Out of Smoke and Ashes Read online

  Carla, Liam, and Elain looked shell-shocked. “We can talk about it later,” Callie assured her.

  Lina looked at the window behind Jan. “She’s gone.”

  “Who’s gone?” Rick asked.

  Lina took a deep breath as tears filled her eyes. “I can’t see Maureen’s ghost anymore. She’s gone.”

  * * * *

  Lina knew she’d have some ’splainin’ to do, especially to Elain, Liam, and Carla for holding back her information about Maureen. She’d have to wait until after the whole birthing dragon twins thing was over and done with to focus on that.

  She looked at Callie. “I don’t want this Goddess gig anymore. And I don’t want to be a Seer, either. I just want to be a mom and a wife. That’s all I want.” The tiny part of her brain still holding on to a shred of logic knew her tears and emotional response were all part of being in labor.

  But she meant every word.

  “It’s all right, dear,” Lacey assured her. “You’re going to be okay. You’re a wonderful Goddess and Seer, and you’ll be an even better mom.”

  “But I don’t know how I got there,” she wailed. “I was here, and the next minute I was in Baba Yaga’s house.”

  Callie rested a hand on her shoulder. “Sweetie, it’s okay. Focus on breathing. You’re about to become a mom.”

  “But what if I’m as crappy a mom as I am a Goddess? Or worse?”

  Carla leaned over the back of the seat. “You are going to be a great mom,” she said. “I was terrified when Elain was little, but look how well she turned out.”

  “And I think she only dropped me on my head once,” Elain joked.

  “Twice,” Carla said with a smile. “But who’s counting?”

  Chapter Three

  Marston debated whether or not to pack his bags. If Ken and Trent managed to snag both the Pardie bitch and the coyote from the Lyall ranch, everything would, finally, be hunky-dory in his life where Rodolfo Abernathy and the damned blood oath was concerned.

  Then he could get on with trying to locate the Tablet of Trammel once and for all without worrying about Rodolfo breathing down his neck and figuring out what he was up to in regards to the whole cockatrice deal.

  If Ken and Trent failed, however…

  Marston didn’t for one moment think Rodolfo wouldn’t hesitate to take it out of his own hide out of sheer spite.

  Packing looks like a reasonable option.

  He pulled his suitcase out of the closet and started emptying drawers. He’d almost finished when he heard a knock on his door.

  He froze. It wouldn’t be housekeeping, because he’d put out the Do Not Disturb placard. When he opened the door, Trent stood there.

  “He wants to see you. Come on.”

  Marston didn’t need to ask who “he” was. He felt cold sweat break out on his back as he locked the door behind him and followed Trent around the building to Rodolfo’s room.

  Trent wouldn’t answer his questions. When he finally stood before Rodolfo, Marston asked, “Did they get them?”

  “No. Unfortunately, events conspired against them.” Marston didn’t know if he should be worried or not by the old wolf’s grin. Rodolfo looked at him from across the table before giving him a dismissive wave. “Your hide will live to see another day, don’t worry.” His grin widened, revealing canines. “I have another way to secure the coyote. And now that I know who and where the Pardie bitch is, and that she thinks she’s formed a Pack with the Lyalls, it won’t be hard to get to her.”

  Before he could stop himself, Marston spoke. “Won’t be hard? I think it’d be even more difficult now. Especially if Trent and Ken failed.”

  “Not important. Unforeseen circumstances. They’re my two best men. I couldn’t have them taking unnecessary risks when we’re this close to getting that Pardie bitch.”

  Rodolfo stood and rounded the table. He had at least two full inches on Marston. Despite Marston outweighing Rodolfo, and despite being younger than Rodolfo, Marston held no illusions that the older wolf was still dangerous. His grey eyes glinted.

  “I release you from your oath, coward. I don’t know what fuckery you have going on behind the scenes, but you are a liability to me at this point. You have identified and located the Pardie bitch for me. I will take it from here.”

  Marston blinked, not sure he believed what he was hearing.

  And not sure Rodolfo didn’t have ulterior motives saying it. “What?”

