Chapter One
The Diner had Seen Better Days.
The smells encompassed Sesshomaru Tashio as he walked in: fresh coffee, and the lingering aroma of Bacon, Burgers, and Fries served twenty-four hours a day. At this hour of the night, fluorescent lighting glared off the red vinyl of the empty booths, emphasizing without pity, every rip and patch. A Formica counter stretched the length of the far wall, and a waitress nursed both a steaming cup, and a magazine, near the coffee machine at the end. She looked up at the sound of his booted feet on the worn tile, her heavy mascara failing to disguise the fatigue in her eyes.
"Getcha something?"
"Sit Anywhere?" was his Reply
"Sure." She waved a hand in the direction of the empty dining room, then dropped her eyes back to her magazine. "Menu's on the table. Let me know when you're ready."
"Thanks." He slid into the booth facing the restrooms, on the side where the door would swing toward him. He took a menu from the holder and opened it to block his face. And to give his damn hands something to do so they wouldn't shake like some rookie's.
He had to do this. He was the only one who could.
His gut clenched. He kept thinking about the job, tied himself in knots over it. He gritted his teeth, his fingers tightening on the menu before he blew out a deep, slow breath, and forced himself to relax. If he weren't the one to do this, it would be someone else. He had to look Kagura Taishi in the eye to find out the truth.
Literally.
Seeing the truth was just the smallest part of what he could do, along with the way he sometimes knew things, like nuggets of information dropped into his mind by the universe. And he could focus on a person and immediately see that person'' location. If the image was in color, the person was alive. Black and white, dead. All gifts, the family stories said, from some ancient ancestor in Atlantis. He could find anyone, anywhere.
He was a Hunter.
He'd used his power earlier to hunt Kagura. The vision he'd gotten had exploded with color and put his quarry right here in this run-down diner near the Nevada-Arizona border. When Kagura came our of the lady's room, she would fine Sesshomaru waiting.
And Sesshomaru would know for certain if Kagura really was dirty.
When Sesshomaru had first come to Vegas a few years ago, he'd had big dreams about using his truth-seeing gift to play professional poker. But nowadays the players usually wore sunglasses to hide their eyes, and the mojo wouldn't work if he couldn't see the eyes. So he went to plan B and became a bounty hunter. After a couple of years as a PI, he'd aced the training, got his license, and jumped right in. That's how he'd met Kagura.
His friend. His Mentor. Now, his Prey.
None of these fellas would have any trouble with me if they hadn't broken the law. They made the choice. Kagura's voice, about mellow as a rusty hinge, echoed in Sesshomaru's memories even now. How many times had he echoed Kagura's motto? Considered it gospel? Sesshomaru shook his head. He should have known better than to get caught up in the whole team thing. He was better off alone.
"You made the choice this time, Kagura." He murmured, his throat tight. "You broke the Law"
The restroom door swung open with a creak, momentarily blocking Sesshomaru from Kagura's view. He had five, maybe ten seconds, before Kagura's training would have her looking this way.
The door started to swing closed, and Sesshomaru used the resulting squeak to cover his movements as he slid from the booth. He rose to his feet just as Kagura turned her head. Their eyes met.
Sesshomaru gave her a short nod. "Kagura"
"Damn, Kid." The older woman swept a quick assessing gaze over him, her dark eyes sharp. A half smile quirked her mouth. "Long time, no see."
Yeah, Sesshomaru hadn't seen Kagura in a while and was shocked by the tiny differences in her appearance. Deeper lines around her mouth and eyes in a face tanned by Nevada Sun. More gray in her black hair than there used to be. A leaner, hungrier look that made her wiry body appear even thinner and, for some reason, made her look older than her fifty-nine years.
"So, did you do it?"
Kagura jerked her gaze up, challenged him with her rigid posture. "Hell no"
Lie
Disappointment unraveled through him, merging with his churning misgivings and promising misery later. "you've been taking bribes to let skips go. Willie the Fish. John Allen. Martino Sanchez. And now you blew off your court date to make a run for Mexico."
