Echoes of Fire (The Mercury Pack #4)(2)

Madisyn’s head snapped up.

“Yo, kitty, kitty! We’d like to talk to you.”

Oh, what the fuck now? She didn’t recognize the voice, but it could be a friend of the hyena who’d stormed over and yelled at the guy Madisyn was dancing with. Quickly realizing they were bed-buddies and having no interest in fighting for him, Madisyn had simply walked away. Maybe that hadn’t been enough for the female.

“Hiding, are you, kitty cat?” the female snickered. “Come on out and play with us.”

God, she so didn’t have the patience for this shit. Not while touch-hunger was riding her so hard. Madisyn left the stall . . . only to find three heavily tattooed females in skimpy leather dresses glaring daggers at her. They also made a point of blocking the exit, and one of them locked the door.

Madisyn snorted. And this was supposed to . . . what? Scare her? She took in their scents. Not hyenas. Bears. Huh. “What can I do for you?” she asked flatly, crossing to the sink to wash her hands.

The skinny redhead smiled. “Oh, I like that you asked that. Because there’s a very big something you can do for us. And you are going to do it.”

Madisyn slowly raised an imperious brow. “Is that a fact?”

“You know, I’ve never liked cats,” said the exit-blocker, flicking her bleached-blonde hair over her shoulder.

Well, Madisyn had never liked neurotic bitches, and the blonde sure had the look of one. Deep inside her, her cat unsheathed her claws and gurgled a dark sound.

The redhead held a hand up to the blonde. “No trash talk, Leanna. It’s beneath us.”

Sighing, Madisyn dried her hands with rough paper towels. “Girls, I’m really not in the mood for whatever this is.”

The sows laughed. The third female glanced at the redhead and said, “Kind of cute, isn’t she, Charity?”

“She is.” Charity lifted her chin, eyes narrowing at Madisyn. “Daisy Wilkins.”

Madisyn forced herself not to tense. “What about her?”

The redhead blinked, as if shocked that Madisyn hadn’t played dumb and pretended not to know the sow in question. “She stayed in the shelter you work at.”

“She did.”

“But she’s gone.”

“She has.”

“Where?”

Facing the mirror, Madisyn very briefly met the redhead’s eyes in the reflection as she asked, “Who wants to know?”

“We’re from the Maverick Clan,” Charity said haughtily, as if they were royalty or something. “She’s one of us.”

“Really?” Madisyn pursed her lips. “That’s weird. She told me she was from the Gunther Clan.” Daisy had also told her a great deal about the Maverick black bears. Posing as a motorcycle club, the Philadelphia clan was involved in many criminal activities, including the production and distribution of illegal drugs.

The Mavericks also reigned above the other North American bear clans. Every time a new Alpha was appointed, they took a young female from each of the other clans to remind everyone who was in charge. When the Maverick Alpha came to Daisy’s territory, intending to take her, she’d fled.

“We tracked Daisy as far as the shelter,” said Charity. “And when I had a nice conversation with a guy in the nearby deli, spinning a tale about how I was on the run but wasn’t sure if the people in charge of the shelter could be trusted, he assured me you were the real deal. Said I shouldn’t worry about my abusive ex, because a girl there named Madisyn would find me a place to hide.”

Damn Charles. He was a sucker for a sob story. Originally, it was Makenna who dealt with finding placements for residents, but Madisyn had taken over the job now that the she-wolf had a pup, and a demanding mate needing much of her attention.

“We arrived at your house just as you were leaving. We followed you, thinking you just might lead us to Daisy, but instead you came here.” Charity’s eyes narrowed. “You put her somewhere, thinking you could hide her from us. You can’t, kitty. My Alpha wants her, and he always gets what he wants. So why don’t we skip the warnings and threats, and you just tell me where I can find her.”

Madisyn turned to fully face the sows. “And just why would I go through the trouble of finding her a safe place only to give her up?”

“Because I’ll carve up your face if you don’t. And then I’ll have to tell my Alpha that you weren’t cooperative. And believe me when I say you really don’t want to deal with him. He’ll rip you apart for keeping what’s his from him.” Her claws sliced out as she stalked forward, and a whiff of her hair spray briefly overrode the restroom scents of bleach and soap. “Last chance, kitty. Where. Is. Daisy?”

Having no intention of telling them shit, Madisyn just stared at them. She wasn’t worried about them shifting into their bear forms to deal with her. Maybe it was because they were so big, but bears were slow at shifting. During the period when a person transitioned from one form to another, they were extremely vulnerable. As such, the sows were unlikely to shift during an up-close encounter.

The door rattled as someone tried opening it, but they quickly gave up when the third female growled at them to hightail it out of there.

Charity smirked at Madisyn. “No one’s going to rescue you. Even if someone managed to pick the lock, Cady wouldn’t let them in. You know, I’m gonna enjoy this. Carving up kitties always lifts my mood. I hope you’re a screamer.”