Wild Dream (6 page)

Not even the bayous would be safe under a full moon. All animals – supernatural and not – were affected by the full moon. Their only possibility for survival was to remain on holy ground until dawn.

Lincoln looked over his shoulder at Ava to find her asleep. He rushed to her when she began to tilt to the side, getting to her just before she fell. He sat beside her and propped her against his shoulder. She sighed and sagged against him while Kane sat, his gaze still on Ava.

“What are you doing, Kane?”
 

The werewolf briefly looked at him.

“Why are you after Ava?” Lincoln whispered.
 

Lincoln looked at the sky. It was going to be hours before dawn.

~ ~ ~

Olivia paced the floor. She dialed Ava’s number again, hoping against hope that her friend would answer this time. Instead of ringing, it went directly to voicemail.

She halted and stared at the phone. If it went directly to voicemail then that meant someone had turned off Ava’s phone. And that wasn’t good news at all.

Olivia sank onto a chair and closed her eyes. Ava knew what the Chiassons did. She understood the things that were out there. There was no way that she would knowingly put herself in danger.

No matter how Olivia looked at it, it didn’t appear good for Ava. But if anyone could find her, she knew Lincoln could. Olivia just prayed that it was before something awful happened.

~ ~ ~

Lincoln’s eyes snapped open when he heard the faint whistle. His brothers had found them. Lincoln let out a sigh of relief and looked at Kane. His cousin hadn’t moved. His ears swiveled, indicating that he too heard the noise, but he didn’t turn his gaze away from Ava.

“Be careful,” Lincoln said into the night to his brothers. “Kane, as we know him, is gone for now.”

Kane lifted his snout and sniffed the air. Lincoln could tell he knew others were out there. However, instead of going after them as Lincoln expected, he remained. His brothers wouldn’t make any undue noise, which meant no talking. The same didn’t apply to Lincoln since he was on holy ground.

“Kane is focused on Ava. He knows you’re out there.”

Lincoln smiled when he saw a canoe coming toward him in the water. He started to rise when Beau held up his hand. Lincoln frowned. What were his brothers up to?

Beau stopped paddling while he was still in deep water. Kane growled low but didn’t go after him.

“We got another call from Solomon,” Beau said softly, the water allowing his voice to reach Lincoln.

An uneasy feeling filled Lincoln. “What did he say?”

Beau set the paddle across his lap. “They managed to catch the priestess.
 
With a little…prompting…from Solomon and his brothers, she imparted more information about what she did to Kane.”

Lincoln glanced down at Ava. Her deep, even breaths indicated that she was still asleep, and Lincoln had never been more grateful. He looked back at Beau and waited for his brother to continue. The fact that Beau hesitated told Lincoln the news was going to be worse than he had hoped.

“Kane thinks he came here to get away from New Orleans and the threat of killing. He has no idea the priestess sent him.”

“For us?” Lincoln asked. “Because he’s had two chances to kill me and hasn’t.”

“No. He was given a target.”

Lincoln’s heart stopped. He knew exactly who the target was – Ava. But why? As far as he knew, this was Ava’s first time back to Louisiana since she left as a teenager. Why would a Voodoo priestess have targeted her?

It was an answer he would find once dawn arrived. He vowed then and there that he would be the one to protect Ava.

“There’s more,” Beau said.

“How much more can there be?” Lincoln asked. “Kane is after Ava. Do we know why?”

Beau shook his head. “Linc, if Kane kills a human, he’ll remain a werewolf forever. Or until he’s killed.”

The hits just kept coming. Damn. “Did Solomon kill that priestess?” Lincoln asked through clenched teeth.

“They’re keeping her alive in the hope that they can...
persuade
...her to lift the curse.”

Lincoln blew out a deep breath. “We’ll talk to Kane when dawn hits and find out why he was sent after Ava.”

“That won’t be possible.”

Lincoln shook his head. “That bitch couldn’t have done anything else.”

“She made it so that Kane would remain a werewolf for the entire cycle of the full moon. He won’t shift back to human form at dawn, Linc.”

“Then how in the hell am I supposed to get Ava back home?”

“You can’t. Kane will follow her through Hell itself if he has to. You have to stay on holy ground.” Beau tossed a bag from the canoe onto shore. “Here are some supplies. One of us will be nearby watching. We’ll return with more supplies later.”

“Ava said she was attacked by five men. See what you can find out about them. I want a chance at the assholes.”

Beau’s smile was full of wickedness. “Only if I get a go at them as well.”

Lincoln gave a nod to his brother and watched as Beau turned the canoe around and paddled away. Anger simmered within Lincoln. If Solomon and the others didn’t kill that priestess, he was going to go to New Orleans himself to do it.

He wasn’t looking forward to explaining to Ava that they would be spending two more nights – and days – there. Ava was a city girl. She might know how to defend herself, but he didn’t see her as the camping type.
 

Two nights.
 
Alone.
 

With Ava.
 

How the hell would he be able to keep his hands off of her? Especially when she used him as a pillow? It was going to be the longest forty-eight hours of his life.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ava woke to the worst crick in her neck. She grabbed her neck and opened her eyes to see the bayou. Shit on toast. It hadn’t been a dream. She really had been attacked by a group of men clad in all black, chased by a werewolf, and...kissed by Lincoln Chiasson.

In that instant, she realized the cushioning for her head was none other than Lincoln himself. Her stomach fluttered at the knowledge that she had spent hours against him.

All those hard muscles.
 

