DANTE STRETCHED HIS neck back and forth while he leaned against his SUV and waited for the gas tank to fill. Tonight was his night off, so he was relaxed and not really paying attention to what was going on around him. Yet something caught his attention. He glanced up and was shocked at what he saw.
Gerald Llewelyn was exiting the gas station and making his way toward an old beat-up Ford.
All this time that they had spent searching for the bastard, and here Dante had found Gerald when he wasn’t even trying.
Dante quickly stopped the pump on the gas even though his tank wasn’t full, screwed on the gas cap, and hit No for a receipt. He jumped in his SUV just in time to follow Gerald out of the parking lot.
He stayed far enough away so that Gerald wouldn’t notice that he had a tail, and soon, they came up on an apartment building. Gerald pulled into the parking lot, and Dante parked on the street as he cursed.
There was no way he’d be able to follow Gerald inside without being discovered. Gerald would smell Dante in a second, and going by the age and look of the building, the hallways were probably long and narrow with no place to hide if Gerald suspected that he was being watched.
It would just make finding Gerald that much harder but not impossible.
A second later, a light turned on in an apartment.
Bingo.
Unless someone else had just come home, Dante had found out where Gerald was staying.
Dante picked up his phone and flipped it open. He scrolled down to Vance’s number and paused. He knew that he should be calling the cat-shifter alpha. Gerald was a cat-shifter and Vance’s cousin, and Vance deserved to know what Dante had found. Instead, Dante scrolled back up to the Ps. He didn’t know why he was about to do what he was going to do because, as a leader, Dante felt it was his responsibility to follow the rules and do the right thing.
However, without another moment of hesitation, he hit Send.
Phoenix ignored the vibrating in her pocket for the second time. Saxon and she were busy clearing their last abandoned house, and she didn’t have time to answer the phone. Not that it mattered anyway because the house was empty. After weeks of this, Phoenix was really starting to feel like the whole thing was pointless. They were never going to find Gerald.
She met Saxon back in the living room. “Nothing, right?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
“Let’s go then. The sooner we get through our list, the sooner we can get home.”
A few weeks ago, if they had gotten through their list of uninhabited and foreclosed homes early, she would have asked for more. Now, she just wanted to be done, so she could go home and sleep.
They walked toward their vehicle when her phone went off again. Irritated, Phoenix pulled out her cell and looked at the number. It was Dante. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since New Year’s Eve, and she was very close to not answering. But if he had called three times in the last five minutes, then it must be something important.
“Who is it?” Saxon asked.
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that it was Dante. After all, the two of them were friends, but for some reason, she didn’t. “Uh...it’s Tegan. Why don’t you go warm up the SUV while I see what she needs?”
“Sure.”
After Saxon was out of hearing distance, she hit Accept on her phone. “Hello?”
“Phoenix, this is Dante.”
As if she didn’t know. Not only had his number come up on her display, there was also no way she would ever mistake his voice for someone else’s. “What do you need?”
“I need you to come to the address I’m about to text to you.”
“What? Why?” He was crazy if he just thought she would drop everything and show up to some random address somewhere. “I’m working.”
“Phoenix,” he stressed her name. “I found Gerald.”
Instantly, her heart began to race, and her palms began to sweat. “Are you sure?” Please don’t let it be a mistake.
“Without a doubt. Now, get your ass over here.”
Phoenix hit End and jogged over to the SUV.
As she climbed inside, Saxon asked, “What did Tegan want?”
“Oh, you know, girl stuff.”
Saxon looked at her like she had two heads. “Girl stuff? You?”
Phoenix knew she wasn’t what someone would call feminine, but she was still insulted. “Yes, girl stuff. In case you didn’t know, I am a girl.”
Saxon put the car in drive. “Yeah, I know you’re a girl. I just wasn’t sure you knew.”
Phoenix held up her middle finger and glared at him. “Fuck you.”
Saxon simply laughed and pulled away from the curb.
She had been wondering how she was going to ditch Saxon without telling him what was going on, but now that she was irritated with her friend, she didn’t care if he questioned her about where she was going.
She pulled up the address Dante had sent her on her GPS and looked for the nearest cross street. “I need you to drop me off somewhere.”
“Where?”
She told him the corner that she needed to go to.
“Phoenix, that isn’t the best neighborhood. Why do you need to go there?”
She wanted to tell him that it was none of his business, but she didn’t want him to question her more. “I’ll explain later, but I can’t say right now.”
“Phoenix,” Saxon said in a parenting tone.
“Saxon, I’m not going to argue with you on this. Either take me or don’t. I’ll just grab my car when we get home.”
He sighed. “I’ll take you. But if something happens, I will kick your ass, girl or no girl.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
They drove the rest of the way in silence, and when Saxon pulled up to her destination, she practically jumped out of the vehicle before he’d even stopped. Right before she closed the door, Saxon grabbed her arm.
“What?” she asked.
“I know you don’t want to tell me what’s going on, but please be careful.”
Despite his worry that she was doing something that she shouldn’t, it was also nice to know that he cared. “I will.”
