Joshua_The Whitfield Rancher_Erotic Tiger Shapeshifter Romance Page 4

  It took him nearly two hours of calling in favors to get something on any of them, and it had been for nothing. Not only did he not have the people in his pocket for something that they’d done, but he also had nothing at all to show for his work. His favors were now lost to him, and he was no closer to finding out about the Whitfields than he had been before. Not even maiden names for the women.

  Waldo looked at his scribbled notes and wondered who was working against him in this. There had to be someone higher than him on the food chain. Perhaps one of the men who had backed out was trying to get himself a hunting group together. As he began searching for their names and shit on them, he found himself staring at the one picture that he’d been able to find.

  It was of the men with their parents, the article said. They were big mother fuckers, each of them at least six and a half feet tall, and he’d bet that every one of them worked out by lifting tires from tractors as fun. That’s what he’d heard that these people from the sticks did—roll a tractor tire to build up muscles. For all he knew they could be rolling tractors, they were that big. But the picture did him no good, because all it said was they were the Whitfield family and that they were out for an evening of fun.

  On his way home later that night, he stopped by his favorite deli and ordered himself a pastrami sandwich on rye, as well as a nice thick roast beef for Tommy. They’d fortify themselves with dinner before looking over anything that they could find about these people. And the ones that had backed out from the hunt. He didn’t know why, but he thought that something was going on there. He’d just have to figure it out and take care of it.

  At midnight he went to bed. Tommy hadn’t shown up, nor had he called. Waldo had thought about calling him, just to get an update on things, but Tommy’s phone went to voice mail right away instead of just ringing. Waldo wasn’t in the habit of leaving messages, and he wasn’t going to start now, no matter how pissed off he was. Knowing that Tommy would be calling him soon and would hear Waldo rant at him for an hour at least, Waldo took his cell up to his room with him, just in case.

  At two ten his phone started ringing. It took him a long time to realize it was his phone and not the alarm clock that he was trying to turn off. When he finally answered, he barked at the person that it had better be important when he heard the heavy breathing. Before he could stop the adrenaline rushing over his skin, Tommy started talking quickly and quietly to him.

  “You need to let it go. The property, the hunting, all of it, let it go.” There was a loud scream, but he wasn’t sure who it was from. He’d never known Tommy to scream before. “Don’t go after the Whitfields, Waldo. They’re dangerous.” Then the line went dead.

  Waldo wasn’t sure that he knew what was going on, but the fact that Tommy had been hurt bothered him a bit. The kid had been working for him for a long time, and he didn’t like that he might be out there suffering. Not that he’d go find him…no, never that, but he was worried about how much he might have told whoever warned him off about the Whitfields.

  At three-thirty he was still awake and thinking about Tommy when he got up. There wasn’t any point in lying in a bed with shit that he had to do. Just as he pulled on his robe and made his way down the stairs, there was a thump at the front door, then the screech of tires. He told his butler to see what it was, but to be careful.

  The door opened slowly, and when Patterson staggered back, he went to the door to see what it was. Waldo wasn’t sure that he wanted to see whatever it was that made the other man, a stout man that seemed to let nothing bother him, lean against the wall as pale as a silk sheet.

  There on the steps to the front of his house was Tommy, and he’d been beaten up pretty badly. Telling Patterson to call the police, he felt for his pulse and felt the bones in his neck instead. Tommy’s throat had been cut all the way to his spine, and he was nearly sick on his body before staggering back as well.

  “Sir, he’d dead.” He wanted to tell him that he could see that, but he was fighting hard with his belly. “I’ve called the police. They’ll be here soon.”

  There was no way that a man had done this to him. Not a human anyway. This was the work of a vampire, and he’d find out who too. He had friends that would rat out their own mother for the right amount of money, and his vampire friend would do the same. Hell, he had done the same. But he had pissed the vampire off once too often, and he’d told him he’d never help again.

