by Siobhan Muir
I heard footsteps and a car’s door slammed. An engine turned over and the crunch of tires on gravel suggested ADA Mitchem had left the area. I didn’t need to follow him, nor did I need to follow Mr. Butler or whomever he reported to, but I really wanted to leave. I tightened my hands on my phone and flattened my body against the dusty seat, trying to slow my breathing. I didn’t want them to hear me panting in panic.
Calm down, Haley. They don’t know you’re here and won’t if you just stay still.
Yeah, easier said than done when some really bad dudes stood no more than fifteen feet from where I lay.
“Do you think Mitchem will play ball?” That was Butler’s voice. I didn’t dare look to verify.
“I think he will. He’s too power-hungry and ambitious to buck the system. And he knows we’ll replace him without a thought if he doesn’t follow our directions.”
I recognized the second voice, but couldn’t place where I’d heard it. But it was someone I’d heard speaking before. My curiosity urged me to look, but prudence kept my head down. But I know that voice. I’ve heard it before. Where the hell had I heard it?
“Do we have another replacement if he gets a conscience?” Butler again.
“Nothing concrete yet, but there are others being groomed should the need arise.” Their voices started to fade as they retreated from the meeting place. “Get McMasters on the phone and tell him to keep an eye on his people in the Marshal Service. I’m pretty sure there’s still someone actively working against us…”
Wait, is Butler talking to one of the thugs? No one else had joined the little tête-à-tête so it had to be one of the other men standing around. Damn, is the big boss a thug-looking dude? I hoped my phone had caught them all on camera and I could figure out who it was.
Their footsteps sounded on the gravel outside the train coach before car doors opened and closed. I breathed easier as the car backed out from between the coaches expanding the distance between us, but I didn’t move. I had to wait them out. If anyone caught me here, not only would the information disappear, but I had a feeling I would, too.
I slowly lowered the phone and shoved it into the inner pocket of the hooded sweatshirt. I needed it to be safe when moving around. The problem was, I also needed to let someone know where I was in case Butler’s thugs found me first.
Shit. How long should I wait for them to leave?
I’d parked the truck far enough away that it shouldn’t expose my presence, but creepy dudes always seemed to find the good guys no matter what precautions they took. At least, that’s the way it worked in movies and on TV. Holy shit, lying there, waiting for the ax to fall or the shoe to drop damn near killed me, but I forced myself to stay still. I didn’t even retrieve the phone to text anyone.
After twenty minutes of silence, I finally allowed myself to roll off the dusty seat onto my hands and knees. I grimaced at the broken glass and wood debris littering the cracked floor, but I picked my way slowly toward the back of the train carriage, crawling as quietly as possible until I reached the door to the coupler.
I stopped and listened, holding my breath so it wouldn’t fill the space with sound.
Nothing. No voices. No footsteps. No car engines.
I bit my lip and took my time rising to my feet. I kept my body behind the wall of the car, hoping no one could see through the windows to where I stood, then peered around the edge to make sure nobody stayed behind.
The area around the coach appeared empty and quiet. I pulled the hood of the sweatshirt forward on my head, took a deep breath, and climbed down steps to the ground. My heart pounded in my chest as panic roiled in my stomach, but I kept moving with deliberate slowness. If anyone caught sight of me, I wanted to portray unconcerned innocence.
I don’t know how I managed to walk away from the train coach when I wanted to run like the hounds of hell were after me, but I acted like I was unconcerned with being in the abandoned train yard. I was just there to have a leisurely stroll. In the late afternoon during work hours. In a place no one worked. Right. Completely innocent here.
Despite my efforts to look nonchalant, I still paused at each railcar before stepping into the open. Innocent or not, I didn’t want anyone to notice me. I hadn’t had time to scope out the yard to see if there were any security cameras in the area, but from what I could see, they had the minimal ones to keep out the riffraff. It didn’t stop people from tagging the abandoned cars given the brightly colored art around me. I kept my path between the ranges of the cameras and when I had to step into their field of view, I made sure the hood covered my face.
