Chapter 17

Chapter

Seventeen

S kylar's sleep was disrupted by the same nightmare that had plagued her for years.

This time, the thing had a shape—not human, but a shape. Before, she could not see the entity in the dream but in this dream it oozed and morphed in a kind of oily, gelatinous cloud. A man with no face stood by its side. There was a clickety-clackety sound—rhythmic and steady. This time she was not afraid, and she was not alone. Travis stood with her.

Their adversaries—one human and one like a gaseous cloud—charged them, but she and Travis stood firm. At the last second, they shifted and became not two wolves, but one. A wolf twice the size of their normal shifted selves. She could feel both of their hearts, both of their souls beating within its body as it snarled and growled in defiance. The man hung back, clearly frightened of the great beast. She felt Travis surge forward, dispelling the cloud and tearing at the man's middle, gutting him and spilling his entrails on the ground.

The cloud hissed and screamed, swirling in an ever-tightening tornado, and tried to catch them up in its whirlwind. They howled as one and the black mass dissipated and was gone.

"Skylar, sweetheart, wake up. Are you all right?"

Travis's beautiful face framed by a halo of sunlight was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes.

"My nightmare returned. I haven't had it since we've been together."

He sat down on the bed and pulled her into his lap, holding her close while he rocked her and rumbled soothingly to her.

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm not."

"What?"

"For the first time, I wasn't just surrounded by an inky darkness. I could see it. It finally had a shape—well, sort of. It was kind of like an oily cloud thing. I could see the killer, but not his face. They'd come to challenge me, I think to try and take me, but they weren't counting on you. You were my ace in the hole. We shifted into a single wolf and defeated them. It's the first time in my life I haven't awakened scared out of my mind. It can't beat me, Travis. As long as we're together, it can't beat me."

She realized Travis had stopped rocking her. The soothing rumble he made that only she could hear was there, but much quieter.

"What is it?"

He hesitated, as if unsure of what he was about to say. It was a far cry from his usual confidence. "Was it bigger?"

Skylar nodded. "Yes. Substantially. The thing was huge. The weird part was I could hear and feel two heartbeats, two souls. It was like my own was beating with yours."

"What do you know about dire wolves?"

"The kind from those novels they made into a series?"

"One and the same. Did you know they were real? They lived about a hundred thousand years ago and once roamed the American Southwest."

"Seriously? How do you know that?"

"Because I've heard about them my whole life," Travis explained. "When I was a kid, I read those novels the series was based on. I always thought it would be so cool to be able to shift into one. My Aunt Amy is the keeper of the flame in our pack about that topic . She knows all of our history, all the stories, all the legends. She's kind of obsessed and has been documenting them for as long as I can remember. She told me once that the reason our family's wolves are so much larger than other timber wolves is because we're really dire wolves, and like our ancestors we form even closer bonds with our fated mates. There are stories of fated mates being able to blend into one so they could combat a larger, more deadly enemy."

"You don't believe that do you?" she asked skeptically. "That we could shift into some kind of blended being."

"I don't know that I believe it before, but I'm not sure I don't. My mother's origin pack is Irish and have a long history of believing things that seem fantastical to others. Maybe there's a part of me that's willing to suspend rational thought if for no other reason than it's romantic and very cool."

Skylar scoffed. "I can't imagine your dad believing that—the dire wolf thing. He's always struck me as so practical and down to earth."

"Oh, he is, but there are stories about some of our ancestors having greater strength and size over our adversaries. Our family history is full of tales about conquering a superior force or standing against a great evil and triumphing. But this is the first I'm hearing of two wolves becoming one in a true physical body. I think it's worth talking to him or my Aunt Amy about."

"Even if we can't shift into a single wolf, I took it metaphorically, to mean that together we can defeat this so-called Darkness and the key to doing so is to kill its acolyte. That thought alone was comforting."

"What happened to law and order?"

"Great TV show, but in this case, I think justice is served if evil is defeated. And if killing this murderer means we also defeat whatever is backing it, I don't think I have a problem with that, and I don't think Hollings does either."

His eyes searched her face. "You think if there is some evil presence out there, that it invaded your dream and was trying to send you a message, don't you?"

"I'm not sure. If he comes at us when we're at Rivière Du Loup, no one will ever find the body unless we want them to. Rivière Du Loup has always been a beacon in the darkest of times."

While Travis cooked breakfast, Skylar called into the station and spoke with Lieutenant Hollings.

"You coming in today, Gautier?"

"Yes, sir. I'd like to hear what forensics has to say about what we found, and I want Travis there to answer any questions about how he found the dump site."

"Probably not a bad idea. You sure you don't want backup at Rivière Du Loup?"

"Not needed. Trust me, Travis isn't going to let me out of his sight and will make sure my father understands the danger. As I said, most of the men at Rivière Du Loup have combat experience and a number of them were special forces. Right about now, my father is explaining to my mother why she can't have her normal run of the entire plantation today and my mother is expressing her displeasure at that idea."

Hollings laughed. "I've always thought your mother was one of the strongest, most courageous and beautiful women I've ever met and that your father was the luckiest of men. Apparently, it's in the DNA because you're the same way. I hope Travis knows and appreciates what he has in you."

"He does, Lieutenant, and while it took me a little longer, I've come to understand that I found the one man who completes me."

"And he can cook."

It was Skylar's turn to laugh. "I'll make sure we bring something in for the meeting."

Skylar ended the call and joined Travis in the kitchen, wearing only his shirt.

"Do I have time to…?" he stopped and gazed at her ripe body. Skylar knew he could smell the telltale beginnings of her arousal. "I was going to say, ‘bake something,' but I'm not sure that's what I want extra time for."

