Fatal Call (New Breed Novels Book 4) (10 page)

Rose couldn’t imagine she’d ever need anything again after such a welcome. She was still wiping her eyes as she went into the small kitchen with Evy.

The young female was breathtaking, with the first signs of her pregnancy just starting to show in her face, and her long, dark lustrous hair. Or maybe that’s just what a seer looked like.

“What do we need? I’ll sneak into the big pantry and find it. It’s a little hellish in there after meals.”

They heard pots and pans being abused in the big kitchen across the way and they both giggled.

“Just ginger root and some brown sugar.”

Evy smiled. “Okay. Be right back.”

The female vanished and Rose jumped. That was silly. Of course she could gleam. From what she could tell, Evy had more
k’ul
than even her mate did.

She materialized a moment or two later. “I thought it’d be safer. Is this right?”

Evy held up a few ounces of ginger root and handed it to her.

“Perfect. Now we’re going to use brown sugar, but honey works just fine, too. Whichever you prefer due to your pregnancy. I would skip the white sugar though. We all get enough of that. So, we’ll start by peeling the ginger, and then we’ll cut it into very fine slices.”

“How do you say ginger tea in Japanese?”

“You say,
Shoga yu.
”

Evy licked her lips. “
Shoga yu.
”

“Perfect.”

They were working on the cutting board when Evy suddenly turned to her and said, “You were alive during World War II?”

Rose looked up in shock. “I’m sorry?”

“Oh, my God. I’m still new to the whole Seer thing. Sometimes things just pop out.”

Rose grabbed a paper towel and sat down on a kitchen stool.

“I’m so sorry I invaded your privacy. Please, forgive me.”

Rose dabbed her eyes and tried to smile. “There’s nothing to forgive. You just startled me, that’s all.”

“I saw you as a little girl. You were sitting at a table with a newspaper on it and I saw the date. That’s all, I promise.”

“That would have been breakfast. My grandfather always read the paper. Could you see him?”

Evy shook her head.

“So, this year will be my seventy-fifth birthday.”

“Wow. You look like you’re at least half that. I was human before I became the Seer, so I’m still learning a lot about shifters.”

She picked the knife back up and continued to slice the ginger. “Well, at seventy-five I’m about middle-age.”

“No one knows how long I’ll live, or Troy either. And our offspring will be half and half. It’s the same for Maya. Nobody knows.”

“So, it’s all a bit of a mystery. Oh, that looks great, Evy. I think we have enough.” She filled the tea pot with water and put it on the stove.

Evy wiped the cutting board and nodded. “Pretty much.”

Rose suddenly exhaled. “Do all the females get nervous when their males go out on duty?”

“It’s harder at first. I don’t think we ever get totally used to it, but it gets better. And the other females here are great support. I kind of cheat, though. I read Troy’s future so I know he’ll be alright. I dunno if that’s good or bad, but I figure there have to be a few perks to this job.”

Rose laughed. “Absolutely.”

“In fact, Rose let me give you a gift to make up for what I did.”

The female suddenly looked a bit skittish. “Let me read X’s night for you. Then you won’t need to worry. I was going to read Troy’s anyway. I won’t read anything else, I promise.”

“Well, alright. I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

Evy smiled. “Let me take your hand.”

Rose laid her hand in hers and the Seer’s ring came to life. The usual heat hit the back of Evy’s eyes as she watched the night’s events move forward in rapid succession. And then images of Rose appeared again. Evy tried to break the connection, but it was too strong. Finally, she let go on a deep inhale.

“Evy, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I felt a bit claustrophobic all of a sudden. I think it’s all the heat from the main kitchen.” She smiled. “The males will be just fine tonight.”

Rose led her to the stool and helped her sit down. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

She nodded. “I’m positive.”

The kettle went off and Rose went to get it. Evy watched her as she searched for a tea pot to use. She wondered if she should mention what she’d seen. This was a big part of the female’s past. She was sure X and Rose would have talked about it, right?

“Once the hot water is in the tea pot you can add the ginger. Let it steep for ten to fifteen minutes. Then pour it and add some brown sugar to taste.”

Once the tea was ready they each sat down with a cup in the little dining room. They chatted about how things worked at the compound and where everything was. But Evy couldn’t get the vision out of her mind. Sometimes being the Seer just plain sucked.

