Spirit Bound (30 page)

There was a connection between Thomas and Levi—she’d almost caught it in the sudden emotion rising in Thomas. But the answer was as elusive as what or who Thomas really was. She drew in a deep breath and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her, determined not to panic. If not for her own sake, then for Rikki’s, she had to fight through the need to pull a blanket over her head and retreat from whatever mess she’d gotten into.

She’d given him back precious memories.

In spite of her determination to remain distant from Thomas, Judith couldn’t help but hug that small gift to her. She had given him something he obviously treasured. She could hear it in his voice and feel it in his mind. If he was using her, his emotions for her were still very real.

THE
intruder lurched to his feet the moment the owls backed off. He cast one wary look toward the sky and took off running again. His shirt was torn in several places, long slashes that had cut into his skin. Bloodstains spread rapidly across the taut material. The man was in good shape, but the birds had rattled him. Suddenly, he veered away from the road and made for the far side of the meadow where the taller grass grew.

The sudden departure from the fastest route warned Stefan this was no peeping Tom who had come to spy on the women who lived on the farm. The fact that he’d chosen Judith’s home meant he hadn’t done so randomly.

Cut the engine, Lev. He can hear you coming and he’s up to something. Do you have a visual?

The man had disappeared into the thick, tall grass and there was no movement to give him away. Stefan halted the chase abruptly and slipped back into the shadow of the trees.

Who is he? Ivanov?

Hell if I know. He doesn’t move like Ivanov, but he’s up to something. Watch yourself.
Stefan studied the grass as he replied to his brother. What the hell was the intruder up to? He had to be crawling through the grass, staying low, making certain there was no ripple to give his position away.

Overhead, the owls circled. One gave a cry, and instantly Stefan’s vision blurred. He pulled away from his brother immediately. Judith was still feeding the energy, boosting the power, and he was picking up remnants of his brother’s craft. He took a step to his left, looking for a better visual and something spat wood splinters into the side of his face. He dropped to the ground and rolled, then, on his belly, using his elbows and toes to move fast, scuttled across the open ground to the patch of small boulders at the start of the meadow. There was a shallow depression and he fit his body inside it.

You hit?

Don’t sound so upset.
Stefan knew he sounded irritated, but truthfully he was annoyed with himself. Once he was certain they weren’t dealing with Ivanov, he’d minimized the danger in his mind.

Yeah, you’re all right.

Stefan felt rather than heard the relief in his brother’s voice. It was hard to let yourself care when you hadn’t for so long. Emotions were worse than rusty, they’d become so thin and tattered, feelings were hardly recognizable.

Did you just get shot at?
Judith’s voice reverberated through his mind, shocked, frightened.
Thomas. Levi. I’m calling Jonas.

No!
both men answered simultaneously.

Stefan took a breath.
Who the hell is this Jonas character to you?

There was a moment of silence. Stefan cursed inwardly in a mixture of several languages. He’d just displayed a man’s worst trait and he’d never known he even had it. Jealousy. Pure, black jealousy at the absent and unsuspecting Jonas.

Lev’s laughter spilled into his mind.
He
is
the local sheriff.

Judith gave a little sniff.
I told you I was making a kaleidoscope for his wife. Ordinarily when someone starts firing guns, a civilized person calls the sheriff.

The anxiety in her voice belied her words. And what the hell was she doing still connected to them? He was going to have to do some fast explaining. Another bullet whined through the air like an angry bee and smacked into the tree where he’d last been and this time he located the intruder. He’d made his way into the middle of the field.

Where’s he going, Lev? He’s got to have an exit plan. We cut off his retreat to his car.

Stefan’s heart began to pound. Even as he asked the question, the answer came to him. The intruder was circling back around toward Judith’s house with the intention of taking one of the vehicles there, or using her as a hostage. He was a distance away, but there was no doubt now, that was his only real option to a successful retreat.

Judith, you’d better have that fucking security system on. Are you armed?
When she remained silent, he probed further.
With a gun?