"I wish. It should be quiet tonight, today is only day ten. Let's see if we can't go to bed early so I can work my wicked feminine wiles on you."

He finished the scone dough by dividing it in two and making one half orange and cranberry and the other bittersweet chocolate and espresso. He put them in the oven to bake.

Travis wrapped her in his embrace, letting his hard cock pulse between them. "What did you have in mind for later?"

"How serious were you about not knotting and tying me to you until after our bonding ceremony?"

"Serious. As it is, I'm going to have to explain to your father why you're already bearing my mark."

"Trust me, babe, my father will understand completely. Then maybe we can try something new like my being on top, for instance."

"Not happening. Not now. Not ever."

His hand slid up under the back of her shirt, tracing the seam of her buttocks and pressing against her dark rosette. "On the other hand, a little dose of submitting to your mate might be in order."

"Uhm…" she said, trying to wriggle away. "Maybe we should just stick with what we know."

He chuckled. "Doubtful. After all, you were the she-wolf who told me she wouldn't be marked. And as I recall last night, it was you who invited me to mark you."

"In a moment of weakness."

He kissed the tip of her nose. "You keep telling yourself that."

When the scones were finished, they headed to the station and Travis parked his truck in the secure parking area before following Skylar up to the task force's conference room.

"I am definitely asking for a transfer to wherever Gautier ends up," said Guerin, reaching for another chocolate and espresso scone. "Damn, these are good."

Tom entered the room, and it was obvious he had been at it all night. He held up his hand before anyone could speak. "Before any of you start on me, my team looks even worse, and after the meeting I'm heading home to crash. Thank God, Skylar, you brought Travis," he said as he took a scone.

They all settled into their normal chairs. It always made Skylar laugh at how people tended to pick the same spot again and again, and how others seemed to respect their choices.

"What made you pick that particular park?" Hollings asked Travis.

"Skylar had mentioned it as a good place for a run and I needed to get out to stretch my legs and clear my head," Travis responded.

"What led you to the dump site?" Hollings continued.

"You know Sky asked me that and it's nothing I can really put my finger on. I had this kind of weird feeling like someone was watching me. You know, like when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. I thought I heard something and went to investigate."

"By yourself?" asked Guerin, leaning forward. "That's not very bright. Damn civilians."

"I'm ex Delta Force and I had my Glock with me."

"Oh," Guerin said settling back in his seat. "That puts a different spin on it. Army Ranger."

"If you saw combat then you know you learn to trust that gut instinct. As I got closer, I could smell death."

"Something else you never forget," said Tom. "I for one am glad you went. I don't know that we would have ever found them on our own. We did learn some things and were able to confirm some hunches. We were only able to ID seven of the twelve victims."

"What do you know, Tom? Keep it short and sweet and be sure to get some sleep before you make your official report," said Hollings.

"Skylar was right. The dump site was for his practice kills. He seems to have had particular difficulty with the stiletto into the heart, which was his third painting kill. It takes some knowledge and practice to be able to do that with one move. The five victims we couldn't ID were the ones whose faces he tried to peel away. Jesus, he is one sick motherfucker and so was the guy who painted that particular piece."

"Anybody find any connections between the victims, other than the killer snagged them off the street?"

Robyn spoke up. "I went over their financials, including their credit card charges—nothing there. I checked their places of employment, shopping habits, gym memberships… nothing overlaps. I even put this map together," she said, getting up and flashing it onto the screen. "Nothing. It's all so random. The blue dots are the seven practice vics that we've been able to identify, and the red ones are our painting murder victims. None of it makes sense. If Skylar hadn't seen that exhibit…"

Skylar nodded. "He went to a lot of trouble not only to match the paintings, but to make it all seem random." She turned to see Travis studying the map. "Do you see something, babe?"

"Maybe. Robyn, can you overlay the city's trolley routes?"

"It can't be that simple, can it?" Skylar asked, looking at him.

When Robyn superimposed the trolley routes, a pattern began to emerge.

"I don't remember for certain, but maybe only one or two rode the trolley," said Robyn.

"But he did," whispered Skylar.

"That's why we've never seen a vehicle or parking tickets. None of the dumb luck things that often break open a case," said Hollings.

"All right. Tom, go home and get some sleep. Robyn, start seeing what you can find if we assume he's using the trolley route. Guerin…"

"I'm going to go talk to the trolley operators to see what they know."

"I'll update the brass," said Hollings. "We've got the stakeout at the gazebo tomorrow. And damn, if it isn't right off the trolley route. Gautier, you and Travis head for Rivière Du Loup. Do me a favor and call out there to let them know you're coming and if you don't make it there by a certain time to call me. And then call me when you arrive. If he knows we're closing in on him, and especially if he knows Travis found the body dump, he might get spooked and make a play for you."

The meeting broke up, the scones were distributed, and Travis and Skylar were on their way. As requested, Skylar called the plantation to let them know their estimated arrival time.

Once they were on the highway, she said, "What made you think of the trolley? Why didn't the rest of us see it?"

"Not see, babe, hear. When you were describing the nightmare to me this morning, you mentioned a clickety clack sound. It was odd that you mentioned a specific sound. Then I thought about what could make a noise like that. I think sometimes our subconscious mind is less encumbered by practical shit and gives us information our conscious mind would usually reject. The only thing I could think of that made a sound like that was the trolleys."

"Gorgeous, smart, cooks, and hung. I hit the superfecta in the fated mate department," she said, leaning over to kiss him. She laughed as he growled at her.