Finn: Xavier’s Hatchlings ― Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance (Xavier's Hatchlings Book 1)

by Kathi S. Barton

  Taking the CD out of the computer, she made her way to the large cafeteria. The smells were of lingering meds, burned milk, and people. Pem was ready to wait in the hallway when she saw they had bottled water as well as fountain drinks. Paying for her two bottles of water, she sat down to wait. Pem had a feeling she’d not be leaving here anytime soon. Waiting wasn’t one of the things she did well either.

  Chapter 8

  Peter sat in the large living room. He’d been asked to come by today by the man of the house. Finn Manning was about the nicest man he’d ever met. For the things he’d done for his pack, Peter would do just about anything. Most of his pack had received their first paycheck since working for the man, and the celebrations had everyone excited for this new adventure. Who knew jobs for a few people could do so much for the entire pack? It was a good sign, he thought, to see his people starting to be more productive at home too.

  “Hello, Peter.” Standing up, he put out his hand and shook Finn’s hand. “I’m glad you were able to come by today. I’ve been looking into some things, and I wanted to talk to you about them. I also want to warn you that I’m a blunt bastard, so I’m going to get right to the point. Your wife and child, they were taken from you. Correct?”

  Peter didn’t so much as sit down, but he fell to the couch. An innocent question about his wife and child could do that to him like nothing else could. While he didn’t think Finn was being a bastard, he felt his anger surging upward.

  “Why are you bringing this up now? Did you mean to blackmail me? I don’t know if you know this or not, but I have nothing to top what you have already said. The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that they still might be out there.” Finn nodded. “If this is why you brought me here, I think I’ve answered—”

  “Rachel. Would you come in here please?” Peter didn’t bother looking at the dragon’s mate. He wanted to leave. Finn calling his wife in for any reason didn’t matter to him. “Peter. I want you to look at my wife, please.”

  “Why? What sort of games are you playing?” He glanced at the woman in the room, then looked at Finn. “So what. I’ve looked and—”

  Peter looked again. She was strikingly beautiful. Standing up, he walked as close to her as he could, simply because he was sure he was hallucinating. She was a ghost from his past. Lifting his hand to touch her, careful of moving too quickly and she’d disappear, he was as afraid as he’d ever been. It was the eyes. The eyes of his wife staring back at him.

  “I know the papers were saying they thought they’d both been killed and not found as yet. I don’t think your daughter is anywhere, but right here.” Peter couldn’t get over the fact of how much she looked like his own Dalia. “I’m assuming you believe she’s your daughter as well. I’m sorry about this.”

  Peter told his friend not to worry about it. Then he looked at Rachel again. “You look like your mother. So much so, I thought for sure you were her.” When she smiled at him, Peter put his hand over his mouth to keep himself from babbling. He wasn’t aware he’d been crying until the young lady touched her fingers to his cheek. She was right here, his little girl with the brown curls, the pink cheeks, and freckles. Someone he never dreamed of seeing again. “Do you know who I am to you?”

  “Yes. You’re my dad. Finn explained it to me last night. I saw that we resembled one another when I saw the picture in the paper about how my mom and I came up missing.” Peter asked her if his mom knew it yet. “No. I had to think about if I’d seen her, and I’ve not. Mildred is off when I go to the kitchen to cook for us. We’ve been so busy, I’ve not been able to even go in and chat with her. We didn’t want her to know before you if I might be your daughter. I’m so glad to have found you.”

  “My little girl. Oh, honey, you’re my little girl.” He pulled Rachel into his arms and held her tightly, fearful, he thought, that she might disappear again, and he knew his heart would never recover from the loss of her a second time. He could smell it now, the wolf she was. “You even smell like her. Her name was Dalia. Dalia Duncan.”

