BlackWolf Legacy

by Sydney Addae

  Jasmine frowned at him. “Really? You think they’ll believe that?”

  “They’ll have to. It’s all we have and we’ll stick to it. We didn’t see anyone, have no idea who was here. We’re on vacation and enjoying ourselves.” Silas stared down at her waiting for her response.

  “Is there any way they can go behind us to check and see if we’re telling the truth?” she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Probably. If they’re really interested they could point a satellite at our island and watch anything we do. Although, I doubt they can see through all the trees. But they could check and see if there was any activity on the open seas,” he said giving the matter thought.

  “What if we just tell the truth?” she asked. “Tell them that someone blew up some trees on our island and left.”

  “No,” Silas said shaking his head. That was out of the question.

  “Come on. They’ll never believe what you said. Two half-dead people have already been rescued from here, they know something’s going on,” she said.

  “Why didn’t we call it in?” Silas asked.

  “Because we’re down to our last day of vacation and with all the stuff that’s been happening we wanted one fricking day with no drama and that’s why we’re calling them today after being wakened first thing this morning by the noise,” she yelled, chest heaving while glaring at him.

  Silas placed his hands on her arms to calm her. “Lucian thinks we should deny everything.” He told her about Estevan’s connections.

  Angus confirmed it.

  “Lucian says Cortes people will come after me and will eventually learn about our people when they fail to kill me,” Silas said.

  She opened her mouth and snapped it close for a few seconds. “He forgot about Lynda and what’s the other guy’s name?” She asked Angus.

  “Jandro.”

  “Right, Jandro. If those two had never been rescued from here because of Cortes, you might not come up on anyone’s radar, Silas but it’s too late for that. They already know. If we lie, they’ll have legitimate grounds to keep us for questioning and we’ll look like we’re hiding something. Do your rich man of the manor thing, tell them the truth with slight modifications, then they’ll have to look elsewhere,” she said.

  “To be clear you’re talking about the police looking elsewhere, not Cortes’ people, right?” Silas asked her.

  “Right. Cortes’ people know or will know he was here, especially since the tracking device already put him here. They’ll do their own investigation and we can handle them a lot easier than the police. Remember, the President and Police Commissioner did you a favor, you can’t repay them with a cloud of suspicion. Tell the truth and stick close to it when you can’t.”

  “Tell the truth about Cortes death?” he asked through their link.

  “No. Once he left the island you don’t know what happened to him.”

  Silas returned to his seat and thought through everything. “No matter what we do, our vacation is shot, you realize that right?” he looked at Jasmine before meeting Angus gaze. Shyla had come onto the deck and stood next to Angus.

  Jasmine sat in the chair next to his and took his hand. “Maybe. Once we tell our side of the story, kind of help them with their investigation, there’s no reason for them to stay here. I’m thinking the men who worked with Cortes will know everything we tell the police before the end of the day anyway. If they decide to do something, chances are it’ll happen sometime tonight while we’re sleeping. The way I look at, if we stay razor close to the truth, we can politely tell them to leave and explain that they know how to contact us if needed. That way, we have the rest of the day to enjoy.” She smiled and brushed her lips against his cheek.

  “It could work, especially if Mistress does most of the talking,” Shyla said, smiling at Jasmine.

  Silas didn’t like it. Lucian strongly suggested they not tell the police anything and he knew how things operated in this area better than they did. On the other hand, Jasmine thought more like humans than any of them and could be right. Bottom line, if he handled things her way and things went south, they’d work through it together without any friction. If he followed Lucian’s advice and things didn’t work, there would be major problems.

  “Jasmine’s my partner and co-leader of the Pack.” He looked at Angus. “Make the call. Tell them yesterday someone was playing around with explosives on one side of my island. We didn’t call it in yesterday because we wanted to enjoy our last day of vacation. We heard the explosion this morning and called it in. You don’t know who set the explosives. By the time we got there a boat was leaving.” Silas shrugged. “Our security cameras were off since Lynda arrived. We don’t know what happened.” He looked at Jasmine.

