by J. D. Tyler
“So, you don’t have phones or anything in the Seelie realm?” Jacee asked.
“Phones? Whatever for?” He cocked his head, jewel blue hair cascading over one shoulder. His large blue wings rested against his back.
“Guess not. How do you communicate with each other?”
“Oh. If not in person, then we use mind-link. Much like mated shifters can do, but Fae can all do it from the time they’re children.”
“Wow, that’s cool.”
Sariel grinned. “Very. For the most part, though sometimes siblings can be a pain when you want privacy. Especially my brothers.” At the mention of his brothers, his face fell. “I miss them.”
“I’m sorry.” Reaching out, Jacee touched his hand. “Do you think they’ll ever come here looking for you?”
“I’m not sure, but I like to imagine they’d find a way,” he said wistfully. “I look for a portal, once in a while. I was cast out of my realm through one, so I know they exist. I just don’t know where.”
She hated to see the Fae prince so sad. All too well, she understood what it was like to suddenly be without your family. Only his weren’t dead, just out of reach. “What do you like to do for fun?”
“Hmm, I like to watch television.”
She laughed. “I mean real fun. TV is boring.”
“Not if you’ve never seen one before.” He gave it some thought. “I like the video games, and I like to shop.”
“Really? How does that work, with that hair and those wings?” She eyed the gorgeous creature, imagining the riot he’d cause in town if people got a look at him.
“I use magic to cloak my appearance when I go out. I’ve been at the Grizzly with the team, and I’ll bet you’ve never even noticed me,” he said, smug.
She blinked at him in surprise. “You have?”
“Yes. I don’t use the same disguise every time because I don’t want people to remember me.”
“Makes sense. Can you do it now? Show me a disguise.”
“Of course.”
The air around him shimmered, and in two blinks, a rather ordinary-looking young man with short brown hair and green eyes sat in front of her. No wings. Then the air shimmered again, and he became a portly, older bald man. Then a buff, muscular black man.
“Wow! That’s incredible.” The others around the cafeteria were getting into the fun, calling out suggestions. Sariel did a few more before reverting back to his normal self.
He shrugged. “It allows me to move freely in your world. If I can’t be myself, the ruse will do, for a short while.”
That sobered her some. She couldn’t imagine having to pretend to be someone else just to move freely in society without censure.
But then, there were regular people who had to do that every day.
Purely on a whim, she asked, “Would you like to go shopping with me sometime?”
He beamed with pleasure. “I would love to. There are so many things I haven’t discovered, and I enjoy getting out of the compound. If your mate wouldn’t mind, that is. I wouldn’t want him tearing out my throat.”
She seriously doubted even Micah could tackle an eleven-thousand-year-old Fae prince, but Sariel’s words were endearing. “I’m sure. He’s not like that.”
“In that case, yes.”
“How about you?” she asked Rowan. “Think you could get away from Pack duties for an afternoon for some retail therapy? We’ve been under plenty of stress, and shopping is the cure.”
“As long as Nick approves and Sariel is with us, I think we’ll be safe enough.” Rowan nodded. “I’m in!”
“Great! We’ll get that mate of mine home, and then it’s a date.”
They were all due for some fun. She couldn’t wait.
Thirteen
“Admit it. You like Sariel more than you like me,” Micah grumbled. “What’s he got that I don’t?”
Jacee paused in stirring the chili on their stove. “Hmm. Besides the pretty wings, the rock star hair, and the magic? Nothing, sweetie.”
Growling, he grabbed a pillow off the sofa, threw it into the kitchen at her. And missed.
“Now, now, my grumpy wolf.” Retrieving the abused cushion, she brought it back to him, plumped it, and placed it behind him. “You’re just going nuts because you hate being inactive and the doctors are being cautious about clearing you.”
It was true. He was going crazy, and the whole team knew it.
“I don’t mean to take my foul temper out on you. But dammit, they know I’m fine!”
“You lost two major organs, superhero. Give yourself a break.” She arched a brow. “And me, too.”
