The Enforcers: KANE (Silverlake Shifters) (Silverlake Enforcers Book 1) Read online

  “Great,” she said drily. “And here I was hoping Mr. Hot and Brooding had a crush on me.”

  “Oh, he’s definitely hot,” Manny said. “I’d do him myself if I swung that way. I didn’t say don’t do the horizontal mambo with him. Just don’t kid yourself it’s going to be hearts and flowers and Sunday dinner with Mama. And check his garage for plastic explosives.”

  Rachelle rolled her eyes. “Awesome,” she said. “I’m going home alone now, to think about this guy who probably wants to stalk me and then go postal. Thanks for that.”

  “Anytime,” Manny said. “Hope you at least get a couple of serious O’s out of him before he turns psychotic.” He waved his bar rag and went back to stacking glasses.

  Chapter 3

  Kane stood at the edge of the forest that bordered the resort grounds. He was in wolf form, surrounded by the night, the breeze ruffling his fur.

  Wolf was angry. He didn’t want to give back Kane’s human form. Kane kept his wolf locked away too much, so it was always angry. He rarely changed and ran with the rest of the pack, and when he did, half the time it ended in a fight.

  The other half of the time, he and Israel went off on their own—and either killed something, or fought each other. Either way, they usually couldn’t change back unless blood had been shed.

  It was just how things were. They both understood. They’d been through some of the same things, fought some of the same demons. And they were both still angry.

  Raven’s music made it better—and it made it worse. It cracked the walls around his heart, made him remember the good things. Made him think it might be okay to feel again.

  But the cracks also let the pain spill out. The pain pulled his wolf out of him, threatened to make him lose control.

  His childhood pack had been decimated when he was sixteen, the survivors scattered. Seven years later, the alpha’s son, Jace Monroe, had found Kane and Israel near Seattle and convinced them to join him and their two pack brothers, Rafe and Jesse, in rebuilding the pack. They’d poured their blood and sweat—literally—into earning the money to buy Silverlake Mountain and claim it permanently as their territory.

  No one in the Silverlake pack knew what Kane had done in the time they’d been scattered. They didn’t know the sick things he’d done for Selina.

  His first love. His first addiction.

  With the Silverlake pack, he’d tried to start fresh, carving out a place for himself where he would be respected, maybe even admired.

  He knew he was never going to be loved. He didn’t deserve love.

  But somehow, no matter how good an Enforcer he was, no matter how much he tried to do the right thing, the kind of respect he craved had never quite come.

  And now this singer had fallen across his path. Another Raven. A mysterious, alluring woman who sang the same song his little-girl Raven had sung so long ago. It brought it all back.

  He had to be able to control himself. If he lost that, he had nothing. And so he came back, night after night, determined to defeat Wolf and stay till the end of the show.

  Every night he lost the battle.

  And every night, Wolf wouldn’t let him leave until he’d gotten one last glimpse of her. So he haunted the edge of the forest, a giant and deadly predator, watching until Raven walked out of the resort, got in her car and drove away.

  Sometimes he thought about approaching her, walking up to her like a normal human being and striking up a conversation.

  Hello.

  How are you?

  Do you want to fuck?

  Can you make me not be the person that I am?

  Yeah. He could imagine how well that would go. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a conversation beyond pack business and security with anybody but Israel.

  As far as women, he confined himself to the occasional one-night stand that didn’t require talking. Selina had been his only relationship, and if he ever saw her again he’d rip her throat out for what she’d done to him.

  So it wasn’t exactly a good reference point for romance.

  He stood in the darkness, paws on the cold ground, and waited. Fireflies sparked in the woods, lighting it up like a fairyland. He knew, deep in his heart, that if this kept up much longer he’d follow her home.

  And he couldn’t. Because he didn’t know what he’d do after that. She spoke to something in his heart, and he had to forget his heart.

  He had to use his head. It was the only way to keep from going back to the monster he once was. That, and work. Protecting his pack. He needed the pack.