  She nodded. “We never turned them back on after she left.”

  “Did we look at the security cameras when we heard the explosion?” Shyla asked.

  “I didn’t,” Jasmine said. “I haven’t watched them since Silas left with Amynta.” She looked at him. “You haven’t told me the details of what happened with that.”

  He waved down her comment. “I’m waiting for Hawke to contact me after he’s translated everything. I’ll tell you all about it after the police leave, alright?”

  She nodded and covered his hand. “Did you see Cortes last night when his boat arrived?”

  Silas’ eyes widened. “No. I was asleep with my wife. Our security system was on and I didn’t hear anything.”

  “My baby was lying next to me all night long,” Shyla said as Angus returned to the table.

  “I called it in. Someone will be here to talk to us later today. They politely thanked me and didn’t ask any questions,” Angus said.

  Shyla threaded her fingers through his. “I’m glad I’m not the person who answered the phone on that call.” She chuckled. “Information like that should’ve been passed through immediately to whoever is in charge of the explosion this morning.”

  Jasmine agreed. “Stick as close to the truth as you can. I heard the explosion but didn’t run to check on it. I stayed here in the house.” She looked at Silas. “You went to check on it when you woke.”

  “I was taking a nap and when I woke I went to check on it. I didn’t see anyone or anything,” Silas said.

  “Are you sure, Sir?” she asked in a deep voice and placed her hand beneath his mouth as if it was a microphone.

  “Positive. I didn’t see anyone,” he said.

  “They may separate us to ask the questions,” Jasmine said.

  “I’ll pass on everything Jasmine says to you guys and vice versa,” Silas said.

  “I wish this was one of those times I could ride your power and link with Shyla and Angus like I did that time with the Shershrine,” Jasmine said.

  “Me too. But it’s a hit or miss thing. We can try it if you want,” Silas said, rubbing her palm. They didn’t talk about Shershrine often. They were a group of beings responsible for shifters and didn’t like wolves mixing with humans. Not only had they tried to break his and Jasmine’s mating bond but their words left a virus in the air that almost killed her last Christmas. She lost some of her abilities like riding links the way she had with Shyla.

  “That’s alright. We have enough to deal with.” Jasmine leaned back in the chair. “Wanna go jet-skiing?” She grinned as she looked at Shyla.

  “You know I’m game. Give me a moment to change and we can go.” Shyla stood.

  “Jasmine, you’ll need to shield both of you just in case there’s someone lurking around,” Silas said. What he really wanted to say was she couldn’t go without him. He wasn’t sure Cortes’ people weren’t in the vicinity looking for clues or watching them. Time and experience had taught him not to go that route. Instead, he offered advice on how she could remain safe. Then he decided he would be sitting on the beach or in the water along with her.

  “Alright.” She looked up and smiled. “Another gorgeous day. Why don’t you guys get some fish
ing done so we can throw it on the grill later?” She stood, bent over and kissed him before entering their bedroom to change.

  Angus looked at him a few moments. “You okay with all this?”

  “Hell no, but I have to follow her lead this time.”

  “Because?”

  Silas frowned at him and slipped on his sunglasses. “Because she’s normally right when it comes to stuff like this,” he snapped.

  Angus grinned and started laughing. “You know what? You’re right. What was I thinking? Sis is one smart Bitch. I’m going to the beach with them.” He stood and left the deck.

  Silas continued watching the horizon. Uneasy with his decision, he took several long swallows of water from the bottle before tossing it into the recycle bin.

  “Silas?” Lucian said.

  “Yes, Lucian. Have you heard anything?”

  “We were successful in getting Pala, from Solo’s Pack on the search and rescue boat. Detectives Marin and Suarez are on board and want to make your island their first stop. They were there before?”

  “Yes,” Silas told him about Lynda and Jandro.

  “I didn’t know.” He paused. “Now I see why they suspect you.”

  Silas jerked. “Suspect me of what?”