Instantly he was contrite. “Sorry. I’ll try to chill out. You deserve a break, too. When are you going shopping with Rowan and Sariel?”
“Day after tomorrow.”
He still didn’t like it. But she’d sworn up and down it would be okay. Nick had cleared it since the Fae prince was powerful, and they were going in broad daylight, sticking to populated areas. Micah wanted to go, too, but knew he couldn’t stay in her hip pocket at all times. That wasn’t reality, and it could take weeks or months before the creature who’d attacked him was ID’d and caught.
Besides, he had something to work out. A tiny niggle in his brain, struggling to bring itself forth. It had to do with the night of his attack—but not with the creature. No, it was afterward. When he was fighting to survive.
He vaguely recalled being rushed through the hallways in Sanctuary. Bleeding, hurt. Watching, dazed, as the walls and doorways rushed past. And then—
He’d seen a woman. One who looked like Jacee. In fact, he’d thought at first it had been her, but the woman’s face had been too young. He remembered reaching for her, and the surprise on her face when he said Jacee’s name.
The incident had happened so fast. One second or two, and she was gone. Then he was unconscious again.
He didn’t even want to voice what he was thinking. Especially not to Jacee. It was just a weird circumstance, probably nothing. He was likely wrong, and he sure wasn’t going to watch his mate get crushed all over again. He’d put in a quiet inquiry to Mac when he walked over for his checkup later.
“What’re you thinking so hard about?”
He blinked up at her to see her smiling at him, bemused. “Oh, nothing. Just about my appointment with Mac and how tired I am of doctors.” That was true enough.
“Ah. Well, come eat and forget about that for a while.”
They shared a good meal, and he ate like he hadn’t been fed in weeks. His energy was returning, and he was freaking glad. Had he been human, shit, he would’ve been dead four times over by now.
“Thank you, baby,” he said, patting his full stomach. “That was awesome. I don’t want to move now.”
“Got time for a nap?”
He checked his phone. “Nope. I’ve got to go see Mac, and then see Noah about that list of visitors he was supposed to get together. I’m not sure if Jax ever asked him about it in all the chaos.”
“Okay. I guess I’ll stay here and clean up, but I’ll see you later?”
“Soon as I can get back.”
After hurrying to the bathroom, he brushed his teeth. Then he returned to the kitchen. Wrapping her in his arms, he made sure she knew how much she’d be missed in the hour or so he’d be gone. Leaving her thoroughly kissed and mussed, he headed for Sanctuary.
On the way, he spotted Jax and stopped him. “Say, I’m going over for an appointment with Mac. Thought I’d check with Noah on that visitor’s list while I was there. Did you ever talk to him about it?”
Jax’s eyes widened. “Holy crap, I totally forgot to ask him. With everything that’s been going on, it slipped my mind.”
“No worries. I’ll talk to him.”
“Thanks, man.”
“No prob.”
Micah wandered to the new building, feeling pretty good. In the reception area to the doctors’ offices, he spotted Noah. “Just the guy I wanted to talk
to.”
“Me? How come?”
“Can I get a list of visitors to this building over the past month? We’re searching for a common link between any of the patients and me. This is by Nick’s authority, of course. Check with him if you need to.”
Noah waved a hand. “Sure, be glad to. The sooner you guys catch whoever is doing this to you, the better. Go on in. Mac’s ready for you.”
“Thanks.” Giving the younger man a smile, Micah headed in for his checkup.
In the end, it went well. She poked and prodded, took his temperature, ran more blood work. Listened to his heart and lungs. But he was as fit and healthy as ever, a minor miracle, given what he’d survived.
Nick and Calla had come by the day after his attack, and Calla had waved off his thanks, as he’d known she would. But he was grateful nonetheless.
“You’re cleared for duty,” Mac told him once they were in her office.
“Really? That’s great!”
“Just try not to get any more body parts ripped out. You don’t have that many to spare.”
“Ha-ha.”
“Get out of my office. And try not to come back for at least a year. Well, until your six month checkup, anyway.”
