Savage Nature

  "Evan." He yanked the board from under the knob and opened the door. Thick black smoke billowed out of the room. "Evan!"

  He waved his arms to try to dispel the smoke before running into the room. Evan was sprawled half on, half off the bed as if maybe he roused himself enough to know there was a problem, but couldn't quite wake up. His leopard was probably roaring at him, desperate to break through the drug in his system. Lifting the man in a fireman's carry over his shoulder, Drake took him out of the room and dumped him on the floor of the balcony.

  Evan coughed a couple of times, enough that Drake could see he was waking.

  "I have to get to the others, Evan. As soon as you can, help Saria. She's working her way down the balconies on the right side. Understand?"

  Evan nodded, drawing in a deep lungful of clean air. He signed that he was sick, bent over and expelled the contents of his stomach.

  Drake glanced over to the balcony where Saria should have been. The French doors were wide open with smoke pouring through them, and Saria was nowhere to be seen. He cursed aloud, knowing she'd gone inside despite his orders to stay out. He hesitated between going to the next team member, or going after Saria. As he turned toward the right, stepping up onto the railing in preparation for a leap to the roof, she appeared in the doorway, dragging Jeremiah behind her.

  Drake didn't wait. He went up onto the roof, but ran to his left, to the next room where, once again, he found the door barred. Anger was slowly building, now that he was fully awake and the drug was wearing off in the clean air. He ripped open the door. Elijah crawled toward him, dragging a chair behind him. The smoke was particularly thick in the room, thick and black, as if he were much closer to the source than Drake's room had been. Drake could see that Elijah had been violently ill in the room, which had probably allowed him to rid himself of the drug in his system and wake up enough to know they were in trouble.

  The moment Drake flung open the doors, Elijah clawed his way onto the balcony, coughing and gasping, and mad as hell. "Someone tried to kill us, Drake. This was no fucking accident."

  Drake nodded his head. He'd already come to that conclusion. "You all right? I have to get to Joshua."

  Joshua was in the last room at the end of the hall, nearest the circular library at the top of the stairs. If the smoke was coming from there, that would make Joshua closest to the source and most likely to be in trouble. Drake remembered that he'd been particularly tired.

  Elijah nodded and waved him away, even as he tried desperately to drag fresh air into his lungs.

  Drake glanced to his right, looking for Saria. Evan and Saria were helping Jerico from his room. Jerico was on his feet, staggering between the two, but he was alive and well. Drake once more took to the roof. He was exhausted, but feeling better now that he could breathe and the drug was mostly gone from his system. He could feel the aftereffects--a pounding headache and his stomach still churning, but his strength was coming back and with it--rage. Pure rage.

  Someone had gone into the house, someone who knew the security system and code. So a family member? Pauline? Amos? One of the Merciers? As he ran across the roof, he caught sight of two men in the trees, running toward the inn. He recognized Joshua Tregre's uncles. The two men were streaked with black just as he and all of his men were from the smoke. He called out to Elijah, alerting him, as he dropped down to Joshua's balcony. Through the French doors he could see black smoke had filled the room. His heart dropped. How could Joshua be alive when he couldn't even see into the room?

  He yanked away the bar of wood and, gulping air, rushed in. Joshua wasn't on the bed or the floor. The door leading to the hall was open and he could see that the hall itself was black with thick smoke, yet there were no flames licking along the floor, ceiling or walls. Drake rushed back outside, took another lungful of fresh air and ran through Joshua's bedroom out into the hall. Joshua's room was nearest the large, circular library at the top of the stairs. Drake could see the stone fireplace had low flames burning around smoldering logs. Wet wood had been set on fire.

  Coughing, he hurried to the fireplace. He could see that Joshua had been there before him, probably opening the vent someone had closed when they set th fire with wet wood. Drake looked over the railing. The fire in the sitting room had the same wet wood smoldering in it. Joshua had crawled down the stairs in order to try to open that vent as well. He had the front door open and was lying half in, half out of the house.

