Light My Fire (16 page)

“God, and I thought you were just being weird.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, sweetness.”

Ignoring Jace’s quip, she paced in front of the desk, shaking her head. “If you’re right about the vandalism being targeted more at you than me, that’d mean someone out there actually knows what the two of you are.”

“Yes.”

She met the resignation in Aiden’s eyes and frowned. “But how? It’s not like anyone can tell by looking at you.”

“More than likely the hunters are keeping a database of suspected Drakoni.” Aiden grunted before sliding a glance toward his brother. “It’d certainly make it easier for them to keep track of us.”

“Goddamn pains-in-the-ass,” Jace said with a growl. “They need to get a life.”

She stared at Aiden and Jace, her mind whirling. It’d never occurred to her that they were walking targets just because of their DNA. Now that she knew, it made her oddly scared for them. She couldn’t imagine going through life constantly on the lookout for some moron potentially putting a bullet in her.

Aiden cleared his throat, breaking her from her worried thoughts. She noticed the identical expressions of concern he and Jace shared.

“Dana, we’re not going to let anything happen to you.” Aiden’s tone held fierce promise.

It took a moment to realize he’d misinterpreted the source of her anxiety. It wasn’t her life she was stressing over—for once. It was his. But how could she tell him that without revealing her feelings? Feelings she couldn’t explain much less understand.

Averting her gaze, she nodded. The sense of hopelessness remained, but she chose to direct her frustration at the true idiots responsible—the hunters. If she ever crossed paths with one of the sons of bitches she’d give them a piece of her mind. And the toe of her pointiest boot up their ass.

Chapter Seventeen

An impatient rap on the bathroom door interrupted Aiden’s shower. Ducking his head around the curtain, he bellowed, “What?” to be heard over the running water.

“Dude, hurry up. I’ve gotta go.”

Growling, he did a perfunctory rinse to remove the suds and flicked off the faucet. He yanked the towel hanging from the shower rod and secured it around his waist before bundling his clean clothes under his arm. Stepping from the bathroom, he exchanged places with Jace. The door shut and locked, followed by the unmistakable sound of the shower starting up.

“You lying sack of shit.” Grumbling, he stalked down the hallway and nearly collided with Dana as she left the kitchen.

She stared intently at his chest for a moment before looking away. He didn’t miss the vivid flush creeping up her neck or the way her nipples hardened against her silky purple top.

“There’s, uh, coffee ready if you’re interested.”

“Thanks. I’ll come back in and get some after I get dressed.” He scratched his left pectoral and Dana’s focus returned to his chest. She licked her lips before scooting past him.

Rather than torturing himself further by continuing to stand in her hallway with a raging hard-on, he abandoned the house for the tent. He quickly dressed and sat on the edge of the air mattress to pull on his socks and shoes. The tent flap rustling announced Jace’s return.

“Enjoy your stolen shower, ass—” Aiden broke off when Dana sidled into the tent.

“Is this a bad time?”

“No. Come in.” He stood and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Wow, it’s pretty spacious in here.”

“Sorry it’s such a mess.” He gave the small mountain of dirty clothes a guilty glance.

“Would you like me to throw those in the wash?”

He jerked his head around. “No.”

Her mouth crooked in a grin. “Honestly, my laundress skills are better than my cooking skills. Besides, I was planning to throw a load in before leaving for work. I’ll just add yours to it.”

Before he could reply she swiveled and ducked past the flap. She returned less than thirty seconds later with a white laundry basket.

“Really, I don’t want you to feel like you have to—”

“Don’t worry.” She plunked the basket on the edge of the air mattress. “Accepting my offer to wash your stuff doesn’t automatically make you a slave-driving jerk.”

“Err…”

Her laugh floated around him, sweet and intoxicating. Just the sound of it made his heart do a funny little flip-flop. She brushed her hair behind her ear before reaching out and squeezing his arm. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist teasing you.”

Giving into his overwhelming need to touch her, he curled his fingers over the delicate hand resting on his biceps. He nuzzled her forehead. “You can tease me all you want, sweetheart.”

Dana pulled back slightly. Her free hand crept between them and wrapped in the front of his shirt, startling him. With a persuasive tug, she coaxed him closer and nibbled on his bottom lip. His breath lodged in his throat. He was almost afraid to move for fear of her putting a halt on her unexpected but very welcome kiss.

