Sweeter Than Wine (13 page)

But then, everything had changed for her in a short span of time. Jeff’s complete loss of control had wrought repercussions he would never fully realize. Christy was still learning about her new life and her new abilities, though she was good enough now with her new skills, she didn’t fear Jeff’s physical strength anymore. She was way stronger than he’d ever be and intellectually she knew he wouldn’t be able to raise a hand against her ever again, but emotionally it was still hard for her. She couldn’t completely control her fear when the Master Vampire proposed they move on with the next step in the plan.

She had to confront Jeff for them—and even more importantly
⎯
for herself. She had to move forward with the divorce, and get her stuff. There were things in the house she wanted. Family photos and mementos from her childhood and college days. Jeff would relinquish them, she vowed, or he would regret it.

101

“Are you all right?” Sebastian stood behind her as she paused at the entry to the living room where the men were gathered. “I admire your determination, but you know, you aren’t in this alone, my love. I’ll be with you. If Jeff so much as looks at you funny, he won’t know what hit him.”

She turned and hugged him. Sebastian was her anchor, her safe haven, but more importantly, he gave her confidence she’d never had before. He complimented her shy nature and brought out the backbone Jeff had done his best to grind into the dirt.

Sebastian was good for her.

“I love you, you know.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I do. Almost as much as I love you.”

“You guys about done with the mushy stuff?” Matt’s voice came to them from the living room archway, making them laugh. He had been a good friend to them both in this crisis. Christy was a little shocked at how comfortable Matt was in their lives—especially after the way he’d been introduced to her. Christy wasn’t in the habit of confronting former lovers every time she turned around, but then, she’d only had sex with three men in her entire life. Jeff, the bastard. Matt. And Sebastian.

Two out of three wasn’t bad.
No
, she smiled as she walked into the room on Sebastian’s arm,
not bad at all.

Matt walked beside her, giving her a little tap on the butt that made her squeak. She sat on the couch between the two men. Matt hadn’t been intimate with her since the night Sebastian and she had joined fully, but he’d been around the house. She knew he was guarding her—guarding them both actually. Matt obviously cared a great deal for Sebastian. She’d sifted through some of the memories of their friendship in Sebastian’s mind and knew Matt was a very special man who’d faced his own demons. His willingness to put himself in harm’s way for his friend spoke a lot about his character.

“Hiro says you’ve made good progress.” Marc spoke as the meeting came to order.

Hiro was seated in an overstuffed chair near the windows leading to the veranda. He nodded as the focus shifted to him, and Christy felt the weight of his approval. It gave her 102

a warm sensation to know this patient, skilled man thought she’d done well under his tutelage.

“I feel good,” she agreed. “I know you want me to go see Jeff and I think I’m ready.

He’s got some things of mine in the house I want.” She twined her hand with Sebastian’s at her side, drawing strength from his solid presence.

“That’s good, and it fits well with our plans,” Marc said, motioning to a man walking in from the patio. “Ah, Mr. Hastings, what do you have for us this evening?”

The
were
detective was bare-chested, but had on a pair of jeans he must’ve had stashed in the yard.

“We’ve got taps on the phone lines and a satellite trace on Kinsey’s cell phone. If he makes the call, we’ll have a decent shot at locating the other party.” Hastings took a seat and Christy could see the lines of fatigue around his eyes. “We’ve got a positive I.D. on the second man in that photo. He’s still going by the name Mario Gonzalez, but like Steel, he’s hard to trace. Looks like he hooked up with Steel after the action in Montana, though. We were able to find no connection prior to last Yule, but after that, they show up fairly regularly together and in each sighting, there was something a little more sinister afoot.”

“Such as?” Atticus prompted the man.

Hastings sighed and sat forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. His expression was not reassuring.

“Late last December they hooked up in New Mexico. During the last week in December, a newly mated
were
wolf couple were found shot to death, execution style, with silver bullets, in their own home. A hefty bounty is still out for the murderer, but there was no trace of entry or exit and the pack scented strong, foreign magic at the crime scene.”

“That’s not good.” Matt’s face was grim.

“It gets worse. The next time I can confirm a sighting of the two men together is late March in Tampa. A week later, a family of
were
panthers were found hanging from a tree 103

in the Everglades. Mother, father, and six cubs of varying ages. Poisoned with silver and strung up to die.”

“That’s horrible!” Christy couldn’t help the shudder of horror that passed down her spine. “Who would do such a thing?”

“
Venifucus
are ruthless, ma’am,” Hastings answered, grim resignation in his eyes. “I hadn’t seen it before in my lifetime, but these murders match up to descriptions of things done in the distant past. These aren’t the only incidents.
Were
clans and tribes from around the world have reported an increase of murderous deaths in the past year when I sent out the request for information. Normally we don’t have all that much interaction, but now that the red flag’s been raised, the current Lords are going to do something about it. They’re calling a Gathering.”

“That’s going to be dangerous.” Matt looked truly upset.

Hastings nodded. “Which is why I’d like to have this matter cleared up before the leaders come together. If we can eliminate at least this one threat, perhaps we can make the Gathering that much safer.”

“When are they meeting?” Marc asked quickly, then held up a hand. “I know you won’t give me specifics, but we need a round estimate so we know what our parameters are here. And I want one of you to carry a message back to your Lords.” Marc’s stern gaze passed from Matt to Hastings and back again. “I want a meeting.
Venifucus
threaten both our people. I’d like to work with the
were
to counter that threat.” Marc laughed at the shocked looks on both
were
faces. “It’s not unprecedented. Read your histories, boys.

