe?”

Robert blinked several times. He frowned. “Why? What has that got to do with anything?”

“Just answer him,” Drake snapped.

“They’ve mentioned traveling in Europe,” Robert said hastily.

“Is Bijou a particular favorite of theirs? Do they listen to her music a lot?” Remy demanded.

Robert nodded. “They’re kind of obsessed with her. They play her stuff all the time.” He ducked his head to avoid eye contact again. “They’ve been tryin’ to get onto the crew workin’ on her new apartment so they could put in cameras and maybe a few ways to get in without anyone knowin’.”

Remy turned away to keep from leaping on the man. Robert was leopard. He knew Bijou was. It had become evident to all of them in the club, and yet he hadn’t immediately come forward to report a threat toward one of their women. Fingertips burned. His jaw ached. He was close, so close. His leopard was strong and territorial. Also protective. All his life he’d had to work at keeping his leopard in check. Robert was making it very difficult. Any threat to Bijou could not be tolerated.

He took several deep breaths to keep control, breathing away his leopard’s rage. “Have they gotten onto the work crew?” It helped that Bijou rubbed the middle of his back in a soothing pattern. He could hear her breathing and it hadn’t changed. She was used to threats, he realized. Threats were a daily occurrence for her. That was why she hadn’t gone to the authorities when her stalker had escalated his behavior. She was just too used to threats.

“Not yet,” Robert answered. “But they were arrangin’ an accident so that the contractor would be shorthanded. Tom and Ryan were supposed to help them with that.”

“Tom Berlander?” Remy guessed. Berlander hung out with Ryan Cooper and Brent Underwood as well as the Rousseau brothers, so it was easy enough to guess, but Remy wanted Robert’s clear identification.

Robert nodded. “He’s gotten pretty violent, along with Ryan. Brent hangs back as much as possible. He’s even claimed he’s been sick when we were supposed to hit a place.” He sighed and shook his head, slumping a little more. “I don’ know how you’re goin’ to catch Jean and Juste. No one can catch them. They work at the houses and the people they work for love them. They would never suspect them. They leave their prints everywhere on purpose. The elderly couples would go to court and say how wonderful they are. Jean and Juste actually bring them groceries and pick up medications, all the while laughin’, knowin’ they’re goin’ to rob and beat them.”

Remy’s stomach knotted. The more he heard, the more he wanted his leopard to meet the Rousseau brothers out in the swamp.

“Do you know if they’re the ones committing these murders and harvestin’ bones?” Remy asked.

Robert frowned, remaining silent, clearly thinking it over. Finally he shrugged. “I don’ know, but they have human bones there in the swamp. I’ve seen them.” He looked straight at Remy, honesty on his face and in his voice and eyes. “If they did, they would never be sorry. They like hurting animals and watching the life fade out of them. They like beating the old people and knowin’ they had their trust. They really travel in the company of demons, just like they claim, and once you’ve made a pact with them, even if you were drunk and didn’t mean it, you can never be free of them.”

“Is that why you began drinkin’ so much, Robert? And doin’ drugs? To live with the things you were doin’? You knew they were wrong,” Remy said.

Robert nodded, pressing his fingers to his eyes, shaking his head. “I got in too deep, Remy. There was nowhere to go.”

“That’s bullshit, Robert,” Drake snarled. He began to pace back and forth. “You’re a member of this lair. There is no excuse not to inform me of what is happening in our territory. You say they threatened your brother. He’s a member and under my protection. You knew you should come to me. If I hear another lie coming out of your mouth, I’ll take your damned head off and consequences be damned.”

Robert pushed back in his chair, his face nearly frozen with fear. “I could get drugs any time I wanted. Drugs, alcohol, even women. Ryan had a thing going with Juste and Jean at the strip joint where he worked and the women did whatever he said. I had money and just about anything else I wanted and I just told myself I was keeping Dion safe.”

“Are you sayin’ the Rousseau brothers are also runnin’ a prostitution ring?” Remy demanded.

“No. No.” Robert shook his head. “No one pays them. They’re strippers. They do what Jean and Juste say to do.”

“Out of fear? Do the brothers threaten the women?”

Robert squirmed. “I don’ want to talk about this. They’re just strippers. I never paid for sex. They put out whenever they’re told.”

Saria gasped and made a soft growl in the back of her throat. Her dark chocolate eyes had gone nearly gold, a bad sign.

Bijou’s fingers dug into Remy’s back. He felt her tremble, but not with fear, more with rage. Her breath felt hot on the back of his neck and just for one moment, fur brushed over his exposed skin. She breathed deeply, pulling her leopard back, getting her under control.