Making the Rent the Hard Way - 51

 

"It took my almost dying to make you decide to move in with me?" Luca asked.

He was lying in a bed in a shifter-run hospital—still very pale from all the blood he'd lost, but alive.

My moving in was one of the promises I'd made in the basement of Bracco's house while I was begging, praying, for Luca's life.

I smiled, leaning in to kiss him. "A last resort, but yeah. If I'd said yes the first time you asked, I'd have been there when Bracco arrived, and he wouldn't have been able to kidnap you."

"Not really," Rocky said from the other bed in the room. He was there, recovering from the wounds he'd received before he finally killed Bracco. Orchid had insisted on it, over his protests that he'd heal on his own. "You were out of town when Bracco took him," Rocky pointed out.

"True, but—"

"It's the thought that counts," Orchid said, smiling at me. "I'm sure you'd have fought tooth and nail to save Luca. Well, if you had fangs and claws."

"Damned straight I would have." I was holding Luca's hand, so I squeezed, getting one in return. "What I want to know is, how the hell did he get his hands on you to begin with?"

Luca sighed. "My stupidity. I was at The Lycan Den when someone called me. He said he was an old friend of yours who had just gotten into town, and that he'd called you only to find out you were off on a case."

"Okay. Then what," I asked when Luca didn't continue.

"The reason he wanted to get in touch with you, he said, was to pay you back some money you'd loaned him. He said when he talked to you, earlier in the evening, you told him to get in touch with me, since you wouldn't be back before he had to leave."

"You believed that cock-and-bull story?" I said in disbelief.

Luca grimaced. "He was very convincing. Anyway, he asked if I could meet him at his hotel. I did. He had the money in cash, which he gave me to give you. Then he offered me a drink while asking how you were doing and…you know, idle chatter. I accepted. That's the last thing I remember until I ended up here."

"Next time, don't take drinks from strangers," Rocky said acerbically. "There isn't a bartender in the world who won't caution customers about that when they see it happen."

"Yeah. In my defense, I'm not a bartender, and I wasn't in a bar," Luca protested. "But you're right, and I should have known better."

"Was he a shifter?" I asked.

"Nope. Human, like you, which made his story more believable, I guess."

"Never trust a human if you don't know them," Orchid said, then laughed. "Just kidding, Cade."

"Better be," I grumbled, smiling at her.

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 50

 

 

I started toward Luca when two men, shifters, stepped between us.

Bracco put his arms around me from behind, locking my arms against my sides as he pulled me tightly against his body. Damn, the bastard was strong, but I knew that.

"Now, we wait until the sedative starts to wear off," he said, "which should be any minute now. Then you get to watch while my friends kill Mr. Montana—very slowly—while he's still too out of it to escape his fate. He snitched to you about Farnham. We don't like snitches, especially when they're shifters."

"Touch him and you die," I snarled. False bravado? Yes. But I meant it nonetheless. One way or another, Bracco and his pals would die.

"Big words from a puny human," Bracco replied, laughing low. His next words were for his cohorts "Might as well give Mr. Warner an idea of what's going to happen to his friend."

One of the shifters pulled out a knife. The other one took a cord from his pocket, wrapping it around Luca's throat then pulling Luca's head up so I could see his face. The bastard with the knife slashed it down Luca's chest. Luca groaned, and I knew he was coming to.

"God damn it, leave him alone. It's me you want," I shouted, struggling to break free from Bracco.

Suddenly, the room seemed very crowded when the door slammed open and Rocky and the others arrived. Relief would have taken hold when Gino tackled the man with the knife, but he was seconds too late. The bastard had stabbed Luca, the knife piercing his chest. Blood flowed from the wound, melding with that from the first cut.

"No!" I screamed as all hell broke loose. Every shifter in the room reverted to their animal forms—except Luca. Free of Bracco's hold at the point, I raced to Luca, pressing my hand to his chest as if that would stop the bleeding. It didn't.

I could hear the fighting, the growls, the roars of pain as wounds were inflicted, but my attention was locked on Luca as I said, over and over, "Don't die on me. Please, don't die. I love you. I can't lose you now. Dear God, don't let him die."

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 49

I shut down the laptop then started to the door when my cell rang. The caller wasn't identified, but I answered anyway. I had a chilling feeling I knew who it was—and I was right.

"Come alone or he dies," Bracco said. "Bring any weapons, he dies."

"Let me talk to him," I replied, trying to keep fear out of my voice.

"I'm afraid that's not possible. He heavily sedated." Bracco's laugh before he continued sounded almost gleeful. "After all, I don't want him to teleport away before you get here. That would sort of defeat my reason for kidnapping him in the first place."

"If you've hurt him—" I didn't get to finish because he'd hung up.

I relayed what he'd said to the others. Orchid hugged me hard. "We'll be there for you and Luca and end this once and for all."

"Until the next of Farnham's bastards tries something," I spat out.

Rocky gripped my shoulder. "Think positive or this won't work. If you go in believing this is just the beginning, not the end, he'll use your fear against you."

I scowled. "Easy for you to say. It's not Orchid he's using as bait—and you're a shifter."

"Be that as it may, think about what I said on your way over there."

"I will," I replied, looking at my friends. "Thanks for…for being willing to help."

Before anyone could reply, I was out the door, on my way to my car—and my rendezvous with Bracco.

*****

I parked in front of Bracco's house, taking a deep breath as I replayed Rocky's words in my head for the hundredth time. Then I got out, striding up the path to the front door as if I was there for a social call, not to rescue the man I loved—if I could—without losing my life, or his, in the process.

