“Believe me, Wraith, an Amurov isn’t going to let it go that Theo stole so much money,” she reiterated.
Then they will kill him for us. Did you take the money from the others and put it somewhere it can’t be found by them or these leopards that are disgusting?
She felt Wraith curl her lip. She held the male leopards in contempt just as Maya did. “I found the money. It was funneled into three offshore accounts. And yes, I removed it from those accounts. The names on the accounts are fake; at least I can’t find anyone with those names in a quick search.”
Maya closed her laptop, carefully wrapped it and put it away in her bag. Everything had to be waterproof. She began to pace the length of the room, inspecting every inch of it again. Clearly this was used to bring prisoners for interrogation. There was a small bathroom and shower, which meant there was running water to drink. Mostly, there were instruments for torture. Instead of intimidating her, she saw them as weapons.
There was a long oven; clearly bodies were burned there after the interrogators were finished with them. The entire basement had been designed like some medieval dungeon. She looked up at the slivers of windows again. Beads of sweat began to trickle down her body, and she wiped at the ones on her face with her forearm. Once again, the burning had started. This time she ached everywhere.
“Wraith, we’re in so much trouble. We’re giving off enough pheromones to call to every male shifter for miles. If we can’t get ourselves under control, we’ll never be able to hide our presence if we do break out of here. Clearly, this is a true heat.” As far as Maya was concerned, it was pure hell, and it was just starting. They couldn’t beanywhere in the vicinity. They would have to get out of the area as fast as possible.
I will settle again. I am very tired.
Maya didn’t know if that was bad or good. If Wraith went to sleep, their bodies would settle and there would be no way for a male shifter to know they were in heat. On the other hand, she might need Wraith to escape.
“Go to sleep if you need to. I’ll wake you if things get dicey.”
Wraith had faith in her. She’d never let them down so far. Maya was afraid there was always a first time, and she hadn’t been paying attention the way she should have been. After splashing cold water on her face, she made her way to the door and peered out the window at Theo. He was still on his laptop, looking triumphant.
“Bids still coming in?” she questioned through the grille.
Theo looked up, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of money men are willing to pay for you. There’s a shortage of female shifters, so you’re at a premium. The two of us could make so much money. Even if we just ask for half up front and then take off, we could make a killing.”
“You don’t think word would get out and they’d send someone after us?” she asked, putting just a single note of interest in her voice.
She appeared to be looking through the window at him, but she was studying the door. It was heavy steel. Thick. The bolt on the outside had slid easily into place and was about at the height of her cheekbones.
Maya was small and slight despite being a shifter, causing her appearance to be very deceptive. She thought perhaps being starved as a child during the time she and Wraith were growing had caused her to be smaller than normal—or maybe that was just her genetic makeup. Hersize did give her an advantage in quite a few ways. She gave the appearance of being fragile and delicate when, in truth, she had the muscles of a shifter running through her diminutive frame.
Maya’s size allowed her to slip into spaces few others could go, particularly larger male leopards. Over the years, she and Wraith had honed their fighting skills, something very unexpected in female leopards. Both were good at acting out whatever role was necessary to get done what was needed. There was no hesitation on either’s part.
“I knew if you thought about it, you’d come to your senses,” Theo said, taking a step closer to the door. “It’s a real moneymaker, Maya. We can’t stay here. Sooner or later, that bastard who took over the lair will come looking for me. He killed the men challenging him for leadership. That isn’t done.”
Her heart dropped. It was common for several members of a lair to challenge for the role of leader when apakhandied. Most of the time, because every leopard was needed, the fights were bloody, but once the losing leopard submitted, the victorious leopard allowed the loser to swear allegiance and that was the end of it. The Amurovs were brutal killers. They took no prisoners. They were known for their swift retaliation and cruel ways of dealing with anyone they thought was against them.
“Are you certain they’ve checked the books? It’s a big territory. There are so many businesses, and he’s just taken over. I had one of my hacker friends do a quick search, Theo. It’s possible you aren’t on his radar yet.” She didn’t believe that for a minute. The Amurov shifters seemed to smell betrayal.
Theo’s gaze had gone back to his laptop, greed etched deep into the heavy lines of his face. Now that she was free of the scorching fury of Wraith’s heat, she could easily see the signs of depravity on Theo’s features. His nosewas red and bulbous. His eyes appeared bloodshot. His jowls had gone saggy. Once, he’d been a charming, handsome man.
We’ll have to be ready for Theo to open the door. He has some kind of plan.Maya spoke telepathically to her leopard in images, her face turned away from the window. She didn’t want to look at Theo any more than she had to now that she’d made up her mind to kill him.If someone is with him, we’ll have to kill both and make our escape.
Wraith gave a sniff of disdain.You will kill anyone coming through the door when they open it. If you do not, I will.
Wraith was very certain they would prevail—and she had reason to be so confident. The two had tracked and hunted criminals for several years, and they had never failed to bring down their prey. That didn’t mean there wouldn’t be a first time they would fail. Already, Maya knew they were in trouble. One mistake and it could prove to be fatal. She didn’t worry her leopard with her concerns.
“We’re in Amurov territory. This part of the swamp is theirs. Their leopards will hunt us if they suspect we’re in heat. They may anyway. They traffic women. We’ll have to cover our scent and get out fast.”
That would mean leaving her computer behind. She had learned to plan for events such as this one—dire emergencies. She had money and clothes stashed in various places if she could get to them, but she despised leaving her laptop. She’d set a fail-safe on it. The moment someone tried to access it, the hard drive would be destroyed. There would be no trail leading back to her. In any case, she would move from the state she’d been living in. She was good at hiding. She’d been doing it for some time. If necessary, she would go to Europe. That mightmean a new identity, but she was good at paperwork, and she had enough money to start over somewhere else.
She swore again under her breath. This was her own stupidity. The moment she’d recognized Theo, she should have disappeared. Not acknowledged him. Not spoken. Not engaged. What had gotten into her to risk Wraith that way?
It is our first heat, and we didn’t know what to expect. You were disoriented.
Of course Wraith would excuse her. She always did. Maya believed she should have been prepared. She’d considered that eventually it would happen, but nothing could have possibly shown her what it would be like to feel the way she did when Wraith burned with need. Not just Wraith. Now she knew. Hormones raged out of control.
If she was going to get them out of this situation, she would have to do so fast. What she did know of the Han Vol Dan was that the female would rise in little stops and starts. Hopefully Wraith would settle and give Maya time to get them out of the extensive and very dangerous lair and away from allbratvaterritories.
Maya turned her attention back to Theo. “Theo,” she called out to him in a soft voice to bring his attention back to her. He had to think it was his idea to open the door. “Do you believe they already know about the money that’s gone?”
