Jaguar (The Madison Wolves Book 12)

by Robin Roseau

  “This is my responsibility,” Michaela said.

  “It’s mine,” Lara said.

  “It’s mine,” Elisabeth countered.

  Lara and Michaela both turned to her. “No, it’s not,” they said together. “It’s ours,” Michaela added. “I can do it coldly. Lara, you’ll go into a rage.”

  Elisabeth put up a hand. “Greg, you’re awfully quiet.”

  “Kill ‘em,” Greg said. “And I don’t mind doing it.”

  “My responsibility,” Michaela said. “This pack is under my protection.”

  There were snorts, but Michaela glared around the room for a moment, and there were several quiet responses of, “Yes, Alpha.”

  “Carissa?” Lara asked.

  “I can make them talk before we kill them,” she said, “but I don’t believe we would learn anything.”

  “I just want them dead,” Michaela said. “We’ll do it when we’re done. Elisabeth and Carissa, I wish you to decide who will bring them to me. I want them one at a time, and I wanted them gagged. Greg, I don’t want to make a bigger mess to clean up.”

  “We can make a space. Michaela, you need to destroy your sheds. You know that.”

  “Fuck,” she said. “Yeah. I know. Do we need an excuse?”

  “Vermin,” I said. “Something nasty got into both of them.”

  “I hate to say it, but we need to burn them,” Greg said.

  “Hell of a bonfire,” Karen muttered.

  “Hell of a bonfire,” Michaela agreed. “God. Zoe is going to let me have it.”

  “Why will Zoe care?” I asked.

  “You’re not supposed to burn processed wood products,” Michaela replied. “We need to make sure we don’t breathe it.”

  “It won’t hurt my vampires,” Carissa offered. “We’ll handle that part.”

  “Thank you,” Lara said with a nod. “How do we get rid of the bodies, alive and dead?”

  They discussed it for a while. Between Greg and Michaela, every proposal was shot down until finally I said, “Yes, it’s risky, whatever we do. Make the thralls take the risk.”

  Everyone turned to me. Michaela and Carissa got it right away. “Carissa,” Michaela said, “Can you do that ironclad?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have a problem with it?”

  “None at all,” she said. “So that’s how we eliminate ourselves from the risk, but we still have bodies to deliver and thralls to move to New Orleans.”

  “Jared,” Elisabeth said.

  “Who is Jared?” I asked.

  “Chicago Alpha,” Elisabeth said. “It’s close, but with the past bad blood between the packs, no one would expect us to send our mess to him for disposal. No one is going to be watching his crematorium.”

  “If there’s bad blood, why would he do this for you?”

  “Past bad blood,” Elisabeth repeated. “Long story.”

  “Right,” I said. “I’ll shut up now.”

  “We’re all a team here,” Lara said. “If you have concerns, please voice them.”

  “If you’re confident he won’t create difficulty,” I said, trailing off.

  Michaela looked around. “Is that a plan? Eric, I need a secure, outside line on a number he’d answer.”

  “I’m on it,” Eric said. “One moment.” We all turned to watch him, and then he said, “Dialing. On speaker.”

  We heard the dial, and then a male voice answered, “Good morning.”

  “Jared,” Michaela said. “Do you recognize my voice?”

  “I do, indeed. How are the little ones?”

  “Jared, we have something we would like to discuss with you in person,” Michaela said. “It is exceedingly urgent. I wouldn’t suppose, if I send an aircraft, we could severely interrupt your schedule? We would want you to come alone.”

  The line was silent for a moment. “I won’t ask over the phone,” he said. “It’s not a long drive to Madison.”

  “We would rather collect you,” Michaela said. Greg held up a paper towards Michaela. She nodded. “I can have an aircraft at Midway at noon. I know this is sudden.”

  “I can be there,” he said. “Do I need an overnight bag?”

  “No. Jared, we really don’t want you telling anyone where you’re going.”

  “All right,” he said slowly. “Michaela, is anyone dead?”

  “No one I know,” Michaela said.

  “Fuck,” he said. “Michaela, whatever happened, you know it wasn’t me.”

