by T. S. Ryder
“You’ve got my number in Hope’s phone now,” he said to Charity. “Call if you need anything.”
She nodded. Devin stood. Leo stood with him. Each step felt like dragging his feet through mud, but Devin managed to get himself out of the hospital and toward the jeep. His heart pounded and his stomach churned.
“Where are we going to go?” Leo asked him.
“Back to Alice’s place. We’re going to find Honor.”
Chapter Thirteen – Charity
With every step that Devin took, Charity wanted to run after him. It was silly, she knew that, but her stomach cramped and she kept wondering if this would be the last time she’d see him. After all, Honor was still out there with her evil plans. Who knew what she was cooking up now? The only thing that stopped Charity from running after him was knowing that if her parents came, he would end up being arrested.
The cops glared at him as he left, and one of them sent her a furious look. She resisted the urge to glare back and sat down instead. Perhaps waiting for her parents wasn’t the best idea. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to hold her temper when they walked in and she remembered that they had nearly gotten Devin arrested for something he didn’t do.
At the same time, she knew that Devin was right. She needed to be here for Hope. Whatever Honor was after, it was clear that she had shot Hope to get at her. Perhaps Hope was trying to stop her. Perhaps Honor had thought Hope was her. Whatever it was, Charity wasn’t going to be able to think about anything else if she left the hospital before she was able to see and speak with her sister.
Unable to sit still, Charity took to pacing again. When the sound of her feet hitting the floor became too much for her, she marched over to the nurses’ desk and leaned on it. The nurse looked up with a kindly expression.
“Can I see my sister?” Charity asked.
The nurse shook her head. Apparently, she had been expecting this line of questioning. “I’m afraid not, my dear. She’s just come out of surgery and is still heavily sedated. I will let you know when you can go see her.”
“Thank you.” Her voice sounded oddly cowed to her own ears, but Charity didn’t spend any time as she retreated back to the uncomfortable chairs. There wasn’t even a TV in the room to distract her from her thoughts.
Leo’s soft question returned to her. Why were you going to just let them arrest you? She shivered as she considered it. Was it her? Had he stepped back, ready to sacrifice his freedom and the wellbeing of his pack because he didn’t want her to get caught in the crossfire? She didn’t want that from him. If she was the reason that his pack fell apart, then how was she meant to be in his life?
Her hand drifted to her stomach. She wouldn’t regret her relationship with Devin, nor the child growing inside of her. But he couldn’t give up everything he’d worked so hard for, just for her. As touching as it was, it wasn’t good for either of them.
No. Once they were able to talk again, they were going to have to have a serious conversation about this. And she was going to help him every way she could.
***
Hope was still unconscious by the time her parents arrived. Hope’s husband was with them. Charity stood to greet them, and Hope’s husband got right into her face.
“This is all your fault!” he shouted. “You go and get yourself mixed up with a shifter, and then you get my wife tangled up in it, too. As if it’s not bad enough that you’ve gotten yourself knocked up. You’ve put her in danger, and now look at what’s happened! Where is he? I’m going to kill him for hurting my wife!”
“Devin didn’t hurt anybody.” Charity’s hands clenched. Her nostrils flared as she struggled to gain control of her temper. “Honor shot Hope. Devin had nothing to do with it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” her father said. “Honor wouldn’t hurt a fly. That shifter has brainwashed you. I can’t believe that a daughter of mine would be so stupid! First you let yourself get wrapped up in this business, and now you won’t see plain, simple truths. That beast is dangerous!”
“Devin isn’t the one who shot Hope! That was Honor!”
Her mother let out a long, plaintive wail that made Charity flinch and cover her ears. Part of her wondered why she was even trying to reason with any of them when they clearly weren’t listening.
She was proven right with the next words that came out of her mother’s mouth. “That shifter is tearing this family apart. Oh, Charity. You were going to be our little star. We had such high hopes for you, going off to college. You had so much potential. And you’ve thrown it all away on a shifter? I never thought the day would come . . . and now my family has fallen apart.”
