by K. N. Banet
“As for reasons to disclose the identity of a werecat?” Miller shrugged. “Murder and conviction would release a werecat’s name if that case landed in our hands.”
“I would take care of it,” I murmured.
“What if you commit the murder?”
“Someone would take care of it,” I said softly. “But I see what you mean. If there’s an incident, there’s no reasonable way for the BSA to sweep it under the rug. Just means I’ll have to work harder to keep you from needing to get involved.”
“That’s what the werewolves do,” Special Agent Collins pointed out. “We let them because it’s easier to work with than against supernaturals. We understand there are certain social and cultural guidelines supernaturals have upheld for centuries, and they prefer to continue to manage your criminals in your own ways.”
“The United States isn’t a perfect country, and there are politicians out there who want to change the laws around supernaturals, become more strict, but the BSA is resistant to anything that might disrupt the peace we’ve been able to forge with the non-humans of the United States.” Miller’s words sounded like a written statement just for moments like this. “And peace is the ultimate goal.”
“No one wants a war with people who don’t die very easily,” Heath said with a dark chuckle. “Once the BSA realized just how many of us were hiding, even only werewolves, they decided it was easier to forge a path with peace than hate.”
“Yes, sir,” Collins agreed. “Less American lives would be lost, practically none. The murder rate of supernaturals on humans is miniscule.”
His tune will change if they ever realize vampires are real. Hopefully, none of them slip up in the next decade, so werecats can settle into this new reality.
“I like this, but I’ll need time to think it over when this is all said and done.” I folded the paper into a small square and put it in my pocket. “We need to deal with the immediate threat on my life.”
“All we wanted was for you to see what we were willing to do for you before moving any further,” Collins said. “Let’s move onto the incident from earlier today.” He waited for Miller to get a folder from the briefcase again. “We ran the license plate on the truck. It’s registered to a Sam Blake. He’s not from around here, actually hails from Boston. Two men attacked you on the road. Can you give me a description of the vehicle? Maybe we can match it to this one.”
“Black pickup.” I closed my eyes, trying to remember. “Silver grill on the front. You know the thing, like Dirk’s truck.” I opened my eyes and gasped. “Dirk, you didn’t try to kill me, did you?”
He glared at me.
“Jacky, don’t mess with him,” Heath smirked.
“Yeah, I don’t remember anything except a black pickup. I’m not the best with cars or guns. I own a bar, so I can tell you every type of alcohol in stock, but I’m not…a truck girl. Or a gun person.”
“Black is on the description. We’ll go on the assumption it’s the same truck, or there are two. Hopefully, it’s the same truck. The last thing we need is to be dealing with more than two to four men. I would need to call in reinforcements. I’m lucky they haven’t already forced me to do that, but then again, I haven’t told them you were shot yet.” Collins shook his head. “Miller and I aren’t equipped to fight an army.”
“They might find out soon enough,” Heath commented. “Ranger tells his Alpha, his Alpha tells the NAWC, NAWC…” Heath looked at me.
Hasan might find out before I have the chance to lessen the blow. Damn it. He would tell me if he’s getting on a plane, won’t he? I hope so.
“Information moves fast in our world,” I agreed. “But you don’t need a BSA army. You have one right here. Two werewolves and a werecat can handle a lot. Heath and I have done dangerous things before.
“First, we need to figure out where these guys are staying. Then we strike, and I figure out just who they’re getting their information from, who wants me dead.”
“It’s a simple plan. If we can’t find them, we…” Heath growled. “We use Jacky as bait for another attack, hopefully keeping her from getting killed in the process.”
“You could have let me say that, so it didn’t make you want to gag,” I whispered to him, knowing everyone at the table could hear me.
“It would sound even stupider coming from you than from me, so I decided to lessen the stupid factor of the idea,” he retorted. “It probably surprises no one that I’m against the idea.”
“I’m not too keen on it, either,” I replied. “But we have to leave it on the table.”
“Sure.” He leaned closer to me. “We’ll leave it on the table if you let me help you buy a new car beforehand and get a roll cage installed.”
“You asked for this,” Landon commented softly, looking across his father at me.
“We’ll come back to it,” I decided, and Heath chuckled softly. I turned back to the agents and drummed my fingers on the table. My side ached uncomfortably, and the pain was further in, that unreachable sort of pain I knew I couldn’t rub and hope it would feel better. “Heath told me you were looking into movement from any of the major extremist groups around the country. Has anyone seemed suspect?”
“No, there hasn’t been anything to lead us to believe any of the bigger organizations have attacked you. That made us think this might be a local militia, but with Sam Blake being from Boston, that doesn’t seem to be the case, either. There’s no stronghold there. Most militias that focus on supernatural ‘threats’ are in the Midwest.” Collins kept his eyes on me, narrowing them. “If werewolves and werecats aren’t allies or even close to it, do you think you might have some enemies among them? Maybe someone from the werewolves trying to kill you before you can make a deal with us? They know we’re talking to you.”
“I know they do, but if they wanted me dead, they probably wouldn’t involve humans.” Oh, no, he’s probably right.