  “The explosion this morning. Once they learned it was a boat Cortes used, and it was closer to your island than his home in Columbia, the Detective wanted to talk to you. I believe he received permission from the Police Commissioner to question you,” Lucian said.

  “Did he?”

  “Yes, which is why there was a delay. I believe they had to weigh which foreigners were the greater threat and how to walk that rope between the two. If they do not question you, Cortes’ associates will become angry. If they question you, you may be offended and withdraw financial support that the new President depends on. As I said they are dancing on a tightrope.”

  “Let me ask this, how likely is it that Cortes will stand trial for hunting the American and killing the other three?” Silas asked.

  “The American Ambassador is pressing hard on that score. If they find Cortes, he may go to court but it’s doubtful. Right now, the President of Panama is blaming Colombia since Cortes lives there and he’s saying the crimes were committed in that country. Who can say yes or no?”

  “She was blindfolded,” Silas said remembering Lynda’s account of what happened.

  “Exactly. She cannot say if the crimes happened in Panama which the President and tourism Minister are yelling from the tops of their voices to stop the press from demonizing their country. It has been interesting to watch,” Lucian said.

  Silas hadn’t known any of that. “I can imagine.”

  “They will be to your island this morning,” Lucian said.

  “We’re going jet-skiing,” he said.

  Lucian laughed. “It’s a beautiful day for it, enjoy.”

  “One thing I didn’t tell you,” Silas told him about Cortes using explosives on the island.

  When Lucian spoke, his tone was somber. “Be very careful when you talk to the Detective. He must walk a line while dealing with you, but he cannot ignore a multitude of clues and information either.”

  “We reported it,” Silas said.

  “You did?”

  “Yes. This morning. The only reason we didn’t report that someone had been practicing demolition on our island yesterday was that we wanted to enjoy the last day and figured to call today. I’ll contact Solo for an estimate to repair the hole once we leave.”

  Lucian didn’t say anything for several moments and then he laughed. “Yes, I can see why that would be a minor inconvenience when you’re enjoying over 200 acres. Only someone with millions of dollars, such as yourself, would not be bothered by such things. Yes, yes, I can see that.” He laughed a little longer

  Silas smiled as Jasmine’s idea solidified in his mind. He would take the position of a rich man too busy to bother with something inconsequential as someone trespassing on his land. His grin widened as he became more confident of pulling it off.

  <<<<>>>>

  Silas, Jasmine, Angus, and Shyla raced each other on jet skis across the calm blue waters. The views were breath-taking and the weather perfect. Skiing with free abandon across the water, they laughed and threw out challenges. Silas listened for Pala, the police officer on board the ship with the detectives, to tell him when the boat was nearby.

  Two hours had passed since Lucian warned him of the police’s impending visit. He was happy they hadn’t sat around waiting.

  “We will arrive in less than five minutes,” Pala said.

  Silas passed the information along to Angus, Shyla, and Jasmine. They turned and headed in the direction of the island. Silas returned the Detective’s wave as the boat came into view. The warmth of the noonday sun dried the splashes of water from his skin as he pulled closer to shore.

  “You want me to come with you,” Jasmine asked.

  Silas was certain it was a trick question since telling the truth was her idea. “Yes. I’ll follow your lead in dealing with them.”

  She winked at him and he realized she wasn’t worried at all which strengthened his confidence in their plan.

  “Are you alright?” he asked her.

  “Yes.” She pulled ahead of him and turned off her skis. Silas pulled her and his skis onshore and waited for Angus and Shyla. Together the four of them walked toward the boat where Detective Marin, Suarez, and three police officers looked around for the wooden dock.

  “Someone tore up our dock,” Silas said from the shore.

  Suarez nodded and walked toward the rear of the vessel. Soon thereafter they lowered a small inflatable boat, entered it and paddled closer to the shore. Once they reached the shore, the detectives looked around.

  “When did you lose your dock?” Suarez asked.

  Silas shrugged. “Sometime yesterday. Didn’t notice it till later in the evening.”

  Suarez’ gaze sharpened. “You didn’t notice your dock was missing?”