  “I didn’t know I was a wolf. I knew I wasn’t wholly human—my adoptive parents had me tested when I was about five. They didn’t tell me anything other than I wasn’t human. I don’t think they cared all that much so long as I was able to fill a void in their lives. I’ve spoken to the faeries. They said because I’ve not been around wolf shifters, or anything else for that matter, my wolf lay dormant.” Peter told her it was the way things would have worked. He finally let her go but took her hand into his again as they sat on the couch. “Finn found some other information too. Are you ready to hear it, Pop?”

  Pop. He was her Pop. Never had anyone called him Pop. Peter had never found himself someone to love after his first and only true love had been taken from him. Now here he sat with his only child calling him Pop. Nodding, he looked at Finn.

  “I did a great deal of research on this before I approached you. I’m afraid your wife is dead, Peter. From what I’ve been able to gather, she was killed almost as soon as she was taken. It was, I believe, a case of kidnapping the wrong woman.” Peter asked if it was another pack member. “Yes. The woman they were taking should have been the wife of your brother. He owed, and still does, a great deal of money to some savvy loan sharks. I can fill you in on the rest later if you’d like. Or now if you have the time.” He told him now would be good. “All right. The men were hired to take Robert’s wife, to hold her until he came up with the money to pay back the substantial loan he’d taken out to gamble. Or to pay down on some of what he owed. I’m not entirely sure which, but it doesn’t matter.”

  “He told me he didn’t gamble anymore. Once I bailed him out, he promised he was finished with it for good.” Finn asked him how long ago it had been. “Let me think a minute. I think it was about five years ago. It cost me a great deal to help him out.”

  “Yes, I saw where he’d paid off some of the places he owed money to.” Peter asked him what he meant by some of the money. “After you paid out the half million of his debts, he was still looking at several hundred thousand dollars he still owed. And he’s still gambling and racking up debt.”

  “Christ. I had no idea it was that bad. I cashed in my insurance money for him. I hadn’t wanted to touch the money from the claim on Dalia’s death, but after several years went by, I was told as far as the insurance company was concerned, it had been long enough. I don’t know how I would have paid it off without the insurance money. The check was just laying on my dresser until he came to me for a loan. Of course, I’ve never seen a dime of payback since then.” Peter looked at Rachel again. Peter thought of something he wanted to tell his little girl. “Your name was Priscilla. It was my grandma’s name when she was alive.”

  Peter couldn’t stop touching her skin. He really was afraid she’d disappear. All three of them stood up when the crash of broken plates sounded. Peter’s mom was standing there. She was staring at Rachel the way he had when he’d first seen her.

  “It’s Prissy.” Rachel laughed. She then asked his mom if that was what she’d called her. “You’re my Prissy. I called you that because you were so beautiful, even as an infant. Peter, please tell me that this woman is— I just realized that you’re the lady of the house. Oh my goodness, you’re here. Prissy, come hug me.”

  Mom held onto Rachel tightly, babbling in much the same way he had. There was no doubt in his mind Rachel was his long lost daughter. But to see her with his mom brought on more tears and the need to take her home with him to protect her.

  “You’re a very lucky man, Peter.” He nodded, then turned and asked Finn why he’d said that. “You’ve been searching for Rachel and your wife for so long, and it was here where you found her. Will you allow me to tell you about your wife?”

  “She’s dead, you said. Was it a quick death? I want to know if she had to suffer, but I don’t at the same time. She did, didn’t she?” Finn nodded at him. Rat
her than look at Finn, knowing something about his family that he didn’t, Peter looked at his mom and daughter before speaking again. “Robert didn’t like Dalia. Nor was she very impressed with him. I believe it had to do with the fact she was so strong. As an alpha bitch, she had to be. She made him work and never put up with his bullshit. That was all he ever was, a person who slung shit every time he opened his mouth. But it went beyond them not liking one another in the last few days Dalia was with me. The two of them couldn’t be in the same room without a flare of tempers. I don’t know why I feel this in my very soul, but I believe Robert might have told them where to find my wife instead of his.”