Surprise flickered through Kagura's face for just a second, before she squared her jaw and narrowed her eyes. "Where do get your info, kid? I haven't even left the state, much less thought about Mexico. And I thought the court date was tomorrow."
Truth, lie, and lie.
Sesshomaru wouldn't allow himself to be fooled by the cajoling tone. His powers had never failed him, and he could see the cunning, the calculation, lurking in Kagura's eyes. He'd never thought Kagura would lie, not to him. Betrayal sliced deep, shredding any lingering hope with the cruel finality. In his book, there was never any excuse for screwing the people you cared about.
In a way, it made the situation easier. With friendship and trust destroyed, now there was only the job.
"The Coyote is supposed to meet you here at two A.M.," he said, responding to the inner prompt that suddenly fed him the information. "You were going to ditch your truck and ride with him to Naco, where he would hand you off to another Coyote, who would get you across the border." He shook his head. " Bad plan. I don't think a girl your height would fit behind the dashboard."
Kagura had stiffened more and more as Sesshomaru laid out the scenario in a calm, sure tone. "You don't know shit."
"I know this." Sesshomaru took out his cuffs. "I know I have to take you in, Kagura."
"Like Hell." All the pretense melted away. Kagura leaned toward him, pointed a finger. "You don't know, Tashio. You don't know what it's like to work for years perfecting skills to get to the top, only to have some punk like you roll in and take it all away without breaking a sweat."
Truth
Sesshomaru flinched at the vicious attack, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"What's the matter, rich boy? You get bored with corporate America? Needed to slum?" Kagura took a step toward him, her familiar face, a rictus of rage. "I worked my butt off making a name for myself, and then you show up. I decide to be a nice guy, show you the ropes. Then what happens? You start snagging all the good cases out from under me like some goddamn Vegas Mountie who always gets his man. Zero percent failure rate. What the hell? Your rich family got a bunch of PI's On the Payroll or something? "
Truth and lies, tumbling over each other like dirty laundry, but Kagura believed every word. Of course she'd check out Sesshomaru's background, found out about his family. Sesshomaru would have done the same thing. He didn't' discuss his family; he hadn't seen or talked to any of them in years. That was safer for everybody. As for his success rate, what could he say? Hey Kagura, I have this psychic thing that tells me where all he skips are. Cold crept thorough him. He'd realized too much, used his powers too freely. Just like before. But at least no one had gotten hurt this time.
Lie. Kagura had gotten hurt, however inadvertently.
Guilt pinched. But then again, Kagura had made the choice to go bad. She could have found another way. That was on her, not Sesshomaru.
"Say Something." Kagura opened and closed her fists at her sides. "You ruined me. The money dried up. My Boyfriend left me and took my bank account with him. No one wanted to hire me anymore, not for the good stuff. They had me chasing DUI's and Deadbeat dads. That's not me. I'm better than that." She sucked in a shaky breath. "I had to find some way to survive."
Sesshomaru gave her a hard look. "By taking kickbacks? C'mon, Kagura"
"You'll see what I mean." Kagura lifted her chin, glared. "This job burns the hell out of guys like us. A pace like you've been keeping? A couple of years from now, when you're sitting alone in an empty house with your bones aching and all the innocence beaten out of your soul, easy money for looking the other way will seem like salvation."
"No" Sesshomaru shook his head. "I won't let that happen."
"That's what I said too, kid." Kagura gave a hard laugh. "Just the top spot." She paused, her lips curving ever so slightly. "Unless you screw up before then. Like you did back in Arizona."
The verbal sucker punch stole the breath from his lungs. He fought to keep steady. How the hell did Kagura know about that? It wasn't in any public record anywhere.
