Then he locked the door and headed down to his truck.
He’d been on the road five minutes when Will called. He told Aidan to drive over to his house now, and then hung up.
***
Phoebe opened her eyes and took a deep breath. A smile played on her lips as she recalled the night before. Sure, the beginning had been emotional and she’d felt as if her world had crumbled, but everything seemed wonderfully okay now. Her sore muscles protested as she began to move, and she couldn’t help but smile all the more. Aidan had given her body amazing attention, attention like it had never received before.
She laughed. Sore muscles never felt so good.
When she finally managed the will power to move beyond stretching, she reached over for the note on her pillow.
Suddenly her smile disappeared as she flashed back to other notes. Notes that had been left outside her apartment. Her eyes widened as she sat up in bed.
One day. One day. Liam had given her time and this morning marked the deadline. And what had she done? She’d gone to bed with Aidan. Though she could in no way regret that particular decision, she did regret the sheer enormity of idiocy that it had taken for her to get so distracted.
Showering seemed like a silly thing to do in the middle of a crisis, but the warm jets of water combined with the scent of soap worked to calm her nerves so she could at least think and not descend into a complete panic.
“Calmly, calmly,” she told her reflection in the mirror as she combed out her hair.
She walked over to her laptop and erased the video of last night, blushing all the while, and then set it recording again. She felt like hours had passed before the screen went blank again. Having set the laptop, she pulled a stool around to the opposite side of the island and sat there staring at the door. Though she had all the ingredients, she couldn’t bring herself to make a coffee. The image of Liam walking up to her door at any moment paralyzed her. Positive images of the night before were lost in a flood of various scenarios involving either her or Aidan completely at Liam’s mercy.
But five minutes passed and Liam didn’t arrive. Then fifteen minutes. She looked at all the locks on the door, the best she’d been able to buy short of a full security system. She counted all the locks until she calmed down enough to remember the note that had been left on her pillow.
She rushed back into her bedroom and pulled a few blankets aside until she found the single piece of paper.
I’ll be back as soon as I can. Stay in bed. Always, Aidan
Romantic as it was, the stay in bed message had come too late. She went back into the kitchen, sat on the stool, and dialed Aidan’s number.
No answer.
She crossed her arms and tapped her phone on her bottom lip. No Liam. No Aidan. Nowhere to hide.
“Why did you leave?” she asked, dialing Aidan’s number again with the same result.
She looked at the clock on her phone and frowned. Over twenty-four hours had passed since they’d met in the café. Liam didn’t do late. That he hadn’t at least taunted her with some note left under her door made her feel more uneasy than she would have if he had. Her apartment felt as if it had been filled with the charged air from right before a storm broke.
Someone knocked on the door and she held her breath.
***
Aidan walked up the drive to Will’s small country style home, complete with faded white picket fence. He frowned, wondering why no one had come out to greet him. His footsteps on the gravel drive sounded as loud as gunshots in a canyon in the quiet of the afternoon. A car he didn’t recognize had been parked behind their minivan, and he got out his gun.
He turned, thinking he heard his phone ring in his truck, but then Will opened the door.
Aidan put his gun away but only after a long hesitation. Though he had just seen the man yesterday, the past hours had done something horrible to Will. He looked as if the life had been sucked out of him. From behind him, Aidan could hear Elle and someone else crying softly.
He gripped Will’s shoulders. “What happened?”
Will closed his eyes for a moment, gathering the energy to say the words. In that moment, Aidan took in little details: a glimpse of River with a blackened eye, neither squeals nor cries from Charlotte, and pieces of a broken vase in the entryway that had been swept to one side.
Aidan shook his head, the nightmare realization settling into his mind, and Will nodded.
“Charlotte’s been taken.”
***
The knock came for a third time and Phoebe finally got off the stool. If the person outside the door was Liam, he was acting very polite. He didn’t even knock that hard. Maybe he’d decided that he didn’t need her after all.
All that turned out to be a dream when she looked through the eyeglass and saw Mia standing there.
What the?
She opened the door as much as the chain locks would allow and looked out at Mia, who looked anything but happy about being left out in the hall. Phoebe scowled right back at her, wondering who had told her where she lived. She didn’t have so much as a cup for sugar in her hand to show for the reason for her visit.
“Mia.”
To her credit, Mia at least tried to smile. Unfortunately, that made Phoebe all the more suspicious.
“What do you want?”
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” she asked.
Phoebe frowned, pondering her options, and couldn’t think of a reason not to let her in that wouldn’t be completely hostile. She could still go with hostility but, at the very least, two bodies were better than one if Liam showed up. Putting Mia in danger didn’t make her feel bad enough to send her away. They might not be able to transform during the day, but at least they could take advantage of the stronger than human strength.
“I’m not sure I’ll go so far as an invitation,” Phoebe said. She closed the door, unlocked locks and then opened the door again, staring after Mia as she walked in. Pursing her lips, she checked the hallway and then closed the door when she saw no one.
The door clicked shut and Phoebe turned around just in time to hear Mia cry out and fall to the floor. She cursed and got to her knees, clutching her wrist.
