by Layla Nash
She managed a brief smile but it fled too soon and left her expressionless as she stood next to the investigator.
Smith went on without pausing and started to hand around copies of a profile on Keller. "Markus Keller, founder and owner of Keller Pharmaceuticals. Sixty-four years old, married. Four grown children. He lives here, just outside of town to the west."
Edgar concentrated on Ivy more than the information, trying to memorize every emotion that crossed her face as she listened to Smith. Keller had a spotless record, not even a parking ticket, but his financial records were next to impossible to unravel. Smith mentioned the possibility of hiring someone to exploit computers they might be able to take in a raid, in order to determine who supported Keller's research. Great chunks of money disappeared, completely unaccounted for, in the records Smith managed to find, but more detail would be difficult to acquire.
Logan's expression darkened. "That won't be a problem much longer. I purchased the company."
"I beg your pardon?" Smith looked only politely interested.
Edgar watched his brother, holding his breath. Logan made emotional decisions with his money once in a blue moon, and only when something really pushed him over the edge. Like purchasing the restaurant where Natalia worked after she refused to serve him any food and kicked him out.
"I bought it." Logan folded his arms over his chest. "Keller Pharmaceuticals is now part of my company. I haven't decided whether to take it apart and sell it off, piece by piece, or if there's some way to get some good out of all the evil he's done." His expression didn't exactly soften as he looked at Ivy, but regret made him more subdued. "It's Ivy's choice. Her choice what we do with it."
"That's a multi-million dollar purchase. A hostile purchase, I'm assuming?" Benedict sat forward, jaw slack. "Jesus, Logan. Maybe you should talk to your lawyer before you do something like that? Especially if they're involved in something that's, I don't know... illegal?"
Logan didn't blink or look away from Smith. "I invested with them and Keller misused my money. So I'm going to make sure whatever research he's doing isn't hurting shifters. And I will get to the bottom of whoever's helping him."
Ivy cleared her throat, a hint of panic around her eyes. "Does he know? That you bought his company, I mean."
"The board of directors knows. They're voting on it tomorrow morning." A muscle jumped in Logan's jaw. "I don't expect a problem."
Smith tapped the coffee table where he'd spread out a few papers. "That will make the finances part easier, certainly, as long as Keller hasn't gotten wind of it. He's got two headquarters. His cell phone is pinging here." He unrolled one of the large tubes of paper to point at a specific location.
Edgar rubbed his jaw. "We'll need the rest of the Council. At least the bears and the pack. Taking down a building that size will require muscle. Does he have security there?"
"Mostly electronic — cameras, alarms, things like that. We weren't able to get someone inside the smaller headquarters building because it requires ID badges, but we did not see any evidence of armed guards."
"We should expect them going in," Atticus said. "We might need to call up the rest of our teams, Ed."
"They're on standby." Edgar looked at Ruby. "Does BloodMoon have any plans this evening?"
She nodded, gaze on Ivy. "Yeah. We're going to race you to get this guy first so Ivy can rip his face off. Got it?"
"Good." Edgar returned to his desk and sent the alert message out to the highly-trained security teams they employed. A mixture of humans and shifters, the teams were a quick reaction force for any contingency the Chase family encountered. Most had experience in the military or elite police forces. If they knew a hint of what Keller and his minions were doing, there wouldn't be enough left for Ivy to identify or punish.
Ivy crouched next to Smith, asking soft questions as she studied the plans for the building and the other information he'd found on Keller. Edgar glanced up as Carter approached the desk. "Are you riding with Ruby's pack?"
"I'll ride with you," he said, then hesitated. After looking over his shoulder to make sure no one would overhear, Carter cleared his throat. "You doing okay, Edgar? There's a lot changing, and it seems like —"
"I'm fine." Edgar loved his easy-going brother, the sensitive one who always knew when something wasn't right in the family, but he couldn't afford to think about everything that wasn't okay. If Edgar paused to consider the night's outcome, particularly where Ivy would go if they caught Keller and finished her list, he wouldn't be able to function. He just had to get through the next few hours. Then he could stop to process how much spun out of his control. But he attempted a smile for Carter. "Really. It will be fine. Well, except for the kitchen. What the hell is Natalia going to do for Thanksgiving? Everything will still be in pieces."
"I think she'll figure it out, and don't change the subject. Have you talked to Ivy about what she's going to do after all of this is over?"
"No, and I'm not going to. We'll figure it out when the time comes."
Carter took a breath. "Edgar —"
"We'll figure it out when the time comes." Edgar held up a hand to limit whatever else his brother wanted to say. "I'm serious, Carter. I don't want to talk about it."