“Humans, no offense, are unreliable when it comes to killing supernaturals,” Heath explained. “We’re faster, more willing to kill to protect ourselves, and have very few weaknesses. A pack would much rather come into a werecat’s territory with a large hunting group and kill the werecat before the werecat has a chance to call for help. It’s happened before.”
“Or they would get us to leave our territory,” I added. “Something that baits us out.”
“Territory?” This time, the curiosity came from Miller.
“Another time,” I said quickly, a little pissed we had let that slip. Heath, to his benefit, smelled guilty. “I was shot today, so I’m going to head home and get some sleep. We can keep working on this tomorrow.”
“Landon and I can keep watch if you need us. Kick Shot was burned down once before, and this group has vandalized it as well. Want to bet they’ll consider it again?”
I nodded, liking the offer. “You can sleep in the bar if that’s okay. I’m going to go home.”
Heath stood and helped me to my feet. Landon was next. Dirk was the only one still seated with the agents, and that didn’t last long.
“I’ll give her a ride back to the bar,” he said in a rush. “She’s my boss.”
“Okay,” Heath agreed, chuckling. “We need to make sure we’re ready for anything, so we’ll meet you there. Kick Shot is still open, right?”
“Should be. That will keep me out of trouble for an hour or so as the last shift cleans up.”
Dirk and I left after that, and once we were out of sight of the Everson family home, he cut off the music.
“We’re not telling the family about this, are we?” he asked, squeezing his steering wheel as if it made him anxious or angry. His scent pointed to the former.
“No, not yet,” I confirmed. “They’ll show up and expose themselves, which ruins all the negotiating I’ve gotten done. Would I like them here? Yeah, if the BSA wasn’t involved, but…” I shook my head. “Everything relies on me being in charge here, and with the family, I’m the bottom of the ladder,
not the top.”
“Yeah.” Dirk nodded. “I’ll keep up the story. How’s the gunshot wound?”
“Healing.” I lifted my oversized shirt and took a look at the bandage. There was some minor red showing through, a spot of bleeding. “It’ll heal if I don’t fuck with it too much. I got lucky, they only took one shot, and there were people around to help me.”
“From what I heard, they only took one shot because they thought they killed you.”
“Yeah, I did that on purpose,” I said softly, still looking at the bandage. “I fell back and told Carey to scream. It was all I could think of. If they thought I was dead, she would be safe…” I closed my eyes. “I haven’t had a chance to process it yet, so…”
We fell silent as he drove until we reached the parking lot of Kick Shot once again.
“You know I’m happier here in Texas than I have been anywhere else, right?” Dirk looked at me from across the dark truck.
“I think you've made a friend, and you’re away from Niko,” I said in return.
“Well, I lose both of those if you die, and you’re my favorite person in the family. So please, whatever you decide to do to handle this, don’t get killed. Oliver doesn’t want to go back to London, either.”
“I know. I know you two are counting on me.” And so many others.
“Okay.” He nodded. “And you can count on us, too. While you were down, Landon and I kept Carey with us and directed the contractors. They’re moving fast. You should see all this done by the end of the month. Landon also has me set up.” He lifted his hoodie and revealed a new sidearm. “No silver since we’re dealing with humans right now, but he knows a guy he’s going to hook me up with.” He must have been satisfied I saw it and knew he was protected, because he cut the engine and jumped out of the truck. I opened my door but barely got a foot out before he was there, helping me to the ground. His truck wasn’t small.
“If anyone comes at you while I’m around, I’m not afraid to shoot them,” he said softly as we walked toward the trail to my home.
“Why?”
“You gave me space without making me fight for it, and it’s let me grow the fuck up,” he said, stopping at the new sign. “I’m going to check in on Oliver and my bartenders. Can you walk home?”
“Yup. I’ve got this,” I promised. I left him there, walking the trail home alone. I didn’t smell anything unusual. As soon as I got into my home, I locked the doors and checked the house, paranoia returning in full force now that I was alone.
Getting shot certainly hadn’t helped me get over things and find normal again.
26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sitting at my computer, I wondered where to start. I opened my emails and decided giving the family a general update was as good a place as any. Keeping it short and sweet, I let them know the BSA and I spoke again, and I had a change of heart, wanting their assistance to find the leak and discover who attacked me, framing it as a way to prove their loyalty to clean negotiations. I scanned the tentative deal and attached it to the email, hoping for their opinions on it. It included exposing werecats to the public but not the identity of individual werecats. It would be similar to the fae, not the witches, but was better than what the werewolves had to deal with.
I hit send, then copy and pasted it into a separate email, but added extra, noting that Zuri needed to read this one, not the other. I included that I was attacked a second time, and one of the BSA agents had called in a helicopter for me. I was trusting her not to tell the family, to keep them out of danger, and made sure to add that to the email, making sure it was clear that I didn’t want them to know I got shot.
After I hit send, I waited.
And waited.
I could have slept, but I knew one of them was going to be awake to see the email, eventually. I didn’t think it would be Zuri, nearly an hour after I sent them out.
She didn’t bother replying to the email. She called.