The door swung open before I could raise my hand to knock. "Come in. Come in," Bracco said. "I've been expecting you."

I stood there momentarily—to give Orchid a chance to get a decent look at the area behind him—then stepped inside. The door slammed behind me, making me start in surprise.

Bracco chuckled. "There's nothing to be afraid of—yet." He gripped my bicep, steering me through the living room, then the kitchen to a flight of stairs leading down. "Wait here. If you move… If you try anything or make a sound…" The threat was implicit in the tone of his words so I did as he said, standing stock-still as he walked away. I had the feeling he was checking to make certain no one, no shifter, had followed me inside in the brief time it had taken to get to the stairs.

He returned, flipped a light switch then pointing wordlessly to the stairs, so I went down. I swear I could feel his hot breath on my neck as he followed. Impossible, given his size, but fear and imagination can do that to a guy.

At the bottom of the stairs, he gripped my arm again, walking me toward a door at the far end of the basement. "Open it," he ordered.

I did. The first thing I saw was Luca, lashed to a chair, his chin resting on his chest. The only clue that he was still alive was the barest movement of his naked chest as he breathed.

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 48

 

I left the Lycan Den, heading back to my place. The minute I opened the front door, I knew I'd had a visitor. The lights were on, and there was a note taped to the TV screen. I guess whoever left it figured I couldn't miss it there. It was an address, nothing more—unless you counted the streak of blood along the bottom edge.

I clenched my hands, dead certain the address had something to do with why Luca was missing. I wasn't going to race off half-cocked to his rescue, however. Whoever had him—and I was certain that's what was going on—wouldn't kill him until I arrived. In my heart of hearts, I knew that. It didn't help. I was terrified but still calm enough that my training took over.

Turning on the laptop, I did a search for the address. From what I found, it was a house on the edge of the city. Nothing fancy, if the earth view on the map site was correct, but like the other houses in the area, set off from the street and the neighbors by trees and patches of undeveloped land. I printed out what I'd found then called Rocky.

"I need your… No, I think Luca needs your help."

"Which is it and why? What's going on?"

I told him, then sent him a shot of my place since he'd never been here. He said it would take him a few minutes, so I changed into jeans and a dark sweatshirt while I waited.

He landed in the middle of my living room with Orchid. "She insisted on coming along," he groused, though it was obvious he didn't really mind. A couple of minutes after they got here, Gino and Jack showed up.

"What do we have?" Rocky asked.

"An address, like I told you," I replied. "And pictures of the house."

"Any idea who owns it?" Gino asked.

"Fuck." I turned the laptop on again and did a search. "Okay, we might be in big trouble," I said, bringing up the name of the owner of record.

"That son of a bitch," Rocky muttered. "Guess he didn't learn his lesson the last time."

He was Mr. Bracco. Mr. Selwyn Bracco. No wonder he went by just Mr. Bracco. Selwyn did not fit the big bruiser at all.

"If he's got Luca, I'm killing him with my bare hands." Gino held them up, curled into claws. "If he hurt him, it will be slow and painful."

I knew exactly how he felt.

I brought up the map view of Bracco's house so everyone else could see what we were dealing with.

"We can't teleport into the house," Rocky said. "No visuals. I doubt he's going to let you take a picture to send us, Cade, once you're inside."

"No shit."

"So we play like burglars and break in," Orchid said, "'cause I'm betting there's no doggie door I can get through."

"No, but"—Gino looked at the map view again—"if you were across the street, there"—he pointed to bushes in front of the house in question—"in your fox form, you could see inside when the bastard opens the door for Cade."

She nodded. "That could work."

"We wait a few before we go in," Jack said. "He might, probably will, be expecting Cade to have backup. When we don't show, hopefully he'll figure he was wrong."

"Twenty-to-one he'll have his own bastards there," Gino said.  

"Let me get in touch with a couple of people. If he does have other shifters with him and they're more than we can handle on our own, I'll have some guys ready to join us." Rocky made his calls, then told us things were set. "We should get over there now, Cade." He held out his hand.

"No. I have to drive to Bracco's house," I said. "He'll be watching for me—or have someone else doing that. Without my car, he'll know one of you brought me there."

"Good point. All right, get moving."

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 47

 

 A few weeks later, I was hired by a man who wanted me to find his missing daughter. In this case, it meant I had to go to the college town where she was living and going to school. As it turned out, she wasn't missing. She was avoiding her overly controlling family by not answering their calls or emails.

"Father and Mother even called my friends," she'd told me angrily when I finally located her, "telling them they'd better get me to return their calls or I'd be sorry. Meaning Father would stop paying my tuition if I didn't, I'm sure." She stormed over to the window in her apartment, staring out. "Not that I give a damn. I've got a job now, so I can handle it myself." She turned to look at me. "So you can tell him to suck it up. I'm old enough to know what I want, and that's not having my life run by them anymore."

I understood and promised to deliver the message. The whole thing—the trip out there, finding then talking to her, then back home again—had taken three days. The first day Luca and I had called each other three times. Yes, I missed him and he missed me.

