Leopard's Blood

  "Is Joshua still in the house?" she asked Gray.

  "Sorry, sweetheart, he left earlier. Had an errand."

  She stiffened. "What kind of errand?"

  "I'm a little busy here, Sonia," he said.

  "Was his errand Sasha?" Now her heart was pounding. Joshua wouldn't kill Sasha, would he? He had believed her, that Sasha was only trying to save her life, hadn't he? She tried to recall his face when she'd told him.

  He'd been still. Frozen almost. He hadn't looked away once, watching her with the focused stare only a leopard could give. She shivered in spite of the heat, wrapping her arms around her middle. She thought she knew Joshua, but there was a side of him she didn't know at all. He'd warned her. He'd been fair. He'd said he had a monster inside him, but she still thought he'd be fair.

  She started back up the tree, deciding to call him, before she remembered she didn't have a cell phone. He'd smashed hers. She couldn't call him. She had a second one in her "go" bag, but she didn't know where it had been stashed. Someone, probably Kai, had taken it from her in the swamp. Flames burst into the sky on the far side of the house and the men went running in hopes of saving the hundreds-year-old structure.

  She jumped to the ground and backed away, trying to get a better look without getting close. She ran into someone and started to step aside. Hot breath hit her neck and Gatita reacted, clawing toward the surface. Something exploded against the side of her face and she felt her knees give out. She'd been looking straight ahead, right toward Gray. He turned as her knees buckled. She tried to say something to him. Call out. There was no voice. No way to say a word because the world was going fuzzy. Dark. Grimly she hung on.

  Gatita, don't let me pass out. Stay hidden. He can't see you yet.

  Her head felt like a bomb had gone off, her insides mushy. Liquid. She was boneless and slumped to the ground. A shot rang out. Someone grabbed her shirt and yanked. Her body slid forward an inch or two. Deliberately she dropped her heels into the rotting vegetation and dug deep, hoping in the darkness no one could see.

  There was more gunfire. Bullets spat into the leaves close to her and thunked into tree trunks. The man trying to drag her was forced to return fire. He tried to lift her one-armed, to use her as a shield. She sagged, keeping her weight as heavy as possible, pretending she was completely unconscious. The smoke drifted through the trees, heavy in the air, so that she had to fight to keep from coughing. If she did, her attacker would know she wasn't out.

  Gray and three others abandoned the fire and came running at them, utilizing their abilities as leopards, each leap covering twenty feet or more. They stayed in their human forms but called up their leopards for assistance. Her vision was a little fuzzy, but she saw them coming, and just as her attacker took aim, she dug her heels deep and shoved back, spoiling his aim.

  Cursing, the man threw her to the ground and aimed at her head. A bullet took him backward away from her, and then Gray was crouching over her, looking around him, steady as ever. "You do live an exciting life, Sonia," he said. "Can you get up?"

  She nodded. The action made her head want to explode. Clenching her teeth, she made it into a sitting position and then stopped for a moment. "He hit me pretty hard with something."

  "I think he wore brass knuckles. You must have a pretty hard head to still be awake."

  There was a trace of amusement in his voice and she couldn't help but respond. She sent him a small smile. "Are they going to be able to put the fire out?"

  "We need to worry about you. Let's get you out of here. I'll take you to your house and send word to Joshua that you're there. Too many strangers showing up on the pretense of fighting the fire. Let's go. Can you make it through the swamp or should we take a car?"

  She wanted to be all badass and go through the swamp, but she was still dizzy and a little nauseated. "I'm sorry, Gray, but I think I'll need the car."

  He nodded. "I'm going to bring it around to the side yard. I'm stashing you close to the road, and you're not to move. You understand me? Once you're there, you wait only for me. No one else. Joshua is trusting me with your life and I'm not losing you."

  "I can't go anywhere on my own," she assured. All she wanted to do was lie down and cover her eyes. The flames from the fire seemed to dance behind her eyes, burning her from the inside out. Her throat ached from the smoke. Every step she took around the house to the path leading to the road from the cabins in the back jarred her head. Even the old cabins looked good to her. Surely one of them had a bed she could lie in. After a few minutes of walking, the ground looked good enough to sleep on.

