“I take it you were listening in?” said Kennedy, wondering just how screwed they were.
“No, although in retrospect I probably should have put in listening devices. I’m trusting in the fact, Ms. Greyson, that you and Ms. LaSalle want to survive this and that your fiancés feel the same. Do you think he’s looking for you, Ms. LaSalle?”
“Most likely. I think you’d be best...” Evie quieted when Kennedy stood and helped her to do the same.
“I’m the family’s lawyer, Merrick. I’d prefer if you’d talked to me.”
“You’ll need to learn your place if you’re going to survive as one of us,” sneered Merrick.
“I know my place, at Cole Waverly’s side. We’ve wasted a lot of years. I doubt he’ll be all that receptive to wasting more or losing me all together. After all, he was willing to forego the idea of fathering children if I didn’t want to be turned.”
“Ah, so you know about us.”
“I do, but I don’t think it has any relative bearing on the subject at hand. What is it you want, Merrick?”
“First, my brother and sister.”
“You were right to be concerned. They’d contacted Cyrus about making a separate deal.”
“I knew it. Adams said I was wrong, but I know how treacherous they can be. I’ll kill them.” His fists clenched at his sides.
“That won’t be necessary. They tried to kill Trey and Cade, and they died. Why they would think they could take on a former FBI agent and a Delta Force Veteran and survive the encounter is beyond me.”
“Neither of them had two brain cells to rub together.”
“And your father?”
“Was in on it with them. The three of them were going to try and cut Adams and I out.”
“So did you have him assassinated or did Adams?” asked Evie, clearly appalled at the thought of killing your own sire.
“I’d say it was Merrick here. I imagine Adams figured out what was going on and told Merrick here to deal with it.”
“I don’t take orders from nobody.”
“Of course, you don’t,” soothed Kennedy. “I can tell you that you don’t have a legal leg to stand on. Even if Cyrus had signed an agreement, his death would have negated it as the land wasn’t legally his to do anything with but lease. That right wouldn’t necessarily have transferred to Lorna. I’ll have to research that, but I find it highly doubtful. And now with Lorna dead, even if it had, she died intestate.” Turning to Evie she said, “That’s what I wanted to check out at the courthouse.”
“So where does that leave us?” asked Merrick.
“Unfortunately for you, not with a casino on Koyama'. Whatever Adams put into this little venture is money down a rathole. You, on the other hand, have two of the bonded spirits of the Waverly brothers. I’m fairly sure I can broker a deal for our safe return. Corporate law isn’t my specialty, but it was Serena’s if you want something in writing. As a lawyer, I will tell you, always get it in writing.”
“Or maybe I’ll just cut my losses and slit your throats in retaliation for Lorna and Toby.”
“I could have told you, Grey, that the Merricks were never known for their intelligence,” growled Cole from the doorway.
Kennedy watched as the air electrified and shimmered, and the man she loved changed from human to beast and leaped at Merrick, his claws extended to swipe at the man’s mid-section. Merrick pushed Evie at Cole, buying himself just enough time to shift and jump past Cole.
“Go, Cole. I’ll stay with Kennedy. Get the bastard!” snarled Evie.
Cole spared a glance in Kennedy’s direction. She nodded, seemingly unafraid and non-plussed by seeing the man she loved turn into a large mountain lion. He bounded back into the main portion of the abandoned warehouse and into the fray.
He wanted to ensure that none of their people were hurt, but he really wanted to kill Merrick. Some of those with Merrick tried to raise their guns to shoot the shifted members of Koyama', but they were too slow. Those who remained in their human form were quickly put down, not killed, but injured to the point that they were no longer a threat.
It was easy to see that Merrick’s people weren’t trained or inclined to fight. They gave up quickly. Realizing he had no chance of winning, Merrick hightailed it out of the warehouse and into the woods.
“Get him, Cole. We’ve got this,” called Cash.
