Animal Attraction Read online

  Animal Attraction

  A Kindred Souls Romance

  Patricia Rosemoor

  Animal Attraction

  Copyright © 2019 Patricia Rosemoor

  EPUB Edition

  The Tule Publishing Group, LLC

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  First Publication by Tule Publishing Group 2019

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN: 978-1-949707-32-6

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  Dedication

  Thanks to my brainstorming partners on Animal Attraction: Sherrill Bodine, Alice Eakes and Sharon Parke. I so love some of the ideas our sessions generated to make this a more interesting and fun read.

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  More by Patricia Rosemoor

  Excerpt from Eyes of the Tiger

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Bleating and squawking and roaring filled the air. Two of every mammal and bird and reptile as far as the eye could see fought the savage winds. More rumbling from the heavens and then ragged lightning strikes surrounded us with an eerie blue glow as the skies opened and water flooded the land. The animals cried out and raced to the belly of a boat as big as a small city.

  Fear was a fever and all were infected, including me. I ran with the animals and soon found myself on board in the midst of a panicked four-legged herd. I turned to see dozens of men who scaled the other side of the ark scramble into the midst of the terrified animals. They stalked the animal predators—carnivores like wolf and hawk and cobra.

  One of the men locked gazes with me, his eyes a molten copper. Then his gaze lit on a black panther, and he began to change into something formless and frightening. I could see right through him. His shadow floated over the panther, then morphed again. What looked like tentacles drove down through the sides of the animal. The big cat threw back its head and screamed in terror as the shadow disappeared inside it. The panther now emanated pure aggression. As if sensing my interest, it turned toward me, head tilted as it considered me with molten copper eyes…

  Nuala Lazare awoke from the nightmare she’d had since childhood. She was safe in her own bed. She lived in a shell of magic Pop had created for them—beautiful quarters—none of which was real. Ironic that he’d named their casino boat The Ark after the one in her ongoing nightmare. Pop had told her the scary dream was a genetic memory, that the men boarding the ark were Nephilim, sons of fallen angels and human women who corrupted humanity. The flood had been sent to eradicate their kind, but some of them found a way to survive by becoming shapeshifters—Kindred with powers far beyond human. And the black panther had been the first in the Lazare shapeshifting line.

  It might be before dawn, but Nuala wasn’t going to sleep any time soon, so she left her bed and got dressed.

  The effects of the disturbing dream lingered, putting her on edge. She knew where she came from and what she was. She simply wasn’t sure where she wanted to end up or what she wanted to be.

  If she left The Ark… how did she leave everyone she loved?

  She’d always been the one to keep a level of peace in the Lazare family, even with her emotionally distant mother, Beatrix. Nuala was usually able to use logic with Pop to keep him reasonable when anger fired him, and she was always able to keep her brothers in line when no one else could. What would become of them without her?

  Leaving her quarters and calling for the elevator, she thought about it. There were good and bad Kindred… just like there were good and bad humans. They made mistakes just like humans. But the thing that made them different was the predilection for corruption. Thanks to being descended from the Nephilim, that was part of their very nature. She fought to stay grounded, to make her own choices rather than simply follow instinct, but most Kindred took advantage of humans, and Pop took advantage of everyone. Even so, she couldn’t love her father more.

  The elevator arrived and she took it up to the casino, cloaked and available to human gamblers by invitation only. Despite the hour, the floor was busy. And noisy. She passed two waitresses in leopard sarongs who stood near the craps table gossiping.

  I think this one’s prime material for the high-roller room.

  Give humans enough of what they really want and they would all be candidates.

  That would please the boss.

  The exchange was strictly in the workers’ thoughts, but Nuala gave them a warning look and indicated they should get to work.

  The slot machines made an irritating music of their own that she tried to ignore as she made her way to the habitat. Kindred who didn’t work the casino floor or in the offices worked here in their animal form. Big cats, wolves, bears, hawks, alligators, and other predators of all kinds were on display for their human guests. Once a night, a caretaker released prey into the habitats. Even well fed, the carnivores couldn’t resist the instinct to chase and kill. Humans couldn’t resist the urge to watch.

  Sighing, Nuala stepped closer to the windowed wall and watched Clarke, a hawk, wheel over Lily, a honey badger and Dodger a red fox—Kindred she’d grown up with displaying their baser instincts. She hated it, but she’d never been able to convince her father he was wrong in using them this way. Pop needed corrupted humans who would feed his ambition to run the city… then the country… and maybe more.

  While Nuala hadn’t even figured out her own real place in any world.

  Now she didn’t just have herself to think of. She stroked her distended stomach and felt the flutter of little feet kicking her in greeting.

  Did she want this world for her daughter?

