Influence Page 6

  “No, but you are clearly trying to offend me and I won’t stand for it.” Before he could say another word, she left.

  A few minutes later as she was driving toward Las Vegas, her phone buzzed. She hit her speakerphone option. “Yes, Lane.”

  “Turn around.”

  “Lane, this is ridiculous.”

  “Damn it, Ariela, I said turn around. You can’t go to the city.”

  Detecting the protective tone in his voice, she gasped then in understanding. “What is it?”

  “Shoc Matheson showed his face at Pride’s. He’s holding Jagger, Leon, and Sanchez hostage. I need you to pick me up now, Ariela. Do not try to go there without me. He will kill you to get to me and to hurt your other mates.”

  “I’ll be right there,” she said, whipping the car around in the middle of the highway.

  As soon as she pulled in the driveway, Lane opened her door. “It won’t do me any good to ask you to stay here. Will it?’

  “No.”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  Afraid he’d leave her standing there, she threw her leg over the console and took her seat on the passenger’s side. “Lane, what about the children?”

  “I’ve sent the guards to find them. They’ve already spoken to Mrs. Tangerly and she knows they may be in danger. They’ll be fine.”

  “Should we go pick them up first?”

  Lane shot her a peculiar look before he sped down the highway.

  “Lane, should we pick up the kids first?” Her voice was shaken. Her hands trembled. “Something has happened. What is it?”

  Lane reached over and held her hand.

  As soon as he touched her, she could sense his concern. “What’s happened, Lane?” She squeezed his fingers, needing his strength then.

  “Security officers at the casino say Jagger and Leon have been badly beaten.”

  “Oh God no!” Ariela cupped her mouth and shook her head again and again. “No. This can’t be happening. Are you sure?”

  “Not entirely,” Lane said, gripping her hand. “I need you to focus on everything when we enter the casino, Ariela. Pay attention to unusual scents. Do you understand? They’ll be coming down to the lobby on stretchers.”

  “Oh my God! Are they…”

  “They’re badly beaten, like I said. That’s all I know.” The look of concern washed over him and he was undoubtedly sick with worry. “You’ll pick up their scents if they’re your mates and if so, by all means, go to them. If not, keep walking as if you don’t even know them, because remember if Jagger and Leon aren’t on those stretchers, then langles have been paid to pose as them.”

  “What are Shoc’s demands?”

  “I—”

  “Don’t lie to me, Lane. What are his demands?”

  “You aren’t going to meet his demands, Ariela. I’ll meet them, and then langle or no langle, he’ll pay the price. No one messes with my family, and whether I like it or not, Jagger, Leon, and Sanchez are your mates and that means they’re my family just as much as they’re yours.”

  * * * *

  A half hour later, they were cleared to enter the casino. They passed the stretchers on their way to the bank of elevators and Ariela shook her head and kept walking. Lane motioned for two men and nodded at the ambulance. Undoubtedly, the fellas on the stretchers were about to meet their demises. Ariela and Lane boarded the elevator and ten floors later, they walked out, acknowledging the armed officers in passing.

  Melinda was seated at her desk, shaking like a limb.

  “Why is she here?” Ariela glared at her.

  “Not now, Ariela,” Lane said out of the corner of his mouth.

  “Why am I not surprised?” Melinda clucked. “Jagger and Leon kept insisting you were at home but I knew better. I told my friend Michelle, that Ariela, she has herself a new man. I’ll bet he shifts into a dildo and runs on solar energy. You know, maybe takes a lot a heat and can still rev up for the cause.”

  “Keep walking,” Lane muttered, pushing her ahead of him.

  “We’ll talk soon!” Melinda called out. “I think you owe me.”

  “You’re right,” Ariela said, turning all the way around to look at her. “And considering you’d mention that now of all times, I definitely owe you something, Melinda.”

  “I see why you don’t particularly care for her,” Lane said, placing his hand on Ariela’s lower back and guiding her through the double doors leading to Jagger’s office.