Elspeth was banished before only when all supernatural races worked in concert against her. I, for one, won’t wait until I’m looking into her damned eyes to form an alliance.

You tell your Lords, I’m looking to broker a deal between us for mutual cooperation and protection. The sooner we get comfortable working together, the better we’ll be able to face the coming threat.”

Sebastian nodded in agreement. “Marc’s right. This situation is a case in point.

Working together, we’ll be more of a match for whatever’s coming than if we each try to work separately. I think it’s a good idea.”

104

“All right,” Hastings said, his expression wary, “I’ll try to set up a conference call.”

“Thank you.” Marc looked relieved, if Christy was any judge. He leaned back in his chair, more at ease. “Now, what other terrible things have followed Steel and his buddy, Mario, around?”

Hastings shook himself, getting back to his report and Christy feared what he had to say by the look in his eyes. “Outside of Boston, May of this year. A week after Steel and Gonzalez were confirmed in the area, a den of vampires were staked out in the sun.

Twelve in all, mostly women and two young.”

“Good Lord!” Sebastian’s hand squeezed hers as the news hit him hard.

“And in July, after the last confirmed sighting, a very strong magical attack was made against one of your kin, Cameron.” Hastings nodded toward the back of the room where Cameron had snuck in at some point without her realizing it.

“Who?” he demanded.

“Duncan,” Hastings sighed, “but his vamp buddy, Dante d’Angleterre, was there to help and he escaped mostly unharmed. Just a bit singed from what I heard. Turns out, since the action up North with the
Were
Lords and their Lady, Dante and Duncan have been hanging around together. Good thing for your kin, in this case.”

“I last saw Dante decades ago,” Atticus mused. “I had no idea he’d hooked up with a fey.”

“Half-fey,” Cameron corrected. “Last I heard, Duncan was banished to the Isle of Nevermore for pissing off Queen Mab. Had to be some pretty powerful magic to get him into this realm.”

Hastings nodded. “The new priestess brought him here. She’s formidable, from all accounts.”

“So are you, my love.”
Sebastian’s voice sounded through her mind as his fingers squeezed hers in reassurance.

“All right. This is good to know. We need to take this threat as seriously as possible and we all might just live through it.” Marc took charge of the meeting once more. “We 105

need to catch these two. We need to know if Steel is the
Venifucus
or if Gonzalez is the infiltrator.”

“Or both,” Atticus put in dryly from the side of the room.

“Or both,” Marc agreed. “But we need to find them first. That’s where you come in, Christy. If you’re sure you’re up to it.”

Swallowing hard, Christy sat up a little straighter. “I’m up to it. I need to face Jeff and set the wheels in motion. I want a divorce and I want my stuff. It’s as simple as that.”

Sebastian folded her hand into his and held it against his chest. “Then it’s a good thing I asked my lawyer to come here tonight. She’s already started the paperwork and I want you to sit down with her and go over the particulars.” Christy was surprised, but she read the real shock on Matt’s face when Sebastian turned and spoke to him. “Would you be so kind as to let her in, Matt? I believe she’s coming through the forest as we speak.

Show her to the gold guest room. She sent her things ahead.”

“She’s a shifter?” Matt’s expression screamed curiosity, as did the expressions of some of the other men in the room. “You been holding out on me, old friend?”

“She’s a long-time associate who’s been hiding out, more or less, for the past several years. I respected her right to inform the
were
community of her presence when she was ready. It appears, that time is now.” Sebastian sighed. “She’s been my lawyer for the past five years, but I didn’t want her connected to me publicly, for her sake. So far she’s managed to live under everyone’s radar.”

Christy was curious about the woman she could now see in her lover’s mind. He felt a fondness for the girl, but it was more like fatherly interest than that of a man for a woman. She looked a bit deeper and realized Sebastian had played a large role in this woman’s life, rescuing her when her family was killed and supporting her while she finished high school, then college and eventually law school, all from behind the scenes.

She saw more about the woman in her mate’s mind and a smile spread slowly over her features. Matt was going to be in for a shock.

Matt’s head lifted and he sniffed the air, zeroing in on the big patio doors. Quickly he stood and opened the nearest one.

106

Head and tail held high, a sleek Florida panther padded daintily into the room, surprising everyone but Sebastian and Christy. The cat stood on the threshold, seeming a little skittish when faced with so many people. Matt crouched down and held out one hand towards her.

“Where’ve you been hiding, little lady?” Christy saw Matt wink, his charm coming to the rescue. “I’m Matt. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to your things.”

With a regal nod of her feline head, the cat assented and followed silently after the big man. Sebastian smiled indulgently, waving once to the cat, before turning back to Christy.

“Give her about five minutes, then go save her from Matt’s curiosity, will you?” A smile played about his handsome face. “You two should discuss the legal aspects of your divorce in private.”
“Plus,”
he added in her mind,
“as you can probably guess,
she’s shy
around other supernaturals, especially shifters. I’d rather not everyone here see her
human face so she can retain at least a little anonymity in this.”

“I understand.”
Christy leaned in to place a soft kiss on Sebastian’s cheek.
“You’re
a good man, Sebastian. Morgan is lucky to have you for a champion.”

“Morgan?”
Matt’s triumphant tone sounded through their minds. “
So that’s this
little panther’s name? Sebastian, you realize she could be under cougar clan protection,
right? She’s a related species. A cousin, more or less.”

“That’s up to her, Matt.”
Sebastian’s voice was firm.
“She’s been through a lot and
doesn’t have much trust for anyone. Not even her fellow shifters.”