Twice Cursed (47 page)

“
I picked up your scent up
top. Has Edward changed location?”

“
No. He blindfolded me,
then led me around. Said it was for my own protection. He thinks
I’m his daughter.”

“
What?”

“
Yeah. The crazy bastard.
Somewhere in all this he crossed that line between genius and
insanity, so don’t underestimate him. I’ll tell you all about it
later, right now just get me the hell out of here.”

“
I’m coming. Hang
tight.”

“
Yeah, yeah…The last time
you said that, I ended up half hogtied in an old barn!”

“
I love you,
Lily.”

“
Kiss, Kiss…I love you,
too.”

Jack looked at Sean, his eyes
suspicious despite the hopeful trill in his voice. “What? Did you
reach her?”

Sean shook his head. “Nope. Not a
peep.”

Confusion washed over Jack’s face, and
he coughed tilting his head away. “Do you want me to
try?”

Sean shrugged. “Be my guest. It’s
gotta be me. I’m just too tense for telepathy right
now.”

Jack squinted, staring off into space.
Sean knew he was bluffing; the only way he could possibly reach
Lily was through the common Were path since she didn’t have access
to the Hunter’s pathway.

“
Anything?” Sean asked,
trying to sound hopeful.

“
Yeah,” Jack nodded. “Not
much though. I think you’re right. You are too tense, but the
frequency seems jammed down here. I have a definite trace. Follow
me.”

Jack led him through a long tunnel to
a back stairwell, and then up one level. The temperature evened
out, so they must have surfaced somewhere on the property. Pausing
by the inside door, Jack hesitated. “Do you want to try Lily again?
The trace I’m following is starting to peter out.”

Sean shook his head. “No I’ve been
trying all along, and still nothing. Let’s just go with what we’ve
got.”

“
Lily, get to Stephanie.
Tell her to tell Mitch to hurry. I’m almost to you.”

“
Okay. I’m in one of the
hospital rooms overlooking the woods. Careful, there’s a barbed
wire fence around the place.”

“
I think we’re coming in
via the underground. Get something you can swing, because you might
need it once I go for Jack’s throat. Parr is a ’puss in suits’ so
you won’t have to worry about him—but our vampire friends will most
likely prefer him intact, if you get my drift, so it would be nice
if he didn’t get away.”

“
Loud and
clear.”

Jack shoved at Sean’s shoulder. “Come
on, we’re close. I picked up her trace again.”

“
Good. Just a little
farther, right?”

“
Yeah. Whew…her scent.
Can’t you smell it? Even with what she’s been through, she still
smells amazing.”

“
That she is.”

They walked at a fast clip down the
hall. Sean quietly unclipped Lily’s 9mm from behind his back and
palmed it at his side. He’d never felt the need to carry a firearm
before, leaving that strictly up to her, but in this situation it
felt justified.

“
Sean!” Martinez called in
a harsh whisper from the entrance to the hallway.

“
What are you doing here?”
Sean said, shock and annoyance dripping from his voice. “Who sent
you?” Immediately suspicious, his hand closed over the gun’s
safety, ready to hit the release if necessary.

“
Mitch sent me. I got to
the Compound and he knew exactly who I was. I guess you must have
filled him in pretty well. I had my Harley, so I made it here
before everyone else. They’re on their way.” He gave Sean a
sheepish smile. “This Were shit is pretty cool, now that I’m
learning how to work it.”

“
Glad you’re here,
considering,” he whispered, flashing a conspiratorial
smile.

Martinez sniffed the air. “Hey, Lily’s
close. I can smell her,” he said, obviously proud of
himself.

Jack stalked back up the hall. “Yeah,
no shit dickhead. We don’t need you here, cop. So just scurry on
back to your hole in the city. You’ve been a Were for what, two
days? Take a hike before you get yourself hurt,” Jack sniped.
“Sean, we need to move before Parr alerts his men that we’ve
infiltrated.”

Martinez snorted. “Oh, please. Don’t
use words you don’t understand. In case you haven’t noticed, smart
ass, there’s no one around, which means it’s a trap and you’re
going to need all the manpower you can get.”

