GEDEON listened carefully to every nuance of her voice. Meiling was pushing down grief as best she could. He had an unexpected urge to wrap a comforting arm around her and pull her close, just as he had in the shower. The reaction was so foreign to his nature and that of his cat that he wanted to take a little time to examine it. Was it possible she was his mate? If so, why wasn’t his male pushing to claim her?
The vicious leopard, always raking and clawing to kill, had gone quiet, but he wasn’t amorous. Gedeon had his own suspicions about Meiling and where she came from. It made even more sense now that he knew she had a price on her head. She had too many gifts. Amur leopards were rare, that was true. They were on the verge of extinction, and the male shifters were mostly to blame. There were only a few left in the world. Females were extremely rare. Females such as Meiling had been all but wiped off the face of the earth—deliberately.
“I’m sorry about Libby, Meiling. I couldn’t save a single one of those women or children. Not one. I despise the people involved in those kinds of operations. I don’t take any case involving human trafficking and all clients I work with know it.”
“That wasn’t your fault, Gedeon. They had a plan to murder everyone the moment anything went wrong. You couldn’t have known that.”
“I should have known it. That’s what these kinds of people do. They have no regard for human life at all. I grew up in one of the most vicious lairs there was. My mother’s legs were beaten so badly she couldn’t walk so she wouldn’t resist anything they did to her.”
He heard her hastily cover a gasp. She was intelligent. Very intelligent. She didn’t think in terms of who or what she had to be. Or even why there was a price on her head—but no doubt she had considered why he was faster and deadlier than other leopards. Why he could absorb languages so quickly and his mind worked at such a rapid rate.
The Amur leopards had three elite leopard families with unbelievable skills. The bratya wanted them stamped out in Russia. The rulers in China wanted them gone. The lairs in North Korea wanted them dead. Gedeon’s father had been murdered along with his older brother and sister. His mother had been enslaved. He had been taken by the ruling pakhan. He had been so young, the pakhan thought he would be able to shape him into an asset.
In North Korea, the family of elites had been wiped out entirely, parents and children murdered in the dead of night. Like Gedeon’s family, a friend had betrayed them and opened the doors to their home to the frenzied mob. Those genetics, whatever they had been, were gone from the shifter world, and those plotting had triumphed.
The elite family in China had been set upon, the parents, two daughters and two sons all murdered. One man, loyal to the royals, snatched up the third daughter, a child of barely two, and disappeared with her. No one noticed she was gone until they were burning the bodies to ensure the leopards weren’t found. No one had any idea who had saved the child or where she had been taken. From that moment on, the search had continued.
Gedeon had honed himself into the most dangerous leopard imaginable. He killed the pakhan and every male member of his family. He killed his lieutenants. He hunted down every single male who participated in the murder of his family. In those early days he made his reputation as frightening to every bratya lair and family as possible. He had done so without giving away the fact that he was the remaining child from the family they had murdered. No one knew where he had originated.
He wished he could see Meiling. He had only caught that one glimpse of her in the jungle. She was very small and slender with shiny ebony hair and dark eyes. He was absolutely certain he was right about her being the missing child from the elite family in China. Her family had been murdered. His had been too, all but his mother, and she would have preferred it. He couldn’t think about that or he would become as vicious as his leopard, and he didn’t want Meiling to see him that way—not when he was trying to recruit her.
“Gedeon.” She whispered his name and then her fingers brushed his arm gently. “I’m so sorry. No wonder you despise men who deal in human trafficking.”
“I killed them all. Every last one of them. You need to know that about me. All those things you found out when you did your research, they’re true.” He was rolling the dice admitting his true nature to her. “It’s even worse than that.”
“Do you expect me to condemn you for killing the men who trafficked your mother? And who brutally hurt her to keep her from running?”
“You mean took a hammer to her legs?” There was no keeping the bitterness out of his voice. When that door cracked open, it was as real and as raw as when he’d witnessed it as a child. He found he was shaking and that embarrassed him. He wasn’t used to feeling his emotions or putting them on display for others. That made him feel vulnerable, especially since he couldn’t see a damn thing.
He lifted his hand to the bandages covering his eyes, wanting—no—needing to rip the damn covering from them. Her hand very gently stopped his. It was all he could do not to knock her hand away. He was grateful for the years of discipline.