It took me about fifteen minutes to reach the truck from the yard, but no one saw me and Mr. Butler and his thugs were long gone. The problem was I didn’t know his real identity or who I could trust with the video to find out. If Butler and his mysterious friend with the familiar voice had people in the Marshal Service, the ADA’s office, and any other law enforcement agency, what was to stop them having moles in the newspaper or media offices?
Unease and panic built in my gut again, making me pant. I had to expose these assholes, but I kinda wanted to live through the experience.
One face filled my mind as the most trustworthy, dark brown eyes and even darker scruff.
Michael.
I nodded as I slid into the truck. Yeah, he’d help if he wasn’t mad at me. Jeff and Tori, too. But the man I needed to call was Ryan Sutton. I couldn’t see him allowing any kind of tomfoolery when it came to exposing corruption. But I wouldn’t expect it of the ADA either.
The question is, can I trust him from what I only remember about him?
I started the truck and eased it away from the warehouse as I thought about my next move. Reconcile with Michael if I could, then consider calling Ryan.
Chapter Thirteen
Michael
You better fucking call me, you sodding bastard.
Okay, it might not have been the most cordial text to my older brother, but my fury had boiled over when I got Luke’s text that he’d taken Haley down to the warehouse store near the freeway. But the phone remained stubbornly silent as I stood in the yard and scowled. Jeff stood beside me, his expression full of guilt and fear.
“We should’ve just listened to her.” He rubbed the back of her neck.
“Sorry?” I raised my eyebrow.
“We should’ve just taken her where she wanted to go. Then at least one of us would’ve been with her to keep her safe.” He shook his head with a muttered expletive. “I should’ve known she’d go on her own whether I helped her or not.”
“She’s not safe.”
Jeff snorted. “One thing you need to learn about Haley. Once she sets her mind on something, she does it, come hell or high water. Did she tell you about how she rescued me?”
I nodded.
He grimaced. “Right, well, I told her not to come. I was too afraid she’d get hurt. And I think our families told her not to do anything about it either. But Haley doesn’t give up, especially when it’s important to her. She’ll do everything she can to protect or rescue family and friends.”
“She’s not doing that here.” I threw my hands out. “This is taking on something far bigger than her to save…what? Strangers? Cities and towns that don’t care if she lives or dies?”
Jeff shrugged. “She took on one of the wealthiest sex predators in L.A. to rescue me. She’d make a good secret agent if she trained for it. We should’ve had a little more faith in her.”
I scowled. “So what are we supposed to do now?” I wasn’t used to doing nothing. I was a Goddess-blessed archangel. I was the fighter and defender. I didn’t sit around waiting.
“I’m going to go back to your room and start the research she asked of me. What’s the WiFi password?”
I barked a laugh. “Let me talk to our IT man and get you access. He’s rather territorial.”
To his credit, Jeff didn’t roll his eyes. “Yeah, given your…profession, you wouldn’t want just anyone havi
ng access.”
That was an understatement. Before I could respond, my phone rang with a call from Neo. “Speaking of IT...” I pulled the phone to my ear. “Michael.”
“So I did some more digging. Your girl was right. O’Donnell and his replacement are eyeballs-deep in Backlog.”
“She’s not my ‘girl’. She’s a woman.”
Neo snorted. “She’s the one who came earlier, right?”
“Yes, what’s your point?”
“She stayed with you and returned with you, she’s your woman. Unless you’d like me to tell Loki everything I’ve found on this random reporter you’ve invited onto the compound.”
Sodding tosser. Yeah, that was the last thing I wanted.
“What do you really want to tell me, Neo?”
“Right to the point. Okay then. She may be kicking over a hornet’s nest with this one, but if she can expose these guys, it’ll probably put a big dent in Backlog’s operations at least in the Denver area.”
Glory, what had Haley stumbled across?
“The problem is I wasn’t the only one poking around. Seems like someone is flagging all of Haley Michaels’ social media accounts, her bank accounts, her phone. They’re actively looking for her.”
