A Demon in Dallas (6 page)

Though the movements of both wolves had slowed considerably, the rage and fury delivered in each snap of their jaws was ferocious. Darius charged into Connor, knocking him from his feet and zeroing in on his injured leg, but he didn’t get near it. Connor moved it out of the way at the last moment and snapped back at Darius. They tussled on the ground, rolling in the dirt and swiping at each other with their incredibly sharp claws. Darius managed to pin Connor down, looming over him, his teeth a hair’s breadth from Connor’s neck. I held in the panic that was threatening to overwhelm me. Darius did nothing at first, just stared down at Connor with his lips peeled back. From my position it looked like Darius was mocking Connor, asserting his authority over the smaller wolf. Then his jaws snapped savagely, but Connor bucked him off and reversed their positions so that he was the one on top.

The end game was both spectacular and terrifying. Connor didn’t waste time as Darius had done. He extended the claws on his right paw and slashed them across the alpha’s neck. Blood began to spurt from the large open gash, splattering over Connor’s face and body while Darius choked and spluttered, pulling in his last, dying breaths. Connor rolled to the side, panting heavily as all the fight, aggression and tension drained out of his body, leaving him close to paralysed with exhaustion. The wolves in the clearing were as quiet as death itself, which was fitting as they watched their alpha’s life force slip away. The silence consumed the air and when Darius’ head fell to the side, his eyes wide and unblinking, his body still, I was the one to shatter it.

“Connor!” I shouted, breaking out into a run so I could find out how badly he’d been hurt. I didn’t make it more than five steps in his direction. At least half a dozen wolves leapt in front of me, blocking my path. They snarled viciously, warning me to stay back. I thought at first that they were protecting their alpha’s body, but then I realised their pack had just had a change in leadership. They were indeed protecting their alpha, but not Darius—Connor.

Connor’s head whipped up and regarded the sight before him. Even though he was badly injured and had next to no strength left in his body, he stood up and on shaky legs, threw his head back and let out a mighty howl that was so loud and intense it reverberated through my body and mind. The wolves fell silent and when Connor stopped howling, with much effort, he limped towards them. They stepped aside for him to pass, keeping their eyes and bodies lower than his. When he reached me, Connor stood at my side, glaring at the wolves in turn, his muzzle pulled back to reveal his sharp teeth, warning his pack that if they touched me they’d have to deal with their alpha’s wrath.

In turn, each of the wolves backed away and dispersed into the trees, and out of respect for their new alpha, they didn’t spare a glance at Darius’ body, even though the wolf had been their leader for the past twenty-some years. When the last wolf had disappeared back into the forest, Connor collapsed onto the grass. I knelt down and ran an assessing eye over his body. He had deep gashes in several places, but there wasn’t anything that looked life threatening. His leg, however, was in a bad way. Connor looked down at the injury and to the path out of the forest that led to his car. Finally his gaze came to rest on me. No sound left his muzzle, but the expression in his eyes conveyed more than a thousand words about the way he was feeling. He was tired and in pain. He knew I needed to find Matt, but, though his mind was willing, his body was in no shape to take him where he needed to go.

I chewed on my bottom lip while I thought about what to do next. Connor needed to rest to give his injuries time to heal, but there was no way I could leave him alone in the woods. It didn’t matter that he was now the alpha. He wasn’t at full strength and when he was weak, he was vulnerable. It was likely one or more wolves in the pack coveted the alpha position and if any happened to come back and found Connor alone, they might just try their luck at bagging the title. But I couldn’t stay in the forest all night either. I had too much to do and no time to waste. I had to get Conner back to my motel room where he could rest in safety. There was only one solution, but I knew he wasn’t going to like it.

“I’m going to carry you back to the car,” I said resolutely.

Conner’s head whipped up and his shrewd eyes met mine. I lifted my hand as if to silence him even though I knew full well he couldn’t argue back.

“Look, I get that you’re not exactly thrilled by the idea, but I’m not leaving you here alone. Neither can I stay. I have to find Matt. Time is running out.”