He hadn’t revealed one single thing about his childhood to anyone, not since he’d left the lair in complete and utter ruin with no way to repair itself. They couldn’t possibly come back from their loss of power. The powerful families around them had gobbled up their territories and swallowed their businesses, leaving them with nothing at all.
Gedeon had never wanted to claim his elite status or have it known he was the sole survivor of his bloodline. As far as he was concerned, the only thing useful about it was the gifts that came with it. His abilities that made it possible to run faster, be stronger, recall in detail information heard only once. He picked up languages fast. The list went on and on. He didn’t need to talk about what he was, or who he was. He didn’t want others to know. When he read the shit about him on the internet, things Meiling would have found, no one had a clue where he came from. Just Russia. No one knew about shifters. That was always kept secret.
He forced himself to continue with the conversation. Forced his voice to be casual, as if imparting information to her that she needed to know. Not that he’d witnessed firsthand. Not the kind of thing that had triggered a violent monster in both him and his leopard that could never be taken back. That monster lived and breathed in him and needed attention all the time in so many ways.
“It’s more common than you think. Bastards believe if the woman isn’t cooperative, they should beat the hell out of her legs with a hammer to make sure she has no choice other than to do what they say. More than once, when I’ve gone in to stop them, I’ve looked at their phones and discovered text messages detailing just how to beat the woman into submission.”
He heard her take a deep breath. Let it out slowly. “Do you have clients that deal in human trafficking? These people, these bratya families, aren’t saints, Gedeon.”
“Are you listening to me? If they dealt in human trafficking, they wouldn’t be my clients. All of them know it. They know if they become my enemies, they haven’t long for the world. I make it my life’s work to go after these people. I don’t care about compensation for it. It’s a betrayal to me. The drug trafficking is always going to happen. It isn’t right and I don’t have to like it, but it’s going to keep going whether I’m around or not.”
“Do you run drugs for these families?”
“No. Never. I step in when something goes wrong. Someone doesn’t pay a bill and war is about to start. We don’t want that because now innocent civilians could get hurt in the crossfire. I’m called in to negotiate a settlement, or to collect the money owed. I have no direct interest in the product. I just make it known that there is a time limit, and we have to settle to my satisfaction. I’m the last resort.”
He heard her rubbing her thigh again. That bothered him. She had gotten hurt. He just didn’t know how.
“I’m really not good at spending a lot of time around people, especially anyone leopard.” She sounded cautious. “This man, Rene, who works for you. Is he leopard? He would have to be to spend time with you. To get you the right doctors when you’ve been hurt.”
“Yes, he’s leopard, but you wouldn’t be working for him. You’d work with me. That means when you need something, you can ask him for help, and he’ll give it to you.”
There was silence. He found himself smiling. “Are you rolling your eyes at me?”
“Are you certain you can’t see, Leopard Boy?” she countered, in a very disrespectful, sarcastic tone no one ever used on him.
He waited for confirmation.
“As a matter of fact, I was rolling my eyes. You want to make everything sound so easy. Your man Rene works for you. I have no idea for how long, but his loyalty is all yours. I come along, a total stranger he knows nothing about. What do you think is the first thing he’s going to do? The man will require a thorough background check on me regardless of your orders. I know because I’d do one. I wouldn’t care how adamant you were about not doing one, I would protect you and your idiocy.”
“He knows not to go against my orders.”
There was the small silence again that told him she’d done another eye roll. He’d had sex with more women than he could count, but never had one dared to roll her eyes at him. He’d never had his leopard be calm and peaceful. And he’d never wanted to smile. Not one single time. If he was looking for any reasons to keep this woman around, there were three good ones right there.
“You’ve spent too long with the wrong people, Freaky Man. You do that with no one challenging you and you begin to believe your own hype. That’s a dangerous practice.”
She had such a smart mouth. He couldn’t wait for his eyes to clear. She was right, though. He couldn’t fault her for being right. Rene most likely would go behind his back and conduct a search on her. It would be better to give him something and forestall a deep search.
“See why I need you? You’ll keep me on my toes.”
She was silent again for a few seconds, rubbing her thigh. He couldn’t take it. He reached over the small table, removed her hand and laid his palm over her thigh. Her leg was very slender, but he could feel the muscles running beneath her frame. He began a slow massage.
