by Elle Thorne
“Yes, he left me. At Mae’s. I’m with Allegra, and I do have my phone and a vehicle. The only help I really need is to make sure he’s going to Morgan’s Run.”
Muffled sounds came through the receiver, but it was nothing she could make out.
Tito spoke. “He appears to be headed in that direction. And so is my team.”
“Keep me posted if that changes.” She ended the connection.
“Well,” Allegra insisted. “Now I have more questions than before. Lots of them.”
Lana put her feet on the dash while she studied the map on her phone. Noting their location and the distance to Morgan’s Run. “I’m sure you do. We have to help Slate find his brother. If his brother’s even alive. Victor Saizon is hunting his brother, and he was working with Griz, so Slate’s not sure if he trusts Griz.”
“Griz is the most trustwo—”
“I’m not saying Griz isn’t trustworthy. But Victor Saizon definitely is not. Maybe Griz doesn’t know. Anyway, that puts Slate and Griz at opposite ends.”
“And you’re helping Slate.”
“I am.”
“He steals skills, you know. I heard Ciara and Krisztián talking about it.”
“I’m aware.” She kept her eyes averted, studying the darkness, the silhouettes of trees.
Allegra took the SUV through the curves of the mountains, going higher and higher. “But if— Wait— What? Did he steal yours? Is that how you know?”
“He did.”
“That bastard. How’d you get them back?”
Lana pushed her hair away from her face. “I didn’t.”
“Is that why you’re after him? Wait. No, it can’t be. Not when I— You have feelings for him, clearly. But he kept your skills!”
“I’m letting him borrow them. For the moment.”
So we aren’t chasing him down to get them back?”
“No. We are going to help him find his brother. Dead or alive. Most likely, dead. He was in a morgue. There was an explosion. At the morgue, I think. Or somewhere. Anyway, Tito said he’d heard he was apprehended at Cinco Ridge.”
“And your skills?”
“He’ll return them when he’s done. Right now, my skills are helping him find his brother. I think.”
“Is that how your skills work?”
Lana shrugged, tearing her gaze from the scenery to watch the road’s painted dividers as they passed by, one at a time. Signs glowed in the dark, warning of falling rocks, crossing deer and bears. “I’m not really sure exactly how my skills work. I never had any training in how to use them. They show me things that are going to happen. I can’t tell with any amount of accuracy how far into the future they are.”
“Have they ever led you astray? Been wrong?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe.” She pushed away the thoughts of her newly revealed skills. The ones that allowed her to take a shifter’s animal. The unpredictability of having that skill for all these years and not knowing it made her doubt all of her skills. Who knew what was what, at this point?
“Couple of hours away. You need rest? You can catch some sleep while I drive,” Allegra offered.
“Nah.” She remembered all too well the last time she slept in a car, she ended up someplace unplanned. Someplace she hadn’t wanted to be. Mae’s B&B. Stubborn, stubborn man, she silently castigated Slate. “I don’t need rest.”
Chapter Fifteen
Two hours later, or just shy of it, the green road sign proclaiming, “Morgan’s Ridge, Population 28,678,” appeared on the side of the road.
“Not much of a town,” Allegra noted. “Does every town in America have a morgue? Is one merited in every town?”
“I think some are by county, some by city,” Lana said. “I didn’t grow up in America either, so I’m not really sure about how that works.”
“It’s a few hours until dawn. Do you want to wait until daylight to poke around?” Allegra pulled over into dark parking lot of a grocery store that clearly wasn’t a 24-hour operation.
Lana surveyed the semi-dark town, illuminated only by the moon and a few sparsely placed streetlights. This wasn’t much of a town. “Let’s drive by the morgue. I’d like to see it first.” See what kind of damage an explosion had created.
“There are probably going to be law enforcement around a place that’s likely a crime scene, don’t you think?” Allegra shifted into Drive. “I mean, was the explosion a crime, or was it an act of God?”
Lana scratched her head. “I’m not really sure. Tito said there was an explosion. Why would a morgue spontaneously explode?”
