by Meg Ripley
An odd noise reached her ears, and Nikki closed her eyes against it. She wanted to get back to sleep. Nothing made sense when she was awake anyway. She needed the relief of empty blackness that greeted her when she drifted off.
But the noise wouldn’t stop. There was a gentle pattern to it, and it sounded like it came from something alive, maybe some animals. Nikki listened as her affected brain tried to sort it out, and she finally realized it was the sound of someone crying.
It took far too much energy, but Nikki sat up in bed. That wasn’t right. There was no one there that should’ve been crying.
It was dark in the house, which made the sound seem all the more important. It filled the air around her and drew her out of bed, intrigued and confused. Nikki paused at her bedroom door, listening. She heard the snores of her men, gentle buzzes from the guest bedrooms. But the front porch light was on, and she could see Clint leaning against the porch railing, smoking a cigarette. Instinctively, though it seemed wrong, she didn’t want him to see her. Nikki’s bare feet were noiseless against the soft carpet as she wandered through the house, moving back and forth as she tried to determine where that sobbing was coming from. She eventually found her way to the basement.
It wasn’t a place she went very often. There wasn’t much down there, and she really only used it for storing seasonal items. The concrete floors and cinder block walls were cold and uninviting. Nikki tread softly, keeping one hand on the wall for balance as she made her way down. The sound was now pulling her off to the right, where a wooden door separated a finished storage room from the rest of the basement.
A simple latch kept the door locked on the outside. Nikki stared at it, trying to figure out why it was there. There wasn’t any need for the door to be locked that she could think of. Her fingers shook as she lifted the metal hook and opened the door.
A girl sat in the back corner of the room, curled up against the wall. Her knees were pulled up to her chin, her face buried in her arms that rested on them. A blonde ponytail curled down the back of her head, topped with a bright pink bow.
“What are you doing here?” Nikki asked in surprise. She didn’t know who this child was, but she knew there shouldn’t be any kids there in the middle of the night.
The girl looked up, shrinking as far back into the corner as possible. But as she blinked and wiped her tears from her eyes, her shoulders relaxed. “Those bad men brought me here.”
Nikki felt something shift inside her, something uncomfortable, like the tumblers of a lock slowly falling into place.
16
Drake and Hudson had left the lovely historical homes of Eureka behind. There was another side to the city that wasn’t as obvious until he’d left the main road, and Drake could tell there was something shady going on there for sure.
“You sure this is the place?” Hudson questioned, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair as he looked from one side of the street to the other at the ramshackle houses. Weeds grew up around the foundations, old cars were scattered in the yards, and the entire roof of one residence had completely caved in.
“This was the best lead Fern could give us. It’s not far from the coffee shop where she saw those guys meet up with Raven, and she’s heard Raven’s people do business in the area.” Drake was watching carefully for any signs that might lead him to the evil witch. He had to get to the bottom of this. While he would much prefer to get Nikki safe into his own custody, that wouldn’t do him a lot of good if there wasn’t a way to break the spell. The fact that Nikki didn’t know who he was didn’t make things any easier, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to her.
“What are these idiots doing?” Hudson gestured with his chin at a trio on the corner. Two slim guys and a girl with green hair were standing around watching the neighborhood with glassy eyes. A woman passed by and the girl stepped out to talk to her. An exchange was made, then the girl retreated to her position on the corner.
“Hopefully leading us right to Raven,” Drake growled. He started walking a little faster. He didn’t wait for the druggies to approach him when they reached the corner.
“Hey hey, what’s shakin’, man?” asked one of the guys, his hair falling into his face. “You lookin’ for some of the good stuff?”
“I’m lookin’ to find your boss,” Drake said, letting the natural depth of his voice command his speech. “I need to speak to Raven.”
The girl shrugged, tipping her head back so that she looked down her nose at the newcomers. “Never heard of her.”
“Someone’s going to be saying the same about you unless you tell me where she is,” Drake urged.
“Whoa, man. Calm down. There are a lot of people in this town. You don’t have to bite our heads off just because we don’t know your friend.” This guy had his shaggy hair pulled back into a ponytail that hadn’t been combed out—or washed—for god knows how long.
Drake was already beyond his wit’s end. Without a care in the world for who might be driving by, he snatched Ponytail by the throat, letting his claws extend from the tips of his fingers so that they rested harshly against the man’s skin. “I think you do know her, and I’m not about to leave without the information I want.”
Hudson followed suit, lashing out at the shorter man. The girl screamed and backed away, but Hudson had her in his other hand in a minute.
Yanking Ponytail closer, Drake emitted a low and threatening growl in his face. “Do you want to talk, or do I have to show you what I can do? I’ve been dying to taste fresh flesh again.”
“Okay, okay!” the junkie squealed. “Raven is just down the road at Paradise Cove! You’ll find her in the third trailer on the right. You can’t miss it.”
The scent of fresh piss made Drake let go of the man immediately. He quickly retracted his claws. “Thank you. That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”
Ponytail was bawling. “It will be when Raven finds out about it. She’ll kill me.”
