Leopard's Blood

  Molly burst out laughing. "We'd better start making food. Lots of food. If we have an army to feed, we can't be slackers in the cooking department."

  "Wait. Are you saying I should have been offering Kai and Gray dinners this entire time?" Sonia asked, half serious.

  "I would have. You did, at least, offer them coffee."

  She hadn't. Not once. She'd been annoyed they were even around. "You're so much nicer than me."

  "No, I'm not," Molly said. "It isn't like you've had a chance to figure out who you are and what you want to do, not when you were married at what? Eighteen?"

  Sonia nodded. "I married him a month after my mother died. He wanted me to continue staying at his house. I just let him carry me while I was grieving. I didn't think about anything but how awful it was without her. I stayed within the grounds that first year. Sasha encouraged me to take the time, to let myself grieve. He was so good about it."

  "He was keeping you prisoner."

  "I didn't know that, though," Sonia pointed out. "I thought he was looking out for me. He even brought in a personal shopper when I needed new clothes."

  "What happened when you wanted to leave the house?" Molly asked.

  She shrugged. "Bodyguards. That's why I haven't been so thrilled with Kai and Gray. I don't like anyone watching me. It feels too much like him. Sasha. I thought, at the time, it was to protect me, but it was much more sinister than that."

  Sonia. They are here.

  For a moment Sonia thought Gatita meant Kai and Gray, but the feeling hit her hard. It didn't drift into her mind the way warnings could, this one flashed in bright red neon signs in her mind. They weren't Kai and Gray. They didn't mean Bastien. They meant Blake and his men.

  10

  SONIA put down her glass of lemonade and reached for Molly's hand to tug her up. When Molly flashed a smile and looked as if she were about to speak, Sonia shook her head. Instantly the smile faded, replaced by fear. No, not fear, terror. Sonia hated putting that look on her face. She indicated the French doors and put a finger to her lips. Molly nodded and went inside.

  Sonia closed the doors as quietly as possible. "Someone's here," she whispered. "I don't think it's Kai. Whatever you do, stay in this room. You're on the upper floor and protected here. I'm going to take a look around." She pulled out her cell phone. "I programmed Bastien's number into my cell when he left his card the other day. I'm texting him to step on it, that there's possible trouble."

  "How do you know? I didn't hear anything."

  "I have excellent hearing, and I'm used to living here in the swamp. I know every noise possible. Just hang in here. I'll be right back."

  Molly caught her arm. "Blake is sick. He'll look charming and sweet, but if it's him, he's really mean."

  She was willing to face mean for her friend. She also knew Kai would be there any minute and she had Joshua. She texted him as well. Possible trouble. Can you come? Might have weapons. She would never have done that if it had been Sasha or his father. In that moment, she made up her mind, Joshua wasn't getting anywhere near the mob. She could see the stark terror on Molly's face and guilt in her eyes that Sonia might be facing Blake instead of her. She wasn't going to feel the same way. She was never going to put Joshua in harm's way. His bodyguards had to go after this. If Sasha or his father killed either man, she wouldn't be able to live with herself.

  "I have to go check the house. It's locked, but that doesn't mean someone can't get in. I'm just going to check. You stay here and wait for me."

  "Do you have a gun?"

  "Yes." She said it firmly. "I'm giving you my Glock. Have you used one?" She'd practiced until she was a very good shot.

  "You might need it." Molly sank down onto the bed, the gun in her lap.

  Sonia also could use a knife, and she pushed her favorite down into her boot. Without looking at Molly, she hurried out of the room, using her lightest step, knowing the house creaked. Certain floorboards would give her away if she stepped on them, so she was careful to avoid them.

  She crept down the stairs, wishing it was dark out. The lighting in the house was dim, but she could see everything easily, which meant so could an intruder. When she moved to the archway leading to the great room, she saw a man seated in her best armchair. High back, wide seat and low, padded arms, the chair had been on sale. Even with the sale, it had been pricey, but she'd fallen in love.

  She stepped into the room. "That's my chair you're sitting in."

  The man turned his head to look at her, but he didn't get up. He wore a suit like he was born in it. He could easily have stepped off the cover of GQ magazine. His hair was short without one strand out of place. His shoes gleamed, Italian leather if she wasn't mistaken. He looked her up and down, his face a mask of utter contempt.

