One Down: Bayou Heat (Pantera Security League Book 1) Read online

  Cerviel snorted. He’d seen how the human politicians would promise everything to their people and deliver nothing.

  “Once again, I told you what I want,” he said, prowling forward. “Blood. Or more specifically, your blood.”

  Donaldson backpedaled even faster, his feet slipping on the loose pebbles. “I haven’t done anything to you.”

  Cerviel closed the distance between them. “You used and abused a vulnerable female. You caged her. Humiliated her. Lied to her.” There was a dark, lethal pause. “You raped her.”

  Sweat trickled down the man’s broad face. “It was just a bit of fun.”

  Cerviel bared his teeth, allowing his cat to glow in his eyes. “Ah,” he snarled. “Then maybe I’ll take you home with me. We can keep you in cage and hire you out for a bit of fun. Would you like that? I know a few humans who’d enjoy hearing a pig like you squeal.”

  “Look, I only did what I was ordered to do.” The man hastily tried to deflect the blame from himself.

  Spineless coward.

  “Ordered by who?” Cerviel demanded.

  “Christopher Benson.”

  A low snarl was wrenched from Cerviel’s lips. Christopher Benson had caused his people incalculable harm over the years. There wasn’t a Pantera in the world who wasn’t hoping to be the one to rip out the bastard’s throat.

  Cerviel sucked in a calming breath. He needed answers. Then he could punish Donaldson for every second of pain and humiliation Hallie had suffered.

  “Why?” he asked.

  Donaldson tried to look innocent. “He didn’t tell me.”

  Cerviel allowed his gaze to skim down to the man’s feet before returning to study the sweaty face. “Did you know pumas prefer to eat their dinner while it’s still alive?” he asked. He snapped his teeth in Donaldson’s direction, making the idiot jump in fear.

  “Wait,” he rasped, as if terrified Cerviel might start feeding on him at any second. “Benson didn’t tell me anything, but I know there was something different about the female.”

  Cerviel stilled, barely daring to breathe. This was precisely the information they needed. “Different how?” he pressed.

  The man swallowed heavily, his eyes darting around as if ensuring there was no one near who could overhear them.

  “I think she was altered,” he at last said, his voice husky with fear.

  “Her blood.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes, that too. But Benson once told me that he’d—”

  There was a distant crack, like two rocks slamming together. It took a split second for Cerviel to recognize the sound. A split second too long.

  Leaping forward he knocked Donaldson to the ground. But even as he landed on top of the spongy body, he could see the life leach from the man’s eyes. What the fuck? He’d taken a bullet straight through the temple.

  Cerviel scrambled toward a nearby boulder as a second crack echoed through the air. There was a blast of dust as the bullet buried itself in the rock.

  Whoever was shooting was a pro.

  Shit.

  With a frustrated glance toward the dead Donaldson, Cerviel forced himself to leap onto the high ridge above him and disappear into a line of nearby trees.

  Someone didn’t want Donaldson talking to him about Hallie. But why? They’d already discovered that Benson Enterprises was capturing Pantera to use in their sick experiments. And that they’d infected humans with their blood.

  What did they have to hide? What had he been about to reveal before that bullet ended him?

  Keeping low to the ground, he pulled out the small device he had hidden in his pocket. He’d planted the bombs around the ranch house before ever entering it to find “the asset.” He’d intended to wait until he was in the air before he blew the packs of high explosives, assuming that Donaldson and his friends would be deep asleep.

  But now Donaldson was dead and he needed a distraction. He couldn’t be sure that there wasn’t a second hidden in shadows.

  Pressing the button, he waited until the ground shook and a distant sound of destruction echoed through the air. Ah. A sweet melody.

  Turning, he pocketed the device and headed for the helicopter he’d heard approaching during his fight with Donaldson. He hoped like hell that the men who’d intended to abuse Hallie had just exploded into a million itty-bitty bloody pieces. He didn’t have time to hunt each one down and rip out their hearts, as much fun as that would be.