“She’s already killing you with the shit she’s got you hooked on,” Hudson advised. He’d let go of the other two, but he still looked ready for a fight. “You’d be lucky if we took her off your hands.”
There was no point in trying to debate the issue, and Drake didn’t really give a shit if these hippies got out of Raven’s clutches or not. There were plenty of problems in the world, and they couldn’t all be his. “Let’s go.”
Paradise Cove was only a few blocks down the street, and it definitely wasn’t paradise. The trailer court was hell on earth, and even the shabby neighborhood they’d just been in looked like Club Med compared to this. The gravel lots the trailers were parked on were littered with trash and old beer cans. Somewhere at the back end, someone revved a motorcycle engine. A few children played near a trailer on the left, running in and out of the broken underpinning like it was a clubhouse.
Drake marched up to the home the sellers had indicated. Spiderwebs enveloped the broken light fixture above the door, and loud techno music shook the thin metal walls.
Hudson shivered. “You think this is really where a powerful witch lives? Shouldn’t it be something more elite, like a haunted house?”
“I guess we’re about to find out.” Drake raised his fist and pounded on the door. “Keep an eye out for her to take off through the back. If she has any idea we’re looking for her, she might not stick around for an interview.”
But the door whipped open to reveal a slim young woman, her midriff showing between black skinny jeans and a cutoff black t-shirt. She smiled at them with purple lips, looking the men up and down in appreciation. “What can I do for you hunks?”
Drake’s bear raged inside him. This was the creature who’d hurt his woman. She deserved to have her throat slowly crushed. But he reminded himself that he needed information from her first. “We need to talk about a spell you cast.”
Raven flicked her fingers off to the side, and the booming music suddenly stopped. She still smiled misc
hievously, biting her bottom lip as she studied their physiques. “I do a lot of spells, sweetie. Did you order an enchantment from me? I think I would’ve remembered you.”
This was going to be difficult to get through. “No, but it might have been three bear shifters who ordered the spell in order to infiltrate a clan.” He hated to reveal anything about the shifters, but given that Raven was a witch, she had to be aware there were other supernatural creatures in the area.
She raised one dark eyebrow that matched her sleek black bob. “I see. Would you like to come in?”
While Drake had no problem entering Fern’s house, he had the distinct feeling he’d never make it back out of Raven’s trailer if he stepped inside. They might both be witches, but they were very different from each other. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”
Raven leaned against the doorway. “Have it your way. But I can tell you right now that you’re getting involved in something that has nothing to do with you. You’re much better off keeping your distance before you get yourselves in trouble.”
“I’m already involved, and I’m not going to back down now just because you don’t like it. I suggest you tell me how to break the spell on Nikki.” Drake wondered how this woman could be so powerful. If she was a human, she could be defeated with little more than a swipe of his paw.
The witch let out a throaty laugh. “Even if I told you, you couldn’t do anything about it. You’re not wizards, and I’m afraid your shifting powers don’t do much else for you.”
Drake was quickly losing what little patience he had left. Hudson sensed his inner torture and laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. “I might know a person who can do something about it,” he ground out. “Just tell me. She’s dying.”
“Is she now? Then I suppose my work is complete.”
Now it was Hudson’s turn to lose control. He slammed his fist against the side of the trailer, leaving a sizable dent. “Whatever it is you’re trying to do, it’s not worth killing someone over.”
“Oh, you boys are no fun,” Raven giggled. “Fine. I can tell you how to break the spell. But whomever it is you’re working with—and I have an idea I know—she’s not strong enough.”
“We’re listening,” Drake reminded her.
Raven put a finger on her chin and rolled her eyes up to the dark sky. “With the deepest curse her joys will break, when her greatest treasure she must forsake.”
Drake stared at her. “Are you shitting me right now? I don’t have time for riddles.”
But it only amused Raven. She was laughing so hard, she was holding her flat stomach. “Okay, okay,” she said as she caught her breath. “Fine. Listen closely. The stone of the heart, when used as right, will again renew her natural might.”
“You bitch!” Drake couldn’t control himself any longer. He felt the sting of coarse hairs as they shot through his skin and heard the crack of his shoulders as they widened. He would tear right through this woman and her condemned trailer.
But as he felt his claws on his feet scrape into the decking of Raven’s porch, leaving deep gashes, he heard a voice in his head. Drake! There you are! I’ve been trying to call you. It was Garrison.
I haven’t exactly been paying attention to my phone. Drake stared down the witch, who was trying to keep a brave front with a beast on her threshold. I’ve got the witch.
Don’t worry about her right now. Nikki’s former mates have taken Lindy.
He’d been preparing to charge when the information hit him like a brick wall. What?
They took Lindy. I checked the video cameras at Nikki’s place, and that’s where they went. It doesn’t look like they’ve harmed her, but we should act quickly.
No shit. Drake felt his heart implode. Nikki meant the world to him, but Lindy was his universe. He signaled for Hudson to shift. Fuck being discrete in the middle of a human town. They’d screwed that up already.
Hudson got the idea. The mane that exploded from his neck and around his head looked strange around his human face, but it quickly morphed into a feline one, complete with massive teeth. He dropped to all fours as his hands turned to deadly paws, and his tail twitched against the porch railing.
