Noah had the man by the back of his shirt, the pair of iron cuffs circling his wrists. He raised one hand and let out a whistle, a uniformed man running from a car that Danea hadn’t seen come in from behind her.
“Take him to the office. Put him in a waiting room and do not remove the cuffs,” Noah ground out, jerking the man up to his toes. “Sure you don’t want to talk to me?”
“Fuck off, prick.”
“Done. Take him, Jared, and stay outside the room until I get there,” Noah shoved him forward and looked over at her.
Danea didn’t wait to be yelled at. Relief flooded into her and she was across the parking lot and into his arms without a word.
“It’s alright, Dani…” Noah had braced himself and taken her against him without moving, his arms closing instantly to hold her safe. “I have to ask you some questions,” he reluctantly set her on the ground, his gaze up and at the gulls still waiting patiently, but quietly all of a sudden, he realized. “There isn’t a body inside the room.”
Danea blinked and raised a hand at Galileo, a series of shrill, short whistles filling the air around her.
The two men, muscled and well-trained, jumped visibly when the thump came from the flat webbed feet striking the roof of a car several feet away.
“It’s in the trunk,” she whispered, shaking and eyes wide. Her gaze swung around the parking lot until she found something and pointed. “The fight was there. The man in the trunk went to the ground and never got up.”
Noah pulled his phone free, his voice clipped and firm. “I want a crime unit to the Last Ditch Motel, north of Aftport. I want a body bag and medical person. I’m on scene.” He shoved the phone into the pocket of his jeans and gripped her shoulders. “Go to the SUV and wait there, Danea. Inside.”
Danea hesitated and swallowed hard. “Noah…”
“Now, Danea,” Noah turned to look at her.
Danea saw the briefest flash of fang at the side of his mouth and shook her head, her hand up and on his arm.
“I know you’re angry…and I know it isn’t at me,” she said softly and brought her other palm up to stroke over his face. “I’m okay. And you’re a very good person and sheriff…” she waited, watching the gold edge around his eyes fade. He finally exhaled and took her hand in his, kissing the center for a long few seconds.
“Wait in the SUV, Danea. Thank you,” he stroked over the side of her face.
She nodded and went to sit on the edge of the seat, hands clasped and twisting as she watched them stride to the older model car. One of the deputies brought some kind of tool and they worked it around and inside the lock until the trunk popped open.
She knew she was barely breathing. Galileo was never wrong when he gave her his perceptions and the things he and his flock observed. But a dead body. Maybe they’d been wrong. Maybe he was just unconscious…
But she saw the looks on their faces; saw their heads shaking before Noah lowered the trunk slightly and ran two hands over his neck. She didn’t know what the next topic was, but she could guess it was about her because they both weren’t very subtle about looking in her direction. She sighed and shifted on the seat, sliding her feet inside and closing the door as they walked toward her.
She let the heat surround her for a minute before lowering the window.
“Dev is taking you back to the daycare,” Noah informed her, one hand on the open edge of the window. “Will the birds follow you?”
“They’ve already gone,” she tried to work up a smile but it just wasn’t going to happen. “There’s a dead person in there, isn’t there?”
“No doubt his partner,” Noah nodded. He tapped the window. “Go back to the daycare. I’ll see you at home later. Oh…thank the bird for me, okay?”
This time she was able to smile, just a little, and nod before closing the window.
****
Noah entered the sheriff’s office with Dev close behind him. He’d made a phone call on the way in and expected his secret weapon anytime now. He continued toward the room where his deputy stood guard. He’d arranged for Dev to stand quietly, recording for his boss, Seth Anderson at the Institute. He hadn’t asked what it was an institute for or about, but he knew it had to do with putting the purists out of business and helping those they’d already harmed.
Noah tossed the man’s wallet to the table and pulled a chair out. He turned it around and straddled it, his arms across the back and face neutral. Mostly he figured it was the safest way to keep from ripping the man’s throat out for what he’d done to Danea.