  His future, both immediate and long-lasting, belonged to his mate.

  10BCHAPTER 9

  Sitting strapped into a seat in the back of the chopper, Hallie frantically pressed her face against the window. Come on, come on, come on.

  Where was he? He was just supposed to create a distraction, then join her. How long could that take?

  Clearly too long, as the pilot’s voice popped and crackled through the headphones he’d insisted she wear.

  “Time’s up,” he warned her.

  “No.”

  With shaky hands, Hallie reached for the metal buckle that held the complicated seatbelt together. Then she slid forward and reached for the latch to the side door.

  The pilot turned his head to glare at her with open annoyance. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I’m not leaving without Cerviel,” she said, yanking on the latch that refused to budge.

  Dammit, it had to be locked.

  “Listen, lady, I have my orders,” he snapped, reminding Hallie she was still wearing the headphones.

  “I’m not a lady,” she snapped back. I’m a Pantera.

  “I’m on the ground ten minutes and then I take off,” he continued, unfazed by her statement. “With or without passengers.”

  “Fine. Then you’ll have to go without passengers,” she informed him. “I’m getting off.”

  Without warning, the door slid open from the outside and Cerviel crawled into the cabin.

  His nostrils flared and he quickly glanced at the pilot, then turned back to Hallie and gave her a wry look. “Trouble?”

  With a choked cry, she threw herself against him, nearly tumbling back out of the chopper.

  “Is she yours?” the pilot demanded with undisguised irritation.

  Cerviel wrapped her tightly in his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

  “Oh, yeah,” he said, his heated musk wrapping around her. “She’s mine.”

  The pilot snorted. “Good luck.”

  Scooping Hallie off her feet, Cerviel settled her in her seat. “Buckle up, kitten,” he murmured, crouching in front of her to help with the straps.

  Her heart beating wildly and so full she could hardly speak, she reached out to touch his face, realizing that she’d been terrified that something had happened to him.

  Fate had been inexplicably cruel to her, but she’d lived through hell at the hands of Donaldson. Still, she knew that the agony she’d suffered in that cage and out would be nothing compared to the horror of losing this male.

  Just the thought made her entire body tremble with a soul-deep relief.

  “I wasn’t leaving without you,” she breathed.

  He clicked the buckle, leaning forward to brush her lips in a kiss that was far too brief.

  If it wasn’t for the pilot, who was busily preparing for takeoff, she would have pushed Cerviel to his back and crawled on top of him. Staked her claim once again. She needed the heat of his body and the taste of his lips to assure her that he was truly here, alive and unharmed.

  As if sensing her shattered reaction, he framed her face in his hands, kissing her with all the raw emotion that matched what churned inside her.

  Endless time passed before he slowly lifted his head to study her with eyes that’d gone cat-gold.

  “Don’t worry,” he assured her, speaking loud enough to be heard over the blades spinning above them. “Wherever you are, no matter how much distance is between us, I’ll find you.”

  She held his gaze. “You promise?”

>   He didn’t hesitate. “Oh, kitten, with my heart and soul. And you know that’s true,” he added with a wink as the pilot motioned for takeoff. “Because both of them belong to you.”

  11BCHAPTER 10

  “Let me get this straight,” Raphael said with a bite to his tone. “You want to change the terms of the contract?”

  “There was no contract,” Cerviel reminded him.

  Under the warm bayou sun, the leader of the Pantera glared at him. “You shed your blood and your name and your life when you joined the PSL. You agreed to certain rules that would not only keep you hidden, but ensure the entire league remained safe.”

  The truth was only that. Truth. It meant nothing in the face of love. Yes, loyalty to The Six, to the Pantera, ran deep in his blood. But Hallie was the very air he breathed. He didn’t want to choose between them, but if he was forced…

  Standing outside the safe house, a cozy cottage built from weathered wood and surrounded by large weeping willows that made it impossible to see from the road—which was hidden several miles north of the Wildlands—Cerviel readied himself for another round of Have you lost your fucking mind, ghost? A few hours before, Raphael had met them at the private airstrip now owned by the Pantera, then had spent most of the drive to the Wildlands grilling Cerviel on every detail of his rescue of Hallie. Not to mention chastising him for the mating he’d allowed to happen.

