by Cara Adams
“Let’s go eat. You can research the store’s details tomorrow,” she suggested.
“There’s a mall just two blocks over. We passed it on the way,” said Tanisha.
Back at the mall, Keisha gently hustled her friends into a restaurant and helped them choose a meal, while Shakina and Tanisha worried away at the possibilities of the empty store. But once their food was served, she changed the topic and got them talking about Nala’s herb garden.
“Can you use herbs in your work as well, Shakina?”
“Oh, that’s a thought. We could do herbal hand and foot baths.”
Keisha rested back in her seat as Shakina talked excitedly about various possibilities. The afternoon hadn’t been a total failure. The third store was still an option. But most importantly, Shakina was still excited about her dream. To own her own beauty parlor.
* * * *
Tedros had been almost paralyzed with fear when he heard that not only had Okapi been kidnapped, but that Cooper himself planned to attempt a rescue. He hated speaking out of turn and, in particular, speaking against a plan made by the man to whom he’d sworn allegiance, but he had to do it.
“Sir, what if this is all really a plot to capture you? The kidnappers would know the community at Cooper’s Farm would pay almost any price for your ransom. It could all be a ruse to bring you out into the open and then they capture you.”
“He’s right, Cooper. You are the most valuable target we have and the people at the farm would sell everything to pay a ransom for you. Normally you’re too well protected to be captured, but the criminals might well assume you’ll be easy to capture during a rescue attempt for Okapi,” said Xola.
“They’re right, sir,” added Gowan.
Teddy stood straight and tall, his insides still quivering with nervous tension for daring to speak against his Alpha. But Cooper nodded, ran his hands through his hair, and dropped into a chair. “Sit, sit, we need to think this through some more. I admit that particular plot hadn’t occurred to me.”
Teddy was happy to let the others argue about tactics. He was almost sick with worry about Okapi, and with relief that his Alpha had listened to him, but was no military strategist. He was more than happy to do what he was told, as long as Cooper stayed nice and safe, and used his men for the actual rescue work. But then an idea occurred to him. “Dogs, sir.”
“Say what?” asked Cooper.
“One person alone is supposed to deliver the money. What if that person took another shape-shifter with him, one in wolf form, even on a leash, wearing a ‘trained companion animal’ vest, pretending to be a dog? That would give the person doing the delivery some extra protection and the werewolf would have better hearing and vision and likely be able to warn the human of approaching danger.”
“I like the way you think, Tedros. Trained companion animals are allowed almost everywhere and a wolf would be a great help.” Xola punched him on the arm.
Xola was a very big man. He would be the ideal person to do the delivery, but Teddy was happy to be the dog. Well, wolf.
“What we need is the minivan. There can be men in the back to protect Cooper and guard the money, and the space can be used for them to shape-shift as well, without risking getting arrested for public indecency while they’re changing,” said Xola.
“How many men do we need?” asked Gowan.
“As many as possible,” said Xola.
“No, that won’t work. We’ll get in each other’s way,” said Teddy.
“Correct. Enough to guard the van and the cash, and a few to chase the criminals escaping with our money. We need our fastest runners for that and another car as well,” said Cooper.
“The trackers need to be dressed to move fast and inconspicuously. But the one delivering the money, and his backup, should wear steel-capped boots and be ready to fight,” said Gowan.
“No guns. I don’t want anyone getting killed,” said Cooper.
“Dera puts salt in a sock and uses it as a cosh. She says it works very well and it doesn’t leave any permanent damage,” said Gowan.
Teddy nodded. He could do that. One in each pocket.
They were sent home to dress appropriately. Xola was to be the deliveryman and Teddy his guard dog. Gowan and Zoan would be in the back of the minivan to guard Cooper and the money. Yaro was to drive the follow-up car with Rafiki and Katungi in it, dressed and ready to track the thieves.
Teddy put on athletic shoes, track pants and a plain dark sweater. He could change into his wolf almost instantly with those clothes. He also laid out his shit-kickers and two socks filled with salt in case he had to be in human form. These items he stored in a backpack, then hurried back to the barn to meet the others.