  “We know,” she said.

  “But you want to be sure.”

  “Yeah, and we want a little bit of help.”

  “Noon, Midway,” he said.

  “We’ll have someone else text you with more specific directions,” Michaela said. “Thank you, Jared.”

  “You’re welcome, Michaela. Will I see the little ones?”

  “You will.”

  They clicked off, and then Michaela turned to Greg. “Chances that was traced?”

  Greg looked over at Eric, who said, “I used the relay your guys created.”

  “None,” Greg said. “Unless someone is listening on the other end.”

  “A risk we have to take,” Michaela said. “What else?”

  * * * *

  It was work, but Carissa was able to wake her vampires. She had them Call their thralls, much like she had, one at a time. And then she gave the rest to Greg for questioning. We didn’t learn anything useful.

  We moved all the prisoners out of one of the storage sheds, and then Greg’s people lined it carefully with heavy tarps. Karen and Portia then brought the first of the unthralled prisoners. With more help from Eric and Rory, they bound him on his knees, his hands above him, holding him upright. Present were Greg, Carissa, and me. Lara remained in the house, Angel and Scarlett with her. Michaela sat in a heavy chair at the far end of the shed, her legs crossed and her hands on the arms of the chair. Serena, of course, stood over Michaela’s shoulder, watching everything.

  “Remove his blindfold,” Michaela ordered. Eric handled it, and the man looked around wildly. His panic was clear, and he made animalistic noises into the gag.

  “Look at me,” Michaela ordered.

  The man’s gaze snapped to her, but then he began looking around wildly again. Eric was about to use force, but Michaela said, “No.” She held out a hand. “Gun.”

  Greg pulled his, reversed it, took two steps, and handed it to her. The man’s gaze snapped to the gun.

  “Ah, now I have your attention,” Michaela said. “You invaded our lands with the intention of kidnapping innocent women and children. That makes you the worst kind of person I can imagine. When you arrived, you had no idea what you were facing, so a claim that we’re monsters does not excuse your actions.” She stood and moved closer.

  “I have never harmed an innocent,” she said. “Not even a little bit. I was one of your targets. My children have certainly never harmed an innocent. They were also your targets.” She came to a stop. “You arrived with significant firepower, and I presume you would have helped to kill anyone who put up a fight. You may think we’re the monsters, but what kind of human being kidnaps innocent women and children? We are not the monsters. You are. My name is Michaela Burns, formerly Michaela Redfur. I was once known as the Hunter of New England. I have lost track of the monsters I have destroyed, but until early this morning, not a single one was human. It is your fault I can no longer stay that.”

  She held out the gun, and Greg took it from her. The man’s eyes followed the gun, but, moving faster than I could see, Michaela backhanded him. “I told you to look at me.”

  His head rocked, and he let out a muffled cry, but then he turned to look at the fox.

  Michaela smiled. “You’ve never been hit that hard by a woman my size before,” she said. She leaned closer. “You have no idea what I am.”

  The man said something into the gag.

  “Wrong,” Michaela said. “Vampires were once human. I have never be
en human.” She paused. “My name is Michaela Burns,” she said again. “I am co-alpha of the Madison Wolves. In attacking us, in attempting to kidnap my children and me, you have declared yourself our enemy. In attempting to kidnap innocent women and children, you have declared yourself the worst scum of all humanity. Your life is forfeit.”

  And then, again moving faster than my eyes could follow, she pulled both knives from her wrist sheaths and slashed both across his neck, pausing with her arms wide. But then she stepped even closer, letting herself be showered in blood, to clasp his head, forcing him to look into her eyes.

  As he died.

  No one said a word, but before he was dead, Michaela was drenched in blood. Finally she said, “My apologies, Carissa.”

  “Not necessary,” Carissa said. “I’m still a little blood drunk, anyway.”

  “I made a mess.” She looked over at Elisabeth. “I’ll stuff him into a body bag.”

  “No, Alpha,” Elisabeth said. “Your enforcers will do that. Get this one out of here and bring the next one.”