  Rodolfo crossed his arms in front of him. “You heard me. I release you from the oath and consider your part in it fulfilled. You have paid back the money you owed me in full, and you have done as much as possible to help fulfill the oath, considering the circumstances.”

  Rodolfo’s eyes narrowed. “I warn you, however, if you cross me or my path again, I will not find it in my heart to be as generous as I am now. I suggest you find out how the weather is in a different part of the world. Perhaps Australia or Asia might be a welcomed change for you. I rarely get around to those continents.”

  Marston tripped backward. “Y–Yes. Thank you.” He hated the fear squeezing his heart, but he suspected Rodolfo’s good humor wouldn’t last very long.

  Hopefully, long enough for him to get checked out of the hotel and put some miles between himself and the old wolf.

  He hurried back to his room, eager to get the hell out of Florida. He was packing when he heard another knock on his door. He froze, hoping they’d go away. After a moment, the person knocked again. A light rapping, not the heavy pounding he’d expect if it was Rodolfo or one of his henchmen back to revoke his freedom.

  He drew his gun and, moving slowly, edged toward the door. He peeked through the peephole. A young woman he’d never laid eyes on before stood waiting outside his door.

  “Open up, Marston,” she called out, eerily meeting his gaze through the peephole. “I don’t have all day to waste standing around out here. Besides, it’s fucking hot, if you haven’t noticed.”

  He unfastened the security bar and deadbolt before opening the door for her. Deadly flint-grey eyes met his gaze. “Well?” she said. “Let me in.”

  “Who are you? How do you know who I am?”

  Her smile held no humor. “You are…were a business associate of my brothers. Edgar Callaway and Lenny Porter.”

  Shocked, he stepped aside as she strode past him. At around five-six and slim, her flowing, long black hair almost looked blue. He’d known the brothers had a much younger sister, but they’d rarely spoken of her and he’d never met her.

  Cockatrice were notoriously closed-mouthed, even amongst their own kind.

  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” he said, hoping they hadn’t told her much about his dealings with them.

  She spun on her heel. “Bullshit. You and Edgar and Lenny killed those Dalca dragons, among others, but you fucked up the ceremony. Just like you fucked up those murders in Brussels a couple of years ago.”

  He quickly closed the door and locked it, his composure shaken. “So, you’re with Abernathy and his group, I take it? I’ve never seen you before. He’s damn sure never mentioned you.”

  Her grin held no humor. “Not even close, douchebag. I know what you’re after. I have a few things I think you’ll need. Just like you have a few things I need. We can either work together, or I can kill you now and be no further behind than I was thirty seconds ago when you opened that door.”

  He raised the gun, but before he could point it at her she was standing in front of him with one hand on his wrist and painfully twisting the hand holding the gun behind his back.

  Her other hand had shot between his legs, forcefully gripping his junk.

  “Go ahead,” she hissed in his face. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Not to mention I’m, what, way less than half your age, at least. I have no compunction whatsoever about twisting your fucking balls off your body.”

  His eyes widened. He hadn’t even seen her move. One second she stood a few feet away, and before he
could blink she had him by the balls.

  Literally.

  “Okay!” he wheezed. “Fine!”

  She stepped back, releasing him. “Now then.” She broadly smiled as she straightened her clothes. “Why don’t we sit down and have ourselves a friendly chat?”

  His heart thundered in his chest. “I don’t even know your name.”

  Her voice changed, now thick and sweet as molasses. “Aw, I’m sorry, pops. How rude of me. Name’s Mercedes. Mercedes Megaera. I think you’ll find me a far better business partner than Rodolfo Abernathy could ever be.”

  * * * *

  Trent and Ken stared at their boss, still barely able to believe their good fortune that they weren’t dead as a result of their failure to bring him either Elain Pardie or the coyote.

  “Go ahead and ask,” Rodolfo told them. “I know you want to.” He walked back to his chair and smoothly sat.

  Trent and Ken exchanged a glance before Ken manned up and spit it out. “How are you getting the coyote?” he asked.

