Page 1 of Tooth and Nail

Prologue

“Sapphire, where are you?”

Eoghan Sapphire cringed as the tinny voice in his ear canal disturbed his concentration. It wasn’t like he could answer anyway, at least without being overheard by his quarry. He ignored the voice as well as the stink from the stagnant water he was slowly sneaking through. He concentrated on silently putting one foot in front of the other, wishing he could turn on a flashlight and not have to rely on the dappled sunlight filtering in from somewhere above ground to see. Even the tactical goggles he wore couldn’t help with that. Unfortunately, giving away his position wouldn’t be good, not when he was so close to catching up to the fugitive who’d eluded them for days.

Eoghan didn’t know where this man had come from. Normally, members of clans like his stayed in their own territories, not venturing off their reservations. For some reason, this one had taken the extraordinary step of leaving.

“Sapphire! Answer me or I’m coming down there, guns blazing!”

“Dammit,” Eoghan silently cursed under his breath as he pressed the com, his voice, barely a terse whisper in the semi-darkness. “Can’t talk. Right behind this guy.”

“And I told you to wait for backup, you idiot. Get topside right now. It’s too dangerous down there alone. We’ll meet you at the Expo/LaBrea station.”

Eoghan knew arguing with Chief Deputy Arizona Priest was futile. She rarely lost an argument and never gave up on a course of action once she had it in her teeth. Since they’d lost Glad, she’d gotten worse, even more insistent upon him doingthings her way. Couldn’t she understand how getting above ground without the man he was chasing was a very bad idea? They may not get another chance to catch up to the fugitive again.

“Sapphire! You hear me, I know you do!”

Eoghan stopped where he was, turning to lean against the cement wall and softly bang the back of his head against it. If he hadn’t been so close to catching his fugitive, he wouldn’t be down here at all. He was tempted to pull the earwig out and grind it to dust under his boot heel or drown it at least. Shutting his eyes, he listened closely. He could hear someone stepping through the puddles of rank water, trying not to make a sound which could be picked up by him. Eoghan opened his eyes and smiled to himself.

Victory.

He held up his gun, checking to make sure its load was secure and hadn’t come loose during the chase. The dart was lodged firmly in place. Eoghan’s last desire was to kill him.

They needed to know why he’d fled his reservation when so few of his kind ever did. The steps got closer…only twenty feet now…fifteen…ten. He held the gun out in front of him, waiting for the fugitive to step around the final bend where he’d have a clear shot. He’d have to make it quick. The man would be fast. Then again, Eoghan Sapphire was a crack shot even when the pressure was on.

“Sapphire! If you don’t answer me right now, so help me, I’ll—”

The chief’s words were cut off just as his suspect flashed in front of him, eyes lit up like glowing red laser beams in Eoghan’s tactical glasses. The man—now turned beast—hissed, not even bothering to speak before opening his jaws wide. Four rows of razor-sharp teeth gleamed brightly for a brief second before Eoghan squeezed the trigger. The dart hit him in his chest just ashe began his forward lunge. The drug slowed his momentum for a split second, long enough to give Eoghan the tiniest advantage, allowing him just enough time to step out of his path. The creature came to an abrupt halt as he splattered against the wall.

Eoghan slid his weapon into his shoulder holster as he watched the unconscious creature slide slowly down the wall and into a puddle. He reached for the flex cuffs attached to his belt then rolled the beast to his stomach, before straddling him long enough to hook him up. He straightened and reached for his com.

“Fugitive acquired, Chief.”

“Ten-four, Sapphire. Get him up top. We’ll be waiting for you at the metro entrance.”

Eoghan looked down at him sprawled on his face in the dirty sewer which ran beneath Wilshire Boulevard. He cocked his head to the side, guessing he weighed less than a hundred and twenty pounds but it was going to be a hell of a slog carrying this guy all the way to Exposition and LaBrea. This species was always heavier than they appeared. Still…this one was beyond lean. He’d never seen one of these outside their reservation, but he’d remembered them being much more heavily strapped with muscle.

“I don’t suppose I can get some help with transport?” he asked. “I’m nearly two miles from your location.”

“Sorry, Sapphire. Once I knew you’d taken it upon yourself to handle him alone, I sent transport and cleanup to another location in Culver City. You’re going to have to hump it out without help or wait until they’re free again.”

“Dammit,” Eoghan swore again. “Fine,” he said out loud as he bent to haul him to a sitting position. He hoisted him into a fireman’s carry over his shoulder and began the seven-block walk through the stinking, underground tunnel.

But he had to wonder what had caused the creature to leave freedom in his own territory and flee to the outside world where he’d most surely be captured. Something had driven the creature to leave—provided his leaving was consensual. Maybe his emaciated condition and weight loss explained that. Surely, the reservation had no problems obtaining blood. The I.S.R. would have been notified if there were shortages. Anything that interfered with paranormal creatures’ livelihoods, most certainly directly impacted human safety and they would have been notified.

Deep in his gut, Sapphire knew something was terribly wrong.

((.(..).))>)

“What in the hell did you think you were doing going down there by yourself?”

Eoghan leaned back in the chair as far as he could. It was a game to him, something his boss, Arizona, absolutely hated. He couldn’t really explain why he liked pushing her buttons so much, especially recently. So many things didn’t make him happy. After losing his partner, Deputy Gladys Wyatt, Eoghan had lost hope of ever finding happiness again. He didn’t feel especially deserving of it although nothing he’d done had directly contributed to her death.

“We had to catch up to him, Chief. If I’d let him go, we might not have gotten another chance, and I wasn’t willing to allow another person to die simply because I was alone when I spotted him.”

The chief stood and came around the desk, stopping in front of him where she lifted a booted heel and pressed it onto the front corner of his chair, forcing all four legs back down onto the carpet. The expression on her face was downrightthunderous. She leaned back, planting her shapely ass on the front of the glass desk, and crossing her arms over her chest. The action had the side effect of pressing her rather nicely formed breasts even higher and drawing Eoghan’s attention to them. Although the sight of them did absolutely nothing for him.

He could appreciate a shapely chest as much as the next guy, but he preferred tufts of hair on the ones he admired.

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