  "All right. This is far enough. You sit down in this brush and wait for me. I'll be three minutes, five max. You understand me? Three minutes."

  "That's all I've got," she admitted. "Much more than that and I'm on the ground asleep. My head hurts so bad and I want to vomit."

  "That sounds like a concussion. Damn it. You need medical now." For the first time, he looked indecisive.

  "I'll be fine," she lied, knowing Gray knew it was a lie.

  He turned and jogged off. Sonia held her head with both hands and rocked, closing her eyes and praying she wouldn't throw up. Fire trucks and volunteers surrounded the mansion. She hoped they'd save it. She loved Joshua's house.

  A hand gripped her hair and yanked her roughly backward, so that she fell hard. She stared into Nikita's face. His eyes burned into hers. "Get up. Men are so predictable. Always the heroes. Of course when you are injured he would gallantly go back for the car, leaving you alone. The little whore. Hopefully we'll have time to find out why my son is willing to betray me for you. Why a man like Joshua Tregre would give up valuable favors for you."

  With every word, he gave a vicious yank on her hair until she got her feet under her. Tears blurred her vision from the assault on her scalp. He thrust her between two of his men. They grabbed her arms and dragged her toward the vehicle hidden just a few feet away and across the road. Nikita brought up the rear, flanked by two more guards. She was shoved in the SUV and then they were flying down the road, putting distance between them and the burning house.

  "Are you going to tell me why my son would trade his life for yours?" Nikita was to one side of her on the seat, and he pulled her head back and licked up her throat. "We might have time for a little entertainment, boys," he added.

  His men snickered. The one on the other side of her grabbed his crotch and lewdly laughed at her.

  Nikita leaned close. "I know you think they'll find you fast. A little process of elimination. Find the houses in the area, somewhere remote for rent, and cross them off one by one. Simple, right? But we're not going to one of the several houses I rented. We're going to the last place they will think of looking. We're going to your house."

  Sonia concentrated on her breathing. She had once thought of this man as family. He'd been the head of the household, and she'd always believed he cared about her. Now she knew he didn't even care about Sasha. Sasha hadn't told her what it had been like, controlling his leopard when his father had hurt him--and she knew he had. She knew Sasha's life had to have been a nightmare.

  Nikita didn't like that she refused to talk and he caught her jaw hard and squeezed. "Pay attention, slut."

  Gatita clawed at her. For a moment, her skin itched uncomfortably. Don't. He can't know. We can't escape. There's no way to get them all. Someone will shoot us. We have to wait, and if he knows about you, he'll cage us.

  Sonia didn't respond to Nikita. He squeezed her jaw so hard she feared her bones would break. When she still refused to talk, he licked up her face, from her chin to her mouth. His men laughed. The Russian mobster caught the front of her T-shirt and ripped it down the front. She hadn't worn a bra, thinking she might have to shift, and her breasts jutted out, exposed to him and his horrible men.

  One of them whistled. "Look at the marks all over her. Someone roughed her up."

  "It couldn't have been my son," Nikita snickered. "He's no man. I may have to rethink
Tregre. He might have decided to align himself with me by turning her over to me."

  She stared straight ahead, refusing to bow her head or act embarrassed. Joshua thought she was beautiful. They were his marks all over her, claiming her.

  "It took a real man to show a woman what she's made for. A man's pleasure," Nikita declared. He clawed at her breast, caught her nipple and twisted viciously.

  A low cry escaped, but she clamped down, cutting the sound off. He let go, laughing. "Has Sasha been located? He has to be in the area. I want him found." Now all trace of humor had gone from his tone, leaving him looking nearly mad, an insane, perverted, very evil man.

  "Not yet, Mr. Bogomolov." It was the driver who answered, his tone a little wary. He glanced uneasily at the other men surrounding Nikita. He made the turn into Sonia's driveway. "We're searching the last of the properties we had marked off now."

  "What's taking so damn long?"