Her lips rubbed over his before parting. Heart thundering, he waited for her next move. It took every ounce of control he possessed not to let his beast exert its dominance. This might be his only chance to prove to Dana that their relationship could be one of equality. Hell, he’d happily relinquish control to her now and then. Particularly if she was in a frisky mood like this. Her tongue ventured inside his mouth, and after the briefest hesitation, slicked over his in open invitation.

Jesus, how could he resist?

Groaning, he cupped her face and kissed her back with all the hunger pent up inside him. Her arms wrapped around his torso, hugging him tight, almost as if she didn’t want to ever let him go. The idea was fanciful, but he wished with all his being that it held some truth.

His cell phone went off, making Dana jump. She jerked her gaze toward his duffle bag, where his phone was buzzing impatiently. Her hands fell away. “You should probably get that.”

“If it’s important, they’ll leave a message.” He bent to kiss her again, but she took a step back and smoothed her hair nervously. Judging from her guarded expression, her mood had shifted from wanting to devour him alive to wanting to run out of the tent as fast as possible.

He was going to kill that damn caller.

Stalking to his phone, he flipped it open and growled into the receiver.

“Sheesh, Fortune, wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”

Claudia. Didn’t that figure? Only it didn’t make any sense, seeing how she didn’t know his cell number. Or so he’d assumed. “How the hell did you get this number?”

“I have my sources.”

The sound of rustling drew his attention to the far side of the tent. Dana was frantically tossing his and Jace’s clothes into the laundry basket. She glanced up and caught him watching her. Giving him a wavering smile, she balanced the overflowing basket on her hip and dashed through the tent flap.

A tapping noise came through the receiver. “Hello? Anyone there?”

Yeah, he was most definitely going to strangle Claudia. “What do you want, Knoxville?”

“Well, I had some interesting news to share, but since you’re such a cranky prick, guess I’ll keep it to myself.”

His grip vised tighter around the cell phone. “Spit it out.”

“Jeez, no wonder your little sacrifice is falling at your feet. You’re such a charming bastard. Meet me in an hour at Twelve Mile and Main. There’s a divey hotel on the corner. Pull into their parking lot.”

“Damn it, Claudia, what is—” A click followed by dead air interrupted his demand. Glaring at the display on his phone, he flipped the cover shut and shoved the cell in his pocket. He was half tempted not to humor Claudia’s mysterious request, but if it had anything to do with Kinnit and the disappearance of Tucker, he couldn’t afford to blow her off.

Abandoning the tent, he took the stairs up to Dana’s front door and entered the house. A quick glance down the hallway confirmed that Jace was still occupied in the bathroom. Aiden stepped into the kitchen and followed the sound of splashing water. He discovered a small utility room tucked on the other side of the pantry. Dana stood in front of the washer, measuring soap. He coughed loudly to be heard over the dispensing water and Dana’s arm jerked, dropping the cap of soap into the filling tub. She stared at him accusingly over her shoulder and he grimaced.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” He maneuvered next to her and reached into the washing machine for the cap bobbing amongst the suds. Shaking the piece of plastic off, he settled it on the ledge near the dials. “I have to run an errand. Shouldn’t take me more than a few hours.” If Claudia wasn’t sending him on a wild-goose chase. “Have Jace drive you in to work. I’ll meet you both at the gallery when I’m done. In the meantime, do you need me to pick anything up for you while I’m out?”

She gaped at him, provoking him into a frown.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. That just sounded like something a husb—” Her lips snapped shut and rolled together in a firmly sealed line. He suspected it’d take a jackhammer to pry the remainder of the word from her. Not that it mattered. He knew what she’d been about to say.

And it gave him hope.

Struggling to contain his grin, he ducked his head and kissed her, his tongue taking a far-too-brief foray past those stubbornly fused lips. He retreated and her breathy sigh feathered against his mouth. Smoothing a finger over her flushed cheek, he rubbed noses with her, his skin warming with a delicious tingle. Yep, he was definitely going to have to try that while in form sometime. “I won’t be long.”

“Yeah, you already mentioned that.”

His grin slipped free this time at her surly tone. “Don’t miss me too much while I’m gone.”

“Vain, arrogant
and
delusional.”

He laughed. “Naming all my best traits?”

Her smile was too sweet to be believed. Chuckling, he strode from the room.