  “You’re right, Peter. He did.” Peter closed his eyes when the pain in his heart was too much for him to bear alone. “The men who took her were told what she drove and a schedule that she followed. Like going to the grocery store on Tuesdays. The description given to the men who came after Robert’s wife was of your wife. He’d even gone so far as to tell them what sort of car your wife drove, including the license plate number. She had a price on her head the moment Robert got in over his head.”

  “How do you know this? Did you talk to those responsible?” Finn told him about one of the things he could do. “You only need to touch a gravestone of the deceased to get the information? That is seriously messed up, Finn. I mean, even as a dragon, knowing you can do something like this is really weird.” Peter was trying to make light of the power the other man had but knew he’d failed terribly.

  “It comes in handy at times. But I don’t have to touch just the grave markers. I can get the information from anything that was touched by a person. Dead or alive. Human or not. While I can’t talk to the dead, I can gather fragmented information, or from your wife’s grave everything she had happen to her in her final hours.” Peter asked if he could make sure the police knew where she was buried. “My aunt is taking care of it for you now. I hope you don’t mind, but I told Aunt Carson you’d want your wife buried here. In the cemetery on your land.”

  “Yes, I’d like her close.” He leaned back on the couch when his mom and Rachel came to sit with him. “I’ve no idea what to do now. I feel like I’ve been given the greatest gift of all— Holy shit, I have a son-in-law that is a dragon.”

  They all laughed, and Peter felt like a bit of the tension was gone. There was so much he wanted to hear from Rachel. Also things he’d rather not know. Mom was talking about when Rachel was a baby, telling her things he’d forgotten about in his grief. Peter looked over at Finn and realized this man was much better than he could have ever hoped for in a son-in-law. He was a man of worth, intelligence, as well as honor. Peter thought he couldn’t have picked a better mate for his only child.

  “Where are they? The men who killed my wife and tore apart my life?” Finn told him they were being taken care of. “That isn’t what I asked you, Finn. Where are the men Robert hired to kill my wife and take my daughter from me? I need to know.”

  “All right. I can understand where you’re coming from. The man who took your wife and child was named Manchester. He was killed not long after it came to light they’d gotten the wrong woman. His boss, a man by the name of Whitfield, was the one who pulled the trigger on him. Then Whitfield was killed a week later when another boss came in and took over his network. The other two men aren’t dead but are in prison on unrelated charges. Aunt Carson is going to make sure more time is added to their crimes as soon as your wife’s body is discovered.” Peter thought Finn knew where Dalia was buried. “I do. However, I can’t tell people where I found her without raising more questions than I can answer. The issue is that someone wouldn’t be able to just stumble over her grave. My aunt is working on someone finding her today.”

  “I don’t understand. Why can’t you get involved? Is it because you’re afraid someone will think you killed her? I didn’t even know you when she was killed.” He could feel his anger getting the best of him, and stopped speaking for a moment. “Tell me why you can’t just tell me where she is.”

  “Her body was buried under what is now a garage. The house was already there, but the garage is a new addition. As in, it’s being finished up today. Aunt Carson is going to have an inspector go by and say the foundation isn’t thick enough. He’ll tell the homeowners it must be redone.” Peter asked if they could afford the repairs. “Yes, they can now. Yesterday they won a good deal of money from a lottery. It will not only be enough to redo the garage, but they will also get the reward money from the insurance company. They’ll honor the reward because Aunt Carson said they would.”

  “She has pull then?” Finn only nodded. While he thought there was more to the answer than he gave him, Peter let it go. “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for me. For my mom as well. I knew in my head both had been killed a long time ago, but my heart would rebel at even the thought of them being gone from us. However, to have Rachel here, now, it’s like I’ve been given a second chance on life.”

  “You have been. I want you to know something, Peter. I won’t hurt her. Ever. None of my family will. We’ll protect her with our lives.” Peter said he knew that too. “She is the love of my life. Besides, I think she’d hurt me if I even tried to cause her any harm.”