  "Distance between the properties, sir." Again, it was the driver. He parked and shut off the SUV.

  Nikita's men leapt out and raced around her house to secure it. Only when they nodded to him did he get out. Using her hair, he dragged her across the seat and out of the vehicle. She fell to the ground hard, bruising both knees. He leaned down, wrapping her hair around his fist, yanking it toward him. Abruptly he stopped, his breath hitching in his throat. He stared down at her, as if transfixed.

  "You want help with her, boss?" one ventured, close.

  Nikita whirled on him. "Don't put a hand on her, David." To her, he snapped a command, hissing it between his teeth. "Get up. Get up now." He pulled her hair, but not with the same savage intensity he had before.

  Sonia managed to make it unsteadily to her feet. She swayed, afraid her knees would give out. Her head exploded with pain each time she moved too fast, and the way Nikita pulled her hair added to the teeth-gritting agony.

  "Give her your jacket, David!" the Russian shouted. "Now!"

  David didn't hesitate. He peeled off his leather jacket and put it in his boss's outstretched hand. Nikita put it on her. "Cover up," he ordered, as if she hadn't been the one to rip her top off.

  She pulled the edges of the jacket together, feeling for the zipper. It was huge on her, but she didn't care. She hated the way the men gawked at her. She didn't want them looking at the marks Joshua had put on her body. She knew, in a strange way, those marks made them think he was a man to be reckoned with. They even thought he might be an ally, a man who would use her and then turn her over to Nikita.

  "Your key?"

  There was no sense in having them break down her door or shatter a window. She took the spare key out from under the flowerpot sitting to the left of the door.

  Nikita smirked at her. "Very inventive, my dear."

  She handed the key to him and let him unlock the door. She'd seen her mother handle him, year after year. Little things. Her mother had given him deference, rarely opposed him and then only when it came to decisions made for Sonia's schooling or care. He took the key as if it was his due and opened the door. She went into the house without any urging, wondering what had changed him.

  He was different. She didn't know exactly how, but he was. She went quickly to the middle of the room, staying away from any furniture, anywhere he might think she had hidden a weapon. She faced him, swaying, her head throbbing.

  "Sit down, Sonia. You're going to fall on your face." He sounded irritated.

  She complied immediately, grateful she hadn't fallen in front of him. Her fingers gripped the arm of her chair. "What are you going to do?" She whispered it, letting fear make her voice tremble. Let him think she was completely cowed. She had Gatita, her ace in the hole.

  The dark, deep pits Nikita had for eyes stared at her until she shivered. He looked evil. She'd never noticed that before.

  "I was going to torture you in front of my son. My plan was to keep you alive for several days and let him suffer, watching your agony. Now I am not certain. Who made these marks on your body?"

  She pressed her lips together tightly and then, as if she couldn't hold his gaze, she looked away from him. "A man by the name of Joshua Tregre."

  "Did that man put those marks on your shoulder?"

  She stiffened. She hadn't thought about those marks for a long time or the way they'd gotten there. She touched her tongue to her suddenly dry lips. She nodded slowly, her eyes jumping to his. Did he know? Was he aware those marks meant she was leopard? That she'd been claimed by another male? Did he think Sasha had put them there?

  He exploded into anger, slamming his fist on the nearest table, picking it up and throwing it. When one of his men rushed to see what was wrong, Nikita slapped him twice, hard, calling him names and taunting him over and over. She realized he was goading the man to pull his weapon. When the man refused, Nikita took out his own gun and pistol-whipped him, then put it to his head and pulled the trigger.

  She screamed. Loudly. A woman screamed when gangsters shot their own men and brains, blood and bone scattered all over her floor. She made certain her shock and horror were extra loud. She'd left her bedroom windows open, covered only by the insect screens. Surely the swamp would carry her voice to Gray. He would be looking for her by now.

  Nikita stormed over to her and slapped her hard. "Shut the fuck up and let me think."

  He hit her so hard her neck snapped back. She had to press her hand to her throbbing temple. The blow from the Russian made the one on her temple hurt more. She watched him pace across the room. He suddenly turned back to her.