“What happened here? And don’t tell me nothing happened. You’re hurt.”
Meiling sighed. “It’s nothing. You have that infection in your leg, and it was really bad when I put you in the car. Your fever was high, the leg very swollen. You couldn’t see. I told Etienne to have his men take extra care with you. I told them you were my brother. That asshole dragged you out of the car deliberately because he was high as a kite and wanted to prove to Etienne that he could control the situation. I’ve had run-ins with him before.”
Alarm bells went off. “Meiling, are you saying this man knew you? He knows your name and you’ve had problems with him?”
“He didn’t know you. He didn’t even get a good look at you, Gedeon. Your eyes were covered, most of your face was. I was the one fighting them deliberately. I kept their attention centered on me.”
“You deliberately brought the heat down on yourself knowing you have a hit on you.” He swore, once again reaching for the bandages on his eyes, needing to tear them off.
She caught his hand. “You won’t be able to see even if you take those off. Wait for the new doctor’s assessment. In any case, you already know the light is going to be harmful to you.”
“You shouldn’t have brought attention to yourself like that.”
Soft laughter greeted his rebuke.
He wanted to shake her. Instead, he laid his palm over her thigh. “Is this bruised?” He would hear if she lied.
“His name is Jules and he has a brother. Jules dragged you out of the car and I went berserk, calling him out. His brother, Louis, smashed the butt of his gun on my thigh as I turned in the front seat to cover Jules with my gun. It hurt like hell and my automatic reaction was to retaliate. I might have hit Louis just a little too hard. He dropped to the ground, and I got out of the car and managed to get around the hood before anyone else decided to take me on. I think I scared them all.”
She was fierce. She didn’t know him and yet she had put her life on the line to save him. In his mind, there was no question who she was and where she came from. He would bet his last penny on it. But she’d fucked up royally by drawing attention to herself when she had enemies. Jules and his brother, Louis, wouldn’t forget the woman who had shown them up.
“Is Etienne going to be angry enough with those two men that he’d take them out? They went against his orders, and one laid his hands on you. He hurt you.”
She shifted a little under his hand, but she didn’t push it away. “Louis and Jules are related to him in some way. His nephews, I think. He wouldn’t do that. At least I don’t think he would. In any case, they wouldn’t go against Etienne. No one does.”
“Lotus Blossom.” He said his pet name for her as gently as possible. He wanted to lean into her and inhale her feminine fragrance. She smelled a little like he thought the gateway to heaven might. “You accused me of being arrogant and you were right. Think about what you just said. These men already went against Etienne’s orders. If they have a grudge against you, it’s going to eat away at them. If they can find a way to get back at you, they’re going to.”
“Fortunately, they don’t know where I am or who I am,” she said. “I made the commitment to get you out free and clear, Gedeon. I keep my word. You were my client at that point. My responsibility. You were vulnerable and easily targeted. Your face is recognizable. I covered you up as best I could, but if Jules actually took the time to look at you, he might have been able to identify you. That was unacceptable.”
He found himself clenching his teeth, biting back the need to swear. He’d never had anyone protecting him, not since the night the pakhan and his men had come to murder his family and force his mother—and him—into service. He had mixed feelings about Meiling shielding him. She could say he was her client, but he wasn’t paying her, and as far as he knew, she didn’t owe him a damned thing. He didn’t like her exposed—and she was. Had he not been blind and had some infection that was still raging in his body, he would have been on the first plane to France, or wherever Etienne and his crew had their home base, and he would have eliminated Jules and Louis immediately.
“Babe, you can’t go around standing in front of your clients like that, not when you’re being hunted. I’m not dictating. I’ve been in this business a long time and I know the rules of survival. Drawing attention to yourself in order to save your client isn’t an acceptable practice for any reason.”
“I don’t make it a habit.”
“That’s good to know.” He stroked a caress over the bruise on her thigh, wishing he could see how extensive the damage was. “Just how often have you done it?”
She sighed. “Seriously? You’re going to ask me that? Is this an interview for the job? How many other applicants are there? Because I don’t think too many people will be able to put up with your rather—er—intense personality.”
“I like the way you avoid answering by going on the offensive. You still have to answer the question.”