“If you’re looking for someone to blame for ripping this family apart, maybe you should look at Honor, who shot Hope. And him!” She pointed at Hope’s husband. “He’s cheating on Hope. But you wouldn’t care about that, would you? Because as long as he wears that cross around his neck, you don’t care what he does. You’re all a bunch of hypocrites.”
“Charity Gatiss, don’t you dare talk to your mother like that,” her father started.
“I will talk however I damned well please!” Her voice rose to a shout. The cops started to head over her way. She didn’t care. “You want to know who tore this family apart? Look in a mirror. Then pick up a bible and read what it actually says.”
The cops were right there by this time. Charity ignored them as she headed for the exit. She didn’t care about them or her parents or any of them. She had made Devin leave because she knew that her parents would attack him. Obviously, she should have been more worried about herself. Staying was a bad idea.
Tears flooded her eyes as she left the hospital. As much as she wanted to stay for Hope, she couldn’t. She couldn’t just be there, waiting with them. The decision had already been made, but this only made it more obvious. She had to cut them out. She couldn’t keep going on trying to battle their hate. She didn’t have the strength.
She pulled Hope’s phone from her pocket, intending to call Devin. But as she rounded a corner of the large brick building, something heavy hit the back of her head.
Darkness consumed her.
***
When consciousness returned, the first thing Charity realized was that she was tied up. Her head pounded as she lifted it. Her arms were secured behind her back and ropes wound around her stomach and legs. Dark splotches still moved over her eyes as she glanced around. She was in a dank little motel room. It looked like it had been decorated in the 60s and ignored since then. Charity wouldn’t have been surprised if she saw rats.
Her gaze landed on Honor. Charity tensed at once.
Honor smiled coldly at her. “Welcome back to the land of the living, sister. I hope your head doesn’t hurt too much.”
Charity glared back at her.
“How is Hope? I heard that she came out of surgery, but I couldn’t find out anything else.”
“Like you care.” Charity tested the ropes holding her. There was no give to them. Her hands and feet were both numb. How long had she been tied up here? “You shot her! She could have died because of you, so don’t you dare pretend like you care.”
Honor’s face fell into a deadly glare. “Pretend? Of course I care. She’s my sister. I love her. Poor Hope, she’s just a bit stupid. Too easily pulled into whatever web of lies you’ve woven around yourself and that shifter. The bullet was meant for you. But she was going to warn you. It’s your fault.”
“You shot her. That is nobody’s fault but your own.”
Honor tapped her fingers on the little desk she sat next to. “Still as unreasonable as ever. Always acting like it’s somebody else’s fault. You betrayed our family. Threatened to undo all my hard work. What was I supposed to do? Shifters are destroying the human way of life. They want to steal everything from us. And you? You’re helping them.”
There was a large knife beside Honor’s fingers. Charity’s blood ran cold as she saw it. Her heart pounded. As hard as she struggled no
t to show fear, she felt it radiating from every pore in her body. Swallowing hard, she looked back at Honor’s face. There was no pity or remorse in her eyes.
Did she even believe what she was saying? Or was there just something broken inside of her, something that demanded blood and pain? Had she merely decided that this was the justification she’d use to feed her lust for killing?
“I’ve calmed down now.” Honor actually smiled at her. “And I have come to a decision. I am going to offer you your life, as well as the life of your unborn child. That’s what you want, right? I’ve heard that a mother’s love for her baby gives her strength to do things she wouldn’t otherwise do. Maybe it’ll give you the strength to be reasonable.”
“Honor, I’m not the one who shot our sister.”
Honor’s face dropped. She slapped Charity hard across the face, making her cry out. Honor stood, hands clenched as she paced back and forth. But she didn’t reach for the knife. That was a positive, at least. Charity swallowed hard. Trying her best to keep her voice soothing, she spoke again.