I frowned. “How would you know that?”
“Because I’ve been doing the same thing when researching whether she’s a danger to the club, Michael. It’s one of the first things Loki has me do.”
“Loki put you up to that?”
“Nope, it’s just one of the services I provide.”
“And is she? A danger to the club?” My gut cramped. What would I do if the answer was yes?
“That depends on who targets her and if they think we’re a threat.”
I snorted. “I’m pretty sure we’re already a threat given Loki’s interest in why they chose to blame us for their underhanded dealings.”
“We’re not exactly saints, here, Michael.”
“No, but we only take credit where credit is due and to quote Scott, that ain’t us.” I rubbed the back of my neck and shot a look at Jeff. “Oh, since I have you on the phone, Haley’s assistant needs limited WiFi access to do some research for her.”
Neo went silent a moment. “I’m not sure that’s wise. What’s he researching?”
“A list of names. I suspect they’re either Backlog or at least sympathizers. She wants background and connections on them.”
“Damn, she had a list of these people? Why didn’t you tell me that first?” He sighed. “Tell you what, I’ll give her assistant access through Nightingale’s terminal—it has internet access without compromising my system—in exchange for that list.”
“You want to take a look at Haley’s list?”
“What?” Jeff’s eyes widened. “That’s confidential information. I can’t give you the list.”
“Oh yeah, I definitely want that list. Bring me that with her assistant and I’ll get him set up.”
“Will do.” I ended the call and fixed Jeff with my best warrior stare. “Now you listen to me, Jefferson Holliday, if you want access to a computer to do your research, you’re going to hand over that list so the IT guy can do his own research on it. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”
Jeff narrowed his eyes. “How do you know my full name?”
I shrugged. “We know all about the people who show up at our gates. What’s it going to be?”
I watched frustration light his eyes and tighten his mouth just as my phone buzzed with a text. As I waited for his answer, I checked the phone.
I’m safe. Doing some shopping. Will be back in time for dinner if you still want me there.
Haley’s text simultaneously frustrated me and let relief skip through my chest. I immediately texted back.
Where are you? I’ll come get you. Of course I want you here.
Actually, I wanted her here where I could protect her from the gathering Backlog storm.
Don’t worry about it. I got a ride. I’ll see you tonight.
Bloody hell in a tight woven basket, the woman would send me over the edge. I was going to thump her. No, first I’d thump Luke for having given her a ride out of here. Whenever Luke gets back to the compound. I noticed he’d made himself scarce.
“Fine, I’ll give you a copy of the list.”
For a moment I had no idea what Jeff was talking about and stared at him hard as a scrambled to catch up. But it finally dawned on me what he’d said and I nodded sharply.
“Good. List first, computer after.”
Jeff scowled. “This is betraying Haley’s trust, you know.”
I raised my chin. “I can’t help her fight what I don’t know. If this list of names are suspected Backlog members, the more we know will help keep her safe.”
“Yeah, good luck with that.” He shook his head but handed me a small piece of paper torn from a notepad. “Take a picture of it. I’m keeping the original to give back to Haley.”
I did as he asked and sent it to Neo. He immediately responded that the computer would now work for Jeff with a specific username and password. I handed my phone to Jeff while I led him to the infirmary in the clubhouse. Nightingale, our resident physician and Morukai healer, glanced up with a smile when she saw me.
“Good afternoon, Michael. It’s nice to see you. You aren’t hurt, are you?” She tilted her silver-crowned head and her eyes took on a faraway look as if she read more than our outer shells.
Not physically, but possibly emotionally.
“No, madam. We’ve come to use your computer for some research.” I stepped aside to introduce Jeff. “This is Jeff Holliday and he’ll need the computer for a bit.”
Her unnerving brown gaze hit Jeff and her eyebrows went up. “Oh, my.” She took two steps around me and placed her hand on Jeff’s chest. “It’s a good thing you came, Jeff. The computer is right through here.”
