Tooth and Claw (The Harry Russo Diaries Book 2) (16 page)

Salvador steepled his hands in front of his chest and
shrugged, his gaze narrowing. “I see.”

“Really. Thank you though.” I said again feeling
uncomfortable. “Was that it? Is that why you wanted to meet so urgently?”

“That, and to give you a warning,” Salvador’s voice was
flat.

“What kind of warning?”

“Tomas tells me that a man calling himself Elian Navarre may
be involved in this situation with the missing werewolves.”

“That name did come up, but I don’t know who he is. Do
you?” I sat up a little in my seat, my attention focused on Salvador.

Salvador tapped his steepled fingers together as if deciding
what to say. “I have had dealings with this…
man
,” he said, shifting
back in his seat to sit with one leg crossed over the other, his ankle resting
on his knee. He brushed an imaginary piece of lint off his pants. “I use that
term loosely for Elian is not a man, at least not of the human variety.”

“What is he then?” I sat forward in my seat, curiosity
piqued.

“Elian Navarre is the moniker used by the Fae Prince Eliassander
of the Court of Underhill. He is a very dangerous creature, a killer with no
conscience. I believe he would be called a psychopath by today’s standards.
He was once a member of the Wild Hunt, but was cast out by his own people for
reprehensible acts.”

I gasped in surprise. The Wild Hunt was the Fae equivalent
of a cleanup crew, riding the mortal world at the summer and winter solstices
to gather the souls of any Fae that may have passed while in the mortal realm.
They also hunted down any who were deemed to be acting against the best
interests of the Fae. The Hunt wasn’t exactly known for their humane methods,
preferring to run their prey to ground and then trample them to death all while
laughing and drinking ale from the horns at their sides.

“So what is he doing here on this side of Underhill? Surely
he would be banned from coming to the mortal realm?”

“He is, but for one exception, he may be called by blood to
grant a boon once every ten years.”

“So someone, related to him, has called him?”

“So it would seem,” Salvador shrugged. “Elian Navarre has
no love lost for werewolves, he would gladly grant any boon that allowed him to
do injury to the wolves.”

“Why? What does he have against werewolves?”

Salvador shrugged again. “Perhaps your wolf will know the
tale.”

“Why would Nash know anything about this Navarre?”

“Why Harry, because Elian Navarre murdered Detective Nash’s
father.”

***

My mind was still processing everything Salvador had told me
as I sat in the back of the limo on the ride home, the silver case on the seat
beside me. I had tried to leave the money behind, insisting that I didn’t need
it, but Salvador was just as insistent that I take it.

Learning that Nash’s father had been murdered by Navarre
cast a new light on his reaction to Christina’s abduction. No wonder he was so
worried, if the man responsible for his father’s death now had his sister. What
was really bothering me though were Salvador’s parting words.

“Have care Harry and keep your wolf close,” he said.

“He’s not my wolf,” I grumbled back with a scowl. Why did
Salvador keep calling Nash that?

“He has Marked you as his mate; he most certainly is
your
wolf.” Salvador looked at me with laughter in his eyes. Despite his original reaction,
he now seemed to find the idea amusing.

I really had no clue what Salvador was talking about, but I
knew it had something to do with the hickey that wasn’t a hickey at the nape of
my neck. It had felt freaking fantastic at the time, but did it really have
more meaning than just a love bite made in the throes of passion? Was I really
marked permanently? And what did it mean I was marked as his mate? Wolves
mate for life. We weren’t even dating. I had a hard time believing that Nash
would consider me his soul mate, even if his wolf did. If I had somehow been
marked last night, it was obvious that Nash was less in control than he
thought.

As the limo carried me home, I listened to the messages on
my phone. There was one from Isaac informing me he was still out looking for Christina
and would not be home until dawn and another from Tess saying she was going to
bed because she was exhausted and had an early class to teach in the morning.
Nash had called four times, his messages getting more and more pissed off
sounding as the night progressed.

“Harry this is Cian. Nothing on Christina
yet. Call me, we have to talk.”

“
Harry, it’s Nash. Still no news,
but we’re following some leads. We really need to talk. Call me when you get
this.”

“Harry, where the hell are you? Call me.”

“
Harry pick up your damn phone. If I find
out you’re screening my calls…”
Unintelligible growling.
“Call. Me.
Back.”

He thought we needed to talk. No shit. The apartment was
dark when I let myself in. I kicked off my shoes the moment I closed the
door. My feet were killing me. Why did sexy shoes have to be so damn
uncomfortable?

I padded barefooted across the room towards the stairs.
When Nash’s voice rang out, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Where the hell have you been?” His gruff voice came out of
the dark from the living room.

“Nash?” I peered across the room to see his lanky form
stretched out on the sofa. He rose to his feet as I crossed the room and
flicked on a lamp. He stared at me, dressed in my flirty cocktail dress, his
one eyebrow raised inquisitively.