  As if mating was ever a choice.

  When they’d finally reached the border, Cerviel wasn’t surprised to find one of the Healers and a highly trusted Suit called Michel waiting for them. Raphael was convinced there was something different about Hallie that would make her a threat to Benson Enterprises and he wanted her fully checked over.

  Cerviel didn’t give a shit and had fought the leader over his proposed edicts.

  All he wanted was to be alone with his mate.

  Hallie, however, quickly proved that she was perfectly capable of making her own decisions. Ignoring Cerviel’s protest, she allowed the young female Healer to do a thorough examination.

  “Are you even listening to me, Cerviel?” Raphael demanded.

  A rush of wind over the bayou moved over and through them. Nostrils flared, Cerviel took in the scent of pain and happiness, uncertainty and…home.

  “You have a mate, Raphael,” he said at long last.

  The statement took Raphael by surprise, but he quickly recovered with a terse, “Ashe has nothing to do with this.”

  “Agreed.” Cerviel leaned against the porch rail of the cottage. “I’m appealing to you, as a male. As a Pantera male.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he asked plainly, “If you had been in my position, met your female as I met mine, would you have been able to walk away from her?”

  Raphael’s eyes flashed imperiously. “I didn’t agree to the life you did, Cerviel.”

  “Would you have been able to walk away?” he pressed. “Under any circumstances?”

  Raphael stood there, the Wildlands at his back, and said nothing.

  He didn’t have to.

  Pushing away from the railing, Cerviel glanced back at the cottage, where his female now resided. Where they would both reside until the rest of the PSL brought in their assets. “All I’m asking, boss, is that you think about it.”

  “Think about what?” The scent of another Pantera rushed Cerviel’s nostrils before the words were completely out of her mouth.

  He turned, along with Raphael, to see Elyon walking toward them. Although with Ely, it was more like a strut. The fellow member of the Pantera Security League was dressed in her typical work gear: jeans, a white T-shirt and motorcycle jacket. Clearly, she’d just come from around the side of the cottage. How the hell hadn’t either one of them heard her?

  The female Diplomat was easily six foot and sleekly muscled. Her silver-white hair was buzzed close to her head, her skin was a soft caramel and her eyes were this crazy shade of blue with little streaks of jade in them. She was like a badass Barbie doll, and males completely lost their shit when she was around. Cerviel never got it though. Maybe because he saw her as family.

  “Tell her, Cerviel,” Raphael urged, a dark grin on his face. “See what one of your own has to say on the subject.”

  Ripping the Band-Aid off was always the best way to deal with Elyon. Even though she was inclined to pour a little acid on the wound afterward. “I took a mate.” Simple. To the point. And no doubt, she would have a field day with it.

  She flashed him a look of unbridled disdain. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  Raphael laughed.

  “Didn’t plan it, Ely, okay?” Cerviel told her. “Didn’t go looking for it. You know me.”

  “I thought I did.” She snorted. “Wait until Ram hears about this. You’re going to be so screwed.”

  “Oh, shit,” Raphael said, dragging a hand through his hair. “I forgot he had to walk away from his female to join the league.”

  “Well, he hasn’t forgotten it,” Ely ground out.

  “Listen,” Cerviel bit back. “Both of you.” His eyes landed on each of them with unapologetic ferocity. “You want me out, I can’t stop that. Do whatever you need to do. But Hallie’s mine.”

  “Her name’s Hallie?” Elyon snorted. Again.

  “Yes, it is,” Raphael said. “And technically, she’s mine.”

  Cerviel’s head snapped around. His eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth. He’d always prided himself on the fact that he had amazing self-control. But the leader’s words had gone into his ear, and pierced the very heart of his cat.