  The old wolf’s smile still looked predatory. He even exposed canines again. “I’m glad you asked. She was orphaned a few years ago. Her father’s younger brother was given custody and appointed executor of the estate.” He grinned. “I had one of my men out in Montana do some research and found him. Casper Gallatin, by all rights, is technically the person who can speak for his niece. She was orphaned and while not expelled from her Clan, she left the area. Did you know that coyotes require permission to mate with one of their own? Perfunctory, yes. Just protocols.”

  Trent spoke up this time. “But she’s a legal adult. And Blackestone ruled against you last time.”

  “Doesn’t matter. That’s not how coyotes do things. The uncle has to approve her mate. I’ve spoken to Casper Gallatin myself. He assures me he gave no such permission for her to mate with Donovan.”

  “And the human,” Trent added.

  Rodolfo waved that comment off. “That’s irrelevant. Their Clan might consider that a legitimate mating, but I don’t.” He slammed his fist on the table, making both younger men jump. “Casper Gallatin blew through his niece’s inheritance. With a little financial incentive from me, he’s more than willing to stand up at a Clan Council and declare her mating to Donovan invalid and invoke a challenge to have her declared part of my Clan, and the baby part of my line.”

  Ken scratched his head. “I’m not trying to be dense here, sir, but I thought you didn’t want that bastard baby.”

  “I don’t. But after seeing the Pardie bitch in action, I realized she is weak.”

  “Weak?” Ken shook his head in disbelief. “Again, no offense, sir, but she took Paul’s balls off. Frankly? After seeing her fight, I’m not sure I can take her without some serious firepower in my hand. She’s fucking scary. I’ve never seen an Alpha wolf, especially a female like that, who’s that vicious and still never shifted into wolf form in the process.”

  Rodolfo tapped his finger on the table. “I know. The uncle is merely a distraction, a ruse to get all of them where I need them to be. Including Elain Pardie. In front of the Clan Council, I’m going to ask for a private sit-down with her and Mai. I’m going to come off as wanting to be reasonable and simply helping to facilitate an estranged uncle being able to speak with his niece.”

  His gaze hardened. “I need five minutes and I’ll have the Pardie bitch willingly walking off with me. I won’t care what happens to the coyote if my plan succeeds. Besides, I’ll just have someone kill her, and her mates if necessary, after the fact.”

  Ken blinked, unsure what to say.

  Rodolfo showed teeth again. “Do you know who the human woman was with them that day?”

  The men exchanged another glance and shook their heads.

  “Her adopted mother. A human.” He laughed and studied his fingernails. “A weak, mortal human not mated to anyone.” He smiled, but it held nothing resembling humor. “I simply tell Elain she needs to be reasonable. Because when we have our little private meeting, that human woman is going to be standing next to me with my hand resting on the back of her neck. I’ll offer Elain a simple, easy trade. Either she comes with me without complaint, or I will mark her mother and claim her as my mate in front of her, and she’ll never see her again. We won’t release her until Elain Pardie agrees to come with us. Somehow in there, we’ll take the coyote out. If she’s dead she can’t give birth. If not…”

  He sighed. “I won’t be happy about it, but I can’t allow that to distract me any longer from my ultimate goal. I need that Pardie bitch to strengthen my bloodline.”

  Ken now followed his train of thought, although he felt a little queasy over it. “Brilliant, boss.”

  “Yes, I thought so. The human should be easier to catch than the coyote. She’s of middle age or older, can’t shift, can’t run. Not like you two can.” His gaze hardened. “If you two can’t bring one human woman to me, you will wish you’d been in Paul’s place at the challenge. Because I won’t accept another failure. Not in this case. I was generous to you before because I was more interested in shaming Marston and getting him out of my way without having to waste my time killing him and figuring out the body disposal. Besides, we might have use of him again in the future. However, let me make it perfectly clear that I won’t be so generous with you two a second time. I expect better out of both of you. Understood?”

  They nodded.