“Okay. I am going to try to be reasonable, Honor. I know that you didn’t want to hurt Hope. It was just the situation. Everything fell out of control. So why don’t you tell me what I can do to help you now?”
Glittering eyes turned toward her. “Prove that you are still part of this family.”
How was she supposed to do that? “What do you mean?”
“You’ve tried to turn Hope against me. Prove that you’re not beyond help, Charity. We’re sisters. Help me. All I want is the shifter behind bars. I don’t care if he dies or not. Just admit what he did to you, that he used his pheromones to make you sleep with him.”
“Shifters don’t have—”
Honor cut her off, her voice hardening again. “Tell the cops that he raped you. Tell them that you were too afraid he was going to kill you to come forward before now. Tell them that I had that gun to protect you and that he took it and shot Hope. That will ensure that he is locked away. His pack will fall apart without him, and you and me? We’ll be free to be sisters again.”
Charity stared up at Honor. Her jaw clenched and she said nothing. She couldn’t even play along. No, there was something else going on here.
Honor’s expectant smile slipped away. Her face hardened, and she marched over to the table again. She picked up the jacket laying there, revealing a camera underneath. She turned it off and turned back to Charity.
“I see we’re going to have to do this the hard way, then.” She picked up the knife. “I’m sorry about this, Charity. But sacrifice is necessary.”
Chapter Fourteen – Devin
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Leo gave Devin a worried look as he started the jeep.
Devin stepped back, smiling at his little brother. “Don’t worry. I do.”
I hope. He kept the smile on his face as he waved Leo off. The truth was that his gut churned and was getting worse with every passing moment. His throat was dry, and if he thought too much, his head was going to explode. He was certain about one thing, though. Getting Leo out of here and out of the line of fire was the best thing he could do right then.
He realized very shortly after leaving the hospital that being away from Charity was a mistake. Sharks didn’t react to situations like other shifters did. There was no growling or beating against his chest like he’d heard his mammalian cousins report of. Rather, it was like vibrations. Shivers running down his spine. Gaping jaws and the need to keep moving, to go fast until there was nothing but his target in sight.
The feeling only got worse the longer he was from Charity. He had been thinking of his pack when he left the hospital. If he was arrested, all the work he’d been doing for them would crumble. And then who would help with arranging jobs? Who would help Hannah and others like her to escape from prostitution? Who would be there for them?
And the answer was simple. His brothers. The other members of the pack. He wasn’t the alpha, and with good reason. They didn’t need an alpha. They had banded together and were working together. He never was in it alone. Everything he did, he had a system of others that he worked with to accomplish. Maybe from one angle, he looked like he was in charge, but the truth of the matter was that he wasn’t. The pack would be fine without him. But him without Charity? Hopeless.
And so, he was sending Leo back to the pack to keep him out of the coming storm. If Charity’s family attacked him and got him arrested like she feared, at least he would know that he had been there for her instead of running away.
He headed for the hospital on foot, jogging. He’d had Leo drop him off a few blocks away. He used the time as he made his way to the huge building to work out what he was going to do or say to try to keep the situation from escalating. The best he could come up with was to just be quiet and ignore everything that they flung at him . . .
Just as he reached the hospital doors, his phone rang. Devin skidded to a stop. He yanked the phone from his pocket and was surprised to see Hope’s number. His heart jumped into his throat. Why would Charity be calling him? Had Hope taken a turn for the worst?
“Charity,” he breathed when he answered. “I’ll be right there.”
There was a moment of silence, followed by a low chuckle. “Ah. You mean the hospital? Interesting. I didn’t think that you’d go back there.”
The voice was familiar. Similar to Charity’s, but with a layer of coldness that was far too unfeeling. A chill ran down Devin’s spine. He’d heard Honor speak often, with her many televised speeches against shifters. Calling for some regulation against them or blaming them for things that they had no control over.
And she had the phone that he’d left with Charity.
“Where is she?”