Jack gave Martinez a hard glare, then
turned on his heel. Sean winked at Ryan, clapping him on the arm
for playing along. “Let’s go get our girl.”

The three of them stopped outside the
last door. The plaque on the outside frame said ‘Recovery Suite’.
Sean backed up to kick the door wide, when at that moment, Parr
pulled it open.

“
We’ve been expecting you,”
he said. “Haven’t we my dear?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder
to Lily.

Sean’s eyes tracked Parr’s, and it was
all he could do not to charge into the room, but he wasn’t going to
put Lily in any more danger, not knowing what was waiting for him
inside.

Jack walked in like he owned the
place, all pretense of helping Sean fading with each step. Sean
surreptitiously stuck the gun back in its holster, while Martinez
walked in ahead of him.

Lily’s eyes widened when she saw Ryan.
She glanced at Sean, and shook her head almost imperceptibly, alarm
rising in her scent.

It’s okay, Ryan’s in on
it. He’s backup.

When her expression didn’t change Parr
picked up on the little exchange. “And who is this, my pet?” he
asked Lily, circling Ryan like he was an oddity. He sniffed the
detective, and his eyes widened. “A Were Cougar! How delightful!
And obviously a friend of yours…oh, don’t you see my darling, its
fate.” He beamed at her, clasping Ryan on the shoulder.

With a too wide smile, he leaned his
head toward Ryan. “You’ll have to forgive us, my friend, but there
is still a little business I must take care of before my darling
daughter can make the proper introductions.”

“
Daughter?” Jack replied.
“Wait a minute, Edward. You never said anything about Lily being
your daughter. And what about your promise? You said she was mine
after we got rid of Sean.”

Sean snarled, every muscle bulging
with restrained anger, but the guttural noise that came from Edward
was even more alarming.

Parr’s expression turned ugly. “You
aren’t fit to lick her paws. I destroyed any claim you had on her,
and that goes for you too, dog,” he said, looking down his nose at
Sean. “Lily is as much a Werecat now, as she was the day she was
born. She just needs a little help finding her genetic way, and
that’s where I come in.”

Gripping Ryan’s shoulder even tighter,
Parr grinned at Lily. “Now that you’ve found yourself a proper
playmate, I see no further use for either of them.” Parr let go of
Ryan, and sipping his wine, waved them all off
imperiously.

Ryan raised one eyebrow at Lily, then
slid a sideways glance at Sean for help.

“
Playmate!” Jack shouted at
Parr. “Are you for real?” Glaring, he turned toward Ryan. “You
fucking pig cop. You waltz in here and ruin weeks of planning!
She’s mine!”

“
Watch out!” Lily called,
jumping up from the side of the bed, but it was too
late.

Sean lunged for Jack, his eyes yellow
and his muscles rippling beneath his skin. Jack pivoted away and
grabbed Ryan by the shoulders, tossing him into the window. The
cop’s head snapped back against the thick tempered glass. He was
out cold, his head slumping over onto to his shoulder. Lily ran to
the hospital tray for a wad of tissues to clean some of the blood
trickling from his forehead to his face.

Jack planted himself in front of Lily,
his arms folded across his chest, his face a picture of smug
satisfaction. “Looks like your daughter’s new playmate can’t keep
up with a real Were. Maybe you’d better think twice about your
choices for your little girl, Edward.”

“
Sean growled. You’re a
coward Jack. You think I’m a pussy because I won’t put Lily in
danger. But at least I don’t hide behind a woman’s skirts, or a
woman’s proximity. You’re a dead man once I get my hands on you. At
least Edward can plead insanity. You knowingly set up your friends
and loved ones, people who trusted you. You’re a disgrace, and it
will be a pleasure to rip your heart out.”

Lily’s eyes were like daggers as she
stared Jack down, as well. “That’s if I don’t get to him
first.”

Sean wasn’t one for idle threats and
Jack’s eyes narrowed. He laughed it off, though, turning his
attention to Lily. “Don’t be too sure, sweetheart. “I’ve always
admired your fire, Lily,” he said, moving closer to where she stood
between the bed and the window. “And when daddy dearest gives you
to me, we’re going to strike quite a match together.”

