Authors: Donna Grant
Kane ran a hand through his golden blond hair that now came down to his chin. “I’ll do some research on her today. Court, you’ve got fifteen minutes to get to the bar. It’s your turn to open.”
“Shit,” Court said as he jumped out of the chair and grabbed the shoes he had kicked off when he’d crashed there last night.
He stuffed his feet in his boots, made sure he had his wallet and cell phone, and then he was out the door.
Riley waited until the door shut behind him before she turned in her chair to look at Kane. “He has no idea about the details of your parents’ deaths, does he?”
“None.” Kane crossed one ankle over the other, his blue gaze still on the door. “There was much he didn’t see or know about while we were growing up because he’s the youngest. We wanted it that way.”
“Trust me when I say that won’t turn out well. I’m the youngest as well as the only girl in my family. Having things kept from me only pisses me off.”
Kane’s gaze lowered, a wall coming down. “I hear you, but that doesn’t make revealing them any easier. Court doesn’t carry the troubles that Solomon, Myles, or I do. I like it that way.”
“If he keeps moving from woman to woman like he has been, you’re going to have a different kind of trouble on your hands,” she warned.
“He likes the attention from the females.” Kane set down his mug and braced his hands behind him on the counter. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“None at all.”
After weeks of living with Kane, Riley could tell he was closing himself off again. It happened frequently. Something would trigger a memory or thought, and he would become detached and reserved.
He opened up to her more and more. Progress was being made, but it wasn’t quick enough for Kane’s brothers. Solomon had taken her aside the day she’d arrived in New Orleans and asked her to do what she could for Kane.
Most times, Kane was content letting her ramble on as she often did. His gaze would become distant, and she was sure he never heard her. Yet he always had a comment to make after her stories.
She couldn’t imagine what Kane was going through. It was bad enough that the LaRues were cursed generations ago to live as werewolves. Then Kane had to go and piss off Delphine.
Riley liked to call her the Bitch Queen. The Voodoo priestess had it out for the LaRues and the Chiassons, mostly because they were the only ones who had the power to keep her in check.
Delphine had put a curse on Kane to seek out Ava Ledet and kill her. Years before, Jack Ledet had killed a vampire who happened to be Delphine’s niece. Delphine had never forgiven him for that.
It was all very complicated. Kane had been unable to stop himself from seeking out Ava, who just happened to be in Lyons Point and near Riley’s brothers at the time.
The worst part about it wasn’t that the curse sent Kane to kill Ava – which was bad enough - it was that if he did, he would remain in werewolf form forever, forgetting who he was.
Luckily, it was Lincoln who’d found Ava – and fell hard for her. Solomon had then arrived in Lyons Point to help Lincoln keep Ava safe, as well as preventing Kane from completing Delphine’s task.
It didn’t seem to matter to Kane that he wasn’t responsible for going after Ava. In his mind, the blame lay squarely with him. His actions ate at him like acid.
Riley rose and walked to Kane. He was so tortured that she wondered if anyone would ever be able to heal him. Myles said time would heal his brother. Riley wasn’t so sure.
Every time she thought Kane was making progress, he would revert. Just like now.
She put her hand on his cheek. “Do you need anything?”
“To forget.”
The words were spoken so softly she almost didn’t hear them. And they broke her heart.
“Delphine no longer has control over you,” Riley reminded him. “You control yourself, Kane.”
“What about the next time we have to fight her?” His blue gaze clashed with hers. “And what about us combining forces with the Moonstone wolves and every witch group in the quarter to free Addison and Minka from her spell to gain ultimate power? Do you think she’s going to let that go?”
Riley tried not to think about what Delphine might do. Everyone knew she would retaliate. It was the when that kept them on edge.
“She won’t,” Kane continued. “She’ll come for one of us. She’s more powerful than you can possibly imagine. I fought her spell. I fought with everything I had. Only to lose.”
“You won.”
Kane shoved her hand away and walked off a few steps then whirled around. “No one wins against that bitch. She keeps score, Riley. She marked us, and she marked your brothers. Do you think you can remain in this city without her turning her attention to you? It’ll happen, cousin. If it hasn’t already.”
“It’ll happen no matter where I am,” she stated.
But there was no denying the fear that began to spread within her.
C
HAPTER
T
WO
Skye Parrish stood on the sidewalk and smiled as she read over her article on her iPad. Every time she saw her name in print, she realized she was living a dream.
It had taken all her skills to sell herself, and her idea for the articles, to her editor. Helen was a tough bird, but Skye eventually wore her down. Now that her column was gaining more readers each week, Skye couldn’t wait to tell everyone what was truly out in the world.
People had a right to know what was living next door to them and who was truly dangerous. Or maybe she should say what. She didn’t exactly think the supernatural beings were human. How could they be if they were immortal and had magic?
Skye looked over the so-called fortune tellers in Jackson Square. They were, in fact, witches. The witch faction in New Orleans was huge. It could easily rule the city, except that it was made up of mostly women who bickered constantly.
The witches were grouped by families, with four of the largest holding the most power among the faction. There was one group descended from the gypsies of Romania. Another group came from a long line of witches from France, one from Ireland, and another from the United Kingdom.
The smaller witch families were a mishmash of heritage, but that didn’t make them any less dangerous.
Though Skye was curious about the witch faction, she was more focused on all the other beings that called New Orleans home. She also wanted to know what it was about the city that drew them.
Her next article was due in three days. Since she’d discovered so much about the Djinn by visiting the Viper’s Nest, she thought it would be smart to return.
