Leopard's Prey

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