by Holley Trent
“There are a couple that I circled. One’s in Maryland. The other in southern Jersey, probably from his old clan.”
“We got to the Jersey folks already,” Soren said. “The folks up there have got their clan locked down right now. They’re patrolling the territory and not letting any of their most vulnerable leave the area. They didn’t have good things to say about Gene.”
“What do you mean?”
The men in the van let out synchronized grunts. Peter had been perplexed by the entire conversation he’d had with Gene’s former alpha. From the way he explained the history, Gene had been a shit stain up in Jersey, too. He’d tried to raise hell during a clan dinner, got smacked down hard, and the next thing the alpha had heard, Gene had cut and run.
“Probably the Maryland one, then,” Bryan said, obviously ignoring Drea’s question. “Were you able to pull up any stats on her? We’re trying to catch up to him now before he gets too far. Any information would help.”
“Well, she has a kid by Gene. Proven by the courts.”
Bryan groaned. “Poor kid.”
“Yeah. A younger teenager. Um, the lady isn’t a Bear, and neither is the kid, at least according to my research. I got access to some confidential child support case information, and suffice it to say, the kid wasn’t exactly a lovechild. All evidence points to this woman not being someone who’d help Gene willingly. Whatever pull he’s got on her right now probably has to do with the kid.” Andrea shuffled some papers and clucked her tongue in that charming way she always did when she thought people were getting impatient.
“It’s all right. Take your time,” Peter said.
She let out a little breath, and said quietly, “Thank you. Um…she raises horses and some small livestock. A few sheep for wool and some angora goats. She has a bit of land and quite a few outbuildings according to county records, so her farm would be a good place to hide if Gene could get there.”
“If I were him, that’s where I’d be going,” Soren said. “What’s she driving?”
“She owns a black F-250 and an older, tan Taurus. I’ll text you—uh, Peter—the license plate numbers.”
“Please do.”
“Does that help at all?”
Peter chuckled and then gripped the seat one-handed when Eric took yet another curve too hard. “I could have used a girl like you a long time ago.”
“Oh. Well… Um. Y-you know where I am if you need me.”
I need you, all right.
Smiling, Peter disconnected the call and glanced down at the incoming text message. He looked up to find both Soren and Bryan staring at him.
“What?” he asked.
Bryan grunted and turned around. “Interesting that she called you and not me.”
“Look at your phone. Maybe she tried calling you and you didn’t catch the ringing.”
Bryan grabbed his phone from the console and activated the screen. “Nope. No missed calls.”
“I wouldn’t think anything of the decision.”
“Neither would I,” Soren said sharply. “She likely called whichever number was easier to recall. Even a four-year-old could remember your number.”
“What the fuck’s your problem?”
Soren folded his arms over his chest, leaned leftward, and looked through the windshield. He didn’t answer. Peter hadn’t really expected him to, and was he wasn’t going to force the issue. Fighting with his brother didn’t seem to be worth the energy at the moment. Even when they fought just for the fun of fighting, someone usually ended up needing sutures.
They were nearing the house where Gene had been hunkered down. Eric hit the brakes and stopped at the end of the driveway.
The lady standing near the car ran up. “I know who you are,” she said when Bryan let down his window. “He said you’d probably come by, and he said if I said anything to you, he’d hurt me.”
“Obviously, you don’t believe him.”
She shrugged. “I was stupid to let him in. I didn’t even look out the window before I pulled on the door. I was expecting a package and figured the doorbell ringing was just the UPS guy. Gene shouldered himself in, just like he used to, and snatched my phone before I could think of calling anyone. He still has my phone.”
“You don’t think he’s going to come back?”
She shook her head. “No point in returning since you’ve already found the place.”
“That doesn’t mean he won’t try to send someone after her,” Eric said.
Bryan turned around and caught Peter’s gaze. “Call Dana or Tamara and see if they can get someone up here to patrol. At least until we know Gene’s cut off from communication with any Bear still associating with him.”
