“Caz is good at what he does. He knows the computer stuff. I don’t, plus, he’s a tiger and a tracker as well. He will watch your back and I assured him that you will watch his. Forget about what I said about liking you. He’s a Death Hunter, Raven. Lennox wouldn’t have put him with you if he wasn’t confident he could handle this. You can handle this.”
“Don’t you want to help me in this case?” Raven asked, returning to sit beside her brother. It felt like he was leaving her too.
“Look, sis, I always want to be there with you, but right now, I’ve had the most missions of all the hunters and I’m tired. I want to rest and then I will be right as rain. But I wouldn’t have suggested Caz if I didn’t have confidence in his ability. He’s a tiger and I never heard him coming when we tested him. He’s that good, Raven. Trust him.”
Raven stared at her brother in the mirror. She never noticed before, but Leo had dark shadows under his eyes. She could see how tired he was. Seeing the tension in his shoulders broke her heart. He was waiting for her to explode and Leo didn’t deserve that.
She smiled. “Okay. You rest and we will handle this.”
“Thanks, sis. Tomorrow you need to sit with Caz and the both of you share what you know and come up with a plan of action. I think Archie has had plenty of time to hear from the vampire. It wouldn’t hurt to talk to Calum. He’s been gathering information too. Now that we know another vampire is involved, he will want to know.”
When she didn’t say anything, he leaned in and bumped her. “Let’s go run. I need to let him out. It’s been a while.”
“Sounds good.” She watched as her brother got up to leave. His shoulders were tense, but at least this would help him. He had been on a lot of missions. He helped Reed out so he could honeymoon with Greer and he knew the alpha and Cosmo were spending as much time with their mates as they could, so he continued to volunteer.
Caz watched as Raven and Leo shifted behind his truck and sprinted into the woods. He was up in a tree, just thinking about Raven. She was one tough cookie. She definitely couldn’t take a joke. He would need to remember that. She was so easy to tease. So serious. Definitely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. Ours!
His tiger wanted her and already made up his mind, but he wasn’t sure. He hadn’t had any girlfriends in a long time. Maybe he was just fascinated by her. You don’t mean that. She’s not ours either.
Ours!
This was going to be a problem. A big one.
Chapter Six
Caz decided to talk to Calum. The vamp was at his house waiting for him. He would get the information and then tell Raven what he said. This way, he would have information that she didn’t and maybe, just maybe, she would lighten up. Fat chance, but this was the only idea he had to get back in her good graces. Who was he kidding? He was never in her good anything.
He snarled as he pulled up at his sister and Calum’s home. Raven’s truck was sitting in the driveway. How the hell did she know to talk to Calum? Now he was pissed. She came without him.
Getting out, he walked up to the entrance and before he could knock, his sister opened the door. “What took you so long? Raven has been here over thirty minutes,” Riley whispered.
“What? And nobody thought it would be a good idea to call me?”
“Well, no. Why would we? It’s not unusual for hunters to come by the house to gather information from Calum, but once I heard what she wanted to know. I was about to pick up my phone, but heard you pull up. Come on.” Riley Milton O’Keefe motioned for him to enter.
His sister was now mated and married to the local vampire, Calum O’Keefe. Not just any vampire but probably one of the most powerful ever. The man fell head over heels in love with his sister. Most thought it was unusual for a vampire and a tiger shifter to mate, but they got along so well. He never doubted that Calum wouldn’t risk his own life for his sister. He saw that firsthand.
Calum smiled when he walked into the kitchen. Raven was eating and never looked up as he sat beside her. “You’re late, brother. We started eating without you. I’m confused, you are working together on this case, correct?”
“We are, but it looks like my partner decided to go off without me,” Caz spit out.
Caz knew he had hit a nerve when Raven’s fork fell clanking against the dish. “We are not par--”
“Here is a plate for you.” Riley set a dish full of food in front of him, stopping Raven from finishing her sentence.
“Thank you.” Caz picked up his fork and started shoveling food into his mouth before he said something he couldn’t take back. Why this woman made him crazy, he didn’t know.
Calum glanced around the table. “Now that we are all together, let’s get your questions out of the way. Raven, you wanted to ask me about someone.”
“What do you know about Boris Connor?”
Calum didn’t speak for a few seconds but stared at her. “A lot. He’s on the vampire council. A dear friend of mine. Is he in trouble for something? Boris is such a good man. He’s helped me and my family on numerous occasions.”
Caz put down his fork when Raven didn’t answer Calum. “We have reason to believe that he is involved in the shifter trafficking.”
If a vampire could turn red, then Calum O’Keefe was erupting like a volcano. “Why do you say that, simply because he is a vampire? I thought we were beyond that, Caz.”
“It was just a question, Calum. Calm down,” Riley suggested.
He watched as Calum slammed his napkin to his plate and scooted his chair back. “I’ve lost my appetite.” Then walked out of the room.
“Never saw that coming,” Raven said.
Caz turned to his sister. “I’ve never seen him act like this. Even when I didn’t like him, but this has nothing to do with Boris being a vampire.”
“Boris is a good friend to Calum. I hope you’re wrong about this, Caz. I think it would break my mate’s heart. If you will excuse me for a few minutes.” Riley tried to smile as she got up and went in search of her mate.
“Are you sure about Boris being involved?” Caz asked Raven.
She turned and glared at him. “I don’t know. This is why we are investigating. It’s not always black and white, Caz. Sometimes we have to dig more into the tips we receive.”
“Hey, you can stop with the wise cracks. I know how to investigate a case. Ease up, Raven. I’m not your enemy here. I’m a Death Hunter just like you. Just give me a chance. We should be working together. Not against each other.”
He could tell Raven wanted to disagree with him, but she was a Death Hunter and knew they needed to work together. Or at least, he hoped.
Raven blew out a deep breath. “Okay, but I’m used to working with people I’ve worked with a long time. People I trust with my life.”
Caz put his hand on her shoulder. “You can trust me. I swear to that. I will protect you with everything I have.”
Raven glanced at his hand on her shoulder and he removed it quickly. Baby steps, he said to himself. Baby steps.