Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

Lev snapped, his voice edged with worry.
    You don’t need to talk to her like that, Stefan objected, ignoring the fact that he’d just used the same word a couple of moments earlier. Swing around to the left and send the birds straight at him again. Herd him back toward me. And don’t kill him yet, we need answers.
    Don’t kill him at all, Judith objected. He’s probably some lost hunter.
    He shot at me, Stefan reminded. Turn on that security system.
    Again there was a short silence. Stefan worked his through the tall grass, careful now not to give the angle of his pursuit away. Judith?
    Is he really heading this way? Her voice trembled slightly.
    You don’t know how to set the security system, do you? Stefan guessed.
    Well, I’ve never actually done it, Judith admitted reluctantly.
    Lev gave a snort of disgust. Damn it, Judith. How many times have I told you it’s important to lock up at night?
    Don’t swear at her, Stefan snapped. Just walk her through the damn thing. Don’t worry, Judith, he’s not going to get near you. It’s just a precaution.
    He could hear the brush of a body moving just to the right of him. He was closing in on him. Lev recited the instructions for arming the security system in Judith’s home. Even as Stefan angled his body, crawling through the grass, to intercept the intruder, he made a mental note to go over security with Judith until she was comfortable with the idea.
    An audible crackle gave away Lev’s position and immediately the intruder turned toward the sound and fired. Stefan lunged forward, crouching low, sprinting toward the gunman.
    Lev. Answer me.
    The intruder fired twice more toward the sound, giving away his position. Stefan took the opportunity to close the distance fast, his heart in his throat as he waited for his brother’s response. He could feel Judith holding her breath as well as time seemed suspended for a moment.
    Just a bruised ego. I tripped over a damn rock.
    The grass parted in front of Stefan and a man’s face appeared. Shock spread over the horrified features even as a hand came up, his gun clutched in his fist. Stefan had forward momentum going for him, hitting the body hard, catching the wrist and turning the weapon away from him as it went off, the sound nearly deafening next to his ear. They rolled together, Stefan slamming his knee into the man’s groin at the same time he smashed the wrist against a rock jutting out of the ground.
    The man tried to scream, but the groin shot had taken the air from his lungs. The gun fell from his limp fingers, as the wrist broke with an audible crack.
    I’ve got him. Judith, stay in the house.
    With that last command, he rapidly built up his shields to push away the energy surrounding him, effectively shutting her out of his mind and cutting her off from any knowledge of what might happen.
    He threw the gun a slight distance away and did a quick, but thorough search for any other weapons. The only other thing the man had on him was a camera. Lev crouched down beside him.
    “Who is he?”
    “No wallet. Must have left it home while he came snooping around,” Stefan said. “Tell me your name.”
    The man spat at him.
    Stefan yanked the broken wrist hard in instant retaliation. The scream was explosive, but muffled as Lev clamped his hand over the man’s mouth. Stefan stared down into the intruder’s eyes.
    “You need to know something about me. I know more ways to inflict pain than any other man you will ever meet. We can do this hard or easy, but we’re going to do it. I was very gentle with you. Your name.”
    “Mike,” the man mumbled. “Mike Shariton.”
    Stefan tossed the camera to Lev. “Take a look.” He glanced down at the intruder. “See how polite I can be? I’m not giving you the opportunity to lie.”
    Lev studied the images. “All the pictures are of Judith. The first ones were taken with you and Judith outside the gallery. He didn’t get a shot of your face, but they look . . . compromising.” He passed the camera to Stefan.
    The photograph was taken when he was locking the gallery door, Judith’s body imprisoned between his body and the door. He handed the camera back to Lev.
    “You work for La Roux.” He made it a statement.
    Shariton didn’t respond, but the truth was in his eyes and his swiftly drawn breath.
    “You sent those pictures to someone already, didn’t you?”
    Shariton was a little slow in responding and Stefan went for his wrist, this time slower,