Xola and Gowan went into the bank with Cooper and came out very soon afterward carrying a brief case. Teddy was surprised. He’d expected half a million dollars to look impressive, but it was not a large briefcase, just ordinary.
Yaro, Rafiki, and Katungi were already at the Coopersville Sheraton, parked around back near the loading dock. When the minivan pulled up, Katungi climbed out of the car and walked to the front of the building. He was wearing dress pants, a button-down shirt, and a necktie, and looked very much the businessman, Teddy thought.
Teddy was already in wolf form, wearing a bright yellow “mental health support dog” vest, a neat black collar and leash. Xola had promised to unsnap the leash before knocking on the door, so Teddy would be free to run and fight if he needed to.
He walked through the hotel staying at Xola’s heel, mimicking an obedient dog. In the elevator a little girl petted him and called him a pretty doggy, but he managed not to sigh or snarl. On the tenth floor Xola removed the vest and unsnapped the leash as he’d promised, but Teddy stayed very close beside him as they walked down the thickly carpeted hallway to room 1017. There was a doorbell to press, just like in an apartment. Teddy had never seen such a thing in a hotel before, but he braced himself firmly on all four feet, and tried to be ready for anything.
Tedros listened hard his ears pricked up and he filled his lungs with air, trying to scent anything unusual. He could hear various noises coming from the rooms around him, but only silence from 1017. There were no unusual smells either, just the ordinary types of scents found in every hotel. Detergents, shampoos, and an underlying floral scent from the cleaning agents and bouquets of flowers.
When no one answered the doorbell, Xola stepped forward and knocked on the door. It opened as he touched it. Teddy jumped in front of him and sprang into the room, ready to face whatever or whoever was there. The room was empty. In the pit of his stomach was the terrible fear that something bad had happened to Okapi.
* * * *
Okapi woke up with the worst headache of his life. His head hadn’t even hurt this bad when he was a kid in college and had drunk way too many whiskeys with beer chasers. He was about to get up and stick his head in a bucket of ice water, when he remembered why his head hurt. Or possibly why. The meeting with Arthur Avery. Cautiously he wiggled his fingers, then even more cautiously he cracked his eyes open the tiniest slit.
He was in a room with the drapes drawn and the light off, but it wasn’t pitch dark. More like early evening dark. Okapi held his breath, trying hard to ignore the pounding in his head as he listened carefully. People were talking softly, but not in this room. Making great efforts to move silently, he sat up. He was not on the bed, but on the floor in a corner of the room, between the bed and the wall with the window. Okay, this will be the bedroom of the suite I was directed to go to. Suite 1017. Avery must be in the living room of the suite.
Okapi rested one hand on the wall and hauled himself to his feet, biting his lip not to groan at the searing pain in his head. Holy shit! What did they give me? He leaned one hip against the wall and ran his hand over his neck, then licked a finger and did it again. There was no pain and not even a trace of blood on his finger, so whatever they’d given him, they’d injected him professionally. But it had a hell o
f a kick to it. His belly was roiling and he seriously thought he’d throw up.
No, I won’t. They won’t get that power over me. He breathed deeply through his nose and straightened his body. He was fully dressed, even to his suit coat, necktie, and shoes. It was as if they’d shoved him in here and forgotten him.
Okapi put his hand into his pocket and found the difference. Neither his wallet nor his cell phone was there. Right. I now have no way to contact people and no money. I can deal with that.
Doing his best to move silently, Okapi tiptoed to the bathroom. He was about to wash his face and head, then he realized that right now his captors didn’t know he was awake. This might be his only opportunity to escape. Clearing his head could wait. The connecting door to the living room was shut but he could see light coming from underneath it. When he pressed his ear against it he could hear two people talking, but not well enough to understand what they were saying. He turned to face the hallway and there was another door, with a security chain and a lock.
