Leopard's Prey (Leopard People 5)

notes so clean and pure, yet blending one into the other until she took them all on a journey with her of heartache and need.

He was a man who was extremely cynical. Even more than that, he didn't trust anyone, not with his job, yet when he looked at her, his heart pounded, his mouth went dry and his body went as hard as a rock. He was a man always in control, and yet with Bijou, he was on the edge, or lost it completely. His mind was always logical, everything in his world had to make sense, because the killing never did. It wasn't logical to fall for Bijou Breaux.

She had too many interested men gawking at her. He was the jealous type--well--not him--his leopard. She had too much money. He couldn't even conceive of the kind of money she had. She was in need of rescuing and refused to even consider that possibility. Worse, she stood up to him, which was exactly what he wanted and needed in a woman, but not when it didn't suit him.

He swore under his breath for about the tenth time. And that was another thing wrong with her--she made him swear and he wasn't the swearing kind.

Gage nudged him. "You're doin' it again, bro. You're actin' like a fish out of water gaspin' for breath." He grinned at Remy's dark scowl. "I've never seen anyone have it so bad. Not even Drake, and he was just a fool for our sister. You can't stop starin' at her, and you're lookin' at her like any moment you're going to be carryin' her off to a cave somewhere."

"It's not a bad idea," Remy snapped, unrepentant. "The cavemen had something going for them after all. She doesn't have to do that thing with her hips when she's walkin' through the crowd. What's up with that?"

"You're supposed to be lookin' out for her, not gettin' all hot and bothered," Gage pointed out. "You're losin' your edge, Remy."

"That's a little difficult," Remy admitted, and forced himself to look around the room. Ryan Cooper, Brent Underwood and Tom Berlander were at a table close to the front with Robert Lanoux and two men who looked vaguely familiar. All of them were drinking heavily, even Robert, and shifters just didn't do that to their leopards. Remy didn't like the way any of them was looking at Bijou. Every now and then the two men he should have been able to identify, but couldn't, leaned close to whisper something to Ryan and Ryan would scowl up at Bijou and mutter something.

Remy nudged Gage. "Those two men with Ryan Cooper, do you know them?"

"Jean and Juste Rousseau, a couple of punks who always seem just on the outside of the play, but I've suspected for a very long time they're the ringleaders. I see them around some of the criminal elements, but they're always quiet and we've never caught them at anything."

"I recognize the names, now that you say them. Their names came up in the investigation of the bone harvester four years ago. They were friends with one of the victims and I remember bringin' them in and askin' questions . . . but they don' look the same."

Gage nodded. "Yeah, they changed their hair color from dark to that sandy blond. I think they're tryin' to be surfers. They went out to California for a while to visit their mama and I guess the idea of bein' surfin' bums was too much to pass up." He snickered. "They've been gone a few years. Maybe their mama got tired of supportin' their lifestyle and sent them back to their daddy."

"How do you know so much about them?" Remy asked. "I only interviewed them once, they didn't seem a good fit, and had nothin' to add to the investigation, so I put them out of my mind."

"You haven't driven the streets like I've been doin'. A few years ago, around the time of the killin's, there was petty vandalism goin' on, mostly homes of the elderly and the poor, but someone was beatin' the hell out of the occupants. None of the incidents occurred in New Orleans, but more in the outlying parish. No one died, but it was pretty ugly."

"And they were suspects?" Remy's gaze flickered once more to the table where Cooper and his friends were getting louder.

He'd always wondered at the possibility of two men committing the murders. The murders were messy and all over the place, yet the altar was exact, meticulous even. He could never find evidence of two killers, but the bone harvester could easily be a team.

"I had a hunch, but there was never any hard evidence at any of the break-ins." Gage shrugged. "Now that they're back, the break-ins have started again."

Remy observed the two men for a few minutes. "They whisper to Ryan, and they're the ones buying the drinks. I think they're eggin' him on."

"I noticed that as well," Gage said.

Remy had always respected Gage. He held all of his brothers in high esteem, but since Gage had become the sheriff, he'd grown very serious about his work and he was damn good at it. "Is it possible they're a killin' team?"

Gage frowned, studying the two men. "Are they capable of it? I would say yes. I think sooner or later they will kill someone. These break-ins are definitely not about the money. Whoever is beatin' the elderly is doin' it for fun."

"You don' get a scent?"

