Black Diamond Heart, page 17
One in particular stood out. In addition to the dark robe-like clothing that covered them all from head to toe, she also wore a hood that shielded most of her face, and large sunglasses. When he’d tried to follow her to a vehicle so he could write the license plate down to pass along to Skittles, he somehow lost her among the cars.
Tonight, she wasn’t getting away so easily.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked at the number. Not Felix. Good. He’d answer it this time.
“Candy-ass!” Fang answered, actually missing the man on the other end of the line. Who woulda thought?
“You’re late checking in, asshole,” Skittles said, but he couldn’t even sound irritated. “How am I supposed to keep track of your bullshit if you don’t check in?” Weekly updates. That’s what Fang was supposed to be providing. But he’d purposely stalled so he wouldn’t have to tell anyone that he’d met up with Felix in the Ouachitas.
Explaining that shit was going to be balls.
“Sorry, daddy,” Fang drawled. “I was busy tracking down a slippery little female.”
“Fuck. TMI, man. Come on. Also, don’t ever—literally ever—call me daddy. It makes me regret the ability to hear at all.”
“Okay, fine. I couldn’t come to the phone. That better?” Sounded straight-ass boring to Fang, but to each their own.
“Yeah, I noticed you let all of Felix’s calls go to voicemail but answered on the first ring when it was my number. Coincidence?”
“Nope. I was definitely avoiding that hot flaming mess.” Fang’s deal with the Sorcera prevented him from giving Felix too much information. He hoped with time and whatever magical female wiles the Dolls employed, Felix would find a way to break the memory spell on his own. Without Fang having to answer any questions.
So far, so good.
Fingers crossed Skye’s lips had that curse breaking quality that the others had.
“You know something, don’t you?” Skittles hissed. “You know what happened to him while he was gone.”
Fang didn’t answer. It was pointless to deny it. Once Skittles’s Spidey senses started tingling, only the truth could calm ‘em down.
“Fang,” he warned. “Tell me what you know.”
“I… well, I… can’t?” Ew, saying I can’t was an ultimate no-no. A sign of weakness. Fang didn’t like it. Not at all.
“Do you know what kind of shit we’re in over here? We’ve got enemies everywhere. Half our unmated males are out scouring for mates. Poison is fucking MIA. Nobody can find him. And our goddamned leader is strangling his bond with his female because he’s trying to prove how good he can be. Meanwhile, she’s a tangled mess, trying to understand him. As if there’s any hope of figuring out what’s going on in his epically messed up head.” Skittles sighed, sounding exhausted. “Whatever you know, Fang… I sure could use some fucking help right about now.”
Wellllll, shit.
Fang stared across the darkness to the bar shack. No sign of the strange female yet.
What to do, what to do…
Technically the witches told him to keep the truth from Felix. They didn’t mention any of the other Alley Cats. And Skittles was the most trustworthy of them all. Surely, it couldn’t hurt to let him in on the secret.
“He went to Ouachita to ask the Sorcera to curse him again.” There. That was easy. Like ripping off a band-aid.
“He what?” Skittles boomed.
Or not.
“Wanted them to subdue his Firecat to keep it from trying to take Skye for a mate.”
“Fuck.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Fang smirked to himself.
“So he did shift that night to escape the fire.”
“Yep. But here’s the catch. The witches’ fix is only temporary, and they put Felix under a memory spell. So he doesn’t remember a damn thing they did to him until he left to head home. That’s when I arrived to see about making a deal with them to help out with the Lost Daughters. I only talked to him for a few minutes, but long enough to tell him about the threats at home. He seemed… you know… okay, I guess.”
“Okay? Shit, Fang. He’s not okay. Not in the least.”
“Fine. He seemed eager to get back to Memphis.”
“Why didn’t you say anything? You could have warned us.”
Fang blew out a slow breath and leaned back against his truck.
“Wrong again, man. The witches made me promise not to say anything. And I wanted their help so… I agreed.”
“Until now?” He could almost hear Skittles rolling his eyes.