“Out having a good time were you?” he asked with a growl.

“I was out meeting Salvador. He doesn’t take no for an
answer.” Nash seemed to ponder that for a moment then he sighed, running a
hand through his hair. He looked exhausted. Exhausted and worried. Feeling
bad that I might have added to that worry helped to diffuse some of the anger
that had been festering on the car ride home. “I’m sorry I couldn’t return
your messages. I just got them now.”

“What did Salvador want from you this time?”

“He…well, I guess he wanted to warn me.” I held up the
silver case. “And, he gave me the money for the entrance fee for the fight.”
Several emotions seemed to flit across Nash’s face – surprise, relief, worry –
but the exhaustion weighed him down. “Do you have any leads?”

Nash let out a deep breath and shook his head. “We have a
couple things we’re chasing down, but so far everything’s been a dead end.” He
tousled his hair again. “Listen Harry, I…”

I stepped in front of him, putting my hand on his lips.
“Salvador told me about Elian Navarre.” I wrapped my arms around him. He
stood stiffly for a moment then his arms folded around me, pulling me close.
He breathed in deeply, his lips brushing the top of my head. “I know we have
to talk, but it can wait,” I whispered.

“I…I just need to hold you,” he said.

Without another word, I took his hand and led him upstairs.
By the time I was finished in the bathroom getting ready for bed, he was passed
out, sprawled across my mattress. With a sigh, I pulled the covers out from
under him and slipped in beside him, covering us both. We’d talk in the
morning. I was too tired to be angry right now.

Sometime in the night, rough hands slid under the t-shirt I
had worn to go to bed, pulling it off over my head. “No clothes in my bed
Harry,” Nash mumbled sleepily. His arm wrapped around me, pulling me tight, my
back to his front. He rubbed his face in my hair, letting out a sleepy sigh.

“But it’s my bed,” I muttered, my eyes fluttering
shut. We could argue about it in the morning.

It felt like I had barely closed my eyes when I felt the bed
move with Nash’s shifting weight. He paused, straddling me and I felt his
breath tickling my neck. His lips were feather light as he nuzzled me behind
my ear and then the bed shifted again as he climbed over me and stood beside it.

I groaned, putting a hand up to cover my eyes and then
splayed my fingers to peek through at him. I was rewarded with a front row
view of his tight ass as he bent over to scoop his jeans from the floor.

“Ugh,” I groaned again. “What time is it?”

“Sorry, little minx. I didn’t want to wake you. It’s
early.” There was the sound of a zipper then the edge of the bed dipped again
as he sat to pull on his socks and boots. “Go back to sleep, Harry. We’ll
talk later.” He reached out and pulled the covers up over my bare shoulder,
tucking them in under my chin.

“Is there anything new about Christina?” I struggled to
open my eyes and leave them open. The room was still dark as night, except for
the light shining in from the bathroom. Nash must have turned it on.

“We might have something. I’m going to go help follow it
up.” He stood and pulled his t-shirt over his head.

“You’ve barely slept.”

“I’m fine. This was good, just what I needed. What the
wolf needed.” He bent over and kissed my forehead. “Go back to sleep, Harry.”

“Bossy wolf,” I grumbled. But I did listen to him - for a
change.

***

Hours later I rolled out of bed feeling somewhat guilty for
sleeping so late, but much refreshed. I wondered briefly if it was because of
Nash. This wouldn’t be the first time I recharged with him sleeping in my
bed.

With Isaac still ensconced in his room, doing whatever it
was vampires did during the day (sleeping?) and Tess at work, I felt at
loose ends. I wasn’t even needed down in the shop where Mrs. P and Tiffy had
things well under control.

Gran was still playing it scarce. I was beginning to think
she had decided to finally leave. I still had another ghost to talk to though,
and so I set Bryce to work digging up everything he could find on Douglas
Bellemare. I know we had no proof, but my gut was telling me that he was
involved in some way and I wanted to know everything I could about him.

I was just finishing up some gardening on the roof top - it
may have been too cold to garden outside, but my container greenhouse was
almost feeling tropical - when a mournful howl drifted in from across the roof.
Outside, I found the grey wolf ghost I had first seen a few days ago. He was
sitting by the fire pit. When I stepped out into the cold air, he cocked his
head at me, his tongue lolling out.

“You know, if you would just shift to your two-legged shape,
you could get your message out a lot easier. You should have done it a few
days ago because now my friend has gone missing.”

The grey wolf jumped to his feet, hackles raised. He
whined and then dipped his head down, his posture taking on a more submissive
stance. He was looking off to my right. I turned and started with surprise to
see the tawny ghost wolf from yesterday. It was Nash’s dad. Here on my roof.

“Daniel?” I asked, hoping for some sign he understood me.
The tawny ghost turned and looked at me, holding my gaze for several seconds,
and then padded across the roof to the other wolf. The grey wolf lay down on
his side, a clear show of submission. Daniel stood over him and snarled then
backed away, letting the grey get to his feet.