Connor stared at me for a beat then let out a small whine and inclined his head. It was almost a nod and it was the only answer I was going to get. I moved around so that I was facing his back and slipped my arms underneath him. Lifting him from the ground took some effort. Connor was heavy, incredibly so, but the increased strength that hunters are born with meant I was able to accomplish the task without too much difficulty. I got to my feet and followed the path out of the woods, careful not to jar Connor’s leg and cause him more pain than he was already in.

The walk back must have taken about ten minutes. Even with my increased strength, by the time we neared the road where Connor had parked his car, I was panting, my arms and back complaining desperately about the heavy load. I placed Connor gently on the ground and used the key fob he had given me to unlock the car. I pulled the back door wide open and bent to lift him, but Connor got to his feet before I could manage it, and though it obviously took a lot of effort, he got himself into the car and up onto the back seat without any further help.

When we got back to the motel, I parked the car outside the small unit and cut the engine. Matt and I had, as always, chosen a low rent unit on the far side of the complex, away from the reception building. It had only taken me twenty minutes to get back and Connor had been sleeping soundly on the back seat for the entire journey.

“Connor,” I said quietly, trying to rouse him from his slumber. He didn’t move as much as a muscle.

I didn’t want to have to wake him, but I was afraid if I tried to lift him when he was still asleep, he might wake with one hell of a temper and try to attack before he realised who I was.

I got out of the car and closed the door, shutting him inside, then retrieved my key from inside the small plant pot. Unlocking the door, I flipped on the light switch and grabbed a chair to prop open the door while I went to get Connor from the car.

“Connor,” I said again. “Connor, wake up.”

Nothing. After a moment’s deliberation, I slid my hands under Connor’s sleeping form and lifted him from the seat. He didn’t stir as I carried him into the unit and placed him on the bed. After I’d locked the car and checked that the unit was secure, I stripped out of my dirty, torn dress and threw it straight in the trash. I turned on the water in the shower and waited for it to heat sufficiently before stepping into the tub. Though the water felt amazing on my tired limbs, soothing away the aches and rejuvenating my spirit, it did little to ease my troubled mind. I’d only been back in Austin for a matter of days, but so much had happened in that very short space of time that I felt as though I needed a month-long vacation to recuperate.

I had so much to do. Top of the list was to find the demon for Malaki. I wanted to be out looking for Matt, but the vampires could be hiding him anywhere and I had no leads to go on. My best hope was to help Malaki and receive a favour in return. And Malaki had assured me that Matt wasn’t being hurt. Angels were conniving SOBs when they wanted to be, but they didn’t lie. If he’d said Matt was safe, he was.

When the water in the shower began to lose its heat, I reluctantly stepped out and towelled dry. Wrapping a smaller towel around my head, I went out into the bedroom to check on Connor. He was still lying in the same position. I didn’t want to disturb his rest so I crept around the room gathering up my clothes and took them back into the bathroom to get changed. I used the motel’s sorry excuse for a hairdryer, but gave up after ten minutes, my hair just as wet as when I’d begun. Just what the hell was the point of those things? I’d have had more success blowing on my damn hair to dry it.

The second time I resurfaced, I was surprised to see that Connor had shifted back to his human form. He was lying on his side, facing the bathroom, as naked as the day he was born. I tiptoed closer to get a look at his injured leg, but as soon as I neared, Connor opened his eyes and yawned, stretching out his long limbs.

“Hey,” he greeted, reaching for the sheet to cover his modesty, not that I’d been bothered by his nakedness. I was more bothered that he felt the need to cover up in front of me.

“How are you feeling?”

Connor shrugged. “All things considered, pretty good.”

Walking around the bed, I lifted the sheet off his foot then gasped, pulling the cotton cover higher, amazed at what I was seeing.

Connor grinned. “Why the surprise? You have seen me naked before and I don’t think the little man has grown that much since the last time you got up close and personal with him.”

“Wise-ass. Look at your leg, Connor. It’s completely healed.”

“I noticed.”

“And that doesn’t surprise you? I know wolves heal quickly, but damn. You’ve never healed
that
quickly from an injury before.”

Connor yawned again and sat up in bed. “It’s one of the benefits of being alpha wolf. It had already started to heal back in the woods. The alpha can draw energy from the rest of their pack. That includes their healing ability.”