  As soon as they passed the fountains, Lane looped his arm around Ariela’s waist and pulled her into the restroom. The door closed behind them.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” She didn’t have to ask. She should’ve expected this. “Lane, no. You cannot do this. Shoc has been around me enough to know. He’ll suspect you of shifting.”

  Two of Lane’s guards stepped away from the double stalls. He tilted her chin to his and whispered. “Please stay quiet, Ariela. You’ll risk my life and the lives of your other mates if you don’t keep your voice down.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” She struggled against the guards as soon as they held her arms. She shot Boa and Striker a cold glare. “I won’t forget this.”

  “I won’t either,” Lane told them. “Make sure she stays safe and I’ll pay handsome bonuses.”

  Then, right before her very eyes, Lane shifted and it was the most peculiar shift she’d ever seen him take. He looked like a carbon copy of her, right down to his high heel shoes.

  Chapter Ten

  Jagger paced his office. “You went to a lot of trouble to make everyone downstairs think I’m on my way to the hospital bleeding to death. Want to tell me why?”

  Shoc aimed a pistol at Sanchez’s head and then switched to Leon. After he taunted Leon for a few moments, he pointed the gun at Jagger. “You talk too much. Maybe that’s the reason Ariela left you for Livingston. Ever thought of that?”

  “No. That particular worry never crossed my mind.”

  “How about you, Leon?” Shoc snarled. “Ever get tired of listening to this one gab?”

  “Why didn’t you stay dead?” Sanchez asked.

  Shoc laughed. “Remind me why my brother’s men didn’t kill you when you put him in an early grave?”

  “I wouldn’t have killed him if I’d been in my own right mind. I was drugged.”

  “Ah, that’s right.” Shoc shook his head. “I seem to have trouble remembering things these days. Langles have a tough job. One day they’re themselves, the next day they’re a woman begging for spare change, the next day they’re flying 747 jets across the Atlantic and the next they’re making a speech and running for office.”

  “Comforting,” Sanchez said.

  “Tell me something, Shoc.” Leon looked mean and when Leon took on a different persona, he was dangerous. “Are all langles crazy, or just those who come to Las Vegas?”

  “Are you trying to insult me, Leon?” He laughed. “I can understand why you’re so bitter. Playing second fiddle to Jagger here must’ve been tough, but then Sanchez comes along and Ariela’s entire world revolves around making Sanchez a star.”

  The office door opened and closed.

  “And speak of the devil,” Shoc turned, eyed Ariela up and down and whispered, “One thing about it, boys, you were lucky men all right.”

  Jagger jerked, sensing something terribly wrong as Ariela walked toward them. While Shoc strolled across the room to greet her, Leon shook his head. Sanchez mouthed, “It’s not Ariela.”

  As if Jagger needed confirmation.

  What was Lane thinking? Why would he try to pull a switch? Why hadn’t he just stayed out of this?

  Shoc circled Ariela—Lane—and immediately tilted his head to the air, his nostrils flaring. “I’ve always loved that vanilla berry fragrance you wear.”

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Matheson? My men downstairs say you will only talk to me.”

  “Yes.” He cont
inued circling, acting as if he couldn’t decide if he were in the presence of another langle or if Ariela herself stood there in the office. “Admit it, Ariela. You came running because you thought I’d harmed one of your boys.”

  “They’re men,” she said. “And no. We don’t negotiate during hostage situations here at Pride’s. I’m actually here to pick up some paperwork.”

  Ariela—Lane—walked to Jagger’s desk, opened it and drew a gun right away. How had Lane known Jagger kept a gun in his desk, and why would he draw on a maniac first thing?

  “Ariela, put down the gun,” Shoc said. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to work out a trade with your mates. I could’ve contacted Lane, but he was otherwise engaged yesterday, and from what my insider tells me, she kept him well entertained for most of the day.”

  “Is that supposed to bother me? Do you think I don’t know where my lover was while I spent the day with Jagger, Sanchez, and Leon?” The gun was cocked and aimed.

  “Put down the damned gun!” Shoc bellowed.

  Leon shook his head.

  Shoc turned his pistol on Leon. “Stay out of this, Magic Man.”