“Damn, you’re getting as prickly as Melina.”
“Watch it, buster.”
With a wink, he walked out. In the reception area, Noah was waiting, a sheaf of papers in hand. Micah took them, glancing through each of the pages. “I appreciate it. Thanks. There aren’t many names here.”
“No. But I think you might find it more interesting to learn what name should be on there and isn’t.”
“Oh?” Micah’s pulse sped up. This could be their break.
Noah’s blue eyes danced with excitement. “The other day, I was about to enter a patient’s room, and I heard him call someone by name. The patient referred to the man as his brother when they were talking, but after the man left and I checked on the patient, I made a casual remark about it. The patient backtracked and said the guy was his friend, and he called him brother in a friendly sense, you know?”
“Yeah. But you didn’t feel that’s the way he meant it?”
“Right. I thought to myself, no, he definitely was calling him brother. But whatever. It wasn’t a big deal, so I forgot about it. Until I checked the visitor’s list.”
“And?”
Noah pointed. “The brother, or whoever the man is, isn’t on it.”
The excitement grew, but Micah remained calm. “Okay. Who’s the patient?”
“Tyler Anderson.”
“I knew it,” Micah hissed, resisting the urge to pump his fist in the air. “What name did you overhear him call the other guy?”
“Parker. Does that help?”
“Yes! I fucking knew it!” Grabbing Noah, he wrapped the smaller guy in a big hug.
Which, of course, was the exact moment Nix stepped out of the elevator, wearing a huge frown. “What the fuck, man? Don’t you have a mate?”
Letting go of a flushed Noah, Micah grinned at his friend. “Yes, you idiot, and so do you. But that’s beside the point. We’ve got him. I know who our monster is, and Noah’s the one who had the puzzle piece all along!”
“He did?” Nix looked at Noah, who smiled shyly. “Awesome. Good work, man.”
The nurse shrugged. “I was just in the right place at the right time.”
“Anyway, we need to get this info to Nick and the team. I need a current description of Parker, too.”
“Better yet,” Noah suggested, “we can pull up the security feed. Hand out his picture.”
“Great thinking. We need to know how often he’s been showing up, whether there’s a pattern. When the last time was he visited. Then we’ll need to see Tyler, and let him know we’re on to his brother. Lean on him.”
“We’ve got to call a meeting with Nick and the team,” Nix said. “Run all this past him. Maybe there’s a way we can set a trap when Parker comes back to visit.”
“Okay, meeting first. We’ll see what Nick says.”
Nix started back toward the elevator. “I’m on it. See you in the conference room.” He left without looking back.
Micah couldn’t help but notice how Noah’s face fell once the man was gone. “Give him time, my friend.”
“That’s what everyone says. But I’m not sure all the time in the world will be enough.” He smiled sadly. “I’ll get to work on having one of the guys pull up that security footage.”
“Cool.”
The blond walked away, and Micah shook his head. Stupid fucking Nix. What the hell was his problem?
The other detective mission would have to wait. In a hurry, Micah pulled out his phone and called Nick. The man didn’t answer, though, so he had to leave a voice mail. “Hey, it’s Micah. Conference room with the team, ASAP. I’ve got info on our mystery creature. Not a mystery anymore.”
You were right, Mom. He was someone close to me, from my not-so-distant past. Thanks for trying to help me. I love you, and I miss you so much.
He could’ve sworn he felt a touch on his face, and then it was gone.
Rowan and a few of the guys were in the conference room already when he arrived. Though they had questions, he opted to wait for Nick and everyone else so he could go over Noah’s revelation once. The rest of the team filtered in, and they sat around, shooting the breeze for a few minutes.
Nick arrived last, looking harried. “Sorry, guys. I was on a call with Jarrod. What’s up?” His steely blue gaze found Micah. “You’ve got a positive ID on our monster?”
“It’s not one hundred percent, no. But it’s as good as a smoking gun as far as I’m concerned.”
“Who ID’d him?”
“Noah.”
