Chapter Seven
There was no evidence of an attack in the parking garage of the mall but Kieran could see why his cousins had picked that location. Too many potential victims walked to and from the shopping center, paying no attention to their surroundings. He counted at least a dozen humans he could have attacked.
It was a shame that no one was really safe in the city. No matter how good a job they did in the Organization, they couldn’t be everywhere.
“Yeah, I can see why they’d pick this place,” Luca murmured.
Kieran glanced over. Luca had his hands in his pockets as he studied the area.
“And right here is a camera blind spot.”
“They had to have staked out this place,” Kieran said.
“Which means they might not be too far away,” Luca agreed. “Care for a walk?”
“Yeah.” He glanced around, trying to guess what direction to take. From between the concrete barriers, he spotted a building. An older hotel that stood in the shadows of the larger casinos. “Let’s head that way.” He motioned with his head.
Luca looked over before nodding.
The sidewalk was uneven as they circled around the back of the buildings. It would be the most direct route to the hotel he’d spotted.
Only a couple blocks away, the streets were crowded by both locals and tourists. With it still being early evening and now that the rain had stopped, he could clearly hear the chaos of the city livening up. Kieran was glad he didn’t have to go out there with them.
“It would be helpful if your kind had a scent,” Luca muttered. He was sniffing around while darting his gaze back and forth.
“True,” Kieran conceded. “But you can also use the lack of scent as a resource.”
“What do you mean?”
Kieran stopped walking. He lifted his head and pulled in the odors of the sidewalk around him. “There’s a dumpster around the corner. In front of it we’ll find a couple of drops of blood.”
“Your awareness of scent is that strong?” Luca sounded shocked.
He didn’t want to admit that his abilities were more extreme than other Walkers, so he simply nodded. Caspar had told him that he needed to embrace who he was. If it helped to track down his cousins, Kieran was going to use every bit of his heightened abilities.
“Check the area directly in front of the spot. You’ll notice that there is no scent whatsoever. That’s how you’ll know a Walker was there. Whoever was bleeding should have left some kind of scent behind.”
Luca raced off and Kieran had to jog to keep up with him. When the shifter dropped to his knees right where Kieran had noted the missing odor, Kieran grinned. It might be fun to see how much he could push his unique gifts.
“I think I get it,” Luca said, glancing over his shoulder. “So they were here?”
“Maybe.” Kieran didn’t want to get too excited yet. “We don’t know it was them. But whoever stood there was bleeding.”
“That’s a good sign,” Luca said. “Too bad it’s not enough blood to follow.”
“True, but I think it means we’re on the right track.”
“They’ve been hunting here,” Luca guessed.
“Let’s keep going. We might come across something else.”
Luca stood. Kieran let him go first so Kieran could concentrate on the areas around them. It helped having a trained shifter along with him. Luca, much like Remy, would be able to alert him in case of danger.
Kieran concentrated on picking up every sound he could pinpoint. Instead of sticking to a couple of blocks like he did when he was hunting, Kieran changed tactics.
Unsure what to do, Kieran picked a point close to the windows of the old hotel to visualize. No one could have been more shocked then him when he actually heard the voice of the taxi driver who had pulled up in front of the building and was speaking to his fare. Holy shit! Kieran was doing it.
He sped up but kept his gaze on his target. If he could just overhear one of his cousins talking, he would know where they were. This was great.
Luca ran beside him as Kieran used his Walker speed to reach his destination. He stopped across an alley and stayed hidden behind a bundle of trash.
“Did you see something?” Luca asked. He was panting but seemed in good enough shape to continue.
Kieran shook his head, not wanting to pull his attention from his task.
The cement structure should have been a barrier to keep Kieran from having the ability to hear through walls. Instead, he began at the first floor where the reception area be. Two employees were discussing a woman and a much older man who’d rented a room. The employees were speculating that she was a prostitute.
“Okay, I’ll keep watch. You just do whatever it is you’re doing,” Luca whispered.
Kieran moved farther across the floor. Once he was certain his cousins were downstairs, he moved to the next level, eavesdropping on room after room.