The second day he'd left me an early morning text saying he had a meeting with a client and wouldn't be available. No 'I love you', just that. When I'd called that afternoon, it had gone to his voicemail, so I'd figured he was busy working on the client's project. He usually turned his phone off when he did that. When he hadn't answered that evening, I had been worried, but not terribly. He sometimes wined and dined a client once the job was finished, which I'd decided was probably what was happening. The next day I'd called when I got up and had reached his voicemail again. I'd left a message, of course. He hadn't called back by the time I'd finally located my client's daughter and had my talk with her. I'd tried again on my way to the airport, to tell him when I'd be arriving home. Nothing.

The minute I got off the plane I made another, unsuccessful call. So instead of going straight to my place, I went to his. I let myself in, dropping my bag by the front door as I called his name. My voice echoed through what I discovered was an empty apartment. It brought back memories of the first time I'd been there, looking for him for Farnham. Nothing was missing—except Luca.

I immediately grabbed my bag, tossing it in the back of my car, then headed to The Lycan Den, hoping Rocky was there and could tell me what was going on. He could, sort of, and it wasn't good.

"Luca came in two nights ago," Rocky said. "He was lonely with you out of town and wanted some company. Don't worry…" He chuckled. "My company. He wasn't cruising."

"I didn't think he would be," I replied, even though that thought had crossed my mind for a mini-second. "And?"

"Right around closing time he got a call. When it was over, he said he had to go, left his half-finished drink, and took off on foot."

"Have you heard from him since?"

"Nope. I take it from your questions that you haven't either."

I shook my head. "Not a word, after the first day I was gone, other than one short text the second morning."   

"Cade, stop worrying. Whatever's going on, he's fine. He can take care of himself."

I looked hard at Rocky. "Meaning you think something has happened to him."

He had the grace not to lie to try to appease me. "That thought has crossed my mind. I tried twice to get in touch with him. Nada."

"If he does call…"

"I'll let you know right away. The same with you."

"I will."

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 46

 

Life returned to normal—finally. Or as normal as it can be when you love a shifter.

My business was booming. I figured it had to do with my recent notoriety after revealing that Tipton wasn't quite what he'd wanted people to believe he was.

Tipton's disappearance after the press conference—together with Farnham's apparent vanishing act—had pretty well ended the attempt by Farnham's shifter stooges to take over the city government illegally. The DA and police chief both retired, as they chose to call it. Two of the shifter city council members who were up for reelection withdrew. The other three came out publicly as shifters, admitting they had fallen for Farnham's line that it was time for shifters to run the city, and they promised to reform. One of them faced a recall election and lost. The other two are still on the council, carefully watched by their constituents for any signs of wrongdoing.

Luca hadn't been directly linked to what had occurred at the press conference—other than backing up my statement that Tipton was a shifter—or to the information revealed by The Tetrad. He went back to what he'd been doing before we brought Farnham down, creating what I, and his clients, considered fantastic designs for whatever they needed.

At one point, about a month after the press conference, over dinner at his house, Luca said, "I've been thinking."

"As compared to just reacting," I quipped.

"Shush. I'm serious. You spend half your time here. Maybe you should move in?"

I gave that some serious thought. Yes, I loved him. That was a given. But…

"I'm not ready," I told him. "Perhaps, someday. But right now I still need my freedom."

"But we spend all our time together when we aren't working," he protested. "How would living here take away from your freedom?"

"It's hard to explain. No, maybe it's not. I'm here because I want to be. If we were living together, I'd feel as if I had to be. I'm not sure that makes any sense to you, but it's how I am. You grew up with siblings—a lot of them, from what Gino said. You're used to living with other people, so for you it doesn't seem like a…an obligation I guess, though I'm not sure that's the right word. I'm an only child. I grew up being very independent and self-sufficient—and different. I relish my being able to do what I want, when I want."

"But that doesn't have to stop just because we're living together," Luca said quietly.

"I know that, up here," I replied, tapping my forehead. "But emotionally…" I took his hand. "Give me time. Please. I'm not saying it won't happen. I just need to get used to the idea first, instead of jumping in with both feet. I don't want either of us to regret it, if I say yes."

He turned his hand to squeeze mine. "I understand. I can't say I like the idea of waiting until you're sure, but I do see where you're coming from." He smiled, then. "As long as you spend all your free time here, I'm good with what we have now."

Leaning across the table, no mean feat considering there were half-empty dinner plates on it, I kissed him. Of course, the fact he leaned in, too, helped.

"I do love you," I said, straightening up again. "Never, ever doubt that."

"I never have, since we both admitted it, and I never will."

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 45

Luca appeared half an hour later, bloody but unbowed, as he put it. "I'm fine," he said as I tried to decide if he really was. He was bloody, but other than a few deep gashes on his arms, he seemed to be in one piece.

"You should see the other guys," he told me with a smirk. "And I don't mean Gino and Rocky, although they took their share of damage. Tipton's joining Farnham in Hell. The big guy won't be doing any fighting for a while. Rocky made sure of that. What's the saying? The bigger they are—"

"The harder they fall." I almost smiled, adding, "I hope he didn't say 'I'll be back' when he left."

"Nope, because he's still lying on the basement floor, out like a light. We decided to let him live, to pass on the message to his punks that we're bigger and badder than them."

"He will be back," I said, shivering. I felt like a wuss but I couldn't help it. The bruiser scared me. He had since the first time I saw him.

Luca hugged me. "Maybe. Maybe not. Guys like him, they think their too big to lose, but they're cowards at heart, playing on their size. My bet is, he'll think twice before coming after you or any of us, now that Rocky showed him he wasn't unbeatable after all."

"I hope to hell you're right."

Luca smirked. "I always am. Why would it stop now?"