  She wasn't tall and beautiful like Molly. That was his preference. He wanted his woman to be fashionably thin. She wasn't and never would be. She knew he wanted her to feel small and ugly and ashamed. He was handsome and knew it.

  "I'd like you to leave my house. I've called the police."

  "That won't do you any good," Blake Garritson said. "It's best if you call Molly down before there's trouble."

  "There's already trouble." Sonia stepped out of the archway and moved to her left, putting her back to the wall. She doubted if anyone could sneak up behind her, but she didn't want to give them the opportunity.

  Gatita, make certain to listen for anyone on the stairs. Tell me when you know Joshua or Kai is here.

  There are five more of them. They are outside the house. One is trying to climb the tree outside in the back.

  Her heart jumped. Of course a human could climb those trees. The trees were big and sturdy, the branches wide to accommodate a leopard.

  I could kill this one.

  Then humans would hunt you forever. If necessary that's what we'll do, but only if we have no other choice.

  She waited, locking eyes with the intruder. He sat in her chair as if he owned the place. She knew he thought it shabby. He would have razed the house, torn it to the ground. He would never see the beauty of the old architecture.

  "I don't understand Molly's choice of friends. She has such poor taste," he said, shaking his head slowly as if he really were puzzled. "Fat, ugly women living in falling-down old mansions, pretending to be women of means. She's sunken to new lows."

  She didn't even wince. She might not be beautiful, but she wasn't fat or ugly. She knew that. She was attractive enough that everywhere she went, men sat up and took notice. His opinion wasn't going to make her sit down and cry. She did, however, need to stall him.

  "I take exception to you calling this house a falling-down old mansion."

  "It's deplorable. It should have been condemned. Go get Molly. I don't have patience to deal with women of little intelligence, which, clearly, you are."

  "And if I don't?"

  He stood up and walked toward her. "Then you are going to be very, very sorry."

  "Not just sorry. Very, very sorry? What's the difference?"

  He swung at her face with his fist. He was fast, but Gatita was faster. Sonia managed to block the first blow, but the second connected with her face. It felt as if her cheek exploded. White-hot pain flashed through her body, making her feel nauseous. Gatita roared her anger, leaping toward the surface so fast and so ferociously that Sonia could barely contain her. It was nearly impossible to fight two battles on two different fronts, one external and the other internal.

  She managed to block the next two punches. Blake was swinging fast at her, a flurry of punches low then high then low again. The second punch to get her clipped her chin, but just barely. Blake's eyes widened, and he was flung backward away from her. He hit the floor hard and roared, furious to find himself facing a blond giant of man.

  Joshua was shirtless and barefoot. He wore only a pair of jeans, and she knew his leopard had come fast through the swamp. She didn't want to see the carnage outside, especially since Bastien would be arriving
soon.

  Joshua ignored Blake and tipped Sonia's face up. The sight of her red, swelling cheek sent a rage snaking through him. He slid the pad of his thumb gently over her cheek and then turned to face the man who had hit her. Was this the same man who had tried to kill her? He wasn't leopard, that was for certain. He wasn't Russian. Then who was he?

  Blake was on his feet, stepping back to give himself room. He smoothed down the jacket of his expensive suit, his gaze jumping to the door as if he expected his men to come through it any minute.

  "They're dead," Joshua said softly.

  "Excuse me?"

  "All of them. They're dead. The ones left behind at Molly's house were killed in a shootout between my men, a sheriff and your men. The ones you brought to my woman's house were caught trying to break in. Sadly, there are all kinds of animals in the swamp and your men ran right into them. They're dead."

  Blake held up his hand when Joshua took a step toward him. "Wait a minute. You've got this all wrong. I'm just here for Molly. We thought she was held prisoner . . ."

  "I can hear lies. I've been able to hear lies since I was a child." Joshua stepped in and hit the man, using the strength of his leopard. Bones crunched with a satisfying sound. He hit him three more times, just as hard. Cheek had been first. Chin second. Ribs on the right. Ribs on the left. He let the poor excuse for a human step back and pull a gun.