Seth walked down the hallway at the warehouse with his usual envelope of cash in hand. He had already skimmed some off the top, of course. Hopefully, it was enough. The longer they stayed, the more rent he paid and the less cash he could stash away. Out of nowhere, his hearing picked up voices on the next floor up. That was weird. They didn’t really use it for anything. He backtracked and quietly made his way up the stairs.

“So, what the fuck are you telling me? Seth has been taking cash from the payoffs?”

Batiste. Fuck.
He froze on the top step. A voice he didn’t recognize answered.

“I am telling you precisely that. Victrixa discovered your little business and instead of destroying you, she sent me with this little tidbit of information in hopes you may trust her enough to join the fold. Be grateful, Batiste. If you had done this to me, you would be at the bottom of the Charles by now.”

“And what if I decide to decline your generous offer?”

“What do you think? Listen to me. Victrixa sees that what you have built here could be a tremendous asset. Instead of killing you and taking it, along with the rogues that are rightfully hers, she has generously offered to join forces. Now, do we need to waste any more time here?”

“No, I suppose we do not.”

“Excellent. Then you may hand me one of those cigars and we can discuss terms.”

Seth turned and bolted down the stairs. He knew immediately that he had only hours to live. He had to make it back to the apartment to get Grace. As he ran across the parking lot he gave a couple of guards a quick thumbs up just before he heard their phones go off. Aw, Christ. Make that minutes.

Pax walked next to Diesel as a Green Line train shot down the middle of the street. His instincts were telling him this was the night James would find Seth. Would he kill him? That would destroy the male. He’d rather have him pussy out. Then he could just handle it himself. James would hate him for it for any number of reasons, but better him than himself. He’d lived with that kind of self-loathing for years. He didn’t want the male condemned to that.

“Where were you again?”

Pax ran his hand through his hair. “I dunno. Nebraska maybe?”

“Well, you missed out on meeting Rose.”

“Don’t you mean the Japanese?”

“The Japanese was just a perk. But now that you mention it, we did get these little ice cream dessert things called mochi. Man, we gotta find out where in town Geoffrey found those.”

Pax put his hands in the pockets of his leather coat.
Ah, Dies and his food.
Some things never change.
“Probably Trader Joe’s. You know how Geoffrey loves the hell outta that place.”

“Hey, why are we here anyway?”

“What, like we never patrol Allston?”

“Come on, Pax. It’s not on the schedule for days. Hold up. Are we here to check up on James?”

“Correction. I’m here to check up on James. I think he’s got a lead on Seth.”

“You’re gonna do it alone?”

“Sorry, partner, but unless you have a new power I don’t know about.”

Diesel spit out his gum. “You’re going in cloaked.”

“I can’t get close enough any other way. X and Troy are in Roxbury. There’s a den they wanna check out and they could use the extra hand. We Gucci?”

“Yeah, we’re good. I’ll see you at home. Be careful, my brother.”

Diesel gleamed out and Pax hung a right. Man, that run did him good. His head hadn’t been this clear or focused in weeks. He started up the hill and noticed a woman unloading groceries from her car. Then he passed some local guy walking his dog. Thank fuck. He had yet to use a female body and he wasn’t sure he was looking forward to it. He waited until he passed him, then took on his form. He heard the sound of snow crackling under boots and his senses picked up on a rogue seconds later. He put his back to the side of a house and sat tight. Finally, the rogue came into view, and if he wasn’t mistaken, the motherfucker matched Troy’s description perfectly. He didn’t dare get any closer, so he stayed one building down and watched Seth cut between two houses while he watched for James.

James materialized a few feet behind Seth. His old friend sensed him, but not quickly enough. He started to turn around, but James pulled the rogue’s arms behind his back and slammed him into the siding.

Seth was able to turn his face just enough to see him. “James. Fuck. What the hell are you doing, man?”

“You knew I couldn’t let you keep killing. It was just a matter of time before I’d find you.”

“Look, man, you gotta let me go. Batiste is after me and I need to get a friend to safety before he finds me.”

“Friend, huh? Blond hair and big blue eyes by any chance?”

Seth railed back against him, but James kept him subdued. “What did you do to her? If you as much as touch Grace, I’ll fucking end you. She’s a good girl. She hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“I hate to break this to you, but your good girl is a bit more of a spaz than you thought. She’s been leaving bodies all over town.”

He could see the shock on Seth’s face. What d’ya know. He’d really had no idea.

