by Clara Cody
“Oh, yeah? How?”
“I—” He shook his head, looking away. “I don’t know yet. But I promise, I’ll figure something out.”
“I don’t understand,” I asked, clutching the ring in my hand. I heard the whimper in my voice, which suddenly sounded so foreign to me. “Why would they take him?”
“To trade. Because they know how important you are to me. They know I’d never let anything hurt you.”
“But-but…why? Over some fucking heirloom. What the hell are you people hiding?”
“An heirloom, Jason?” Annie asked, appearing in the doorway. She threw her hands in the air. “Like a teapot or coin collection? Jesus, is that what you told her?”
“I couldn’t very well—” He growled. “Okay, fine. It’s not just any old thing. It’s an amulet. Something ancient and powerful.”
I pulled away from him, moving backwards on the bed. “How powerful?”
“Powerful enough that a lot of people have tried to get it. Powerful enough that none of them succeeded.”
I shook my head. My fists were clenched so hard the ring dug a deep gauge in my palm. “No. There’s something you’re not telling me. If it was that powerful, you wouldn’t be here, vulnerable like this. If it was that powerful, why would they even try to take it?”
“Because they know we won’t use it.”
“What? Why not?”
“We lost our parents to it. My dad was the alpha before me. The amulet was passed down from alpha to alpha, through the generations. We were its guardians, and we kept it hidden and safe. Eventually, people forgot that the amulet even existed. He kept it in his closet under a bunch of shoe boxes, if you can believe it. I doubt he even touched it before…before it happened.”
I took a ragged breath, feeling my anger falter. His pain was written all over his face. It hurt to see him like this, but it was clearly something he needed to talk about. “What happened?”
“My mother.” He stared down at his tightly clamped hands as he spoke. “It’s not easy living with something as powerful as the amulet and not wanting it. It took its toll. My mother tried to take it, to take control. But it doesn’t work that way. In the end, it controlled her. My father died trying to defend it, and trying to save her. In the end, it took both their lives.” He let out a heavy sigh, as though relieved to have it off his chest.
“I’m sorry. I—I didn’t know.” In fact, none of them had ever mentioned their parents. Somehow I hadn’t noticed. But as bad as I felt for Jason and his siblings, I also had my own family to worry about. “What about my dad?”
“There’s another way, Elise, trust me. We just have to find it.”
“What if there isn’t?” Annie asked, her voice a whisper.
“Dad didn’t want it used, Annie.”
“He isn’t here anymore, remember? And it wasn’t Dad’s fault anyway. It was Mom. We all know that.”
He stood, suddenly seeming seven feet tall. “Don’t. She didn’t mean it! It wasn’t really her, it was the amulet!”
Annie looked away, crossing her arms. “Sorry.” She turned and left without another word.
I guess that’s what it meant to be the alpha.
He deflated, collapsing on the bed as soon as she was gone. “As you can see, my parents aren’t something we really talk about. For good reason.”
“You have family issues? Welcome to the club. Now, what are you going to do to get my dad back.”
“We’ll go after them.”
“How? Do you even know where they are?”
“It’s a small town. There aren’t that many places. Besides, people talk, and those guys don’t exactly blend in. Maybe we can find out where they’re hiding out.”
I nodded. “I have to talk to Carolyn.”
He placed a hand on mine. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. She might not even realize he’s gone yet, and you don’t want to scare her.”
“You mean draw attention to this. You want to keep it all hush-hush, don’t you?”
“Both.”
I looked away, knowing he was right, but hating it all the same. I felt powerless, useless. Angry.
“I have to go talk to the others. Do you want to come? It involves you, too.”
I nodded, sliding to the side of the bed. “Give me a minute, I’ll be there when I’m ready.”
He left without another word. I waited until I heard voices in the living room and ran to shut the door. I took out my phone and dialed. Maybe Jason was right and telling Carolyn could end badly for the Thorne family, but I had to do something.
“Carolyn, it’s me,” I said when she answered.
“Oh, hi, Elise,” she answered, sounding tense.
My heart skipped. “What’s wrong?” I couldn’t help imagining some mask-wearing psycho holding a gun to her head.
“Oh, nothing. Just this damn apple pie I was making for dessert. Margo’s coming by with Abigail. It’s all soupy. What happened to you yesterday? We missed you at the party.”
It’s nothing. And she doesn’t know about Dad. Thank God. “Oh, yeah. I was feeling under the weather. Is Dad around? Can I talk to him?”
“No, he’s still at the office. He sleeps there sometimes, especially when the girls are home. But—”
“But what?”
“Oh, nothing. He’s just usually home by now. It’s almost lunch time.”
An idea suddenly came to me. Last year, I remember getting a phone call from Carolyn, the obligatory Christmas phone call, when she was complaining that she’d put a phone tracker app on his cell, which he wasn’t too happy about. “Carolyn, does Dad still use that tracker app you downloaded?”
“Ugh, that thing. What a headache! I only got it so he could find his phone; he’s always losing it. But he made it sound as if I was spying on him.”
“I know, I know. Is it still on there?”
“I think so. Let me check. Why?”
