Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

T he sunlight that had softly streamed in through the windows as they'd crawled under the covers was considerably brighter when he opened his eyes a few hours later. His first realization was that Skylar was not at his side.

"I'm right here," she said, sitting on a stool at the kitchen island. "I can't remember, did we buy a desk?"

"We did. It was a vintage industrial drafting table with a matching stool. You liked it because it was adjustable. We do need, I think, to find some kind of cabinet or filing system to keep papers in."

"Oh, that's right. Didn't we talk about putting it over in the corner?"

"You did, but I'm not sure that's the place for it. I think that's a good spot for you to stand after you've been punished, and I think a St. Andrew's Cross would go good there. I thought maybe we could find a similar drafting stool and set the desk against the windows overlooking the courtyard. That way, it could serve as a breakfast table for us as well."

"Do you really think we need to find a dining table?"

"Yes, but nothing fancy. We both have good-sized families and packs and there are times we'll want to entertain friends. Does that pillow work, or should we get the stool padded?"

"Don't be an ass, Travis. The pillow is fine."

"Just thinking of your comfort, sweetheart," he said rolling out of bed and pulling on a pair of Levi's. "How about I make you breakfast and take something out to the guys in the patrol car?"

"If I could have one of those breakfast burritos, that would be great."

"Burritos it is. How many people do you expect to be at the meeting?"

"I don't know, maybe half a dozen or more. I wouldn't think more than ten. Why?"

"It's at noon, right?" She nodded. "I figured I could whip up something for you to take in. Either lunch or a snack. Maybe if you feed them, they'll be a little less resentful."

"Resentful?"

"Did you put the lieutenant on your list of people?"

"I did. He may not like me…" She shrugged.

"I think you're wrong. I think he knows how good you are. He's tough on you to help you become the best you can be."

"Really? I never thought about it like that. You might be right both about the lieutenant and the food."

He kissed her deeply and thoroughly. "Baby, I'm always right about the food."

She laughed. "I also asked that Tom, the chief of forensics, be included. It's a bit unusual, but Jenny was one of his and I think having him will give us insight into what the evidence can tell us and could prove to be invaluable."

"Did you only include those in your own department?"

"I've recommended people from several precincts. If I'm right, this guy is limiting himself to the city, but not to any one area. That's the part that keeps eluding me. I can see the pattern in the way he kills and how he selects his targets, but not the areas he chooses. I can't figure out where he might strike next."

"Any idea if he's a shifter or a human?"

"Human, I think. There's been no scent of anything other than humans, but the crime scenes, except for last night, have been so bloody that I couldn't get past the coppery smell of it. Isn't one of your brothers in the Texas Rangers?"

He nodded as he sautéed a huge skillet of onions, peppers and steak. As he scrambled some eggs and warmed tortillas, he asked, "Why?"

"I want to give them an informal heads up in case the killer decides to change locales. Again, it's hard to say where he'd go, but my gut says Galveston or Baton Rouge. One of the guys that was in my class at the academy took a job in Baton Rouge."

Suddenly Skylar grabbed the edge of the island for support.

"What is it sweetheart?"

"Jenny. He murdered Jenny as his way of sending me a message. I've been pretty good at pushing the fact that it's someone I know to the side to focus on the evidence, but…"

He came around to her side of the island, setting a plate down. "That's all you can do. You are not responsible for Jenny. If it hadn't been her, it would have been someone else. Don't serial killers have a compulsion?"

"Generally, yes. So far his has been expressed about every eleven days. Until Jenny."

"I think realizing you're on to him increased that pressure and seeing her was too good an opportunity to pass up."

She nodded. "You're probably right. But he was sending me a message."

"Don't. You can't go back and do anything differently, and you've been moving in the shadows to get to him. At some point he was going to figure it out." Travis put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing tightly. "Look at it this way," he continued. "He knows you're on to him, and he's not going to be able to take as much time to plan things. He'll make a mistake because he knows he's running out of time."

"Do you think he knows about us? Shifters?"

"Could be. Do you shift here in the city?"

"I used to. At least every other morning, I would go for a run. Do you think he knows?"

"Maybe. Between that and knowing you're on his trail, maybe he's becoming even more unhinged. You don't run without me—understood?"

She nodded. "I have to tell you, if he confronts us as wolves, I'll tear his throat out and toss him into the gulf."

He kissed her nose. "You're incredibly sexy when you're bloodthirsty. Let me take these down to the guys."

He picked up a of couple burritos, a thermos of coffee, and a small, lidded pitcher of cream and put them in a bag. He unlocked the door and took the freight elevator down to the loading dock, where he rolled up the gate and brought breakfast to the officers.

"Thanks, Travis. How's she holding up? Did you guys get some sleep?"

"We did, thanks. I think we'll be heading into the precinct about eleven. Will you guys still be with us?"

"No," said Betts. "There's another team that should be here in about an hour."

Travis nodded. "Check to make sure they've eaten. If not, let me know and I can bring them something as well."

Fife took a bite of the burrito and moaned with pleasure. "Damn. Everybody and his brother is going to want this gig if you keep feeding us like this."

Travis returned to the loft and found Skylar dressed and mostly ready to go. She was trying to put on her mascara in a small hand-held mirror.

