If Deane was only one of many, she supposed it would present a problem holding him against his will. She and Julian weren’t skilled combatants like their siblings. The art of defense wasn’t what Verity spent time on in her youth. She and Julian wouldn’t stand a chance against the changelings if they had killed Ramsay and Quinn, two well-trained opponents.
Verity stepped aside so he could pass by. Julian joined her side and watched Deane leave the exam room. The front door clicked shut, and they were left alone.
Verity didn’t waste any time. She peeled off the top of her scrubs, revealing her tank beneath, and went into the other room. Julian hurried after her. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for my keys.” She entered the kitchen and pulled them from the hook on the wall and pocketed her wallet.
Julian blocked the back door. “Verity.”
“What?” she muttered, mentally going through the things she might need. “He’s been spying on us to understand us better. Why can’t I do the same?”
Her brother scoffed. “Because you have no experience. Plus, he saved me from getting choked out by that guy. I think you should wait for him to come back.”
“His friend more like,” Verity muttered and walked threateningly toward Julian. “Step away, he’s going to leave, and I won’t know where he went. It’s not like I’m going to do anything, I’m just going to watch from afar.”
Julian shook his head and moved away from the door. His voice chased her outside as she ran to her parked car that was sitting in the shade of the house. “He seems like he’s telling the truth. I’d trust him before Lycos.”
Verity thrust her keys into the ignition and brought the engine to life. While she backed into the parking area to flip around, she saw Deane’s taillights at the end of the drive turn north onto the highway. She sped to catch up, sending gravel flying. She wasn’t going to just trust the man because he made her weak in the knees when he stared into her eyes. People behaved differently when they didn’t know anyone was watching. She hoped to learn more about him so they could make a choice based on knowledge, not just his rugged good looks.
Deane traveled on the highway while fumbling with his phone. He held it up to his ear. It rang three times before going to voicemail. Riley’s voice echoed. “Leave a message after the beep.”
Deane held the receiver to his mouth and felt his neck strain. “Riley, ye’ve got everyone out looking for ye. Answer the phone and let me know where ye’re at! I’m not foolin’ round.”
He hung up and stared at the cars in front of him. He pressed his foot on the accelerator, closing in on the car in front of him. They were all moving too slow. He couldn’t believe the lad had taken off like that. What was he thinking?
Deane had other things he needed to deal with, like the blood-suckers. He didn’t even know what he’d said to get himself out of there. The whole time he’d been thinking about Riley. He was pissed and worried all at once. His job might be to enforce the Genus Society laws, but he was the boy’s legal guardian, and he’d sworn to his dying mother that he’d keep him safe. So much for doing a good job at that. Who knew teenagers would be so much trouble?
He barreled down the road, tapping his steering wheel and passing cars to meet up with Emery at the lodge. He shaved five minutes off his drive and came to a stop at the sidewalk outside the art deco building. Deane pressed his palm against the horn, not wanting to waste a minute.
The glass door flew open, and Emery ran outside to jump into the passenger side of the car. Panting, she filled him in. “We looked through the lodge five times at least—couldn’t find him anywhere. I’m real sorry, Deane. I just walked away for a minute to use the restroom. When I got back, his door was open, and he was gone.”
Deane pulled back into traffic and continued to drive. He didn’t know where he was going, but maybe Riley didn’t either.
He felt Emery’s eyes on him as she fastened her seatbelt. “Are you going to talk to me?”
The steering wheel creaked with the pressure he was putting on it, holding it so tightly. “Ye said the Miami crew’s out looking, too?”
“Yeah, Georgina went out in animal form to look from the skies—the convenience of being a bird, I guess. Everyone who was around the lodge is out looking, even Marisol. I get the feeling she feels really bad about what happened this morning.”
Deane’s stomach turned. He shouldn’t have left this morning. If he had stayed, he might have been able to help Riley in some way. The poor kid just kept getting pounded on. Life was brutal.
“Are you angry?” Emery asked with a wince.
“Aye,” he growled back. “With myself. The lad deserves a might better of a father figure than me. I’m just making things worse for him. Maybe I should have left him in Denver with Aerilyn, someone who understands kids better than I do.”
Emery squinted out the window at the shop-lined street before glancing at him. “Time for a truth bomb. You can be harsh with the kid, and you definitely need to practice your gentler side.”
“But? Shouldn’t ye follow that up with a but?” He clenched his teeth and continued to scan the streets for any sign of the depressed teen.
“I get the feeling you’ve been through a lot yourself.” She looked at him uneasily and continued, “And that you just want to help the kid the only way you know how. I think it’s really cool you stepped up to take care of him. Kinda crazy, like going streaking in front of the police station, but cool.”
He stopped at a red light and tried not to let the overwhelm take control. This was a busy city filled with people. He knew the Miami crew were helping to look for the runaway, but he wanted to know Riley was safe. Not only that, he’d have to report to Alaric sooner rather than later if he couldn’t find him. It wasn’t something he relished the idea of.