  “No reason to. We don’t come to this side of the island often and since we didn’t need the dock, we didn’t notice,” Silas said, feeling more and more confident.

  “I see,” Detective Suarez said.

  “I appreciate you coming so quickly,” Silas said taking Jasmine’s hand and walking toward the trees in the direction of the spot of the explosion. “Surprised they sent so many of you for this but I guess you can’t be too careful. I’ll be having someone come next week to give us an estimate of removing the trees and filling the hole but wanted you to see it before that happened.” He looked over his shoulder at the perplexed looks on Suarez and Marin’s faces and stopped. “What’s the matter?”

  “You were expecting us?” Detective Suarez asked.

  “Yes. Not you particularly, but we were expecting the police after we called it in this morning,” Silas frowned and faced them fully. “The explosion. That’s why you’re here, right?”

  “Yes, but we know nothing of your call,” Detective Suarez said slowly looking at his partner and back at them.

  Silas’ frown deepened. “I don’t understand. Tell me exactly why you’re here.” He hardened his voice.

  “There was an explosion this morning around three or four... before sunrise. You are aware of this?” Detective Marin asked, joining the conversation.

  “We heard a noise, felt the ground shudder,” Silas said, nodding slowly.

  “That’s what we’re investigating,” Marin said, watching Silas closely.

  “You’re here for that? Something that happened somewhere else and not about the destruction of my property which I called in?” Silas asked as he crossed his arms and glared at the police officers.

  “We’re not aware of any calls you’ve made to our office, Sir. Perhaps you’ll tell us what has happened and we can assist you since we are here,” Marin said in a conciliatory tone.

  “This way.” Silas turned and walked through the trees and came to the clearing. Rather th
an speak he pointed to the hole.

  “Madre de Dios,” one of the officers whispered.

  Silas looked at Jasmine, noticed she looked appropriately concerned and then looked at the Detectives. “We were told someone would get in contact with us which is why we’re allowing you to interrupt our vacation before we leave tomorrow.

  “I apologize,” Detective Marin said after meeting Suarez’ gaze. “When did you call this in?”

  Silas looked at Angus who shrugged. “Sometime this morning, after breakfast,” Angus said.

  “When did this happen?” Detective Marin sounded confused as his gaze flit between Silas and Angus.

  “Yesterday,” Silas said in a hard voice. “Sometime in the afternoon while we were having lunch. We heard the explosion in the main house. By the time we reached this side of the island we heard a boat leaving, saw this hole and the missing dock.” He pointed to the fallen trees and burnt area.

  “And you waited until this morning to report it?” Marin asked, with some suspicion.

  “Yes. Since we didn’t see who did it, we decided there was nothing anyone could’ve done about it. Plus, we didn’t want the inconvenience of the rest of our day being ruined. If I thought something might’ve been done about it right away, perhaps I would’ve called the police. But since the last time you were here, nothings been done regarding the man who hunted the others, so I didn’t bother to contact you regarding this. I’ll have someone repair the damage after we go home.”

  Marin’s jaw tightened.

  Suarez face pinked.

  The other police officers stared at the ground.

  “You’re right, Sir,” Pala said. “Nothing’s been done to stop Cortes. They know it’s him. His nephew admitted it but they are afraid to go after him and hope things will die down soon.”

  “I assure you, Sir, we are investigating what happened to the Americans,” Marin said.

  Silas raised his hand. “There’s nothing to investigate. You already know who hunted our American brothers and sisters down like dogs and killed three of them. You know that same man and his people followed the American female to this island and tried to kill her. He shot at my wife and sister-in-law. You know all these things, but this man is still free. Avoiding penalty for his actions. Perhaps he’s the one who returned to my island and set off the explosions and destroyed my dock.” Silas shrugged. “It is of little matter to me to have a new dock built and the land repaired.” He waved to the island. “I own over 200 acres here and this hole is an inconvenience but not a major incidence for me. However, I do not like my peace, my vacation interrupted, and for that, I blame those who fail to capture this criminal for running wild around the world.”