His fingers fumbled when he went to touch it, but again he forced himself to move slowly and cautiously, sliding the chain off the slot, undoing the locking mechanism, and turning the handle of the door as softly and slowly as he could manage. The door opened the merest crack and he put his eye to the gap. It was the hotel hallway. He turned his head this way and that but could see no one guarding the door, so he opened it a fraction wider, giving himself a better view. There was no one in the hallway. Okapi opened the door just far enough to exit, then pressed the locking mechanism and pulled it closed, as gently as he dared. The lock made a click but it wasn’t very loud. Nevertheless he didn’t wait a moment longer. He walked fast to the elevator, then decided waiting for it might not be smart. He opened the door to the stairwell and headed down the stairs, all the way to the basement parking lot.
As casually as he could manage, he left the Sheraton and mingled with the crowd. He looked like any other businessman heading home from the office. Except he had no money and no cell phone to call someone to take him back to the farm. Besides, that might not be the smartest move anyway. Shit! It’s going to be a fucking long walk and I’m wearing smart business shoes, not my comfortable boots. Not to mention my head aching like a motherfucker. Okapi straightened his shoulders and started walking. He couldn’t follow the main roads though. If anyone came looking for him that’s where they’d go. Not only was it a fucking long walk, he’d have to take a circuitous route that anyone following him wouldn’t be expecting. Dammit. I’ll be lucky if I’m home by midnight.
His stomach roiled again. Shut up, belly. Be grateful I never got to eat lunch or I really would be spewing it everywhere about now.
Okapi had just reached a row of small stores, all closed, of course, when he noticed a car on the cross road driving very slowly. Panic hit him and he sprinted away from the shops and into someone’s garden, flinging himself down to lie flat on his front behind their hedge. He peeked through the bushes and watched as a black car with tinted windows crawled along beside the curb, then turned down another street moving at the same agonizingly slow pace. Maybe I’m just paranoid and they’re really looking for a lady of the night, but I think I’ll choose another road to walk down anyway.
Okapi walked through backyard after backyard, heading east, the direction of the farm, but not following a road, just the path of least resistance through the neighborhood. He avoided homes with dogs and high fences, and as far as possible he stayed off the roads and sidewalks. After fifteen minutes, his suit coat was ruined, and his shoes, hands, and pants were filthy, but since he didn’t even know where he was anymore, he hoped that no one else would be able to guess his location either.
He buttoned his suit coat and turned up the collar to hide as much of his pale cream shirt as possible, and kept a strict lookout for anything unusual. It would take him maybe two hours to walk home, but the night was pleasant and there was nothing wrong with his legs. They worked just fine. His head still ached like a son of a bitch and he’d pay top dollar for a bottle of Tylenol right now. Or he would if he had any money. But then, if he had any money, he wouldn’t be stuck here on foot anyway. “Shut up and keep walking,” he told himself.
* * * *
Teddy ran through the living room of the suite then stopped by the door into the bedroom, but Xola was right behind him turning the knob and trying to enter the room first. Teddy wouldn’t allow that, pushing past Xola and springing into the room, but it was just as empty as the living room and so was the bathroom, its door standing wide open.
He stopped and exerted every one of his werewolf abilities. He could smell several different people had been here. He wished Okapi wore a favorite aftershave or cologne so he could check the scent, but he didn’t. However, Teddy thought he caught the very faintest whiff of the shampoo they both used. Nose to the ground, he walked slowly around the room, stopping in the far corner between the bed and the wall that faced the road. Yes, here. Okapi had been here. He was certain.
Teddy crawled under the bed but there was no sign anyone or anything had been there. There were no dust bunnies either. The housekeeping in this hotel was good. Following his nose he trailed back around the room and then into the living room, sniffing the chairs and the floor, including behind the two couches. There were the scents of two other people, perhaps more. But nothing else.
Meanwhile Xola had been opening all the cupboards and drawers and slamming them shut again, apparently not finding any clues. “There’s nothing here, Tedros. Unless you’ve discovered anything?”
Teddy shook his head.
“Right, let’s go. I’ll explain to everyone when we’re back in the minivan. I wish I knew what the fuck was happening.”
