Eternal Hunter (Night Watch #1)(31)
Author: Cynthia Eden

Her shoulders straightened. “I’m sick of running, Jude. I tried that. It didn’t work.” She shook her head. “That’s not how I’m going to play this game anymore.”

He closed the distance between them in two seconds flat. Jude grabbed her arms and pulled her toward him. “This isn’t a game. He’s a killer. A cold, seriously f**ked-up”—he could still see the blood on her walls and the grin that he had sliced across Bobby’s face— “killer.” A game. His hold tightened on her. “If he gets hold of you, he’ll—”

“I know exactly what he’ll do.” Erin jerked away from him. Just broke from his grasp as if he weren’t even holding her.

Why do I keep forgetting how strong she is?

Her eyes were stark. “He caught me once before.”

His heart seemed to stop. No, not here. He didn’t want to learn this here, with that bastard’s stench in the air around him.

Jude swung away from her, his gaze searching the shadows of the garage. “How the hell do you know he’s gone?”

Silence.

Jude glanced back at her. “Erin?”

Her hand lifted, pointed to the right. “He left me a present.”

He stalked forward and saw the roses propped up against the cement wall.

Fresh. Bloodred. Not a bloodstained message this time. Flowers.

Oh, yeah, a real perfect Romeo.

“That’s Lee’s parking space.” No emotion in her voice.

Jude’s eyes lifted and he saw the reserved spot with the lawyer’s first initial and last name.

Dammit.

“There’s a card, but I-I haven’t read it yet.”

He would. Jude grabbed the flowers, jerked out the card and tossed the roses onto the pavement. The scent of the flowers was sickeningly sweet, combining with the stench of the shifter, a stench that seemed lighter now, weaker.

‘Cause the bastard was gone.

For now.

With steady fingers, Jude pulled out the card. Maybe he should have taken it to Tony. He should have used gloves, he should have—

Did you like my present?

What in the hell? His gaze flew to Erin, and he found her staring at him, her body still.

“What does it say?” she whispered.

Jude shoved the note back into the envelope. “Let’s get out of here.” A car horn sounded in the distance. The place was all but deserted. He knew most of the lawyers and assistants would have checked out around five. Being there, standing in that empty garage felt too much like a trap.

One Jude wasn’t about to get caught in. “Where’s your car?” he demanded.

But she shook her head. “The note, Jude. What did it say?”

His jaw clenched. “Screw your car, you’re coming with me.” He shoved the note in his pocket. If the jerkoff had been dumb enough to leave any prints, and Jude figured the guy hadn’t, they were probably long gone by now. A guy smart enough to sneak into a police station and kill a man while the cops were less than twenty feet away really wasn’t gonna be the type to leave fingerprints on his little delivery.

Crossing to her side, Jude reached for Erin’s arm. She didn’t fight him, and he knew the lady could have used her strength.

She climbed in the passenger side of his pickup. He slammed the door shut behind her, raced back around, and jumped inside.

He cranked the truck and the engine snarled to life. His fingers curled around the gear shift.

“What did it say?” Her hand brushed over his. Soft. Delicate.

With an effort, he managed to unclench his jaw enough to growl, “‘Did you like my present?’”

A sharp inhalation of air. Her hand fell away and she sagged back in the seat.

He twisted the wheel, slammed on the gas pedal, and got the hell out of there.

The green pickup raced down the street, the motor rumbling as the tiger drove away, too fast.

Running scared. He watched that truck, and he smiled.

Erin had found his note. She knew what he’d done for her. Proving his love wasn’t hard. He enjoyed giving presents to his mate.

The tiger would soon realize he didn’t have a place in this equation. Erin would know he didn’t belong.

Just the two of us, love. Just us.

He’d been angry when he found the shifter at her house. In her house.

No other male should be so close to Erin.

But he’d investigated the tiger today. Found out that he was a hunter. One Erin had foolishly hired.

As if the bastard would be a match for him.

Perhaps Erin had already realized her mistake.

He could still smell her. He’d been so close to her today. Close enough to touch and to taste.

When she’d found his roses, had she smiled? Had her lips lifted in that slow, beautiful smile he liked so much? Erin loved red roses. Always had.

That dick of a lawyer never should have gone after her like he had in court. The prick had been in her face, screaming.

No one treated Erin that way.

The traffic light turned red and he walked across the street, keeping his gaze on the shrinking taillights.

He couldn’t wait to see Erin again. Couldn’t wait to claim her. It had already been so long since he’d held her body beneath his and given in to the hunger.

Did she miss him as much as he missed her? Did she long for him?

Yes.

The answer came from the beast inside. The beast that wanted Erin just as much as the man did.

Soon it would be time for the games to end.

Time to take what was his.

If the tiger got in his way again, well, he’d just slice the bastard apart. Wouldn’t be the first time he’d killed a rival.

Not the first time. Not the last.

Chapter 9

“You just missed my exit.” The first words she’d spoken since they left the parking garage. Erin thought the words came out pretty calm. Pretty steady.

Did you like my present?

She’d managed, barely, not to flinch when Jude told her the words of the note. But even before he’d said them, she’d known.

It was the freak’s MO.

Her gaze lifted to Jude’s face. His jaw was clenched, the eye she could see narrowed. “Jude?” Her hands were balled into fists. The better to not touch him.

“We’re not going to your place.” He didn’t take his gaze off the road. “The bastard was there last night, he was inside the night before that. Sweetheart, your place is sure as shit not safe.”

But it was hers. And right then, she needed some security, some—

“You’re spending the night with me.”