  Blake's breath was coming in short, labored pants of distress. His eyes were wild as he fired off a round at Joshua. Joshua was already in motion, springing off the balls of his feet, using his leopard's ability to leap with blurring speed and force. The burn of the bullet caught him along his bicep, but didn't slow him down. He crashed into Blake, knocking the other man back several feet and to the floor. The gun went off again as Blake dropped it. Even as he was on the intruder, Joshua heard Sonia's breath hitch and his heart nearly stopped. He caught Blake's head in his hands and, staring down into his eyes, wrenched. He waited a heartbeat to be certain the man was dead, and then he slowly turned his head to look at Sonia.

  She was sitting on the floor, back to the wall. Her eyes were wide with shock as her gaze met his. "That son of a bitch shot me."

  Evan burst into the room just ahead of Bastien. Joshua ignored them and crouched beside Sonia. "Show me."

  "It isn't bad." She lifted her hand and showed him the blood seeping across the denim along her thigh. "This is my favorite pair of jeans."

  "Where's Molly?" Bastien demanded.

  She pointed upstairs. "Thanks for coming, Joshua."

  "You gave me a heart attack. Why didn't you annihilate him?"

  "I was afraid if I used Gatita then Bastien or Molly would see or, even if they didn't, I couldn't explain the kill marks of a leopard. I don't want hunters coming here looking for cats."

  She closed her eyes as Joshua ripped the material off her thigh to see that the bullet had skimmed along her skin. "I told you I was lucky." She touched his shoulder. "Evidently you were too." Blood ran down his arm.

  "First aid kit, Sonia?" Evan asked.

  She pointed vaguely toward the bathroom. She kept a kit in every bathroom. It was something her mother had always done and she followed that tradition.

  "Are you feeling faint?" Joshua asked, his thumb once more skimming her cheek.

  "No. Just tired. Really, Joshua, thanks for coming. I didn't know what to do. I would have had to use Gatita and I didn't want her to have to kill a human being."

  "When Kai texted saying they were in a firefight, I was relieved to hear you'd gone ahead of him. Then your text came in and I came close to panicking. I didn't wait for the others, I just threw jeans in a pack and came. Evan and the others used a truck."

  "The others?" Sonia looked around the room for the first time.

  There were seven men in her home. She recognized the faces from seeing them when she was working at Joshua's estate, but she hadn't been formally introduced to all of them.

  "Sonia?" Bastien was there. "You okay?" He dropped to his knee beside her, surveying the damage.

  "He hit me a couple of times and then tried shooting us both. Joshua charged him." She brushed her fingers over Joshua's bloodstained sleeve. "I think he's dead, Bastien. That's a good thing for Molly, isn't it?"

  "Yeah, honey, it is, but I don't want you saying anything more right now. I'm going to call an ambulance." He did so, his face grim.

  "I don't need . . ."

  "I have to call them to check both of you out. That doesn't mean you have to be transported. Let me do my job. You don't talk to anyone without a lawyer, do you understand?"

  "Am I in trouble? Is Joshua? He broke into my house and tried to kill us."

  "No, of course not. This is clearly self-defense. Still . . ." He broke off. "Tregre?"

  "I've texted my lawyer. He'll be here any minute," Joshua assured.

  Bastien stalked over to the body and crouched down, observing the damage done by Joshua's fists. He glanced over his shoulder and when Joshua started to speak, gave a slight shake of his head as other officers hurried in.

  Joshua stayed close to Sonia, his back to the wall, his shoulder wedged close so she could lean on him. She closed her eyes and that scared him a little. He needed to be alone with her. He wanted their own doctor to look her over, not some paramedic, although that was just paranoia. Mostly he wanted her surrounded by a dozen guards armed with the latest in weapons.

  He wasn't able to speak with Evan until the paramedics had stitched his shoulder and taken care of Sonia's thigh. They answered questions until his lawyer declared they were finished. Only then did he carry Sonia up the stairs. Molly sat in the rocking chair and when he carried Sonia into the room, she jumped up. Tears tracked down her face.

  "I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry, Sonia," she said. "Bastien said you'd been shot but it wasn't bad. How could it not be bad if you were shot?"