He doubted she’d approve.
“So…Jimmy Granton…you have an interesting sheet,” Noah began in a faintly amused tone.
The man cuffed to the thick loop attached to the table offered up a shrug.
“You got the wrong guy.”
“Is that what your partner said before you killed him?” Noah could feel the demon start to sweat. “Found the body in the trunk. Along with the spear gun you used on the daycare owner out on the beach. Want to tell me why her?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So even when I tell you we’ve already got your prints on the spear gun…on the fucking arrow shaft…and on the car…and on your partner…” Noah let his voice trail off.
“I want a lawyer.”
Noah sighed and looked toward the glass. He saw the faintest of nods from Dev and returned one.
“I thought you’d be a little difficult so I asked a friend to join us,” Noah tipped his head and waited as the door opened. There was an infinite satisfaction in seeing the oily kid pale considerably. “Afternoon, Mr. Moore. Thank you for coming.”
“My pleasure, Sheriff. I’ve discovered an immense sense of satisfaction in helping law enforcement lately,” Sullivan Moore was an imposing figure. Dressed in a form fitting designer suit, carefully manicured fingers tugged on the sleeves of his shirt as he looked over the younger man cuffed to the table. “James Granton,” he said slowly.
Jimmy swallowed hard and looked at the sheriff. “You don’t need him here.”
“Oh? You feeling talkative all of a sudden?” Noah asked with a steady gaze.
“I think James is feeling very co-operative, aren’t you, James?” Sullivan walked around the table, casually taking in the lack of everything in the room. “Not a very hospitable place to be.”
“No, sir,” Jimmy said with a hasty swallow. He didn’t move a muscle when the large, older man moved behind him.
“Did you know I have a grand-daughter, James?”
“I…um…I heard rumors…” he stammered with a voice barely willing to speak. A nervous laugh broke free. “You know…there’s always rumors…”
“Then you’ve also heard that I’m not a very pleasant man when people…my own kind of people…decide to harm someone I care deeply about,” Sullivan continued around the table and pulled the last chair from beneath it. He sat down, long legs stretched out in front of him and his hands resting with deceptive ease on the arms of the chair. One hand moved to open the front of his suit jacket. Lean and muscled, and barely giving the appearance he was somewhere between thirty and forty, Sullivan stared at the younger man.
“I’d never hurt her,” Jimmy assured him quickly, his head shaking rapidly back and forth. “I swear…”
“And this other woman you’ve harmed? What about her? A spear gun bolt…” Sullivan tsked softly.
“Yeah...but…she’s not…I mean, you’re not related to her…too…are you?”
“Why did you shoot her, James?”
Jimmy shifted in the chair, the iron cuffs clanking. His expression was decidedly uncomfortable.
“Ahh…honor among thieves…or demons…” Sullivan lifted one hand very slowly, his fingers and thumb forming an open C that faced James. He slowly began to close his fingers, watching as James reached up to claw at an invisible something closing off the air supply to his throat. “Answer the questions the sheriff asks, James. I promise you,
I will be far, far worse to deal with than whoever you made a deal with. Do you understand me?”
Jimmy nodded, gulping in air as the pressure was gone just as quickly as it had begun.
“Who sent you after Danea?” Noah asked.
“No one,” he snapped back, hands up and waving when Sullivan raised his hand again. “No…it’s not like that…we didn’t know about her…we knew you were a shifter,” he raised one shoulder in a shrug. “We were just in town…hanging out…looking for some work…and rumors started that you had a mate…”
“Why does anyone care if I have a mate or not?” Noah corrected himself. “Who cares, Jimmy?”
Sullivan glanced over at Noah before raising one pale eyebrow at Jimmy.
“The sheriff asked you a question, James.”
“I don’t know,” came the sullen, grudging response. “I don’t. So choking me won’t help. There’s these…rumors…some people who want girls that are human mates. New mates…”
“And just how’d you hear about this?”