Eric nodded.
To the lady, Bryan said, “Stay indoors if you can, or if you have somewhere else you can stay for a while, go there and don’t come home until we give the all-clear.”
“I’m leaving, so don’t worry about the patrol. You can call my friend and tell her when the coast is clear, and I’ll come home. I’m flying down to my aunt’s place in Texas. I doubt anyone will bother me there.”
Eric rooted through the console and plucked out a lodge business card. He handed it to Bryan, who scribbled something on the back before giving it to the lady.
“Call that number if you need anything,” Bryan told her. “Tell them I told you to, and don’t worry about having to explain anything. My wife works there. Everyone knows what’s going on.”
The lady saluted him with the card and turned on her heel. “He’s got a twenty-minute head start on you,” she called over her shoulder. “I don’t know what he’s traveling in. When I went into the bathroom, he propped a chair against the knob, so it took me a while to get out. Damn near broke the doorframe.” She let out a ragged breath. “And probably sprained my shoulder. Trying not to think about it.”
“We’ll get someone up to fix the door,” Bryan said.
“Not necessary. I just want to put this behind me. I’ll take care of the door when I return. He took everything he brought with him so I’m pretty sure he’s not coming back.”
“Thanks anyway.”
She waved them away.
Bryan motored his window up and Eric put the van in gear.
“Best lead we have is to head toward Maryland,” Soren said.
“Yep.” Eric swung a U-turn and then headed for the highway.
Peter slumped a bit lower in his seat and idly twirled his phone between his fingers.
Gene having a head start was probably a good thing. The four Bears in the van probably all needed the time to wrest control of their wilder urges. If they caught up to Gene before they’d had a chance to rationalize with their inner beasts. Taking the derelict alive was a better plan than killing him on sight, and they’d be blowing an opportunity to gather much-needed intelligence about just how deep Gene’s network went if they weren’t careful.
Peter could learn new tricks. He had to. If he couldn’t, there was no way in hell he’d ever convince Andrea that being with him was worth the risk. After all the abuse she’d gone through under Gene’s watch, he certainly didn’t expect her to take any man’s word for anything.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Drea pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to suppress a giggle as she watched the made-Bear Dustin dancing around the handle of a mop as if it were a stripper pole.
Like Bryan, Dustin had once been one of Gene’s lieutenants, but Bryan had deemed him harmless enough and Dustin often picked up odd jobs for the Shrews. Mopping the office wasn’t one of them. The mop had simply been in the wrong place at the right time.
“Hey, um…Dustin?” She snorted.
He set the mop aside and fixed the tilt of his baseball cap. “’S’up, girl?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything for you, boo.”
“Dustin, I will throttle you if you don’t cut that shit out,” Tamara called from the back of the office. “Remember what happened
last time?”
He cringed. “I’ll be good, Tammy.”
“Don’t call me Tammy. No one gets to call me Tammy.”
“Not even Alpha?”
“Especially not Bryan.”
“Okay. My bad.” Dustin folded himself into one of the chairs in front of Drea’s desk and propped the side of his head against his fist. “What’s up, girl?”
“Have you ever swapped notes with any of Gene’s other lieutenants about what he’s like?”
Dustin sucked in some air. “Well, you know how it was. You were there. For the most part, we all had our own little beats and he tried not to let us cross paths. We knew each other existed, but we were discouraged from conferencing, know what I mean?”
“So, what you’re saying is there’s no single person who knows everything about Gene.”
“Yep. That’s exactly what I’m sayin’.”
She drummed the eraser end of her pencil against the top of her desk and gnawed on her lower lip for a minute.
“What you thinkin’?” he asked.
“I’m trying to remember who all the lieutenants were before Gene left the area. I know Bryan grabbed most of you, but there had to be a couple of outliers that fell off the radar.”
“Why do you need to know?”