  Apparently too cocky to stay in his shifted form, Lane transitioned right before their eyes, taking his real persona in an effort to apparently rattle Shoc.

  “Now I’m impressed,” Shoc said, glaring at Lane. “You can shift with your clothes?”

  “It’s an acquired skill. I doubt you have the discipline.”

  “You thought of everything. Even her perfume.” Shoc aimed a direct evil glare at Jagger. “If I were you, I’d ask myself this: How obsessed must he be to successfully shift and look like your woman, carry himself like her, and even smell like her? Wouldn’t you agree it’s over-the-top obsessive?”

  “Answer a question for me,” Lane said. “Why didn’t you just stay dead?”

  “Seems to be the universal question.” Sanchez scooted forward.

  “What was the point in coming here, and why did you come in disguise when you visited here before? What is it that you want from these shifters, or have I always been your target?”

  “Perceptive and a straight A pupil to boot,” Shoc snarled. “To be so smart now, you sure were dumb when we had Ariela abducted and checked.”

  “Checked?” Jagger felt ill. “What do you mean checked?”

  “He’s talking about fertility. Any langle can call in a fertility team to check the true mates. Shoc didn’t have Ariela. The langle’s medical team abducted her. ”

  “Yes,” Shoc drawled. “But you of course know the fertility results now. Hmm?” He turned to Jagger quickly. “How does that make you feel, Jagger? The love of your life is having children with this…dated shifter?”

  “I never wanted children.” It was the first time Jagger had voiced the fact, but it was true. He had only wanted children when he’d believed Ariela longed for motherhood. He loved her so much he’d even convinced himself he passionately wanted to be a father to her children.

  “Did you tell these shifters that she was my true mate?” Shoc paced the length of an Oriental rug in the center of the floor.

  “Ariela could’ve belonged to anyone in the langle family. Whoever saw and claimed her first became her true mate.”

  Lane’s reply sparked Jagger’s interest. He turned his attention to Leon and he shrugged. Apparently Leon was surprised to learn the news, too.

  “If I’d gotten to her first, she and I could’ve built upon what Jagger has started here and what my brother coveted next door. We would’ve amassed extraordinary wealth and—”

  “And she would’ve died soon after because you were willing to do whatever necessary to claim a woman who is already locked into a circle of commitment?”

  Shoc frowned.

  “Oh, you didn’t know?” Lane taunted him. “I’ll add more fuel to the fire. When you came here for her the last time? I hadn’t claimed her yet. You could’ve claimed her. Instead, you went through all sorts of theatrics, showing these men the face of one of their loyal employees who was beaten because of your charades. You are a disgrace to your brother and a disgrace to this town. More importantly, you’re a disgrace to our breed.”

  “The breed?” Shoc’s sinister laugh filled the room. “You think our breed is special, extraordinary?” He snarled. “No, Lane. Our breed is like a bastard shifter, one that will never know why he is what he is because he doesn’t know much more than his mother’s heritage. We are langles because somewhere in the pipeline, in our polluted genes—maybe three or four generations ago—some four-time loser dipped his stick in a willing whore’s cunt and a few like him followed. Somehow the sperm was mixed and matched and voila!” He propelled his arms out to the side. “Here we are! The superior breed!”

  An angry roar resonated through the office, practically shaking the furniture as it resounded off the walls. Lane fired his gun repetitively, emptying the chamber by pumping several bullets into Shoc’s chest. Lane’s fury was evident in his body language, in the way he held himself erect, his shoulders squared, his jaws boxed.

  Shoc’s arm flopped one way or another and he seemingly tried to fire off a shot, but to no avail. The gun dropped to the floor and Shoc’s wavering body soon followed.

  Jagger rushed him. Grabbing him by the collar, he shook his body and yelled, “Are you Shoc Matheson?” He shook him again. “Are you?”

  Shoc’s head fell back over his shoulders and Lane breathed in and out, clearly scenting the room before he motioned for Sanchez. “Is that him?”

  Sanchez inhaled, exhaled, inhaled, and exhaled. He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Yes.”

