Finding Cameo : Zodiac Shifters--Aquarius Page 8

  “Nae time. This is our mating night.” His hands slipped under her breasts and fingered her nipples. “From now on, we belong ta each other.” The headboard knocked against the wall, he was shoving into her so hard.

  “I’m almost there,” she breathed. She began to shake.

  He moved his fingers to her slit and circled her clit. Finally, he pressed it with her thumb, and she climaxed. Her muscles cramped around him and he reached his release, too. He rolled onto his side, pulling her with him. It took him several minutes for his breath to calm enough he could utter one word. “Phenomenal.”

  KeeKee’s meek meow and Tiny’s quiet bark was the next thing they heard. Bowie rolled Cammy toward his chest. “Just how are we going to handle this? Ignore them? Or open the door? What we do tonight sets a pattern fer the rest of our lives. We sleep together from now on. Alone or with the pets. Ye decide.”

  “Oh sure, make me the bad parent.”

  KeeKee voiced her wishes louder. Tiny pawed the door. Bowie glanced at her with a grin. She slapped his pec. “Alright, open the door. And it’s your fault they’re getting spoiled.” He laughed. “Dinna think I’m going to be yer kicking post.” He stopped, turned his face to her, and grinned. “Although a licking post would be nice.”

  She stuck her tongue out.

  “Och, ye would dare tease yer mate?” He opened the bedroom door. The two pets slowly stepped in. Bowie shook his finger at them. “Stay until I call ye into the bed.” He hurried back under the covers and wrapped his arms his mate. “Okay, KeeKee and Tiny, come, get in bed.” Tiny plopped on the mattress and circled twice before lying down next to Bowie’s legs. KeeKee lightly landed on Cameo’s pillow and snuggled next to her head, purring as she pawed at her owner’s red hair.

  Tiny’s wet nose and tongue woke Bowie from a deep sleep. “What is it?” The dog moaned and circled once. “Ye need ta take a piss?” The dog jumped off the bed and whined.

  “I better take KeeKee downstairs so she can use her liter box.”

  “Sounds good. We’ll heat up the sheets down there, too.” His hand rubbed over her firm arse before he slipped on a pair of knit boxers. He opened the back door and Tiny barely made it down the steps. After he whistled the dog back inside, Bowie unplugged his phone from the charger and the two headed downstairs and the smell of coffee. .

  Two empty mugs sat in front of the maker. A beautiful, homey sight. God she was cute as a basket of pups with her bed hair all bushed out. He’d taken her again with the animals in bed with them. “Zoo sex,” he’d called it. Bloody hell, he loved this woman. He filled her mug first and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Good morning, luv.”

  His cell rang. It was Kendric. “Bowie, get down to headquarters right away. Somehow Hamish McFee got hold of a gun and killed both cops on duty last night. I came in to finish some paperwork only to find Clyde and Willis shot and dragged into Hamish’s cell.”

  “Clyde and Willis? I dinna believe it. Two of our oldest men, but sharp just the same.” Bowie was having a hard time comprehending their deaths. He’d ken them since he was a teenager.

  Kendric continued. “The night desk clerk was beheaded. Bloody hell, man, I can’t find her head. I’ve looked everywhere. I canna find Morna’s head” There was a touch of panic in Kendric’s voice. “Fook, there’s blood everywhere.”

  Bowie was going to be sick. Good men and a woman dead. “Has ta be the HSS. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Did ye call the Chief and Creighton?”

  “Aye. They’re on their way, too.”

  “Lock the doors and start taking pictures.” He ended the call and looked at his mate. “There’s been a hellofa catastrophe at the police station sometime last night. Somehow, Hamish got a gun and killed two officers. Someone used a machete on the desk clerk Morna and cut off her head.”

  Cammy’s hand went to her mouth and she kept shaking her head as if she couldna believe it. “I keep forgetting the dangers of your job.”

  Bowie drained his mug. “I have to go.” He rushed upstairs get dressed. What kind of horrific mess would he find at headquarters? When he charged back down the steps, she was in the foyer with a thermos of coffee. She could be so thoughtful.