Fang sighed. “Yeah, just cross your fingers they don’t get too mad about it, mmkay?”
The back door to the bar-shack opened, stealing Fang’s attention away. The figure who moved through it was the exact one he’d been looking for. Long black robe, face mask, sunglasses. She stopped just outside the shack, going still.
“So how are we supposed to help him?” Skittles asked.
“Don’t know. Maybe get him to shift. The Firecat should do the rest, yeah?”
Skittles snorted. “Right. How should I go about doing that?”
“I dunno. Whatever worked for you, should work for him.”
Skittles grunted a doubtful response, but Fang barely heard him as he watched his target carefully. She hadn’t moved since stepping from the bar. Not even to breathe… though, she must be breathing because… duh.
“Exactly where are you?” Skittles asked.
“Dry-ass Arizona, if you can believe it,” Fang answered, distracted. “Dusty as fuck here, by the way.”
“Arizona? None of the dossiers mentioned Arizona.”
“Yeah. Well.”
“Fang.”
The masked female tilted her head, her movements distinctly familiar to him. Shifter.
“Trust me, I’m onto something here.”
“Care to share what?”
Fang sucked in a hard breath as her head snapped in his direction. Like she’d heard him. But that was impossible. He was too far away. “Nope. I don’t share anymore, you know that. Besides, you got enough on your plate. Handle your shit and leave this up to me.”
With that, he hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket, careful never to take his eyes off the female. But it wasn’t necessary. Because this time, she wasn’t trying to avoid him.
Sunglasses pointed in his exact location, she strolled forward, each step slow and strategic. Chin jutting forward, lips pressed into a tight line.
Next, something real damned stupid happened. His heartbeat quickened with each inch of distance she closed. Behind his ribs, the forsaken thing pounded and throbbed. No, it burned.
And for the first time since the witches cursed him on a Ouachita mountainside, he heard—no, felt—a beast stir to life inside him.
Fang blinked in confusion as the masked female continued walking toward him.
Her, it whispered again and again.
Her, her.
Maybe it took too long for him to realize what was happening. Maybe he just thought he was imagining things. But before he knew it, she was standing right in front of him, and the beast was screeching its claim on her inside his head.
“Do you know who I am?” she asked. Her voice was soft and low. No hint of threat. Yet, Fang couldn’t find his to answer.
Mate, his mind supplied. He’d found his female. She was within arm’s reach, and for the first time, in a long damn time, he felt true happiness.
He blinked. Cleared his throat. Croaking out the only answer he could come up with in the moment:
“You’re mine.”
He couldn’t see her eyes. Couldn’t see her expression. Only the faint sag of her shoulders let him know how disappointed she was, and he swallowed down the sharp sting of pain that slammed the air from his lungs.
Shit. Now he knew why the other guys were so fucking grouchy at the beginning. It fucking hurt disappointing your female.
But he was ready to work for his stupid happy ending. He didn’t expect it to be handed to him on a platter. Nothing in his life ever had been.
He opened his mouth to say something, but her soft sigh left him dazed instead, and she beat him to it.
“I really wish you hadn’t said that.”
“Said what?” He couldn’t even remember what dumbass thing he’d done last, but he tried to run the tape back.
Before he could, her gloved hand passed over his eyes and his world went dark.
Chapter Twenty Three
Felix paced the lounge, eyes never moving far from the clock on the wall. He was counting down the minutes until six o’clock when he would climb to the roof to meet Skye. After talking to the Sorcera, he’d made a decision. To hell with holding back. To hell with hurting Skye with his distance. He was fucking done.
He was going to claim his mate with or without his beast, and he was giving her one hour to make a decision.
He left the note explaining everything under her door while she was being checked by Doc Logan. Everything Adira explained to him about the bond and that he’d gotten it wrong before. Distance wouldn’t heal them. Only getting closer would.
They were going to have to trust his leashed Firecat.
It stuck in his throat that he needed to trust an animal again—trust the very thing that almost ruined him—to help his mate.
