by Tl Reeve
She rolled over, pulling the blankets with her. “Okay. You’ve spoiled me with sleeping in. I should be up now.”
He snorted. No, what she meant to say was insomnia would have made it impossible to sleep so she’d already be up. “Take the small chances when you can.”
She raised her thumb, affirming his statement.
He exited the room with one last glance over his shoulder. Danielle hadn’t moved an inch. He grinned. It warmed his soul to see her finally taking care of herself. Caden strolled down the hall to Nicolas’ room. He ducked his head inside to make sure his son slept peacefully before doing the same with Aiden. The wolf he’d bought Aiden sat next to the wall, while the boy still clung to the damn lion. Pick your battles.
On the way down the stairs, he heard the door open and scented Logan as he stepped over the threshold. The man looked beat to hell. His eyes were rimmed in purple and black from lack of sleep. His clothes were wrinkled, and he had a nasty case of bedhead. Guilt ate at Caden’s gut. He should have told Kalkin no or accepted the out when his brother gave it to him. But, no way in hell he’d allow his brother to do all the work alone. Not this time. He already did enough to cause more harm than good.
“Morning,” Caden said. “You look like shit.”
“Full moon,” Logan grumbled.
“You found your mate?” Caden cocked a brow.
“I have. She’s not ready.” Logan headed for the kitchen. “Fresh coffee?”
“Yeah. Should be ready.” He followed after the deputy. “What do you mean she’s not ready?”
“She’s not ready.” Logan grabbed a cup. “I’m respecting her wishes for now. In the interim, I’m a surly wolf to be around.”
Caden raised his hands in acquiesce. “Understood. Kalkin said Keeley might invite Danielle and the boys over.”
“Maxwell called as well,” Logan said, raising his cup to his lips after pouring some of the coffee. “Crow will also be over for a small playdate. Go figure. He likes babies.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Caden’s mouth. “Well, I’ll be.”
Caden arrived at the scene at the same time Kalkin pulled up. His brother didn’t appear to be fairing any better than he was at the moment. He got out of his vehicle and joined his brother at the steps. They stood shoulder to shoulder staring at the charred out remains of their home away from home. In ten years, they’d built something with the community. Now, it lay in ruins.
A memorial had been placed by where the front door of the building had once stood. Flowers, small candles, and cards dotted the area along with get well balloons and a giant card for Loraine. The heavy-duty construction paper had been taped to the burnt remains of the wall along with a set of pens. Loraine’s name had been scrawled across it. She’d get a kick out of it when she finally got a chance to see it.
The hollowed remains of the building drew his attention once more. Walls were reduced to crumbled ruins, sticking up at odd angles. The skeletal remnants of doorframes leaned at peculiar angles. Where Loraine should be sitting greeting them when they walked through the door sat the shell of her desk. The plastic body and keys of her typewriter had melted, creating a macabre scene of discombobulated letters. Wisps of smoke still twirled, lifting towards the sky. It’d only been a few days since the attack, and the memories were still fresh in his mind. The screams of those trapped inside. The sounds of those dying in agony... His gut knotted. How could they adequately care for Danielle or his boys if they didn’t even know this was coming? They’d been caught completely off their game even with the information they’d gleaned from the conversation between Tiffany and Raymond. It didn’t add up for Caden. Tiffany wanted Danielle. Why blow up the Sheriff’s Department? Was it a distraction that got out of hand?
Everett approached with Blackhorn, and the hackles on the back of Caden’s neck stood on end. Both men were deep in conversation. Blackhorn held a folder in his hand. It had to be the report. However, the man having Everett with him didn’t settle right with Caden. Kalkin placed his hand on Caden’s shoulder. He’d already taken two steps forward without realizing what he was doing.
“There is much to discuss,” Kalkin muttered. “Leave it for now.”
Leave the traitor in their midst for now? Everett had been in town when shit went down and Kalkin trusted the guy? Why? “You better have a good reason.”
Kalkin sighed. “Sometimes you remind me of me, it’s ridiculous. Curb your shit.”
