CHAPTER 6
Now that it was early evening, Ernie’s was much busier. Vehicles crammed the lot, mostly trucks sprayed in mud and bits of grass. Violet’s stomach tightened. She took a deep breath, grabbed the package of alligator meat, and got out. No sign of any of her family’s vehicles. They were probably lying low, plotting.
A hand clamped over her arm, and she screamed. Her Dragon vibrated through her as she spun around, ready to whack her assailant with the package.
Kade met her motion with his upturned palm. “Whoa.”
“Is that what they teach you in the Guard, to sneak up on people and grab them?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
He wasn’t wearing the standard Vega clothing, dressed instead in blue jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt with long sleeves. And he didn’t look the least bit apologetic.
She hmphed. “Don’t touch me again, or I’ll unleash my Dragon on you.” Not that it had worked out so well last time. Wrestling in the mud with him—naked!—had been quite humiliating. And the aftermath…best not to go there. “What are you doing here? How’d you find me?”
“I was coming back and saw you pull in.”
He’d come back. It hit her then, which hopefully meant the Guard was now going to cooperate.
“What did your boss say?” she asked.
The fog in his eyes darkened, like swirling smoke. “I’m here in an unofficial capacity.”
She nodded. “So the Guard is willing to let war erupt here. Nice.” She let her gaze draw down his unofficial self. “And you’re here for…?”
She wasn’t sure how she felt about him being here. Without the power of the Guard, what could he do? Part of her did appreciate his presence, but she was ignoring it.
“I want to get to the bottom of this.” He nodded to the building. “You here for a drink?”
“Gods, no. The only time I come here is to help carry out one of my drunk family members. Or for information. You…can’t go in there,” she finished as he headed toward the entrance.
“Because I’m Deuce?” He kept walking, forcing her to catch up to him.
“And an outsider.”
He linked his arm with hers. “But I have connections.” His smile almost made her forget what a bad idea this was. Damn, it almost made her want a replay of the scene by the mud puddle.
She pulled him to a stop, untangling her arm from his. “If they recognize you as a Vega, there will be even more trouble. You’re way outnumbered in there, and even as Dragon, I won’t be able to protect you.”
His smile grew even warmer, and he rubbed the back of his knuckles down her cheek. “You going to protect me, my fierce Dragon babe?”
She stumbled back. “Look, we had that…moment earlier, but I am not losing my head like that again. So no touching me, and no calling me ‘babe.’”
He still had that smile on his face. “I know what that moment was about, so don’t sweat it.”
She blinked, surprised because she had no idea what it was about and she had participated in it. “What was it?”
“Comfort sex. Not that we got to the sex part, but you needed comfort. And I was handy.”
And yummy and hot and… “Yeah, that was it. Sure, that explains a lot.” But it didn’t really, because she had been righteously aroused, which had nothing to do with wanting comfort.
“So you don’t have to look at me like I’m going to eat you. Or kiss you again.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, you did kiss me. And…a lot more. What’s your excuse?”
That smile disappeared. Interesting. She thought he’d be all cocky or patronizing, like I just wanted to make you feel better. What a great guy I am, huh? But no, he looked unsettled. And she remembered that he’d seemed just as shocked by what had exploded between them. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I wish I knew. All I can tell you is that it won’t happen again.”
She felt some relief at the confident tone of his voice. “No, it won’t.”
“So let’s focus on the matter at hand. I haven’t had reason to deal with Fringers in recent years, so they may not recognize me. I can do a couple of things to help matters.”
He scrubbed his fingers through his hair, moving his part to the side and mussing it in general. It made him look like he’d just gotten out of bed, which only complemented his bedroom eyes. Then he waved his fingers in front of his eyes and, amazingly, Dragon flames ignited in them. The sight tightened her throat and woke her Dragon.
“How’d you…illusion.” She’d never seen a Deuce do that before, not that she was around many of them. “All right, since you have an answer for everything, how do I explain you?”
He arched one eyebrow. “Booty call weekend?”
She shoved him, not that he moved much. “You think I go around telling everyone I hook up with out-of-town guys?” She rubbed her finger across her mouth in thought. “But yeah, maybe you’re someone I met in Naples while on business, my—”
“Lover. We haven’t been able to keep our hands off each other since we met at the—”
“Landscape nursery where I was buying plants. You work there. And we’re just friends.”
He was watching her finger move across her lips. “We’re more than friends if you’re bringing me here.”
We’re more than friends, reverberated inside her. “Fine. But no hands all over. What happens in the Fringe stays in the Fringe. For-friggin’-ever. It’s why I don’t date Fringers. Usually things don’t work out, and it’s awkward every time you see the person.”