With a mighty roar, Cole charged outside, meaning to take care of Merrick once and for all. He was glad the others had given up so easily, but he really hoped Merrick would make a fight of it. He tracked his quarry by sight, sound, and smell. Merrick had a decided disadvantage. While this part of the Boise River wasn’t as well known to Cole, the difference in topography between Louisiana and Idaho was immense.
Merrick would have to follow the river to get back to the closest city. He followed him until he was certain Merrick was headed down river. Cole did know of a short-cut that would get him in front of Merrick long before he reached safety. Cole diverged from just tracking Merrick to outsmarting him and cutting him off. He wanted a direct confrontation with the man who’d taken and threatened his mate. He cut through the woods, over the hill, and back down again so he was in front of Merrick. Then he waited.
Cole could hear Merrick crashing through the dense underbrush as he ran. He counted to three, then stepped out in front of him, blocking his path.
Merrick shifted. Cole did not.
“Look, Waverly. Adams is the one you want. He was the mastermind behind this whole thing.”
Cole shifted, his eyes examining Merrick’s out of shape physique. Both men were naked and even a cursory glance could reveal the outcome of any physical altercation. Merrick’s only hope was to convince Cole to let him go.
“I don’t see Adams. My men tell me two of your goons assaulted them and kidnaped my mate as well as my brother Cash’s mate. In what crazy scenario do you see me letting you live?”
“Well, at least they weren’t hurt. Your brother Cade killed my sister and brother.”
“They were merely pawns in this bizarre game you and Adams think you’re playing. And don’t worry about Adams. He won’t walk away unscathed either. Besides, Cade killed Lorna and Toby when they tried to kill Trey, which proves that as dumb as you are, they were even dumber.” Cole could feel the change in the air that signaled the start of a shift. “Go on, Merrick, shift. It’ll be easier for me to dispose of your body as a mountain lion. Hell, maybe I’ll have you skinned and made into something useful. Lord knows, you’ve never been that before now.”
“Jesus, Waverly, you’re one cold-hearted sonofabitch.”
Cole shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong. My blood runs hot for my bonded spirit, and you dared to threaten her and put your grimy paws on her. Now, shift, so I can finish you.”
“If I remain human, the body will be harder to dispose of.”
“Not really, I’ll just shift, and you’ll be found some time down the road and people will wonder what you were doing running around in the wilderness without any clothes on. You’ll appear to have been attacked by a cougar—no fuss, no muss.” Urine dribbled down the man’s leg. “So, stay human and I’ll take my time killing you. I’ll puncture your neck, but not deep enough that you’ll bleed out quickly. Then I’ll open up your midsection and watch you try to keep your entrails from falling out. At that point, there won’t be any saving you, but your death will be relatively slow, and you’ll know you’re dying the entire time. Or you can shift and I’ll snap your neck. Death will be quick and relatively painless. Make a choice and do it now.”
Cole had to respect that Merrick didn’t just offer himself up. He shifted and leaped at Cole. Cole leaned back out of the way, but still balanced and grabbed his head, steadying it with one hand. He grasped his jaw with the other, twisting it until there was an audible snap, and Joseph Merrick Junior was dead.
He looked at the dead body, shook his head, and walked away. Cole left the body to be a meal for the other creatures in the forest. He shifted and made his way back to the warehouse. When he arrived, Kennedy was waiting just inside the tree line, but where she could be easily seen. Her body was relaxed, and she didn’t seem angry at all.
“Here kitty, kitty, kitty.”
Kennedy watched in complete amazement as the enormous mountain lion shimmered and once more became the man she loved. Before he got back, she’d gathered up his clothes and told those in the warehouse she wanted to wait outside for him, wanting a few minutes alone.
“Kennedy, it’s not easy to find a way…” started Cash.
“It’s fine, Cash. Cole owes Evie big time.”
Cash grinned and nodded, hugging his bonded spirit close.
“Don’t you here kitty, kitty me. What were you thinking offering yourself up as hostage?”
“How the hell do you know that?” she asked, surprised.
“Simple, it was the best way to protect everyone else. I imagine you weren’t all too thrilled with Evie when she tagged along.”
“No, I thought the fewer you had to be worried about the better. The fire?”
