His Garden of Bones (Skye Cree Book 4) by Vickie McKeehan Read Free Book Online

advantage of that perk.
    Through the binoculars, he saw that the wolf had taken the bait and done a superb job of finding what he’d purposefully left for the fools. If not, Cree and her Nez Perce instincts would have fallen flat. In the future, surely he wouldn’t need to go that far and cut out body parts each time to get a reaction—unless of course, the genius hunter Skye Cree couldn’t find her way out of a paper sack. Then he would do what had to be done.
    Maybe his own spirit guide would take care of the wolf for him. He turned to the panther, black and sleek, that nuzzled his knee. Dillard ran his hand along the animal’s body and smiled. “You’ll level the playing field for me if it comes to that, won’t you, my friend?”
    Dillard spoke in the language of his grandmother’s native Greek tongue when it came to his history, his roots. His grandmother’s people believed the panther stood for reawakening, a sign to begin anew. It was his panther, Oreias that had given him the power to become what he was now. Oreias had given him a new meaning to life.
    While the Cree woman used her spirit guide to find the bad guys, Dillard used his as his power source. Orieas was as much a part of himself as his right arm, and as such, deserved the lofty title.
    “It’s only fair, my friend that we go up against the hunter’s wolf, don’t you think?”
    As a reply the panther purred into his master’s hand.
    “In our world we know something about betrayal by family, don’t we? We come from a proud people who took down a king.”
    The fierce panther butted his head into Dillard’s big palm.
    “It isn’t that I think she’ll catch me. No, not that. But she and her wolf are certainly on the hunt. We have to counter that, prepare for it. If those two get close, if they find anything at all, they’ll have to do it on our terms. If we eliminate her wolf spirit, she’ll have to deal with us using her own merits, her own skills, and we both know she doesn’t have squat.”
    Since Camilla, so very long ago, he’d refined his methods and taken advantage of his talents, which had eventually led to his discovery. He could make a shitload of money in the sex trade. It hadn’t take long to find out how lucrative it could be, especially when there were men out there willing to pay a hefty fee to own a young girl—men who didn’t have the gumption to go out and do what he did—men who didn’t have the skill set or the guts to fulfill orders the way he could. That’s why he charged them dearly for his services. That’s why any request for specific types of females cost extra.
    Relying on his Internet search skills he’d been able to connect with masses of people—a reminder that he didn’t always get to keep every prize he landed for himself. He refused to sell his best stock. The best he kept for himself.
    His nine-to-five job was just that. It wasn’t exactly rewarding but more like a paycheck. That’s why he’d had to diversify years ago to pay for his lifestyle. Keeping up appearances meant something.
    But those days had come to a close. With Carrie, Taylor and Lisa gone from his house, he could start anew. Everyone deserved a fresh start. Obviously, he needed new blood, new power, new everything. Maybe if he widened his hunting grounds beyond Seattle and Vancouver, it would bring about better selections.
    If he scoured the area to the north, he might happen upon someone who looked like the Cree woman with her same striking features, her same eyes—the very characteristics he’d been drawn to initially. It was all the incentive he needed to continue the hunt.
    Over the past ten years, he’d made plenty of trips across the border into Canada, explored all that British Columbia had to offer. He could say without hesitation, the Pacific Northwest held a lot of promise. But it was winter. Cold, snowy weather had never suited him all that much. If he needed to see snow and ice, he’d simply head back to where it