Phoebe sighed and helped her to stand. “Are you okay?”
Mia took a calming breath, no doubt to swallow whatever nasty response had in mind and said, “I’m fine. You should really do something about the floor.”
She looked at the floor where Mia must have tripped and didn’t see anything.
“You’re wondering why I’m here,” Mia said.
“No,” Phoebe said, “I’m wondering why I let you in.”
Mia laughed. “Fair enough. We haven’t exactly been the best of friends since you arrived. That’s why I’m here. I want to make a peace offering.”
Phoebe stared at her.
“You don’t have anything to say?”
“What am I supposed to say?” she asked. She walked around Mia, switched on the kettle and put two mugs down next to her phone. “I don’t get what changed your mind, but I suppose I should at least offer you a coffee.”
Mia looked pleased as Phoebe spooned coffee and sugar into the mugs. As she poured the milk in, she looked at Mia and then at the time on her phone. Something didn’t feel right. She didn’t like this one bit and neither did her wolf. But maybe Mia really did want some sort of peace, or as much of one as they could manage, for the sake of the pack. Or maybe Aidan ordered Mia to do it.
Phoebe decided on the first option. She didn’t like the thought of Aidan influencing pack politics for her sake.
“We’re going to be pack and, frankly, the last thing I need is another enemy running around. You and Aidan are obviously close -” Phoebe stared down at her coffee and hoped she didn’t blush. “- so the sooner we start making friends, the better. I think -”
Suddenly Mia’s phone rang and she sighed in relief. Without so much as an ‘excuse me’, she plucked her phone out of her purse and answered it
.
Phoebe shook her head. Apparently, basic good manners weren’t a part of the peacemaking process. The conversation ended up being short – strangely short – and Mia put her phone back in her purse as Phoebe passed her a mug of coffee.
“Friend calling?” Phoebe asked.
“You could say that,” she said. “You know what, Bebe? I don’t think we’re going to be friends after all. You’re way too annoying to live.”
Phoebe paused, holding her mug halfway to her mouth. She didn’t just say that, did she?
“Just having to sit here with you, drinking your crappy instant coffee is irritating.”
Without thinking, she said, “Aidan bought the coffee.”
The fury that flared in Mia’s eyes would have been funny on any other day. The phone call and Mia’s sudden switch of attitude made her itch for a weapon to defend herself with. Maybe she could take Mia in a fight, but Mia was the type to fight dirty.
“You think you’re clever, don’t you?” she sneered, the expression making her otherwise pretty face utterly ugly. “You move here, get attached to the alpha and think you have a free ride now even though four murders are on your conscience.”
As the words came out of Mia’s mouth, things came together in Phoebe’s mind. Mia showing up unannounced when she shouldn’t have known the address, the phone call, the sudden change of attitude. Aidan thought Thomas had been killed for thinking someone in the pack had betrayed them. As she looked at Mia, she knew both Thomas and Aidan were right.
“I may have led Liam to Echo Falls, but at least I didn’t hand innocent lives over to him on a platter.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Phoebe smirked. “Where did you meet him? I met him at university and he swept me off my feet. I’m not surprised he did the same to you. I am surprised he convinced you to kill your own pack members, though. What would Aidan think if he knew you helped kill his best friend?”
Mia’s eyes widened as a red flush crept up her neck. She sputtered a few times and then finally said, “It doesn’t matter what you know anyway. You’re not going to live long enough to tell anyone.”
Phoebe heard the soft click of the door handle turning. She hadn’t locked the door. Mia fell, distracting her before she had the chance to lock it.
Phoebe glared at Mia. “Damn you.”
Mia smirked and Phoebe went cold, her fears now confirmed. Phoebe swallowed and turned around slowly. Liam stood in the doorway and he held a bewildered looking Charlotte with one arm.
Liam smiled. “Hello Phoebe.”
“Liam,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. Then she looked at Mia. “Why?”
“Let’s just say that Liam and I agree on how better both our lives would be if you weren’t around.”
Suddenly, Phoebe’s phone rang. The three stood staring at each other until Phoebe made a dive toward the phone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
No answer.
Aidan pressed the end call button on his phone, gritting his teeth. Maybe she was still sleeping. He checked his watch. Or in the shower. That made more sense. Though his intentions had been good, she would be wondering by now where he’d gone off to, and she’d be angry he if left her in bed when chaos had erupted.
Before he’d called Phoebe, he’d called every pack member, starting with those who had cars. Dividing Echo Falls into sections, he set up the most efficient search he could in so little time. He liked a clean line between his human duties and his pack duties just as much as anyone else, but he couldn’t imagine a single pack member who wouldn’t want to help find Charlotte.
Axel had been annoyingly absent so far.
Will and Elle had already called the police, who had advised the couple to stay home and wait for any news.
Wolves hated waiting.
Aidan leaned against the truck. He didn’t want to go back in the house. He didn’t want to see the scrapes, bruises and black eye River earned trying to fight off the Hunter. They tried to take her to a doctor but she refused, wanting to stay for any news about Charlotte. They went over the details of the attack a few times to make sure to get every detail. Aidan showed her the picture of Liam, but she couldn’t be sure because the attacker had been wearing a mask. She had also seen someone else in the car as they drove away but didn’t have a clear view of that person either.
