Emerald Eyes Read online

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

  Torquere Press Publishers

  P.O. Box 37, Waldo, AR 71770.

  Emerald Eyes by Julia Talbot Copyright 2015

  Cover illustration by Kris Norris

  Published with permission

  www.torquerepress.com

  ISBN: 978-1-61040-975-9

  All rights reserved, which includes the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever except as provided by the U.S. Copyright Law. For information address Torquere Press. LLC, P.O. Box 37, Waldo, AR 71770

  First Torquere Press Printing: September 2015

  Printed in the USA

  Emerald Eyes

  by Julia Talbot

  To all of the readers who asked for me to finish this arc, and who waited patiently, I love you all. And, as always, to my wife.

  Chapter One

  “Boss, we need to talk.”

  Jonny glanced up from his stack of surveys and geological reports, frowning. Kasey rarely sounded so serious these days, which for a broody older vampire was quite a feat. Hooking up with a werewolf had been the best thing for the fellow, really.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Kasey’s black brows drew together in what looked to be a puzzled scowl. “We have a situation.”

  He barely held back his eye roll. “Goody.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Deke got these today. Came in from our monitoring entry into the country.” Kasey handed him a stack of printed photos. Of what looked like his lover, Luc. No, not just looked like. This was Luc, except that his slinky werekitty was asleep in cat form four feet above him on the top of his armoire.

  He let one eyebrow raise and pinned Kasey with a look. “Explain.”

  “Yeah, somehow I think we might have to ask Luc to do that.” Kasey walked over and pulled that fuzzy black tail hanging down like a lamp chain.

  He did enjoy his lover’s speed, the wild yowl, the flash of claws. Good thing Kasey had a vamp’s reflexes.

  “Hey, furball. I need you to be human for a minute,” Kasey said.

  Luc muttered, calling Kasey a wild assortment of things, including a few insults about Kasey’s mother, as he crawled down the armoire.

  “It’s not as if he can see the photo, Kasey,” Jonny reminded gently. “He’s blind.”

  “Oh. Right.” Kasey grinned over at him. “He’s so good at everything, I forgot.”

  Jonny did glare at his mate, however. “Tell me, sweet, do you have family I don’t know about?”

  Luc stretched, totally unconcerned with hurrying to console him in the least. Possibly. Which one in particular?

  “One who looks just like you?” It was uncanny, really.

  Ah. My twin. Yves. So casual. Ah yes, my twin -- as if it were nothing.

  Jonny glared, knowing Luc would feel his disapproval. “This didn’t seem important?”

  “Children, we need to share the information with the investigator,” Kasey reminded them.

  “He has a twin, apparently.” Jonny nudged Luc with the toe of this shoe. “Come speak to Kasey.”

  Luc sighed, a sound that came out as a cough for a kitty, before shifting to his human form, which always made Jonny’s ears pop.

  “I thought you knew,” Luc murmured.

  “How could we know?”

  Luc shrugged. “He’s never in the States. He’s always in South America bonding with the natives and hunting precious gemstones. He’s an addict. Has to hunt. I haven’t talked to him in...”

  Luc stopped and frowned, and Jonny didn’t like this. Not at all.

  “...in a bit.”

  “How long?” Kasey asked, tone sharp. Someone else felt the weird vibes, too.

  “Right before I met my mate, I think. I spoke to him then.”

  Jonny exchanged a glance with Kasey, who scowled. “What did you talk about?”

  “Emeralds. He had asked me to acquire a certain pair, I did the job, put them in a safety deposit box, and let him know.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Who else knew about these emeralds?” Now Kasey was growling as though he was the werewolf instead of his lover, Deke.

  “I have no idea. I had an address, a window. That was it.”

  Jonny nodded slowly. “Okay. Kasey, you and Deke find out who else had an interest and if Silvia has anything to do with this. Luc, you need to get ahold of your brother. I want a detail on him.”

  “What does that mean?” Luc scribbled down an address, a safety deposit box number. “He’ll go here. I mean, I’ll put an ad in the paper, see if he hollers. He’s... slippery.”