“I did it the one time, just to save your butt, although I’m beginning to think it might not have been worth the trouble, especially considering the favor I called in. You can be maddening. Annoying beyond reason. In fact, Leopard Boy, I want to hit you over the head with your knockoff Ming vase and hope, somehow, a miracle occurs and you suddenly lose half your arrogance.”
“Knockoff?” She made him want to laugh. He had forgotten what laughter was. He swore even his leopard found her amusing. No one had protected him and no one had ever stood up to him the way she did. “What makes you think it’s fake? If you’re going to hit me over the head, maybe don’t choose the vase.”
He was rewarded with her soft laughter. He found that the sound of her laughter did something extraordinary to his mind. She brought him peace. Just as his leopard felt peaceful, so did he. To a man who hadn’t known peace, she was a miracle. She was so many parts of a puzzle and he needed to know every single one of them.
It was frustrating to be blind. He wanted to see her expressions and be able to read her. He was extremely good at reading body language. He couldn’t afford to lose her because he didn’t have his sight and made a misstep with her. He sensed she was always on the verge of flight. In some ways it was good that he was blind and had an infection. She wouldn’t leave until he was better. He hadn’t been with her that long, but he already knew that about her.
“Have you made this offer to anyone else?”
“No. I’ve never come across anyone who had your capabilities.” He was honest. “In any case, my leopard wouldn’t tolerate anyone in my space for any length of time. I would most likely have a difficult time as well. I’ve lived my life alone when I’m not working. My home is my space and I need it that way.”
“Why would you want me to move in here?”
“My leopard is calm when you’re close.” Again, he was honest—or was he? Did he want her to move in just for his leopard? Or was it because she challenged him? Made him laugh? Because she’d protected him when no one else ever had? He didn’t have an answer, so he left it the way he’d said it to her.
She stayed silent longer than he was comfortable with. Silently cursing his eyes, he forced himself to give her time. It was reasonable to want her near him if his leopard was calm. She had to know that.
“I’m used to having my own space.”
He could understand that. He was the same way. He had forgotten about walking around naked in his home because he’d done it for years. He was comfortable without clothes. He could shift easily, accommodating his leopard when the cat wanted to curl up in the window seat to bask in the sun.
“Go up to the third floor. We can change it to suit what you need for your own apartment. You can have your own entrance. It won’t take much to make that happen.”
“You can put a little kitchen up there for me?”
Gedeon had hoped she’d share his kitchen, but if she wanted a kitchen and that would get her to stay in the house with him, he’d get a kitchen put in for her. “I told you, anything you want up there to make the space yours. You would have the entire floor. If you go up and check it out, you could decide how best to design it. Once you do, let me know and I’ll get the workers to start as soon as possible.” In the meantime, he was going to find ways to keep her close to him.
She stiffened. “Someone just entered the house.” She made as if to get up.
He tightened his hold on her thigh. “That’s Rene. Just relax.”
She wasn’t relaxing. If anything, she had pulled out a gun and put it in the chair beside her where it wasn’t showing.
Gedeon’s leopard knew and even tolerated Rene’s presence. The cat was intelligent. Rene looked out for them, seeing to their everyday needs and providing security to their home base when they were away. They needed him. Gedeon’s leopard, Slayer, although increasingly vicious, had refrained from trying to break free around Rene. For some strange reason, that didn’t seem to be the case now. The male had awakened with a vengeance, catching Gedeon by surprise. The big male slashed and clawed for freedom, trying to tear free as if he needed to protect Gedeon and Meiling from Rene and his male leopard.
It took a moment to fight back and show the leopard he wasn’t putting up with his crap. “What’s wrong with you?” he muttered aloud.
“I’m sorry?” Meiling sounded genuinely puzzled.
“My damn leopard is losing his mind. Slayer knows Rene. He tolerates him as a rule. Right now he’s acting like Rene is the enemy.”
“Maybe he knows something you don’t. I told you, you’re too complacent.” She swiveled in her chair, so she was facing the door. “Slayer? You named your leopard Slayer? No wonder he’s vicious. He knows you’re expecting him to rip everyone apart. You need a different name for him. I’m not calling him Slayer.”
Once again, he wished he could see her expression. “What do you have in mind?” Despite his leopard giving him hell, he couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice.
“Gedeon?” a man’s voice with a decided Cajun accent called out.