  Drake leapt over the railing and ran to Joshua, his lungs burning for air. Dragging him the rest of the way out, he turned the man onto his back to make certain he was breathing. Joshua's lashes fluttered and he looked up at Drake and gave him a weak thumbs-up.

  "You're insane," Drake said. "You should have gotten out immediately."

  Joshua's teeth looked very white against his blacksmeared face. "Figured it was best to get the smoke out." He coughed and tried to sit. "I think I puked my way through the house. Miss Pauline isn't going to be happy with me."

  "You're a damn fool," Drake said, sitting next to him. "You ever scare me like that again and I'll kick your punk ass."

  "Got it, boss," Joshua said, staring up at the overcast sky. "I wouldn't mind if it rained right now. Did everyone get out?"

  "Yeah. They're all fine. They look like hell, same as you."

  Joshua tried to laugh and ended up coughing. "I think someone is really mad at you, boss. You kicked the wrong person's ass."

  "I'd like the opportunity to kick it again and maybe do it right this time," Drake said. He shoved his hand through his hair. His fingers were streaked with smoke. "I have to go back in there and open that vent. Smoke can damage a house pretty bad. I'll get the doors and windows open and hopefully get it moving out of there."

  "Someone turned off the security system."

  "Figured that out, did you? Probably one of your exgirlfriends," Drake said.

  Joshua shoved at him with his foot. "Go away. You've given me a headache."

  "I think the drug you ingested and the smoke did that."

  Joshua rubbed the bridge of his nose, smearing the black streaks. "It had to be the coffee. Damn it, Drake. I feel like shit."

  "Think about that the next time you play hero."

  "Fuck you."

  Drake laughed and pushed himself up. "You aren't going to have a voice for a week or so. Makes me deliriously happy. I'm going to open all the doors and windows and get that vent open. Don't you move. I'd better find you in the same exact spot when I come back." The relief he felt that Joshua was alive was tremendous. They'd been lucky. Really lucky.

  Every one of the doors on the ground floor were locked from the inside, but hadn't been tampered with as the balcony doors had been. Someone had waited for the drug to take effect, barred the balcony doors and closed the vents in the fireplaces before lighting the wet wood, creating the smoke. All they had to do was sit back and wait for it to fill the inn and hopefully kill off the team--and Saria.

  It took quite a few trips into the house to open it fully to allow the fresh air in. Drake opened the fireplace vents and put out both fires. Homeone had make several trips outside to breathe, and Elijah and Evan both joined in to help. The upstairs windows were next. They turned on the overhead fans and located several standing fans in closets to rid the house of the smoke.

  Saria brought a jug of clean fresh water to the front of the house where Elijah, Evan and Drake sat on the grass beside Joshua.

  "Jerico and Jeremiah have a couple of prisoners. The Tregre brothers claim they dropped by hopin' to talk to Joshua and found the downstairs filled with smoke. They couldn't get in because all the doors were locked so they went down to the edge of the lake away from the trees hopin' to get a cell phone connection to call the fire department. Trouble with that is, go down the road a piece and you can call easily and both would know that." She handed Joshua a glass of water and poured another for Drake. "They're lyin'."

  "Big surprise there." Drake downed the entire glass of
water and held it out to her.

  She ignored him and handed a glass to Elijah and another to Evan. "Miss Pauline is goin' to be so upset. I'll call Amos and tell him what happened. Remy and my brothers are on the way," she added.

  Drake leveled a look at her. "We could have handled this ourselves."

  "I wasn't certain just how you were goin' to handle it, Drake." She took the glass from him and poured water into it. "I don't want you killin' anyone."

  "Now why would you think I'd do something like that?" he asked softly. She should have been far more shaken up than she appeared.

  "I think your woman has ice in her veins," Joshua stated.

  Drake shot him a hard look. It was possible all of his men were thinking the same thing, but they were polite enough not to say it out loud.

  Saria laughed. "Did you think I was going to faint?"

  "Naw," Elijah said, "Joshua did that for you."

  The men laughed. Saria sent Drake a small smile. "I will admit it probably wasn't a good idea sendin' for Remy. He sounded angry."