  “That means if we thought he looked like you, someone else might think he’s you,” Kasey said. “I’m on it, Boss.”

  Jonny sat back with a sigh, drew his mate into his lap. “You are a very great deal of trouble, sweet.”

  “I’m worth it.” Luc kissed him. “Yves is... not like me.”

  “Tell me about him?” Jonny stroked Luc’s hair, curious as hell.

  “He’s addicted to gemstones, to the stories behind them. It’s like a sickness, worse than the jobs I used to work, I think, because I was at least collecting funds for it.” Luc leaned in, snuggling close. “There was another of us. He died fighting insurgents in the desert, long before there were troops on the ground. Yves went a little crazy when we lost Girard.”

  “I’m sorry, sweet.” His family had been gone so long that he barely remembered them fondly.

  “It was a long time ago; he’ll get over it.”

  The sudden stiffness in Luc’s body said perhaps that was a bit of a fib. Jonny didn’t remark upon it; he simply touched and kissed until Luc relaxed.

  “Love you, Mate.” And that was that, yes? What they had together, it was love.

  “And I you, Luc.” He kissed Luc’s jaw. In fact, he loved his kit enough to want to finish off whoever had hurt him and to protect this unknown brother Yves.

  Good thing Kasey and Deke knew what to do from here.

  Someone needed to have a clear head in all this. He hoped his friends could do that for him.

  ***

  Someone was following him.

  Yves wrinkled his nose and headed into a tavern, sliding through the crowd and out the back, into a wee coffee shop where he could get a view and a corner table where he could hide.

  Very odd.

  He hadn’t done anything worthy of being hunted, at least not as far as he knew. His brother may well have, but Yves couldn’t find Luc. Not so much as a whisper of the man.

  Again, very odd.

  Luc was usually easy for him to track down. There was always an ad somewhere, whether in the London Times or the New York Craigslist personals. Some way for them to touch base.

  He had his laptop and slipped it out of its sleeve, opening up before searching for any ad with the keywords Yew Bow.

  There. Rare yew bow for sale or trade. Prefer gemstones. Email mailbox 4998. That was it. God, it had been a long time coming this time.

  He immediately emailed with his phone number listed backward with a single number added to each digit.

  Luc would know how to call.

  In fact, his little international cell rang a few minutes later. Gratifying speed.

  “’lo?” He stayed noncommittal, just in case.

  “Bonjour, Yves.”

  Relief made him dizzy a moment. Luc. His own brother.

  “Frère. Missed you. You’re well?”

  “I am.” Luc chuckled. “Mostly. Are you safe?”
r />   “As far as I know. I’m in the city.” Are you? Are you close and safe?

  “Good. I have a favor to ask.” Luc never asked for anything. Never. Yves was always the supplicant.

  “Anything.” If possible.

  “I sent someone. I imagine he’s following you. He’s there to protect you. Let him.”

  “What? Why?” No. No way. He could take care of himself.

  “This is serious, Yves. You haven’t surfaced in over a year.”

  “I’ve been in Colombia.”

  “So, you found them.”

  He didn’t have to ask what Luc meant.

  “I did.” Now all he needed was the catalyst.

  “Frère ...”

  “Don’t, Luc.” He couldn’t bear criticism, not when he was so very close.

  “I need you to be careful.” Luc paused, the seconds ticking away. “They came after me.”

  “Oh.” He closed his eyes, the thought of losing yet another brother too much to bear.

  “I’m in the safest place you can imagine. Put the stones away and come join me.” Luc sounded wistful more than hopeful. His brother knew him well.

  “I have to try, Luc. I have to.” He was certain this would work. No one had ever assembled all of the cat’s eyes stones, not since they were sent to opposite ends of the earth.

  “It will kill you.”

  Yves heard someone speaking, talking to Luc, the sound deep, smooth. Vaguely Continental.

  “I’m sorry, Luc. I have to try.” He sighed softly. “Take care of yourself. I miss you.”