Slayer reacted again, raking at him, leaping toward the surface as if he could break through and take over their form. Gedeon fought him back. It took a minute. The leopard was in a fury. He had to breathe deeply and really reprimand the cat.
We need him. What’s wrong with you? Is he coming to kill us? Is he secretly turning on us? What is he doing that is causing you to act this way?
I don’t trust him with her.
That brought Gedeon up short. He didn’t necessarily want Rene—or anyone else—around Meiling until he had his eyesight back and he could watch over her himself. Was he influencing his leopard to feel the same way? Or was his leopard influencing him?
“Gedeon?” Rene’s voice was closer. More insistent. A trace of worry in it.
“In the bedroom,” Gedeon answered.
Meiling was silent. Very still. She didn’t seem to want Rene around any more than Slayer did. He smelled Rene before the door opened. Rene had the scent of the swamp. Earthy and raw. He was homegrown. The scent was very subtle, but it clung to his skin.
There was a short silence. “You have company.”
“I told you I did. This is Meiling. She saved my life.”
“Meiling.” Rene came closer. “I didn’t realize you were here.”
“I wouldn’t leave him alone and unprotected.” She spoke very quietly, her tone strictly neutral. She didn’t have her sass. But she did have just a hint of censure.
Rene wouldn’t like that. He was leopard. Arrogant. And he’d been Gedeon’s right-hand man for many years.
“Did you find an eye doctor?” Gedeon interrupted before Rene could respond.
“Yes, Dr. Bouet will be here in half an hour. Drake recommended him. He’s been scrupulously vetted. He’s a shifter and Drake’s people had him checked out years ago. Doc Eloi is on his way as well to take a look at your leg.”
“Thanks, Rene. That was fast. I need you to stock the house. I’ll be here awhile.”
“Taken care of.”
“Meiling will be moving in with me.”
There was silence. Rene cleared his throat. “There seems to be a bit of a disagreement about that, Gedeon. The young lady is shaking her head.”
“Gedeon, I said I’d think about your offer.”
“You also said you’d stay until I had my vision back. I don’t have it back.”
Rene laughed. “She’s making a face. A cute face.”
“It’s not cute. He’s annoying me. He pushes and pushes until he gets his way.”
Gedeon found he didn’t like the exchange between the two. He should have wanted them to get along. When Rene first entered and the tension had risen between the two, he hadn’t been happy, but now he really wasn’t happy, and he didn’t know why. He put it down to not being able to see and feeling left out even though both were including him. His leopard was still raging. That also could be making him edgy.
“Usually, he intimidates to get his way,” Rene said. “Don’t you find him intimidating?”
“She doesn’t because I don’t have my eyesight and I can’t chase her down,” Gedeon said.
Meiling rose and his hand slipped off her thigh. “Now that your friend is here and the doctors are coming, I’ll take off. I need to get a few things. I don’t have much in the way of clothes for this kind of weather.”
“I’m going to talk to Rene about the third floor,” Gedeon said.
“She’s rolling her eyes.”
“She’d strangle him if she could fit her fingers around his neck. That Ming vase of yours is very much in jeopardy. Rene, I suggest you lock that thing up if you want it to survive my stay here.”
Gedeon knew she walked out, not because he heard her, but because he felt her leave.
“Mon Dieu, Gedeon, where did she come from?”
“I told you, she saved my life. A bomb went off, blinding me and bringing a branch the size of a small tree down on my leg. She came back for me. Got the branch off my leg, hauled my ass out of the jungle and called in a favor to fly me out of Venezuela. She’s good at what she does. She doesn’t miss the smallest detail.”
“How do you know she isn’t here to collect a bounty on you?”
“She could have done it ten times over. What does your leopard say to you around her? Does he feel she’s a threat?”
“No. He’s actually enamored with her. That was quite shocking. I’ve never had my leopard react like that before. It wasn’t as if he was reacting to a female in heat. I honestly couldn’t tell if she was a shifter. I’ve heard of a few women who seem to be able to calm leopards, not that mine is prone to temper. Drake Donovan runs a tight ship. I’m in his lair and he wouldn’t put up with my leopard throwing fits for a minute.”
“What would he do?”
“Most likely send me to Borneo, have me looking for a mate—the right mate. I’d go too. Drake’s a fair man.”