He let go of her arm, and she slammed the door. She waited for Saxon to pull away before she took off running down the street. With the snow and ice on the sidewalk, it took her longer than she would have liked, but eventually, she made it.
As she approached the address Dante had texted her, a car door opened, and Dante got out of his SUV. He looked amazing, as always, and part of her wanted to run into his arms, to thank him for calling her with his find instead of calling her alpha, but she didn’t.
She stopped before touching him. “So, he’s in there, huh?” She nodded toward the apartment building.
“Yep, basement level.”
Dante’s dark brown eyes studied her, and she had to control the urge to fidget.
“No wonder we never found Gerald. We’ve been concentrating on motels and abandoned houses.”
Dante ran down the plan to apprehend Gerald, and she agreed with his strategy.
“So, you ready to bring this asshole in?” he asked.
“Yes.” More than anyone could ever know.
Dante checked his weapons and nodded at her. “Let’s go then.”
Just before he took off for the building, Phoenix put her hand on his arm.
He looked over his shoulder at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to say thank you.”
Dante turned around. “Phoenix,” he started, his voice tender.
She didn’t want to hear any tender words or sentimental thoughts, so she cut him off, “I just wanted to say thank you. Now, let’s go.” She marched past Dante, determined to find Gerald.
She heard Dante sigh, but he followed on her heels.
No other words were spoken as they silently made their way into the building and up to the door of Gerald’s apartment. Not that it mattered how loud they were. Someone close by was having a party and had the music cranked up to full blast.
As they neared the apartment, Phoenix could smell the fucker’s scent outside the door, and it made her sick. She tried not to picture him leaning over her in the motel room where he’d tied her up, but it was hard.
She looked over at Dante’s chiseled features and breathed in his cinnamon scent. She hated the thought of needing anyone, but just knowing that he was there grounded her and gave her the ability to concentrate on what needed to be done.
They each positioned themselves on one side of Gerald’s door, and they nodded to each other to signal they were ready. Dante knocked lightly, and they both moved out of the direct view of the peephole. Gerald would be able to see someone, but he would have no idea it was them. Then, they could push their way in and knock him out. Phoenix would kick him in the balls a couple of times while he was unconscious, and then they would bring him in. Easy and efficient. Of course, Dante hadn’t included the crotch-kicking part, but she figured an extra step in their plan wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Unfortunately, things didn’t always work out as one had intended.
She didn’t know if it was adrenaline or what, but everything happened so fast. Gerald pulled the door ajar, and Dante kicked it open. Phoenix followed right behind him and kicked the door closed before anyone walked by.
She didn’t know how it’d happened, but within seconds, Gerald had pulled out a gun and fired twice.
Dante’s body jolted from the force of the gunshots, and Phoenix screamed. Dante fell to the floor, clutching his chest, and without a second thought, she shifted into her cat and went for Gerald’s throat. A faint thought crossed her mind that she was supposed to be bringing Gerald in alive, but all she could think about was Dante bleeding on the ground.
What if he dies? The thought was more than Phoenix could bear, and she bit down with all her strength until she felt the life leaving Gerald’s body.
She let go and stepped back as he slumped to the floor. Instead of feeling satisfied, she wanted him to come to life again, so she could kill him all over.
The sound of Dante coughing pulled her from her vengeful thoughts.
Phoenix quickly shifted back to human, practically tripping over her clothes. They were ripped from her shifting, and she pushed them off her body. She barely felt the cold air as she fell over Dante.
“Dante.” She scanned his body, trying to find his bullet wounds, but he was completely covered in blood, and she had no idea where to put pressure. With no other options, she laid herself over him, hoping that it would help.
“Phoenix,” Dante said as he tried to reach up and touch her. His arm fell back to his side.
“Shh...Dante. Don’t try to talk,” she told him as she used her leg to pull her pants over to her. She reached in the pocket and pulled out her cell. It hadn’t been that long since Saxon dropped her off, so hopefully, he could come back and help her save Dante.
“You got Saxon.”
“Saxon, I need your help.”
“You weren’t careful, were you?”
“No.”
“Shit.”
Phoenix gave Saxon her location and the apartment number, and then she hung up.
“Dante, help is on the way.” She looked down around them at all the blood that was on the floor. “Please, don’t die, Dante.”
Dante coughed, and blood came out of his mouth, giving Phoenix an idea. She just had to keep him alive long enough to get him to the vampire clinic. She put her wrist up to Dante’s mouth and shook him.
“Dante, you have to feed from me, okay?”
Dante moaned but didn’t bite down.
“Dante.”
She shook him again, but he didn’t move. She took her wrist away and shifted her other hand enough for her claws to come out. She cut herself deep enough to make herself bleed and put her arm back to Dante’s mouth. After a few drops hit his tongue, he finally bit down and started sucking.
Relieved that her plan was working, she relaxed on Dante’s chest and let him feed.
After a minute or two, Phoenix began to feel sleepy. She knew her adrenaline was wearing off, but she had never felt so exhausted. Just as her eyes began to close and her consciousness faded, the door opened, and someone walked in.
Her last thought was that she hoped they were safe.