Sebastian Aristide (Bayou Heat)(10)

“You were in an accident?”

“There was some sort of trauma.” Old sorrow darkened her moss green eyes. “I was found hidden in the back of a semi-truck. I had wounds on my wrists and ankles that proved I’d been bound for several days, if not weeks. Maybe even longer. The doctors speculated that I’d been held by a psychopath and my mind had blocked out the memories of my torture.”

Sebastian barely dared to breathe as fury exploded through him. This sweet, fragile woman had been abused by a madman?

It was no wonder she’d been forced to build walls in her mind. Not only to deal with the horror of her captivity, but to contain the cat inside her that had never been allowed to fully bond with her.

Christ, she had to be one of the strongest people he’d ever met to not only survive, but to have built a new life for herself.

His fingers gently stroked her cheek, the need to ease her pain a physical necessity.

“How did you join the FBI?”

She turned in to his light caress, unconsciously seeking the comfort of his touch. “The cops who found me took me under their wing when it became obvious I wasn’t going to be able to find my family.” A tremor raced through her body. No doubt she’d tormented herself over the years with the image of how her parents must have been frantic in their search for their missing daughter. “They encouraged me to apply to Quantico.”

Sebastian frowned. How was it possible that he hadn’t heard of a missing Pantera female?

Her parents would have come to the Wildlands for assistance in searching for her

Unless they were dead.

Which meant the bastard holding her might not have been a random psycho.

“Did they find the man responsible for holding you?” he murmured.

She shook her head. “They searched, but they couldn’t even be entirely certain that’s what happened to me.”

“Perhaps they were looking in the wrong place.”

“What do you mean?”

He absently smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear. “The Pantera have enemies.”

Her lips parted, but before she could interrogate him, there was a series of beeps from across the room.

“That’s the office,” she muttered, wriggling out of his arms to hop out of bed.

Sebastian gave a low growl of protest, but he couldn’t deny an appreciation of watching her naked ass as she moved to pick up her jacket and pull out the ringing phone.

It was a very fine ass, he acknowledged, wishing he’d done more exploring of the lush temptation.

Next time…

His indulgent fantasies of the various ways he intended to savor Reny were interrupted as he watched her expression become grim as she listened to the caller.

Instantly, he was off the bed and pulling on his clothes. Their all-too-brief moment of privacy was over.

It was time to rejoin the world.

“What happened?” he demanded as soon as she ended the call.

She dressed with a brisk efficiency. “There was another mauling.”

“Damn.” Sebastian tucked his shirt in his pants and smoothed back his hair. “I need to talk to the victim.”

“You can’t.”

“Why not?” His brows snapped together as he watched her slip on her sensible leather shoes and tug her hair into a tight ponytail.

Once again she was the starchy Agent Smith.

His cat growled in disapproval.

She lifted her head to meet his annoyed glare. “She’s at the morgue.”

Oh…hell.

Sebastian’s gut twisted with regret. He’d known it was only a matter of time before their enemies took their attacks to the next level, but he’d hoped he would be able to expose them before they actually killed someone.

“Do you know where they found the body?”

Reny grimaced. “It was propped next to the dumpster at the police station.”

“Bold bastards.” Sebastian pulled out his phone and texted the info to Raphael. The Wildlands needed to be prepared in case the humans decided to retaliate. “They wanted to make sure it was found.”

“Yes.”

Sebastian slid the phone back into his pocket. “We need to find the first victim.”

“I agree.”

With an obvious refusal to glance toward the bed that was a visual display of their recent passion, she headed to pull open the door.

Before she could step out of the room, however, he captured her from behind. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he whispered directly in her ear.

“You know this isn’t finished.”

She held herself stiffly, but there was no missing the rapid beat of her heart.

“Don’t push your luck, cat,” she warned.

