by Paige Tyler
He gave her a wry smile. “The job requires a certain level of cynicism.”
Within minutes of sitting down with Kelsey’s girlfriends at a coffee shop near the RTC campus, one of them had admitted that Kelsey had two drinks last night. When Lacey had flipped out, saying that Kelsey wasn’t old enough to drink, the girl immediately tried to backtrack, but it was too late. That’s when everything started to unravel, and Lacey learned that her sister was a lot more like a typical college sophomore than she’d ever guessed.
After dinner at the restaurant, Kelsey and her friends had gone to a big honky-tonk bar on Cedar Springs Road. Not only did Kelsey have a fake ID, but she kept clothes at her friends’ places to change into when they went out partying. According to her friends, with the right makeup, she could appear five years older.
Lacey had looked like someone slapped her at that revelation. She’d sat there stunned while Alex and the other guys had peppered Kelsey’s friends with questions. They admitted that Kelsey had left the bar before they had.
“We thought she’d just met a cute guy and gone home with him,” a petite redhead with freckles explained. “She’s done that before a few times, so we didn’t think anything of it.”
That overdose of reality about her little sister had been too much for Lacey. She’d spent the rest of the day in a daze. The only time she’d looked alive was when Brooks had picked up Kelsey’s scent at the honky-tonk bar and followed it out a back exit. But when the trail disappeared, so had that tiny spark of hope.
“Could you and Brooks really track Kelsey’s scent back in the bar?” Lacey asked now as if reading his mind. The tears that had been threatening to fall earlier were gone, replaced by an intensity that had been absent most of the day.
Alex hesitated. He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to get into this, since he still didn’t know what Lacey planned to do with the knowledge she already had about werewolves. But ultimately, she needed something to give her hope, just to give her a reason to keep going.
“Yeah,” he finally admitted. “Brooks has a better nose than I do, but I’m more familiar with Kelsey’s scent. Between the two of us, we were able to follow it outside.”
“Do you think she got in a car?”
“Most likely. Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell if she went willingly or not.”
Lacey absently ran her hand over Leo’s fur as she considered that. “I heard Brooks say that you could probably track her scent even if she was in a car if you did a full shift. What did he mean by that?”
Alex had to bite his tongue to keep from cursing out loud. He’d been so focused on Kelsey that he hadn’t realized Lacey had overheard him talking to Brooks. If he’d known she was listening that closely, he would have chosen his words more carefully. Not because he was worried about spilling the Pack’s secrets, but because he didn’t want Lacey to get her hopes up.
In addition to tracking Kelsey’s scent through the club, he’d been able to pick up traces of it here and there along the road even after she’d gotten in the car. It wasn’t enough to follow, though. Brooks seemed to think that since Alex knew Kelsey’s scent so well, he might be able to track the vehicle purely on trace remnants if he could shift into a full wolf.
“I might be able to,” he admitted. “But unfortunately, I don’t know how to do a full shift.”
She stared at him in confusion. “What I saw in Bensen’s junkyard wasn’t a full shift?”
He snorted. “Not even close.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, the doorbell rang. Hope flared in Lacey’s eyes for a split second but then disappeared just as quickly when she realized her sister wouldn’t need to ring the bell.
Alex walked over to answer it, knowing without looking through the peephole that it was Wendy. He would have recognized her by scent even if he hadn’t called her when Lacey had disappeared off to the ladies’ room.
“Hey. You didn’t have to come over,” Lacey said. “I would have called if we heard anything.”
“I know,” Wendy said. “But Alex asked if I could come over and hang out with you while he took off.”
Lacey turned curious eyes on him. “Where are you going?”
“I need to go see if Becker and Max have found anything on the videos from the bar yet,” he said. “I didn’t want you to be by yourself.”
Lacey jumped to her feet. “I’m going with you.”
Alex cursed silently. Lacey was so tired, she could barely stay awake. She needed to take some time to recharge. He just wasn’t sure how to say that without sounding like a heartless jerk.
Luckily, Wendy beat him to it. “Lacey, honey, you need to let Alex and his teammates do what they do best. He’ll be able to move faster if he doesn’t have to worry about you falling asleep on your feet.”
Lacey chewed on her lower lip, looking doubtfully at him before finally nodding. “Okay. But you’ll call me the second you learn anything, right?”
“I promise,” he said.
Damn, it was hard to walk away from her when she needed him most. But he wasn’t going to find her sister by sitting there holding her hand. He was going to have to leave that to Wendy. Lacey likely preferred it that way.
Chapter 12
Lacey stared at the turkey sandwich Wendy set down on the coffee table in front of her. The thought of eating anything made her feel ill. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”
“You don’t have to be hungry to eat,” Wendy said as she sat down in the overstuffed chair that matched the couch. “If you don’t, I’m going to badger you all night.”
Lacey considered arguing, then changed her mind. Her friend was just trying to help. Besides, Leo was looking at her with that same worried look on his face as Wendy. If she didn’t eat soon, the big baby would probably crawl into her lap and lick her face until she gave in.
Shaking her head, she picked up the sandwich and took a big bite. “Happy?”