Will stared out at the street, not focusing on anything and checking his watch every now and then. Sunset was still hours off, but Will could only think of when he would be able to transform and trail his daughter’s scent. He closed his eyes and lowered his head for a moment, the air around him practically vibrating with the need to change.
Aidan patted his shoulder, hoping that they would find Charlotte before the need for the wolf arose.
“What is he doing to my daughter?”
“He’s not going to hurt her. She’ll be okay.” And Aidan believed it. A Hunter had entered his territory and taken one of his pack’s pups. That wouldn’t go unchecked for long. “The whole pack is looking for her.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Will asked with a snarl before looking away.
Aidan clenched the jaw and let the moment pass. He felt sick for Charlotte, and he couldn’t imagine what Will was thinking or feeling. They both needed answers.
The real question came from why the Hunter would take Charlotte in the first place. What purpose did it serve? Hunters were known for mercilessly assassinating entire packs, not taking hostages. Perhaps they had a Hunter who had fallen on hard times. Yet from what little he understood about Hunters, the ‘Brothers and Sisters’ had enough of a network that none of them would get in such a position.
He rubbed the back of his neck. Hunter and innocent girl. Only a toddler but still the child of two werewolves. Working on the assumption that the Hunter is aware of that… What does he want? He looked at Will.
“Let’s start at the beginning.”
Will didn’t respond at first and then shook his head. Settling into cop mode, he gave Aidan a sharp nod. “What do we know?”
“The Hunter took Charlotte – something completely out of character as far as we know.”
Will nodded again and crossed his arms over his chest. “He kills from a distance. Taking Charlotte with his own hands means he wants something.”
“He’s been here since at least the full moon before last and he’s been able to hunt down Weres only.”
“Thomas’s theory.”
“The Hunter has been working with someone in our pack.”
A muscle along Will’s jaw jumped and both men stared out at the street. Will glanced at Aidan and away again.
“He came here following Phoebe.”
As much as he hated to admit it, as a policeman and a pack leader Aidan had to take that fact into account. But how did Charlotte relate to Phoebe?
The night of the wedding when Phoebe must have seen the Hunter came to mind. The way she had whined and turned to him when he had come to her side. If he had been thinking straight that night, he would have transformed and gone after the bastard. Damn, damn, damn.
But earlier, at the reception, Phoebe had something. “Of course. Who wouldn’t? She’s adorable. You see a baby like her, always happy and laughing, and you hold her just once… You’ll do anything you can do to protect her. Anything.”
He snapped his fingers and walked back into the house with Will following closely behind. Elle looked up at the both of them, her strength still showing through her tear-streaked face as she held River.
“Elle, did Phoebe tell you how she planned to catch the Hunter?”
Elle shook her head.
“You think him taking Charlotte has something to do with Phoebe?” Will asked.
“Yes. The Hunter has seen Phoebe with Charlotte and may have heard Phoebe talking about her. I think he figured out she is planning something and took Charlotte for insurance.”
“Insurance for what?” Elle asked.
“To get her to cooperate.”
“One day.” Elle’s eyes widened. “She said she only needed to keep everyone away for one day because the Hunter had given her a day to decide if she would work with him.” She bowed her head and whispered, “I didn’t think.”
Will sat down and put his arm around her. “It’s okay. Phoebe is safe in her apartment.” He looked at Aidan. “Isn’t she?”
“I just called her. She didn’t answer.” A chill swept over him. Why did I leave her alone?
“Go,” Elle said. When he hesitated, she glared at him. “Go!”
He looked at her and then at all Will. She might not like him for a while for doing this, but Will needed it. “Will, you’re with me. There might be trouble at Phoebe’s.”
Will practically jumped at the order and gave his wife a long kiss goodbye before heading out. Elle wouldn’t meet Aidan’s eyes, but River at least gave a small wave before he left.
Aidan nodded to Elle and River. “When Axel and Cinder get here, they answer to you. I don’t care what else they had planned; today they are members of this pack.”
By the time Aidan got in his truck and started it, Will was already on the phone with Axel doing whatever threatening and snapping he needed to in order to get the help he wanted. By the time they were halfway to Phoebe’s, he snapped the phone shut having gotten Axel’s promise to head to his house. He then opened his phone again to call Elle and warn her about the incoming visitors. Snapping his phone shut again, he sat back and scowled, inactivity once again gnawing at him.
“We’ll find her,” Aidan said.
Will grunted.
Aidan didn’t know if he was trying to reassure Will about Charlotte or himself about Phoebe. Perhaps a little of both. In all his time as leader of this pack, he hadn’t faced any crisis like this. And look at the great job he’d done so far: wolves dead, including Thomas, Charlotte missing and the newest pack member perhaps missing too. He slammed his fist on the steering wheel and barely kept himself within the legal speed limits. If something happened to Charlotte, he would have to step down. He would be surprised if no one challenged him for the role even if everything ended well.
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