Remy's pulse jumped. There was never a scent left behind at the bone harvester's kills. Not one that Remy could catch, and his leopard was always close to the surface. The victim was always so fearful, sweat pouring off of them, the blood and intestines and bowels obliterating any scent the leopard might pick up, which was highly unusual. Leopards had a tremendous sense of smell, and Remy's had always been a huge asset to his career, yet his cat had never been able to pick up the scent of the bone harvester. How could Gage's leopard not pick up the scent of the violent home invaders?

"I definitely have caught their scents at the homes, but the problem is, they work odd jobs and they've done work at all the homes. They aren't the only ones either. It's a perfect way to get an in with those livin' in the houses, and every single one of the victims describes the masked intruders differently."

"I don' like that Robert is runnin' with them," Remy commented, frowning.

"Yeah, I've been particularly worried about the relationship for some time, and I know his brother Dion has tried to get him away from them," Gage responded.

"Could the Rousseau brothers be runnin' a crew to do the break-ins?"

Gage shrugged. "I'd believe anything is possible at this point. But they'd have to be very smart to pull it off and never get caught. Why would they think if their crew got popped, they wouldn't be named?"

"Because they are smart. Maybe they're certain nothin' can be traced back to them."

"Still," Gage said, "it's possible you might want to look a little closer at them for the bone harvester's murders. They left around the time the murders stopped and they've been back long enough to establish themselves and begin again."

"You should have told me about them," Remy pointed out. His leopard was snarling and raking at him, wanting freedom with the two brothers in such close proximity to Bijou.

Gage shrugged. "I had no idea you were considerin' them for the murders."

Remy had to be fair, although he didn't feel fair; he felt like raging and raking his claws up and down the walls to claim his territory and warn all others away. He'd spotted several leopard males in the room, all with their attention focused, even fixated on Bijou as she performed. She looked alluring, sexy, her body moving subtly beneath that figure-hugging gown. She'd caught his attention again and he couldn't pull his gaze away from her.

"That's true," he murmured.

There she went again, moving through the crowd instead of staying on the small stage close to the band where her bodyguards could stop any trouble before it started. He winced visibly when she stepped backward so gracefully, her hips swaying as she poured herself into her music. That small step took her a little too close to Arnaud, and his leopard pushed close to the surface, causing a wave of itching as fur threatened to burst through his skin. His joints hurt. His jaw ached.

Remy breathed deep and called on years of discipline to subdue his leopard. He breathed away the pain and worked his jaw to keep teeth from bursting through.

Gage nudged him, clearly attempting to distract him. Both knew just how dangerous a male leopard could be with his mate emerging for the fi

rst time. "See that man, third table to the right, fourth row. He was the one starin' through the window of the cafe when Bijou was there. You asked everyone to keep their eyes out for him. His name is Jason Durang and he works for Bijou's manager. Rob Butterfield, her manager, has been in town awhile now. They both arrived within a few days of Bijou. Durang has been doggin' her, followin' her everywhere and reportin' back to her manager."

Remy frowned. "He's not her stalker. Bob Carson is definitely the man stalking her. I smelled his scent all over her car and even on the ropes he cut. He makes more sense. He has to blame her for his life. I called Angelina at the office and asked her to look up Carson and what happened to him during the years with his mother after they left Bodrie's mansion. She was a major drug user and became a prostitute to feed her habit. Her son was dragged around from city to city, following Bodrie wherever he was, but they weren't allowed to live in the mansion until after Bijou's mother died."

"How did Bijou's mother die?" Gage asked.

"She died under suspicious circumstances, which only gained Bodrie more sympathy. She'd just had Bijou, and Bodrie went on a tour. Bijou's mother left the baby at the mansion and supposedly went for a drive. Her car and body were found over in the next parish, the car wrapped around a tree. It didn't make sense for her to leave the baby behind. And some of the officers put in their reports that they didn't believe she was the driver."

"You don' believe it now, either, do you?"

"If Carson's mother decided to kill Bodrie's wife, and she had her son help her at such an impressionable age, he would be one mixed-up kid," Remy said.

"But if she was leopard . . ." Gage protested.

"She had head injuries and the medical examiner couldn't tell if she had some prior to the accident. The case remained open because he wouldn't rule either way."

"Damn it, Remy, Bijou is in real trouble, isn't she?"

Remy nodded slowly. "I don' believe her manager has her best interests at heart either. I don' know what he has in mind, but clearly he's here for a reason and it can't be good. They're comin' at her from every direction."