“I don’t know. Gas line?”
She frowned. “I don’t know either.” But did she really want to deal with law enforcement? And what if Victor was there? Would he be counted as law enforcement? He’d said he wasn’t a fed. But had that been a lie? “Maybe let’s just drive by, see what we see. Take the first right.”
“You got it.”
Five minutes later, Allegra was driving past a scene that reminded Lana of one of those crime scenes on TV. Large, black SUVs and Lincolns filled a road that narrowed to a single lane. Yellow crime scene tape surrounded an area akin to a view of a military exercise. The building looked like it had lost in a fight with a tank. Men—and a few women—milled about, half in suits, and half in rumpled clothing as though they’d been dragged out of bed.
“I guess the explosion really did happen.” Though she had no doubt Tito had good sources.
“Yes, and it’s clearly not an act of God, because law enforcement wouldn’t be here at this time of the night with crime scene tape. I mean, they’d block it off to keep people safe, but would they be out here investigating?” Allegra made a tsking sound. “I think not.”
“What do you think? Feds? Locals? Victor Saizon and his men?”
Allegra crept the vehicle past all the others. Luckily, no one spared them a second glance.
Probably because this SUV doesn’t look too much different than theirs. “Keep driving. Don’t stop because—”
Allegra gasped. “Griz.” Her face paled in the dimness. “He’s here.”
“Keep going.”
“He—”
Allegra was cut off midsentence as Griz stepped into the road and she almost clipped him with the vehicle’s bumper. He stared directly at them.
Damn.
Allegra stopped the SUV and rolled down the window.
Griz looked from Lana to Allegra, then back to Lana. “Did you think I wouldn’t sense my mate was so nearby?”
Lana tried not to appear sheepish. “I’m not really up on all of the shifter capabilities.”
The scar which nearly sliced his face in half glowed against his ruddy complexion. The moonlight struck it just right, making it seem like it was a bolt of lightning. “Which I’ll take to mean that neither of you was aware I was here.” He turned his steely gaze on Allegra. “Right, my love?”
Allegra glanced at Lana, her chagrin evident. “Right,” she confirmed, leaning outward and accepting a kiss from the scarred, formidable shifter.
“Better question is, what are you two doing here?”
Shit. The moment of reckoning.
Allegra turned toward Lana, her expression begging for help. For an out. For anything but having to lie to Griz or to tell him what she wanted to. What she’d promised Lana not to tell.
Fine. Fine. She’d have to eat the bullet on this one. “I forced her to come out here with me.”
A frown made Griz look even scarier.
“Well, not forced,” Allegra said with a tiny laugh. “She could use some help.”
Now that was a damned lie if she’d ever heard one. Clearly, Allegra was trying to save face. Or save her ass. Either way, she couldn’t let her friend take the fall for her. “It’s okay. Griz, why don’t you take Allegra. I’ll handle this on my own.”
“Handle what?” Griz didn’t move from the door.
“Aren’t we blocking traffic?” Lana had to ask, since technical
ly, they were. And though there wasn’t likely to be much traffic in the pre-pre-pre-dawn hours in little ole mostly-podunk Morgan’s Run, still, there were police cars—marked and unmarked—and investigators and officers around. Some in suits, some in uniform.
Lana’s question served to only deepen Griz’s frown. “Pull over. There.” He pointed down the way, where the wasn’t a congregation of cops assembled. And there was an empty parking place.
Allegra headed toward the parking spot at a crawl, her eyes on Lana. “I couldn’t tell him. And I couldn’t lie. Not to him. He’s my life. My everything.”
“I know. And I didn’t mean to put you in this position. If I’d known he was here—”
“I didn’t even know he was here.” Allegra peered into the rearview, her eyes clearly locked on her mate.
“You didn’t sense him the way he sensed you?”
“No. Well, yeah. I mean, I sensed something. I thought it was the guilt I’ve been feeling the whole time I was driving.”
Lana was perturbed. “Guilt? About?”