"Conceited ass," I grumbled, before kissing him.

"Nope," he said when the kiss ended. "Not a conceited bone in my body."

"Uh-huh." I smacked his butt. "If we're going to eat dinner, which you promised me, I'd better shut things down and lock up." 

We did eat, before ending up in his bed. From there, things went as expected. By the time we finished, we were both thoroughly sated—and the gashes on Luca's arms were gone, thankfully, as was the last of the damage to his shoulder. I didn't like the reminders of what he'd gone through.

He must have realized I was checking, because he said, "Stop worrying. The only one who can damage me permanently is you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. If you ever decide I'm not really the man for you and walk away, it will break my heart. I don't think even being a shifter could heal that."

"It will never happen," I told him. "I'm in this for the long haul."

He laughed. "Not a very romantic statement, but I get the idea."

"How about I say 'I love you more and more each day'? Does that work?"

"Yes, it does," he replied softly. "I love you, too, in case you haven't figured that out."

"I have." I kissed him, then we set out to prove one more time that we were in love, before falling asleep in each other's arms.

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 44

I'd have backed away except I was still sitting. Besides, there was nowhere to go.

"I figured you'd be halfway to nowhere by now," I said, trying to put up a bold front—and stall for time.

"I was. Then I decided I had business to take care of first, beginning with you." He put his hands on the arms of my chair, trapping me there. "Do you know what you've done? You and your shifter friends? Your fucking pantywaist shifter friends, afraid to make a stand and take their rightful place in the world. We could have ruled the city. Farnham had it all planned out. Then you killed him and ruined me." Tipton was so angry I felt spittle hit my face as he ranted. 

"Boss," the bruiser cautioned when Tipton backhanded me, "not here."

Tipton turned angrily, took a deep breath, then said, "You're right." He returned his attention to me. "We're going to have some fun with you, then drop you at… Yeah, The Lycan Den. Show those pantywaists what happens when they mess with a real shifter."

He backhanded me again, his rings adding more gouges on my face than they had the first time.

"You're overusing that word," I spat out, wiping blood off my cheek. "Poor language skills?"

"Very poor," Luca said as he, Rocky, and Gino appeared in the office. "He'd never have been elected mayor. He can't put two sentences together without making a fool of himself."

"What would a pansy know about talking?" Tipton said as he made a lunge for Luca—and missed because Luca wasn't there. He was between me and the bruiser, who looked as if he wanted to tear me apart on the spot.

"Bad boy," Gino said, joining Luca. "Did Tipton forget to feed you your ration of kibble this morning?"

"Basement," Rocky called out, gripping Tipton's arm before he moved away.

Gino grabbed the bruiser's wrist, then he, the bruiser, and Luca vanished, leaving me sitting there in stunned disbelief. "I don't get to join the party?" I muttered, getting up to check the damage to my face in the mirror in the lavatory off to one side of the waiting room. Not that I wanted to be there to watch my friends deal with Tipton and Mr. Bracco. Okay, I did, but only if they won. Rocky was big, but the bruiser… I shuddered.

My cheek looked as bad as it felt. Tipton wore four large, garish rings, and each one had left their mark—twice. I washed off the blood, applied antiseptic, then returned to the office to wait.

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 43

 

Luca and I took advantage of the pandemonium to slip out of the room. Rocky joined us as we made our way to the building's exit.

"That was as successful as I'd hoped," Rocky said gleefully.

"Yeah, it was. There might be some backlash from humans who hate shifters, but we've dealt with that before." Luca put his arm around my shoulders. "I say we celebrate."

Gino and Jack—one of the shifters who'd been at the meeting last night—joined us. They'd been at the press conference as backup in case of trouble.

"Did I hear the word 'celebrate'?" Gino asked, grinning.

"Go ahead," I said. "Me? I still have a business to run if I'm going to make next month's rent."

"You can…" Luca started to say, until I shook my head.

"I can't, and I won't. I've been away from it for too long." I grimaced. "I probably have a million messages from potential clients. Or at least I hope I do." I never had gotten around to putting a message on my machine saying I'd be out of town for a while.

Luca sighed. "All right. Do you want a lift to your car?" He didn't give me a chance to reply. Instantly we were beside it, in the parking lot of my apartment building. "I'll call you before you leave," he said. "We can do something tonight to celebrate." From the leer he gave me, I knew exactly what he meant. I had no problems with that. We kissed, then he took off and I drove to work.

*****

I spent the rest of the day exactly as I'd suspected I would—returning phone calls. Well, not the whole day. Two people who had wanted my help came in to talk and then sign contracts. Both of them had heard the news about Tipton's press conference, so, naturally, they asked about it. I filled them in on my ability to know who was or wasn't human. Neither of them seemed the least bit fazed by that.

Then there were the calls, not too surprisingly, from reporters wanting to do a follow-up on their press conference stories. I put them off, telling them Tipton and Farnham were who they should be focusing on, if they could find them to talk to. I had the feeling Tipton was long gone from the city by now. And, of course, Farnham would be a no-go, all things considered, but I didn't tell them that.

Luca called around four to ask if I wanted to go out to dinner or eat at his place. Dumb question and we both knew it. I told him I'd be there soon after five and was about to hang up when I heard something in the waiting room. I turned to see what it was then hissed in a breath.

"What's wrong," Luca asked.

"I have company, and they're not clients," I told him as I looked at Tipton and Mr. Bracco, the bruiser who had been one of Farnham's bodyguards.