Gedeon knew Drake Donovan. Rene was right, Drake Donovan was a fair man. He was one of the few men Gedeon liked.
“I want to get workmen lined up to start on the third floor. I’ll need a separate entrance built. I’m going to talk Meiling into a partnership with me. I want her living here. The only way she’ll do it is to have an apartment of her own. She calms my leopard down. It’s the first peace I’ve had in years.”
“You can’t offer her a partnership because she calms your leopard down, Gedeon.” Rene was genuinely horrified.
“That’s not the reason. I’ve needed someone, but there was no one qualified. She is. She’s so damned intelligent I think she can strengthen what I do. I need you to do a little research for me, but it won’t be easy. There’s a Frenchman, a man by the name of Etienne. Very wealthy. Owns a private jet. We flew on it from Venezuela. He has two nephews. I only know their first names. Jules and Louis. I know I’m not giving you much, but you’ve worked with less. I need you to get as much information on them as you possibly can, especially the two nephews. Once you find them, I want to know where they are. I want to know who they talk to. Who their friends are. Keep track of them. It’s important, Rene.”
“Do you think someone can identify you?”
“Not me. She put her life on the line for me. She let them see her face. And they have a grudge against her.”
Rene sighed. “It’s my obligation to point out to you that she’s putting you in danger by being close to you, Gedeon.”
“You’ve done your duty, Rene. I want this woman for a partner. Get this information for me and find a good contractor willing to work extra hours. I’ll pay double time, but I want quality work.”
“Is she your leopard’s mate?”
“I don’t know. Her leopard hasn’t risen yet. It’s entirely possible. I won’t know until she goes into heat. In the meantime, I’m not messing up a partnership by fucking her. If something goes wrong, I’ve lost her, and I’m not doing that.”
“Gedeon, you’re not making any sense. If you think you can carry on the way you do with women right in front of her and that isn’t going to impact your relationship with her in any way, you’re wrong.”
“Why would it if we’re just partners? If we keep things on a purely platonic level?”
“Can you do that? You have no interest in her sexually?” Rene demanded.
“Someone’s at the door,” Gedeon said. He didn’t want to answer the question. Or the next one. He already knew Rene was going to ask if it would bother him if Rene went out with her. Hell yes it would bother him. But he would get over it. He had to. Their partnership had to come first. If she had a leopard and the leopard emerged and Slayer claimed her, that was a different story. In the meantime, Gedeon wasn’t taking a chance on losing the best thing he had ever been given. Sex was just sex. It meant nothing at all. But a relationship with someone like Meiling was a gift to be treasured.
Just the idea that another male leopard might lay claim to Meiling was too much for him to consider. His mind couldn’t go there. The moment it did, his leopard roared for supremacy and raked viciously at him, rebelling at just the impressions in Gedeon’s head.
Meiling already knew too much about him, more than anyone else. Things he didn’t want anyone to know. He would have instantly killed anyone who had discovered his past, without a qualm. He was responsible for giving his childhood away. Had he done that deliberately? Shared with her because for the first time in his life he knew he could? He’d told her about his mother, a small part of him hoping she would share her past with him. He hadn’t expected her to intuitively know what happened to him. His rise from the pakhan’s amusing toy to assassin to the vengeful destroyer of the entire bratya cell.
Meiling was intelligent, and he needed that in his partner. She was able to stand up to him when no one, not even Rene, dared to. She might not be the same once he got his eyesight back. That remained to be seen. Slayer was once again losing his mind, which meant Rene was close to the master bedroom with the doctor.
I need care to get my sight back, Slayer. Calm down. And it will be very interesting to see what name Lotus Blossom gives you. He conveyed his amusement to the animal.
Some of the anger faded from the animal, leaving him perplexed. She wishes to give me another name?
One of affection. I call her Lotus Blossom, but her given name is Meiling. When we are alone, she calls me Leopard Boy.
Slayer was quiet, trying to process what was a new concept for him. He was intelligent and could draw on Gedeon’s knowledge. He liked to learn new ideas, in fact demanded it. Right now, trying to assimilate the concept of Meiling calling him something affectionate, something different than anyone else . . .
Secret. Just between us. In the way I call her Lotus Blossom. That is only ours, Gedeon persisted with the explanation. He wanted Slayer to grasp the meaning, but what’s more, the leopard was ignoring Rene’s approach with the eye doctor.