“Not telling him I was going with you. Guilt at knowing I might have to keep this from him.” Her shoulders relaxed. “If I’m being honest, I’m glad he’s here. I don’t have to lie that way. You tell him what you want to tell him, but at least my part in this won’t be a lie.”
Lana nodded. Sure, she understood. She’d probably feel the same way about lying to Slate—
Whoa! Whisky Tango Foxtrot. Where the hell did that come from? She and Slate weren’t a She-and-Slate thing, for fuck’s sake; she wouldn’t feel guilty about anything with him because they weren’t a thing.
Keep telling yourself that, sister. That damned inner voice of hers—which, let’s face it, sounded a lot like her own—wouldn’t shut up. She shoved the voice away. Far, far away.
Allegra pulled the car into a parallel park rather deftly.
“Let me do the talking, when Griz comes over. The less you say, hopefully, the less he’ll be disappointed. In you. Well, you know.”
Relief and comprehension washed over Allegra’s face. “I appreciate that.”
“Why don’t you go with him and let me take the vehicle? It would be better that way.”
Allegra gave her head a half-shake. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You, alone, searching. Dealing with who knows what type of people. And who knows what kind of man Slate Youngblood is? Or his brother—should he find him—for that matter?”
Lana glanced out the back window. Griz was taking long strides and was almost there. She opened the door and got out. “Let’s talk to Griz.” She closed the door and strode to the other side of the car.
“So, how about a briefing, ladies?” He opened Allegra’s door and put his arm around her after she exited the vehicle.
Allegra rested her head against his shoulder, looking at Lana, expectation on her face.
Griz glanced from one to the other then focused his intensity on Lana. “Allegra’s clearly not interested in telling me. She doesn’t want to cross a line evidently.” He turned the glower toward Allegra. “Though I’m not sure she hasn’t already.”
Allegra responded with a pouty grimace.
“So, what gives, Svetlana? What’s going on?” His figurative spotlight was back on her.
“Are you working with Victor Saizon?” She had to know before she could tell him anything. She had to know how much she could tell him.
“Saizon’s off-the-grid.”
“That’s not really an answer.” Lana crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you working with him? I don’t trust Saizon. Soooo…”
“I was helping him find Slate Youngblood.”
“Do you know why he was searching for Slate?”
Griz’s eyes narrowed. “What do you know about this? Other than what might have been whispered about at the B&B?”
She wasn’t ready to answer that. She wasn’t ready to tell him she knew Slate. That she was working with him. Not yet. She needed her own assurances first. “You haven’t answered my qu—”
A typhoon-strength pull jerked Lana backward. She stumbled. What the hell? Only the pull wasn’t from outside it was—
She knew that sensation. That’s my new skill. What is it doing?
That was when she noticed Griz’s expression. His face was screwed up into one of pain. Or bewilderment. Then it was one of recognition.
He uttered one word, “Nephraline,” then he doubled over.
“What’s going on?” Allegra’s voice was tinged with panic. “What’s happening, Griz?” She turned to Lana. “What are you doing? I thought you said Slate took your skills.”
Griz’s head snapped up.
Allegra slapped a hand over her mouth then dropped it, mouthing, I’m sorry, to Lana.
Lana’s world was upended. She felt like she was in gale winds on the inside, being pulled in a tug-of-war. Wait, no. That wasn’t her. She was the one doing the pulling. Was her skill pulling on Griz’s bear? She tried to stop it but had no power over it. How could that be?
Griz growled then uttered the same word again. “Nephraline.”
“What is Nephraline?” Allegra asked.
Exactly what Lana was going to ask, though not necessarily in quite so polite terms. She leaned against the SUV’s still-warm hood, collapsing, strength sapped, though the tug-of-war was still happening.
Griz lunged, wrapping his hand around her throat.
Allegra grabbed his arm. “What are you doing? Stop that, Griz.”
His fist was like a vise grip on Lana’s throat. She grabbed his arms, trying to pull them off, scratching, pushing, all to no avail. The bear shifter was much stronger than she was.