Stefan moved to cut the man off, picking a route that would intercept him long before he reached Judith’s home. Still . . .

Judith is a terrible shot.
Lev put in his two cents.

I am not. The stupid gun is always jumping at the last second,
Judith defended indignantly.

I fucking told you to practice,
Lev snapped, his voice edged with worry.

You don’t need to talk to her like that,
Stefan objected, ignoring the fact that he’d just used the same word a couple of moments earlier.
Swing around to the left and send the birds straight at him again. Herd him back toward me. And don’t kill him yet, we need answers.

Don’t kill him at all,
Judith objected.
He’s probably some lost hunter.

He shot at me,
Stefan reminded.
Turn on that security system.

Again there was a short silence. Stefan worked his through the tall grass, careful now not to give the angle of his pursuit away.
Judith?

Is he really heading this way?
Her voice trembled slightly.

You don’t know how to set the security system, do you?
Stefan guessed.

Well, I’ve never actually done it,
Judith admitted reluctantly.

Lev gave a snort of disgust.
Damn it, Judith. How many times have I told you it’s important to lock up at night?

Don’t swear at her,
Stefan snapped.
Just walk her through the damn thing. Don’t worry, Judith, he’s not going to get near you. It’s just a precaution.

He could hear the brush of a body moving just to the right of him. He was closing in on him. Lev recited the instructions for arming the security system in Judith’s home. Even as Stefan angled his body, crawling through the grass, to intercept the intruder, he made a mental note to go over security with Judith until she was comfortable with the idea.

An audible crackle gave away Lev’s position and immediately the intruder turned toward the sound and fired. Stefan lunged forward, crouching low, sprinting toward the gunman.

Lev. Answer me.

The intruder fired twice more toward the sound, giving away his position. Stefan took the opportunity to close the distance fast, his heart in his throat as he waited for his brother’s response. He could feel Judith holding her breath as well as time seemed suspended for a moment.

Just a bruised ego. I tripped over a damn rock.

The grass parted in front of Stefan and a man’s face appeared. Shock spread over the horrified features even as a hand came up, his gun clutched in his fist. Stefan had forward momentum going for him, hitting the body hard, catching the wrist and turning the weapon away from him as it went off, the sound nearly deafening next to his ear. They rolled together, Stefan slamming his knee into the man’s groin at the same time he smashed the wrist against a rock jutting out of the ground.

The man tried to scream, but the groin shot had taken the air from his lungs. The gun fell from his limp fingers, as the wrist broke with an audible crack.

I’ve got him. Judith, stay in the house.

With that last command, he rapidly built up his shields to push away the energy surrounding him, effectively shutting her out of his mind and cutting her off from any knowledge of what might happen.

He threw the gun a slight distance away and did a quick, but thorough search for any other weapons. The only other thing the man had on him was a camera. Lev crouched down beside him.

“Who is he?”

“No wallet. Must have left it home while he came snooping around,” Stefan said. “Tell me your name.”

The man spat at him.

Stefan yanked the broken wrist hard in instant retaliation. The scream was explosive, but muffled as Lev clamped his hand over the man’s mouth. Stefan stared down into the intruder’s eyes.

“You need to know something about me. I know more ways to inflict pain than any other man you will ever meet. We can do this hard or easy, but we’re going to do it. I was very gentle with you. Your name.”

“Mike,” the man mumbled. “Mike Shariton.”

Stefan tossed the camera to Lev. “Take a look.” He glanced down at the intruder. “See how polite I can be? I’m not giving you the opportunity to lie.”

Lev studied the images. “All the pictures are of Judith. The first ones were taken with you and Judith outside the gallery. He didn’t get a shot of your face, but they look . . . compromising.” He passed the camera to Stefan.

The photograph was taken when he was locking the gallery door, Judith’s body imprisoned between his body and the door. He handed the camera back to Lev.

“You work for La Roux.” He made it a statement.