  Chapter One

  “Good Lord, what happened to him?”

  Detective Ethan Grainger gave his new partner a disbelieving stare. Homicides were rarely easy to look at, but Isabeau DeClercq was showing her inexperience. Her face had paled and she’d pressed her lips together. Hard. Her first day in Violent Crimes. Lucky him. He’d been saddled with a wet-behind-the-ears detective, and that after losing the best partner he’d ever had, and one he�
�d thought of as a brother.

  “If you’re going to be sick, move away from the victim.” A shocking sight, he had to admit, so he wouldn’t blame her, but he couldn’t let the scene be contaminated.

  Isabeau straightened her spine and swiped a strand of thick blonde hair behind one ear. Standing at six feet in thick-heeled boots, she made him feel the glare of her luminous blue eyes and the irritation now tightening her angelic face. “I am not going to throw up.”

  “Good.”

  He hadn’t meant to be so gruff, but the familiarity of this guy’s death got him in the gut, leaving him with a really sick feeling, that it was happening again…

  He focused on the positive. The area was controlled, the cops who’d taken the call having already made perimeters, containing the growing crowd east of the crime-scene tape. Early Sunday morning joggers and bikers who took the lake route had gathered to watch. The cops had called in reinforcements, including forensic personnel already on their way to process the crime scene. Ethan had been drinking his morning coffee when the call came in. He and Isabeau had arrived at the same time, he in his official vehicle, she on her Harley.

  He crouched next to the body for a closer look at the guy’s face. The dead man’s caramel skin was definitely bloody and his features were distended a bit, but Ethan had the horrible feeling he recognized him. “DeAndre Booker, an alderman from the west side,” he said in a low tone, wondering what the politician had been doing so far from home. The man wasn’t dressed for a night out at one of the local clubs, nor for an early morning run along the lake. The front of his shirt was ripped in bloody streaks, but that hadn’t killed him. The gaping wound on his neck had bled out, forming a pool around his head and shoulders.

  “Alderman, huh? That’s going to hit the fan,” Isabeau muttered.

  “Not only is he an alderman, but the city council elected him as the vice mayor.”

  “I didn’t know there was one.”

  Not surprising since she was originally from Wisconsin. “Most Chicagoans probably don’t know we have a vice mayor who would serve as interim mayor if there’s a vacancy for any reason.” Booker had been elected to the position by his peers after spending the last several years working on getting jobs for inner city kids, believing it was the only way to keep them from the gangs. Ethan had respected him for that, as well.

  Giving the dead man an intent once over, Isabeau asked, “So what kind of an animal did this?” Stooping, she pointed to a chunk of fur near the body. “That looks like dog fur, but not pit bull or rottweiler. Maybe a wolf hybrid.” She reached out as if she was going to touch it, then came to her senses and pulled her hand back. “Or one of the coyotes roaming the city.”

  “Coyotes attack rats, maybe pets, not people,” Ethan said.

  Not even one of the coyote shapeshifters in Cezar Lazare’s menagerie. Lazare was CEO of The Company, a supernatural mob called the Kindred who ran Chicago’s secret underground. Unfortunately, Ethan was well acquainted with him. He might be the only cop still alive who was.

  Just then, a vehicle with flashing lights pulled up, interrupting his thoughts, and the forensic team rolled out to join them. “Here are the people who can figure it out,” he said, “although the fur might just be from a couple of dogs playing in this area. I’m sure the autopsy will determine whatever killed the victim.”

  “Could be a big cat.” Isabeau pulled out her cell phone and moved away, saying, “I’ll check Lakeside Zoo to see if they had any big animal escape.”

  “Good idea. You do that.” Something to keep her suspicions from wandering too close to the truth.

  What was he thinking? Hell, she would never believe what he could tell her! Several months ago, he wouldn’t have believed it, either.

  Ethan stood and backed off, giving the forensic team a nod. He wasn’t the only one to recognize the alderman. The buzz went through the team, though they kept their voices low to keep the joggers and bikers who’d stopped to gawk from picking up the unofficial information.

  While forensics got to work, Ethan’s mind raced. It looked to him like a tiger or lion could have killed the alderman. Coyotes weren’t the only predator-shifters working for Lazare. The mobster had plenty of big cats, including his own family. And Ethan doubted anyone else in the Chicago Police Department knew about the Kindred or the true nature of their casino. Well, not unless they’d been invited to The Ark’s lower deck which was cloaked to the unsuspecting by some kind of magic.

  As much as he hated the idea, that was where he needed to go. To the casino boat docked at Northerly Island. Most of the former nature preserve was now turned into a thriving entertainment venue due to Cezar Lazare being able to influence local politicians into doing his bidding.

