Maya Banks - Colters’ Lady

Seth punched in Michael’s cell number as be backed out of the drive. Michael picked up on the first ring.

“She can’t have gone far, Michael. We’ll skirt the perimeter of the house and make our way downtown. She’s probably heading back to the only place she knows.”

“I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”

Seth hung up and focused his attention on the streets. At each intersection, he crawled forward, glancing each way for any sign of her.

For an hour he traversed the streets around his neighborhood, gradually falling away to the cityscape of downtown Denver. She could have caught a bus. She could have walked the entire way. Or she could be at any point in between. Cold. Alone.

Gentle rain began to fall, almost certainly a precursor to sleet and later snow. Seth cursed as he turned his wipers on. Not only would it make it nearly impossible to see her, but now she would be cold and wet with no protection from the elements.

“Where are you, Lily?” he murmured as he turned down a narrow street just a few blocks from the café where he and Lily had hot chocolate. “Why did you run? What are you running from?” At the end of the street, he slammed on the brakes as he was confronted by a sea of flashing blue lights. Patrol cars were everywhere. Two SWAT vans were blocking traffic on two streets. Several unmarked cars were mixed in with the ambulances and fire trucks. It looked like the entire world had gone to hell around him.

Recognizing his lieutenant, Seth jammed the gear into park and then bolted from the truck, dodging through the rain as it slid down his neck.

“ll.T.!” he called as he ran up.

Lieutenant Monday turned, his expression startled as he saw Seth. Then he scowled. “What the hell are you doing here, Colter?”

“What’s going on?” Seth demanded.

Monday rubbed an irritated hand through his hair. “Fucking drug dealers went to war over turf. I wish the fuckers would just kill each other and be done with it, but they insist on taking down innocent civilians with them. I’ve got bodies over eight blocks. Most of them the assholes in question, but I’ve got at least three bystanders in body bags and two more en route to the hospital.”

Seth’s stomach tightened into a knot. “Shit.”

His lieutenant looked up. “Why are you down here?”

“I’m looking for someone. Her name is Lily. Short. Maybe five-one. Short, curly black hair. Vivid blue eyes. If you saw her, you’d remember.”

Monday frowned. “Don’t recall, but then I’ve seen a damn lot of faces today. Check with Houston over there. He has a list of the people we’ve ID’d.”

“Thanks, ll.T.”

Seth hurried over to where Carl Houston stood barking orders into his radio.

“Hey man,” Seth said as Carl turned around. “ll.T. said you have a list of casualties.”

“Looking for someone?”

“Yeah. Young woman named Lily. No last name.”

Carl picked up a clipboard and flipped through the pages. “We have two women accounted for so far.

One is a Jane Doe. Older. Bag lady found dead in an alley. Caught in crossfire. Other is a hooker named Star.”

Relief crushed him. “Okay, thanks, Carl.”

Seth turned to walk away, and Carl called out to him. “Hey, what are you doing out here anyway?” Seth ignored him and kept on going. He flashed his badge at the group of officers who had cordoned off the street and then ducked under the tape to get back into his truck.

He punched Michael’s number and hoped to hell his brother was having better luck than he was.

Michael ignored the angry horns as he slowed to a stop to look down the intersection. Sirens in the distance told him something big was going down. Probably a downtown pile-up. He shuddered as he accelerated toward the next block. He hated the city. Hated traffic. Hated people. Most people anyway.

Animals were much better company.

He found a place to park curbside and got out, pulling his jacket up around his ears. He’d never see anything from the truck in this weather, and he could get into the nooks and crannies on foot.

His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket.

“Any luck?” Seth demanded.

“No. I just got out to search on foot. Rain makes it hard to see shit.”

“Be careful. Fucking drug dealers had a turf war. It’s going to make finding Lily even harder with everything in chaos.”

“I’ll holler if I find her,” Michael said before punching the end button.

He frowned as he turned down another side street and shivered as rain slid down his neck. It was crazy that he was turning downtown Denver over looking for a woman he’d spent all of a few minutes with. Even more insane that his heart was about to pound out of his chest over the thought of not finding her.

After an hour, he was clenching his teeth in frustration. He strode through an alley that cut between two of the main streets and almost missed her.

He caught movement from the corner of his eye and stopped in midstride, his gaze drawn to the small woman huddled against the side of a dumpster, her head down to her knees.

Adrenaline spiked in his veins. The hairs prickled at his nape in sudden awareness. It was her. It had to be her. She wore a worn, knit cap but her rain-slicked hair peeked from the edges.

She’d made herself into the smallest ball she could manage, and it had almost worked. He would have walked right by her, and many others probably already had, never seeing her and if they did, they didn’t care.

“Lily?”

She reacted violently to her name. Her head came up, and wide, frightened eyes met his.

Automatically she surged up as if to flee.

“Lily, it’s me, Michael. Seth’s brother. Remember? I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help you.” Slowly she slid back down the wall, one hand going to the cracked pavement. The other arm she held tight against her chest in a gesture that screamed self-protection.

“Why are you here?”

He crouched down so he could look her in the eye. “I want you to come back with me, Lily. Seth is worried. I’m worried. You don’t need to be out here. It’s cold and raining. You’re going to make yourself sick.”

She stared at him, her eyes cloudy with confusion. “I’m used to it.”