There were a few murmurs of surprise at that announcement. Even Nick blinked. “How so?”
“Noah overheard Tyler Anderson speaking with a visitor the other day, someone he referred to as his brother. He called the man by his name—Parker.”
Nick whistled. “So Parker was either mistakenly placed on the list of deceased or had his brother lie for him.”
“I’m betting on the latter. When Noah made casual conversation and inquired about Tyler’s brother, Tyler denied he meant the visitor was literally his brother, but rather just a friend.”
“So Tyler’s a liar. And a nervous one at that.” Nick stroked his thumb over his bottom lip in thought. “If Parker’s our monster, he’s evil. That means Tyler’s in a horrible position, likely agonizing over what to do.”
Micah agreed. “He seemed nervous when we questioned him, and now I believe his brother is why. He fears Parker’s wrath. And having been on the receiving end of that wrath, I get it.”
“Yeah, Tyler seems about as lethal as a Hostess Twinkie,” Jax said. “So what’s next?”
“Noah’s getting footage of the security feed pulled, hoping to get a good current picture of Parker for us. Then I’d like to set up a trap for him. With Tyler’s help.”
“That’s risky,” Nick said, frowning. “Blood is thicker than water, as they say. If we can establish a pattern, it might be better to wait until he visits on his own.”
“True, but we wouldn’t have as much control over the time or place,” Micah argued. “If he gets all the way inside Sanctuary before we know he’s here, a lot of patients will be at risk if we try to take him.”
“We need to get his ass before he goes inside the building,” Aric put in.
“That means he’s outside, in wide-open spaces.” Rowan sighed. “Giving him more room to maneuver and fly away isn’t ideal, either.”
Micah sat back in his chair. “I think we need to talk to Tyler. Yes, it means tipping our hand, but he knows Parker better than anyone. If we promise to move him, keep him safe from his wretched brother, I believe he’ll cooperate.”
Nick gave a feral grin. “We’ll have to move him anyway, once we’ve tipped our hand, for our own good as well as his.”
“Good point.” M
icah blew out a breath. “Your call, boss. That’s why you get paid the big bucks. And if your mojo would make an appearance and tell us what to do, that would be great.”
“Gee, thanks.” The seconds ticked by as Nick mulled over the issue. Finally he nodded. “My gut is telling me to talk to Tyler, too. He’ll help us. Beyond that, I don’t know. If we can set up a trap of some sort for Parker, we will. If it can be away from the compound and Sanctuary, even better.”
Micah couldn’t see how that would work, because they’d need Tyler to lure in Parker. He didn’t say so, however. Instead, he said, “What if we lure him into one of the iron-and-silver-reinforced rehab cells?”
Nick sat forward, interested. “How would we do that?”
“We’ll have Noah tell him Tyler has been moved to a new room. When he gets in there, we shut the gates.”
“It’s risky, but it could work.”
“There won’t be anyone in the bed, of course, but we’ll make it look like there is. He just has to get inside the room.”
“Okay. These are all a bunch of big ifs. Jax, let’s you, me, and Micah go back and talk to Tyler. Find out if he’s got a regular visitation day, or if he can get his brother here somehow.” Nick checked his phone. “Got a message from Noah. We have a picture of Parker.”
The conference room’s laptop was hooked up to a data projector. Nick wasted no time sending the pic to his e-mail account, then downloading it to the laptop. In moments, he had a decent photo of a very creepy-looking Parker Anderson displayed for everyone to see.
The time in captivity, plus the last year or so, had not been kind to the eagle shifter. Tall and gray-skinned, hair thinning and unkempt, he appeared more like a cadaver than a man. Nick sent the picture to everyone’s cell.
“Yummy,” Aric muttered, lip curling. “I’m gonna make Mr. Hotness my screen saver.”
Rowan snorted, and several guys chuckled.
Tension broken, the meeting adjourned for the time being. Micah walked over to the other building with Nick and Jax for a repeat visit with Tyler. This time, when they walked in, it seemed as though he’d been anticipating what was coming.