  Ethan had been avoiding the place, avoiding shapeshifting Kindred, avoiding direct contact with Lazare’s daughter, Nuala, despite his vow to his late partner he would make sure she and the baby were all right. He was still reluctant to face her. Other than the fact she’d blamed him for Shade’s death—he couldn’t forget that accusation, couldn’t shake the guilt she was right—she was one of them. He would like to forget her kind existed, which warred with an unexpected and unseemly attraction to the woman.

  So far, he’d checked on Nuala through Shade’s twin sister Skye, who had an ongoing relationship with Nuala’s half-brother Luc. That was who he needed to talk to about this new murder. Luc Lazare had helped nail the bastard who’d murdered Shade.

  Not that anyone could ever know what happened.

  Ethan’s nightmare was keeping that secret.

  As far as the CPD and the human world was concerned, Detective Shade Cross’s murder would eventually and forever be considered a cold case.

  All the while Ethan tried to concentrate, he kept getting distracted by thoughts of Nuala, of the baby she was carrying—Shade’s child, who would be both human and Kindred like Luc.

  What the hell was he supposed to do with that?

  Anxious to leave so that he could find Luc and get the man’s thoughts on this new but familiar murder, Ethan sucked in a breath and pulled out his cell phone. He took some photos of the scene and especially of the body, of the dead man’s face and ripped-out throat. Then he pulled out his casebook and made notes. He got everything he could from the initial forensic findings, everything the uniforms on duty here had gathered from the crowd on the other side of the crime scene tapes. Oddly enough, the alderman had both his wallet and cell phone on him, so he hadn’t been taken down by a thief.

  What he did have in his pocket was a casino chip, the kind used on The Ark.

  Suddenly Isabeau’s voice came from behind him, making Ethan start.

  “Nope. No escapees from the zoo.”

  Having managed to forget his new partner, he tried to cover. “I wasn’t much counting on that. Maybe we got another big cat wander in from the Dakotas.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Several years ago, a mountain lion was sighted coming through Minnesota and Wisconsin and then at a North Shore suburb on a road near the lake. It ended up a few miles from here. Authorities trapped it in an alley and shot it dead.”

  Isabeau visibly shuddered. “Couldn’t they have used a tranquillizer dart instead of killing it?”

  “Animal Control missed the cat. These were cops, and the cougar was coming for one of them.” At least that incident had nothing to do with Lazare’s ring. When killed, a shifter regained human form. The mountain lion had simply been a mountain lion, nothing more.

  Which made him wonder about their present victim.

  “Might be good for you to stay here until the team is done,” he told Isabeau as he backed off.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To talk to a wildlife expert.” Wasn’t that the truth.

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “You’d be better served to stay here until they’re done and the body is taken away.”

  “Why? What do you think I’ll get
from it?”

  “Experience. Talk to some of the spectators. See if you can find a witness to anything. You’re brand spanking new to the department. You’ve never been exposed to a homicide like this one before. You need to experience it all.”

  And he couldn’t take her with him, not into the big cat’s den. Cezar Lazare would eat her alive. Maybe literally.

  Isabeau was glaring at him again, but she didn’t argue. “Fine. I’ll stay.”

  Ethan nodded and, giving the supervisor on scene a wave goodbye, headed for his vehicle. Even though he was already wondering how much information Luc might have or be willing to tell him, he didn’t miss Isabeau’s low-pitched whisper.

  “You have no idea of what I’ve been exposed to, Detective Know-it-all.”

  When he nearly missed a step, Ethan glanced back. Isabeau crouched over the dead man to get a closer look at his wounds. There was an intensity about her that threw him. Then, as if realizing she was being watched, she glanced up, eyes glinting like blue steel. Ethan blinked and saw the nervous rookie detective again. He thought about saying something, but what? He didn’t need to create any more tension between them. They had to work together, at least on this case. And that was going to be one complicated dance.

  He went straight for his car and headed out.

  Driving south on Lake Shore Drive for Northerly Island, he tried to focus on the possibilities he might have to deal with. Was the dead guy Kindred? Another shifter? Had the fur come from the victim himself? Were there more shifter fights going on after Skye Cross had Cezar’s promise that he would stop them? While trying to save her brother Shade’s soul, Skye had won the right to demand he do so.

  Again his thoughts drifted to Nuala, who had tried to save Shade herself. Despite the fact that she was Kindred, she’d fallen in love with a human and would have done anything for him. He had to give her credit for that. He only hoped she would do right by their child when it was born, find a way to get the baby away from the corruption of her kind. Though it was an obligation he wanted no part of, he would see to it. He would make sure Shade’s child had options away from the Kindred clan. If the mother objected…