Page 1 of Peacemaker (Kinkaid Shifters #3)

CHAPTER ONE

Nothing was going right with Colt’s mission. He was pissed and angry and just downright unhappy about everything. Both of his brothers were now suddenly mated, and he was the odd man out. The youngest. The little brother they had only just started taking seriously when he qualified, same as them, for the SEAL Teams and was then made part of their special unit. A Team of three that didn’t officially exist, except for those who needed to know.

The only one in the military who really needed to know about them had been Admiral Morrow, and the old man had utilized their special talents many times over the years on impossible missions. Missions on which Colt had proved himself, not only to the satisfaction of the U.S. military but to his brothers, which was a far bigger deal to Colt, personally.

They’d made such a great team. Closer than mere comrades, they were biological brothers, not just brothers-in-arms. They knew everything about each other and used all that knowledge to be one of the most elite trios in the history of the Special Forces.

And now, it was just him. On his own. Out in the world, running a mission. Oh, his brothers were back at their new base on Long Island, but it wasn’t the same. They were supporting his mission, but they weren’t here with him.

He knew he was griping. He should be happy for his brothers, and he was, but he was also kind of upset for himself. They’d had a good thing in the Navy, and even after they’d decided to retire from the Teams, they were still working private missions for the Admiral. But now… Everything was changing.

And then, there was this thing about a demon war. Colt didn’t really understand what that was all about just yet. He didn’t think anybody did, except the coven back on Long Island that was now way too connected to him and his brothers. It was like the coven was creeping in to take them all over.

His eldest brother, Rich, had found his mate in Meg, a woman who lived in the same development as the coven of ancient witches that had been living in secret on Long Island for centuries. Meg turned out to have an amazing elemental power, and she and Rich had decided to live—at least for the time being—in her house in the development that was almost exclusively populated by members of the coven.

Then, his middle brother, Billy, had just mated a granddaughter of one of the witches he’d been sent to watch over. He and Amalie, who turned out to be half-witch and half-fey with an immense and unique magical power, were putting a down payment on a house in that same development and intended to live there too. They wanted to be close to Amalie’s Gran, as well as Rich and Meg.

That left Colt on his own, and that made him feel itchy, for lack of a better word. His future was more uncertain than it usually was, and he didn’t know where he’d end up after this mission.

One thing at a time , he counseled himself. Just do the job and worry about the rest later .

But even this mission wasn’t going at all as he’d hoped. He’d been following his quarry from state to state as she moved around without warning, rhyme or reason. He hadn’t even had a chance to connect with her yet and let her know that he’d been sent to help. And now, she was heading for Houston, of all places. Ground Zero for the Kinkaid Clan, which was one group Colt really didn’t want to encounter.

He and his brothers were Kinkaids, but their father had been estranged from the family, and when the brothers had been left orphaned in their teens, they hadn’t tried to connect with the Clan for help. No, they’d done everything on their own and had never needed the Clan that hadn’t wanted to accept their magical mother into their ranks.

As far as Colt was concerned, the Clan could just fuck right off and leave him and his brothers alone. But in recent days they’d had more contact with Clan Kinkaids than ever before. First, their father’s cousin Lester and his son, Liam, had shown up on Long Island. Colt had to admit, they weren’t bad. Both were in the Navy, which counted in their favor, but they were part of the Clan, and it had become apparent that Lester hadn’t known that Colt’s parents had died long ago.

Liam had helped in the battle to keep the coven ladies safe, and he’d been impressively good at his job. Colt had to grudgingly admit that Liam was a good guy, for a Clan Kinkaid.

Then, Billy had gotten mixed up with a younger Kinkaid lion named Gavin. Colt hadn’t met the guy, but Billy had gone out of his way to tell Colt that if he ever crossed paths with Gavin Kinkaid, he was to treat him nicely. Gavin had, after all, saved Billy’s life when a demon had been trying to kill him. Colt understood that kind of thing created a bond.

As for the demon… Colt just shook his head. Billy had described the events on the phone with Colt last night, but he still couldn’t quite bring himself to believe it. He’d seen a lot of weird shit in his career as one of Uncle Sam’s most elite special operatives, but he’d never seen anything to make him believe that such a thing as demons actually existed.

Colt shook his head as he drove along. It was raining. Some tropical storm was working its way up from the Gulf and wreaking havoc on the area, but his quarry kept pressing onward, and therefore, so must he. He’d picked up her trail in Colorado, but she’d been off and heading for Oklahoma before he’d found her. He’d almost caught up with her in Oklahoma City, but she’d been off again after a very weird lightning storm had lit up the night sky.

Colt was on her trail again, just missing her at several road stops where he’d had to pause to get gas and refuel himself as well. He kept on the trail, though. He thought tonight would be the night he’d finally catch up with her. Hopefully.

And hopefully, before she got any closer to Houston. He didn’t want to run into any other Kinkaids. He’d had plenty of them to last a lifetime in the past couple of days. Meeting Lester and Liam had riled up a lot of unsettled emotional crap that he’d thought long buried. He didn’t need that. Fuck no.

It wasn’t quite nighttime yet, but the relentless rain made everything look gray as he drove along. There was another rest stop not far, and he’d have to take a break and get out of the pickup for a bit. His muscles were cramping up after driving for so long. He signaled when he saw the sign he’d been looking for and took the off-ramp.

Something about the place seemed a little off. It wasn’t one of those massive truck stops with a fast-food joint, gas station and other amenities. It was basically a small building with restrooms and a few vending machines. Just a place to stop for a few minutes to answer the call of nature and stretch your legs. Perfect for what he had in mind, and there was only one other car in the lot when he pulled in. He parked a spot away from it, almost not believing his luck.