  Bowie was on the phone. He ken he looked disheveled and tense enough to explode. “Hold on. Let me tell the woman who had the dream. He held the phone to his chest. It’s Angus Matheson. He just found three of his sheep beheaded.”

  “Oh, good Lord, has the whole community gone insane? Give him my name and number and have him call me. You have to be at the police department. There’s more important things for you to see to there. I’ll handle the man and the loss of his sheep as best as I can. Go. Do your job.” She waved him out as he gave Angus her contact information.

  She pulled out fresh clothes for the day. Her cell rang and she answered.

  “Cameo Stone? Are ye the woman with the dreams?” His voice shook as if he were scared. “Detective Bowie Matheson told me I should call ye for help. Three of me sheep were killed just as ye dreamed.”

  “Oh, sir, I’m so sorry. What is your name?”

  “Angus Mathbear.” He sobbed. “Can ye come to me farm? Here’s the directions how to get here.” She jotted them as he recited the twists and turns to her.

  After a hot bath to ease the soreness in her girly bits, she pulled on jeans and a law school sweatshirt. Her doorbell rang as she was tying her sneakers. She jumped. She didn’t even know her doorbell was up and working.

  “We came by to see how much the carpenter got accomplished yesterday afternoon. Looks better, “ Earnan said.

  “Come in and sit down. I’ve got bad news to tell you. Kendric called from the police station. He found two policemen shot to death and the woman at the front desk decapitated.” Both collapsed into the chairs at the window. Shock evident on their faces.

  Earnan leaned forward. “This canna be. Nae here. Do ye ken their names?”

  “Clyde and Willis.”

  Earnan hung his head. “Feckin’ hell. Two good men. They were a few years behind me in school.”

  “The desk person was a woman named Morna. Kendric was frantic. He couldn’t find her head. He asked Bowie to come down right away. The prisoner with the tattoos was gone. No one knows how he got out.”

  “The man who was here? With the black aura?” Effie snuggled KeeKee. “Earnan, you better go. They’ll need your help.”

  “There’s more,” Cameo said. “Just as Bowie was ready to charge out, Angus Mathbear called. Three of his sheep had been beheaded. Bowie gave him my number and told him to call me with the information.”

  “Ye mean Angus Matheson.”

  “No, he told me Mathbear. I have it written on the directions he gave me.” Cameo went for the paper she’d made notes of everything on. She handed it to Earnan. “See? I wrote his name and directions down here.”

  Earnan stared at it for a minute. “This is nae how ye get ta his farm. That’s why he gave ye the wrong name. He was sending ye a signal.” He shook the paper. “This is all a trap. Hell has come to Matheville. We could all be in danger.”

  The old doctor could be wrong or confused. There were so many farms around here. She loved touring the area in her little car. Her dream of hitting Bowie who was chasing the man with the sawed off shotgun came back to her. Tiny moved and leaned against her leg. She’d forgotten the dog was still there and reached out to pet him.

  Earnan called Bowie to tell him about the signal Angus had given Cameo. He read the wrong directions given her to Angus’s farm. They talked a little more.

  He handed his cell to Cameo. “Bowie wants to talk to ye. He sounds like he’s wound tighter than a cheap watch.”

  “Bowie? How bad is it?”

  “Cammy. Talk to me about anything but this. Ye’ve nae idea the things I’ve had ta do so far. Just let me hear your sweet voice. It’ll help calm me.”

  What could she talk about when all she could think of was him and the horrible mess he was in? “Tiny’s lea
ning against my leg, getting his ears scratched.”

  “Lucky bastard.”

  “I have a doorbell that works. Won’t you be happy? Earnan and Effie just dropped by to see how much he got accomplished yesterday.” There was a pause while she thought of something to say. “I’m thinking of getting my hair cut. It takes so long to dry.” What a dumb thing to say to a man facing dead bodies and surrounded by blood. Yet he’d told her to talk.

  “Nae today. And doona try to find Angus’s farm. Promise me. Stay inside today. Make me some Scottish Bubbles and Squeak Patties for when I get home.”

  She had no clue how to make them, but surely she could find the recipe on the Internet. “You got it big boy.”