  He needed people to take care of, and he needed to know he was doing what was right for them. He just had to do it without emotion. Emotions had betrayed him, and they’d made him betray others.

  Never again.

  * * *

  Rachelle slipped out the side door of the casino, shivering a little as the cold night air hit her. The summer was coming to a close, and the nights were already getting nippy here in the Idaho mountains. She huddled into her jacket as she walked to her car.

  Behind her, she heard footsteps crunching on the gravel. Her shoulders tensed. She hadn’t noticed anyone in the parking lot when she left the building.

  A man’s voice said, “Hey, pretty songbird.”

  Rachelle froze. Had they found her already? Had she been made?

  She swung around, weight on the balls of her feet, ready to move quickly. She slid her hand slowly into her purse, wrapping her fingers around her tiny pistol.

  She faced a middle-aged man, paunchy and balding.

  “Hey,” he said again, smiling vacantly at her.

  Rachelle relaxed slightly. Probably just an annoying drunk.

  “Who are you?” she asked in a firm, steady voice. “What do you want?”

  The man stopped and blinked at her, swaying on his feet. His forehead wrinkled in a frown, as if the effort of remembering his name was too great for him.

  “Eddie,” he said finally. His face lit up. “Eddie! That’s me. I heard you sing. Wanna have a drink with me? I’ll buy.”

  Right. Because a girl on her way to her car at one a.m. was always looking to party. Still, a middle-aged out-of-shape drunk was no threat. This she could deal with.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I’m not looking for a date. But thanks anyway.”

  That wasn’t what Eddie wanted to hear. He lurched forward, his face now twisting into an ugly mask.

  “Oh, yeah?” he slurred. “Think you’re too good for me, with your shiny red dress? Holdin’ out for some guy with lotsa money and a fancy suit, I bet.”

  Rachelle stood her ground, not bothering to point out that the shiny red dress was a stage costume, and she was now wearing faded jeans that were definitely not too good for anybody.

  “Back off, Eddie,” she said. “Go call a cab, go home and sleep it off. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Eddie kept coming. Idiot.

  “Hurt me? A little thing like you?” He gave a high-pitched giggle. “That’s cute. You’re real cute, honey. We’re gonna have a good time together.”

  This time Rachelle did roll her eyes. Did any guy really think, just because they told a woman it would be fun being with a drunken asshole who didn’t care if she liked him or not, that she’d suddenly go, Oh yeah, what was I thinking, you totally make me hot now?

  Eddie reached for her, going straight for the boob grab. Rachelle grabbed his wrist and twisted her body, and in seconds Eddie was on the ground, wondering what the hell hit him.

  “Hey,” he protested. “That wasn’t nice.”

  “I’m actually not that nice,” Rachelle told him in a soft voice. She turned to get into her car.

  She didn’t expect Eddie to be one of the nasty ones. He climbed to his feet, quicker than she would have thought, and a knife blade flashed in his hand.

  Really? Rachelle thought. This was getting annoying now.

  She dodged the blade easily—Eddie might be nasty, but he was still drunk. Definit
ely not one of Selina’s crew.

  But he was pissed now, and he had a height and weight advantage. She was stronger, but she had to protect her vulnerable spots and also try not to permanently damage Eddie. Which would be harder now that he’d pissed her off.

  She was shifting her weight, looking for an opening, when a feral snarl came out of the darkness. A huge wolf sprang out of the shadows, teeth bared.

  Eddie’s eyes went wide and the blood drained from his face. The wolf landed in a crouch and growled deep in its throat, terrifying golden eyes fixed on Eddie. It paced forward, slowly, its eyes never leaving him.

  Suddenly, the wolf lunged, snapping at her attacker with his huge teeth. Eddie dropped his knife with a terrified yell and took off running. The wolf chased him at an easy lope until Eddie made it unsteadily to his car and locked himself inside. It stood for a minute, watching him peel out of the parking lot, then turned and trotted back toward Rachelle.

