Untouched (14 page)

A look of horror and shock came over her. She dropped her bag and covered her eyes with both hands. “Oh shit! That happened last night. I half convinced myself that I dreamed the whole thing. What the fuck is going on?”

His heart broke for her. Her pain and confusion washed over him in dark waves, and the idea that he was contributing to her discomfort just about killed him. Gently, he took her hands in his and uncovered her face. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, refusing to open them.

“It’s common for our eyes to shift when we experience intense emotions.” He kept his voice soft and sent reassuring energy waves to help her cope. “Keep your eyes closed, and breathe with me. Deep, calming breaths, and focus on your heartbeat.”

He held her hands against his chest and breathed in unison. Her breasts pushed softly against his hands as their chests rose and fell in rhythmic breathing. Desire rocked him to the core as her thighs brushed temptingly against him. He silently prayed he’d be able to keep his own eyes from shifting as his need for her clawed at him relentlessly. After several deep breaths her energy waves slowed, and her heart rate decreased, more in line with his. Finally, she opened her eyes, and he happily noted they had returned to their human state.

He gave her a big smile. “There. You did it.”

“Great,” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “My clan eyes are all gone. Whoopee for me. Let’s go.”

She attempted to pull away from him, but he held her hands firmly in his. His face grew serious. “Kerry. Today, after your shoot, we have to talk about this. It’s not going to go away. You are Amoveo, and you need to learn the ways of our people.”

Kerry’s face had turned into a mask, a calm detachment. “Fine. You win. Whatever. Can we go now, please?” She tugged at her hands, and reluctantly he released her from his grip. Kerry stepped back and moved to pick up her bag, but Dante beat her to it. She smiled tightly. “I’m sure Pete is waiting for us downstairs and wondering where we are. I really don’t want to be late for this job. At this point, I’d like to get it over with and get the hell out of New Orleans.”

When they walked into the lobby, Kerry almost got ambushed by Brent, the nervous and sweaty hotel clerk. The poor kid ended up running face first into Dante, who with lightning fast speed had put himself in front of Kerry. Brent stumbled backward and would’ve fallen on his backside if Dante hadn’t grabbed him by the arm. The kid went white as a sheet and stammered in an effort to get out his reason for coming over to them.

“What can I do for you?” Dante growled.

Kerry grabbed Dante by the shoulder and pulled him away from the overzealous concierge. “Easy there, killer.” She rolled her eyes, and shaking her head, directed her attention to a very sweaty Brent. “Hi. Brent, right? Don’t mind Mr. Coltari here,” she said with a nod toward Dante. “He’s all bark and no bite.”

Or
is
it
howl?
Her sarcastic jibe shot into Dante’s mind with all the sass she’d surely intended. He shot her a skeptical look.
Wolves
howl. I am a fox
. She laughed softly
. Yes, you are. Now stop scaring this poor kid. He’s just doing his job.

The sexy purr of her voice sent an electric shock directly to his crotch. She winked at him, and he wanted nothing more than to pick her up, take her upstairs, and ravage her.

The boy squirmed uselessly in his grip. Dante had practically forgotten the kid was there. Straightening his back, he turned his full attention back to Brent.

The pale young man nodded and licked his lips nervously. “Yes, ma’am.” He looked up at Dante, immediately took a step backward, and stuck his hand out. “This came for you this morning,” he said, referring to the large red envelope in his shaking hands. Keeping his wide eyes on Dante, he waved it over in Kerry’s direction.

Kerry took the envelope and laughed softly while opening it. “You know, Brent, he’s very bossy and kind of pushy…” Her voice trailed off as her energy waves fired in rapid succession. Dante barely noticed Brent as he babbled an incoherent apology and scurried off. All of the color had drained from Kerry’s face, and she looked up at Dante with fear and confusion.

“What is it?” He snatched the note from her hand, and white-hot anger boiled through him as he read the words in front of him in bold black marker.

You’re going to die. Just like your

whore mother.

—The punisher is coming—

“My mother? You don’t think this could be true, do you? Oh my God, Dante. I have to call my mother,” she said through a shaking breath. “Who the hell is the ‘Punisher’?”

Dante stuffed the note in his back pocket and pulled her to him as she frantically searched for her phone in the massive bag. He held her there in the shelter of his body and scanned the lobby for Brent as he whisked her to the front entrance of the hotel.

Brent was nowhere in sight.

“I’m getting you to the car with Pete. You’ll be safe there. Wait until you’re in the car to call your mother.” He kept his voice low and calm.

Dante walked her outside and was relieved to find Pete leaning casually against the car, waiting for them as planned. He smiled when he saw them, but it faded once he saw the look on Dante’s face. He opened the back door without Dante having to say a word. Kerry settled into the backseat, and the moment the door slammed shut Pete turned to face a very angry Dante.

“You keep her in there. No one—and I mean no one—gets near her except for you or me. You got that?”

Pete nodded solemnly. “You got it, boss.”

“I’ll be right back. Stay here.”

Dante stalked back into the hotel lobby and immediately went to the concierge desk. His fists repeatedly clenched and unclenched at his side. The very idea that someone would threaten his mate sent him to a dark and dangerous place he didn’t even know existed. He pushed right past the four people waiting in line. One look from him silenced any objections they’d been about to voice.

“Where is Brent?” He bit the words out and struggled to keep his eyes from shifting.

The stunned young woman behind the counter stared up at him with wide eyes. “He’s in the back.” She pointed to an office behind the counter. “But you can’t go in there!”

