Deathtrap (Crossbreed #3)(53)

“You don’t have to talk about this,” Viktor said. “They know enough.”

“No,” Shepherd said tersely, swinging his brown eyes up. “They don’t know shit. If I’m telling the story, I’m telling the whole fucking thing.” He cracked his knuckles before continuing. “She was supposed to meet me at the coffee shop one night. I sat around and waited, then I got worried. She didn’t call, so I knew it wasn’t work related. I thought maybe she was sick or hurt. Relics can catch the flu and all that, so I headed to her house to check on her. I noticed an unfamiliar car parked nearby. Didn’t think much of it then. When I neared the door, something was off. There was a strange emotional print on the knob. I peered in through the window and saw a light coming from the hall, so I went inside. The door wasn’t locked. That’s when I heard a muffled scream.” Shepherd launched to his feet and paced behind his chair.

I had a feeling I knew where this story was heading: a one-way ticket to Traumaville.

He lifted the fireplace poker out of the tool rack and jabbed the log in the hearth until the flames were roaring even higher. “They were killing her. I tried to get in the room, but a man guarding the door knocked me down and took out a knife. I didn’t feel anything when he began stabbing me. I kept trying to get to Maggie. The next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor in the hallway. My attacker was a Mage, and he’d blasted me with enough energy to put down a horse. I could barely move, but I could still see her on the bed. I held up my arms to block the knife attack, but—” Shepherd’s voice cracked. “I watched the second man murder my woman.”

When I heard a quiet gasp, I realized he was crying.

“That green-eyed bastard you tracked down is the one who killed her. That maniac destroyed the only thing in this world that mattered to me, and he savored it. That fucking animal put on a show.”

Shepherd’s face reddened, the lines deepening in his forehead as he mentally relived what must have been the most horrific experience of his life.

Gem’s eyes glittered with tears, and she shielded her face with one hand.

“That’s not the worst of it,” he continued.

Viktor strode to the window and put his hands in his pockets.

The iron poker made a loud clang when Shepherd tossed it to the floor. “She was nine months pregnant.”

A thunderstruck silence followed.

Stone-faced, Shepherd stood as tears slipped from his eyes like raindrops down a window. “I was bleeding out, unable to move. After he stabbed her through the heart, he… cut her open. Then I realized he wasn’t just killing her; he was killing our baby.” Shepherd sat down on the hearth, knees bent as he stroked the Celtic tattoo on the back of his neck. “They left me for dead. I woke up in a hospital, but not the same one I worked at. It took the higher authority three days before they realized I was missing. They transferred me to a clinic where two Relics healed me.”

I looked down at his scarred fingers, hands, and arms. The ones on the back of his left hand were worse than the right, but most of them were defensive wounds—from blocking the dagger that had left scars on his chest and back. Jesus. I figured he picked them up over the years doing criminal work; I couldn’t have imagined that they were all from one attack.

“Did the baby survive?” Gem asked through sniffles.

“Nothing could have survived that.” He wiped his face wearily. “They buried Maggie before the Relics released me from their care. The higher authority discharged me, said I was neurotic and incapable of performing my duties. They didn’t like my involvement in the case, and when they didn’t have enough information to go on, they dropped it… just like that,” he said, snapping his fingers. “She wasn’t important enough in their eyes to waste time on. I spent years on the streets looking for that man. Viktor saved my life. If he hadn’t come along, I’d probably be dead or living in the Bricks.” His eyes shifted to Viktor, who remained facing the window. “I want him dead. He deserves nothing less than what he inflicted on my woman and child. I gotta be fucking honest about it—if we can’t catch him, I don’t know if I can work here anymore. He’s become my white whale, and there’s nothing else right now that matters. I don’t have his name or anything else that will help you find him. What I do have is fifty-three scars. The Relics said it was a miracle I survived, but it feels more like a curse. I’m here for a reason… and now I know what that reason is.”

Viktor turned to face him. “We cannot kill for revenge. Until we find out this man’s name and whether or not he’s a declared outlaw, we cannot murder him in cold blood.”

Shepherd rose to his feet. “Speak for yourself.”





Chapter 16





Viktor wasn’t sure how long the auction would last. To prepare, he sent three of us into the city. That way if the auction closed early and there was a drop-off location, we would be first on the scene. The lucky candidates were Christian, Claude, and yours truly. Christian and I received new phones, and Viktor instructed us to stay in close contact.

Claude followed us to Ruby’s Diner so we could establish a base camp. I’d spent so many years going there that I knew the staff’s schedules better than they did. Betty was ending her shift soon, but she made a point to check on us even though we had another waitress. The lunch crowd had already dispersed, and we lounged in my favorite booth while Claude amused the staff with his bottomless pit of a stomach.