Caden rolled his eyes. “We’re twins, asshole.”
Kalkin grinned. “You’re the ugly one.”
Caden flipped him off.
“Everett isn’t who you think he is.”
“You mean a fucking backstabbing member of the Quincy pack?” He cut his gaze toward his brother.
“Shit, Caden. Drop it for now. I promise I will explain.” He squeezed Caden’s shoulder as Blackhorn approached.
“Everything on the level?” He glanced between Kalkin and Caden.
Kalkin grunted. “Seeing as we’ve been pulled through the ringer by our assholes, we’re alive.”
“It’s all anyone can ask at this stage,” Blackhorn stated, handing the file to Kalkin. “This is what you need to know.”
Caden glanced over his brother’s shoulder. “What did they use for the firebomb?”
“A mix of alcohol and gasoline,” Blackhorn answered. “Crude yet effective. It did exactly what they wanted.”
“How did they get the IEDs rigged to the vehicles without someone seeing?” Kalkin didn’t look up from the report.
“You can’t watch the cars all the time,” Everett pipped up. “Without a fence around the parking lot, anyone can come and go without being seen.”
Once a fucking Quincy, always a fucking Quincy.
Easy, brother. Kalkin’s voice whispered through Caden’s mind.
“Charisma’s house is another story altogether,” Blackhorn stated. “Someone broke in, turned on the stove, and left a lit candle on it.”
“What the fuck?” Why would someone want to do that?
“Is it related to what we’re dealing with now?” Kalkin turned the page to the picture of Charisma’s house.
“I’m not convinced it is,” Blackhorn replied. “I’ll be talking to her later to find out if she has any stalker issues or ex-boyfriends.”
“What did you find out, Everett?” Kalkin asked.
“Raymond and Tiffany are gloating about the attack. I’m not sure if they did it on their own or if they had help from Allen.”
Allen? The paramedic that gave him the oxygen when he stumbled out of the building? The fucking paramedic who assisted Loraine and got into a shitting match with Jace? A deep, rumbling growl built in his chest. The fucker was going to die. “Please tell me prints were found on something that can lead to an arrest.”
“Page three,” Blackhorn said. “A partial.”
Kalkin flipped through the pack to where the picture of the print lay along with a full composite of the identical thumbprint next to it. Allen Pendergrass’ name stared back at him from the page, along with his photograph taken from his paramedic license. Son of a bitch! “We’ve got them.”
“Not yet,” Kalkin stated. “He could have touched it when trying to help people.”
“They were all wearing gloves,” Caden snarled.
“He’s right,” Blackhorn said. “You can’t go charging into this. If they suspect you know, they’ll come at you full force, then what? Are you willing to risk your mate?”
Fucking hell! He stared at the man who betrayed their pack and the man who’d not only joined them, but also helped when he didn’t have to. “This is such bullshit.”
“Yes it is,” Everett agreed.
“What would you know? You fucked us over. You went with those fuck-faces and didn’t give a shit. You’re no better than they are in my book,” Caden spat.
“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Everett crossed his arms. “No, you wouldn’t. Couldn’t have my co
ver blown.”
What? Nothing Everett said made a lick of sense to Caden. What did he mean by his cover would have been blown? What didn’t Kalkin tell him? Shit, had he been so out of it, his brother didn’t trust him with the truth of the situation? Had he been so fucked up to forget even being told?
“No, I didn’t tell him. I told you I wouldn’t.” Kalkin closed the folder and placed it under his arm. “Everett was sent with the Quincy pack to be my snitch.”
Caden stumbled back. “What?”
“I have been gathering information from the Quincy pack for the last twenty plus years.”
“What the shit? You couldn’t tell me before now?” He couldn’t believe Kalkin would keep something this vital from him. “Did you know Quincy was behind gathering the kids on the edge of the pack lands?”
Everett shook his head. “No. The boys in Quincy pack were dick measuring. They thought if they could bring Raferty pack boys to their sides, they would rise within the ranks. Raymond didn’t give a shit. Most of the little assholes who came over ended back in your—our pack when they saw the truth of it. Only Tiffany had beef with your family, and Raymond was only too happy to glom onto it.”