  “Yes, Head Enforcer,” Eric said for all of them.

  They were efficient. Greg had brought body bags, and so this body went into one. Five minutes later, the next prisoner was hanging where the first had been. Michaela was back in her chair, her legs crossed again, her hands on the arms.

  It was deeply macabre.

  Like the last, the man tried looking around wildly. Michaela gave him one chance to look at her, and when he didn’t, she threw one of her knives into his leg.

  He screamed. Portia waited a moment then reached down and yanked the knife out. Casually, she cleaned it as the man panted, staring at the knife. Then Michaela held her hand out, and Portia stepped over to hand her the knife. Michaela made it disappear and folded her hands.

  “Do I have your attention now?” she asked. He nodded frantically. “Good.” She then gave him the same speech, ending again by standing just in front of him. “You deserve a horrible death,” she said. And then her knives flashed.

  She held him the same way she had the first, and after about two minutes, she nodded.

  “You don’t have to check?” I asked.

  “He’s dead,” Carissa said.

  “How-“

  “Heartbeat,” Carissa explained.

  “Oh. Of course,” I said. I should have figured that out.

  The remaining executions were different only in minor details. Michaela stood still, staring straight ahead, as the enforcers stuffed the final body into a body bag. Then Elisabeth moved to her, setting a hand on her alpha’s shoulder. “Michaela.”

  “I’m fine,” she said. She looked around. “Thank you for witnessing. The power of life and death...” She shook her head. “Monsters.”

  “Monsters,” Carissa agreed.

  “I need to clean up. How soon will Jared be here?”

  “Another hour,” Greg said.

  “I want everything sanitized,” Michaela said. She turned to Elisabeth. “Rip these clothes open, please.”

  Elisabeth didn’t wait, and it was only seconds before Michaela stood before her, naked except for her shoes, the bloody clothing landing in a heap. And then Serena was there with a damp towel, working on Michaela’s face. The fox stood there, letting Serena see to her.

  “Thank you,” she said. “Elisabeth, does Lara know it’s done?”

  “Yes.”

  “I need a shower. I need Angel and Scarlett. You need to keep Lara from hugging me until I’ve gotten rid of any lingering blood. And check your own clothing. I probably splashed some of you.”

  “We’ll handle those details, Alpha,” Elisabeth said.

  “Thank you.”

  She turned for the door. Once she had exited the shed, she kicked off her shoes and then -- quite regally, I thought -- walked to the lodge.

  Chicago

  Lara was pacing. As soon as Michaela stepped through the door, she turned, but Scarlett and Angel each took an arm, and Elisabeth stepped ahead. “Let her wash up.”

  Lara paused a moment, then nodded.

  “Scarlett,” Michaela said. “I don’t like the story about vermin. We built those sheds for a particular reason. That reason has been fulfilled. I want to put a garage there. How long will drawings take?”

  “It depends on what you want.”

  “Six cars. Heated. And it needs to fit the setting. Can we get drawings and a permit pulled today? Bill of materials. All of it?”

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  “Head Enforcer, will it stretch your abilities to protect Scarlett while she sees to this?”

  “No.”

  “Scarlett, I want the permit pulled today. If it won’t affect your ability to do that, then please use this as an educational opportunity for the kids.”

  “No problem, Michaela,” Scarlett said. “This is easy.”

  “Thank you. Angel, I need your help. Lara, hands off until I’m clean.” She turned. “Elisabeth, warn me when Jared is nearly here. Carissa, will you be able to verify he’s not lying?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right then.”

  * * * *

  Space was tight, and we actually met with Jared in one of the bunkhouses. Michaela greeted him warmly, although he eyed the rest of us cautiously, and I could see his nostrils flaring, trying to figure out what I was.

  I was impressed he didn’t lead with questions. But Michaela held out her hand, and Carissa stepped forward. “Step back, Michaela,” she ordered, and then she moved into place before the Chicago wolf. “Jared Grant, do you know who I am?”

  “I’m sorry. Should I?”

  “My name is Carissa. I am from New Orleans. Does that help?”