  “Are you sure?” Jagger asked, releasing Shoc and letting his head slam against the floor.

  “Yes. I’m sure. Evil has an undeniable stench one can’t easily forget.”

  Lane nudged Shoc with his foot. “Since you were so ashamed of your heritage, I wanted to relieve you of this hellish experience you called life.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jagger swung open the bathroom door and the guards stepped in front of Ariela.

  “Move out of the damned way,” Jagger said, shrugging by them as Lane, Leon, and Sanchez followed him inside the restroom.

  “Jagger!” Ariela leapt in his arms, locking her legs around his waist and kissing his face repeatedly. “I was so scared. I was so afraid you had—”

  He grabbed her face and kissed her. His tongue swirled inside her mouth and he breathed her in, loving the ability to kiss her in front of Lane, not because he wanted to prove anything but because Lane needed to know Ariela was well loved, well cared for by all her mates.

  After he released her, she embraced her other mates and they briefed her quickly on what had transpired. Lane told his guards to wait downstairs and Jagger directed everyone to the boardroom. “We have a few things we need to discuss. We might as well do that here.”

  “Jagger?” Frank Zineman, the lead detective on shifter-related crimes came forward. “Can I have a word with you?”

  “You’ll probably want several words with all of us—Ariela excluded since she wasn’t present—but can you give me ten minutes?”

  Frank peered around Jagger and nodded at Lane. “Mr. Livingston, glad to see you made it out okay.”

  “Did we have any doubts?” Lane asked, his cocksure attitude shining through.

  “No, Sir. No doubts.”

  “Take your time, Jagger. I have a witness list a mile long. I’ll start with your employees.”

  “Thanks, Frank.”

  They entered the boardroom and had just taken their seats when Melinda Parker barreled through the door. “Thank God!” She ran to Jagger, flung his executive chair around and threw herself forward, embracing him. “I was so frightened, Jagger!”

  Jagger peered over the top of her scarlet-colored hair piled high on top of her head. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched the fury come alive in Ariela’s eyes, in her tightly dra
wn frown.

  “You know, Melinda, sometimes I can’t help but laugh when I see you. Right now isn’t one of those moments, mind you, but the fact that you amuse me is just one of few reasons why you still have a job here.”

  “Say what you mean, Ariela. Let’s not dance. We’ve had a long morning here at Pride’s Casino, something you wouldn’t know anything about now that you’re playing wife to Lane Livingston.” Melinda rolled her tongue over her bottom lip and struck a pose. “You are a handsome devil.”

  “Which is why it was easy to put you on my payroll?” Lane asked her, never cracking a smile.

  “I uh…I…”

  “We already figured as much,” Jagger interrupted her. “So you can assume we have proof.”

  Ariela slowly rose from her seat. Jagger and Leon exchanged a knowing glance. This had been a long time coming, and Melinda might as well brace for it.

  “Go ahead, look, stare, want, lust, and then know this.” Ariela stalked her prey, circled Melinda like a predator might. “They’ve all been in my bed, Melinda. They’ve been in between my legs, down on their knees, up in my face, and thrumming across my tongue.” She shot her a scowl. “I’ve tasted each one of them. Every. Last. Drop.” She pushed her hair over her shoulders and sat on the edge of the conference table.

  “And?” Melinda fluttered her eyelashes. “Are you what, Ariela? Trying to make me jealous? See, that doesn’t work with confident women. I don’t care who Jagger had before me. I plan to be his one and only now.”

  Ariela tucked her foot underneath Jagger’s chair and rolled him forward. As soon as his seat bumped up against the table, she gave it a slight nudge and deliberately scooted him back enough to allow room.

  Jagger saw her next play coming from a mile away. She slid forward and dropped to his lap. Her legs landed on either side of his hips as she tugged his belt free.

  Leon locked the door, removed his jacket, and tossed the garment over the security camera. Not only would they avoid interruption, but they wouldn’t have to worry about a video record of what was about to take place. Lane didn’t look at them. Instead, he seemed more interested in watching Melinda for a reaction.