“Is that where the booty call weekends come in?”
She let out an exasperated sound. “They’re not booty call weekends. I don’t go looking for a hookup. I travel all over Florida to find new accounts.”
“Accounts for what?”
“My jewelry business. Running the books for the farm is my obligation, and I don’t mind doing it, but my passion is designing and making jewelry. I started taking weekend trips to visit small galleries and jewelry shops to see if I could actually sell my products. I now have a dozen shops who carry my pieces, and I’m adding more all the time. Crescent-owned shops started requesting specific jewelry, like the gods’ symbols.”
Kade gave her a that’s cool kind of nod. “Mia wears a piece with the symbol of Linnea, Deuce goddess of order and chaos. One of yours?”
“Maybe.” She gave him a devilish smile. “Wouldn’t that just kill her to know she was wearing something I, a lowly Castanega Fringer, made?” She touched the pendant at her throat. “These are my most popular, the symbol I created for Crescents.”
Which invited him to lean close and take the pendant in his fingers to study the crescent moon with a diamond at the bottom point. Enough that she felt his body heat and the brush of his hair against her chin. His scent awakened her Dragon, awakened parts of her better left dormant.
All of his attention was on the pendant. “It’s simple but elegant.”
She cleared her throat. “Exactly what I was aiming for. Mundanes like them, too, even if they don’t know the meaning. I call my business Luca, after the high god who oversaw Lucifera.”
He rubbed his thumb across the gold, then met her gaze. “Your passion shows.”
She couldn’t breathe for a moment. There was something compelling about the word passion coming out of that made-for-sin mouth that was a fraction of an inch away from hers. The insane urge to trace her finger across his fine scar that did indeed make him look a bit dangerous assailed her. She stepped back, reclaiming the pendant. And her sanity.
“I want to hear more about the booty call part of these weekends,” he said.
Damn Jessup for having to say that within earshot of Kade.
“While I’m traveling, I occasionally meet someone at the hotel who doesn’t know about Castanegas or the Fringe.”
“I get it. For a weekend, you’re someone else. No one judges you.”
“It’s not that I’m ashamed of who I am. I just need a break from the judgment. And I don’t meet a guy every time I’m out of town. I’m not desperate. It’s got to be the right guy, the right situation.” Though for the life of her, she couldn’t remember any of them at the moment. She tilted her head. “You sound like you’ve been judged. But you’re the top of the Crescent heap.” And gorgeous, confident. Sexy as hell.
He nodded toward the building. “As a Vega, I’m judged here.” He tugged his sleeve down to cover the tip of his dagger.
“True. I guess I never thought about that.”
“You judged me the same way I judged you, isn’t that right?”
“I guess it’s a mutual disdain thing. We should go in now.”
She headed to the door, and he fell in line beside her. “Is there one particular guy you hook up with during these weekends? Or a guy you’ve met up with more than once?”
“Now you’re just getting nosy.”
He shrugged but didn’t look the least bit chagrined. “It’s my nature.” He gave her a few seconds to answer. When she didn’t, he nodded toward her hand. “What’s in the package?”
“Alligator meat. I threw it in as incentive for Marshall, the Peregrine patriarch, to meet me. I happen to know he’s a big fan of it.”
He wrinkled his nose, which made him look adorable. “I suppose it tastes like chicken?”
“Better than chicken.” She started heading to the building again. “Marshall isn’t going to talk with you there.”
Kade slung his arm over her shoulders. “I’ll be the distracted guy, just hanging around, not really paying attention. But I’ll be paying careful attention, trust me.”
He oozed lazy casualness, making her wonder what the real Kade Kavanaugh was like. Dedicated Vega, for sure. Totally sexy and extremely adept with his tongue. And fingers. And a little bit playful. Gods, a tantalizing combination of male. Dedicated enough to investigate the murders on his own time, and for that she was grateful. Now all she had to do was not let herself get too grateful. Because his arm across her shoulders and the proprietary way he pulled her close to his side as they entered the bar felt nice. Very nice.
Smoke and music assaulted them the moment Kade opened the door for her. Conversation and laughter from the back corner where the pool tables were, all the norm. Everyone in the place glanced at the door, also the norm whenever someone entered Ernie’s. Several gazes remained on her, or, more precisely, Kade. She nodded at a few people but sought out Marshall, alone in the back near the dartboards. He sat slouched in the chair, legs apart, dusty cowboy boots flat on the wood floor.
She moved out of Kade’s hold and wended her way through the maze of tables, pulling him along by the hand. Marshall’s gaze narrowed on Kade behind her. She sat down and angled her thumb at him. “This is a friend of mine, Sebastian. We met at a plant nursery in Naples and became friends.” She drew the word out to give him the idea. “I didn’t know he was coming to see me, but he’s here.” She shrugged in a What can I do? way and turned to him. “Go play darts, Sebastian.”