  "They put a Band-Aid on it, that's how much it can't be bad," Sonia said.

  Joshua set her in the rocking chair Molly had just vacated. "She's all right," he assured.

  "You're shot too," Molly said, grabbing his bloody sleeve.

  "That was also treated with a Band-Aid." Joshua tried grinning at her, but it was too late. A fresh flood of tears started.

  "Need to talk to Evan, baby," Joshua said. "I'll be back in a few."

  Sonia nodded, and he hurried back down the stairs to find Evan waiting. They went outside and the others followed in tight formation, enclosing the two so it was impossible to see them, let alone hear what they said.

  "The bodies?"

  "Took them deep in the swamp. Tonight, they'll go out to the ocean," Evan said. "No one's going to find them and if they do, they won't find a way to connect them to us. They were killed by a leopard."

  "Is everything cleaned up outside?"

  "Very little blood. You suffocated them or severed the spinal cord. You didn't rip the shit out of them. We're in the clear."

  "The less said about those men to Sonia, the better."

  "Number-one question they kept asking is, was he alone?" Evan pointed out. "Foret has some suspicion that Garritson didn't travel without a big crew."

  "Sonia never saw anyone other than Blake. Molly didn't see anybody. As far as they know, Blake came here alone. Sonia speculated to Bastien that Blake must have followed Molly and her home while his men fought with Bastien, Kai and Gray. It makes sense."

  "That's what Bastien said to the other officers," Evan agreed.

  "We're safe enough. Just double-check. I plan on taking Sonia back to the house with me. She won't like it and she'll probably throw a fit, but she's still coming home with me."

  Evan grinned at him. "She'll use her friend as an excuse."

  "I happen to know Foret is planning on taking Molly to his house. He told the other detective Molly was his girlfriend so he'd give his statement and turn over the case to someone else. He's well liked and has the reputation of a straight shooter. They believe his every word. He made it
clear that Garritson had already terrorized Molly, that he'd stalked, kidnapped, raped and beaten her. I think it's fairly open and shut."

  "Even when Garritson's family comes down here and refutes that charge?" Evan played devil's advocate.

  "They may try, but more likely, they won't want the story to get out. They'll want to do damage control more than try clearing his name."

  "If they're anything like him, they could send someone after Molly," Evan said.

  Joshua nodded. "Bastien's making it clear that she's his. I think that's in his head, but if it isn't, we'll make certain he understands that's a possibility. People like Blake use contract killers to get back at the people who offend them. Blake was after Molly. He obsessed over her. I know what that's like. Can't eat. Can't sleep. Think about her night and day. Now I know the worst. Fuckin' Russian mob."

  "You think it's really a good idea to bring her to the house? The way that Russian was fixating on the painting, I'd be afraid he'd come back with an army to take it."

  "He took pictures of it. He wanted to show his son. They'll be back. Both of them. Nikita and his son, Sasha. They're both coming back and they'll bring that army when they do."

  "You'll need to inform Drake and come up with an alternate for the pipeline. We still need to have a route for distribution," Evan said. "More, how does this impact Alonzo, his brother and cousins and Evangeline?"

  "I've already been thinking about that," he admitted. "I sent word we needed a meet immediately. They're setting it up."

  "Right. At your house." Evan pointed out the obvious.

  Joshua swore under his breath and glanced up toward the upper balcony. "She's still coming to my home, where we can watch over her. I'll just have to talk to her about everything."

  "I don't think you have much of a choice," Evan agreed. "But when you do, give her some space to be upset. She has every right. She isn't going to like what you are, given who she was involved with."

  Joshua hoped she didn't try to leave. He'd give her all the time and space she needed, as long as she didn't try to leave, not when the Russians knew she was alive.

  *

  MOLLY tucked a thin blanket over Sonia after helping her to the bed. "You're shivering."

  "I think it's shock more than anything else. Blake was so full of himself. I wish I could say I'm not happy that he's dead, but he nearly killed Joshua and I think he would have tried to kill me if Joshua hadn't come." The intent had been there on his face. He had wanted to kill her to punish Molly. There were consequences to Molly for leaving, and that was her friends paying the ultimate price.