“My sister? She’s . . . nearby. She’s being uncooperative. I’m hoping that you’ll prove to be a bit better. She’s going to die unless you say that you attacked Hope and tried to kill her.”
“What?”
“Say it. Right now.”
“Fine!” Devin had to work to keep his voice low and calm. “Fine, if that’s what you want to hear. I attacked Hope. I wanted to undo everything you did. Happy? Now, where is she?”
Honor made a humming noise. “Yes. Yes, that will be just fine. Good. I was worried she’d ruin everything. But once I have your evidence to show the world, I’ll be cleared of all charges. They’ll think that Hope, if she has the courage to tell the truth, was just mistaken due to her trauma. And poor Charity . . . murdered by the man she foolishly fell in love with.”
No. All the air left his lungs.
“Oh, but you do have a chance to save her. She’s in Welsh Lake . . . She’s got about half an hour of oxygen left. I left you a blood trail.”
A click signaled her hanging up. Devin didn’t bother to think. He didn’t consider anything except for that Charity was going to die if he didn’t act. So, when he saw someone getting into their car, he pounced. He threw them out of the vehicle and took the car himself. His heart pounded all the way to Welsh Lake, a manmade reservoir that people often swam at despite the fact that there was an ocean only a couple miles away. The people who went to Welsh Lake feared sharks.
The sandy beach beside the lake teemed with people. Several boats were on the water, but Devin didn’t stop to think about any of them or what his presence would do. Instead, he plunged right into the water. As soon as he was deep enough, he shifted. His clothes burst from him as his form changed shape. His shark welcomed the cool embrace of the water—
But it was all wrong.
Devin struggled to move forward. The water was . . . thicker, somehow. Heavier as it pressed down on him. It felt like nails raking over his gills like he was trying to breathe through a feather pillow. He pushed himself deeper into the water, mouth gaped open. There was blood in here, muddled by the taste of bodies and thick algae. His gills flared as they tried to compensate for the heavy water. He could feel boats chopping the water along his lateral line.
He pushed that aside, concentrating on the taste of blood. There was no way of really knowing it was Charity’s, but it was the best lead he had. His tail beat the water as he skimmed the bottom of the lake. His eyes grew larger as the light grew dimmer.
Within fifteen minutes, he’d reached the end of the blood trail. He could hardly see the shape in the water, but as he bumped up against it, he knew it was human and it was alive. It was tied with rope to a cinderblock. His head swam fuzzily as his body screamed for oxygen. Bubbles escaped the figure. Was it wearing a scuba mask? He couldn’t tell.
His brain wasn’t working. He struggled to think as he circled the figure again. This had to be Charity. It had to be . . . He dove at the cinderblock. His teeth snapped as he chomped on it, but the heavy cement crumbled in his mouth. Taking hold of the rope gently in his mangled mouth, Devin turned and headed back to the surface. The distant light seemed to get dimmer the harder he swum. The water pressed down on him. His gills stopped flaring. Muscles cooled and it was all he could do to keep his tail beating . . .
And then he was through. Cool air broke around his head. He shifted without another thought. Water bust from his lungs, then he sucked in a deep breath. The ropes caught his arms, pulling him under. He kicked hard, surfacing again, and pulled the person to the surface with him.
Charity. Her face was white, head lolling. A scuba tank was strapped to her back, but it was clear that she had run out of oxygen. He ripped off the mask and tried to buoy her up.
“Breathe,” he begged. “Breathe!”
They were a half-a-dozen yards from the shoreline. Devin rolled onto his back, cradling Charity’s unconscious form on his chest. He kicked hard, desperately trying to get her back to the shore. Nobody came to their aid. When he did get her on the beach, he saw that everybody was out of the water. They pointed, screamed, and videoed, terrified.
Devin ignored them. He laid Charity on her side and began working to expel the water from her lungs. He looked up, eyes roving through the crowd. His vision swayed and he realized that trying to survive in the fresh water as a shark had done more of a number on him than he realized.