He gave her a look that seemed to say Sebastian? Really? But he took his cue with a “Sure thing, babe,” and ambled over to an available dartboard. Babe. It should annoy her, but he was playing a role, after all. The only thing that did annoy her was the way the word echoed through her body. She’d never been anyone’s babe before. He sorted through the house darts, the flights all pretty mangled, and then laid three in the palm of his hand.
Focus.
She handed the package to Marshall. “Thanks for meeting me. Arlo was killed this morning.” Okay, she hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that. But Marshall needed to know she also had something at stake.
“Sorry to hear that. Heard Shirley August bit it, too. Seems like things are heating up in the Fringe again.”
“Someone’s trying to heat things up. Liam was the first to get killed. Peter Wolfrum was next.”
Marshall’s upper lip twitched, enough to give away his part in that death.
“You had reason to believe Peter was the one who killed Liam,” she said.
He hesitated, obviously not sure he wanted to admit it. His gaze shifted to Kade, who was completely immersed in trying to hit the bull’s-eye. At least he seemed to be. She knew better. Between their soft words and the loud music, she wasn’t sure how clearly he could hear their conversation.
“There’s a code here,” she said. “You kill one of ours, we kill one of yours. I don’t think you attacked the Wolfrums unprovoked.”
“No, but that’s what they did,” he said, banging his fist on the table.
Kade stiffened, ready to come to her rescue. She gave him a subtle shake of her head. Slowly, he resumed his game.
Marshall lowered his voice. “We didn’t do nothing to them. Found my boy…” His chin trembled, which triggered her own grief.
Gods, please don’t cry here.
She pushed down her tears. “How did you know it was the Wolfrums?”
“Footprints leading from the body to the border of their land. They snuck over and ambushed him. Now we’re even. Unless they want more trouble.” The flames in his eyes flared.
“Did you leave a calling card by Peter’s body?”
“Oh, they’ll know.” When it was a revenge kill, they usually left a clue.
“What if they didn’t kill Liam? And now they think your attack on Peter was unprovoked.” They’d kill another Peregrine. And on and on. The Augusts and Spearses, the Murphys and her own family…Fear twisted her stomach.
“They did. Wouldn’t make sense for someone to set them up.”
“Any more than it makes sense for them to kill Liam in the first place?”
He got to his feet, tall and gangly. “How much of what goes on here makes sense anyway? What’s your point?”
Damn, she’d never get them to stop the momentum without proof. Her gaze shifted to Kade. Maybe he could help with that. He released a dart, plowing it into the red center. She turned back to Marshall. “Somebody’s behind all this, purposely inciting the clans to violence again.”
“Why would anyone do that?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
“The Wolfrums are bored of peace,” Marshall said, throwing a couple bills on the table. “Getting restless.” He leaned close to her. “Sounds like you’re warning me that they’re going to retaliate. If they sent you, tell ’em to bring it on. We’re ready.”
“They didn’t…” Marshall had already walked far enough away that he wouldn’t hear her. She wasn’t going to scream it out, not here.
It wasn’t unusual to see the different clans mingling or playing a game of darts or pool. But she and Marshall’s meeting wouldn’t go unnoticed, especially since she’d brought in a stranger.
“That went well,” the stranger murmured next to her ear. His warm breath washed down her neck, making her twitch and move back. He pulled a chair up next to hers, wrapping his hand over her shoulder.
She had to lean close to him to talk without the risk of being overheard. In a room full of Dragons, being overheard was possible. His hair tickled her nose and brushed her lips as she said, “He didn’t go for the conspiracy theory, but I found out there were footprints leading from Liam’s body to the border between their land and the Wolfrums’. Again, obvious evidence. Sloppy.” Her gaze was even with Kade’s neck and collarbone. She kept it there and not on those faux Dragon eyes. “I need to talk to the Murphys, but that’s not going to happen. We’ve got bad blood between us. That’s what makes this so devious. Whoever is behind it is targeting the clans with blood history.”
“Hey, Vee, who’s your pretty friend?”
The slurred voice belonged to a drunk Bren, who parted from his brothers as they came in.
Kade muttered, “I am not pretty.” He came to his feet just as Violet did.
“None of your business,” she said. “Go away.”
Kade stiffened beside her. “You heard the lady. Get lost.”