Slayer settled down completely, although, as always when there was a stranger close, he stayed alert. Mostly he was turning over and over the information that Gedeon had given him on affectionate names given to one another and doing his best to understand.
“Dr. Bouet, this is Gedeon Volkov,” Rene introduced them. “I’m closing all the blinds so no light can come in. You can open them if you need to, Dr. Bouet.”
Gedeon heard Rene at the windows. Meiling had closed most of the blinds before Gedeon had joined her.
“Dr. Bouet, thank you for coming on such short notice.” He could hear the man setting up a tray and laying out instruments on it.
“I’ll need to know how this injury occurred.”
Gedeon wasn’t surprised. If he wanted truth and healing, he was going to have to trust Drake Donovan’s judgment. Drake was the head of one of the largest local lairs of shifters. He didn’t have a treacherous bone in his body. No one was ever going to bribe Drake—including him. Drake was a straight shooter all the way and put the health and welfare of his lair first. If he trusted the eye specialist, Gedeon would do his best to extend the man the same courtesy.
“A bomb went off right in front of me. The flash was horrendous. I tried to close my eyes, but I didn’t get them closed in time.”
“Were you in human form or leopard form?”
“I was in leopard form. I’d just shifted back to human form when I got the bomb warning. I leapt off the porch, shifting as I did so. The bomb caught Slayer in the third leap, throwing us into the air. He had his eyes wide open. I shifted as we were thrown about thirty feet through the brush. I didn’t want him to take the brunt of the fall. Already I couldn’t see a damn thing, but I thought it was all the debris in the air and in my eyes. When I hit the ground, trees were falling, and a large branch came down on top of me.” He thought he was going to die, and he didn’t want anyone to see his leopard and possibly skin him for his pelt.
Dr. Bouet sighed as he unwrapped the bandages from around Gedeon’s eyes. “Someone worked on your eyes at the site, didn’t they?” he stated as he shone a light first in the left eye and then the right. “Whoever it was saved your vision. They knew about your leopard.”
Gedeon felt the need to protect Meiling. “I saw a doctor before I left the country. He gave me eye drops and told me not to let any light touch my eyes.”
“It would have been better to give you a salve, but then he didn’t realize it was your leopard’s eyes that were damaged so severely. By shifting, you saved his vision.”
“Are we going to come back from this?”
“By staying in human form and keeping the light from your eyes, you’ve already begun the healing process. It will take time, but your vision will be fully restored.”
The doctor spent time patiently examining Gedeon’s eyes from every angle, putting drops in them to dilate them and then examining them again. “You won’t need bandages, but dark glasses are a must at all times. The salve in the eyes is also a must. Putting it in will be uncomfortable, but once it’s in, I guarantee it will make that burning go away. You’ll very quickly begin to see little blocks of light. Don’t rub your eyes or try to strain to see more. Don’t remove your dark glasses. Just be patient and let your eyes recover on their own.”
“I can leave the house?”
“Of course, but it would be better if you left in the evening when the light isn’t harsh. You will need dark glasses even at night. If for some reason you choose to go out during the day, you will have to wear more than one pair of dark glasses. You’ll have to black out the sun.”
Gedeon didn’t like the sound of that. He couldn’t see a reason for leaving the house during the day. If he left, he’d make certain to go at night. “Thanks, Doc. I appreciate you coming to my home.”
“I’ll stop by in a week to check on you unless you need me sooner. Have Rene call me.”
As soon as the eye specialist stepped out of the room, Dr. Eloi took his place. Gedeon had known him almost since he’d first arrived in New Orleans. The leg was swollen, bruised and infected, but Eloi was extremely positive about treating the infection with the right cocktail of intravenous antibiotics when the results came back from his lab.
“Stay out of your nightclub until I give you the go-ahead. You can’t put weight on that, so walk with the crutches I’ll send someone over to fit you with. And no physical activities for a little while. You tend to be a bit on the vigorous side, Gedeon.”
“Having a woman suck my cock isn’t going to hurt my leg, Eloi,” Gedeon objected.
“Follow my instructions. Someone will come to administer the IV antibiotics daily. Or twice a day. Don’t scare them off.”
“No sex? For how long?”
“However long it takes,” Eloi said, no sympathy in his voice as he walked out. “You can manage.”