She pulled her phone from her purse and sent a text to Matthew to make sure he was free that night. He replied that he was.
“Fill up before I get there,” she said aloud as she typed the words.
Matthew was a vampire, and she had no interest in being his meal. She still couldn’t believe she had a vampire as a source. Even she rolled her eyes at the thought. What Skye wasn’t sure about, was why Matthew wanted to help her. Exposing the supernatural also exposed him.
The one thing Skye did know was that she didn’t trust him. Matthew had been helpful so far, especially by keeping others away from her at the bar. Still, he scared her.
However, a story was a story. And she had a whopper of one. If that meant she had to sit next to a vampire some nights while in the middle of a club full of other supernatural beings, she could do it.
Besides, she wore a silver necklace at all times. A thick silver chain.
She might be weaker than most, but she knew how to stop a vampire. It was something she’d learned while in college. A lesson that had sunk deep.
~
“What?” Solomon shouted.
Court winced at his eldest brother’s tone. “I’m just thankful Kane still reads the damn newspaper.”
Solomon ran a hand down his face and sighed. Myles hadn’t said a word from his chair behind his desk. Court stood by the door as Solomon paced Myles’s office.
“Does this woman have a death wish?” Solomon asked.
Myles threw down his pencil. “Apparently.”
“It’s times like these that make me want to sit back and let the idiots that get themselves into these messes get whatever is coming.” Solomon’s big hands fisted at his sides as his anger grew. “How fucking stupid do you have to be to go meddling in the affairs of the supernatural?”
Court couldn’t agree more, but he also couldn’t stand by and let an innocent get hurt. “It won’t be long before one of the factions realize that Ms. Skye Parrish is a reporter for The Times – Picayune.”
“A newspaper that thankfully has cut its distribution drastically,” Solomon mumbled.
Myles leaned back in his office chair. “It’s down to three times a week for printed, but it goes out every day online.”
“That’s good news, right?” Solomon looked from Myles to Court.
Court shook his head. “Afraid not. It looks like subscription service has increased fifteen percent since her first article three weeks ago.”
“Goddamn it!”
Myles flattened his lips for a moment. “She has to be stopped.”
“We can’t just tell her to stop,” Court argued. “She’ll want to know why. I’m a hundred percent certain none of us want our names in anything she writes.”
Solomon rubbed his fingers back and forth over his forehead. “A full moon is coming. If that...woman...isn’t brought to heel, there’s no telling what she’ll find out.”
“I’m on it,” Court told his brothers. “I’ll be tracking her with the help of Kane and Riley.”
At the mention of their brother, Myles’s and Solomon’s eyes snapped to him. Court blew out a breath and pushed away from the wall.
“Kane is doing some research on Skye Parrish for us. Riley will be the connection we need to the reporter. Hopefully, to get her to back down.”
Myles sat forward, his face creased in lines of worry. “It may take all of us.”
“We’re just visiting bars, Myles. The Viper’s Nest and Boudreaux’s. Besides, you and Solomon can take care of Gator Bait for a few nights.”
Solomon had a perturbed look on his face as he turned to Myles. “What do you think?”
“I think they have it well enough in hand,” Myles said. “All they’ll be doing is tracking Skye for a few nights. If there is a problem, we can get to them fast enough.”
There was a long stretch of silence before Solomon nodded as he slid his gaze to Court. “I don’t need to tell you what will happen if Riley is hurt.”
“She’s the sister we never had. I’d never let anything happen to her,” Court vowed.
Myles threw a pencil at him and grinned. “Get to it then. But first, it’s your turn to accept the delivery out back.”
Right at that moment, the bell at the back of the bar rang. Court left Myles’s office to make his way to the kitchen to accept their daily delivery.
He glanced at the clock. Just a few more hours before he met with Kane to go over what he’d learned about Skye Parrish.
~
“There isn’t much,” Kane said from his spot at the kitchen table as he pushed the laptop toward Court.
Court made a face. “As if, Kane. There has to be something.”
“He’s not lying,” Riley said from the bathroom.
Court glanced at his cousin to see her hand moving as she brushed out her hair. He returned his attention to Kane. “What did you find out?”
“She wasn’t raised anywhere in the US that I can find.”
“You had to have found something more,” Court stated.
Riley leaned back to peer around the bathroom doorway and grinned. “Oh, we did.”
There was a ghost of a smile as Kane pointed to the laptop. “I traced Skye Parrish backwards. She came to New Orleans from LA where she did a brief stint at the Los Angeles Times. Before that, she got her degree in journalism from UCLA.”
“Where is she from though?” Court asked.
Kane waited a few seconds before he said, “The Bahamas.”
Court was so surprised at the news that he sat back in his chair without anything to say.
“I know, right?” Riley said as she walked out of the bathroom. “I had that exact reaction. Who grows up in the Bahamas?”
Court blinked as he looked at his cousin in her dark jeans and bright pink shirt. The top dipped low enough to show ample cleavage. He didn’t think she should be wearing anything like that going to the places they were headed.
“Wipe that look off your face right now, Court LaRue,” she told him sternly. “I’m a grown woman who has lived by myself for years.”
Court looked to Kane for help, but Kane was busy typing on his laptop again. Court gave up with a shake of his head. “Is that all you found out about Skye?”
“It seems Ms. Parrish came from a family with big connections. Her mother came from money, and her father was the CEO of a plastics corporation. She was born in New York, but the family made their permanent home in Nassau,” Kane answered.
Riley walked to the sink and rinsed out a cup to load in the dishwasher. “I’d like to know why she left the cushy life. If her parents had that kind of money, why not use it?”