"Trav? We've got to do something about the bath—what?"

He was grinning from ear-to-ear. "It makes me happy when you talk about what we need to do to our loft."

She snorted. "Fine. Whatever. I need a proper mirror to be able to put on my make-up. I can't go into work looking like I stayed up most of the night chasing bad guys and getting fucked by my fiancé. I don't even want to think about what they might say if they knew you spanked me. Honestly, Travis."

He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his lips to hers until she softened against him, and his tongue pushed inside to tangle and dance with hers.

"You'll be great," he said when they parted. "Remember, you were the one that put all this together long before anybody else had a clue. You are the daughter of Jean-Michel and Darby Gautier. You are she-wolf born and the courage and strength of your ancestors flows through your veins. And if they give you a hard time about anything, tell ‘em to fuck off and quit. We'll hunt the bastard down and end him ourselves."

She smiled, bringing her hands up to his face to kissed him slowly. "You seem to know just what to say. When I think back, you've always seemed to know how to make me feel better."

"I will work on making this place more habitable for you before I pick you up tonight. The rest of the furniture will arrive today, and I'll get you a make-up mirror."

"How do you know about make-up mirrors?"

"Piper can't live without hers. Anything else that will make it easier for you to settle in?"

"Seriously?" He nodded. "Could I have some kind of whiteboard that can be put away when I'm not using it? It would have been so helpful to have one at my apartment to help keep track of my thoughts and ideas."

"I'll see what I can find."

While Skylar finished dressing and polishing the details on her presentation, Travis whipped up some sweet and savory pastry rings with accompanying sauces. When Skylar was ready, they went down to the truck and Travis lifted the security gate while she drove the truck out. Then he secured the gate again before joining her and taking over at the wheel.

"I'll be glad when the security company can make that thing automatic," he said, heading for precinct headquarters.

"Does it bother you, having to do all this? I mean, it's taking you away from getting the restaurant up and running."

"Nothing comes before your safety. I very much doubt this will be the last time some lunatic comes after you. And I was already ahead of schedule on the restaurant, so it isn't a problem. Besides, nothing is more important to me than you."

He dropped her off at the station and made sure she had the food he'd made for her meeting.

"They're going to want me on all of the task forces if you start sending food all the time."

"No, baby, they'll want you because you're the best. We'll keep ‘em well fed just because."

She laughed, turned, and trotted up the steps into the building, her fetching behind swaying as she did so. She looked so professional, and the idea that she was about to make a major presentation with a still well-colored backside did things to his cock he would never admit to.

He called his brother, Austin, who was with the Texas Rangers.

"Hey, Travis. How goes it with your lady fair?"

"Not bad. She's living in the loft with me, and we went furniture shopping. Listen, the Rangers will be getting a heads-up about a serial killer here in New Orleans. Skylar's on his trail, and is afraid if he gets spooked, he'll head to Galveston or Baton Rouge."

"Is she okay? Are you?"

"She is and I have to be. This is who Skylar is. But what I really wanted to know was if there's an electronic version of a whiteboard, that she could use to plot evidence in the cases she's working on. She wants to have something at the loft."

Austin laughed. "There are several, and which one is best depends entirely on how much you want to spend. There's a traditional whiteboard, there are some whiteboards and corkboard combinations, and then there's the electronic kind, with their own secure cloud storage."

"I like the idea of the electronic one. What's it like?"

"Again, depends on what you want to spend. You can just get ones where you load things directly onto the screen. But you can also get touchscreens and adapters that allow you to move data between it and your computer. If you want, I can send you links to a couple of different options."

"That would be great, thanks."

With one thing checked off his list, Travis glanced at his watch and figured he had enough time to do some more shopping before meeting with the architects and security company.

He called Wolf Meadow.

"Travis?" his father answered. "Everything okay?"

"Absolutely. I wanted to tell mother that I'm probably going to fall behind on the restaurant opening here in New Orleans. Getting the loft finished and secure has become my priority. Is she available? I tried calling her cell and she didn't pick up."

"That would be because your mother is currently standing with her nose in the corner, muttering something in Irish that I think has something to do with questioning my paternity. Anything I can help you with?"

Travis grinned and hoped that thirty years from now he and Skylar would still have that kind of fire.

"There's a serial killer in the city who has now set his sights on Skylar because she was the first one to figure out?—"

"Bring her home or head out to Rivière Du Loup."

"I can't do that. She's part of the task force that's going to catch him."

"But if she isn't safe…"

"That's why I'm going to fall a little behind on the restaurant. I need to get the loft and the building secure. I'll be taking her to and from work, and I'm not letting her leave my side until this guy is caught. She's got the whole police department behind her, but I need to watch out for her. This is who she is. I accepted that when I made the decision to claim her."

"And you mean to do that when?"

"As soon as Sky catches this bastard. I don't want her focused on anything else right now."

His father sighed. "I can understand that. I'll let your mother know. If you need anything from us, just call."

"I will."

"Travis? Keep yourself safe as well. Sickos like that have been known to go after the families of those hunting them."

"I know. My next call is to Jean-Michel. And I thought the hard part was telling him his daughter shares my bed."