“Great, now there’s two of you and I still can’t understand
what you are trying to tell me.” I shook my head. I started to go back into
the greenhouse when there was a loud bark. I turned with a frown to see Daniel
snapping at the air. “Alright, alright,” I said putting my hands out in a
calming gesture. “Settle down.”

Daniel huffed at me and then turned a full circle, like he
was chasing his tail. The grey wolf danced and sidled out of the way, giving a
little yip when Daniel trotted to the stairwell leading back down to the
apartment. He stopped at the doorway and barked again.

“Okay, I get it Lassie. Timmy has fallen down the well and you
want me to follow you.” Daniel growled, whether it was in agreement or because
of the Lassie reference, I’m not sure.

I put down my gardening tools, brushed the dirt from my
pants and followed the wolves downstairs. Daniel led me to the living room and
then padded over to the door leading outside. He looked at me expectantly.

“Do you know where Christina is? Is that what you’re trying
to tell me?” Daniel cocked his head from side to side. “Okay, how about this.
If you can understand me, bark twice.”

I waited a breathless second or two and then, “Ruh, ruh.”
The tawny wolf barked. Just when I was thinking we had finally come up with a
system of communication though, he barked again.

“Wait a minute now, was that two barks or three?” I shook
my head. “Are you barking because you understand me or are you barking just
because you’re barking?” Daniel cocked his head again, looking at me. “Let’s
try this again. If you understand me, bark twice.”

“Ruh…ruh,” the tawny wolf barked. “Ruh.”

“Gah! Now you’re just messing with me.”

Daniel turned in a circle and barked. He looked at the door
and then back at me. Despite our apparent failure to communicate, it seemed
pretty obvious he wanted me to go somewhere. I was deciding what to do, when
the door burst open.

“Harry!” Tess rushed in, dropping her gym bag on the floor.
“What are you doing? Have you heard anything about Christina?”

“Hey Tess,” I said as she pulled me into a quick hug. “No,
nothing from Nash, but I think I may have a way to find her.”

“You do? How?” Tess grabbed my arms in excitement.

“Remember I told you about Nash’s dad? Well, he’s here.”

“Here? There’s a ghost wolf here?” She looked around the
room. “Where?”

I grabbed her hand and then pointed to the tawny wolf.
“Right there.”

Tess looked to where I was pointing and frowned. “There’s
nothing there.”

“What? You mean you can’t see him? They’re both there.
The grey wolf from the other day and Nash’s dad.” I pointed to them again.

Tess grasped my hand in hers and peered at the doorway.
“Nope, I’ve got nothing.”

“I don’t get it. It worked with Nash.”

“What worked with Nash?” Isaac’s voice startled me. He was
walking into the living room looking freshly showered, drying his hair with a
towel.

“When there is a ghost around, if Nash touches me, skin to
skin, he can see it too. He saw the grey wolf a couple of times. It doesn’t
seem to work with Tess though.”

“Interesting. I’ve never heard of such an ability, being
able to share your gifts with another.” He stopped beside me and held out his
hand. “May I?”

“Sure, go ahead.” Isaac grasped my hand in his. It felt
slightly cooler than mine. “Well?” I looked at him expectantly. “Can you see
them?”

“Extraordinary!” Isaac’s voice was breathy with surprise.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Aw man, why didn’t it work for me?” Tess crossed her arms
with a scowl. “I want to see ghosts too.”

“Yes, I can see them quite clearly. They look very much
alive. Do ghosts always look like this?” Isaac was clearly enjoying his first
experience seeing ghosts.

“No, human ghosts are usually more translucent. You can tell you
are looking at a ghost. These ones though…” I shrugged. I really didn’t know
why the wolf ghosts looked so real.

Daniel, who had been turning his head from side to side
following Isaac’s and my conversation, let out a little yip and sidled towards
the door.

“That’s Christina’s dad, Daniel,” I said. “I think he must
know where Christina is and he wants me to follow him.”

Isaac froze, turning back to look at me incredulously. “Christina’s
father?”

“Yes, Salvador told me he was murdered by Elian Navarre, who
is really a Fae prince named Eliassander,” I added for Tess’s benefit.

“Whoa, no shit,” Tess said, nodding her head. “I knew he
had been killed, but no one ever said how.”

“Clearly we must follow the wolf.” Isaac’s manner was brisk.

“I know. I was just trying to figure out what to do when
Tess arrived home.”

“I call shotgun!” Tess jumped up and down with her arm in
the air. “Let’s gear up.” She turned to look at me seriously. “And don’t
even think about suggesting I stay home. I’m going with you.”

“I wouldn’t think of it,” I replied, which was a complete
lie. I seriously did not want to bring Tess along into danger, but what could
I do? There was no way I could stop her. Besides, she was totally kickass and
would come in handy in a fight.