"I'll be… Damn, I've never been in your office."

By then Tipton was standing in the doorway. He did not look happy. In fact, he looked like he intended to do bad things to me, with the bruiser's help. The only thing I could think to do was use my phone's camera to snap their picture then send it to Luca. With luck, it would be enough to give him a visual. So I did, just before Tipton strode over to grab the phone from my hand. He dropped it on the floor, crushing it under his heel.

"That's how you're going to end up when we're done with you," Tipton snarled.

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 42

 

Tipton's press conference was going strong when Luca and I arrived. I was ready for whatever would happen, rested and relaxed, thanks to spending the night in Luca's bed again—even though for the first hour or more we definitely were not sleeping. We'd made a quick stop by my place, where I'd changed into good slacks and a button-down shirt, in deference to looking presentable for what I was going to do this morning. Jeans and a T-shirt wouldn't have done that.

"Mr. Tipton," I heard a reporter call out as we neared the podium, "there are rumors, suggestions, that you are a shifter. Is there any truth to that?"

"Absolutely not. I'm as human as you or any of the people running against me for the office of mayor."

I had to smile, whispering to Luca, "Since the reporter's a shifter, there goes part of Tipton's argument."

Luca chuckled. "I know. He's one of ours."

That surprised me, though not too much, when I thought about it. Someone had to set it up for what I was going to do.

I walked up to stand in front of the podium, turned to face the reporters and other attendees, and said, "Mr. Tipton definitely is a shifter. I know that for a fact."

From the corner of my eye I saw two burly shifters—who I could only presume worked for Tipton as bodyguards—start toward me as one of the reporters shoved his mike in my face then asked "How? And who are you?"

"My name is Cade Warner. Some of you may have heard of me. I have the unique ability, for a human, of being able to tell who else is human and, more importantly, who's a shifter."

"I know your name," one reporter shouted above the resulting babble, "and your reputation. Are you willing to swear that Mr. Tipton is a shifter?"

By then, Tipton's bodyguards were trying to force their way through the crowd of reporters now surrounding me. "I am," I replied to the man who'd asked the question. I can also tell you those two"—I pointed to the bodyguards—"are shifters, as well. They seem to be upset that I've revealed Mr. Tipton's well-guarded secret." I chuckled. "All right. Not quite a secret since The Tetrad revealed that information. Not that some of you"—I paused, looking at the reporters—"bothered to report it. But I understand why. The charges were, to some extent, unsubstantiated and you didn't want libel suits on your hands. That's why I'm here to state categorically that Mr. Tipton is a shifter." 

"He's lying," Tipton responded angrily. "I don't know what his agenda is or who he's working for, but that is a blatant lie!"

Luca stepped forward. "As a shifter myself, I can tell everyone that what Mr. Warner has said is the truth."

"As can I," said the reporter who had originally posed the question to Tipton. "I don't give a damn about the fact that the owner of the paper I work for has told me to keep quiet. As Mr. Warner pointed out, the owner's afraid of a libel suit. Tipton is a shifter." The reporter paused, his gaze going to the bodyguards. "Those two, and the two standing behind Tipton, are, as well. They all work for Richard Farnham, I believe—just as Tipton does."

"Where is Mr. Farnham?" Rocky called out from the back of the room. "Why isn't he here to defend Mr. Tipton against these charges?"

"Whoa," I said under my breath. I hadn't expected that, but damned if it didn't work. The reporters immediately turned to Tipton to ask him the same question.

"He doesn't need to defend me against lies," Tipton blustered, looking as if he wished he was anywhere but here. One of the bodyguards leaned in to whisper something to him. Tipton paled—then vanished. His men did the same, seconds later.

"I guess the cat's really out of the bag now," Luca said with a grin.

"No shit."

Of course, the reporters had already figured that out. They were calling in the story—or in the case of the TV personnel, giving the viewers their own interpretation of what had just gone down.

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 41

 

I glared at him. "Do not go all protective on me, Luca. I can take care of myself."

"Against one of us?" He swept his arm around. "Against Farnham's goons? Some of whom are still out there, and you know it. They could be looking to retaliate for his death."

"So I'm supposed to hide for the rest of my life because I'm a mere human?" I replied with disgust. "Are you going to? Will Rocky and Orchid and everyone else who was involved last night? After all, they'd want your hides as much as mine, if not more."

"That's not what I meant," Luca protested. "It's just… Damn it!"

"You love him," Orchid said quietly, giving him a hug. "The same way Rocky loves me. The problem with that is, if you're not careful"—she shot a look at Rocky—"you'll end up smothering us, which isn't love, not the way it should be. Give Cade the respect he deserves, Luca, as a man who did as much as any of the rest of us to stop Farnham, despite the danger."

Luca bowed his head. "I'll try," he whispered, before looking at me again. "I know you're capable of taking care of yourself." He smiled, reaching for my hand. "And of me, when it comes down to it. We'll watch each other's backs, if that's okay with you."

I took his hand, nodding. "I think I can deal with that." I wanted to kiss him, to show I meant it, but with everyone watching…

"If you don't kiss," Orchid said cracking a grin, "I won't believe a word you said to each other."

"And that matters why?" Luca asked before tugging me closer. Not that it took any effort on his part. I leaned in willingly to receive his kiss, then gave him one in return.

"Now that that's settled," Rocky said, taking the floor again, "a few of us need to be at Tipton's press conference tomorrow, other than Cade and Luca."

