Shadows Of A Wolf Moon(31)

She scrolled down the search list until she came to a test designed to tell her what job she would best be suited for. She grabbed a quick cup of tea and settled in to answer the questions.

No matter what it turned out to be, she was going to follow it. From here on out, she was sticking to a plan for her life.

***

Lucien bent his head under the spray of water. The hot water had long since turned cold, but he was reluctant to get out. He needed the icy chill to help get Catty out of his mind.

Turning the water off, he grabbed a towel and rubbed it across his long dark hair before tossing it on the floor. He crawled into the middle of the bed and lay on his back, letting the cool air drift over his naked body.

He’d called and given Barrett an update about Catty. He’d told him to stay on the girl to see if she’d trip up and reveal something.

Lucien was no closer to finding anything out about the Guardians than he had been when he’d gotten there. He hadn’t seen a trace of his brother either. After leaving Catty’s apartment he’d hit a few bars and asked some questions, but no one seemed to know the whereabouts of his brother.

He didn’t trust Catty, not after the stunt she’d pulled. If she did know who was behind taking the Guardians, she wasn’t talking. She might be in deep and too afraid to say anything. If she discovered he was a Guardian, it could be his ass on the line.

A quick rap at the door had his muscles tensing and him on his feet in seconds. He grabbed a clean pair of jeans and pulled them over his hips. He grabbed his .9 mm off the dresser and eased to the door to look through the peephole.

“What do you want?” he growled.

“I have an envelope for you, sir.” The young man on the other side of the door had to be no more than twenty. Small build, dark greasy hair, and, judging by the stench of fear pouring out of him, most definitely human.

He stuck his gun in the back of his jeans and opened the door.

The guy took one look at Lucien and his eyes grew round and white.

“Well?” Lucien held out his hand.

The human blinked, seemed to remember why he was there, and shoved an envelope in Lucien’s hand.

“You’re dismissed,” Lucien barked when the guy didn’t move.

The human almost tripped over himself as he ran down the hallway.

Lucien shook his head and shut the door. He wasn’t usually abrupt with people, but he wasn’t shopping in the patience department today.

He sat on the edge of the bed and opened the envelope. He pulled out a piece of paper with a message scrawled in Barrett’s familiar handwriting.

I’m arranging a meeting for you with the Witch. Be in Yazoo City, Mississippi at midnight tomorrow night. Go to the city’s cemetery to the witch’s grave. She’s got information regarding the missing Guardians.

“Yazoo City?” Growing up in Louisiana, he’d heard the name bandied about a few times, mostly to do with urban legends and such. Being an urban legend himself, he didn’t really remember the stories about the witch. Now he wished he’d listened better.

His stomach rumbled in the empty room, reminding him of the late hour. He grabbed his leather jacket off the back of the chair. His gaze settled across the slash in the leather. Ruined.

He’d had to get another jacket as soon as he got finished with this mission.

It was part of him, part of who he was now. He wasn’t about to let anyone see his vulnerability.





Chapter Thirteen



“Another Mojito.” Catty sighed and shoved her glass toward the bartender. She’d planned on staying in on her night off, but she was going stir crazy. So she’d gone out, hoping drinking would distract her. She needed to relax.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Someone break your heart?” A man slid onto the barstool next to her and leaned in. He was in his late thirties, nicely dressed with blond hair and blue eyes. If it hadn’t been for the predatory smile on his human face she would have thought him handsome.

“Not exactly.” There were some who didn’t believe she had a heart. There was a good chance one of those people was Lucien.

“Is he bothering you?” Lucien’s deep voice had her stomach turning to Jell-O as her heart climbed into her throat.

She turned.

He stood there wearing the leather jacket and a pissed-off expression.

“Nobody’s bothering anyone.” She bounced her foot against the rung of the stool and tried to keep her voice even, strong, and calm. Her words sounded odd in her ears.

Looking past her, Lucien grabbed her drink and dumped it out on the floor.

“Hey, why did you do that?” Her mouth dropped and she crossed her arms.

“We were just having a conversation, buddy.” The guy smirked and rested his elbows on the bar. He gave Catty another smile that made her skin crawl.