  "Did my son know?"

  "Know what?" She frowned at him, trying to puzzle out what he meant.

  He spat on the floor in disgust. "You don't want to fuck with me. Your sweet little pussy may have been able to lead my son around by his dick, but I can assure you, I'm not that man. If I keep you, you'll do whatever I say, when I say it."

  "What are you talking about? You were with my mother. I'm not about to be kept by you." She was genuinely horrified. She'd expected to be tortured. She'd expected to be killed. She hadn't ever once entertained the idea that he might want to keep her. Rape her, yes. Give her to his men, even that. But never permanently keep her.

  "I'm killing Sasha. He's worthless, the sniveling coward. He always has been. I'll need another son and I'm considering that your life was spared for a reason."

  "What would that be?" she asked.

  "To give me sons. As many as I want. I'll keep you alive for that reason, you little slut. I don't know how you escaped that bomb or kept your leopard secret from me, but Tregre wouldn't have put those marks on your shoulder if you weren't leopard."

  Her breath caught in her throat. She closed her eyes and shook her head in silent denial. If she opened her mouth, he would hear her lie.

  Nikita paced across the room. "Maybe a better plan is to send the others to kill Sasha, take you back to Miami and renegotiate with Tregre. If he had planned to turn you over to me, we can come to a solution. If not . . ." He shrugged. "Killing him shouldn't be too difficult."

  Her heart accelerated at the thought that he might take her to Miami. He would definitely have the home-field advantage there.

  19

  JOSHUA stared out the window, his back to the others. Gray had brought the news to him in person. His trackers were out, not an easy thing to do on the highway, but they would find her. "Have Drake's people find out every vacation home in this area that has been rented." He glanced over his shoulder at Kai. He waited for the man to nod and hurry away, cell to his ear, before he turned back to stare into the night.

  A madman had her. God only knew what was happening to her. Everything he had learned about Nikita boded ill for any woman he took, let alone Sonia. He felt sick. The hole inside him widened and the monster crept out until it was staring back at him in the window. He put his head down to breathe away the murderous rage, the need to pound his fists into human flesh, let his leopard loose to claw apart his enemies.

  Hold on, baby.
I won't stop until I find you. He wouldn't. That was his greatest flaw and his greatest strength. He didn't know how to stop, and for Sonia, he never would. He would find her and do whatever it took, for however long, to make certain she was safe and happy.

  "That's too obvious," Sasha said. "He'd know you have resources, and he wants time with her."

  There was a break in the Russian's voice. The first crack Joshua had heard, and he spun around to face him. Sasha's color was off, a thin scar running along the side of his face showing whiter against his skin. He was scared for Sonia too. No, it was more like terror. He knew what his father was capable of, more than any other. He'd witnessed it. This was his nightmare, just as it was Joshua's.

  "Where would he take her?"

  Sasha frowned. "I don't know the area, but it would be somewhere you wouldn't expect. The last place you'd think to look. I had that old hunting cabin on the island, maybe there's something like that."

  There were a million old camps the locals had used or abandoned, scattered throughout the swamp. Joshua paced across the room. The others were silent, watching him. Waiting. He was the most familiar with the swamp . . . He had to clear his brain. Think. Images of Sonia raped, beaten. Tortured. His stomach lurched. He had to stop. He had to force his mind under control so he could think. Where could a man who didn't know the swamp take a woman to be alone with her? A place no one could hear her screams?

  He needed to punch something--or someone. The devil inside him was riding him hard. He paced to get the adrenaline out, to force his brain to think. A house in the swamp, then. Not a vacation home. He'd need a local to direct him to the camps. Other locals would talk, especially if someone went missing, and it would be like Nikita to kill whoever aided him, buying his silence permanently.

  "He'd want her alive as long as possible. He'd want me to see her suffer," Sasha said.

  "So, he's coming after you," Fyodor said. "You're certain?"

  Sasha nodded. "I had guards spread out. They didn't make a good showing against Joshua's men, but they're good in a firefight. We're a little out of our element here. The good news is, Nikita's men will be as well."