  “God, Cammy, I love ye. I needed a minute of normalcy from ye before me nerves snapped. Those men were me friends fer years. They were great ta work with. Morna got married a year ago. They had ta put her poor husband under sedation. I’m going ta hold ye all night long whenever I get home. I’m keeping the woman I love close to me.” He ended the call.

  Chapter 10

  Earnan took Effie to the lodge to be with Paisley and the twins before he went to the police station. Cameo found the recipe she needed online and made a list of items. As she went through cabinets and the refrigerator, she realized she needed cabbage, potatoes, grated cheese, and sour cream. She’d have to make a quick run to the store.

  Bowie didn’t want her to leave the house, but with the doors unable to be locked, home wasn’t exactly safe. She let Tiny out to take care of his business and then chased him around the yard for some exercise. He loved it.

  When she was out of breath, she brought him back inside, and picked up the list of things she needed and put them in her purse. She had a feeling this was a comfort food for Bowie. After the day he was having, she’d make him a double batch.

  Matheville Market wasn’t far away, so it didn’t take her long to get there. She did have to admit the double crotch seam of her jeans was chaffing to her sore slit. Her sex life had gone from zero to ninety in point two seconds and she was suffering the effects today. Not that that was a bad thing.

  She got out of her car when a van pulled in beside her. Hamish with his tattooed face slid the door open, jumped out, and pressed a knife to her neck. “Get in the fookin’ van. I doona mind having an audience while I slit yer throat.”

  Two women, pushing their shopping carts, had stopped and stared. Cameo didn’t want them hurt, so she got into the van. She needed time to think of a plan so in the meantime she’d do whatever he wanted until she had an idea what they had in mind for her. A woman drove the van. A man sat in the passenger seat. Since there were no other seats, everyone else sat on the floor. Three men and another woman were in the back with her and Hamish. All had tattoos on their faces. They looked major wicked. Getting out of this situation alive would take some finagling. She’d have to keep her wits about her.

  “That’s a nice bag ye’ve got. Leather, I’d wager,” the woman across from her said. “Hand it here. I’ve never had me a stylish one before.” She jerked it from Cameo’s hand. She glanced at her as she opened the zipper. “What does a woman like you carry in her purse? Huh? Drugs, maybe?” The strange girl with half of her head shaved began to pull out items from Cameo’s purse.

  “Look, a make-up case, Pink flowers on the outside.” She glanced at her. “Aren’t we just the girly-girly type?” She pulled out her cell phone and tossed it to Hamish. “Here, you’ll want this. She’ll have nae need fer it. Ahhh, a hair brush. A good ass beating with this might be fun.” She waggled her eyebrows at Hamish. She removed a wallet and slowly waved it back and forth. “Now, what color do we call this? Baby blue, turquoise, aqua?”

  “Aqua.” You color blind bitch.

  The half-haired woman slipped a switchblade from her boot and sliced the wallet in half. “And do we carry money in this aqua thing?” She began to count the bills. “Well, looky here, a charge card of almost every kind. Her driver’s license. Cameo Stone. What a piss-poor name,” she sneered. “Were ye teased a lot as a kid?”

  Cameo turned to Hamish. “How did you know my name? The other day you called me by name.” She had to know how he got inside her dreams. The idea had been driving her crazy for days—scaring her, making her hate her gift more than ever.

  “I was in the rental office of Camelot Apartments when ye came in to drop off a completed rental application and the check to cover yer background investigation. The rental agent read yer name out loud. I watched yet strut out ta yer little car and decided then I wanted ye and would have ye until I grew bored. When I do, I’ll sell ye to a customer who likes a woman who knows how to please a man.”

  She breathed a jagged sigh of relief. He hadn’t gotten in her dreams. It was a simple fact of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. His hand on her thigh rose higher and she shoved it away. His words finally sunk in. Hamish wanted her.

  Her stomach sank. “I already have a boyfriend.”

  “Aye. That cop who tried to beat the shite out of me. He told me ye were his.” Hamish chuckled. “As if I’ve ever paid attention to what a copper had ta say.”

  “Where are you taking me?” Would Bowie find her? Would he be hurt in the process?

  Hamish’s smile was pure evil. “Somewhere your policeman willna be able able to find ya. Our band is experts at hiding.”