  Shifter, she thought immediately. The wolf was clearly just trying to scare Eddie, not attack him. No wild wolf would act like that. Not to mention how big it was—almost four feet tall at the shoulder.

  It wasn’t surprising, really. This whole place was full of shifters, and half the security team were wolves. They didn’t know that Rachelle was anything but a singer—and a human. The surprising part was that he was running around in wolf form, out here where people could see him.

  The wolf stopped about twenty feet away from her, far enough not to be threatening. Rachelle eyed him curiously.

  “Thanks,” she said. “Not that I can’t handle drunken idiots, but I appreciate the backup. You going to change back, or are you keeping your Clark Kent identity a secret?”

  The wolf just stared at her, head slightly cocked. There was something familiar about him…

  No way.

  She’d only ever known one wolf shifter well enough to be allowed to see him shift to animal form. And this one…same markings. Same white ruff at the base of his neck. One slightly bent ear that had been damaged in a fight.

  It couldn’t be.

  “Hunter?” she whispered.

  The wolf froze, its golden eyes going wider in shock. For a moment they stood on the gravel, staring at each other, and then it turned and vanished back into the night.

  Chapter 4

  Back in the woods, Kane shifted back into human form and crouched under the tree where he’d left his clothes.

  No, no no no. He put his hands on the sides of his face and squeezed, trying to keep his head from exploding.

  It couldn’t be her.

  Raven had been Rachelle’s street name, just like his had been Hunter. But plenty of women were called Raven. All these years later, so far from Seattle…he’d never for a second thought that this Raven could be his Raven—the little orphaned girl he’d protected and then abandoned.

  But aside from Selina, there was only one person from that time who’d seen his wolf form enough times to recognize it.

  It had to be her. But what the hell was she doing here?

  When Kane hooked up with Selina and joined her crew, Rachelle had disappeared into the dark underbelly of Seattle. After he’d broken away from Selina, he’d looked for her. When he didn’t find her, he figured she’d been swallowed up by the streets, the way they always swallowed up the small, the fragile, the defenseless.

  And now here she was, alive and thriving. Definitely not fragile and defenseless, if the way she’d taken down that drunk was any indication.

  Kane scrambled into his clothes, pulling on his boots without bothering with socks, and shoving his shirt haphazardly into his jeans.

  He had to talk to her. He should have stayed—no, that was stupid. He couldn’t have this conversation standing naked in the middle of a public parking lot.

  He jogged back to where he’d left her, but her car was gone.

  Kane strode back into the lounge. There were still a few people at the bar, but he shouldered his way past them and grabbed the bartender’s wrist as he gathered empty glasses.

  He should know the guy’s name—he’d studied the files on all the casino staff. Danny? Manny? Ah, who cared?

  “You,” he said. “I need to contact Raven. Can you tell me how to get ahold of her?”

  Manny’s eyes flashed green. He was a cougar shifter, and obviously not intimidated by Kane. He dropped his eyes to Kane’s hand on his wrist, and raised his eyebrows.

  “No problem,” Manny said, in an extremely unhelpful tone. “Come back tomorrow night and wait after her set. Tip the bartender big—that would be me. Then ask me very nicely to ask her very nicely if she wants to talk to you. And if she says no, fuck off.”

  He paused. “Or you could just go ahead and fuck off.”

  Kane fought the urge to flatten the guy’s nose against his skull. “I’m not hitting on her,” he said through clenched teeth. “I work for the casino. Security.” He flipped open his wallet and flashed his temporary ID at Manny.

  “Yeah?” Manny asked, unimpressed. “They pay you to sit in here every night and drink whiskey, and stare at a woman whose name you don’t even know?”

  “It’s Rachelle,” Kane said, hoping she was still going by that. “And what they pay me for is none of your damn business unless I say it is. This isn’t a personal request.” Like hell it wasn’t, but this guy didn’t have to know that. “I’m off shift, but when I was leaving, a drunk in the parking lot tried to assault Rachelle. I chased him, but he got away. When I got back to where she was parked, she was gone. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

  Manny eyed him speculatively for a minute, then he sighed and rolled his eyes. He pulled his hand sharply out of Kane’s grip, reached under the bar and pulled out a tattered notebook. He flipped a couple of pages, running his fingers down the lines, then pulled out his cell, tapped in a number and waited.