“I’m just pondering safer ways for P—um, Bryan to neutralize him. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
Of course she didn’t want her brother to get hurt. She also wanted to avoid Peter being in a situation that he felt required a particular kind of solution. Gene wasn’t Peter’s problem. He was a problem of the Ridge Bears, and she didn’t want him getting his hands dirty. She didn’t want him to regret having been involved if shit hit the fan. Every kill came at a cost, and in spite of his usually upbeat disposition, she wasn’t so naïve to think he didn’t feel and remember every single engagement. She’d heard how lifeless his voice had been when he’d told her about where he and Soren got so many of their assignments. His job was a necessary evil. He was probably very good at his job. That didn’t mean he had to like it.
She rubbed down the edges of her hair near her ears and pulled in a deep breath. Peter would be fine—he always was.
“Um. Tell me what you know about Gene,” she said to Dustin, “as far as weaknesses go.”
Dustin clucked his tongue and stared at the ceiling. “Shit. Bear-wise? You know, I don’t think I ever saw him shapeshift. That’s weird, right?”
Drea furrowed her brow. “Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his bear form. Does he even have one?” She’d asked as a joke, but the more she thought, the more the suggestion nagged. Stranger things have happened, right? After all, Tamara was a Bear who couldn’t shapeshift and Drea was a Bear who no longer had an inner beast. Gene not being a Bear at all made too much sense.
“Things would be easier if he didn’t, right?” Dustin furrowed his brow, too. “I’m pretty sure he does, though. I just haven’t seen it. Whenever the full moon came around, he’d go off on his own with… Shit.” He squeezed his eyes shut and gave his head a shake. “Damn, I don’t even remember who went with him anymore. But I’m pretty sure I’ve heard some of the others say that Gene ain’t much of a Bear. Scrawny-ass motherfucker. That alpha fight from back when he took over couldn’t have been a fair one.”
“All accounts say it wasn’t. The alpha at the time basically got ambushed and there was a ‘hand the title over or I’ll beat up your wife’ kind of situation. But I don’t know. There’s no use hoping he’s just been pretending. My nose has never been all that great, but I’m pretty sure Bryan would have known if Gene didn’t smell like Bear.”
Dustin grimaced.
“What?”
“Smelling like a made-Bear actually ain’t that hard, girl. Hell, I used to be able to smell Bear on plain-old human chicks some of the guys had fucked.”
Tamara was down the hall in a flash and leaning over Dustin’s chair. “Repeat that.”
He shrugged. “Scent rubs off. Transfers. You can fool someone like that. Sure as hell fooled me a time or two.” He hung his head dejectedly and shook it. “That’s what I get for sniffing around strippers.”
Eyes narrowed, Tamara pressed her hands onto Drea’s desktop. “What did Gene do for a living before he got into criminal activities and Were-bear harassment?”
“I don’t know. Bryan might.”
Tamara pulled the desk phone closer, hit the speaker button, and dialed Bryan’s cell.
“What’s up, Drea?”
“It’s Tam, baby. Drea’s here, too. Listen, what did Gene do before he moved south and took over the clan?”
“He was a low-level chemist somewhere or other. I never asked. That’s why he has so many meth-cooking friends in his network, apparently. Why?”
“Well, Drea’s been doing some brainstorming with Dustin, and we’re wondering now if there’s a possibility that Gene isn’t actually a Bear.”
“What?”
“Think about it. Have you ever seen him shapeshift?”
“I might barf if he says no,” Drea whispered to Dustin.
“Well…no,” Bryan said.
Drea clamped a hand over her mouth. I can’t believe this.
“Not even during the alpha challenge when he took over, as far as I know. There wasn’t a fight. We were a peaceful group. He just threatened the guy’s family, and honestly, that would be enough for most people. That would have been enough for my dad if he’d been alpha.”
“But not you.”
“I’m divergent. We all know that. Still, I need y’all to convince me that Gene isn’t a Bear. I can’t buy that without more evidence. I have an excellent nose.”