No, it’s different now. Reborn out of love, Adira said.
He had to believe that the Firecat would know how to love Skye the way she needed to be loved.
The way Felix loved her.
He swallowed hard at the pain that thundered in his chest. Who knew it would hurt so much to feel this way?
He stared at the clock. Another minute ticking away.
Now, it was up to her. If she met him on the roof, then she could forgive him for fucking all this up. And if she didn’t…
He wouldn’t even think about that.
She was the one who always believed in him. Even before he’d proven himself in the fire. She was braver than anyone knew. Plenty saw her as weak, but he knew better. No female had ever stood up to him. None except Skye.
He grinned, remembering her words on the phone. Even while her heart was breaking, she stood up for herself. She didn’t need him to protect her. She needed him to believe in her right back.
And he would. He did.
When the clock read five ‘til six, he took the stairs down to the lower level. He strode past a stack of pallets and out the front door, his boots chewing up gravel as he went. Climbing the stairs to the roof was effortless. What was this feeling behind his ribs? Excitement? Shit, he was fucking excited. Because for the first time since he’d laid eyes on her, he was going to act on what he was feeling. If she still wanted to let him.
He was going to kiss her without holding back.
He was going to hold her like she was his entire reason for living.
Fuck. His palms were sweating.
Was this normal?
He hoped he didn’t scare her. With everything he was feeling, it was possible.
Let her be ready, he pleaded silently.
Stepping onto the roof was like a punch to the gut. The first thing he saw was the crimson spatter of blood across the pale tin. He followed it to the chair cushion, his gut tightening with warning.
Wrong. Very wrong.
The sight chilled him to the bone. So much blood.
He scanned the area, frantically looking for Skye, but she was nowhere to be found.
Where. Is. Mate?
Felix squeezed his eyes closed as pain shot up his spine, wrapping around his skull like talons. Fuck. He could feel so many emotions all at once. Anger, frustration, fear. So much fucking fear.
Where was Skye?
A groan brought his gaze to a dark form he’d missed lying on the roof. His boots left a thundering wake as he ran forward. It wasn’t Skye. Too big. That knowledge was only a small relief because the pool of blood around the body was almost a guarantee that whoever it was, was in deep shit.
Felix knelt, turning the body over to find Poison. Three bullet holes riddled his chest, soaking his shirt in blood. His head lolled to the side but he blinked, letting Felix know he was coherent.
“S-Sor… ry.”
“Fuck. Who did this? What happened?” Felix didn’t wait for him to answer before dialing Doc Logan. Hopefully the man hadn’t left the warehouse yet. “Gunshot wound, warehouse roof. Hurry,” he shouted into the phone before hanging up and dialing Skittles. “Secure the premises. I just found Poison on the roof. He’s shot up pretty bad.”
“Shit,” Skittles barked, and the sound of him running down the steel stairs could be heard through the phone. “We’ve been hit! Check the females! The rest of you, scatter. Secure the property. Felix, you still there?”
“Yeah.”
“Doc’s on his way up.”
He wasn’t going to make it in time to fix Poison. Felix would have to get answers from him now. Right now. Why was he here instead of Skye? Who shot him? Was she hurt too?
He would raze the city to the fucking ground if anyone had hurt her—
“Skittles.” He tried to talk past his rage, but his insides felt like cinders waiting to explode. “You seen Skye?”
“No. She’s not with you?”
“No.”
The line was quiet. Eerily quiet, before he said, “Shit, Nyla said she was going up to the roof.”
That flash of hot pain licked up Felix’s spine again, making his vision turn white with wrath. “She’s not here.” His voice was a growl. Barely even human. Where is mate?
“We’ll find her,” Skittles said, but Felix was already ending the call. Damn right we will.
He leaned over Poison, ignoring the male’s pained groans as he gripped his jaw to make him focus. “Where is my mate?”
Poison’s eyes rolled before meeting Felix’s. “Didn’t mean… had to… my girl… fucked up…”
None of the words made sense. And none of them told him where Skye was.