“Hey, I slaved away in your kitchen for five minutes making that sandwich,” Wendy said. “I expect you to appreciate it and eat at least half.”
Lacey grudgingly took another bite. How was her friend supposed to know she was so sick with worry over Kelsey that it was hard not curling into a ball and just giving up?
The last twenty-four hours had been the worst day of her life—and she’d had a lot of bad ones. She’d woken up this morning to the knowledge that the guy she’d been falling for was some kind of monster, then she discovered Kelsey was missing. Those two things alone should have been enough for the world to dump on her. But no, she had to learn that she didn’t know a damn thing about her baby sister as well. Finding out that Kelsey had a fake ID so she could get into bars was bad enough, but hearing that she slept with guys she barely knew was hard to wrap her head around. It was even more difficult knowing that the sister you thought shared everything with you had been lying to your face the entire time.
If Alex and Wendy hadn’t been here for her, Lacey wasn’t sure what she would have done.
That thought brought her back to problem number one—her ex-boyfriend. Lacey sipped the iced tea Wendy had brought in with the sandwich. She had no idea why the hell Alex was even helping her. She’d run screaming from him in terror only to come back because she needed something from him. He could have just as easily slammed the door in her face, but he hadn’t. She didn’t really understand that. No more than she understood why she felt better and more hopeful when he was around, like maybe this would all work out somehow.
That was beyond stupid. Any woman with a lick of sense in her head knew that depending on a man to walk in and solve your problems was a surefire way to end up disappointed and alone. She should know that.
Lacey reached for her sandwich again, keenly aware of Wendy and Leo watching her with worried expressions, when the doorbell rang. She put down the sandwich, praying it was
Alex back with good news, but when Wendy opened the door, she saw it was Everly.
“Hey.” Everly gave her a small smile as she walked over, her long, colorful boho skirt swishing around her ankles. “Hope you don’t mind that I stopped by. I just wanted to see how you’re holding up and if you’ve heard anything yet?”
Lacey felt a sharp reply bubble up, but she forced it down. She didn’t know why she was suddenly so angry at Everly. Then it hit her. She was mad because Everly had almost certainly known what Alex was and hadn’t told her. Not only was that stupid, but it was immature too. What did she expect, that Everly was going to come out and announce to a person she’d just met that her future husband and the rest of the SWAT team were monsters? Hell, maybe Everly didn’t know. Come on, how could she not know? She was marrying one of them.
“No,” Lacey said. “We haven’t heard anything yet. But Alex left a little while ago to talk to Becker and Max. Something about videos.”
Everly’s smile faded to be replaced by concern as she sat down on the couch beside Lacey. “How are you holding up?”
Lacey shrugged. “I’d say I’m okay, but that would be a lie, so I won’t bother.”
“Stupid question, I guess,” Everly admitted. “But here goes another one. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Lacey leveled her gaze at the woman. “It would be nice if you could tell me how long you’ve known what Alex and the rest of the SWAT team is.”
She expected Everly to immediately go on the defensive or say she didn’t know what Lacey was talking about. She didn’t do either. Instead, she looked from Lacey to Wendy and back again.
“I’m not sure this is the best time to talk about this,” she said quietly.
“You don’t have to worry about Wendy,” Lacey told her. “She already knows about Alex. She’s the first person I talked to after seeing…what I saw. She knows everything I know, which isn’t very much. I’d appreciate it if you could help change that.”
Everly considered that, then sighed. “I’ll tell you what I can. There are some things I can’t tell you because I don’t know them and other things I can’t tell you because they aren’t my secrets to share.” She looked from Lacey to Wendy. “But it’s very important both of you understand that you can’t reveal anything I tell you to anyone else. There are people out there right now who would kill people like Landry and Alex—and everyone else on the SWAT team—because of what they are. If you repeat what I tell you to anyone, it’s as good as killing them yourselves.”
Lacey didn’t really understand what Everly was talking about, but she nodded all the same. It wasn’t like she was ever going to breathe a word about it to anyone anyway. They’d think she was insane.
“I learned Landry’s secret shortly after we met,” Everly continued. “Like you, I was stunned. And like you, I didn’t handle it very well.”
Lacey wasn’t sure if she’d agree with that assessment. She’d handled it like any normal, rational person—she’d run away.
“What about the others?” Wendy prompted. “When did you learn about Alex and the rest of the SWAT team?”
“Shortly after learning about Landry,” Everly answered. “I’m sure you’ve seen how close the members of the team are. It’s no coincidence. They were all brought together because of how unique and special they are.”
Lacey exchanged looks with Wendy. Her friend had been right. The entire Dallas PD SWAT team was made up of monsters. That was scary enough, but one thing bothered her a whole lot more.
“There’s something I don’t understand,” she said to Everly. “You’ve seen what Cooper turns into, and yet you still decided to marry him?”
Everly smiled. “I love him, more than I ever thought possible. Claws, fangs, and fur could never change that. Like I told you at the engagement party—when you meet The One for you, nothing else matters.”
Lacey had expected that to be her answer. Everly seemed even more idealistic than Kelsey.
Her doubts must have shown on her face, because Everly took her hand. “The most important thing you need to understand is that Landry isn’t a monster, and neither is Alex. There are lots of real monsters in the world out there, and few of them have fangs and claws.”