“You were shot?” she snapped the moment her face came on the screen. “Are you serious? You haven’t told anyone in the family? How in the hell don’t they know? Dirk—”
“Figured out I didn’t have Heath send word and decided not to, either,” I said, shrugging. “He’s loyal to me, I guess.”
Zuri shook her head slowly. “You know, when we talked just yesterday, when I specifically called you when I knew you would be up and hopefully in your office, I didn’t expect you to get attacked. Not once, and absolutely not twice, in under twenty-four hours.” She growled and leaned forward as though she was inspecting my image on the screen. “You don’t look terrible, though. I take it neither of the attacks was too bad?”
“You probably know the details about the first one, broken hand, but that’s…doing a lot better now. I’ve shifted a few times since it happened, and we made sure a doctor aligned the bones first. A graze on my shoulder, but the real loser was my car. The second…it was a cheap shot, Zuri. Wannabe sniper bullshit. Carey found out about Heath and me, so we decided to take her to the movies. I got out of the truck, and they hit before I closed the door. Luckily, I was smart enough to fall back into the truck, so they couldn’t take another shot. Carey’s screaming and the truck’s tinted windows helped. They ran before they could verify if I was dead or alive.”
“Definitely not professionals,” she said softly. “I’m glad whoever shot you is stupid enough to fail twice, but it’s also concerning.”
“I’m convinced it’s the BSA. They have a leak, and someone let slip that a lone supernatural is here. Finally, extremist humans have an ‘easy’ target. Gave them my name, and the game was on, you know?”
She nodded. “Makes them unpredictable, though. Professionals are impressed when someone survives, but others get frustrated. There’s no honor among those who are just looking to kill for sport. They aren’t looking at the skill and perfection needed for two great powers to go against each other. They only want death, and you have escaped it. If Hisao was trying to kill you—not that I believe that would ever happen—he would respect that you evaded him twice. He might even step back and consider his options and if the kill was worth it.”
“Has anyone ever evaded Hisao twice?” I asked softly.
“No one has ever evaded Hisao once, from what I know,” she answered, shrugging. “I’m glad to see you alive. The cheap shot, tell me about it.”
I explained the injury, a gut hit that missed my organs by a slim margin.
“They moved too fast. If they had taken ten more seconds to line up a shot, they might have hit a lung.”
“I know.” I didn’t deny that. “But you agree with me about our family, right? They can’t come here.”
“Well, we could, but it’s not practical. It would take at least two hours for everyone to get in the air, if Mischa even could. I think Hisao is still commandeering their jet, so he would have to pick her up. I’m not coming at all, and you definitely don’t want me in your territory right now. Plus, you do have back up. I know we all want to protect the family, but you have the ability to talk like the wolves. Very useful when you’re with us, even more so when you’re with the wolves. You can pack hunt if you have to. They’re both capable.” She touched the screen. “I’m just glad to see you alive. I won’t tell Father yet—”
“He’ll find out, eventually. One of the Dallas pack saw me in the hospital.”
“Word travels fast,” Zuri agreed, “but I think you have a few days, maybe even a week if you need it. Callahan won’t stupidly give Father his condolences about his daughter getting shot. They aren’t that close. When Liza died, the only reason Callahan offered his condolences was he had to since she had been killed by wolves. If you get assassinated by humans, he’s going to pour himself a drink and have a toast.”
“Would Corissa? She’s the important one.”
“She is. She’s smart, but she’s like Father. What is best for the wolves is not always the popular decision. It’s not war or fighting, but pea
ce and prosperity, something hotter heads disagree with. She’s only the dominant in private, don’t forget that. She won’t jeopardize her mate’s position by slapping him down in public where other wolves might see. The werewolves of her personal pack are completely loyal to her, and her objective is to keep them both on top, so they won’t tell anyone. You shouldn’t either. The fact she did it in front of Heath was surprising enough, but don’t test her.”
“It never crossed my mind,” I replied, lifting my hands. “You never answered my question, though.”
“She would…maybe have a private toast to the death of one of our family. Maybe. Depends on the family member. I don’t know exactly where you stand with her right now. You embarrassed her husband, but you and Heath exposed a travesty of a pack to her, which he had been hiding. Now, she’s able to clean it up. It could go either way. She would toast my death or Jabari’s, without question. Not Niko….Actually, only Niko. She likes that he thinks like a wolf sometimes.”
I nodded and decided it was time to get to the important part.
“Did you read the deal?”
“I did,” she said, clicking around on her computer, probably pulling it up. “I don’t like it, but I don’t hate it. I don’t think you’ll get better. Specifically, I don’t like that they’re going to have a press conference about their discovery of our kind, which tells other governments we exist…” Zuri shook her head. “But I think it’s the only way. We can’t ask them for everything and give them nothing.”
“Blaming them for the attempts on my life has been an easy way to get them to act in my favor. They don’t want to ruin their reputation.”
“Oh, that was a very smart play,” Zuri agreed, smiling. “I couldn’t have done it better myself. I’m about to have a baby, though, and now everyone is going to know werecats are something they need to watch for on the full moon. In reality, it doesn’t change much, but this is it, the beginning of the slow leak of information about our kind to the world. Eventually, we won’t have a choice but to be part of their modern, unforgiving world. I want my child to be safe.”