“No. No way. Not Grace. Please just let me get her out of there. Please, James. Then you can do whatever you want with me.”

James didn’t bother to tell his old friend that he’d killed her not twenty minutes before while she was draining her latest meal of
k’ul
. He shook his head. “I can’t do that, Seth. You aren’t the ones we protect.”

The look on the rogue’s face changed and, for a moment, it was as if James was looking at his old friend again. All at once it came to him. Fear. It had softened the hardness of Seth’s features, humanizing him. But if he pushed past it he could still see the dead look in the rogue’s eyes. The eyes of the bastard who had kidnapped and stabbed Evy. He owed this to Troy who had stepped aside to give him this chance. He would not falter. He slid his knife from its sheath.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said quietly.

He gripped the hilt of his long knife and ran it through Seth’s neck. The headless body he held turned to sand in his hand and fell through his fingers. He squatted next to the pillar on the ground, closed his eyes, and said a quiet prayer to the Goddess. Then he gleamed out.

Pax watched as James left the scene. He followed him back to the compound and materialized in the main foyer. He picked up on SE and Richard in the pool room and poked his head in. “Have either of you seen James?”

“Nope,” Richard answered.

Suddenly, the lights started to flicker. There was an odd buzzing sound before the whole floor went dark, then came back on.

SE looked around. “What the…?”

Then, out of nowhere, the wide screen bit it. Hard.

James.
Pax half ran, half gleamed up the staircase to the brother’s door. He could sense him, but his energy was way off. He gleamed inside, his eyes adjusting instantly. There was a slight flicker of green in the far corner just as his hearing picked up on rapid breathing. He moved in that direction and knelt down in front of the brother. He was shaking, his whole body convulsing, his head tucked under his hands like there were shells going off.

“James.”

“What have I done? What have I done?”

Pax leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him, bracing him against each quake. The male’s face was wet against his neck and he reached down and wiped his tears.

James grabbed the sides of his head, clawing at his skin. “Make it stop.”

“Shhh.” Pax took him by the wrists and brought him to his chest.

Another tremor rocked his body as he held on to Pax for dear life. “Oh, God.”

He wasn’t sure how long it went on. Over and over they racked his body for what seemed like hours. He must have finally drifted off because he awoke to find them on the bed, his head on Pax’s lap. It was still dark outside. The male was propped up against the headboard, his hand in James’s hair, methodically pulling the sticky styling crap off the ends. His eyes were closed and James stayed quiet, not wanting to ruin it. Other than when they sparred, the two of them rarely ever shared this kind of physical space. In the intimacy of the moment, James forgot himself and reached up to touch the male’s face. A hand touched his and he regretted what he’d done immediately—prepared for what would most certainly be more rejection. But Pax didn’t push it away. James sat partway up and looked into his
camzah’s
soft brown eyes.

“James.” Pax whispered as his lips brushed lightly along James’s jaw, his temple, his cheek.

Please,
he prayed.

Then it happened. At last, Pax captured his mouth with his soft, full lips, the sweetness of the male’s taste mixing with the salt from his own dried tears.
Oh, God.
He’d wanted this for so long, imagined what it might be like over and over. And right now he needed the connection so badly he ached. For a moment, Pax pulled back and looked into his face, golden eyes ablaze, so he knew when the next kiss came it wasn’t going to be anything like the first.

And that was so fine by him.

Pax took him firmly by the sides of his neck and kissed him with hot desperation. As the big male took command, James’s whole body woke up, his cock jumping like it was volunteering to be next in line.

When their tongues met, James accidentally shocked Pax slightly with his piercing. It was totally unintentional and he felt his face flush. But when the sound of Pax’s moan hit his ears, he did it again—this time with more power behind it. The brother growled against his mouth and in moments, James’s T-shirt was on its way over his head. The heat of Pax’s mouth seared his skin as the male pressed his lips to his neck and chest. James started to work the buttons on the guy’s shirt, but he was too distracted to undo the damn things. The brother took hold of the material and popped them straight down the front before pushing his powerful torso forward so that their bare chests collided. James ran his hands along the soft skin covering the warrior’s sleek muscles. What started out as a few gentle kisses turned into a rush to touch and taste. Their kisses were frantic, put off for far too long. So many feelings had been ignored, so many impulses suppressed. Alone together in the darkness of his room, they couldn’t hold back.