“But you don’t have to be.”

“It was only for one night,” she whispered.

“It doesn’t have to be.”

She cocked her head, unease sliding across her face. He ran his fingers gently over her cheekbone.

Whether she meant to or not, she nuzzled into his palm and closed her eyes.

The gesture told him a lot. He also knew the moment she realized her slip. She stiffened and drew away, but not before he saw the longing in her gaze.

In a lot of ways she reminded him of the animals he loved so much. Wary. But starved for love and affection. Both needed an extremely gentle hand.

He tried a different tack. “Lily, honey, it’s cold and wet out here. Seth is running all over downtown freezing his ass off, and he’s worried sick about you. Come with me so we can all get out of the weather.

I’ll make some hot chocolate and we’ll get you into some dry clothes. My hot chocolate is better than Seth’s anyway.”

She frowned and shifted slightly then grimaced. His brow furrowed as he stared at her in question.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “No. No, I’m fine.”

He held out his hand to her, hoping she’d take it, that she’d agree to come with him. He hadn’t exaggerated the fact that it was damn cold.

Instead of slipping her hand into his, she pushed herself upward with the hand on the ground but kept the other arm tight against her chest. Her posture was awkward, and his frown deepened as she staggered to her feet.

For a moment she stood, hand resting against the wall of the alleyway, and she leaned, head bowed as if catching her breath.

He waited, not wanting to press her, but he held his breath as he watched to see if she’d agree to come with him.

She took a step away from the wall and nearly fell.

Michael lunged forward and caught her before her knees completely gave out. She felt light and infinitely fragile against his chest. She shuddered and quaked, and her breaths came in rapid bursts.

For a long moment he simply held her, enjoying the sensation of her curled into his arms. And he wanted her to feel safe, so he made no sudden movements. Just let her grow accustomed to having him so close.

“I’m okay,” she whispered. “You can let me go.”

Reluctantly he drew away, but he was careful to keep his hands on her shoulders. Her clothing was damp through, and he was more determined than ever to take her back to Seth’s so they could get her into dry clothes and warmed up. After that? Who the hell knew? What was he going to do? Move in on a woman his brother had clearly staked a claim on?

His lips drawn into a grim line, he drew her protectively into his side so he could shield her from as much of the weather as possible. They walked down the alley, and at the end, she stared apprehensively down the street.

“I’m not far,” Michael murmured. “Let’s get you inside where it’s warm and I’ll call Seth. He’s looking for you.”

She shivered and frowned as he ushered her forward. “He shouldn’t have.” Michael turned in surprise. “Shouldn’t have looked for you? Shouldn’t have cared?”

“Either.”

He wanted to argue but didn’t. Seth could fight his own battles. Michael had to figure out how the hell to get past Lily’s defenses himself.

When his Cherokee came into view, Michael quickened his pace and all but dragged Lily with him.

The interior was still warm when he opened the passenger door. He helped her in, shut the door behind her and hurried around to his side.

He got in, started the engine and turned the heat on full blast before pulling out his cell phone. Lily listed a little in the seat and leaned away from him so that her right shoulder rested against the window.

Her expression was wary, but now she seemed more tired than anything. And worried.

“Seth, I found her. We’re heading back to your house.”

“Thank God,” Seth breathed. “I’ll meet you there.”

Michael put the Jeep into gear and drove off, frowning as his wipers just made a bigger mess of his windshield. He had the girl. But now what did he do with her?

He glanced sideways when he stopped at a red light and studied her delicate features. Then he shook his head. Fucked-up Colter gene. There was no other explanation. He needed to dump her back at Seth’s and run like hell. But he knew he wouldn’t. That he was well and truly stuck in this bizarre situation and that he was going to ride it out.

Seth could just unstake his claim.

Halfway to Seth’s house, Lily’s eyes closed. They rumbled over a pothole in the road, and she never stirred. She looked exhausted.

When they pulled into Seth’s driveway, Seth hadn’t arrived yet. Michael parked and leaned over to gently shake Lily awake.

“Lily,” he said in a low voice. “Wake up, honey. We’re at Seth’s.” He slid his hand higher up her arm and curled his fingers into the damp material as he shook just a little harder.

A flash of red caught his attention as his hand moved upward. He turned his palm outward and stared in bewilderment at the coating of red, sticky blood on his skin.

His gaze jerked back to her face, and her pallor took on a more ominous meaning. He touched her sweater again, and pulled at the material. The red was well disguised against the black material, but once again, his fingers came away glistening with fresh blood.

His pulse ratcheted up and his chest squeezed until each breath stuttered painfully across his lips. This wasn’t good. Not good at all.

“Ah, Lily,” he whispered. “What the hell happened to you out there?”

Lily stirred, and for a moment she had no awareness of her surroundings. Where was she? She blinked and then heard a low voice to her left accompanied by a hand on her shoulder.

She tried to turn, but pain splintered down her arm.

“Easy, don’t move too fast.”

Michael. Seth’s brother. He’d come for her. She was in his truck. She looked through the windshield to see they were parked in front of Seth’s house.

Once again she tried to shift, but Michael prevented her with a gentle hand. When he pulled it away, she was stunned to see his palm red with blood. She stared in bewilderment at the concern in his eyes and then looked down at her arm.