His brother eyed him but didn't push, and they both returned to the table to catch the rest of the planning. Smith organized some of his papers and took one of the rolls with him. "The night cleaning crew goes in at two in the morning. If it's okay with you, I will be there to get inside the building. I can let you in when you arrive."
"Are you sure?" Atticus frowned at him. "I can do it. No offense, but aren't you a little... old to be leading the charge through the door?"
The investigator's eyes glinted like mercury for a heartbeat only, and Edgar caught sight of those odd elongated pupils. Ivy leaned away from him, as if expecting an explosion. But Smith only smiled very slightly. "Yes, I am old, but there's a better chance of someone letting me through a door than a meathead like you."
"Fair enough," Atticus said. "Two, you said?"
"Yes." Smith shook Edgar's hand, nodded to the others, and turned to go. "Call me if there's a change."
When the door clicked shut behind him, the room went into overdrive. The team leaders for his security teams arrived, and Edgar filled them in on what was going on. His brothers started calling the rest of the shifters they could count on to help them, aligning as much force as they could muster. In the back of his head, Edgar hoped they wouldn't need the full team of medics he called up, but he knew things might go badly wrong. There could be dozens of kids locked up, half crazy from drugs and experiments, or some of his guys could be injured if it went to a shootout.
Even lost in the details of the blueprints and the plans to search the building, he couldn't forget about Ivy. She was a silent presence at his elbow the entire night, observing everything but not saying much, and periodically he would reach out to touch her shoulder or back or hand. Needing a connection. Needing her. Missing her already, even when she stood next to him.
Chapter 22
I almost threw up in the SUV on the way to Keller's second headquarters building. Keller didn't think he would be at the main headquarters, and moving kids in and out of there would have drawn too much suspicion. So a smaller technical building, closer to Keller's home, was the target. Smith somehow even got confirmation that Keller was there. And we received word from Smith, shortly after two, that he gained access.
It felt like an eternity of waiting at the mansion while Edgar and his guys planned, as they brought in other shifters and modified the plan, as they got more information from Smith and changed the plan more. I wanted to scream. Wanted to throw something and grab the keys for a car and just go.
But Edgar was there. Each time I reached my limit and seriously considered making a run for it, he would catch my hand and squeeze my fingers. Or brush my arm, touch my back, offer me water or some of the Chinese food Natalia ordered in and brought to the office wi
th a dark look for Logan. Apparently she was pretty pissed about her kitchen, and he was sheepish enough that he flushed when he noticed her stink-eye. Which caused no end of teasing from his brothers after Natalia departed to put her feet up.
My nerves vibrated as we drew closer and I knew in my bones that it was almost over. I could face Keller, would see him finally and even the score. Finally I could rest. When I imagined the next day, the first time I would wake up and know that the bastards responsible for killing my family were all dead, my eyes burned and I almost cried.
We weren't the first people into the building, a five-story contraption that looked more like a bunker than a business center. Shifters of various packs and prides flooded into the building and cleared it. When they milled back out in silence, my heart stuttered. No celebration, no jubilation, no calls on the radio. Just a few clicks and static. Uncertainty.
I ran in, Edgar on my heels, but knew immediately something wasn't right. The building looked abandoned already, even at three in the morning, with only Edgar's Council pals waiting in the halls. My heart jumped to my throat as we reached Keller's office.
The giant dude Edgar called Kaiser lumbered to the doorway, already inside, and eyed me as I tried to shove past him. "He's gone."
Gone. I elbowed the giant as the wolverine in me screamed in rage. The office looked like a tornado had run through it — the desk barren, papers scattered across the floor, a filing cabinet overturned, computer equipment smashed to pieces in the center of the room. All the blood drained from my head as I stared around, and I nearly went to my knees.
And yet Edgar didn't look surprised. His buddies, Kaiser and the other giants, didn't look surprised. Just a little uncomfortable, a little sad. Emotion faded as I stared at Edgar and he stared back, unblinking.
My voice came out monotone, creepy even to me. "Where is he."
"He's gone," Smith said from the doorway, his white hair ruffled.
"Where." It wasn't really a question. I already knew they didn't know, because if they did, we'd be in the car, moving.
Edgar didn't get any closer, watching me as if I were an unpredictable animal. Which I was, really. He'd never dealt with the wolverine before. He might understand wolves, but wolverines were a completely different matter. The lion sounded too calm, his voice setting my teeth on edge. "We don't know. The last trace we have is Keller passing immigration on his way to Europe."