Let’s go. They’ve got Lindy. Drake could hear Raven laughing in their wake, no doubt thinking she’d done something to chase them off. They’d get back to her later.
17
“What bad men are you talking about?” Nikki stepped slowly forward, partially to keep her balance, but also to make sure she didn’t scare the girl any further.
She pointed up toward the ceiling. “Those guys. I know they’re shifters like you and me, but I don’t like them.”
Nikki knew the girl could only have been talking about Clint, Max, and Neal, and she didn’t like it. For the moment, she was going to avoid asking any more questions about why they were bad. “Did they say why they brought you here?”
“No.” She shook her head, tears puddling in her eyes once again. “But I want to go back to the hotel with my aunt and see my daddy.”
There was something so wrong about this. Why the hell would anyone—especially her mates—kidnap a child? Why would they bring her there? Who, exactly, was she? Well, that was at least a place to start. “What’s your name?”
The little girl looked genuinely offended. “Lindy. Don’t you remember? You met me at the hotel when you came to talk to my daddy.”
Nikki sat down on the floor next to her. “Tell me about your daddy.”
“Drake Sheridan. You came and talked to him. How can you not remember?”
Nikki felt tears burning in her own eyes. She was so confused and tired, and it felt like the world around her was changing every minute. She didn’t know what to expect, and she was starting to think she’d forgotten who she was. “Lindy, sweetheart, there are a lot of things I don’t remember right now. I think I’m sick. Maybe you can help me. Tell me a little more about your father. Help me remember.” Her sanity was in the hands of a little girl.
Lindy suddenly perked up now that she had a job to do. “He’s tall, and he’s handsome, and he has dark brown hair. He’s a bear shifter, just like you are. He solves problems for people, and I think he was going to solve a problem for you.”
“Really.” It didn’t sound all that familiar to Nikki. Why should Lindy know things about her life that even she didn’t know? “What else?”
The child gave her a shy smile. “Well, he really likes you. He told me so.”
“Does he now?” Nikki felt a flush of warmth at that idea, even though she couldn’t be sure who Lindy was talking about. A vague image of a strong man entered her mind, one with a soothing voice and soft lips. Was that all a dream?
Lindy’s smile widened. “Yeah. And I think you like him, too. I’ve never seen anyone else look at him the way you did.”
Nikki pressed her lips together as she thought. She wanted to trust her heart as well as the little girl. “Lindy, what do you think would happen if we could go find your daddy? Do you think he’s the kind of person who would help us? Who would help me?”
“Uh huh.” Lindy gave her a firm nod. “But how are we going to get out of here?”
“Very quietly.” Nikki was already thinking about that. “I already unlocked the door to this room. Two of the bad men are asleep. We only have one to worry about. I’ll go upstairs first, and you wait right behind me, just inside the basement door. If we’re really quiet, I think we can get past him.”
Lindy slowly stood, glancing nervously at the door. “Are you sure?”
She wasn’t, but she couldn’t admit that to Lindy. “I’m sure that we have to try. We can’t stay here, can we?”
“No.” Lindy shook her head, her ponytail bobbing. Her hair bow had come loose, one side drooping down the back of her head.
Without thinking about it, Nikki reached out and retightened it. “We have to be brave, okay? But I’m not going to leave you. You can trust me.” She took Lindy’s hand and brought her out of the storage ro
om.
They tiptoed up the stairs, and Nikki slowly opened the basement door. Clint was still out on the front porch, but he’d finished his cigarette. That meant they didn’t have a lot of time before he came back in. Nikki gripped Lindy’s hand tightly as she brought her up into the living room and tiptoed to the back of the house, ushering the girl ahead of her as they entered Nikki’s bedroom.
As much as she wanted to slam the door behind her, Nikki took her time. She closed the door with a painful slowness, holding the knob so that even the latch wouldn’t click as she shut it. Lindy waited patiently next to her, and Nikki could feel the girl’s small hand on her side. This child needed her. No matter what the consequences were, she had to save her.
Without speaking, Nikki moved across the room. The full moon shone through the window, providing plenty of light. She felt weak as she lifted the sash on the window, but she knew she had to find strength from somewhere. There was no one else around to help Lindy. Nikki lifted the little girl over the sill, holding onto her tightly until she knew her feet were on the ground. Then Nikki went next, shoving herself out onto the grass and running as fast as she could.
18
Drake and Hudson had dodged through the shady areas of town and into the woods, arriving at Nikki’s just as the other half of the SOS Force did. Adrenaline thrummed in his veins as he observed the house. What do we know?
Not much, Garrison replied. Only that both Nikki and Lindy should be here.
Anyone on guard?
One, Flint confirmed. The biggest one, but I’m happy to take him out.
Hang tight, Drake cautioned. We don’t want them to make any rash moves and do something stupid. He had to get this right. Garrison, you go to the east. Hudson the west. Flint, you take the back. We’ll close in on all sides. That’ll give us the best chance. Our priority is to get the girls out. Aim to kill.