All that warm skin.

All that sexy goodness.

Ava slowly sat up to find Lincoln looking at her with a grim expression. “What? Did I snore?”

One side of his lips lifted in a half smile. “Only once or twice.”

Oh, God. Was he joking? Ava sincerely hoped so. She stretched her neck and discreetly checked her mouth to make sure she hadn’t drooled in her sleep.

The sky was lightening by the minute. Ava couldn’t wait to get back to Olivia’s to have a hot shower, food, and at least three pots of coffee. She looked to her right where the wolf had been. When she didn’t see him, she looked to her left expecting to see the werewolf gone and a man in its place.

Instead she found the black werewolf still staring at her.

“It’s dawn,” she said, shaken to her core.

Lincoln’s chin touched his chest as he sat forward. “My brothers came last night.”

“And they didn’t help us?”
 
She scooted away from Lincoln, as apprehension iced her veins. “What’s going on, Lincoln. I have to know.”

“I let you sleep because you were exhausted.” He lifted his head while taking a deep breath and met her gaze. “We won’t be going anywhere for a few days.”

“A few days?” she repeated, wondering how she sounded so calm when her heart pounded against her ribs. Ava searched his face to see if he were joking, but it only took another glance at Kane to comprehend the truth of Lincoln’s words. She licked her lips. “What happened?”

“Solomon and the rest of the LaRues caught the priestess in New Orleans. With a bit of LaRue persuasion she told them a bit more about the curse she put on Kane.”

It didn’t take much for her to guess what it was. “Instead of reverting back to human form at dawn, I gather the priestess made it so that Kane will stay a werewolf until the full moon cycle is done.”

“That’s part of it.” Lincoln got to his feet and walked to the edge of the bayou within their safe zone. “If Kane kills a human while in werewolf form, he’ll remain a werewolf forever.”

“That’s...a bit extreme. This woman must be a real piece of work.”

“Most don’t understand that messing with Voodoo is not a good idea. Infuriating a priestess is even worse.”

Ava ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to detangle the strands. She gazed at Lincoln’s back, wondering what he was thinking, and wishing like hell that she could see his face. “Why do I get the feeling there’s more?”

“Did you have any dealings with anyone in New Orleans?”

She considered his words for a minute. “There’s a law firm there we were working with, but that’s the extent of my association with New Orleans.”

“What about your mother?”

Ava chuckled. “My mother doesn’t even like to say Louisiana, much less get anywhere near the border. Trust me, she doesn’t have anything to do with anyone in New Orleans. Why are you asking?”

Lincoln faced her. The look of regret and frustration caused her stomach to clench in dread. “The priestess sent Kane after you,” Lincoln said.

Ava shook her head. “There must be some kind of mistake.”

“None. I encountered Kane twice last night, and he didn’t harm me either time. Both times he could have. One of my brothers and a friend also had a run in with Kane, and both of them came out of it alive and unhurt as well. I was there when Kane was chasing you last night. He wanted you.”

“No.”

“Stand up. Walk around,” Lincoln urged.
 

It took Ava a full minute before her legs were steady enough to hold her. She thought Kane was big last night, but in the light of day he was massive. And frightening.

Her gaze was on Kane, and there was no denying the way his eyes narrowed when she stood. He rose up on his paws, the light from the sun soaking into his midnight coat. His lips peeled back to show fangs that were thicker and sharper than she had first thought.

Ava walked toward Lincoln, and Kane was in step with her. When she retraced her steps, he followed.
 

She was so screwed.

“See how his eyes watch you. See how he looks at nothing but you. Tell me he wasn’t sent for you,” Lincoln demanded.

“I don’t know why he would have been.” She began to shake. She had held out hope for dawn, and figured that once the sunlight arrived she could leave the awful night behind and get on with her life.

Lincoln was beside her in an instant. He grabbed her arms and turned her to him. “What about a client?”

“I’m not a prosecutor. I help people like Olivia.”

“Then it could be someone you went after while helping a client.”

“I suppose. I’d have to look through my files to know for sure.”

Lincoln spun around and raked a hand through his hair in frustration. That’s when Ava noticed that his hair was down. The long, chocolate strands hung around his face down to his shoulders just begging to be touched.
 

“There has to be a connection between you and the priestess. She wouldn’t have just pulled your name out of thin air,” Lincoln said. “And she knew you would be here. How?”

Ava shrugged when he looked at her. “I didn’t share my plans with anyone. Not even my co-workers. All they know is that I’m taking some vacation time.”

“Olivia said you came on a private jet. Did you have to tell your company where you were headed?”

“I told them it was a short flight. I did have to let the pilots know so the flight plan could be registered.”

Lincoln’s lips flattened. “That’s how the priestess knew. She managed to get them to give her the information.”

Ava was happy she hadn’t tried to make a move on the co-pilot. “It still doesn’t explain why she has focused on me.”

“We likely won’t know that until we confront her.”

Ava lifted her brows at that. “You want to go to New Orleans?”

“Definitely. However, I don’t see that happening for a few days. I’d like to know the answers now. Convincing Solomon to bring the priestess here might be more difficult than getting away from Kane.”

That reminded Ava that they were stranded for two days. “What are we going to do about food?”

Lincoln pointed to a bag. “Beau brought it last night. They’ll return with more food.”

Ava shifted feet. “What about...other things?”

A smile flashed before Lincoln turned away. “I’ll be on the other side of the oak. It’s all the privacy I can give you.”