At least Riley wasn’t a shapeshifter and wouldn’t be able to hide out as an animal. The kid hadn’t had any chicken blood since they’d left Denver. What that bully had been dumped on him earlier had made his fangs elongate. He clearly needed sustenance. Deane had been too busy to think about Riley’s needs. He considered the idea of trying to get his hands on some rabbit blood from Verity and Julian, but quickly discounted the thought. He’d be revealing Riley’s presence here, and that was a potential risk.
He’d have to talk to Cruz about getting his hands on some blood if they found Riley. No, when they found Riley.
“Where do you think he went?” Emery rolled down her window and stared outside. The breeze tousled her hair and whistled in the car.
Deane didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure.
They spent the afternoon and early evening walking all over the beaches and driving past the clubs and restaurants. Besides being only seventeen, the kid didn’t have the kind of money that could get him on a flight home to Denver.
The sun had crept below the horizon, deepening the sky to a dark blue. Holiday lights lit the night, which gave Deane an idea. He frowned and pulled over to look at his phone.
“Trying to call him again?” Emery asked.
He was too focused to answer. His fingers touched the screen, taking him to social media to check Riley’s profile pictures over the years. It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. Deane pulled up a map on his phone and found the quickest route to his destination before pulling back onto the road.
“I think I know where he is,” he muttered to Emery and prayed to his mother in heaven that he was right.
Verity came close to running out of gas, following Deane around all day. She thought for sure he’d spotted her when he pulled off the road and looked straight at her in his rearview mirror, but when he didn’t get out or approach her, she sighed in relief.
Julian had called to check on her numerous times, and she’d assured him she was playing it safe. She wasn’t entirely sure what Deane and the curvy woman with him were doing, but it seemed clear they were looking for something or someone. That or making a fool out of Verity.
&
nbsp; Her curiosity was piqued when she followed them to the Miami Zoo. The sun had sunk below the verdant horizon nearly an hour ago, yet the dark was filled with bright points of light. Multi-colored bulbs decorated the entrance, welcoming its visitors to Zoo Lights, a nighttime holiday activity.
Verity parked and trailed after Deane and his red-lipped companion as they paid and entered the zoo. The two split up and went different directions, so she remained behind Deane. She kept him within eyesight as she pretended to look at the holiday lights while families stopped to point at the exotic animals who’d settled in for the night.
She didn’t know how a changeling’s power worked. Maybe a place filled with animals was appealing to those with the ability to change into other creatures. For all she knew, she was surrounded by changelings at that very moment.
“Riley!”
Verity focused on the path ahead. Deane jogged away to sit on a bench beside a teenage boy. Their lips moved, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying from where she stood, so she strolled closer and positioned herself behind the trunk of a palm tree.
“Ye had me worried.” Deane’s deep voice was almost drowned out by the holiday music playing from speakers mounted nearby.
“Doubtful,” the boy answered. “How’d you find me?”
Verity peered around the trunk to see Deane lean his elbows onto his knees and glance at Riley. “I remembered the pictures ye put in yer room. The ones of your mother and ye with the Christmas lights. Then I checked your social media and saw all the snaps over the years during the holidays at Zoo Lights in Denver. Thought it might have been a tradition.”
The teen brushed his long dark hair from his eyes and tucked it behind his ear. There was something about him that looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Riley stared into the animal enclosure they were sitting in front of, blinking into the dark. “You’re good at your job.”
Deane glanced at him. “I wasn’t doing my job today.”
“Sure you were—tracking the blood-sucking freak.” The boy’s face turned down to the ground.
Had Verity heard him right? She studied the teen even closer. He was sitting with his back to her, so she couldn’t get a good look. A group of high schoolers walked by, laughing and talking loudly. Verity frowned at them and held her breath to hear Deane’s response.
“Ye aren’t a job to me, kid.” The Irishman paused before continuing, “There was a time long ago when I was to be a da, though it never came to pass.”
“Bet he ran away,” Riley mumbled.
Deane stared at his hands. “No, my wife died, taking with her my unborn baby.”
The teen looked at Deane for a good long minute. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Alaric’s the only one who knows. Don’t like talking about it.” Deane rubbed his jaw and cleared his throat. “I may not be good at it—taking care of ye—but I want to be. I swore to yer ma ye’d be kept safe, and I promise ye here and now to do better. What happened to ye this morning was rough—”
Riley interrupted, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, it was utter shite,” Deane grumbled.
“What—that I’m so pathetic because I wouldn’t hit him back?” Riley scowled.
Deane seemed surprised by the comment. “No, having to survive yer ma’s murder and to take yer own father’s life—that’s more than any soul should have to live through. And then dealing with that prick this morning?”
The young man’s eyes shut, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t want to turn out anything like him.”
“Ramsay?” Deane shook his head and frowned. “Is that why ye did nothing to defend yerself? Ye’re afraid of being like him?”
Verity couldn’t believe her ears. Her throat went dry as she listened in stunned silence.
Riley stared at the ground. “He made me what I am. Because of him I have to feed on blood. I’m a freak.”
Deane’s jaw flexed, and his brows furrowed. “Don’t ye let me hear ye call yerself that again. Ye might just start believin’ yerself.”