“But why Allen?” Kalkin questioned. “What ties him into this shit?”
“Pussy,” Everett said. “Plain and simple.”
“Is there anyone she hasn’t fucked?” Caden muttered. “You’d have thought they would have gotten wise to her shit when Emmitt disappeared.”
Everett grunted. “Word is, she whelped again. Three months ago, to be exact.”
“What?” Caden couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I’m sorry. Maybe I didn’t hear you correctly.”
“Oh, you heard right,” Kalkin said. “Everett isn’t the only one who’s said the same. Anyone get a look at the pups?”
Everett shook his head. “No. Raymond has them under guard.”
“So, they’re his?”
Everett shrugged. “No one is sure. Most in the pack think Tiffany is off her fucking rocker crazy, and that’s why Raymond has them in protective custody.”
“She is off her rocker if she wants Aiden back.” Caden growled. He couldn’t help it. The bitch was after his son, and she already birthed who knew how many more? Fuck that shit.
“Yeah, you put a wrench in her plans,” Everett added. “Word is, she can’t figure out why Danielle hasn’t come to get more milk from Mrs. Martin.”
“I took care of it,” Caden answered.
“Yeah, well, they think Nicolas died. Which seemed to make Tiffany gleefully happy.”
Rage burned through Caden’s soul. His heart thundered. His nails split in two, allowed the wolf to emerge. He clamped down the urge to shift only because he didn’t want to draw unwanted attention to them. He’d kill her. He’d do it slowly. For every inch of her hide he stripped from her body, he’d remind her exactly who Danielle was to him and why Tiffany would never be close to a real mother to his son, Aiden.
“Easy, brother.” Kalkin clamped a hand on Caden’s shoulder, grounding him. “We’ll get them.”
“Not before I do,” he whispered.
“Sorry, man,” Everett uttered.
“Don’t be. Unless you did something to hurt Aiden and his siblings, we’re good.”
“Speaking of which,” Kalkin said. “Royce called earlier.”
Caden snapped his attention to his brother. “What?”
“He said Crow cried out, ‘no Tiff-nee,’ in his sleep.”
Oh yes, she would die a slow, torturous death. He would make it his duty to make sure she paid for every transgression.
“There have been rumblings of her sadistic ways with kids,” Everett said. “Two more children vanished within the last few days.”
“Hers?” Blackhorn prodded.
Everett shook his head. “Orphans in the Quincy pack. Or as Raymond likes to call them, bait ‘mutts’.”
This shit gets better and better. “Your job is to find those kids and get them the fuck out of there,” Caden stated.
“What makes you think I haven’t already found them and have them with Keeley now?” Everett cocked a brow.
Caden looked to his brother for confirmation. “Well?”
“It’s true. Three. Two boys and a small girl. Her name is Carolyn, and the boys are Mace and Kingston.”
Caden needed a moment. He stepped away from the group of men who stood huddled together, still talking. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to loosen some of the tension there. How the fuck had this all happened? How had things gotten so out of control after all the work they’d done to fix the issues surrounding their pack?
A thin shimmer of calming energy spread from the middle of his chest. The warm tendrils continued to extend through his limbs. It eased the tension headache forming at his temples. It also tempered the anger tearing through him. Little by little he found his center. Don’t fret... Had he not been paying attention, he’d have missed the softly spoken words.
Dani?
Happiness bloomed along the same tether of calming energy. Caden.
I’ll be. When did you do this?
Another wave of positive current filled him. When we mated. Don’t worry, we’ll fix this together. We’re not alone. We have a family now.
Yes, yes they did. How are the new little ones?
Sickly. We have our work cut out for us. Keeley and I are examining them now. Your pain hit me hard, so I stepped out for a minute. Are you better now?
Damn her. I am. Go. Take care of the children. We’ll talk later.
Be safe.
She ducked out of his mind, and the noises from the town filtered back into his senses. He glanced over at his brother who stared at him as though he’d been trying to get his attention for some time. “Sorry.”