  “Before they get here, call Randolph. Tell him I have a dead man here that I think a vampire killed. Tell him to hurry, that I didn’t think about it before they were called. Beg him if you have to.”

  Patterson said he’d do so now and pulled out his cell. “Shall I tell him the usual?”

  “Yes, whatever he wants, I need to know who killed Tommy.”

  When Randolph showed up seconds after Patterson hung up the phone, he didn’t speak but went straight to the body and sniffed him. When he backed away from him, Waldo asked him if he could find them.

  “Yes, but I won’t.” He asked him why the fuck not. “Because this is a vampire that you do not wish to have as an enemy. And I won’t risk him killing me. Because once I start looking for him, I might as well meet the sun. He’s a good friend, and a worse enemy. He’s not one that I’d mess with on my best day.”

  “I’ll pay you whatever you want. With that, you should be able to hide from him.” Randolph said that he’d never be able to hide from this particular vampire. “What the hell does that mean? I want him dead for killing Tommy.”

  “Then you will have to do it on your own. I will not try and come up against this vampire. He’s stronger than any other one I know, and it is said that he has the help of a fae.” He didn’t know what that meant, but didn’t ask. “As of now, I’ll do no more work for you. If you have him after you, I am finished. As I have said to you before this, do not call me again, Waldo. Our relationship is over.”

  With that said, Randolph disappeared. There wasn’t time for him to call the man back; the police showed up with guns drawn. He wondered what they’d do if he told them that a vampire had killed his friend. More than likely laugh in his face.

  Waldo went to his office after answering all their questions a dozen times. Then when the body was taken away, they stuck around for another hour before they seemed satisfied that he’d not killed Tommy.

  It was nearly eight in the morning when he was getting out of the shower to finish up his work for the day. The police had gone some time ago, telling him that they’d look into Tommy’s death right away. There would be no looking into it, even he knew that.

  Now he had to find the vampire that killed Tommy, something else to add to his list of shit to do. He wondered where he could find this so called scary vampire and his fae. He’d have to put out feelers, he thought, and hope someone knew who he was. Waldo wanted him dead, and right now.

  “And I’ll see to it that he is, too. I’m not afraid of a vampire. I’ll show him that when I find him.”