Luckily, the building wasn’t that big.
It had probably been built in the fifties or sixties. Unlike the large hotel and casino combinations, this place was geared more to people down on their luck, or locals. Kieran wouldn’t have looked for his cousins in a place like this. Not with the money that his family had.
His cell rang. Damn it, he had to pull his attention away as he dug into the front pocket of his jeans.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?” Mitch asked.
Kieran searched until he found the address. “1514 McAdams.”
“Oh.” Mitch sounded disappointed. “Did you find them?”
“Not yet. Why?”
“I caught an image of both men going into that hotel. It’s just a blur as they were using this supernatural speed, but I got it. They went to that address.”
That confirmed his hunch. “Get Remy, Jackson, Caspar and anyone else who can get here. I’m on the corner across from the alley. I’ll narrow down where they are. We’re going in.”
“You got it.” Mitch disconnected the call.
Kieran shoved the device back in his pocket and glanced at Luca. “You heard all that?”
“Yeah,” Luca whispered. “How are you going to find them?”
“Just give me a minute.” Kieran narrowed his eyes and went back to the middle of the fourth floor where he’d been scanning. Two windows later, he heard what he needed.
“Hurry,” Marcel demanded. “We need to get out of here.”
“I’m packing as fast as I can,” Elijah whined. “I said that we weren’t ready to make a move. If we’d have waited, we wouldn’t have had to come back here.”
“It was too good a moment. Fuck, I would have loved to see the look on Kieran’s face when he realized it was us,” Marcel said.
Elijah laughed. “Yeah, me, too. I can’t believe he’s fucking a shifter. I can’t wait to tell our father.”
“We’ll call him after we relocate,” Marcel stated.
“I’m ready.”
“Fuck,” Kieran spat. He nudged Luca. “They’re on the way out.”
Luca was frowning. “That’s sort of creepy.”
Kieran smirked. “Take the right side of the door and I’ll take the left. Hopefully, the others will get here soon.”
“All right.” Luca sprinted across the alley. Kieran made sure Luca was safely in the shadows before dashing to the end of the building. Kieran was merely guessing in what direction his cousins would go. He didn’t think they’d want to be caught on the Strip.
After pressing his back to the side of the building, he attempted to pick up his cousins’ conversation again. Either they weren’t talking, or Kieran wasn’t doing it right. He heard several people talking, but not the ones he wanted.
Disappointed, he tried to sense if his team was coming. Nothing. Damn it.
Kieran peeked around the corner, but no one was on the street. He couldn’t even see Luca, although he knew the coyote shifter was there.
“Come on,” he murmured. He was ready to make the two men who’d dared to hurt his lover pay.
He heard Elijah even as the outer door swung open. Kieran darted back out of sight, hoping he’d picked the correct direction they’d go. Yes! Elijah’s voice became clearer as he bitched about losing the money for their night’s stay.
Kieran rolled his eyes. He knew how much money both men had.
“Shut up,” Marcel snapped. “We knew this was possible. This is why we set up secondary locations.”
“I just think—”
Kieran stepped around the corner a few feet from them.
Marcel halted, but Elijah took another couple of steps before realizing someone stood in front of him.
“I got your message,” Kieran spat. “Now I have one for you.” The identical looks of shock on their faces would be a sight that Kieran always remembered.
“Cousin,” Marcel greeted, recovering first.
Kieran bared his fangs. “You attacked my lover.”
“Imagine our surprise when we found out that little tidbit,” Marcel replied.
Luca should be moving in from behind. He just needed to keep both his cousins’ attention on him. “It was none of your business. What are you doing here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Marcel strode forward, putting Elijah behind him. Marcel always did have one weakness. His younger brother. “We’re here to see you.”
“You could have called,” Kieran said.
“That wouldn’t have been any fun,” Marcel quipped.
“Is there anything you need to say before I fuck you up?” Kieran asked. He really did want to know what they wanted.
“Yeah, right.” Elijah spoke to him for the first time. “You always were a pussy. Now that we see the life of luxury you live, we know things haven’t changed.”