“Oh, nothing. I just thought I’d surprise him.” Anyone who knew me or my father would be smelling smoke right about now. Maybe she was blinded by her desire for us to reconnect, but she just made a comment about bringing him back for lunch.
“Oh.” She mumbled something I couldn’t quite make out. “That’s…odd.”
Anxiety filled my stomach, making it twist and turn inside. “What is it?” I squeaked out.
“He’s not at the office. He’s out in the middle of nowhere.” She paused. “Oh, no. He’s not—” She swallowed hard. “You don’t think he’s having an affair, do you?” Her voice trembled. I could hear the worry in her voice.
“I don’t think so.” I felt bad for putting her through it. Carolyn had been nothing but nice to me, and here I was putting her worst fears in her mind. But her worst fear was nothing compared to the reality. It was better for her to think her husband lost interest than know the truth, that he was locked up, with God-knows-what being done to him. “Where is he, Carolyn?”
“Outside town. I don’t know, on the other side of the lake, I think.”
“Okay, thanks!”
I hung up and raced from the room. I found everyone in the living room, sitting around discussing what they were going to do about my dad. “I know where he is.”
Jason
Sean held back after the talk. “I don’t like it.”
I dragged my fingers through my hair, shaking my head. “What a surprise.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve done nothing but complain about Elise since she got here.”
“Was I wrong? Look at the mess we’re in now.”
“How is any of this Elise’s fault?”
“She drew attention to us! They left you alone until she came along.”
“They just stayed in the shadows. I was never alone. That prick made that clear enough. At least now everything’s out in the open.”
“Whatever.” He sighed. “I’m actually thinking of her this time. Maybe you should do the same.”
“You don’t
know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, I do. What do you think she’s going to do when we’re ready to go tomorrow? Sit at home with Lacey and make tea like a good little girl? That’s her father out there.”
He was right. She wouldn’t want to stay here, and we couldn’t bring her along. “I’ll talk to her.”
“It won’t work.”
“So then what the hell do you suggest?”
“You’re not gonna like it.”
The next day came quickly. We had the plan all laid out. We were nervous, but ready. “Are you finished?” I asked Annie as she was placing the finishing touches on it.
She nodded. “Done.” She wrapped the object in a cloth dinner napkin and handed it over.
“You’re a genius.” I bounced it in my hand. “If it weren’t for the weight I’d never know it wasn’t the real thing.”
“That’s a bit generous,” Sean said, coming up behind.
Annie rolled her eyes, dragging her mane of thick curly hair through her fingers. “Always the voice of dissent, right Sean?”
“You haven’t seen it for awhile. I’m just saying it won’t convince anyone for long. We need to be quick about it.”
“Quick about what?” Elise stood in the doorway, pulling her hair into a knot. She dressed in what looked like her field clothes, the same thing she’d been wearing the first day I met her. Shorts, white tank top and boots, only now she also wore a black sweater that she’d borrowed from Annie. I guessed to blend in.
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” I said, stuffing the cloth-wrapped object into my pocket. I lumbered over to her and picked her up around the waist, holding her under my arm.
“Wait! What the hell are you doing?” She whacked me on the shoulder. “Put me down. He’s my dad! I want to go with you!”
“The hell you are.”
She started kicking as I threw open the door to the basement. “You can’t do this!” She screeched as I put her down on the step. She took a deep breath, clearly forcing her voice to stay even. “Look, Jason, I know you’re worried about me, but—”
“But nothing.” I took her by the wrist and pulled her down the steps. “This is for your own good.”
“My own good? I’m not a child!” Her eyes were furious and hurt. As soon as we got to the landing, she tore away from me. “You can’t just leave me here.” Her bottom lip trembled. “What am I supposed to do? Just stand around? Wait for the news about whether my father is dead or not, along with the man that I—” She stopped herself, turning away from me.
My pulse raced all of a sudden. I looked at her, pleading with her to finish the sentence. But she didn’t. She turned back to me, tears welling up in her eyes. “What if—what if it doesn’t work, and the last thing I said to him was…shit I don’t even remember what the last thing was. It wasn’t good, though.”
“Whatever it was, I’m sure he knows you didn’t mean it.”
She shook her head. “I did mean it. And he knows it. Fuck, I was so mad at him, for so long.”
“I’ll bring him back. I promise you. But I can’t risk having you there, too. I can’t be thinking about getting him out and wondering what’s happening with you at the same time. I need to know you’re safe here so that I can get him.”
She nodded, turning her back to me. “Fine.”
I wanted to say something, anything to put her at ease, to let her know I’d take care of her. Nothing came to me. Instead, I said goodbye and started up the stairs.
“Wait!” She launched herself into my arms, pulling my head towards hers. Our lips found each other in a kiss that practically burned its way through me. “Come back,” she whispered against my lips.
“I’ll always come back.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jason
Grey Grove. Once a bustling and happy town by the lake. A summer spot while it was still called Silver Grove, named after the white poplars that grew in the area. The trains brought visitor and tourists almost daily in the spring and summer back in the day, until they built a new railroad that bypassed the town. First tourists, then businesses, then people slowly drifted away. Now it was a ghost town
I knew they had to be keeping Elise’s father there. As soon as she told me he was on the other side of the lake, I knew it. The abandoned train station was the biggest structure aside from the old town hall which was falling into ruin faster than anything else in Grey Grove.