Sean growled, but bit back on his urge
to kill. The man was just too close to Lily, and he had no doubt
Jack would use her in a heartbeat to protect himself. Lily was
smart and skilled, but a threatened wolf at full strength would be
no match for her.

“
Ryan, are you all right?
Can you hear me?” she asked, ignoring Jack and squatting down next
to Ryan’s unmoving body, watching his eyes twitch behind closed
lids. “He’s probably going to need stitches, thank you very much,
and of course I’m the one who’s going to have to answer for this.”
Carefully, she lifted his hair away from his forehead, surprised to
find the wound was almost completely healed.

“
Dearest, it’s not your
fault you’re so desirable that men fight over you. You take after
me,” Edward said with a laugh.

Lily’s eyes narrowed, as she drew
herself up to standing. “Listen to me you half crazed fuck, I am
not your daughter! Teresa did get away from you, and she did give
birth to your children, but she died in childbirth. I know, because
I saw it. Your daughter was my friend, Terry, the one that Jerard
killed. I saw everything the day I helped her adopted mother clean
out her attic. I held Terry’s baby blanket, the one they took from
the hospital the day she was born. “YOU killed your own daughter,
by starting this whole crazy mess. Your biological weapon is at the
root of why your child is dead. As to her twin—he’s lying right
there unconscious. Ryan is Terry’s twin brother, and he knows you
for the power hungry madman that you are. Your dream of a dynasty
is over Edward, face it.”

Parr’s face contorted, and his mouth
opened wide. Large canines, as thick as a man’s finger descended,
and he lunged at Lily. “You bitch!”

Sean jumped forward, swinging the butt
of Lily’s gun down on the back of Parr’s head, knocking him out
cold. He slumped to the ground, a tiny trickle of blood dripping
across his temple.

“
Is he dead?” Lily
asked.

“
Nope. Just
out.”

Jack backed up, his body half turned
to make a run for it, but he didn’t get far. Mitch and the other
hunters had arrived, blocking doorway.

“
Looks like we missed all
the fun,” Mitch said with a chuckle, looking at the two unconscious
cats and Jack sandwiched in the middle between him and
Sean.

Sean shook his head. “No. You’re just
in time for the finale. It’s gonna be a rat killing.”

Jack snarled menacingly, his eyes
flashing yellow as he dropped to all fours, but before he had a
chance to snap, crackle or pop a single muscle, Sean splintered his
nose with one punch.

The young hunter’s head snapped back,
and on the rebound Sean grabbed his skull, crushing his head like a
walnut. With a quick flick of his wrist and a muffled crack, the
alpha snapped the younger wolf’s neck as well, just to be
sure.

Jack’s body slid to the ground, and
Sean stepped over him without as much as a backwards glance,
gathering Lily in his arms.

It was over.

Ryan’s eyes fluttered open. He moved
his head slightly from side to side, wincing with the effort.
“Lily?” he mumbled, taking a moment to breathe before bracing his
palms on the floor and slowly pushing himself up to sit with his
back pressed against the window. “What happened?” he muttered to no
one in particular.

Lily let go of Sean, but he held onto
her arm with one hand, while the other reached behind his back for
her gun. He pressed the weapon into her hand, patting her on the
butt before gently pushing her toward the window.

“
Ryan? Look at me, can you
hear me?” Lily asked. She tucked the gun into her waistband, but
kept her hand on it just in case. Concern was one thing, but
Martinez was a trained cop who’d just been punked. He was more
likely to shoot first and ask questions later.

“
My ears are ringing, but
yeah, I can hear you,” he said, lifting his hand to his forehead.
“My head feels a little spongy, though.”

Lily reached down and hooked her arm
under the detective’s armpit. “A little help here?” she said,
looking across her shoulder at the others.

Sean gestured for two of the hunters
to help Ryan onto the bed. “I think he’s going to be fine,” he
said, his eyes never leaving Lily. “I think we’re all going to be
just fine.