While I wasn't about to admit it aloud, I was all for that. I do know my limits, and if Tipton or one of his bodyguards decided to take issue with my proving to the reporters that he was a shifter… Well, I'd seen how they fight and no way did I want to be the subject of an attack if one of his people decided to shift and take me out—or just shoot me on the spot before I could say a word, if they figured out why I was there.

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 40

Introductions were made, then Rocky got down to business.

"With Farnham out of the picture, we have to explain why, and get rid of the people he managed to put in place on the city council and elsewhere."

"The why is easy enough," Gino said. "Tell the truth. From what you all have told me, you've already notified the news outlets about what he was trying to do. This will put a finish to that story. You don't have to go into detail. Just say he tried to eliminate Luca and Cade and he was killed in the process."

"I disagree," one of the other shifters said, Jack by name. "We can't prove Farnham the man is dead, since he died in his wolf form. Let the public think he's on the run to escape prosecution for" —he looked around—"for what? What could he be arrested for?"

"Rigging elections, to start with," Rocky replied. "Him and the shifters who ran without revealing that they weren't human. That's illegal under the laws put in place many years ago, soon after we first let the humans know we existed."

"That works," Gino agreed. "However, can you establish as fact that those men and women are shifters?"

"I can," I said, getting nods from Luca and Rocky. "People, humans and shifters, know I can tell which is which." I modified that. "At least, some of them do. Enough of them that they'll back me up when I point a finger at Farnham's stooges."

"That's a start." Gino frowned. "Since you can do that, why haven't you?"

"Until a week ago, I had no idea what was going on. I have to meet someone face to face—or be in the same room with them—to know what they are. I'm not into the political scene, as it were, so that never happened."

"All right."

"Now, we have to get the news out that Farnham's on the run, and prove it," Orchid said.

"I think the proof will come when he doesn't show up at the restaurant or any of the social functions he makes it a point to attend," Luca told her. "It'll take a few days for people to realize that's happening, but eventually they will—once we've let them know why he's not around anymore."

"The next thing we need to do is make certain Dexter Tipton's name is removed from the ballot," Rocky said. "He's got a press conference scheduled for tomorrow morning. You have to be there, Cade."

"No, he doesn't," Luca said adamantly. "That would put him right in the line of fire from Farnham's cronies, even though Farnham's not here anymore. Hasn't Cade been through enough already?"

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 39

 

 

 I felt someone shaking me. My eyes flew open and I saw Luca watching me.

"Damn," he said. "I thought you'd never wake up."

"Me?" I sat up, looking him over. His shoulder still showed the damage from his battle with Farnham, but it was healing—slowly. The rest of him? Perfect. Not a wound to be seen.

"Yeah, you. I've been up for hours."

"Don't believe him," Gino said from the doorway. "He woke up ten minutes ago, all worried that there was something wrong with you because you were here, not at home."

"Of course I'm here," I told Luca. "Where else would I be, until I knew you survived?"

"And now that you know I did, you're going to leave?" Luca asked, his lips turning up in a grin.

"Not hardly." I didn't care that Gino was there. I wrapped my arms around Luca and kissed him, pouring all my love into it. He responded the way I hoped he would, on all levels. Not that we could do much about the physical part at the moment, with Gino here. But… "When he's gone…" I whispered to Luca.

Gino laughed. "I will be soon enough, but I'll be back. We have things we need to do, now that Farnham's dead."

That put a damper on my happiness and Luca's, as well, from the look on his face.

"Taking care of his stooges," Luca said, sitting up.

"Exactly," Gino replied. "I've talked with Rocky, who, by the way, is fine now. We're meeting this evening. All of us."

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Three-fifteen, give or take. In the afternoon," Gino added.

"Where's the meeting?" Luca asked.

"Here. I hope you don't mind but I figured it was better than having you out and about until you're totally healed."

"Bossy brother," Luca grumbled. He looked at me and grinned. "Next, he'll be telling me no sex for a week, just to be sure I'm okay first."

Gino snorted. "I know better than that. Right now, though, you'd better shower, get dressed, and eat something, both of you. I'll be back in an hour." He started toward the living room, turned back waggling his finger at us. "And no sex."

Luca flipped him off, even though Gino couldn't see it since he was gone.

We did shower, separately, in deference to the fact that if we'd been together we'd have been hard put to keep our hands to ourselves. I got out and found Luca was already in jeans and a T-shirt—and holding clean clothes for me. When I asked, he said, "I dropped by your place to get these. I didn't think you'd want to wear what you had on last night. They're kind of blood-covered."

"Your blood." I shivered at the thought of how close he'd come to dying.

"Yeah. Well"—he wrapped his arm around me—"I'm here. I'm alive. And"—he winked—"starving, so let's order supper. I've got the feeling what's in my fridge should be thrown out."

I remembered the sour milk and agreed. While I got dressed, he called for pizza. We'd barely started eating it when Gino appeared, so we shared. By the time we'd finished it was almost five and the troops began to arrive. When I say troops, I mean half a dozen shifters, plus Rocky and Orchid.

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 38

It was too dark to see much as the trio moved away from the moonlight coming in through the open door. There was nothing I could do but hug the wall, praying that Luca and the smaller gray would be able to defeat Farnham and survive the wounds I knew he was inflicting on them. Their howls and growls were deafening in the small room. Then there was a piercing yelp, followed by a whimper that faded to nothing, and all was quiet.