He traced the curve of her ear with his tongue. “Sugar, I’m going to push until I hear you scream again.” He planted a kiss in the hollow beneath her jaw. “And again.” He gently sank his teeth into the tender flesh between her neck and shoulder, chuckling as she groaned in startled pleasure. “And—”

Giving a small hiss, Reny broke out of his hold, turning to meet his smoldering gaze.

“Are all Pantera so cocky?”

An unexpected, shockingly violent tidal wave of territorial possession surged through him. “I’m the only Pantera you need to worry about.” There was a hint of warning in his voice. “Period.”

Her eyes widened, but perhaps sensing the danger of poking his cat when it was anxious to pounce, she deliberately stepped into the hall.

“Where do we start?” she asked.

Sebastian squashed the urge to scoop her in his arms and carry her back to bed. His growingly urgent need to bond with Reny Smith would have to wait until they’d brought a halt to the bastards who were attacking defenseless women.

“Back at the apartment,” he said, hoping Koni Handler had the information he needed to start his hunt. “I need to pick up the female’s scent.”

“Makes sense,” she agreed, briskly heading down the stairs.

Sebastian prowled at her side. “You should return to your office and start running her financials.”

She pulled out her phone and began typing in a message. “I can have one of the techs take care of it.”

They moved down the stairs and toward the back of the house. “Then you can go have dinner.”

“I already ate.” She sent him a suspicious glare. “Why are you trying to get rid of me?”

“We don’t know what’s out there hunting women,” he said.

A dangerous heat sparked in her eyes. “Exactly. It’s my job to find out.”

He was a Diplomat. He knew that tone.

It meant, ‘You’ve just pissed on my last nerve. Now back off.’

But he was also a Pantera male who possessed an instinctive need to protect his female.

“You don’t understand the danger.”

Heat sizzled through the air, the power of her cat glowing in her eyes.

“Don’t you dare treat me like a helpless little woman.” She stepped forward, poking her finger into the middle of his chest. “This is my case.” Another poke, this one hard enough to hurt. “If you don’t want to be my partner then return to the Wildlands and send someone else.”

Oh, hell. She was a born Hunter. He could read it in her fierce need to be out tracking down their enemies. It was no wonder that she’d chosen to go into law enforcement.

Sebastian smothered a wry smile.

She was going to make his life…interesting.

“Come on,” he said.







Reny was prepared to remain on her personal soapbox. There was nothing she hated more than being treated as if she couldn’t be good at her job because she had a uterus instead of a penis.

But the moment they’d returned to the desolate neighborhood where Koni Handler had lived, Sebastian wisely resisted any urge to try and prevent her from remaining at his side as he focused on following the scent.

A scent that teased at Reny’s nose even while she slammed the door on acknowledging her abilities.

It was a trick she’d developed when she was in the hospital and realized how different she was from the other patients.

How else could she stay sane?

They’d traveled three blocks when Sebastian came to a sudden halt, his expression grim as he glanced around the corner that was bathed in the gaudy lights from a nearby bar.

“Why are you stopping?” she demanded.

“She must have gotten into a vehicle.” He gave a frustrated growl. “Dammit.”

“Then we do it the human way,” Reny murmured, her trained gaze instantly searching near the doorway of the bar. She was rewarded by the sight of a small red light. “There.” She pointed toward the surveillance camera.

He arched a brow, looking impossibly gorgeous despite his ruffled hair and the hint of tawny whiskers that shadowed his jaw.

“Good call. Can you get us access?”

Something eased in her chest at his ready willingness to accept her help.

Maybe he wasn’t a complete jackass.

With a smug smile she pulled her badge from the inner pocket of her jacket and headed across the street.

Entering the narrow bar with a dozen worn tables scattered over a wood floor, Reny took a direct path toward the back of the room where a large, grizzled man was tending bar. A few of the drunken patrons gave her a lingering look before paling in fear as they caught sight of the predatory male who walked a half step behind her.

Less than ten minutes later they were in a cramped office that smelled of scotch and cheap cologne, skimming through fuzzy images that flashed across the computer screen.