  He hung up the phone without waiting for an answer, then ordered himself another latte. Luc had sent someone. What? A bodyguard? A kidnapper? They had a bargain; they were never in the same place at the same time. He didn’t need Luc’s help.

  He checked the window again, but he couldn’t see anything that twigged his sixth sense. Yves chuckled. Spider kitty sense.

  He set to work, tapping on his laptop, searching for clues, for a hint of how to turn back time. He had to for Girard.

  He had to make this work for all of them.

  ***

  This guy was slippery.

  Reuben didn’t know why that should surprise him. Luc was a slinky kitty and this was his brother, right? The coffee shop was tucked away where he almost missed it, but he finally realized that was where Yves had to be, and he backtracked.

  Hopefully, the place had pastries.

  He was fucking starving. His belly was going to eat itself.

  He checked his danger areas. Just Yves. So he went to the counter to order.

  His primary looked fucking exhausted, hair limp and eyes with two-week bags. The guy needed a sandwich and a nap.

  Maybe two of both.

  Reuben grinned. Okay, time to approach. “Can I get three of those ciabatta sandwiches and two lemon pound cakes with my mocha?”

  “Absolutely. Turkey or ham?”

  “Turkey.” He chose the protein over the fat, even if his primary could pack in both.

  “You got it.”

  Said primary was deep in his computer, so Reuben guessed he was sending out “take it easy” vibes. Go him.

  He hummed, grabbing his order and heading to his target’s table. Time to just brazen it out. “Hey, can I sit with you?”

  Yves Felis blinked up, fastening amazing emerald eyes on him. God, they were deadly up close and personal. So bright, like the emeralds the guy supposedly collected.

  “Sure. Have a seat. I’m about to leave. Just stealing bandwidth for a few minutes.”

  “No, honey. I want to sit with you.” Reuben laid on the Southern, which no one expected when they looked at him.

  Yves blinked, stared at him. “Do I know you?”

  Reuben sat and man, it was obvious, when Yves realized he was effectively trapped in the corner. That nose started twitching and Reuben swore he could see the tail lashing.

  Such a kitty.

  “Nope. I bet you know who sent me, though.”

  “Tell him I said no to you, too.” The laptop closed with a snap, and then there was a flurry of activity as the little bag was somehow filled with all the electronics.

  “Hey.” He put a hand over Yves’, which stopped every motion dead. “Just sit with me a minute and have a sandwich.”

  “A sandwich?” Pure black eyebrows lowered, the expression deliciously confused.

  “Mmm. Turkey on ciabatta with cranberry mustard. I got a pastry, too. Lemon pound cake.”

  “What for?”

  “Lunch.”

  “Oh.”

  He pulled over the tray with the food. “Turkey and bacon. Yum.”

  “I... I’m...”

  “What? Not hungry? I can smell you.”

  Oh ho! Look at those eyes flash. Green lightning, enough to sear him a little.

  “I’m fine.” That nose quivered when Reuben opened the container.

  “Uh-huh. Smell you.”

  “I bathe.” Oh, so cute, pretending to be something mundane.

  “Mmm. I know, but then you get your kitty on. It’s surprisingly sexy.” Reuben nibbled a bite of sandwich.

  “What do you want?” Those eyes never left the sandwich.

  “I want you to eat,” he said, sliding over one of the packages.

  “That’s it? I watched you get it. You didn’t drug it.”

  “That’s it. Why would I drug you? I’m just here to tag along. Make sure you stay alive.”

  “Of course I’m alive. Luc is a worrywart; he always has been.”

  “Yes, well, someone tried to blow him up.”

  “That’s a shame.” Mr. Kitty frowned, the expression distant, grumpy. “I should go.”

  “Dude, I bought you cake.” What an odd reaction.

  “Cake?” One hand crept toward the sandwich. “You’re really supposed to be following me?”

  “I am.” He munched some more, his appetite revived by the food.

  “Tell them I slipped you a mickey. I’m not interested in being followed.”

