Hunting Tess by Kathryn Summers (best novels to read in english .TXT) 📗

midst of the fight, but not so much the cleanup. Caleb at least had the thought to stash his clothes before shifting.

One of the newer guys I’m unfamiliar with holds a ball of flame in the open palm of his hand. “It may be better to wait to burn down the warehouse until after everyone is out,” I remark, stopping next to Tess. Her hair is mussed and there’s a bruising welt on her upper arm, but those are the only signs of her being in a fight. I have to rip my eyes away from the welt. Otherwise I’ll punch something.

The ball of flame disappears at my comment and I’m glad the hothead extinguished his fire. I was only half joking about him burning down the building. “I have control of it,” he defends, looking every bit a kid fresh out of high school.

“Nah, Pete,” an older veteran named Landon nudges his shoulder while winking. “Parker’s right. No need to show off for the ladies.” Pete’s cheeks go pink in youthful indignation and I stand possessively behind Tess’s shoulder, hoping the nonverbal communication is enough. The poor kid has been embarrassed enough for the day and I would hate to draw out his humiliation.

Marc stands with the man from the video tape being held by two enforcers. From the look on his face I doubt he’ll give any useful information and am about to look away when I see his gaze flicker to Tess. His eyes marginally squint and his jaw juts out in anger. At least until I see him scrutinize her closer. The anger is replaced by confusion, disbelief, and then glee.

He knows.

The fierce desire to protect Tess overrides my brain until I feel my bones shifting, elongating and reshaping until the man is pinned beneath my paw with my teeth bared less than a foot from his neck.

“Parker!” Tess’s voice hovers somewhere above the haze of my wolf rage, and I pause. A hand threads through the fur at my shoulder, my muscles bunching beneath her touch. With every ounce of control I own, I withdraw my paw from off my prey, focusing on Tess’s warm fingers to keep from ripping his throat out.

Shuffling backwards only a few steps I stay standing, hypervigilant of any move he makes. Now that his operation is over the chances of him hurting another woman is slim, but if he’s handed over to local authorities then he’ll just buy his way out. A man like him will have connections.

“What do you know?” I hear Caleb ask, standing somewhere to my left. With me going all furry it wasn’t much of a leap to figure out the man is a threat.

He presses his lips together in an infuriating smile. A low growl rumbles up from my throat and his grin falters just the tinniest bit. If he knows who Tess is that means he knows who is after her, after all, word travels quickly on the paranormal black market. This is the first real break I’ve had since talking to Gabe. All I have to do is follow the trail back to the head.

My hackles rise at being so close to a new lead and I swiftly review everything I can do to make him talk.

“Alex Holden,” a small feminine voice says. A woman who looks like a young child stands next to Marc, her pale face tight in concentration. “Who is that?”

The man’s eyes go wide and he looks afraid for the first time. I vaguely remember Marc saying he recently found an orphan who was bounced from foster home to foster home with a peculiar talent. Even if the ability takes some time to get an answer, hers is a good gift to have on the team.

Alex Holden. Alex Holden is a name I can work with.

***

Parked bikes line the front of a building splayed with a neon green Luke’s Bar sign and I have a feeling this won’t be as easy as I hoped. There were several men with the same name, but only one who owns a bar and is a prolific member of the supernatural community. I haven’t been in a bar fight in a long time, and while I know Tess can handle herself, I don’t want her inhuman speed noticed by the wrong people.

Keeping my hand on the small of her back we enter the lively atmosphere. Though it’s early in the evening patrons gather round tables with abundant greasy food and hard drink, their applause and jeers focused on the small corner stage.

Karaoke night. Lovely.

Taking a seat at the bar top, I try to tune out the off-key belting by some bloke who has had a pint too many. The bartender is a burly bald man with a thick blonde mustache, his hands always in action.

“We’re looking for Alex Holden,” I say keeping part of my attention on the action around me. “Is he here?”

The bartender dries a mug while eyeing us guardedly. “The boss doesn’t see walk-ins. You’ll need to make an appointment.”

Tess takes one of the shelled peanuts from a glass bowl, peeling away the husk. “Funny, I thought someone who ran with vampires would want more than three bodyguards watching the main entrance.” She pops a peanut in her mouth, savoring the prize. The bartender stares at her, his mustache twitching when he sniffs. “Or are you guys just props? I thought the gun at your side could be a personal preference thing, you know, a concealed carrying permit, but then I thought, do you really need to wear two more guns? I mean, isn’t that overkill? Unless it’s just for intimidation, of course. However, I should tell you that a gun won’t slow down a vampire unless the bullet is pure silver, and even then, it won’t kill them. It’ll only tick them off more than anything. You do have silver bullets, right? If not, get some. And if you do, I would still suggest running really fast.”

She cracks