“Nephraline’s trying to take my bear. Got to stop her,” he groaned out through clenched teeth.
Suddenly, all the chaos stopped. There was silence. Griz slowly released his hand on her throat, his eyes bloodshot and panicked. “How long has she been there?”
Lana coughed, choking, gasping for breath. “What the hell are you talking about? Why’d you attack me?” She dived toward Griz, swiping and striking him in the chest with her fists. “What the hell was that about?”
He grabbed her arms, pinning them to her side. “You tell me. How long?”
She shook her head. “H-how l-long wh-what?” Her speech faltered, no matter how many times she tried to swallow down the pain from being choked.
“How long has Nephraline been in you? Stealing shifters’ animals? How long? How did I not sense her this time?”
“Nephraline? My skills have a name?” She shook her hands free of his grip. “Let me go.”
Allegra put her hand on Griz’s shoulder. “Calm down.”
“Oh, I’m calm.” He glared at Lana. “Skills? That’s not a skill. That’s Nephraline. How long has she been around?”
Lana wasn’t so sure he was calm, judging from the rage in his voice. “I don’t know who the hell Nephraline is.”
Griz leaned against the SUV, dumped his head into his hands. “When was the first time you took a shifter animal captive?”
Lana shot Allegra a glare. She’d already opened the Slate can of worms. “When Slate took my skills. I took his bear.” She stepped closer to Griz. “I swear, I didn’t even know I could do that. In fact, I never could. It’s never been—” She began to pace the side of the SUV, back to front, front to back, over and over, hands clenched at her sides, breathing ragged.
“Nephraline is an ancient entity. Daughter of Ammit, a demoness from Egypt, long vanquished. Ammit was vanquished, not Nephraline. Nephraline simply hasn’t surfaced in decades. The last time she tried to take my bear almost killed me. I visited a sorceress who cast an enchantment to protect me if I should ever run into her again.”
“Why hasn’t she taken—or tried to take—my dragon?” Allegra asked.
He shrugged. “Who knows? Dragons weren’t really—”
“Who gives a crap about all that!” Lana raged. “You’re telling me I have a demon—demoness
, whatever—inside me? And I’ve had one for how long? Do I need to get an exorcist? What the hell is this about? What will she do to me? What will happen?”
“Slate took your skills?” Griz asked.
Like she cared about that. “Yes. Then I took his bear. I told you that already. Tell me how the hell to get this being out of me.” Her skin was crawling. Why didn’t she know about this earlier? Why didn’t she figure it out? Sense it?
“I suspect your skills were keeping her dormant. Now she’s been released.”
“Wait, what?”
“Keep it down.” Allegra pointed to the congregation of law enforcement officers down the road who’d turned to look at them.
Lana bit back a scream of sheer frustration. Fuck them, she wanted to shout, but knew she couldn’t.
“Get your skills back from Slate. That should do it. For now.”
“But that thing—that bitch—will still be in me!” She froze. “What do you mean for now?”
“You don’t want her hanging around. She’s malevolent. And that’s putting it nicely.”
Lana cringed. Could she read her thoughts? Did she know the plan? Could she hear and comprehend her making arrangements with Griz? “I’m—I want her out.”
“Skills from Slate first. Got it? After that, we’ll get to a sorceress that can help with it. First skills, okay?”
Chapter Sixteen
Slate went to Cinco Ridge first. He wanted to be sure there was no sign of Dunnigan there. Of course, it was the middle of the night in the little town. And the sidewalks had clearly been rolled up. He imagined, in the next few hours, folks would come around, but for now, nope. Nothing. Not a creature was stirring. Not even a shifter. He drove by the Cinco Ridge morgue. No one was there. A few security lights that weren’t on.
Probably motion activated.
His choices were simple. Either go in while it was empty and risk triggering an alarm or go in while there were people there. Rock and a hard place. He’d take his chances while it was empty. He was by no means a trained burglar, but he had no option. He had to find out what was going on with Dunn. He had to find Dunn. Period.