  His eyes widened for just a moment, and then he averted his gaze.

  “Ah, I see it does,” Carissa said. “Chicago Alpha, as you can guess, Very Bad Things happened here. We can eliminate any possible distrust very easily. You need only meet my gaze and then allow me to ask a few simple questions. Will you do that?”

  He paused and then, somewhat slowly but deliberately, his eyes traveled back to the vampire’s. There was a pause, and then I could see him drawn into her gaze. It only took her a few seconds.

  “Jared Grant,” Carissa asked quietly, “Do you know anything about a paramilitary group that attacked this compound late last night?”

  “Yes.”

  There was a hiss, but Carissa held up a hand. “Did you know about it before Michaela called earlier today?”

  “No.”

  “Before Michaela called, did you have any particular reason to believe she or her daughters were in danger?”

  “Only the usual dangers.”

  “Any specific dangers?”

  “No.”

  Carissa asked a few more questions. By the time she was done, everyone was breathing a little more easily. Finally Carissa stepped away, and Michaela replaced her. The fox looked up into wolf eyes, and slowly they focused on her.

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  “It was necessary,” Jared replied. “Chicago is the closest suspect. What happened, and how can I help?”

  “Head Enforcer,” Michaela said.

  Elisabeth gave a two-minute overview. She wrapped up, and then Michaela said, “We need to dispose of the bodies, and we don’t want to do it locally, but we don’t want to ship them too far, either. There is no obligation, Jared.”

  “Getting rid of 30 bodies is going to be tricky.”

  “Not 30. Only 8,” Michaela said. “We want them burned.”

  He nodded. “Rockford,” he said. “I can get rid of them in Rockford. But I would rather not transport them.”

  “We can handle that part,” Michaela said. She clasped his arm. “Thank you, Jared. We owe you.”

  “No you don’t,” he said. “Chicago is starting to recover from my father. I’m not sure when we’ll pay off that debt. And this isn’t that big a favor, if I’m not responsible for transportation.”

  “Thank you
,” Michaela said.

  * * * *

  Greg, Carissa, and Jared worked out the details, and twenty minutes later, he was on his way back to Chicago.

  I was left awed by the little fox, loyalty coming from every direction, including some that were most unexpected.

  The rest of the day was largely a blur. Greg’s people reported more information, but it was mostly background on Mid-Star Aviation and Dark Gorge Consulting. Kristian and Raphael disappeared for several hours; when they returned, they brought a white paneled van with them, filled with what appeared the contents of a small apartment. The wolves emptied the van, piled the body bags inside, then disguised them by reloading the van. Carissa selected two of her new thralls, gave them careful instructions, and sent them on the way. That would be the last we would see of the bodies or that van.

  In the meantime, Carissa bought a used pickup for sale in Ashland. It included a topper. Greg’s crew filled the back with the captured equipment and disguised the contents. Two of his men climbed in and drove off.

  The previous owner was left with cash and a bill of sale under a fake name. If pressed, he would remember a middle-age, balding farmer. If the shipment made it safely to Colorado, Greg could keep or sell the truck, but if they were forced to abandon the contents, they could. Once it was far enough from Bayfield, it would be impossible to trace it here.

  More of Greg’s crew sanitized the sight. The wolves found every drop of blood, and Greg’s crew cleaned whatever needed cleaning. The lodge received a good scrubbing, and every article of clothing was checked. Anything with so much as a drop of blood would go on the bonfire later tonight.

  Conversation over dinner was subdued, but then Lara stood, garnering instant attention. “We still need more answers,” she said. “But in times like this, we see who our friends are. Thank you.”

  Carissa lifted her own glass and said, “To durable friendship.”

  “Durable friendship,” we echoed.

  We pulled down the sheds. We burned every scrap. We burned the soiled clothing. And then Greg’s pilots left for Madeline Island. They would wait until well after midnight before leaving with the helicopters.

  Michaela watched after them as they drove away, Monique and Angel along to bring the car back. Lara waited before stepping up behind her and wrapping her in a hug.