Kieran snorted. “You’re one to talk. Have you even moved out of your childhood bedroom or are you still sucking on your mama’s tit?”
Elijah growled and stepped forward, but Marcel put his arm up to block him.
“You’ll pay for that comment,” Marcel stated.
Kieran widened his stance. Marcel would attack soon and Kieran hoped Luca would have Elijah covered. “You’ll pay for a lot. Everything that you’ve done since you’ve entered my city. You don’t belong here.”
Marcel launched himself at Kieran, trying to take him by surprise, but Kieran was ready. He allowed Marcel’s momentum to carry him forward.
Kieran caught him with a punch to the throat. Marcel grunted as he dropped while Elijah roared. Luca came out of the shadows and leapt at Elijah’s back, taking him down. Kieran jumped on top of Marcel, slamming his fist into his cousin’s face.
Blood erupted around him, but he easily ignored the scent. This was for Dakota.
He took a hard strike to the ribs, probably breaking a few, and rolled onto his knees. Marcel attempted to crawl away, but Kieran kicked his knee before grabbing hold of his shoulder.
Behind him, he heard the roar of a pissed-off coyote and even more blood flowed. Shit. Kieran couldn’t worry about Luca. He had his hands full with Marcel. Where they hell were the rest of his guys? A shifter was no match for a Walker and Luca was going to need help.
Marcel pulled a knife out from somewhere and Kieran had to doge a couple of swipes before one cut his forearm. He hissed, ignoring the pain, and yanked harder on Marcel’s arm. There was a pop, Marcel’s shoulder dislocating, before Kieran was tackled.
He tucked his chin to avoid an injury to his vulnerable neck.
“Come on!” Elijah pulled up a bloody and beaten Marcel.
Kieran sprung at them. Elijah lifted his foot and kicked him in the face. Pain exploded and he grabbed his nose, which was broken. Kieran blinked away the tears, but Marcel and Elijah were already running. He leapt up to his feet, glancing behind him.
“Fuck!” Kieran changed direction, to drop beside Luca who had a dagger in his leg and was bleeding badly from the neck. Shit, it looked like Elijah had taken a chunk out of him.
“I…I’m okay,” Luca panted. “Go after them.”
He couldn’t, though. There was no way he’d leave Luca behind with such serious injuries. Kieran ripped off his shirt and pressed it to Luca’s neck wound. “Hang on, buddy.”
Running caught his attention and he looked up in time to see Jackson reaching him. Mitch wasn’t too far behind.
“They took off that way!” Kieran pointed.
Jackson nodded before both Walkers continued on. Remy was sprinting toward him. As soon as his partner reached him, Kieran pointed to the knife in Luca’s leg.
“Got it. Caspar’s right behind me with the SUV. We’ll get him back to the suite.”
“He’s losing a lot of blood,” Kieran yelled. Damn it, he should have waited, or just followed his cousins. Luca wouldn’t have gotten hurt.
“Let me see.” Remy shoved his hands off the shirt before lifting the edge. “He’s already healing. It’ll be fine.”
“Good.” Kieran let out a breath of relief.
A black SUV screeched to a stop beside them, blocking off the alley.
“You okay?” Caspar asked, skirting around the vehicle.
“Yeah. Luca’s not.”
Caspar fell to his knees, allowing Kieran to move back to give his boss room to work. He turned his head when he sensed Jackson coming back.
“They’re gone,” Jackson declared. He wasn’t even winded.
Kieran nodded, since he’d expected as much. “They left behind all their belongings,” he said, motioning with his head. “That’s gonna hurt.”
“From the amount of blood on the ground, I’d say you did a little damage yourself,” Jackson praised.
Kieran grinned. “Oh, yeah, they’ll be moving slower, for sure.”
“We need to go!” Caspar called.
“Mitch and I will pick up their stuff. You help Caspar get Luca back.”
“Thanks.” Kieran glanced over his shoulder back toward where Marcel and Elijah had disappeared. They might have gotten away, but Kieran would hunt them down. It was time he cleaned the trash from his city.