“A distraction. We figured that out fairly quickly, but by the time we got back, you and Evie had been taken. They had the fire under control even before we got there. A lot of scorched grazing ground, but it could have been a lot worse. I take it you and Evie talked?”
“Yes, and we both agree that men are idiots. How could you possibly think that you not being human would have made me give you up again? Don’t you think I learned from my mistakes in Naples? I should have realized then that you would never have given me up without a fight. I should have had more faith in you… in us. I’ll admit the whole, you-can-be-a-cougar is a bit strange, but in some ways, very cool. Evie said the barbed cock is also not to be missed. She even thinks you’d give up siring your own children if I didn’t want to be turned.”
Cole nodded. He owed Evie big time. “I’d give up everything to have you. If you don’t want to be turned but you still want kids, we’ll adopt. Cyrus was proof that siring a child doesn’t make you a father. I’ll even suppress my barbs for the rest of my life if you want. I will, however, most likely rarely, if ever, fuck you from behind. The instinct to claim you would be too strong to do it often, but I do like the idea of having you on your knees in front of me while I fuck your pussy.”
“Hmm. Tell me, when you fucked my ass, were you inclined to bite me?”
“Nope. And the barbs only come into play inside your pussy. Anal and oral don’t trigger them. We can work all of this out, Kennedy. Just tell me we’ll be together.”
Her eyes softened and she walked up to him, running her hands under his arms and up to clutch his shoulders from behind. She rubbed her head against his chest. His arms wound around her, molding her body to his. As hard as his cock was, as much as he wanted to fuck her, he wouldn’t trade anything in this life for the feel of her body next to his, accepting him for who he was.
“Is that why you can make that purring noise that turns me on?” she asked.
“It is. Did you know the mountain lions are the largest of the cat family that can purr? And now that I don’t have to worry about you wondering about it, there are all kinds of ways I can purr, and I’ll let you hear all of them.”
“Let’s go home, Cole. We still have to clear Clay and we’re no closer to knowing who killed Cyrus than we were before.”
He let her go just long enough to slip on his clothes, then wrapped his arm around her waist as they joined the others.
“What do you want to do with them?” asked Cash.
Kennedy stepped forward. “I’m going to give all of you a piece of advice. Get in your car, drive to the airport, and go back to Louisiana. If you do, I may be able to convince my family and my clients to let you live. If you ever show up at Koyama' or River Run again, you’ll find out just what a nasty piece of work my bonded spirit can be.” She turned to look at Cole. “Won’t they, baby?”
Cole’s grin was positively feral. “They will indeed, but I’ll make it better. You and yours stay out of Idaho and Colorado. Koyama' rules in both.”
It was almost comical watching the remaining members who’d come with Merrick scrambling to take their dead and wounded, get into their vehicles, and drive away.
Those from Koyama' split up, leaving Cole’s SUV to the two couples who got in and headed back to the ranch.
“How did you guys find us so fast?” asked Kennedy once they were on the road.
Cole looked at Evie in the rearview mirror. “I didn’t get to the tether, and I feel that I should tell you that Kennedy’s first follow up question was about the barbs.”
Cole laughed as Cash rolled his eyes. “Don’t look at me. Yours is the one who asked.”
“What’s the tether?” Kennedy asked as they followed the ribbon of highway back to Koyama'.
“It’s a kind of psychic link that exists between bonded spirits. It’s initiated by the claiming bite but allows both sides of the link to know where the other one is and to know what you’re feeling.”
“Will you be able to read my mind? Cause that could be a deal breaker for me,” Kennedy teased.
“I would think so. With what escapes your bratty mouth on occasion, you’d be in a world of hurt if I knew exactly what you were thinking.”
“Can you read my mind now?”
“Hell, I’m not your bonded spirit and I can. I don’t know if you get turned if Cole will be able to handle you when you come into heat.” Evie’s sharp elbow to his solar plexus made Cash wince and unable to breathe for a moment.
“Come on, Cole. Live dangerously,” purred Kennedy. “Evie’s pretty sure you have several more lives.”