  He wasn’t going to be able to get any help with it until tonight, but he had a list of people he was going to call. Then he was going to deal with the Whitfields; they’d been a pain in his ass long enough.

  ~~~

  Carter got up and took a shower. Old habits, she knew, would be hard to break. After getting her shower, she made her bed then sat in one of the many chairs in the room that she’d been given. The house was coming along nicely, and she was glad that he was getting it finished. When someone knocked on the door, she bid them enter and was surprised by the tiny fae that came in the room from under the door.

  “My name is Flora. I work with Tanner—he’s a powerful vampire.” Carter nodded, not sure what this had to do with her. “I have a piece of cloth for you to touch for him. Please, you may say no if you wish, but he has asked this favor of you, and he will owe you a great boon.”

  “Why does he want me to touch it and not Sunny? It’s my understanding that she can touch things and find people as well.” Flor
a said that he’d only asked her to bring it to her. “And why does he want the information I’ll get from this? Is he going to kill this person?”

  “He is dead already. But he wishes to see if you can tell him what else is going on with his boss. He wishes his real name.” Carter looked at the stained cloth and realized that it was blood. “This man, he was coming after my friend, the vampire, and he had to stop him. It was only then that he figured out what his plan was concerning our friends the Whitfields. There is another, someone that he works for, that he’d like to take care of as well.”

  “His name is Waldo Moody. The dead man was Tommy Langley.” She asked how she was getting that without touching the cloth. “Because I don’t need it when there is blood. I only need to smell it and it comes to me. Why did he kill him in such a way, then dump him on the doorstep of this Moody? Wouldn’t it have served him better to turn the man over to him to get more information?”

  “Nay, it would not.” She looked at the large vampire standing in the doorway. “May I enter? I don’t need your permission, but I would like to have it. You are very timid, and I don’t wish to frighten you any more than you’ve been.”

  “I’ve had some rough times of it.” He said that he understood better than she would know. “You lost someone recently. Your lover and mate. He died saving another from the slaughter that was happening around him. He was a good man.”

  “Thank you for that. Can you tell me if he suffered much?” Carter told him that he’d not suffered at all. He was dead long before the sun was let in to dispose of the bodies. “Again, I thank you for the information. I had no way of knowing since he was blocked from me. It will ease my heart a great deal now that I know that he didn’t suffer needlessly.”

  “Why is it important to you that you know who this other man is?”

  He sat in the chair across from her and said nothing. They were still staring at each other when Josh came into the room. It was then that she realized that Tanner had called to Josh, so that he’d be able to speak to her freely.

  “This man wishes to kill off humans on the land that is here now.” Carter nodded—she knew that already. “I don’t want any more of my kind, nor my friends, to be harmed in this. The Whitfields are very good to me. And that would include you, my dear.”

  “You were told what I can do, weren’t you?” Tanner said that he’d heard some of it, but not all. “I can hurt you. Kill you too, no matter what you have done to enhance your body. I don’t have any reason to; as you said, you’re only helping this family out. If I asked you to step away from this, that I have it covered, would you?”

  “Do you?” She nodded at him. “This man, he’ll pay for what he’s done to others? He’ll pay dearly? His boy tried to kill me the other night. He came at me for no other reason than that he could. His death meant nothing to me until I realized what his purpose was in being out so late at night. He wants to find dirt on this family.”

  “Moody, I promise you, will pay with his life. But not today. And there will be no more deaths of the innocent by his hand. I have taken care that there will be no more hunts.” Tanner touched her mind and she let him. There wasn’t anything in her head that she’d hide from anyone so long as they weren’t trying to hurt her. “Have you seen enough?”

  “You are still wounded by what was done to you in there. I should like for you to tell your mate what has been done so that he can better understand what you’ve endured. He and his family can help you.” Carter said that she didn’t need any help, but thanked him. “If you do not tell him, then I will have to. There isn’t any reason for you to suffer through this alone.”

  “I am alone. And that’s the way it should be.” Tanner looked at Josh, but she stared at the vampire. “Will you leave Moody alone? For now? I will tell you when it’s time, should you wish, but I’ll kill him.”

  “I will await your call. But if one more innocent dies by his hand, then I will come for him. The man must pay for what he’s done.” She told him that she’d allow it then. “And you’ll tell Josh what you have been made to do? Today?”

  “He’ll hate me.” Tanner stood up and touched his fingers to her cheek. His hands were surprisingly warm, and she found herself wanting to curl into that warmth, and she knew what he was doing. “You’ve given me some of your magic. Why would you do that? I don’t need any more.”

  “I have given you the ability to allow him to see what I have. The whole of it.” She looked at Josh then, and wondered what he’d think of her when he knew. “He will continue to love you, dear child. And he will help you with this. There is no better man nor family that you can depend on.”