* * * *
Dakota’s head was pounding and her limbs felt so heavy. She didn’t know what had happened, but she regretted whatever she’d done. She moaned, trying to blink open her eyes.
“That’s it. Wake up for me.” Kieran’s voice sounded warm and gentle. His chest moved as he spoke. She must be lying on him.
She rubbed her cheek against him before finally finding the energy to open her eyes.
“Hi.” Kieran ran his thumb over her cheekbone.
“What the fuck?” she croaked. His entire face was bruised. Two black eyes and his nose had been broken.
Kieran chuckled. “I’ll be completely healed in a couple of hours.”
That was true. He wouldn’t even have the black eyes later. “What happened?”
“Do you remember what happened downstairs?”
“I was attacked,” she recalled.
“My cousins,” Kieran admitted.
Oh, wow! That’s unexpected. “Your cousins?”
“Yeah, Marcel and Elijah.”
“Is that who tried to rearrange your face?” she questioned.
“I gave better than I got,” he said with pride.
She reached up, carefully tracing his lips. “At least I can still kiss you.”
He lowered his mouth and gave her a very soft, sweet kiss. He tried to pull away, but she whined while pushing up for more. After she’d gotten a good taste of her man, she let him go.
“How’re you feeling?”
Dakota had to think about her answer. “Like I’d gotten drunk then run over by a car. I shouldn’t have been hurt so bad by bumping into a wall.” She couldn’t make sense of it.
“First, you were thrown into the wall so hard there a dent. Second, you were injected with some sort of poison.”
“I was poisoned?”
Kieran clenched his jaw.
“But I’m okay, right? Nothing permanent?”
“Now that you’ve woken up, you should be fine. Might feel sick and weak for a while.”
“Did you catch them?” She hoped Kieran had not only kicked their asses but that both men were sitting in one of their cells.
“No, they got away. But we found them once—we’ll do it again.”
“Damn.” Dakota tried to sit up. “What do we need to do? Any leads?”
“What do you think you’re doing?” Kieran barked.
She turned her head, frowning at him. “Getting up, so we can get to work.”
“Lie down,” he grumbled. He pressed on her neck. Since she didn’t have the energy to fight him, she complied.
“Mitch and Dean are working on finding them. Jackson, Alex and the security here are going over this entire building to make sure we don’t have any weak spots. And Caspar is watching over Luca.”
“What happened to Luca?” she asked. “Wait, you know who Luca is?”
Kieran chuckled. “Yes, I met him. Caspar brought him over after you were attacked. He went with me after my cousins and was hurt.”
“Fuck.” She groaned.
“He’ll be all right. He’s pissed that Elijah got the better of him. Already Luca swears he’ll be the one to take Elijah down.”
“That sounds like something he’d say,” Dakota mused. “I was going to have you meet him.”
“I heard.” Kieran peered down at her. “You liked him. Thought that I should get to know him.”
“Yeah. He’s not like the other shifters.”
“So he’s not an asshole?”
She weakly slapped at him. “He probably is, but he’s not afraid of you. He actually asked to meet you. Something to do with you saving a family a couple of years ago.”
“He didn’t mention it, but we were kind of busy,” Kieran said. “I’ll ask him about it later.”
“Good.” Since Kieran wasn’t allowing her up, Dakota was just going to enjoy the cuddling. She ran her fingers over the thin Henley covering Kieran’s chest. This couldn’t be easy for him. And she didn’t even know the whole story. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She didn’t press when Kieran remained silent. One thing she’d learned about her lover was that he’d talk when he was ready and not before. He held a lot in. Dakota didn’t know if that was how he’d always been or if his behavior was a result of the years of torture.
Her eyes were drifting closed when he cleared his throat.
“I never fit in,” he explained. “Not from the time I could remember. My father is a powerful businessman. All he cared about was making money and gaining power for the family. It was all about appearances and for some reason I didn’t measure up. I used to listen to him and my mom argue about me. My dad blamed her for babying me.”
“And your sisters?”
“They spent most of their times hanging out with friends and shopping. They had each other. As the only boy I wasn’t included.”
“So you had no one?”