Felix smashed his fist into the metal of the roof, barely in control enough to keep from hitting Poison instead. He didn’t want to hurt the guy more than he already was, but he needed to find Skye. “I don’t care what happened or why. Where is my mate?”
“B… Bis…” Poison coughed, blood wetting his lips. “Bisset. He… has her.”
Bisset.
The name sent Felix’s heartbeat pounding in his ears. Bisset had Skye. Another monstrous man had her when he’d promised it would never happen again. That she would never be in danger like this.
Before he could question Poison any further, Doc Logan appeared, dropping to his knees beside the man. He’d brought Smokes and Doc Toya with him too.
“Shit,” Logan snarled, already digging in his bag and retrieving some strange looking scissors. “Gotta get his shirt off. What’s his name?”
“Poison.” Smokes was the one who answered. Felix couldn’t fucking breathe, much less talk.
“Poison, can you hear me? Stay with me, man. Need to see where he’s bleeding from.”
“The bullet holes would be my guess,” Smokes muttered.
Felix barely heard them past the rattle in his skull. Bisset had Skye. He didn’t know how or why. Or what the fuck Poison had to do with it. All that mattered was his sweet Skye, his very fucking heartbeat, was taken by his enemy.
Felix scrambled to his feet and backed away.
“You okay?” Doc Toya’s question was aimed at him, but he couldn’t answer that one either.
“Worry about him.” His voice wasn’t human and his chest felt like a smoldering fire. All it needed was a little kindling.
Smokes followed him as he headed for the stairs. He needed to get off this roof. Something wasn’t right. He was going to fucking blow.
“Who did this?”
“Bisset,” he growled, taking the rickety stairs down to the ground. “Fucking Bisset has my girl and I’m going to kill him.”
Save mate. Kill him, kill him…
Skittles and Ratchet came running around the building the same time he reached the gravel. Neither had taken to their Firecat form yet, but the flicker of flames could be seen in their eyes. No that was his own eyes.
Or was it?
Felix blinked, shaking his head to clear his vision.
“The property is clear,” Skittles was saying as Felix stomped past the others. He needed to weapon up. And get his head right if he was going to drive anywhere. “No other damages. I’ve got men stationed around the perimeter. No one is getting in.”
Felix didn’t answer.
“The females are all safe, except for Skye,” Ratchet added.
Skye wasn’t safe. That knowledge burned Felix more than the mansion fire had. It swirled in his middle like a growling inferno.
“Felix…” Ratchet’s voice didn’t break through the turmoil.
Hot. Felix was hotter than he’d ever been.
“Someone tell me what the fuck happened,” Ratchet snapped.
Smokes caught them up with his own fearsome snarl. “Bisset. The fucker has Skye. We’re going to kill him.”
Felix spun to face them. “I’m going to kill him,” he boomed, jamming a finger at his brothers. “Any of you touch him, and I’ll kill you too.”
The three Firecats didn’t appreciate the challenge, if the flicker in their eyes was anything to judge by. Fuck it. He didn’t care.
He’d take care of them right now. Swat them down like flies. They were in his way.
He sized them up, fists clenching as he stalked back and forth in front of them. If he had to destroy them all to get vengeance… no, wait… he wasn’t fighting for vengeance this time.
Skye. My heart.
Skittles shrugged his vest off, letting it fall to the dirt. “You need something to hit, that it? You need a reminder of how to brawl? How to get what the fuck you want?”
“Too long without a beast,” Ratchet agreed, his lips pulling back to show his teeth. He didn’t know how short a time it had actually been.
“Let’s go.” Skittles snarled a threatening scowl. “Hit me. I won’t even shift. Not until you do.”
A roar vibrated Felix’s chest like a warning of something fiercer to come. Every cell in his body felt like it was about to burst. Need. Mate. Find mate. He lifted his face to the sky and screamed, daring the fucking sunset to bring the darkness. If it helped him find Skye, he would welcome it.