  Kane heard it go to voicemail. “She’s not picking up,” Manny said.

  No shit. Kane folded his arms and stared at him, immovable.

  Manny heaved a deep sigh and shoved the notebook across the bar. “You better not be a psycho stalker,” he said.

  Kane copied Rachelle’s address and phone number onto a cocktail napkin and pushed the notebook back. As he turned to leave, Manny called, “You’re welcome.” In an undertone, he added, “Multiple O’s. Or this guy sure as hell will not be fucking worth it.”

  Only the fact that he was claiming to be a professional kept Kane from giving him the finger as he walked out the door.

  Kane found Rachelle’s place without any trouble. It was a rundown bungalow on a rundown street—most likely a cheap rental. Typical for a casino entertainer. Only headliners in major cities like Vegas made real money. Most of the singers and dancers at the Silver Cloud were barely scraping by.

  What was she doing here in Idaho? It was too much of a coincidence that they both just happened to start working at the casino at the same time. But what other explanation was there? It wasn’t like she would have been looking for him.

  He drove by her house, slowing down to get a good look at the place. Her car was in the driveway, and the lights were on behind closed curtains. As he watched, he saw a shadowy figure walk past one of the windows.

  She was home. She was probably fine.

  Hell, he knew she was fine. He would have smelled any blood on her, there in the parking lot, and she’d taken that old drunk down without any trouble.

  Despite what he’d told Manny, this was totally personal.

  He parked down the street and walked back, standing in the shadows of the trees bordering her yard. The shade was up on the kitchen window, and he could see her leaning against the counter, eating ice cream out of the container.

  If Kane ever smiled anymore, he would have smiled at that. Rachelle had always loved Ice cream. They hardly ever got it, on the street—they usually didn’t have enough money for food, let alone treats. But whenever they’d had a little money and an excuse to celebrate, Kane had bought he
r some. He’d loved watching her eat it. Every bite made her face light up.

  But she didn’t look happy now. She ate each bite slowly, frowning. Was she thinking of him? Or the guy in the parking lot?

  He could just walk up and knock on her door, Kane thought. It was what any sane, civilized person would do. Any old friend.

  Well, maybe not at two o’clock in the morning. He wasn’t big on social norms, but he did know this wasn’t exactly the time for a social call. Even if it was obvious she was still up.

  But that was just an excuse. Truth was, he didn’t know what the hell to say to her.

  I’m sorry I was a total prick and left you on the streets unprotected?

  Congratulations on not being dead in an alley ten years ago?

  He sucked at this. Hell, he sucked at being human. Sometimes he thought he should just stop fighting Wolf and let him take over for good. Get lost in the forest and never come back.

  Except if no one needed him, he’d die. What would there be to live for?

  Maybe he’d just make sure she was really okay—that the asshole drunk hadn’t followed her home. He stole out of the shadows and circled the house, sniffing the air to make sure there was no one around who shouldn’t be.

  It wasn’t until Rachelle came to the window and peered out that he realized he was the one that wasn’t supposed to be here. Which pretty much made him the psycho stalker.

  He was never going to get the hang of this people stuff.

  Kane melted back into the shadows and made his way back to his truck.

  Maybe he should just do like Manny suggested, and go talk to her after the show like a normal person.

  Wolf should be able to survive that song, now that they knew Rachelle was alive, and their betrayal hadn’t destroyed her.

  Had she realized it was him in the lounge? His wolf looked more or less the same, but he didn’t. He’d been big for a teenager, but nothing like the size he was now. She’d be more likely to recognize the wolf than the man.

  He’d go back tomorrow night. Hear her sing again. Listen to the whole song without losing it. And then he’d talk to her. Like a normal person.