When she yanked on her boots, she peered over her shoulder and caught him looking at her ass. Yep. When you stripped away money and rank, all men wanted the same things.
Kat stood up so quickly that her hair flipped over her head. She gave it a nice pat down and then tapped the toe of her boot on the floor. “Coming?”
“Now?” he asked, his voice flustered.
“Yep. I tracked this bozo all the way from Shreveport, and my contact gave me a location where he hangs out. I figure that’s a good place to start. He’s still classified as an outlaw, which means I can bring him back dead or alive. I’d rather bring him back alive so I can question him. Plus, I don’t like hauling bodies in the trunk of my car, especially in the South. The state troopers out here just love to pull you over and search your vehicle.”
“And what makes you so certain this is the same man who took your father?”
Kat switched off the curio and stumbled over a rug in the darkness. She caught herself on the wall before taking a spill. “Because he’s the guy my father wanted to talk to me about—the one I was tracking all those years ago. The bounty is still open, and I’m going to collect.”
Kat whirled around and headed toward the front door, forgetting about the small step into the hall. She stumbled forward and this time fell on her face.
“Dammit!”
Prince rushed to her side and put his hands on her back. “Are you injured?”
“Only my pride,” she murmured against the smooth floor, grateful Nadia was a neat freak and cleaned it every day.
“Perhaps you’ve had too much wine.”
Kat sprang to her feet. “Get used to it, Charming. I barely had a few sips, so I’m not even tipsy. I just happen to have a habit of tripping over things—usually those things being my own two feet. I’m better when I’m running full speed. Something about the slow pace of a stroll makes my limbs forget how to function. So do me a favor and don’t make a big deal about it when I fall down in public.”
“You meanifyou fall.”
She laughed and pulled a small set of keys from her pocket. “There are no ifs about it. I’m a girl who falls head over heels.”
CHAPTER4
Prince felt a pang of guilt for leaving Nadia’s apartment without telling her, but only for a fleeting moment. After all, she’d left him alone with her sister to test how interested he was in pursuing her and no one else, treating Prince more like a lapdog than an alpha wolf. Instead of sending her a message on the phone, he left a handwritten note on her dining table explaining that he’d gone out with Kat for a few drinks.
And he intentionally wrote Kat instead of Katarina. Prince enjoyed the abbreviated name. She intrigued him, and he’d sensed early on that both Kat and Nadia were alpha females.
In the Shifter world, children were either born an alpha or not, and usually it was the firstborn. Anyone could have strong leadership skills, but alphas possessed more magic within them, more control over their animal than the others. That power resonated in their voice, their presence, and especially in their wolf. Only an alpha could become a Packmaster and lead a pack to success; anyone else was doomed to failure. Alpha females were especially desirable to Packmasters, and although it wasn’t mandatory that they mate with one, alpha females produced stouthearted children and commanded a pack like no other.
And yet even more curious was that Kat’s magic was a little stronger than her sister’s. Kat’s power flashed while Nadia’s only pulsed.
When they arrivedat the club, Prince watched with curiosity as Kat reached into the backseat and retrieved a pair of black-and-white sneakers. She yanked off her boots and tossed them on the floor. He never knew what to expect with this woman.
Prince cleared his throat.
“What? I love my Chucks,” she said unapologetically, lacing them up. “Besides, the boots kill my feet on a chase. Last time, I got blisters the size of cantaloupes. I know, I know. It clashes with my leather pants, but I don’t have any options since I left town in a hurry. My good running shoes are sitting in a motel room in Shreveport.” Kat opened the visor mirror and raked her fingers through her hair. “I really need to start carrying an extra set of clothes in the car.”
“The man we’re looking for—what’s his name?”
“The bartender said his name is Henry, but when I accepted the job to hunt him down years ago, the name they gave me was Vlad Romanov.”
Prince’s blood ran cold. “Then we’re dealing with a Mage.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you know?”
He scanned her outfit, his heart ticking a little faster. “You said you carry a stunner?”
When Kat began to lift her shirt, he averted his eyes to the dark parking lot.
She laughed and tapped his arm. “I’m not coming on to you, Charming. I wear short shirts for easy access. Wait, that sounded wrong,” she murmured. “I wear a harness around my chest. It was custom made since boobs get in the way.”
Her candor made his face flush, and he tried to give her a scolding glance. Tried and failed.