Jimmy shrugged. “Word gets around. A friend gave us a number to call if we found one…” he looked at his wallet and sighed. “The number’s in there…on a business card.”
Noah lifted the wallet and tossed it behind him to Dev. “Okay…so you thought you’d take Danea? Why the arrow?”
“To knock her out. Then we’d take her to the hotel and make the call.”
“So these people didn’t know where you were,” Noah said carefully.
“Hell, no. Why give up our find? The reward for ‘em is pretty nice,” he said with a satisfied nod.
“Someone is paying for women who recently find their mates,” Sullivan repeated carefully. He looked over at Noah and then back at Jimmy. “You don’t know who is collecting women?”
“We have ideas…” he hedged with a wince, going on quickly. “Some think it’s the government…to stop the breeding…”
“And others?” Noah prompted.
Jimmy shrugged. “Ideas, like I said. Rumor says they’re using ‘em to experiment on to kill ‘em off.”
“Them being you, as well,” Sullivan prodded sourly. “Or didn’t that fact enter your feeble brain?”
“Taking the women stops tomorrow kids…I’m here,” he shrugged in dismissal. “Don’t care…long as I get paid for the work.”
“How did you sneak up on Danea?” Noah asked flatly after the wallet was dropped back to the table.
“You know…this iron is really not good for my health…” he tugged on the cuffs.
Sullivan stood up and went behind him, one hand on his shoulder and squeezing. “Whoever these people are…whatever you believe they might do to you…believe that I can and will be a thousand times more dangerous for you, James. Answer the sheriff before I lose the little patience I have for you.”
Jimmy exhaled shakily. “We called the number and they sent us some potion. They called it a control shield…said it would block anyone from knowing we were there. It worked, too…even those birds didn’t know we were there…”
“Do you have more of it?” Noah asked.
“The lab says they found it in his things at the hotel,” Dev said quietly. “They’re shooting the sample to Seth now. No prints on the vial, though.”
“You’re going through my stuff?” Jimmy demanded with a pull on the cuffs.
“Jimmy…you got a dead body in the trunk of your car,” Noah pointed out, his expression amused.
“It was an accident…” he said with a sigh. “Tommy was my best friend. We had a fight…he wanted to go after the girl again at the kid school. I told him it was a stupid move, too many people watching,” he glanced up at Dev. “Shifters. We threw a few punches and he fell…hit his head on the rim of the tire and didn’t get up.”
“You sound real broken up, Jimmy,” Noah shook his head and looked over at Dev. “Your stuff belongs to us for a few hours, then you can claim it. The car is evidence, hope you don’t owe a lot on it.” He stood up and reached over the table, opening the cuffs with the small key in his fingers. “You’re free to go.”
“A moment,” Sullivan reached over and touched the side of James’ neck. “You know what that is?” He waited while the younger man touched the small heated spot on the side of his throat, his eyes widening. “Good. That means if I hear a word that you’re hunting our own kind…shifter, demon…Fae…I’ll find you, James. Pass that message on to your friends and anyone else you come across.”
“Yes, sir,” Jimmy whispered, nodding rapidly as he stood up, his gaze skittering from Noah to Dev and back to Sullivan. “Yes, sir…”
No one spoke until the door closed behind him.
“You’re just cutting him free?” Dev asked curiously, the fingers of one hand up and touching the earpiece. “Seth says he’ll get in touch with you if he finds out anything and his eternal gratitude to Sullivan and when are you going to accept his offer of a position with the Institute?”
“When I’ve made up my mind,” Sullivan responded blandly.
“He figured that was the answer,” Dev chuckled.
“There’s blood on the rim of the tire and it’ll probably match the head wound,” Noah shrugged. “He’s too stupid and money driven to act without a benefit. No point in holding him…most I could end up with is attempting to conceal and hindering an investigation and the attack on Danea.”
“He’s much more useful to you on the streets,” Sullivan said quietly. “The underground will know he’s been detained and why by now.”