“Everything okay?” Kalkin tilted his head.
“Yeah. Uh, Danielle said the kids are sickly. She and Keeley are working on them now.”
Kalkin gave him a shit-eating grin. “Bout time you connected with her.”
“Can we not embarrass me right now?”
“Oh, trust me. This is nothing compared to what I have planned later in front of everyone.”
Asshole. “Look, why don’t I take the file over to the DA’s office and see what we can do from here while you guys do whatever the fuck you want to do.”
Blackhorn nodded. “I think you’ve got the right idea, Caden.”
Caden nodded and started to walk away when Rapier and Nico approached from the direction of Mrs. Martin’s store. Both of them wore identical expressions and had he not talked to Danielle moments ago, he’d have worried something else had happened.
“Incoming,” Kalkin muttered.
“If you’re coming to give me shit about anything to do with my mate or kids, I got no time for your bullshit right now,” Caden snapped, addressing the large lion shifter before he had a chance to open his mouth.
Kal snorted next to him. Caden ignored his twin. Instead, he chose to focus all his aggression on the smarmy lion shifter in front of him. It didn’t help that Caden was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his Alpha, his twin brother, had kept Everett’s true purpose a secret for the last two decades.
What the fuck else was his brother hiding from him, his Beta?
“Fuck you, asshole,” Rapier snarled, getting in his face. “I came to offer my help.”
“Now, children.” Kalkin’s tone took on a condescending quality as he inserted himself between Caden and Rapier. His twin’s move only fueled Caden’s building aggression.
What the hell was his brother doing? Caden didn’t want or need to hide behind his older brother or have Kalkin protect him for that matter. It pissed him off, and without thinking—because clearly, he wasn’t—he gave his twin, his Alpha, a hearty shove.
The big ox barely fucking moved.
Kalkin’s response was immediate. “You wanna back the fuck off, before I make you?” Kal snarled.
As much
as Caden wanted to push it, he knew Kalkin, in full out alpha mode, would retaliate. Experience told him it wouldn’t be pretty and right now it wouldn’t help the pack.
Rapier snickered.
“The same goes for you, asshole.” Kalkin growled. “Now is not the fucking time for this shit. Need I remind you, our town, our fucking pack lost members the other day. This bullshit,” Kal gestured between them, “is exactly what Quincy wants us to do. I won’t have it. I won’t allow my pack to be destroyed. You’re either with me, or against me, and trust me, you motherfuckers don’t want to be against me. I got shit to do, a town and people to protect. Get your shit together, or I’ll get it together for you, and you won’t like how I do it.” Kalkin glared at Caden. “Rapier wants to help and guess what, asshole, for shoving me, as Beta, it’s going to be you responsible for keeping Rapier up to date and in the loop from here on out. You fail at it, you’re going to deal with me. Got it?”
“Got it,” Caden replied, his gaze locked with his brother’s.
“Now get to fucking work,” Kal snarled, throwing the file at him before he stormed off.
“You Raferty brothers,” Blackhorn chuckled. “Are fucking nuts.”
Everett snorted and remarked, “This is nothing.”
“I thought after leaving the Bureau, life would be boring. Who knew it’d only get more interesting.” The former agent pointed to the file Caden held in his hand. “You have everything you need to update Rapier before taking it to the District Attorney. I’ll leave you to it.”
Blackhorn left, leaving Caden, Rapier, and a wide-eyed Nico. Shit. Caden had forgotten the impressionable orphan had arrived with the lion shifter.
“Dude,” Nico said. “You pushed the Alpha. You gotta have a death wish.”
Caden shrugged, fighting back the smirk he could feel forming on lips at the boy’s shocked tone. “My relationship with Kalkin is different than yours, kid. Not only am I his Beta, I’m also his brother. It allows me, at times, to get away with more than I should. It doesn’t make it right by any means, and I’m sure he’ll get me back in a way I won’t enjoy.”
Rapier sniggered, causing Nico to slide his gaze at the other man. “Is it true?”