Finding the fleabag motel on Twelve Mile and Main proved easy enough. Determining where the hell Claudia was lurking was a whole other matter. His molars in danger of being ground to dust, Aiden dug in his pocket for his cell. Scrolling through his recent calls, he hit redial on the top number.

Claudia picked up on the second ring. “You’re five minutes early.”

Christ
. “Tough shit. I’m giving you exactly two minutes to get your ass over here before I leave.”

He could practically hear Claudia roll her eyes.

“Relax, I’m just grabbing an iced latte from the coffee joint across the street. I’ll be right there.”

Releasing his seat belt, he propped open the door and climbed out, barely getting a beady-eyed glance from the family of gulls busy squabbling over a discarded carton of French fries. The biggest of the birds bullied its way into the center of the throng and absconded with the entire carton. The steady clomp of boot heels striking the asphalt made Aiden pivot. Claudia was walking toward him, sucking on the straw protruding from the plastic cup in her hand.

She stalled and took one last noisy sip before lowering her drink. “Follow me.”

He glowered at her. “I’m not going anywhere until you explain what I’m doing here.”

Her thumb jutted in the direction of the motel. “Morgan Kinnit has a room in that shithole.”

A surge of adrenaline kicking through his veins, he swung his focus to the dilapidated two-story building across from them. “Why the hell would Kinnit’s son be in Michigan, staying in that dump?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. But I suspect he’s here for the same reason as you. Or should I say for the same
person
as you.”

Dana
. Fury boiled inside him. No doubt Thomas and his devil spawn saw Dana as their best chance to strip him of his alpha ranking. “Take me to him.”

Claudia arched her brows at his thunderous growl. One corner of her mouth lifted in a cockeyed smile. “Hoo boy, this is gonna be fun.” Whistling, she plopped her unfinished latte on the hood of the Navigator and strolled across the parking lot. He followed after her, his muscles bunched and ready for confrontation and one hell of an ass-kicking he planned to deliver.

Up close, the motel appeared even seedier, and plenty creepy. It didn’t take a stretch of the imagination to visualize Norman Bates jumping from one of the shadowed doorways, wearing a granny wig and wielding a bloodstained knife. Claudia trotted up the rickety metal stairway to the second level and stopped outside room 108. He pulled up beside her and she held a finger to her lips. Shoving back the cuff of her leather jacket, she shifted her hand into a talon and inserted one curved claw tip into the lock. She looked up and caught his frown. “What, you think you’re the only one skilled in this trick?”

He gaped at her, trying to figure out how the hell she’d seen him sneak into the gallery. Shit, he wouldn’t put it past her if she’d been spying on him from inside the dumpster.

Claudia swung the door open and stormed inside the small, dingy room. She ground to a halt and he almost collided with her. Grabbing the back of her jacket, he narrowly saved her from pitching face first into the threadbare carpet.

“Motherfucker!” Claudia stomped her foot and tried to yank out of his grip.

Releasing the leather bunched in his fist, he scanned the room, prepared to pounce on Morgan—soon as the son of a bitch showed his coward face.

“Bastard flew the coop.”

He granted Claudia a narrowing of his eyes. “Assuming he was here in the first place.”

“Damn it, Fortune. Do you think I called you out here because I wanted to dick around with you? The asshole must have spotted me outside and took off while I was in the coffee joint.” Grumbling beneath her breath, she plowed her neon purple nails through her hair. “Who knew Morgan had enough brain cells to put two and two together.”

Her irritable statement snagged his full attention. “Two and two? Why do I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me?”

Claudia’s features morphed into a mask of feigned innocence. “What do you mean?”

He backtracked to the door. Shutting it firmly, he leaned against the flimsy slab of wood and crossed his arms in front of him.

Shoulders slumping, Claudia lost the fake guileless expression. “I lured Morgan here, okay? Not that it does a damn bit of good now.”

Dropping his arms, he stalked toward her. “How, exactly, did you manage that?”

She started to sit on the mattress but apparently thought better of it. Wrinkling her nose at the stained bedspread, she perched on the edge of the nightstand. “I hacked into Tucker’s email account.” She met his incredulous stare and shrugged. “Can I help it that my brother has the easiest cracked password of all time? Like I told you, I’m desperate. And my snooping paid off this time.”

“What did you find out?”

“For starters, I was right about Kinnit using his blackmail tactics to coerce Tucker into taking care of Kinnit’s dirty business. In this case, it required my brother kidnapping your little sacrifice.”