Without warning, Pax took him by the shoulders and flipped him on his back, his legs sprawled in his black leather pants. The male dropped kisses on his abs, before putting his legs together and pulling the leathers straight off.

Pax’s eyes latched on to his sex with a glow that looked like they could replace Boston’s entire power grid single-handedly.

“That’s what I want,” he drawled. And damn if the male didn’t lick his lips before he slipped his hands under James’s ass and pulled him forward, opening and taking him all the way into that warm, wet mouth.

“Fuck,” James bit out, his hips jutting right off the bed. He was going to come. He slid slightly sideways, not sure exactly what the procedure was. But Pax wasn’t having any of that. He put his hand on James’s pelvis, locking him into place. James shouted, finishing instantly, his eyes heavy lidded as he watched Pax take wave after wave of him down his throat. All the while those golden eyes were looking straight into his. When Pax had pretty much sucked him dry, and maybe even taken a few brain cells along the way, he moved up alongside him. His
camzah
leaned over him and kissed him long and slow with a softness and reverence James could never have imagined existed. Pax let himself collapse on top of him and they erupted into a fit of giggles.

Ana stood outside Troy and Evy’s room and was just about to knock when she sensed her friend wasn’t alone.
Ah, Rose. Right.
X was on his first duty since being mated. Maybe she should come back later. Thing was, it had taken her all day to work up the courage to ask Evy for help in the first place. She sighed and rapped on the door lightly.

“Come in, Ana,” Evy called.

She walked in and smiled when she realized what the females were doing. Evy was working on folding what looked like an origami wolf while they looked at a diagram on her laptop.

The Seer looked up and smiled. “I found you a pattern for an eagle.”

Evy had known she was coming. Well, of course she did. She and Evy had become close and the female was so down to earth that it could be all too easy to forget who she was—basically, the most powerful being Ana knew other than the Goddess, herself. “Thanks.”

She looked at Rose’s cheetah. “That’s really amazing.”

“Thanks. I’ve been doing it since I was a girl. It just takes practice.” Rose smiled. “I think I’ll leave you ladies to chat. I’m going to head downstairs and finish unpacking before the males get back. Thanks so much for tonight, Evy.”

“Oh, of course. And thank you. I can’t believe how much the tea helps. It’s like a miracle. Oh! And you’re coming to lunch, right?”

“Definitely.” Rose handed Evy a handful of paper. “You can keep this to practice with. I have plenty.”

Evy walked her out, then turned to her friend. “What’s wrong?”

“How do you know something’s wrong? Is that some kind of Seer shit?”

“No, silly. It’s some kind of best friend shit. What’s up?”

“Well, I’ve been having this recurring dream for a really long time. Maybe for years, even. All that time I was never able to see the end until just recently and I wondered if maybe you could see more.”

“Why not ask Richard to read your thoughts?” Evy looked at her appraisingly for a moment and cocked an eyebrow. “Uh-huh. You don’t want him to know about it.”

“Not now. At least not until I’ve figured out what’s going on.”

“Okay. So what’s the dream about?”

“I think I’m about nine years old. I’m walking through the house and catch my psychotic bitch of a mother talking with someone. A male. Then the two of them disappear together.”

“Disappear? As in gleam? I didn’t think Victrixa had that kind of power.”

“She doesn’t. That’s one of the reasons I think the male might be important.”

Her friend sat on the bed, crossed her legs, and patted the duvet in front of her. “Okay, well, let’s see if we can identify Mr. Mysterious.”

Ana sat down in front of her and Evy took her hands. She closed her eyes and tried her best to relax. It was a good thing the Seer did all the work. She was too nervous to even begin to concentrate.

A few moments went by and already Ana was getting antsy. She was so tense. When she was inducted into the Order and mated to Soaring Eagle, she felt like for the first time in her life she knew who she was and where she belonged. But after the whole
nagual
thing. She opened one eye and peeked out. The female’s eyes were glowing their usual pearlescent color. After another moment, her big brown’s returned.

“Did you see anything?”

“Not much. But dreams are harder to access because they’re not really real. But it’s possible this dream is really a memory, right?”

Ana nodded.

“Okay, let me try this another way. I’m going to go back to that time in your life and look for the actual event. I know this is hard for you. I’ll try to be quick.”

Evy took Ana’s hands once again and began to probe through the events of her past. Some were far less than pleasant, but she was very quickly learning to keep a lid on her emotions. Otherwise, the whole Seer gig was going to drive her white ass crazy.