Within seconds, the room filled with men and wolves, some bleeding badly, others more or less undamaged. In the midst of them was a small fox who immediately shifted into Orchid.

"Lights," she said sharply.

I ran to turn them on, then dropped to my knees beside the red wolf. My red wolf, Luca. Orchid did the same beside the smaller gray wolf, running her hands over him, and I knew it had to be Rocky.

Luca was bleeding badly, the worst from the wound on his shoulder.   

"He's dead," someone said, and, for a horrible second, I thought they meant Luca. Then someone else said, "And good riddance," so I knew they meant Farnham.

Not that I cared at the moment. All my attention was on Luca. "Help him," I called out desperately. A slender man came to kneel beside me, obviously assessing the damage. "He'll heal. He just needs to sleep in this form, but not here." He glanced over at Orchid, who had Rocky's head in her lap, stroking it. "Him, too, foxy."

She barely smiled at the nickname, nodded, then she and Rocky were gone. The man gently gathered Luca into his arms. "Hold my shoulder," he said, which I did. Then we were in the bedroom of Luca's apartment. The man carefully laid Luca on the bed then turned to me. "He will heal. Believe."

I tried to. I knew shifters healed much faster than humans, but as damaged as Luca was, it was hard to accept that he'd live. I ran my hand softly down Luca's back, looking at the man, the shifter, who'd brought us here, wondering who he was and how he'd known where Luca lived, so I asked.

"I'm Gino, Luca's brother," the man replied. "One of several, actually, but the only one he keeps in touch with. In this case, it's a damned good thing he did."

"If that's so, why haven't you been helping us?"

Gino chuckled. "Who do you think owns the place where he was hiding out? I travel a lot, as part of my job, so I have apartments in several cities, including here. When he called to ask if he could use it and told me why, I knew he needed help. Unfortunately, what I do meant I couldn't drop everything and come out here. But I knew Rocky had his back. Then Rocky got in touch with me to let me know what was going down tonight. So, I came. Damned good thing I did. Farnham's…well, goons for lack of a better word, were out for blood."

I almost smiled. "That's how we thought of them." I realized I had no idea how the battle had gone. "Were you and the rest of the shifters Rocky pulled together able to take them down?"

"Yeah. It was touch and go, but we came out on top and sent them away with their tails between their legs—the ones we didn't kill. We lost one of ours, too, unfortunately, but we all knew that was a possibility."

I nodded, my concentration on Luca, even though I was listening to Gino. Some of Luca's wounds had already healed—the smaller ones—but his shoulder still looked as bad as it had back in the basement. "He should be in the hospital," I said angrily, glancing up at Gino.

"At least you didn't say at the vets," Gino replied with a ghost of a smile. "Trust me. He'll heal without any help. Shifters do." He put one hand on my shoulder. "You should get some sleep while he's healing. We both should. I'll take the spare bedroom."

I took that as I'm sure he meant it. As soon as he left the room, I stripped down to my briefs then carefully slid into bed next to Luca. Sleep was a long time coming. All I could think about was what I'd do if Gino was wrong and Luca died. I kept my hand on his neck, feeling the faint pulse beating under his fur.

"Don't die on me, Luca. I've never loved someone until you. I don't know what I'll do if I lose you, now that I've found you." I whispered that over and over until, finally, I fell asleep.

It's release day for 'The Element Case - Quint and Clay Art Crimes Book 1'

 The Element Case

Quint and Clay Art Crimes Book 1

https://www.jms-books.com/edward-kendrick-c-224_229/the-element-case-p-3629.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R7VJNPY  

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-element-case-edward-kendrick/1123237067?ean=9781646566648

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-element-case-1

 

GENRE: Gay Mystery Erotic Romance
LENGTH: 33,868 words
RATING:

Clay Richardson is a well-known artist who owns his own gallery.

Quint Hawk, a police detective, makes contact with Clay when he sees a portrait Clay has painted in the window of the gallery -- a portrait of a homeless young man who was murdered just days before. Unfortunately, Clay has no idea who the subject was.

Several months later, Quint contacts Clay to again ask about one of Clay's paintings. The subject has been murdered, as has a third man in another of his paintings.

The reclusive artist and the handsome detective are drawn to each other as they try to determine what is happening and why. They come up with a plan to catch the killer -- a plan that could end up in their deaths before they can decide if there is more to their feelings than a couple of very good nights in Clay's bed.

(NOTE: The is a reissue that has been re-edited)

EXCERPT:

"Clay," Amanda said as soon as he answered the phone a week after the gallery show, "there's a police detective here who says he needs to talk with you. Should I give him your address?"

Frowning, Clay asked, "Did he say what it was about?"

"No, and I did ask."

"Tell him I'll be there in ... fifteen minutes, give or take."

"All right."

As soon as they'd hung up, Clay took the brushes he was using over to the sink to clean them, glad as always that he worked in acrylics and didn't have to soak them in paint thinner or turpentine first. When he was finished, he changed into a clean shirt and took off for the gallery.

"Mr. Richardson," Detective Quint Hawk said the moment Clay walked through the doors. "I don't know if you remember me."

"I do. You were investigating the murder of the boy in Element of Woe. Did you find his killer?"

"Unfortunately, not so far. And there have been two more since then."

"Oh?"

"One of the victims was that young man." Quint pointed to Element of Delight.

"What the hell? Are you certain? And how did you find out about the painting in the first place?"

"There was an article in the Arts section of the paper about your most recent show. They used a photo of it in the story."

Clay shook his head. "You're certain it's the same person?"

