“I’ll catch you later, Cabal.” She had to force the words past her lips even as she had to force herself to step back from him before she took that kiss now. “Have fun with the sheriff.”
His lips quirked in mocking amusement before he straightened and did as she asked. Turning, he strode to the door, gripped the doorknob and pulled the panel closed behind him.
The sound of the door quietly latching had Cassa closing her eyes in relief as well as regret. The regret was something she wasn’t going to allow herself to face. She had turned on her heel and started for the shower when a muted beep from her laptop alerted her that mail had just been received in her inbox.
She turned back to the room and strode to the desk. Having typed in the passcode to access the screen, she stared at the subject line of the email.
You’re going to fail.
Failure wasn’t an option.
Cassa opened the email.
More blood is being spilled. The Deadly Dozen are deadly no more. I’ve given you enough time. My prey comes here each year. He dines in splendor. He charms without prejudice. How handsome he was, how handsome he is. How evil is his soul, how corrupt is his heart. The land that would have hid and cherished the children of the wild will now taste the blood of their enemies once again, Ms. Hawkins. Beware that one day you don’t become the prey as well.
The ever present warning, that one day she would become the prey. Cassa had no doubt that that day was growing ever nearer.
Cabal followed Danna Lacey from the inn, his stride even, matched to hers until she drew abreast of the official SUV she had driven there.
“Stay out of this, Danna,” he warned her as she unlocked the driver’s door and glanced back at him.
Her expression filled with mocking amusement. She knew the investigation he was working on, she knew the danger involved, and yet there wasn’t so much as a hint of fear in her eyes.
“Who do you think you’re talking to, Cabal?” Her voice was gentle, despite the hint of arrogance in it. “I’m not a Breed soldier under your command, nor do I heel so well. You’d do well to remember that.”
“Just as you’d do well to remember exactly what we’re facing here. Not just the Breeds, but this community as well. Stop feeling sorry for Cassa and start worrying about yourself.”
He could smell the sympathy, the compassion that rolled off her in waves. That was just Danna. He would have never thought she had the emotional strength for the job she held. As a sheriff of a small town, she saw the cruelty inherent in people she must have surely once seen as friends, as neighbors.
“I always worry about myself first, Breed.” She chuckled as she reached in, pushed the key into the ignition and started the vehicle.
“Stay out of my way, Danna,” he warned her again. “Don’t let Cassa put a fire under your ass where this is concerned. I don’t have time to battle you.”
She gave a graceful little snort. “As though there would be a battle to it,” she drawled. “Really, Cabal, you should know better. I’m fairly lazy; I don’t put myself out any more than I have to.”
Cabal knew that statement for the lie it was. Danna was anything but lazy.
She laughed at his dark look, refusing to show so much as a hint of trepidation or fear. And he doubted she felt either emotion.
“Yes, Cabal,” she continued, “I’ll just put my little head down and run around barefoot and pregnant to suit the Breeds. Satisfied now?”
Cabal grunted at that. No, he wasn’t really satisfied and he didn’t appreciate her humor either.
“You just be certain you do that,” he muttered. “While you’re at it, see if you can get some information on Banks that I don’t already know. That would please me immensely.”
Danna shook her head with a laugh. “You have what I have, Bengal. I can’t do you any better than I’ve already done for you.”
And she had done a hell of a lot of legwork for them. At forty-five, single and independent, the sheriff had given uncounted hours through the first few days of Cabal’s investigation.
“Stay the hell out of trouble, Danna,” he warned her, even as he wished he could warn Cassa.
“I could say the same to you, Bengal, but I suspect you’d pay as much attention to me as I’m going to pay to you.” She
rolled her eyes at him, but he saw the hint of worry in her gaze.
Glen Ferris was her territory, and from past experience he knew she didn’t take well to Breed interference in what she considered her domain.
He shrugged the thought off. No one took that well, but it was now a fact of life. To survive, Breeds needed a measure of autonomy. Breed Law had given them that autonomy for a period of five decades. They had fifty years. Cabal had a feeling it wouldn’t be nearly enough time.