“My cousins were there quite a bit. My uncle is exactly like my father and they always ganged up on me. We got into a lot of fights. My father always took their side and once they left, I’d get in trouble for not getting along with them.”
“That’s not fair.”
Kieran grunted. “That’s just how it was. When my father sent me away at eighteen, I begged him to allow me to stay. I didn’t understand why I had to live on my own when no one else ever had. He told me that the only way I’d ever become a man was if I had no other choice.”
“You’ve talked about this before. How he just sent you away,” she whispered. It still broke her heart to think about how scared Kieran must have been.
“When he gave me the money and keys to one of our vehicles, I thought he was testing me. But then he turned his back. Didn’t say another word to me. I haven’t seen him since. I never even considered going home after I was rescued. I knew he’d only blame me for being captured by the shifters. I’d proven to him that I was as weak as he’d always claimed.”
Dakota rolled so she covered his lower body and could look up at him. “You’re not weak.”
“I know, or at least I know that now. And it’s no thanks to him. Caspar brought me into his home and built me up, trained me and showed me that not everyone expected me to fail.”
“He brought you into the Organization.”
“And introduced me to Remy and Angel. They were the first people who I ever trusted to have my back.” He ran his hands through her hair. “Then he sent me here and I met you.”
She grinned. “Pretty lucky.”
Kieran snorted. “Yeah, I am. I don’t know who I would have ended up being if things had gone differently. If I’d stayed home, not been kidnapped or joined the Organization, I might have been exactly like my cousins.”
“No,” she murmured. “You wouldn’t have.”
“Why not? Aren’t they a product of their upbringing?”
“Perhaps,” she conceded. “But someone’s heart won’t lie. You can’t hide who you are, Kieran. And that’s a hero, the good guy.”
“You know I’ve killed people. That I have no problems killing. I actually enjoy it.”
Oh, yeah, he’d never hid that from her. “Have you ever hurt or killed someone who didn’t deserve it? Ever gone after an innocent?”
He didn’t respond.
“Yes, Kieran, I know. I’m okay with that.”
“I love you.” He spoke the words quietly but this time kept his eyes on hers. “I want to be a better man for you.”
“I don’t need a better man. I just want you.”
“Caspar said I needed to embrace who I am, what was done to me,” he confessed.
She hated to see the worry in his gaze or the lines in his forehead. “It’s good advice.”
“And if I become the monster that I’ve been trying to fight all this time?”
“You won’t.” Dakota was certain.
“How do you know?”
“Because I’d never allow it. You think I’ll let you go now that I have you? No way. You belong to me,” she declared.
“I do, do I?”
“One hundred percent. You’d better not forget it either.”
“I won’t.” He cupped her face. “You need to—”
A knock on the bedroom door interrupted what Kieran had started to say.
“Come in!” Kieran called.
“Jackson’s back.” Remy poked his head in. “Oh, hey! You’re awake.”
Dakota grinned at the wolf shifter. “Yep.”
“Good. How’re you feeling?”
“Better,” Dakota said. Kieran was right about her being tired, but Dakota had felt worse.
“Glad to hear it.” He glanced at Kieran. “You want to come out so we can decide what to do next?”
“I’ll be right there,” Kieran answered. “Why don’t you order some dinner for everyone? Get Dakota some soup, please.”
“Will do,” Remy agreed, before backing out and closing the door behind him.
“I’m coming out there with you,” Dakota wowed.
“If I thought I could keep you in bed any longer, I’d do it. I know how stubborn you are.”
Dakota laughed. “I have to be, to put up with you.”
“But you’re lying down on the couch and listening. You’re not to exert yourself.”
“Promise.” Dakota opened her mouth while reaching for him then hesitated.
“What is it?”
“I have to admit something to you,” she admitted. “I don’t know how you’re going to take it.” Dakota didn’t want anything to hang over them.
“Go ahead,” Kieran said. “I can’t promise to react one way or another. You can punch me if you think I need it.”
“Punch you in the throat?” she asked. It was a threat she used often but never followed through with.
“Yes, if I piss you off you can punch me in the throat.
“I just don’t want you mad. Or to doubt my feelings for you.”