“It’s eerie here,” Annie said as we crept along through the trees that stood between houses that surprisingly hadn’t crumbled to the ground yet.
“Got that right,” Sean answered. “Creepy as hell.”
We had to stay off the roads, as pitiful as they were. Sean, Annie, and I walked silently between the trees and houses. The roads of Grey Grove had only sprouted grass and other short plants. There was no protection there.
I’d never been here in the daylight before. Even as a reckless and stupid teenager, I’d only had the guts to come here once or twice, and we hadn’t stayed long. People talked about this place. About the sounds and things you might see. A chill ran down my spine. It really was the perfect place to hide out. No one ever came here.
I gave the signal to advance. We hurried around the back of the train station and huddled behind a shed. There were two guards, a blond guy and a red-headed, hulking monster of a man. They patrolled the back of the train station, guns in hand. There was a lot of ground between us and them though, so there was no sneaking up on them.
What we needed was a distraction. Something to get the goons close enough that we could attack without drawing attention from the rest. I picked up a heavy rock next to me and signaled for Sean to move in the opposite direction. When Sean was in position—standing behind a large tree about twenty feet from us—I threw the rock, clearing a distance of thirty feet.
“What was that?” the blond guard said, turning in the direction of the rock.
The red hulk turned in our direction, and I ducked behind the shed. Shit! “I think it came from over there,” Big Red said, pointing in our direction.
Annie’s eyes went wide.
“It’s okay,” I mouthed. “Wait.”
“No, man, it was definitely from that way.”
“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that? I’m telling you, it was over there. I’m checking it out. You stay here.”
“Fuck you,” the blond guard barked. “I’m going to go check out the trees. You stay here.”
I looked out from behind the shed, peeking through a bush. They were luckily facing each other, eyes narrowed, chests puffed out. This might actually be good for us.
Big red grabbed the other by the collar. “Who’s in charge here? Me! So stay put!”
The other one knocked his hand away and shoved him back. “In charge, my ass. You started two weeks before me.”
“I’m going to check out the shed, you do whatever you want and explain it to Rourke later.”
Big Red started towards the shed, gun lowered. Fuck. This was worse. If we took out only one guard, the other could call for help. We needed to take out both at the same time. Sean must have been thinking the same thing, because a deep growl sounded from where he was hiding. I saw his fur from between the trees.
“There,” shouted the other guard, pointing in that direction. “Did you hear that? There’s something there.”
“Would you shut the fuck up?”
“I’m going to check it out, and you can explain to Rourke why you wanted to hide behind a shed instead of protecting the basement.”
The basement? They must be protecting it for some reason.
As soon as the guard was close enough, Sean leapt out, taking the man to the ground. From this angle, I could barely see it, so from the other side of the shed, where the other guard was, he could only hear the sound of crashing.
“What is it?” he called, gun high. For a split second, he lowered it and looked out past the shed. I took advantage, leaping out and grabbing his
throat with one hand and the gun with the other so he couldn’t yell or shoot. I tossed the gun aside and twisted around behind him, slipping my arm around his neck. He slapped and clawed feebly as I tightened my grip. I released him when I felt his body go limp. Buddy was going to have one hell of a headache when he woke.
“Tie him up,” I said to Annie. “Put him out in the forest where he won’t bother us.”
“I got a better idea,” Sean said. He came out of the woods, wearing the uniform from the guy he’d taken out. It was a bit small, but it was convincing.
“Grab his legs,” Sean said. “Drag him over to the door.”
A few minutes later and Sean was hunched over the guy’s seemingly lifeless body. “Rourke!” he shouted out. “Get out here. Help!”
Annie and I hid to either side of the door, waiting. Footsteps sounded. “What the hell is going on?” He was close…closer…NOW!
I jumped out, clothes-lining him, my forearm catching him right in the throat. He fell to the ground, coughing. Taking the gun in hand, I smashed the end into the side of his head, knocking him out. “All right,” I said. “Now we can tie them up.”
Annie and I took the uniforms from the other two, neither of them fitting well. But at least they provided some manner of protection: a bullet proof vest. Sean took the three men and dragged them deeper into the woods where they wouldn’t be heard if they started yelling.
“The basement,” I said as we were approaching the train station again. It was a rectangular, two storied building that smelled of musk and dry wood and little else. Not like urine or garbage like most abandoned places. This was a town that people left alone, not even daring to defile it. The floorboards creaked underfoot as we entered through the back door. Immediately to the left, there was a door. It had to be the basement. They had to be keeping Elise’s father there, or else why would they be protecting it so carefully?
I opened the door and found a staircase, leading down. I signaled for Annie and Sean to follow me.
The basement was dimly lit, with broken boxes and debris scattered about. A tiny amount of light streamed in through grimy, dirt-encrusted windows. It was too dark for a human to see, and I couldn’t smell any shifters, so I assumed there probably weren’t any men down there at the moment. Then again, Lucas wasn’t exactly human. What the hell is that guy?