  Bowie was scrubbing blood off the cell where Hamish had stayed. Creighton approached wearing an expression he’d only seen on him a couple times. He stopped washing off the wall and dropped the rag into the bucket. Creighton entered the cell and locked the door behind him.

  “What is it?” Why was he acting so strange? The entire day had been god-awful strange.

  Creighton clasped his hand on Bowie’s shoulder and inhaled a deep breath. “Brace yerself, cousin. There’s nae way I can give this to ye easy since yer bear has chosen her.”

  Every muscle in his chest cramped. His heart stuttered an irregular beat. “Cameo? Me Cameo?” He couldna inhale his next breath…or the next…and the next…he dropped to his knees, black spots in his eyes. Finally his system jolted into action.

  Human…ye have work ta do. We canna find our mate if ye give up and die. Fight. Kill the fookers who dared take our sweet Cammy.

  “Two women saw a shapely woman with long red hair being dragged by knifepoint into a van. They were at the parking lot of Matheville Market. Her car is still there. I’ve had it checked out. ′Tis hers.”

  Bowie paced. “The bloody bastard! The unfeeling killer! The inhumane asshole who calls himself a man! Me bear will rip him apart if I doona shoot him first.” He picked up the bed and tossed it across the cell. “How long ago did this happen?” His gaze pierced Creighton’s while his mind planned revenge. He would kill all the bastards involved. Cammy was a fighter; one man could never subdue her, even if he had a weapon. She’d outthink him in a minute.

  “Thirty minutes, or so. Bowie, I ken what yer thinking.”

  “How can ye? That’s me mate. We mated just last night. Our union is strong. I willna have her frightened or harmed in any way, doona tell me ye ken how I’m feeling or —”

  “Do ye forget how I adore me mate? Me Paisley? Me beloved? Now, if ye feel the need to pound on something or work out yer frustration, here I am. That’s the depth of me bond with ye. I’ll be yer whipping boy until yer mind starts to work again and we can collaborate on how to find yer mate.”

  Creighton’s kindness filed off the sharp edge of his anger. “Friend, ye ken I will kill him.”

  “Do it in bear form. Hell, we all look alike enough no one will be able to distinguish ye. And nae one in the sleuth would dare suggest it was ye because the woman kidnapped is yer mate. We protect each other. We always have.”

  After giving each other a man hug, Creighton unlocked the cell. “Are ye ready ta work on ideas and plans.” Bowie shoved him out of the way and marched to the main open area of the office. The entire force was there working along wi
th community leaders.

  Paint odors were strong, but he didna give a shit. They’d chosen different colors to help erase the memories. What was once tan and orange was now pale and medium blue with a thin band of yellow between the two blues. The clerk’s counter where Morna had been killed had been ripped out. New counters were built in front of a different wall with medium blue Formica top instead of the old orange color. Tile squares in various shades of blue were going down next.

  Once word had spread about the killings, men from the community came to help. They brought tools and an attitude to erase the gruesome signs of the murders. Whatever was needed, someone bought. This was their town. No one defaced it like this. The Scots had their pride.

  Healing would take a while, but they’d all come together to hurry along the process. Bowie had been the one to find Morna’s head and climbed the flag pole to retrieve it. He didna ken if he’d ever get over what it had done to him to do it. But he didna want the husband to see it there. He scrubbed the blood off and repainted the silver pole. He worked fast to dull some of the anger. What kind of sick bastards were they dealing with?

  He kept hoping the day of horrors would end. For him, it had just begun.

  The detectives and more experienced policemen leaned over a county map. Kendric ran a hand over the entire area. “Any idea where we begin, Einstien?”

  Bowie trusted his mate’s intelligence. “How about with all the details she told us about that dream? ‘Along the edge of the mountainous road was a large red rock with a rivulet of water draining from a crack in the tall boulder.’ Do I have that right? Think back ta her exact words.”

  He glanced around the jumbled office where all the desks and filing cabinets had been moved to the center. “If me computer was on me desk and plugged in, I could go to the interview file I had on her. But I’m sure that’s what she said. There was a reason she dreamed that.”