Leopard's Prey

him to them, but in this instance, it was easier to use his phone. He didn’t want to spend one more moment in the house than necessary. His leopard detested the place, prowling close to the surface, uneasy, and letting Remy know all about it.
    He texted Bijou. She didn’t reply. He frowned. He had full service. She’d replied earlier so he knew she had her phone on her. He tried a second time to no avail. The unease of his leopard began to take hold of him. He eased his gun from his harness and let his leopard senses take over.
    The scent of blood grew stronger when he rounded the corner and entered a long hallway. The door closest to him stood open and he glanced inside, weapon ready. Dash was slumped on the ground, a pool stick inches from his hand. Clearly he’d been playing pool and not paying the least bit of attention to Remy’s earlier warning.
    Remy, heart beating fast, leaned down and felt for his younger brother’s pulse. It was there, strong and steady. His skin was hot to the touch. Dash was running a fever. Dash moved, started to groan, and his eyes snapped open when Remy put a heavy hand over his mouth to keep any sound from escaping.
    Dash looked mortified. Pale and mortified. Remy held a finger to his lips. Dash nodded and pushed himself into a sitting position. He gritted his teeth and touched the back of his head. His hand came away smeared with blood.
    Remy leaned in close. “Where are the girls?” He kept his tone low, knowing Dash’s leopard would hear him.
    “They were goin’ to the master bedroom to look for a box Bijou said her daddy kept in there. Said it was important to her and that’s why she wanted to come. She told me to play a few games of pool. I thought she wanted privacy.” Dash looked at the blood on his fingers. “I should have stayed with them, Remy. I’m sorry.”
    “Who hit you?”
    “I never saw them. I never even heard them. My ears are stopped up and so is my nose. I have a hell of a cold. My leopard suddenly lunged toward the surface and stupid me, didn’t realize he was tryin’ to protect me.” Shame and guilt came over his face. “I was too busy playin’ the game. You know how much I love it and this table is awesome.”
    Remy let his leopard take over just enough to smell everything in the room. He’d been close enough to Jason Durang to catch his scent. “Never mind, Dash,” he said grimly. “I know who it is.”
    Remy got one hand under his brother’s arm and helped him up. He glanced around them. They were surrounded by Bodrie. His platinum and gold records were encased in glass and hung on all four walls.
    Dash swayed but steadied himself. He pulled a gun from his boot and held it up. “I’m with you, Remy. The room was that way,” he pointed down the hall to where one of two double doors had been left open.
    The hall was wide, ceilings high. Priceless guitars hung on the walls. Remy knew each was worth a fortune, but because Bodrie had been the previous owner, each guitar could be sold for far more than he’d make in a year, and there were dozens of them.
    Bijou might not realize it, but her staff was loyal to her. They weren’t stealing and the temptation had to be great. He could also see why she’d left her father’s estate alone for so long. Where did one even start sorting through things?
    He inhaled. His woman was in the master bedroom and so was Saria. They were alone. The stench his leopard identified as Durang was too faint for him to still be there—but he had been. He didn’t smell blood, but his pulse jumped at the thought that the two women had been close to Durang. Did they know it? They had to. Bijou hadn’t chanced texting him back. He signaled Dash and his brother went to the left. He took the right. They entered Bodrie’s master bedroom, guns drawn, sweeping the room carefully.
    There was no one in sight. The room wasn’t at all what Remy expected. There was no round, vibrating bed. No pictures of naked women. Nothing at all that indicated Bodrie Breaux was a rock legend—or even that he’d ever been in the room.
    They continued to move silently through the room, signaling to one another as they approached the doors to the master bath. The room was enormous, with a step down to an indoor hot tub and a step up to the bathroom.
    Dash leaned in, caught the doorknob and pulled open the door. Remy swept the room. The bathroom was bigger than the entire apartment he rented. They cleared the glass shower stall and