  As Elyon called out “Oh, shit” on a laugh, he leapt on the leader, knocked him to the ground and coiled over him, ready to shed some serious blood.

  “Goddess,” Raphael ground out, then flipped the male onto his back. “For now, Cerviel. Hear me before we both do some damage. She has a purpose here. She will stay until that purpose is revealed.”

  The male stood up and offered Cerviel a hand.

  “Fine,” he uttered, his voice dark and dusty as he grabbed the hand and came to his feet. “I will be staying with her though.”

  “Oh for fuck’s sake.”

  Elyon laughed. “I can’t do shit here, Raphael. But it was a nice thought.”

  “You called her in to reason with me?” Cerviel demanded. “Seriously?”

  The leader shrugged. “I try anything and everything. The six of you are talented as hell, but you’re all pains in my ass.”

  “Well, this pain is out of here,” Elyon stated. “I’m wanted elsewhere. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone.”

  She took off back the way she came. And seconds later, the front door of the cottage opened and Michel walked out.

  Cerviel was in the Suit’s face the second his boot hit the ground. “Well?”

  He glanced first at Raphael, then turned to Cerviel. “The Healer said there’s evidence of the trauma she’s suffered over the years, but there’s nothing that won’t eventually heal. She’s given Hallie a clean bill of health.”

  Cerviel released a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding. “Thank the Goddess.”

  Michel held up a slender hand. “But she did say that there was…” His words trailed away.

  “What?” Both Raphael and Cerviel spoke at once.

  Michel grimaced. “Something that she could sense, but couldn’t actually find. Like an echo of power hidden deep inside her, but dormant.”

  Cerviel scowled. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “I don’t know,” Michel said.

  “We will most definitely keep a close eye on her—” Raphael began, but Cerviel growled his disapproval.

  “Oh, hell no. There’s no ‘we’ keeping eyes on Hallie. Only me.”

  Raphael looked at Michel and heaved a resigned sigh. “The Goddess save me from newly mated males.”

  The Suit chuckled. “It’s a problem we both know all too well.”

  Growing impatient to see Hallie, Cerviel snapped, “Is that all?�
�

  The older male flicked a brow upward. “Are you trying to get rid of us?”

  “Yeah,” Cerviel said bluntly. “Clearly it isn’t working very well.”

  As Michel laughed once again, Raphael growled softly. “Fine. For now. You can remain at the safe house together. But stay out of sight.”

  “You realize its me you’re talking to, don’t you?”

  “I’m not sure who you are anymore.” His eyes attempted to pierce a hole through Cerviel’s skull.

  Good luck with that. The thing is made of steel.

  “If you notice anything, and I mean anything at all…unusual about Hallie, I want you to call me.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Go away.”

  Teeth gritted, Raphael gave a shake of his head, then motioned for Michel and headed back toward the border. Cerviel could hear scraps of their words—plans and concerns regarding the remaining assets—floating back to him on the breeze, but he didn’t attempt to decipher more. Right now, he was only interested in one thing.

  His mate.

  * * *

  Though they weren’t exactly inside the Wildlands, the beauty, the air and the bayou near the border in the remote location in front of the safe house had an almost medicinal effect on Hallie. As she walked on the bank beside the slow-moving water with the male she now called her own, she felt at ease. She felt safe.

  She felt at home.

  But she wondered, couldn’t help but wonder, as Cerviel’s hand wrapped around hers, how he would feel crossing back over into a world that believed him dead.

  If that was indeed the plan.

  Things were so very much up in the air at the moment. The leader of the Pantera wished her to remain at the safe house indefinitely. For study. More questions. Perhaps even something dire. And Cerviel had refused to leave her. Goddess only knew what the future would bring. But at least they would face it together.

  “Where are we going?” she asked him, so deep in thought she hadn’t noticed they had gone farther into the bayou—the cottage no longer in sight.