“Did you fuck the coyote shifter?”
Dakota stood slowly. Kieran’s eyes were wide as he watched her. Had he just fucking asked that? Oh, hell, no! She reared back and punched him in the throat. Just like she’d said she would.
He dropped. Straight down to his knees while wheezing.
“You asshole!”
Kieran was waving his hands to ward her off.
“I ought to kick you in the balls, too!”
He desperately shook his head.
Dakota sat on the side of the mattress as she waited for him to recover. Well, she wasn’t nervous anymore. Now she was just pissed off.
Eventually Kieran glanced up with tears trailing down his cheeks. “Sorry,” he croaked. “I don’t know why I said that.”
“Hmm.”
“Baby, please. I’m sorry.”
He looked so pitiful, kneeling. She sighed. “I thought your cousin was good-looking. In the hallway, before he attacked. Not better than you, but similar. I didn’t see the resemblance right away, but I can now.”
“That’s it?”
Dakota nodded.
“Oh, well…” Kieran shrugged. “Okay.”
“I just wanted to tell you. Even if I’d been single, it’s not something I would have acted on.”
“But you can appreciate a good-looking man,” Kieran said. “I’m crazy, but I’m not a possessive asshole.”
She lifted a brow.
“Okay,” Kieran said. “Asshole, yes. But I haven’t ever cared if you looked at someone else. I know whose bed you’ll end up in.”
“Do you? Because now I’m questioning it.”
“Don’t,” Kieran pleaded. He walked on his knees to her. “I don’t doubt you, so don’t doubt me. My mouth runs away sometimes. You know this.”
She did. Maybe he hadn’t meant it, but there was more to this insecurity then she’d thought. Dakota would have liked to talk more about it, but there was a room full of people next door.
“Let me help you get dressed,” Kieran said.
“Okay, for now.”
He smiled over his shoulder before walking to the dresser. Kieran pulled out her favorite pair of pajama bottoms and a soft, faded T-shirt.
Dakota let him dress her but squawked when he lifted her into his arms. “I can walk.”
“Maybe I just like carrying you.”
“Well, I’m not helpless. Put me down,” she ordered.
Kieran, of course, ignored her. He opened the door and strolled out into the main room without saying a word.
Jackson, Alex, Caspar and Remy were all sitting at the table across the room. Luca was slouched in one of the chairs and smiled when he saw her. Kieran stomped to the couch then gingerly set her down. He grabbed the blanket off the back and tucked it around her. Dakota rolled her eyes but let him fuss. Once he was done, she lifted an eyebrow.
“Shut up,” he muttered.
“Glad to see you in one piece,” Luca greeted her.
Kieran crossed the room before looking over at the coyote shifter. He grunted but didn’t comment to the agent.
“You, too. Heard you went up against a Walker,” she teased.
Luca scowled. “I held my own. At least for a few minutes.” He smiled, wide and bright. “Next time, I’ll be more prepared.”
“Well, you did want to meet one,” Dakota pointed out.
“Yeah, but not exactly how I was thinking. I should be more specific next time.”
“Probably a good idea,” Dakota said. “How’re you feeling?”
Luca touched the side of his neck. “I won’t even have a scar to tell my mate about by the time I get home.”
“Aww,” she teased. “That would have totally gotten you laid.”
“I know!” Luca threw his hands up.
They both laughed. “Thanks for having his back,” she said quietly. No doubt that if anyone else was listening they’d hear, but Dakota didn’t care.
“It was actually pretty cool. You know, before someone tried to take my head off my shoulders. I’ve never worked with a Walker before. He’s fast and I swear he was listening to the inside of the building. I didn’t even know that was possible.”
Dakota hadn’t, either, but she suspected only Kieran would manage it. She really did need to find out the details on what Kieran could do. Before, he hadn’t wanted to talk about it, but hopefully now he’d be more willing.
“I was supposed be heading back tomorrow, but I called my boss and he’s letting me stay. I can help with this as well as with Jeremy and the other kids.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Dakota said. “Jeremy seemed to be doing better after he spoke to you.”