  "Baby, he beat the shit out of Armande and Robert for discharging a weapon around you. I can't imagine what he'll do if he thinks the Tregre brothers had anything to do with trying to kill us all." Drake couldn't help smirking a little. "Your brother is far worse than I am."

  "I doubt that," Saria disagreed.

  "Smart woman," Elijah said. "Don't let him fool you with that calm civilized act of his."

  "It did occur to me, when I saw the rest of you, that maybe he was hidin' somethin' from me," Saria replied with that small secret grin that always made Drake's heart stutter.

  His men had accepted her. She'd led them through the swamp, never once complaining of the rain and muck. She'd risked her life helping to get the members of his team out of the smoke-filled inn and immediately had thought to bring them all water. She didn't panic--something all of his men would admire. Including her in their teasing signaled their acceptance and camaraderie.

  "You realize, Saria, these twomen were the ones in the Mercier boat, the one delivering the opium to the other boat." Drake kept his voice low and even. His eyes met Elijah's. Drake had to look away from the compassion there.

  Did Saria realize the implication? No shifter could go to jail. They wouldn't survive in captivity and they couldn't die in jail where a doctor would autopsy their body. He was leader of the lair. It would be up to him to pass sentence and carry it out. Remy might be a problem. If his first loyalty was to the human law rather than lair law, Drake would have to find a way to handle the situation without any harm coming to Saria's family. The shifter code had to be placed above all else. He sighed. Things were going to hell fast. The possibility that one or both of the Tregre brothers were serial killers was growing by the moment. Certainly depravity ran in their family. Their father had been cruel and if the rumors were true, he'd murdered his own son.

  "Drake," Saria said quietly.

  His gaze locked with hers.

  "Don't worry about me. Do what you have to do."

  He would have kissed her, despite her black-streaked face, if all his men hadn't been grinning like monkeys.

  They had arrived at the inn through the waterway, so it was rather startling to have cars driving up to the house, reminding him they weren't on an island. Remy leapt out, rushed across the lawn to his sister, yanking her up off the ground and into his arms in one move.

  "You all right, Saria?"

  "I'm fine. All of us got out."

  "This is bullshit."

  "I thought so too," Saria agreed with a small smile. She carefully extracted herself from her brother, brushing at the smears of black on his shirt.

  "I'm sendin' you out of the country if this keeps up," he threatened, turning to glare at Drake. "You keep puttin' her in harm's way and the two of us just may end up dancin'."

  "Any time, Remy," Drake spat out, disgusted. He was damn tired, angry and ready to kick the ass of every member of the lair. "How the hell did you allow things to get to this point? You had to have known what was going on right under your nose. I suppose you looked the other way because it was convenient, just as you did when Saria was growing up."

  Behind Remy, his brothers spread out and behind Drake, his men did the same. Saria made a move as if to get between them, but Drake snagged her wrist and pulled her behind him. He raised glittering eyes to the Boudreaux brothers, his leopard clawing for supremacy. His chest was already bare, as were his feet, so hands dropped to the buttons of his jeans, ready to strip.

  "Any of you want to challenge for leadership, do it now or stand down. I'm damn tired of this entire community." Fury pushed adrenaline through his veins, and his skin rippled as he breathed deep to try to keep his leopard at bay. He'd had enough of all of them.

  Remy bowed his head and his brothers followed suit. "I was not challengin' leadership," he qualified, "only takin' offense at you makin' it all personal. My sister is years younger than me. Maybe you're right and we should have looked out for her better. Those years were difficult on all of us and lways seemed as if she was happy. Maybe it's guilt and the need to make it all up to her that makes me edgy. Bottom line is, she's my sister and I don't like anyone threatenin' her or puttin' her in danger."

  "Then let's find this bastard and put him in the ground," Drake said.

  Saria slipped her fingers into the back pocket of his jeans. He felt the connection between them immediately. Felt his leopard calm instantly and hers rise to the surface to stroke along his cat. The knots of tension in his belly unraveled.

  "I've got a couple of men that need interrogating. Care to join me?" Drake asked Remy.