“Yes, unlike some people,” Drea said. “You can discern the difference between a made-Bear and a born-Bear no problem, but you’ve never had a reason to tell if a made-Bear’s scent was artificial.”
Bryan was quiet for a long while. So long that Drea thought he’d hung up, but the red light on the phone base said the line was still hot.
“Bryan?” she said as a nudge.
“You said Dustin’s there?” he asked.
“Yo,” Dustin said.
“Who turned you, Dustin? I always thought Gene clawed you.”
“He was there when the deed was done. I always thought he landed the blow, too, but…listen, I spent about five years high or thinking about getting high. I was loaded at the time, and it was dark in that alley, Alpha.”
“Huh.”
Drea’s cell phone rang. It was Peter. She answered in a whisper, “Hello?”
“What are you doing?”
Drea rolled her chair away from the desk to get out of the range of the speakerphone and stopped halfway down the hall. “I’m just conferencing with Dustin and Tamara.” She realized she couldn’t hear Bryan in the background of the call, and should have since he was definitely talking through the speaker in the other room. “Where are you? Are you not driving anymore?”
“No, we stopped. We’re in Maryland. You were right about the ex-girlfriend.”
“You found Gene?”
Peter grunted. “We’re staking out the perimeter of the farm, hiding in outbuildings. We might have some problems.”
“Like what?”
“There are a lot of children here. Looks like the kid invited friends over when the mother was away, and now they can’t leave. Gene walked around the house about fifteen minutes ago with a gun in one hand and grabbing some child by the collar with the other. If he knows we’re waiting to press him, he’s likely going to try to use the children as human shields.”
“Damn it.” She pounded her chair arm, and scooted the rest of the way down the hall to Dana’s office.
When she reached the door, Dana looked up from the paperwork on her desk. “What’s wrong?”
“Gene’s using kids as human shields. The guys found him.”
Dana stood and slipped her gun into her holster. “I’ll head up there with Tam and Maria. Tell the gu
ys not to do anything stupid.”
“Did you hear that?” Drea asked Peter.
“Yes. You stay put.”
She let out a strained laugh. “Yeah, you don’t have to worry about me volunteering for any rescue missions. I know my limitations. I’m trying not going to let myself feel too bruised about not being able to hack it.”
“You shouldn’t feel bruised at all, Andrea.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You can do that stuff. No one ever dismisses you right off the bat. The ladies here never make me feel like I’m useless on purpose, but it’s hard not to internalize all the times from the past when I just couldn’t catch up to my peers.”
“Yes, I can do this stuff, but obviously I can’t make logistical leaps that change the way we play this game. If Gene’s not a Bear—”
“I-I’m just speculating. Just thinking aloud.”
“Him not being a Bear a reasonable conclusion that none of us has considered before now.”
Drea rolled slowly toward the reception desk. “Thinking is…different now with my inner beast gone. I can actually have complete thoughts.”
“Obviously, you think very, very well. Dana would be foolish to not use you to your best advantage. I bet you’re brilliant, and all this time, you’ve been hiding behind that bear of yours.”
Her cheeks burned. If she’d still had hair, she might have been hiding her face behind it so the Shrews didn’t see—so they didn’t ask what had gotten her so flustered. “Foolish isn’t a word I’d ever attach to Dana.”
“But brilliant is a word you’d use to describe yourself?”
“Absolutely not. I got out of high school by the skin of my teeth.”
“I don’t believe that. My inner bear thinks you’re lying.”
“I’m not. I nearly threw up when I walked across the stage to accept my diploma. Just getting up and going to class every day was a chore because I had to see people, and every interaction seemed like a confrontation. I know now that was probably my inner bear coloring social situations badly. I had to learn how to adapt in spite of her. The fact I managed to hold down a job working in customer service is a wonder. The dry-cleaning service customers Bryan and I used to have were the meanest people I’ve ever encountered.”