Riley threw his hands in the air and laughed in frustration. “Okay, so should I call myself a blood-sucker then?”
At this, Deane sighed and stared into the distance. “What should we call ye?”
“Parasite, leech?” Riley suggested.
Deane shook his head and crossed his arms. “Yer a bruiser, is what ye are. Tough, a survivor, like me. We’ve got to stick together.”
“Why?” The teen looked at him.
“’Cuz we’ve got no one. No family to call our own.” Deane shrugged. “Survivors need to stick together.”
Riley seemed to accept his answer and nodded. He burrowed his hands into the front pocket of his sweatshirt.
They sat listening to the tune of “Jingle Bells” until Deane leaned toward the kid. “Listen, I’m sorry for what I said to ye this morning about not standing up for yerself. Ye have more integrity than I did at yer age. And ye know—ye’re nothing like yer father. Ye know how I know? Because when that youngling tried to stir ye up, ye didn’t worry about yer safety, ye were worried about who ye might become if ye hit back. I may not agree with yer choice, but I can respect it.”
The teen’s head bowed as he covered his eyes. His shoulders hunched, and Deane rested his hand on his back and gave him a pat.
Verity couldn’t believe the amount of compassion Deane was offering Riley. She might not have understood everything they were talking about, but the Irishman had surprised her. There was more depth beneath his apathetic guise than she’d expected.
Riley straightened up, and Deane clapped him on the shoulder awkwardly. “I know coming to Florida during the holidays wasn’t yer idea, but what can I do to make things better for ye?”
The boy shrugged and shook his long hair from his eyes. “I dunno. Mom used to take me to Zoo Lights every winter vacation. We’d put up decorations and drink hot chocolate together. It’s the little things I miss.”
Deane stood up and clapped his hands together. “Right. Looks like we’re stopping at the store on the way back to the lodge to get some trimmings.”
“Riley!” A woman screeched and darted in front of a family, whizzing in front of Verity’s hiding place. “We’ve been looking for you all day!”
Verity spun around to press her back against the trunk of the palm tree and breathed deeply. Her mind was filled with the information she’d overheard, and she was eager to share it with Julian. She tilted her ear around, so she could continue to hear their conversation.
“Hey, Emery,” Riley muttered.
“Oh my God. Cruz will be so relieved we found you.” The pretty, red-lipped woman gave the kid a hug.
For the first time, Verity got a good look at the curvaceous woman and realized she’d seen her days before, dropping off the tiger at her veterinary practice. She blinked in disbelief, not knowing what to think.
Deane turned to Riley. “What do ye want to do? Head back to the lodge?”
“Could we stay just a little longer?”
Verity’s pocket buzzed. It was Julian. He’d be wondering where she was since it was dark out and he hadn’t heard from her for a couple hours. She left her hiding place behind the palm tree and gave one last look over her shoulder at the three people at the bench before walking down the path. She had a lot to discuss with her brother. Topping the list was the fact their young nephew was in the hands of the changelings. And there was no way she’d be cut out of his life.
Eight
Verity sat across from her brother in their lounge. Julian was on his second drink while Verity hadn’t even touched hers yet. She was too overstimulated. After discovering the changeling’s existence in their own backyard, her head was spinning. And she was stunned to realize Deane was caring for her own flesh and blood.
“Lycos will want to get his hands on him.” Julian set down his cocktail and picked up his guitar.
He was, of course, speaki
ng about Riley. Verity knew he was right. They’d both experienced Lycos’s “child-rearing” skills and had the emotional scars to prove it. “We can’t let him anywhere near him, Julian. The boy’s so young. Plus, those changelings won’t know enough to be able to help him either. Remember what it was like going through the change?”
“That was over fifty years ago.” Her brother frowned. “I think the hardest part was Lycos making me drink human blood. What do you suppose they’re feeding him?”
“I don’t know, but I plan on finding out.” She set down her drink, stood up and went to look out one of the second-story windows at the bay shining in the moonlight. “Deane seemed to care, but I could tell it was hard for him. He’s all grit, but he seems to be a better father than Lycos ever was.”
Verity turned around to look at her brother, whose brow was arched in shock. Julian strummed softly on the guitar and smirked. “Do I detect the ice princess melting from some hot Irish steam?”
“Shut up,” she snapped back, annoyed by his comment. Deane was a fine specimen of a man, but she wasn’t being swayed by her attraction for him. This was purely based on evidence. “I simply saw a different aspect of his personality while he didn’t know he was being watched. We may not know much about these changelings, but at least this one seems to have compassion for others, which is more than I can say for our own family.”
Julian’s eyes were focused on the guitar strings as he continued to play a soft tune. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Dolan and Nissa would do anything for each other—and for Father, for that matter.”
She knew he was being sarcastic, but she answered him just the same. “Reverence and obedience are not the same as kindness or caring.”
The rhythmic melody stopped, and Julian looked at her. “What are you saying, Verity?”
She met his gaze. “I think we need to discuss our options. We need to take our fate into our own hands for a change.”
Half-Blood Secrets: A Paranormal Series (Half-Bloods Book 2) Page 9