"Told you I'm good." Kagura narrowed her gaze, studying Sesshomaru's reaction with apparent satisfaction. "You got no woman, no friends, and a family you turned your back on. All you've got is the job, Tashio, and when it's gone, what are you gonna do? What will you have left?"
Nothing. Harsh Truth, echoing down to his bones. Looking at Kagura, Sesshomaru realized he could be gazing at the reflection on his future self: Lonely, bitter, fading into the shadows like some dusty legend.
Is that how he wanted to live his life? IS that how he wanted to go out?
Hell, no. But he had no choice. He couldn't take the chance of risking any more lives.
Kagura had a choice.
"You're gonna dry up and blow away, just like the rest of us," Kagura sneered. "Better get used to it." Her gaze flitted to the windows, then back to Sesshomaru.
The small movement triggered alarm bells. All it took was a thought, and the hunter kicked in, showing Sesshomaru a vision of a Latino guy in jeans, blue shirt, and a hat parking his ancient pickup at the far end of the parking lot outside. The coyote sat in the truck, engine running, and lit a cigarette before glancing at his watch. Sesshomaru pushed the image away, focused on Kagura.
The job was all he had, at the least for now. And he was going to do it.
"Your coyote is here, Kagura." His ex-mentor jerked. Alarm flickered across her face before she masked it. Sesshomaru pushed a little more. "So how long's he going to wait for you? Five minutes? Ten on the outside?" Seconds ticked by in heartbeats and drips of sweat. "If you want out of this place, buddy, you're going to have to get through me."
Kagura narrowed her eyes. "Fine." And charged.
Sesshomaru reached for the Hunter, channeling energy through the clear crystal he always wore beneath his shirt. His senses flared, into battle mode, adrenaline flooding his system. His eyesight sharpened. His hearing heightened. He met Kagura's attack, shoving her in the chest with both hands. Kagura flew back, skidding along the floor and crashing into a booth. Her face hit the corner of the seat with a wet smack.
Sesshomaru stalked down the aisle after her. The Hunter prowled in the back of his mind, not satisfied with just a taste. His muscles hummed with the strain it took to keep that side of himself at bay. He didn't want to hurt Kagura if he could help it. He opened up a little more, let some of the power ripple along his flesh in blatant show if intimidation. The crystal grew hotter against his chest. Maybe the old woman would pick up the energy and back down.
Kagura go to her feet, her gaze calculating as she wiped the blood from her mouth. "Not bad, Kid."
"Give it up, Kagura. Don't make it harder than it has to be."
Kagura curled her bleeding lip. "I never run from a fight."
Stubborn old woman. Sesshomaru flexed his fingers, hungry for a little carnage. Taking Kagura down was starting to seem like a good idea. Was that his thought, or the Hunter's? Logic warred with raw instinct. "You won't win."
Kagura flexed her shoulders. "I got a few tricks left."
"Yeah?" Sesshomaru opened a little more, let the predator show in the bared teeth of his smile, the narrowing of his eyes. "You haven't seen all mine yet, either."
The pickup outside revved its engine. Kagura's eyes widened. Panic flared in her expression, and she whipped out a knife. "Get out of the way, Tashio."
"Can't do that, Kagura." The Hunter snapped at the leash, smelled the desperation in the air. Wanted to take down the prey-For good.
That would not, could not, happen. He was a civilized human being, damn it, not a wild animal. And blood always cost a price no one wanted to pay.
"I don't want to hurt you, kid."
Sesshomaru saw the truth in her eyes. "Yes, you do. What you don't want is to do time for murder."
Kagura blinked, then shrugged, her mouth curving with scorn. "Got me there. But I'll take the chance if it means getting out of here."
Truth.
Her or me. You'll know she'll kill you and not lose any sleep over it.
"Sorry, Kagura." With no other choice, he unleashed the Hunter completely, the power surging through the crystal, overwhelming Sesshomaru Tashio, making him something different, something other. His mind winked out…