Broods Of Fenrir - By Coral Moore Page 0,34
kiss only long enough to leave him wanting more. He let her go, still reluctant to bring them with him, but without another viable choice. “You"ll follow me in the car, but don"t even think about getting out.”
* * *
The ride to Kick was silent. Brand had chosen his work vehicle because the huge Escalade with the words „Sword Security" emblazoned on the side would keep people from asking questions. When he pulled up to the curb, the kids smoking in front of the club scrambled away in a riot of multicolored hair and black leather.
He jumped out of the SUV and pulled in a lungful of the cold night air. Dagny was all he could smell. His infatuation with her was going to make things difficult. He had no interest in tracking someone else when he only wanted to bury his nose in her.
With a last stern look at the trio of females he hoped 94
would keep them inside the vehicle, he closed the door.
Walking a few steps away, he tried to relax himself by stretching the muscles of his back. He craned his head back to look up at the moon. Five hours left. The pull was strong, the urge to transform and run free like an itch on the inside of his skin. Waiting longer wasn"t going to make his task any easier.
The cold air tickled his nose as he inhaled again. So many powerful smells flooded into him that for a moment he was dizzy. The swirling scents of people living so close to one another assaulted him—exhaust, garbage, sewage, concrete, plastic, metal. He filtered them without conscious thought.
When he was done, a handful of brood scents remained. He caught Sigga"s scent—a sunlit prairie in the fall. He opened his mouth and dragged in more air.
Following Sigga"s scent, he started down Mississippi Avenue at a quick walk. He tried to figure how much time had passed and how far they could have gotten in that time, but he was too distracted to think it through all the way.
He turned left when her scent veered and glanced over his shoulder to watch the Escalade turn the corner behind him before he picked up his pace. He scented a few times, trying to estimate how many men he was tracking. Four distinct human scents came from the group ahead. One of them seemed familiar. Scattered as he was, he couldn"t figure out where he"d smelled the man before.
He continued, turning twice more, onto increasingly more desolate streets whenever her scent changed direction.
When the smell of Sigga"s blood hit him like a slap to the face, he came to an abrupt halt. After examining the area around him, he saw a dark spot on the sidewalk a few feet ahead, a splotch smaller than his palm.
Searching for more indications of violence, he tried to control his temper. The anger climbed his chest until he panted with the effort of containing it. Someone had stepped in the blood, splattering the dark stain around the print of a smooth-soled shoe.
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He lurched forward and then inhaled, straining to catch her scent. They"d picked her up in a vehicle. Unlike the odors of living beings, which were unique, something mass-produced like a car was difficult to track. He might be able to follow it a short way, but not far.
After running several more paces, the scent overlapped with so many other similar-smelling vehicles that he couldn"t distinguish one from another. He grumbled and looked around, studying the dilapidated buildings and empty lots. They could have gone only a limited number of directions from there. He kept moving forward until he hit the next intersection.
He looked both ways down the street that crossed in front of him and realized he knew the place. On impulse, he turned right, toward a rundown industrial complex. Between the moon and his anger he couldn"t concentrate enough to isolate where he was. He waved the Escalade forward. When it stopped in front of him, the passenger window slid down.
“Why do I know this place?” Brand asked Bera.
She looked at the road ahead, a frown twisting her tense lips. “Erik"s new construction project is in there.” The scent memory of the familiar man snapped into place—Harris"s colleague from the meeting with Erik. “That"s the site he"s having problems with because of the medical research company.”
Bera looked confused by the statement.
Alice spoke up from behind her, “Bioden.” Her voice was soft.
Brand nodded. “Yeah, right. They finally agreed to let him