Yeah, Teddy did, too.
Xola clipped the leash to his collar and picked up the briefcase with the money in it, then they left the building heading out back to the minivan.
“Well?” asked Cooper before the door was shut behind them.
Teddy transformed and grabbed his clothing, getting dressed while Xola explained about the room being empty.
“There was a place beside the wall where I think Okapi might have been. The scent was faint. There’d been two people in the living room of the suite as well,” he added.
“Black Ford, 2012 model, tinted windows, exiting the Sheraton parking lot like a bat out of hell. Following.” Rafiki had called Cooper’s cell phone.
“Get after them,” ordered Cooper.
“Keep your cell open and tell us your route. We’ll travel parallel in case he turns off,” said Gowan.
“You need to pick up Katungi first. He’s out front of the Sheraton,” said Rafiki.
Oh, yes. Teddy’d forgotten about him. Maybe he’d know what was going on, because Teddy sure didn’t.
Katungi jumped in back with them, pushing Zoan out of the way to make some more space. But when he said, “What the fuck is going on? The others drove past me like their asses were on fire.” No one had an answer. Most of the comments coming through the cell phone were one or the other of Yaro and Rafiki saying “right” or “left” or “over there.”
Finally Yaro picked up the phone and said quite softly, “So, we’re following this black Ford with the license plate missing. It came out of the parking lot on two wheels and broke every road law in the book for maybe three miles, then suddenly started going real slow. It’s curb crawling past some shops now. One of the guys got out and checked some dumpsters. I reckon they’re looking for Okapi. But why hasn’t he contacted us? Surely he knows his best chance of getting away is to come with us.”
“Unless Okapi’s trying to keep them away from Cooper,” said Xola.
“But he doesn’t even know about the money and that we’re here,” objected Rafiki.
“He may know about the money. They might have told him what they were asking for him. And he’s plenty smart enough to guess we’d try to snatch both the cash and him. Since he’s gotten away, his best bet is to stay hidden. I
mean, he must have gotten away, right? They wouldn’t be acting like this if he was tied up in the trunk.”
Cooper took out his cell phone and started giving orders. Everyone in the minivan was silent as Cooper told whoever he was talking to to put guards on the entrance road to the farm, on the office building, on the women’s barracks, and to tell everyone to make sure all the external lights were on for every house and that everyone was watchful. Teddy knew this was a real change. He was certain Cooper wouldn’t have told most people about the ransom bid, so putting out a general farm-wide alert like this was basically a declaration of war. Teddy was still sick with worry for Okapi, but it seemed like his friend was in control of his own escape. At least now, after Cooper’s instructions, Keisha and the other women would be kept safe as well.
But what was this all about? Why had Okapi been kidnapped? Half a million dollars was a hell of a lot of money, but why them? Why the farm? When it looked like an attempt to capture Cooper, it made sense. He’d be worth every cent the entire community could raise. But Okapi? Not so much. What was this all about?
Chapter Six
If I’d wanted to climb people’s fences, I’d have joined a fucking orienteering club. Okapi ran and jumped, grabbing the top of a wooden fence with both hands and swinging his legs sideways like some kind of mad hurdler before turning and landing lightly on both feet on the other side. He heaved a sigh of relief. This house seemed to be on a very large allotment. Surely no one would be following him by the time he made his way through it to the street, especially if he moved fast.
He increased his pace from a fast walk into a jog, crossing the grass easily and then bending over to duck under a tree, only to be scared into a flat run by the barking of what sounded like a very large dog. Okapi didn’t stop to look at it. He sprinted as fast as he could for the side fence—another fucking high wooden one—and jumped up to grasp the top. He hauled his legs over just as a huge mastiff reached the fence and scrabbled at it, barking loudly. Worried about the owner coming out to see what was going on, Okapi jumped down the other side, landing unevenly in the middle of something prickly. Holy shit! He stepped out of the garden bed, almost tripping over a boulder and only just preventing himself from swearing out loud as his knee was wrenched by his attempts to stay upright.