  After Tanner left them with the promise of waiting for her to call, she looked at Josh. He was dressed as he had been yesterday, in jeans and a T-shirt. Carter looked around the room and wondered what it would be like to have something so wonderful as a home like this. But she knew that if she didn’t tell him what Tanner had seen, then he would.

  “They knew what I was in prison. Not all, but enough that they used me for things. One of the many things that I was forced to do was stand at the entrance every shift that the guards had and touch the inmates. All of them. And then I was to tell the guards what they’d been up to, what they’d done that day, and if any of them had bribed anyone or had been having sex with other inmates.” He said that they had used her as a snitch. “Something like that at the start. Then after a time they used me for other stuff, like the races. Lottery winnings, as well as telling them when they were to have a surprise inspection or something similar. They forced me to do these things or they’d take me to the laundry room and tie me up.”

  “They’d rape you.” She shook her head and he didn’t understand, she could see that. “Tell me, love, what did they do to you that made you cooperate with them? I’m sure that it was horrific for you.”

  “They would tie me up and have all the inmates that were on death row touch me while thinking of what they’d done to their victims. There was one particular woman who had murdered several children. I would see what she did to them, how she had eaten parts of them. She thought that it would make her younger by eating any part of them. When it didn’t work, she would blame it on the child and go after another, then another, until she was caught.” She watched his face. “I had no choice in the matter. It was that or I would go insane from all the sights and sounds I would hear when they were touching me. And even when they locked me up in the pit, it wasn’t nearly as bad as reliving the death of all those people over and over.”

  She took his hands into hers and guided them slowly to her head. He could have pulled away should he have wanted to, but he let her take his hands there so that he could see what she had. As soon as his hands were on her head, she closed her eyes and let him inside of her mind. Carter knew the exact moment that he saw what she did.

  Carter hadn’t meant to kill the guard and they all knew it. But it didn’t save her from being tortured for several weeks. For them to teach her a lesson that she’d never forgotten. But the guard was killing one of the inmates by strangulation, and she stopped him with all the power that she could, smashing his body against the wall until he was nothing more than a pile of uniform and blood.

  When he saw all that she had, his hands moved away from her. Carter didn’t love him. She wasn’t even sure that she liked him very much. He’d not been mean or anything to her, but she knew that his rejection would cut her to her very soul.

  “How long did this go on? How long did they have you tied up with these people before you were released?” She told him. “Every week while you were in prison, they took you down there and made you see that. Why? If you were helping them, why did they not stop it? And this man that you had to kill—and it was justified as far as I’m concerned—what happened to his body after he was killed?”

  “He was buried on the land adjacent to the prison. But the other, they needed to keep me in line. In case I wasn’t telling them everything that they wanted to
know.” Josh stood, and she put her hands in her lap as he walked toward the fireplace in the room, taking a bit of her heart with him. “At some point in my stay there, someone decided that I could travel to the men’s prison as well. There I was subjected to much worse images and sounds. This went on for months. I’d be tied in the sublevels, made to endure what they did, then taken to the men’s prison for a few hours of that. It was never ending.”

  “Does anyone else know about this?” She said that she’d never told anyone. She was ashamed. “Why are you ashamed that they tortured you and hurt you? My God, I want to go there and kill every one of them. And I will too.”

  “You don’t have to say that.” He looked at her from his position at the fireplace. “I can go and stay with my sister now. I’ve not told her, so she’ll be all right with me—”

  “Don’t leave me.” She looked at him as he sat in front of her, taking her hands into his. His touch was gentle, belying the anger and turmoil that she could see in his face. “They are going to pay for this. And I’m not sure why you thought that leaving here was something that I’d want, but I don’t. You were a victim. As much as the ones that you had to watch every day.”

  “I might not ever be any different than I am now. Afraid to be touched, terrified that I’ll do something wrong and end up back in prison, forever this time. I’m not the same person I was ten years ago. I don’t know if I ever will be again.” Josh kissed her on the mouth, and then looked at her. “You should be careful, Josh. I know that your kind loves fast and hard. You don’t want to fall in love with me.”

  “I’ve already fallen in love with you. The moment that you told my family to hide when that man came to the house, I knew then that I’d love you if you’d allow it. I know now that you didn’t just suffer at the hands of your parents, but the people who were paid to keep you safe while you were there.” He kissed her again, gently, like she was a small child that he didn’t want to scare. “I’m in love with you, Carter. I would do anything for you. Would kill for you if need be. These people, they’ll be dealt with, and dealt with now. I won’t do it, for I think you’d see that. But I can make a few calls, and it’ll be over for them and anyone else that is at their mercy.”