“Believe me, letting him go without a scar…not something easy for me at the moment,” Noah ground out tersely. “I’m not even sure Wade will agree with watching him go free. But Sullivan is right…and Danea might want to smack him, but she’d give me nothing but grief if I killed him. It bothered her more that her birds couldn’t smell them before it was too late.”
“I believe the researchers at the Institute will be capable of creating an antidote for it,” Sullivan stood up and shook his head. “I’ve spent too much time pretending the world was improving.”
“You’ll be moving to Devil Hills?” Noah stood up and extended his palm. “Thank you. I appreciate you dropping your work and clearing the way for answers.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt you’d get your answers eventually, Sheriff,” Sullivan said, his palm grasping Noah’s warmly and his lips creasing in a smile for the first time. “And it gives me a good excuse to pop in on Breanna and see how things are going. Not to mention, a very good meal for dinner.”
“I doubt Brea thinks you need a reason to be there, Sullivan. I hear it’s a tossup for who torments Jase and Nick more, you or Rey,” Noah chuckled and opened the door.
“That is a serious benefit,” Sullivan chuckled. “I wish you luck with your mate, Noah. And if anything comes up you need help with, feel free to contact me. Good day, gentlemen,” he tipped his head and strode out to the waiting car.
“He’s scary,” Dev commented when he was sure they were alone.
“Information has it his power is one of the strongest in the demon realm,” Noah commented. “And his connections and control, unlimited. I see why Seth is trying so hard to recruit him and having Brea on his side, helps.”
“Nothing personal,” Dev began, groaning at the laugh from Noah. “Yeah…I’m not sure about this sharing a mate thing. I’ve seen it in friends in Devil Hills and here…both ways…”
“Not something I ever gave a thought to, either,” Noah admitted. “But your wolf doesn’t give you the option. Walk away and chance that there won’t be another,” his head shook. “The amazing sense of peace and fulfillment aren’t something I ever experienced before. And trust me…living with the professor…” he winked at Dev and glanced at the figure of the man striding toward them.
“I heard that and you’re the one she smacks most often,” Wade remarked with a chuckle that swiftly faded. “I heard you have the one who shot Danea here?”
“On that note, I’m retu
rning to guard duty,” Dev tipped his head, shoved his hands into the pockets of his overcoat and left the building.
“Why am I not going to like this?” Wade waited, watching Noah.
“I didn’t kill him and I’m not charging him,” Noah gestured to his office, closing the door behind Wade. “Coffee?”
“No. What happened? She called me, worried about you,” Wade paced the small room and stopped at the window, staring out at the incoming storm. “Are you finished here? I don’t want to be out when that hits.”
“Yeah…I’ll sign out and follow you home and explain it there,” Noah nodded, checked over his desk and made sure things were locked and shut down for the night.
“You know she’s rearranged her schedule at the daycare,” Wade commented as they walked from the building to the parking lot.
“She didn’t say anything.”
“I think she wanted it to be a surprise. I found out from one of the girls who sit at the reception desk at the daycare. She’s leaving at three each day now,” Wade pulled keys from his jeans. “I need to find where I put the winter jacket. Damn.”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
Noah sat in the SUV for a long few minutes and watched Wade drive off. Thinking of the man as his partner, friend and more was something he had honestly never given a thought to and yet, now, he couldn’t see him as anything but. All because of their connection through Danea.
He turned the key and listened to the engine, shifting into gear and heading the SUV onto the road, his mind going over the information from Jimmy. As far as they knew, for now, Danea was safe.
He almost growled at the word.
It had been a random act, he continued rationally.
Not intentional upon Danea. Merely intentional upon any female who is selected as a mate.
Oh, yeah, that sounded so much better.
He stepped from the SUV in time for the skies to open up with a downpour and Danea jumped off the porch and into Wade’s arms. Then she turned and ran through the rain to launch herself at him. He caught her up with one arm and held her against him as he crossed the short space to the stairs and up to the porch.
Newport/Aftport #2: Danea Page 22