Bren laughed. “‘Lady’? You’re not from around here, are you?” He squinted his wobbly eyes as he studied Kade. “No, you’re not. Let me help you out. I can tell you all the things Vee here likes. She likes loooong wet kisses—”
She slugged Bren, as she’d done earlier. He fell back against the table, barely grabbing on to it to keep from falling on his ass. Before he could say anything, she said, “Your kisses were awful. I had to wipe my mouth afterward. And during them I’d be thinking about my to-do list.”
Kade chuckled. “You obviously weren’t kissing her right.”
“I did a lot right, didn’t I, baby?” Bren made that stupid V and licked the crease. He’d actually thought it was provocative when they were dating despite the fact that she’d rolled her eyes and looked away every time he’d done it. Now that he knew it disgusted her, he did it every time he saw her.
This time Kade hit him, and he staggered back several steps. “You’re disrespecting the lady. Knock it off or I will.”
Violet threw her hand out when Bren’s brothers rushed forward. “Stop! Your brother’s being a jerk, as usual. I know you’re not used to seeing men treat women with respect, but let it go.” Of course, Kade was only playing a part.
Bren wiped his hand over his mouth, checking for blood. “We can take this into the Conference Room.”
Violet shook her head. “No way.” Ernie would kill her if she exposed the Conference Room to a Vega. She twined her arm through Kade’s and tugged him toward the door. He went willingly, unlike anyone who lived in the Fringe who’d be spoiling for a fight. He watched his back, though, every muscle tight and ready for action. Kade wasn’t spoiling for a fight, but he’d kick ass if he needed to. Bren watched with the same posture, though he looked ready to come after them.
“Pretty,” Kade spit out, clearly disgusted.
“Well, you are pretty.”
“I’ve got a scar, for hell’s sake.”
She paused at the door, lifting his hair and looking at it. “Sorry, but it’s just not ugly enough. Maybe if it were all red and angry and came down to your mouth.” She drew her finger down that imagined path, ran it across his lower lip. Then she slung her arms around his neck and planted her mouth on his. It was a very bad idea, an advance he might reject in surprise. But he fell right into it, tilting his head and opening his mouth against hers. His hand came up to cradle her cheek, and his tongue moved expertly against hers. Heat sparked between them as fierce and fast as it had outside her home.
“I thought we weren’t going to kiss again,” he murmured between kisses.
“We aren’t. I mean, this isn’t really kissing.” Then, for a few moments, she fell into a mindless spin as he sucked on her tongue. She snapped back to reality. “We’re pretending. For them.”
“Ah.” He slid his hands down to her behind and pulled her tighter against him. “Just as long as you don’t mind that my reaction isn’t pretend.”
No, it wasn’t. His hard ridge pressed against her stomach. “I guess I can’t complain.” She pulled back even when her body wanted to grind right into him, grabbed his hand, and shot Bren a look before walking out into the fresh air.
As soon as the door closed, she let out a scream. “That felt good!” She spun around.
He rubbed his fingers over his mouth. “Yes, it did. Now, want to explain what that was about?”
Her cheeks burned. “It was impulsive, which isn’t like me anymore. Sorry for using you like that. Bren’s such a jerk, and since we were already”—she didn’t want to say pretending in case anyone was out there—“well, you know, something just came over me.”
“Yeah, that seems to be happening a lot between us. So you were using me to get the ex jealous?”
“Gods, no.” She continued to her car. “It was more of an eff-you kiss. Or really an eff-off kiss. Thanks for indulging me.”
His gaze settled on her mouth for a moment. “My pleasure.”
The words skittered down her spine because she was pretty sure he meant them. It was her pleasure, too, but she held back that sentiment. “So…now what do we do?”
He gave her a heart-stopping smile. “We could do it again.”
Her Dragon jumped at his silky voice, and her pulse fluttered. “I meant about the investigation.”
“Let’s go to your place.”
“You really are something, aren’t you?” She laughed, feeling better now that she thought he was just a player. “This is a role, an illusion, something you Deuces are good at—”
“To look at your map. I had a chance to check out the one in Ferro’s office. I want to compare.”
Her cheeks burned again. “Oh. Of course.”
He gave her a knowing smile. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between illusion and reality. The lines blur. Boundaries disappear.” The mist in his eyes swirled as his gaze held hers. Even though the Dragon flames had disappeared, it was still provocative.
She felt that fog swirling inside her, too. “We need to keep those boundaries solid, the lines clear.” Her Dragon shimmered and sensually stretched. Damn beast should’ve been sated, not itching for more.
The door flew open, and Bren and his two brothers shot out.
“Parking lot fights are off-limits—” she started to say, but they ran to their truck, their faces pale and drawn.
“What’s going on?” she asked them.
Bren paused, his fingers gripping the door’s edge. “It’s Butch. Someone killed him.”