  “You two are staying here until you get her. Make your way toward Maine once you do. Keep her hidden until I tell you. I’ll be keeping a low profile until our Clan Council hearing in front of Blackestone because I fully expect them to try to locate her before the hearing.” Rodolfo waved them out.

  The men hurried to their own room. Trent said it first. “I don’t know about you,” he muttered, his voice low, “but if we fuck this up, I’m taking off to Bolivia and praying the jaguars don’t rip my throat out before I can give them every bit of info I can about him.”

  Ken nodded. “I’m with you. But he’s right, she’s a human. I remember seeing her at the wedding, too.” He didn’t hold much respect for other wolf Clans, but he wasn’t happy about the thought of an older human woman being forced to mate with Rodolfo Abernathy.

  Especially since he personally knew the fate that befell Rodolfo’s last five mates, and rumors about what happened to the ones before them.

  “Nothing about this has gone right so far,” Trent countered. “I’m just saying, don’t count your humans before they’re caught.”

  * * * *

  Walter Medved, better known as Wally to his friends, rummaged around in one of the coolers full of leftover drinks on the Lyalls’ back lanai until he found a brand of beer he didn’t object to. He carefully lowered his large, ursine shifter body into a lounge and twisted the cap off the bottle.

  Ain and Cail had asked him and a few other shifters who’d come from out of town to stay at the house in light of the latest incident involving Mai. All the guests had gone, the caterers were finishing up, and Ain and Cail were presently shifted and working the property, looking for any other signs of intruders.

  He didn’t like anything about this situation. He found the Montalvos’ presence, while not objectionable to him personally, certainly questionable. He’d spent plenty of years in various law enforcement departments and had a finely honed investigative sense.

  Until the wily jaguars decided to let the cat out of the bag, as it were, to their true motives, all he could do was sit back and wait and lend a paw when asked.

  Oscar Chaudhuri and Doug McDermott soon joined him on the lanai. “Are we ever going to get rid of those fucking Abernathys?” Oscar growled. It wasn’t hard to picture the dark-haired, mocha-skinned man being a Bengal tiger in his shifted form. Nearly seven feet tall, his amber eyes practically glowed from a fire within.

  Doug, a cougar shifter, nodded in agreement. “I think we’re in a holding pattern until after Lina gives birth.” He sipped his own beer. “What do you call baby dragons, an
yway?”

  “Trouble,” Wally joked with a rumbling laugh.

  Oscar glanced around before sitting forward and dropping his voice. “Is it just me, or is there something rotten in Denmark with those jaguars?”

  Wally arched an eyebrow at him. “Ya think?”

  “You don’t have as long a hard-on for someone the way Ortega does for Abernathy over a squabble between two youngsters. That was, what? A hundred years ago? And as far as I know, Abernathy’s son hasn’t been seen or heard from in, hell, forty years. I’ve heard at least three people who escaped their ranks swear that Rodolfo killed him with his own hands.”

  Doug nodded again. “I can believe it. And he’s right, I can’t believe there’s not more to their vendetta than that.”

  “You don’t trust them?” Wally asked.

  “No,” Doug said, “I didn’t say that. I absolutely trust them to have our backs. I trust they hate the cockatrice and Abernathy as much if not more than the rest of us do. I’d just feel a lot better knowing the full story.”

  “Ditto,” Oscar said.

  A few minutes later, the sliders from the living room opened again and the three jaguars walked onto the lanai.

  “Mind if we join you?” Ortega asked.

  Wally waved his hand at the coolers. “Help yourself. Plenty of room, and plenty of beer.”

  “Thank you.”

  Wally picked at the label on his beer bottle and waited until the three big cats were seated to spring his question on them. “You know, Ortega, I’ve spent lots of decades across two different continents doing investigations of one kind or another. And there’s something I just don’t understand.”

  The eldest jaguar brother’s eyes narrowed. “And that would be?”

  Wally nailed him with the full force of his gaze and opted for honesty. “What the hell is up with you and the Abernathys? Please respect our intelligence enough not to give us some song and dance about a hundred-year-old incident. What else happened that has you so hot on his trail?”