  “Honey, I’m not here to stop you doing anything. I’m just protection.” From himself as well as outsiders. Jonny said this one had impulse control issues.

  “That’s sweet. Weird, but sweet.” The sandwich was taken, devoured in a flash, the man’s eyes so fucking green they hurt.

  Reuben handed over half the other sandwich before inhaling the side he’d kept. “Weird for your twin to worry?”

  “Yes. He has his own life.”

  Cats were so... odd. Wolves, they understood family. Pack. And vamps, well, they just wanted to own everything. He grinned, thinking how imperious his boss could be. “Go and find him and keep his ass alive,” Jonny had said.

  Luc had simply sat and stared and cleaned his claws. The message had been clear.

  Do your job.

  So, here he was. Doing away.

  He finished up his sandwich, then eyed the pastry.

  “Go for it. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

  “I got us each one.” He would eat his now, though, even if Yves saved one. Yum.

  Apples were his favorite.

  Yves blinked at him, then pushed the other over. “You have it. It’s worth it to watch you eat.”

  “Huh?” He glanced down to see that he’d devoured his whole sweet. “It’s damned amazing.”

  “I can tell.” The wink he got was... playful, surprisingly charming, and youthful. Practically flirtatious.

  His cheeks actually heated, which hadn’t happened in a long time. “Yeah. Uh, eat yours, huh? I can go buy a couple more. No running off.”

  “Shh. I swear I won’t pounce your tail, puppy.” Yves patted his hand gently. “You’re safe with me.”

  “I don’t do safe.” He winked, turning his hand to catch Yves’, stroking it with his fingers for a moment.

  The shot of pure electricity shocked them both, Yves pulling back even as a sharp bark escaped Reuben.

  He stared into those green eyes, lost for
a long moment. Then Reuben shook it off. “Apples.”

  “Apples?” Yves looked confused for a second, and it was adorable, but then the kitty got it.

  He cleared his throat. “Be right back.”

  Yves nodded, smiled for him, the look more than a little curious.

  Curious was something he could use. Seriously, he needed Yves to let him tag along. He wasn’t out to stop the man from doing his thing. Reuben just needed to keep him in one piece.

  He had zero intention of landing on the pointy end of Jonny’s fangs. Reuben liked his job too much. He got to use all his wolfy skills and get paid for it. How cool was that?

  Reuben kept one eye on Yves, making sure the kitty understood he was watching, paying attention. “Two more apple turnovers, please.”

  “You liked them! Fucking A. You good on your coffees?”

  “We are, thanks.” Reuben was incredibly grateful for his wolf metabolism.

  Kitties were even less omnivorous than his kind. Less fond of sweets, too, apparently. Thankfully, Yves sat right where Reuben left him, watching him carefully. “So, what exactly have they paid you to do?”

  “Keep you alive.” He sat with his new prizes. “In one piece, too. Keep someone named Mic Silvia away from you.”

  “I don’t know a Silvia.” Yves began to type on his phone, finger flying. Yves was way less of a cat than his twin, that was for sure. More modern. More in touch with the world.

  “He’s the one who tried to blow up your brother.”

  “Then he should be frightened of me, not hunting me.” The sudden hint of pure, icy steel surprised him, and the hint of danger aroused the fuck out of him.

  Reuben sucked his breath in, his apple turnover halfway to his mouth when he paused to stare.

  No wonder they sent him to protect this one. Yves was the type to dare the flames to burn him.

  Pretty damned hot.

  “Well, I’m hoping he does tip his hand, truth be told,” Reuben said. “Eliminate the threat to you and to Jonny and Luc.”

  “I haven’t noticed anyone, but then I wasn’t looking for him. I assume he uses others to do his dirty work.”

  “He does.” The Silvia guy was a mystery. Good thing Reuben liked to solve those.

  “Shame. That leads to collateral damage.” Yves didn’t seem terribly worried.

  He had to shake his head and laugh. This primary was turning out to be completely different than he’d expected. Maybe he should pay Yves to guard him.