Nightingale turned and motioned Jeff to follow her into the office connected to the infirmary. I shifted my attention around the room and found Samurai resting on one of the beds in the room, his golden gaze focused on the door to the office.
“What are you doing in here, Sam?”
The kitsune shifter turned his gaze back to me with visible effort. “Took a fall and dislocated my shoulder. Hurts like a mudfucker.” He blinked slowly. “Who’s in the office with Nightingale?”
“Guy by the name of Jeff Holliday. Haley Michaels’ assistant. Neo’s letting him use Nightingale’s computer to do research.”
“Hmm.” Sam’s gaze returned to the doorway and I recognized I’d been dismissed.
Shaking my head, I headed back out to the main room of the clubhouse. Given the temperatures outside being mild, most of the club members had taken advantage of the warmth to work on their bikes or help with clearing the excess snow. I could hear voices coming from the offices, and the kitchen where Grub orchestrated the evening meal prep, and Chemistry worked behind the bar. She’d taken over from Karma when the parties got too complex. She was a master mixologist and I’d grown fond of her Ambrosia mixture. She said the recipe came from Mt. Olympus.
“Michael.” Her voice flowed over me and tugged me closer. “I’ve a message for you.”
I raised my eyebrows. Chem didn’t often expose her connection to the Goddess, but I’d gained her trust since she arrived to join the Concrete Angels.
“From Her?”
Chem nodded. “She said you need to go back to your cabin and make some tea. She’ll be waiting.”
Sweet glory, She must really need to tell me something.
I nodded. “Thanks, Chem.” I paused as she handed me a plate of biscuits. “What’s this?”
“She requested English biscuits with her tea. Thought you could use them.”
I swallowed hard and nodded again. Bloody hell, She wants biscuits? This is going to be a rough conversation. I took the plate and headed out of the clubhouse for my cabin. The sunlight on the cleared snow blinded me, so I keep my gaze on my boots u
ntil I reached my door. Taking a deep breath, I paused to calm my energy. One didn’t storm into a room with the Goddess. I held my breath for a count of five before letting it out and opening the door.
At first, I didn’t see Her, but it took my eyes a few moments to adjust. When they did, I found Her seated on the chair Haley had used, one jean-clad leg crossed over the other. Tea already filled my living room with a fragrant scent of Jasmine and honey, and the creamer and sugar bowl sat beside the teapot.
I drew myself up to my full height and bowed at the waist, my hand extended with the plate of biscuits.
“My Lady.”
The Goddess snorted, uncrossed Her legs, and leaned forward to tap my shoulder. “Let’s forego the formalities today, okay, Michael? I just wanted to talk to my warrior son a little.”
I rose and my cheeks suffused with heat and love and warmth. “Okay, Mom. Why did you make the trip? You could’ve called or emailed.”
I settled into my chair beside Her and She poured me some tea. I ignored the urge to do that for Her, since She was the Holy Goddess of All, but She was also mom, and I rarely stopped Mom from doing what She wanted to do.
“Ugh, I’m still not thrilled with this electronic communication the humans have developed. It’s quick, yes, but you miss so much nuance with it.” She waved her hand and offered me the teacup. “Do you want milk today?”
“Please.” I tried to shake off the mundanity of Her serving me tea, but couldn’t quite avoid it. “Why are you really here, Mom? Am I in trouble?”
“Not yet,” She remarked before She laughed at my uneasy expression. “I came to talk to you about Haley Michaels.”
I swallowed my tea hard and hoped something hadn’t gone wrong. What if I’d chosen unwisely and the Goddess wasn’t pleased with my connection? But that doesn’t make sense, I have the tattoo. Except, the tattoos didn’t only come for things I was supposed to do, but also as lessons I had to learn. Sweet glory, Haley’s not a lesson, is she?
I cleared my throat. “What about her?”
Mom met my gaze and studied me for an eternity of moments, Her starry eyes at once filling me with peace and dread. Wisdom saturated the air around Her and peace knocked at the door of my mind. But fear and unease danced around the edges as I waited for Her to speak.