Quint took an envelope from his jacket pocket, opened it and handed Clay a photo. "It's a morgue shot of the victim's face."

Clay looked at it. It was obvious the young man was dead, but he had no doubt it was the same one he'd seen -- and sketched -- two months earlier. "I don't understand. How? Why?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Quint replied grimly.

"Surely you don't think I had anything to do with their deaths."

Instead of answering Clay, Quint took another envelope from his pocket, removed a photo, and handed it to him. "Do you recognize this guy?"

Clay barely nodded, beckoning for the detective to follow him into the storage room behind the gallery. Going to one wall, Clay shuffled through the canvases stored in the racks, finally pulling one out. It was the same size at the other two Element ones, a foot-and-a-half by two foot.

"What do you call this one?" Quint asked, studying the painting.

"Element of Frustration." Clay contemplated it for a moment. "I debated whether this one was sellable or not. Amanda said it was and hung it for a few days. Then she took it and a couple of other ones down to make room for paintings by one of the other artists we handle." He shrugged. "So maybe I was right and it's not."

"It looks good to me. Or," Quint amended, "or it would if it weren't for the fact that the subject is a murder victim."

"And after seeing this, you're sure I'm the killer," Clay said sardonically, torn between anger and dread.

"Let's say you're not at the top of the list but you're not off it either. Unless you're a psychopath, I don't see you hanging their pictures in the gallery and putting them up for sale if you were the killer. You might be a total ass at times, but I doubt you're crazy."

Clay managed to smile. "Some people might dispute that."

Quint chuckled before asking, "Do you remember where the guy in that picture was when you drew him?"

Clay studied the face. "Somewhere downtown. That's where I find a lot of my subjects -- there or in clubs. The variety of people is better. I can check my sketches when I get home to see if I wrote it down. Often as not, if I really like a particular subject, I make a note on the sketch, in case I want to find them again."

"I can see why you focus on the downtown area, because there's more types of people, but in clubs?"

"How often have you gone to a club and really looked at the people there?"

Quint shrugged. "I think the last time I was at one was when I met you the first time."

"Okay. Next time you go, study the faces and the bodies. You get everything from 'Please give me a chance.' to 'I can have anyone I want because I'm tall, dark, and handsome.' Tall, short, overweight, thin ... Well, you get the picture. All in one spot. It's the same downtown -- business people, tourists, the homeless. The teens hanging out because they have nothing better to do with their time than spend it with friends who are just as bored as they are."

"True, I suppose. Another question. How much time is there between when you do your sketches and when the finished painting is hung here in the gallery?"

 

Making the Rent the Hard Way - 37

I wondered how long we had. Probably not more than a few minutes, I figured, if Farnham had been able to trace the call—which I suspected was a given at this point or he'd have kept me talking longer.

"You two and Orchid are to stay in here," Rocky told us. "And keep the damned door closed. If he or any of his people get a visual—" He stopped, nodded, and said "We have company," before vanishing. Contrary to his orders, Orchid disappeared right after him.

"That was fast," I muttered.

"Them getting here? Rocky may have meant Farnham's spotter," Luca said.

"You know he didn't." I wanted to be out there, fighting with the rest of them. Not that I'd be any good against a gang of shifters, but, damn it all, I felt useless right now. I started toward the stairs, only to have Luca grab my arm.

"Don't," he ordered. "If, God help us, things go bad, I'll get us out of here. I can't do that if you're out there."

"You reading my mind?" I asked tightly.

"Nope. Your body language."

We both jumped when something, or someone, slammed against the door. I almost shouted, "It's unlocked," because I suddenly realized it was. "Lights," I whispered, dashing to turn off one of them. Luca got the other, and we were plunged into darkness as the door swung open. 

"I know you're in here, Luca," Farnham growled. "So is Mr. Warner. Show yourselves or the slaughter of your friends will continue." 

"I don't believe you," Luca replied angrily as he gripped my shoulder.

I knew he intended on getting us out of there. I jerked free, shouting to Farnham, "Coward. Afraid to face us on your own, you bastard? The big, bad alpha needs his gang of goons, Luca. How do you think that will play in the papers tomorrow?"

"What the fuck are you doing?" Luca whispered.

"Calling the bastard out for what he is—a coward who's afraid to fight his own battles. By the way, he's lying about our friends being slaughtered. If they were, you'd know it. Right?"

Thank God Luca played along. "Yeah, I would. From what I'm picking up, it's his goons that are going down. Sorry fucker can't even choose decent enforcers."

"You're lying," Farnham spat out.

I laughed. "You mean you didn't even bother to check how the battle was going when you finally got here? Figures. The only one you give a damn about is yourself. I wonder how your stooges will feel when they find that out." I held out my phone, to show him I was video recording all this. Not that he'd be recognizable, since he was silhouetted by the moonlight behind him, but, hopefully, he didn't realize that.

Suddenly, it wasn't Farnham the man standing there. In his place was a gray wolf, its lips pulled back in a fearsome snarl as it started down the stairs. Two things happened at the same time. A red wolf appeared in front of me, growling low in its throat, and a second gray wolf stood right behind Farnham.

Farnham attacked Luca, his jaws clamping on the red wolf's shoulder. He shook him hard, tearing flesh from bone. The red wolf, Luca, howled in pain as he bit and clawed at Farnham. The second gray wolf joined the fray. It was smaller than Farnham, but not by much. Farnham released his grip on Luca to fend off the second attacker.