If he wasn’t much mistaken, that was the car he’d been chasing through several states. His quarry drove a late model clunker just like that, according to official motor vehicle records he’d been able to access through the Admiral and his connections. Which meant that this wild goose chase might finally be at an end.

Jumping from his pickup truck, he headed inside the building, hoping to find her there, though he wasn’t sure how he was going to approach her. Given this setting, she’d probably think he was some weirdo axe murderer if he didn’t handle this just right. Running through various approaches in his mind, he sprinted for the building through the rain, only to discover, after waiting several minutes, that the building was well and truly empty.

Where could she be? He went back outside and looked around. There was a wooded area behind the building. He wondered if maybe…

Colt jogged around to the back of the building, glad to see the rain was slackening off a bit, though it was still coming down. But it wasn’t the driving, pounding downpour it had been a short while ago. He could actually see through this a lot more, and what he saw gave him pause.

There was a woman out behind the building, and something… Something not quite right facing her down. It stood on two legs, but its knee joints were backwards, and it was over eight feet tall if it was an inch. Shaggy fur sparkled dully, and something the color of blood twinkled at him as the thing moved, and its face was that of a beast of some kind. Not quite a goat, though it did have horns. And not quite a crocodile, though he could see scales and bulging eyes along with a short snout.

What the fuck was that thing?

Then he sensed the magic crackling in the air and the disturbing scent of ozone. As if lightning had stuck nearby, though this rainstorm didn’t seem to have an electrical component. Which meant the scent was likely coming from whatever was going on between the woman and the monster.

No, not a monster. A demon. That’s what this had to be. Like his brother had described. Holy shit. This demon war really was happening.

Colt wasted no more time, drawing his handgun and unloading the clip into the thing, but it didn’t go down. It didn’t even look like the bullets had done anything, except maybe annoy it and get its attention off the woman for a few minutes.

But now, the creature was looking at Colt, and he had to make a quick choice. Fight it in his human form or go king of the jungle and fight this thing claw to claw. Not much of a question there, Colt divested himself of the things that would entrap his shifted form as quickly as possible and let the change take him.

Only, he paused halfway. The battle form was more deadly than either of his full forms. It was hard to hold, and only the most powerful shifters could do so for any length of time, but Colt had been practicing this for years and knew he could hold it long enough to fight the freakish thing coming for him.

It didn’t so much run as gallop in an awkward gait, and it moved faster than he’d expected. It was on him quicker than he’d thought, but he’d had enough time to shift into the battle form, and within moments, they were fully engaged in the fight.

Claws ripped at thin air as Colt evaded, using all his skill and speed while getting in a few good licks of his own. The blood of the creature felt acidic on his skin, but the rain was washing it off as fast as Colt was spilling it.

The creature was slowing after Colt gave it a good gouging gash across the middle, and he let his battle form go fully to lion so he could use his powerful jaws to best effect. The lion chomped down on the beast’s neck, ripping the flesh and tasting the foulest blood he’d ever encountered. Once Colt was sure the thing was dead, he did his best to spit out the blood, even going so far as to run his tongue along the wet grass.

“You’d better get all of that blood out of your mouth. I think it’s a bit poisonous.” The female voice came to him, and he looked around to find the woman he’d been seeking, standing there with a concerned look on her face. “And thank you,” she added almost off-handedly.

Colt prowled over to the downspout of the building’s gutter system and washed his mouth out with rainwater. When he thought he’d finally gotten the foul taste completely out of his mouth, he looked back to find the woman watching him. When she noticed him watching her, she spoke again.

“I’ve never met a lion shifter before,” she said a little hesitantly. “Are you one of the Kinkaids?”

He needed his man’s voice to answer that question. Colt moved a few feet toward her, stopping where he’d left most of his clothes and shifted back to his human form. He was naked, but he didn’t mind, and from the way she was staring, she didn’t either, though she did look a bit scandalized.

“I’m a Kinkaid, but not part of the Clan.” Colt dressed as he spoke.

The rain had let up, but everything was sodden. He struggled into his pants and gave up on the shirt. No sense putting that clammy thing next to his skin. Thankfully, his boots had been under the pants, so they weren’t so bad. He’d worn worse in his military career.

“That sounds like a story,” she observed, and he shook his head.

“A story for another time. What matters most right now is that I was sent to help you. My name is Colt Kinkaid, and the Marsh Witches sent me to make sure you knew what had been going on recently and to help, if you ran into trouble.”

“You know the Marsh Witches?” She looked surprised and a bit suspicious.

“My brothers just mated into the fold, so to speak, and live in the same development. Mrs. Peabody sent me after you. She was worried.”

“Mrs. P?” Now, she looked interested. “How is she? Did the coven have trouble?”

Colt sighed heavily. “Lots of trouble, but they’re okay now, and whatever you do, steer clear of Mrs. Entwistle, if you know her. Turns out she was a traitor in their midst all along and has been summoning demons, among other things.” The rain was starting to speed up again, and they were both soaked. “Look, can we talk about this inside? I’m under orders to call Mrs. P as soon as I caught up with you so you can talk to her.” And to establish that everyone was who they said they were, but he wouldn’t state the obvious.

“I think there are cameras in the building,” she said, looking around nervously.

“What about the little shelter I saw on the way in? At least we could sit out of the rain,” he suggested.

“Okay, but first, I have to do something about the big guy.” She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder where the beast had fallen.

“Do something?” he repeated, uncertain. “Like what?” She wasn’t going to try to move that monster, was she?