Shariton didn’t respond, but the truth was in his eyes and his swiftly drawn breath.

“You sent those pictures to someone already, didn’t you?”

Shariton was a little slow in responding and Stefan went for his wrist, this time slower, giving the man time to think about how it would feel all over again.

“Yes. Yes. Last night. I sent them last night,” Shariton blurted out. “I was hired to take the photographs and send them to a man by the name of Badeaux, a guard at a prison in Paris. I send the pictures to him and he takes them to a prisoner.”

“Which prisoner?”

“Jean-Claude La Roux.”

Stefan hadn’t wanted to hear it, but he’d known the moment he saw the camera. “Maybe you should go on home,” Stefan said to his brother. “I’ll take it from here.”

Lev shook his head. “We have to turn him over to Jonas. I’ll have Rikki call him. They’ll get him on felony charges and . . .”

“He’ll be out of jail before the night’s over,” Stefan said.
Go home, Lev. I can’t let this man threaten Judith.

If you’re serious about her, this is no way to start a new life. We’ll let Jonas handle it.

Shariton remained absolutely still as if he knew his life hung in the balance and it probably did. He was a petty criminal, but he’d been around men who were lethal long enough to recognize them.

“If we call the sheriff, you know he’s going to make bail.”

Lev nodded. “Exactly. And off the property. We can go hunting then.”

Stefan understood what Lev was doing immediately. Shariton was listening attentively. Fear had a smell and the man was perspiring profusely. Shariton knew nothing really. They couldn’t get much more out of him. He carried a gun, but he wasn’t very adept at using it. He was too scared to come back and retaliate against Judith.

“His gun’s over there,” Stefan indicated with a small nod of his head. “Let’s just get comfortable and wait for the law.” He nudged Shariton. “You can make bail, can’t you?”

Shariton stayed frozen, obviously too scared to move.

“What he’s saying to you, Shariton, is,” Lev added, looking right into his eyes, “own up to what you did here, and who you’re doing it for. Take a plea and you’re safe. If it goes any other way, nothing will stop us from hunting you down. Do we understand each other?”

Shariton nodded his head vigorously.

Jonas is a good man, but a hard-ass. He’ll come in by the book, red lights, guns, and he’ll take us down and check us for weapons. Walk away and stash whatever you need to, but make it far from here, because he’ll do a thorough search. We won’t have much time,
Lev advised.

Stefan nodded.
I was careful because I knew I’d be with Judith. Not much to find.

He left his brother with Mike Shariton while he slipped away from the area to rid himself of the knife concealed in his boot. The garrote sewn into his jeans wouldn’t be detected. He was much more reluctant to part with his favorite gun, but he wasn’t about to get caught with it on him and try to find a plausible explanation. Being armed would simply complicate matters.

Sirens in the distance told him it wouldn’t be long. He was a shadow, nothing more, a ghost that disappeared as if he’d never been. Staying was more difficult than he’d expected. Lifelong training ingrained in him the need to vanish as if he’d never been. Lev sat waiting, looking back toward his home, as if it was only his woman who kept him in place, a caged tiger waiting for dogs to snap at his heels.

You sure this is the way?

Lev shrugged.
It’s my way now. This is my home. I abide by the laws as much as I can. This one is easy enough. Jonas is a fair man. You have to make your choice, Stefan. If you choose to make your stand here, I’ll help you, but if you’re going to walk, do it now before Judith gets hurt.

Judith. He could easily kill for her. But enduring the indignity of allowing someone to trap him even briefly—that was a test he hadn’t expected.

Two sheriff’s cars plowed over the grass, divided, one on either side of them, hemming them in. The vehicles skidded to a halt, the sirens blaring and lights flashing. Driver doors popped open and weapons appeared.

“On the ground. I want to see your hands.”

Lev immediately complied, kneeling, hands outstretched, palms facing the officer. “I’m armed, Jonas. Gun’s in the shoulder harness and my knife’s in my boot,” he called out.