  “My mother would hurt you, too, I think.” Everyone laughed, which was what he needed. The tension was thick in the room, and Peter wasn’t sure why. Then it occurred to him. “Robert doesn’t know. He has no idea Rachel is here with you, does he? Does anyone in your family have a plan I need to be aware of?”

  “He’s going to be arrested as soon as he gets here. Not as soon, but soon after. The house is under the protection of the people my mom and others work for. Mom talked with Rachel last night after I told her what I’d discovered. Neither one of us wanted to have you hurt over this. Mom thought Robert would have less knowledge of my home and wouldn’t be able to escape.” Peter asked if they thought he’d run. “Yes. He’s totally responsible for several deaths. Mom also wanted me to let you know there will be no report on him being arrested and taken in. Not if you want to take care of him your way.”

  “You’d allow me to have my pack take care of him?” Finn told him it was only fair his pack did it since his alpha had been killed. “They’ll likely kill him anyway. I doubt a cell could stop them from getting revenge for my wife.”

  “As they should have been able to do long ago.” Peter didn’t know what to say to his statement. Finn was going to let him take care Robert was punished by their laws for what he’d done. “No one, not anyone, will suffer for what you have to do, Peter. As I said, it should have happened long ago. It will be your call.”

  “I’ll take him.” Finn nodded, and the front doorbell rang simultaneously. “Is it going to be him?”

  “It is.”

  Rachel and his mom left the room. He didn’t know the plan, but when Cindi and Xavier sat down on the other chairs in the room, he didn’t know what to think. Robert was shown to the room they were all sitting in. Finn asked him how he was doing.

  “Just fine, really. I’m a man who takes pleasure in a lot of things others might miss.” No one laughed at his comment. “I didn’t know you were going to be here, Peter. I guess I thought I was going to have a meeting with Mr. Manning here. Something about a project. Did he fill you in on it already?”

  “No.” Peter looked at Finn. When he waved his hand, as if telling him it was his show, Peter stood up to face his brother. “You had my wife and daughter killed, didn’t you?”

  The look on his brother’s face told it all. Peter didn’t get angry. He didn’t feel the need to face his brother with intent to kill him just yet. He did, however, wonder what had been going through Robert’s head when he ordered the death of two people.

  ~~~

  Robert stared at his brother, wondering who might have squealed on him. It could have been any number of people he’d had with him the day he’d signed the contr
act on Dalia’s life. However, he thought most of those people were in jail or dead. He himself had killed off Manchester just a few days after he’d killed Dalia.

  “I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about. I thought she ran off or something.” He felt his knees shake a little when Peter’s wolf rolled over his skin. “What’s really going on, Peter? You look ready to attack me. This isn’t the way brothers behave to each other.”

  “You’re going to try and guilt me out of getting answers from you? I fucking trusted you. You had my wife killed so you could get out of some gambling debts, didn’t you?” Robert was afraid at how much he really knew about the death of his wife and daughter. “Oh, you can bet what I don’t know now, you’re going to tell me about it. You fucking bastard.”

  Robert was told to sit down. From the state of anger coming from his brother, the compulsion to sit made him sit right where he was standing. The floor wasn’t forgiving, nor was it very warm. Not moving at all for fear of drawing attention to himself again, he watched his brother be every bit of the pack leader he was.

  “Thomson is going to pick up Marie and bring her here as well. I’m going to question you both on your involvement in my wife’s death. You should understand something, Robert. The two of you are going to die tonight. I’ll give no mercy to either of you. Killing your alpha bitch was bad enough, but you also planned it so that both my daughter and wife were taken from me.”

  Robert started to tell him again he had no idea what he was talking about, but stopped. Trying to think past his fear, Robert did wonder if Peter would be able to kill him. The written law was very specific, and there were no loopholes in it. It stated that an alpha could not kill or maim his blood relatives or his mate’s family for any reason. It was going to be his trump. His get out of jail card for both him and Marie.

  “Why did you do this to me?” He’d not realized everyone had left the room except for the two of them. Nor had he noticed when Peter turned a chair toward him and sat down. “Answer me, damn it.”