Where Darkness Lives (Guardians of Eternity #7.75)(27)

Morton flinched at the insult, but there was a grim set to his jaw. As if he’d made his decision and nothing was going to sway him.

“That’s only because she doesn’t know me.”

“You think you’ll grow on her?” Luc chuckled. “Like fungus?”

“I think she’s an intelligent female who can appreciate the needs of duty.”

Luc stilled, thrown off guard by the unexpected words. “Duty?”

“Precisely.”

All right, enough was enough.

He had no doubt that Morton was the stalker and he intended to get to the truth, one way or another.

He actually preferred the “another” option, since it included a lot of pain and carnage.

“Is it your duty to try and kill her?”

Morton looked like a deer in the headlights for a split second, then meeting Luc’s ruthless gaze he seemed to accept that he was busted. With a shrug he allowed his act to drop, a cunning expression settling on his pudgy face.

“Ah, I feared you had guessed the truth.”

Luc subtly scooted forward, not wanting to be in the position where he could be pinned against the roll-bar of the cart.

Not that he believed for a moment the cur could physically overpower him. Still, better safe than sorry.

“The only thing I’ve guessed is that you’re responsible for stalking Sophia.”

“Not stalking ...” Morton corrected, “testing.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Although I’ve held the greatest respect for Sophia since the birth of her daughters, I needed to be certain that she retained her strength and agility over the years.”

A chill inched down Luc’s spine. There was something far more disturbing about this calm, almost condescending Morton.

“Why?”

“To bear my children, of course.”

Fury pulsed through Luc, his wolf savagely trying to break free of his restraint. It would kill before it allowed another man to steal his mate.

And the man in him was in full agreement.

Ironic he was the one in a rage considering he’d been trying to provoke the cur.

“Are you insane?”

With a smooth motion, Morton reached into the cooler set on the seat between them and pulled out a small gun loaded with a cartridge.

Luc frowned. A tranq gun? The cur truly was insane if he thought a pure-blooded Were could be put down by a mere tranquilizer.

“Don’t ever question my sanity,” Morton warned, obviously a little sensitive on the subject of his mental state.

Luc carefully judged the distance between them as he sought to keep the cur distracted.

“If you want her as a breeder then why did you try to kill her?”

Morton regarded him as if he were particularly dense. “I didn’t try to kill her. I’ll admit that I devised a few obstacles to monitor her physical condition, but I would never permanently harm her.”

“Bastard,” Luc snarled, furious at the thought of Sophia being systematically terrorized by this psycho. “I know you were the one who shot at her. A silver bullet through the heart would have been very permanent.”

“I wasn’t shooting at her, you fool.” Morton smirked, clearly thinking that his peashooter gave him the upper hand. A mistake that Luc was eager to demonstrate. “I was aiming at you.”

Luc frowned, startled by the confession. “Me?”

“I had borrowed Victoria’s disguise amulet to follow Sophia to her club when you arrived in Chicago.” His expression hardened with disgust. “I knew from the way you were watching her that you were going to interfere with my plans.”

“What plans?”

“To capture Sophia and impregnate her with my litter.”

Any coherent thought was lost as a red mist descended over him, his beast beyond the point of no return.

“No way in hell,” he growled, his words nearly unintelligible.

Looking almost bored as Luc began to shift, Morton pointed the gun at the center of his chest.

“I just knew you were going to be trouble.”

Distantly Luc heard the pop of the gun and felt the dart plunge into his flesh, but, lost in his transformation, it was too late when he realized his muscles were slowly being paralyzed as the unknown substance began to flow through his blood.

Regarding the smug cur in horror, he realized he should have paid far more attention to his own warnings.

Looks truly were deceiving....

CHAPTER 8

Sophia was running late.

After reviewing the payroll and dealing with the linen service that had forgotten to bring their laundered tablecloths and napkins, she had been forced to soothe one of the waiters who had been insulted by the bartender and locate the key to the back freezer that had been lost.

At last she was able to settle in a chair to audition the Were who had traveled thousands of miles just to perform at her club.

Unfortunately, she struggled to concentrate.

It wasn’t that Jian wasn’t spectacular. He nearly set the stage on fire with his lean, muscular body that moved with a fluid grace that was amazing even by Were standards.

But tapping a finger on the arm of her chair, she realized she felt ... weird, unsettled.

She told herself that she was merely impatient to return home to Luc. He was bound to be finished with his golf match by now and waiting for her return.