I replaced the sheet then took a seat on the edge of the bed. “How do you feel about all of this? Becoming pack alpha, I mean.”

“You know I never had any desire to lead. Darius and I butted heads over many things, but I wouldn’t have willingly challenged him. Even though I’d never have chosen this, it is what it is. He would never have let either of us walk out of there alive, Raven. I had no choice.”

I lowered my gaze and sighed. “I’m sorry for putting you in that position.”

Connor shook his head. “You didn’t. I put myself in that position. If it wasn’t for me, Darius would never have found you.”

“If you didn’t tell him I was back, how did he know you were meeting me in the cemetery?”

“Darius must have heard you were back in Austin, but I promise you that didn’t come from me. I guess he figured that if you were back, it would only be a matter of time before we saw each other so he had me followed. I had no idea until he turned up a few minutes before you arrived. I would have warned you if I could, but his guards were with him and I couldn’t have fought them all. He told me he had some questions for you so I knew he wouldn’t hurt you until he’d got the answers he wanted. I figured it would be best to bide my time. I knew exactly where he’d keep you until the full moon was over.”

Our conversation brought up more questions. So much had happened that I’d completely forgotten to ask Connor why he’d wanted to meet me at the cemetery in the first place. How the hell could I have overlooked that?

“Did you find out any information about Matt?”

“Yeah, a little and you’re not going to like it.”

I sighed. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

Connor chuckled. The sound was husky and light, completely carefree. It warmed my heart to hear it. “I spoke to a few people and, although they didn’t tell me anything concrete, the word is that the vampires in Austin have made themselves some powerful acquaintances.”

“Who?”

“Angels,” he disclosed.

I stared at him open-mouthed. “That goddamn sneaky son of a bitch!”

When Connor raised his brow in query, I explained, “I had a little chat with Malaki earlier.”

“Really? And what did our old friend have to say for himself?”

I snorted.
Friend? Frenemy would be more apt
. “He wants me to find a demon in Dallas. Said he’d tell me where Matt is being held if I help him locate a book that Barbatos has stolen.”

“Barbatos?” Connor whistled. “He’s a powerful demon by all accounts. Are you going to do it?”

“Do I have any choice?”

“Hell yeah. Tell him no. We’ll find Matt on our own.”

I shook my head. “I haven’t got time for that. Neal has only given me seventy-two hours to find Matt before he sends in a team, and you know they don’t take any prisoners. We’d have a war on our hands.”

When Connor grew pensive I asked him, “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I haven’t visited Dallas in a few years. Might be time to rectify that.”

“Look, Connor, I appreciate the offer, but I can’t ask you to come with me. You’ve just taken over the pack, you’ll be busy until things settle down here and it could be dangerous.”

“Okay, firstly, you
didn’t
ask and the pack business will keep. Secondly, you know I thrive on danger. When do we leave?”

I smiled gratefully as I stared at Connor’s determined face. I knew the expression well. When he got something in his head, there was no changing his mind. “Umm, yesterday?” I replied wryly.

Chapter Six

After taking a shower, Connor borrowed a pair of my track pants and a T-shirt to wear on the drive over to his house. I tried not to laugh at how poorly they fitted because I’d had a hard enough time trying to convince him to put them on in the first place. Connor had been all for driving across town in his birthday suit, and, despite my protestations, I really didn’t want to have to go to Dallas alone, especially because he’d got arrested for indecent exposure. Connor still lived in the same house that he had when we were together. As we pulled up to the ramshackle old farmhouse on the outskirts of the city, the memories of our time there came flooding back—all of them good except for that last night when I’d told him goodbye. I swallowed down my regret and shame and followed him inside.

We only stayed for about ten minutes, just long enough for Connor to throw some clothes in a bag and get changed. I felt guilty for taking a sneaky peak around the living room when he was busy upstairs, but not enough to stop myself. I didn’t see any signs of a woman. In fact, the photograph of Connor and I fooling around with a hose in the back yard was still sitting on the side table next to the sofa, right where it had always been. I wondered if it had been there since I’d left or if Connor had salvaged it from the back of a drawer or the bottom of a box after I’d called him earlier that night to tell him I was back in Austin. I didn’t have the heart to ask or even let on that I’d noticed it sitting there.