  "They won't like seein' me with you," Remy warned. "I have a reputation. Undeserved, but there it is." He offered up a small smile, just a flash of his white teeth, but it was a conciliatory gesture.

  Drake reached behind him for Saria's hand. It was strange to think he hadn't known her just a week or so earlier. She'd fast become his world. There was something soothing about her presence even when his entire body was aware of her at all times. Her fingers threaded through his and instant satisfaction flooded him. Relief. She was always there. Steady. Constant. No matter what happened. No matter how bad.

  "Maybe you should go with your brothers back to your house, shower and get clean clothes. I'll send Elijah and Joshua with you. They're both tough as nails and between them and your family, you'll be safe."

  "You want to get rid of me."

  "There's that too." He smiled down at her. She wasn't a woman he had to soft-soap the truth for. "I'd rather you weren't here when we question these men." His gaze flicked to Joshua. Hers followed and she barely nodded her head, understanding his silent plea. He didn't want Joshua there either. If his uncles were every bit as sick as his grandfather had been, Joshua might take it pretty hard. It was always a difficult thing to face knowing one's bloodline could carry insanity. Drake had been with Jake Bannaconni for some time and had seen firsthand when leopards went wrong. Jake's parents had been two of the cruelest, sickest individuals Drake had ever come across.

  Saria nodded. "A shower sounds good."

  Drake retained possession of her hand. "You won't take off on your own, right?"

  "Are you sayin' you think I can slip away right out from under the noses of your men and my brothers?" she teased.

  "Probably. I sure wouldn't bet against it. But you won't."

  "I won't. I know someone really dangerous is runnin' around out there and . . ."

  "They're looking right at you," he finished for her.

  She nodded, her expression serious. "I'll be safe."

  Satisfied, Drake looked to his men--not her brothers. Joshua and Elijah were men he would trust with his life--with Saria's life. They both nodded their understanding.

  Remy looked at his brothers. "Take them home. Don't let her out of your sight. In fact, when she takes a shower, one of you guard outside that window. If these two aren't doin' the killin', he might make another t
ry for Saria."

  Mahieu nodded and stepped back to allow his sister to precede him to the car.

  "Give us a minute," Elijah said. They needed weapons and the weapons were in their rooms. "I'll get your things, Joshua."

  Joshua didn't protest, but remained stretched out in the grass. He regarded Drake with open suspicion. "You getting rid of me, Drake?"

  Drake scowled at him. "I'm entrusting you with the life of my mate, Joshua. Tell me who's better for the job and I'll send them."

  Joshua grinned at him. "Just wanted to make you say it, boss."

  Drake flipped him off, ignoring the laughter of the Boudreaux brothers. Elijah came out with a bag filled with weapons. Remy rolled his eyes.

  "You goin' to war?"

  "Damn straight," Elijah answered.

  Drake extended his hand and pulled Joshua from the ground. "I'm counting on the two of you. Don't let anything happen to my woman."

  Elijah nodded and he and Joshua followed the Boudreaux brothers and Saria to the car. Drake and Remy went around the house to find the two prisoners.

  Drake crossed his arms over his chest and regarded the Tregre brothers as they sat on the ground beneath the trees, a small distance from the inn. Jerico had left them untied, but Remy immediately snapped cuffs on both of them, and he wasn't gentle about it.

  "I'm going to give you a chance to tell me the truth," Drake said and held up his hand to forestall either of the brothers from speaking. "Before you decide to be stupid, you might consider that some leopards can smell a lie. Remy has quite the reputation in the police department and moved up the ladder fast. He's actually a detective now. A homicide detective. Now why do you suppose that is?"

  "You notice there's been a lot of dead bodies' turnin' up around here?" Remy added. "Cuz I've been noticin' that."

  "Would have been a few more, Remy," Drake said, "if Saria hadn't woken up when she did. Seems to me that your sister's been in harm's way quite a bit lately, like maybe someone's targeting her."

  "You think someone's targeting my sister, Drake? Your fiancee?" Remy asked, beginning to pace. He was a big man and he seemed to flow, all muscle and sinew as he paced back and forth in front of the Tregre brothers.