Finally, she was watching Ana walk down a dim hallway. She could hear voices. One was a male, so she stuck with it. She called to her mother, but she didn’t answer. She pushed open the door and Evy saw a flash of Victrixa standing with a male. As they vanished, the Seer pushed deeper and followed them as they traveled. And then she was back in the present, looking at the back of a tall, black-haired being. He was standing in some kind of cavernous room. He wasn’t a shifter, she realized. Well, that explained the travel question.

Without warning, he turned around and a blinding white light appeared in front of his face. “No!” His strange inhuman voice echoed through the chamber. “Do not see me!”

He summoned energy to his hands and sent it careening toward her, but Evy was faster. She held up her hand and blocked the energy with her palm.
How the hell…?
As she looked at the white light, the heat behind her eyes became unbearable and she suddenly felt herself thrust backward. She screamed as she slammed into the wall next to the window in their room. She groaned as she tried to move.

Ana ran to her side. “Evy!”

“People really need to stop doing that,” she barked.

Rose put the last of her sweaters in the closet and looked at the clock. It was already one thirty and Xavier had promised to be home by two. She was exhausted. She attributed it to a week in which she’d been attacked, mated, unemployed, and relocated. She grinned. She was seventy-five, after all. She decided to brush her teeth and change into a tank top and boxers. Then she stood looking at the bed. Deep down inside her somewhere, she still couldn’t believe this was their bed—their mating bed. There had been a time when she was younger and had hoped against hope this might happen. Over time she had gotten used to the way her life was. She was proud of all she had accomplished as a female, and an Asian female especially. But as she slipped under the duvet and let Xavier’s scent seep all the way to her marrow, all she wanted to be was his female.

Just a few moments later, Rose heard the door unlock. Xavier came in and noticed she was awake.

“Hey, female. You didn’t need to wait up.”

“That’s okay. I wanted to.”

He kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right in. I just need to take a quick shower.”

Rose picked up on her male’s scent. It was mixed with the smell of sweat and blood. Her head flashed back to when Xavier saved her the night they were mated. He was a hero. A warrior. He couldn’t get back to their bed fast enough as far as she was concerned. She waited while he went into the closet and listened to the various clicks and clocks of his weapons as he disarmed. The bathroom was his next stop. A five minute shower later and she felt her mate’s side of the bed compress. His arms came around her and he gently spooned her from behind. He smelled like her Asience shampoo. She smiled. It was really for Asian hair, but he liked the scent. He wore his hair trimmed short anyway, so it hardly mattered. She turned her face to his and kissed him softly. If he was tired, she didn’t want to keep him from sleep.

But he was far from tired, as it turned out. She grinned as he slipped her tank top up and ran those sexy lips of his across her stomach. She could have been a hundred and seventy-five and she’d still want him inside of her.
Now.

Evy let Ana help her over to the bed and the female propped some pillows behind her back. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Okay? What the hell happened?” They heard Troy ask.

“I don’t know. She was reading my past and then she was across the room.”

“It’s okay, really. I’m fine, people.”

Troy sat down on the edge of the bed. “Ev, are you—”

She put her hand to his cheek. “We’re both fine, my male.”

He put his hand on her stomach. “Thank the Goddess.”

She looked up at Ana and raised a brow. “You, on the other hand, have got a mother who’s playing with far bigger things than WMDs, missy.”

Ana’s big, green eyes popped.

“That guy, the one you saw Victrixa with? That actually happened. And he’s no shifter, either,” Evy said.

“Holy shit. Then what was he?”

“You saw me fly across the room. Do you really have to ask?” Evy answered testily.

“God, I’ve gotta find SE. Thanks for the help, Evy. You’re the best.”

“Yeah, yeah.” When the female was gone, Evy turned to her mate. He was still sitting on the bed and he looked totally stressed. Shit. How was she going to tell him about what happened? Especially since she wasn’t sure exactly what that was. Oh, who was she kidding? “Something happened in that vision, my male.”

“Other than you being thrown across the room?”

She put her hand on his thigh. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re safe.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry, babe.”

Fucking protective instinct. It was so hard to see him like this. She thought about the stories of Adriana’s kidnapping and what Richard had been like during the whole thing. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I know. The thing is, the male Ana wanted to know about from her past knew I was watching him. That’s only happened one other time, with the Goddess, herself. He tried to attack me during the vision, my male.”