Lacey wasn’t so sure about that. “If they’re not monsters, what are they?”
Everly hesitated. “What has Alex told you?”
“Nothing.” Lacey shrugged. “Though to be truthful, I really haven’t given him a chance. I ran away from him last night, and today I’ve been focused on Kelsey.”
“Understandably,” Everly said. “If it helps you to know exactly what they are, the answer is simple. They’re werewolves.”
Lacey blinked. Everly had to be joking. But when the other woman didn’t even crack a smile, Lacey realized she was being serious.
“Werewolves aren’t real, Everly. They’re stuff made up in books and movies.”
Lacey looked at Wendy, expecting some backup, but her friend was sitting there with a thoughtful expression on her face.
“Have you ever wondered where all the werewolf stories came from for those books and movies?” Everly asked softly.
Lacey thought about that for a moment. Taking into account the claws and fangs, she supposed she could understand how a person could see what she’d seen and make the leap to werewolf.
Crap. Was she seriously buying into this idea that Alex was a werewolf?
“How did Alex get this way? Was he bitten, like in the stories?” Then she remembered how many times Alex had nipped her neck—and other places—with his sharp teeth. “Will I turn into a werewolf if he bit me?”
Both Everly and Wendy raised their brows, but thankfully, neither asked for details. Lacey had no desire to get into what she and Alex had done in the heat of passion.
Everly shook her head. “That’s the part the stories and legends all get wrong. Werewolves don’t get turned with a bite. People who become werewolves are born with a gene that lies dormant for most of their lives. They won’t change unless they go through some kind of horrible, life-threatening event.”
“So…him biting me?” she prompted.
“Won’t do anything to you,” Everly promised with a smile.
Lacey was relieved she wouldn’t get fangs and claws anytime soon, but she had so many questions whirling through her head that she couldn’t focus on that quite yet.
“You said something horrible had to happen to turn a person into a werewolf,” Lacey said. “What happened to Cooper?”
Everly looked down at the floor for a moment. When she lifted her head, Lacey saw tears shimmering in her eyes. “He was caught in an IED blast over in Iraq. He almost died—he would have died—if he hadn’t changed.”
Suddenly, all Lacey could think about was what kind of traumatic event Alex had gone through to turn. She remembered running her hands over his muscular body and feeling several barely there scars along his left side. Had whatever happened to give them to him been the event that had changed him? She wasn’t sure why she wanted to know, but she did.
“Do you know what made Alex change?”
Everly slowly shook her head. “I have a general idea, but that’s one of those secrets I have no right to share. If you really want to know what happened to him, you’ll need to ask him yourself.”
Lacey nodded, though she could never imagine asking Alex, not after everything had changed between them. Some roads just couldn’t be traveled again, not after you burned all the bridges along the way.
Everly answered as many of Lacey’s other questions as she could, being honest about those she couldn’t. For a while at least, Lacey could almost forget that her sister was missing—or worse. But when the questions ran dry, the concern for her sister came flooding back. Kelsey had been missing for more than twelve hours. Was she even still alive? Unbidden, images of the dead girl who she and
Alex had found Saturday night popped into her head. Is that the way they would find Kelsey? Oh God, she hoped not.
“Alex is going to find your sister,” Everly said. “You just have to trust him.”
Lacey gave her a wry smile. “I’m not very good at trusting people—especially men.”
“But Alex isn’t like any other man you’ve ever met. You have no idea what he’s capable of or how far he’d go for you.”
After the way she’d bolted away from Alex, Lacey wasn’t so sure of that, but part of her prayed Everly was right.
* * *
“Where’s your pack?” Alex asked as Jayna led him into the living room of the five-bedroom loft apartment over near Baylor’s Dallas campus that everyone had started calling the Beta House. The place was usually packed to the gills with Becker and Jayna, Zak and Megan, Moe, Chris, Joseph, and lately, Mia. Six werewolves and two humans were a lot of people to fit into a single apartment, even if there were five bedrooms. But that was just the way Jayna’s beta pack preferred it.
“Zak took them over to Dave and Buster’s,” Jayna said over her shoulder. “He knew Eric needed to get some work done.”
Becker, Max, and Remy were in the living room, studying the big screen TV as grainy video footage slowly scrolled by.
“What do you have so far?” Alex asked as he grabbed a seat on the end of the couch and tried to figure out what he was looking at. It seemed to be some kind of stationary footage, maybe from a commercial security camera, but it was so dark, it was nearly impossible to make out anything.
Becker paused the video and sat back on the couch. Remy and Max took the opportunity to sit back and rub their eyes, clearly tired from looking at tape.
“Right now, not much,” Becker admitted. “I have a facial recognition program running on all the video I got from the bar, but we’re doing it manually too, just to make sure we don’t miss anything. Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it—there were sixteen different cameras in there. You add those to the street cameras around the bar, and we’re looking at maybe thirty or forty hours’ worth of grainy crap to look through. Even if we limit it to the time period we think Kelsey went missing, it’s going to take a while. I don’t expect to have it done until tomorrow morning sometime.”