if he’s holding Zoe? Assuming that they’re not already part of his pack.”
“Yes.” Sully walked closer but stopped when she waved him off. “Sweetheart, we should let the proper authorities handle this.”
Even as she thrilled at the soft-spoken endearment, the rest of his words made her give a soft growl, a mixture of aggravation, fear, and long-bottled rage. “When it comes to this, we’re the proper authorities. You send a couple ofNew York’s finest to Eddy’s front door, and I guarantee you they’ll either end up dead or turned. Either way, he’ll know I was behind it.”
“How?” This from Pelicia, who had also stood, an expression of concern on her lovely face.
“He already has a couple of his minions on the force. An innocently asked question here and there, and they’d know that a call came in from Tucson. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only person here that Eddy knows. It wouldn’t take long for him to figure out cops showing up on his doorstep and me being in Tucson wasn’t a coincidence.”
“So if a couple cops can’t make it past the front door, what makes you think any of us will?” Sully shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at her with eyes dark with frustration.
“Because we’re werewolves, too,” she said. “Eddy’s only as good as the guards he surrounds himself with.” Of course, a couple of those guards were big and as vicious as Eddy. But she had a feeling Sully and O’Connell weren’t above fighting dirty.
“Still…” Sully didn’t seem convinced. “He’d be on his home turf, which would give him the advantage.”
“I’ve a thought about that.” Declan leaned back against the wall, one ankle crossed over the other, the pose one of negligent grace but power in every long line of his body. “For this to work, we have to put him off his feet. Knock him off balance,” he clarified when everyone looked at him uncomprehending. “We need to get Ryder here.”
“Ryder?” Pelicia looked from Declan to Sully and back again. “But this Eddy person wants to kill Ryder.”
“He wants to kill all of us, darlin’,” Declan reminded her dryly. “But it’s Ryder he wants the most, which makesme think that this…Eddy person, as you call him, is none other than Miles Edward Hampston the Third.”
Olivia saw Sully’s eyebrows raise and a flash of recognition cross his face. Pelicia also seemed to know whom her fiancé was talking about, so Olivia was the odd one out. “Um, just who the hell is Miles Edward Hampston the Third?”
Sully approached her. She didn’t bat him away, so he put one arm around her and tugged her close. His body heat warmed her, comforted her, and she slid her arm around his waist. She rested her head against his shoulder. Just for a moment, she told herself. I’ll lean on him for a minute or two. Then I’ll go back to being strong.
“He’s Ryder’s cousin. He wanted to be a werewolf from the time he was a boy and first found out about Ryder’s…condition. Or, rather, the condition he’d inherit upon turning twenty-five.” Sully’s breath stirred her hair just before he placed a tender kiss on the top of her bent head.
She pulled far enough away to look up at him with a frown. “What are you talking about?”
“Ryder’s werewolfism—is that a word?” he asked, glancing at Declan.
The other man grinned. “The proper term is lycanthropy.” He shrugged. “I practically read his entire bloody library, learnin’ what I could about this…thing we have. Some of it’s utter rubbish, of course.”
“What about the non-rubbish parts?” Olivia asked, beginning to lose patience. Damn, but this Irish devil could spin a tale out until it was threadbare.
“Werewolves are either born or made. Werewolves who are born usually come about because of a curse of some sort.” Declan shifted his stance, straightening away from the wall. “Ryder’s great grandfather was cursed by a cail-leach —an Irish
“Yes.” Sully walked closer but stopped when she waved him off. “Sweetheart, we should let the proper authorities handle this.”
Even as she thrilled at the soft-spoken endearment, the rest of his words made her give a soft growl, a mixture of aggravation, fear, and long-bottled rage. “When it comes to this, we’re the proper authorities. You send a couple ofNew York’s finest to Eddy’s front door, and I guarantee you they’ll either end up dead or turned. Either way, he’ll know I was behind it.”
“How?” This from Pelicia, who had also stood, an expression of concern on her lovely face.
“He already has a couple of his minions on the force. An innocently asked question here and there, and they’d know that a call came in from Tucson. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only person here that Eddy knows. It wouldn’t take long for him to figure out cops showing up on his doorstep and me being in Tucson wasn’t a coincidence.”
“So if a couple cops can’t make it past the front door, what makes you think any of us will?” Sully shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at her with eyes dark with frustration.
“Because we’re werewolves, too,” she said. “Eddy’s only as good as the guards he surrounds himself with.” Of course, a couple of those guards were big and as vicious as Eddy. But she had a feeling Sully and O’Connell weren’t above fighting dirty.
“Still…” Sully didn’t seem convinced. “He’d be on his home turf, which would give him the advantage.”
“I’ve a thought about that.” Declan leaned back against the wall, one ankle crossed over the other, the pose one of negligent grace but power in every long line of his body. “For this to work, we have to put him off his feet. Knock him off balance,” he clarified when everyone looked at him uncomprehending. “We need to get Ryder here.”
“Ryder?” Pelicia looked from Declan to Sully and back again. “But this Eddy person wants to kill Ryder.”
“He wants to kill all of us, darlin’,” Declan reminded her dryly. “But it’s Ryder he wants the most, which makesme think that this…Eddy person, as you call him, is none other than Miles Edward Hampston the Third.”
Olivia saw Sully’s eyebrows raise and a flash of recognition cross his face. Pelicia also seemed to know whom her fiancé was talking about, so Olivia was the odd one out. “Um, just who the hell is Miles Edward Hampston the Third?”
Sully approached her. She didn’t bat him away, so he put one arm around her and tugged her close. His body heat warmed her, comforted her, and she slid her arm around his waist. She rested her head against his shoulder. Just for a moment, she told herself. I’ll lean on him for a minute or two. Then I’ll go back to being strong.
“He’s Ryder’s cousin. He wanted to be a werewolf from the time he was a boy and first found out about Ryder’s…condition. Or, rather, the condition he’d inherit upon turning twenty-five.” Sully’s breath stirred her hair just before he placed a tender kiss on the top of her bent head.
She pulled far enough away to look up at him with a frown. “What are you talking about?”
“Ryder’s werewolfism—is that a word?” he asked, glancing at Declan.
The other man grinned. “The proper term is lycanthropy.” He shrugged. “I practically read his entire bloody library, learnin’ what I could about this…thing we have. Some of it’s utter rubbish, of course.”
“What about the non-rubbish parts?” Olivia asked, beginning to lose patience. Damn, but this Irish devil could spin a tale out until it was threadbare.
“Werewolves are either born or made. Werewolves who are born usually come about because of a curse of some sort.” Declan shifted his stance, straightening away from the wall. “Ryder’s great grandfather was cursed by a cail-leach —an Irish
Similar Books