“He’s a good kid,” Luca said. “I was going to talk to you about him.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“I called my parents and told them about Jeremy, Adam and Carmen. Now that their kids have moved out and away, they don’t even get to see their grandkids that much. We have plenty of room and I think they’d make good foster parents for shifters.”
“Really?” Dakota started to sit up, but Kieran turned to her with a scowl. “Sorry.” She lay back down. “Your Pack would let a wolf and bobcat in the territory as well?”
“Coyotes are different from wolves. We live in Packs, but ours are made up differently. A coyote Pack is their family. It was my mom, dad and siblings. Now the grandchildren. But they don’t share territory with other families. That’s why the Packs are so much smaller. As foster kids, the teens would be part of the Pack, my family.”
Dakota couldn’t believe it. “I don’t know what to say. I’d hoped you’d have some ideas on where he could go, but I hadn’t thought your family would take him.”
“I believe it’ll be best for everyone. My dad will love helping them grow into their powers and my mom needs someone to fret over.”
“That sounds like heaven,” Dakota mused. “That’d be so happy staying together.”
“Adam is good for Jeremy. He acts like his big brother, protective and defensive, of him. Carmen is like their little sister. With her, Jeremy gets to be the defender,” Luca said.
“The food should be here any minute.” Kieran joined them. He sat beside Dakota before eyeing Luca.
Luca lifted his hands. “I’m really am fine. Stop worrying.”
“I should have been more careful.”
“I knew what I was getting into.”
Kieran frowned.
“Okay, maybe not so much of what going up against a Walker. I need to know how to handle them, though. What happens if I’m working and come across a Walker?”
“I haven’t thought about that,” Kieran said.
“There’s not a lot of information out there about your kind. And I understand why. I’ll actually keep what I learn to myself and the agents who work with me.”
“We’d appreciate it,” Kieran said. He nodded toward Jackson and Mitch. “For the most part, Day Walkers keep to themselves. But we’ve noticed more and more coming out and causing trouble. Jackson keeps a close eye on this city. Out where you are, I have no idea how many of our kind is there.”
“I understand. So what are we going to be doing about your cousins?” Luca asked.
“We’ve agreed that we’ll keep searching for them, but they’ll be coming for me. They’re here for a reason. They made it a point to go after Dakota when they could’ve just approached me.”
“Which means they’re not here to reconnect,” Luca guessed.
“No, they aren’t,” Kieran agreed. “So we’ll let them get to me.”
“Excuse me!” Dakota interrupted. “I don’t think so.”
Kieran gripped her hand. “Just listen.”
“Listen as you use yourself as bait for two crazed men who have no problem hurting or killing you? I don’t think so.”
“He won’t actually be alone,” Jackson said, joining them. “I’ll be with him, even when he and Remy are on patrol. Caspar had agreed to let me shadow them.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean—”
“This is the best we can come up with,” Kieran said. “We’ll still be looking for them, but I honestly believe if we let them, they’ll come to me.”
“If anything happens to you, I’m going to be mad,” Dakota warned.
“I understand. Which brings up something I need to talk to you about.”
“What?” If he was going to tell her she needed to stay home or not work, she’d hit him.
“Alex will be tailing you,” Kieran said.
“No.”
“He’ll do the same as Jackson, where he’ll work in the shadows. You won’t even know he’s there.”
“No,” she repeated.
“They already went after you once,” Kieran argued.
“And they won’t try it again. They made their point. They can get to me.”
“He’s still going to be with you. This isn’t up for discussion.”
Oh, the hell it isn’t. “He would be more valuable looking for your cousins instead of looking after me.”
“Doesn’t matter.” The look on his face told her she was in for a fight. Dakota would let the subject go for now, only because she was tired, but they would talk about it later. When Kieran didn’t have help trying to convince her.
“Food’s coming,” Kieran stated. He leaned over and kissed her before rising.
Dakota watched him walk toward the door. Her man had one spectacular ass. She wanted to sink her teeth into his taunt muscles.
He glanced over her shoulder and winked. Dakota ducked her head at getting caught ogling him.