Amid her insistent protests Dante placed both hands on the marble counter and hopped effortlessly over the front desk. He gave a curt nod to the shocked girl and let himself into the back office. As the door shut firmly behind him, he found a very shocked Brent sitting at a computer. Dante walked over and leaned onto the desk. Brent sat back in his chair, attempting to get as far away as he could go. Little beads of sweat formed on his pale skin, his face etched in absolute terror. Dante scanned his mind and found it filled with bright red fear.

“Who gave you that note for Ms. Smithson?” His voice, low and deadly, came out not much louder than a whisper.

“I don’t know. It was sitting on the concierge desk when I came in this morning. The other girl, Maddy, didn’t see who put it there either. I’m sorry, Mr. Coltari. Please don’t beat me up.” Brent babbled and answered with such speed that Dante thought the kid might pass out. “Why? Was it bad? The note I mean? What happened? Is Ms. Smithson okay? I would never do anything to upset her. We pride ourselves on excellent service, and lots of famous people have stayed here without any problems.”

Dante narrowed his eyes and pushed himself off the desk. Brent let out visible sigh of relief as Dante increased the distance between them.

“Here’s the deal,” he began quietly with his glare trained on the kid. “No one else is to know about the note. Do you understand?” Brent nodded wordlessly, and his throat worked as he swallowed hard. “If you get any other notes or messages for Ms. Smithson, you be sure to call me right away.” He removed his business card from his wallet. “If anyone asks about her or inquires as to her whereabouts, you will tell them that you don’t know who she is, and you’ve never seen her before in your life. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Brent nodded furiously and repeated that over and over. Brent watched with wide eyes as Dante walked out of the office and left him gratefully alone. The moment the door shut, he promptly grabbed the nearest wastebasket and vomited.

Dante made his way back outside and found Pete and Kerry exactly where he’d left them. Fear for her safety and a sense of dread nagged at him relentlessly. After scanning Brent’s mind, he knew that the kid had nothing to do with writing the note. He wasn’t Caedo. He heard the poor kid puking after he walked out. He had merely been the unsuspecting messenger. His mind raced with the frightening possibilities. Whoever sent the note had signed it “The Punisher”—it had to be a Caedo, a Purist, or possibly both. Her heritage was, obviously, no longer a secret.

He scanned the hotel lobby and found nothing. Stepping into the damp Louisiana air, he reached out in search of any clue as to who had left the note. Nothing. Whoever left it was long gone. Walking up to the car, his heart broke at the sight of her face in the window. Fear and confusion hung over her like a shroud. It flowed thick and dense like the New Orleans air. Pete, as promised, stood guard next to the car. Dante had to admit Pete was a formidable man, even for a human.

“What happened in there?” Pete asked with a nod toward the hotel.

“Nothing,” Dante lied. “Just an eager fan hoping to get her autograph.” He gave Pete a slap on the shoulder and forced a smile. “Let’s get going. If we don’t step on it, she’s going to be late.”

Pete made a sound of agreement and walked around to get into the car. Dante had surprised himself by lying to Pete. Pete didn’t know about the Amoveo people, and Dante could’ve easily passed the note off as some run of the mill note from a kook. He’d always trusted Pete, but unfortunately the rules had changed, and he had to be suspicious of everyone. His father had recently taught him that very painful lesson.

Dante opened the back door of the car, and he couldn’t help but grin as Kerry slid over to make room for him. Shutting the door, he did his best to ignore the inquisitive look from Pete.

“Did you get a chance to make that call?” he asked Kerry as innocently as possible.

Kerry narrowed her eyes. “Yes, actually. Everything’s fine. I guess it was nothing.”

Dante nodded and looked out the window. He reached out to her with his mind, longing for that intimate connection, needing to have her touch his mind with hers and feel her energy tangled with his.
Your
mother
is
alright?

Yes. She’s fine. Seemed more annoyed that I had interrupted her day at the Elizabeth Arden Spa to be honest.
Her voice, sweet and soothing, filled his head as their minds connected.
I
guess
it
was
just
someone’s idea of a sick joke.

They rode in comfortable silence for a while, and he enjoyed the way her energy mingled with his. He reached over and took her hand in his, not caring whether Pete saw it. He needed to touch her, to feel her warm, soft skin against him. Dante’s lips curved in a satisfied smile as she gently rubbed her thumb along his, accepting his touch and reciprocating it.

She
never
should’ve adopted me.
The sadness in her voice pulled at him from the inside out, and then the realization hit him. He gripped her hand tighter and turned to her, capturing her gaze with his.

Adopted? Oh no.
Slowly, Kerry’s eyes grew wide as the real meaning of the note dawned on her as well.
Oh
my
God. That note wasn’t referring to her, was it? Whoever wrote that was talking about my birth mother. Weren’t they? Dante, what on earth is going on?

“Hey, you two sure are quiet back there.” Pete’s voice snapped them both back to reality. “Hope everything’s okay because we’re almost there.”

Kerry eyed Dante suspiciously.
You’re not telling me everything, are you?

It
will
be
alright. I promise.
He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and prayed he could keep that promise. The truth was that he didn’t know. For all he knew they could be walking directly into a trap. The fact that the house they were driving to was owned by a Vasullus weighed heavily on his mind.
Are
you
sure
you
want
to
work? We can turn back to the hotel. Perhaps it would be best if you got some rest.

She looked back at him and tilted her chin in defiance.
My
job
is
about
the
only
normal
thing
I’ve got left. I’m not losing that too. I need some kind of normalcy. I need to work. Don’t push it.