A growl brewed in my chest. "You've got to be kidding me. How the hell did you lose him?"
"He's got a lot of money," Smith said, when Edgar didn't answer. "And a lot of friends. Someone tipped him off and he ran. We almost got him at the airport."
"Someone tipped him." I laughed, the ugly sound making Edgar frown. "Of course. Because how can anything actually be secret when you've got a dozen people involved? Unbelievable. I did fine with eight out of nine of these bastards, and the one time I let someone else get involved, the target gets away. Fan-fucking-tastic."
My heart raced and my hands shook, the familiar sensation of fading adrenaline. So Keller was on his way to Europe. I'd never been overseas, but once I found the thread to follow, I would hunt him there as well. No telling how much it would cost to get a passport when I didn't have a birth certificate or real ID, but with enough money, anything was possible.
"Ivy," Edgar said, and took a step toward me.
I held my hand up to block him and turned away. "Don't. Just don't."
"He's gone. We have no idea where he went, and with the kind of money Keller has, he could buy half a dozen new identities."
My sinuses burned as I stared at the empty desk, then I shook my head and started shuffling through some of the papers still in the file drawers. "Everything can be traced. Everyone can be found."
"We'll keep looking." Smith cleared his throat. "But it will take time until he feels safe enough to relax, to make a mistake, and when he does, we'll be waiting. But it won't be tomorrow, Ivy."
"Is this because of Logan?" I turned on Edgar, gripping the edge of the desk so I wouldn't lurch forward and deck him. "Did Keller run because he bought the company? Did Logan fuck all this up because he felt guilty?"
"Ivy," he said, a hint of reproach in his tone. He didn't like anyone talking badly about Logan, regardless of what the bastard did. "You know that isn't —"
"How do I know that, Edgar?" I didn't move as Kaiser and his guys retreated from the office, the bear dragging Smith out as well, until Edgar and I were alone in the wreckage of Keller's malfeasance. "Please. We already had the conversation about all the good the medical experiments have done, how many lives were saved by our torture. The greater good, right? So why the hell shouldn't I expect that the Chase brothers would —"
"Stop," he said, unnervingly calm. "You know that isn't true. You're lashing out, and that's fine, but don't say something you can't unsay."
"You ruined this for me." I bit back a cry, somewhere between grief and rage. My hands tightened on the desk and I wrenched at it, trying to throw it or overturn it or something. Anything to show him how much this hurt. "I was so close to finishing it. So close. And you took it away."
"Ivy," Edgar said. "We'll find him eventually."
"If I just worked by myself, it would have been finished tonight." I gave up on destroying the heavy desk and instead turned my fury to the computer monitor that still occupied the corner. It made a satisfying crash after I hurled it toward him. He stepped aside, unperturbed. "But no. No, I let you jackasses help and Keller got away."
I wanted to cry. I wanted to curl up under that desk and sob like a child. I'd been so close to being done with that part of my life. If I got rid of Keller, I could put it behind me. Finally, I wouldn't be a victim anymore. I wouldn't have to carry all of that in my heart. But he still walked free, and all those nightmares and memories still dragged me down, still anchored me in the past.
Something crunched and I turned, caught Edgar pacing toward me through a carpet of crumpled files. I shook my head and retreated. "No."
"It's okay." Edgar's eyes shone gold for a moment as he studied me, and he didn't stop, even though I backed away. "Ivy, look at me."
"I'm leaving." I concentrated on some of the papers I could scoop up from the top of the filing cabinet, even though my vision blurred and the words swam. "I'll take care of this myself. I'll go to Europe and track him down. I don't need your help, I don't need your family or —"
"Isobel," he said, and my heart broke. He might as well have punched me. My lungs seized up and I couldn't breathe, staring at him and the understanding, the sympathy, in his eyes. His voice rumbled, rough around the edges as if the lion spoke more than the man. "I will hunt that man to the ends of the earth, I swear it to you. But you have to live your life. You can't let them dictate your happiness anymore."
"Don't." I held up my hands to try to fend him off but Edgar didn't seem to notice as I backpedaled. "I need to finish this, Chase. I need to cross him off the list, and then I can move on. I can't let him win."
"He hasn't. He won't." Edgar reached for me and I jerked away, backed into a corner. I curled in on myself. If he touched me, if he tried to comfort me, I would fall apart. I had to be strong but everything in me wanted to lean into him, to hide my face against his shoulder, to let him tell me everything would be okay. Edgar caught my hand and I lashed out, tried to hit him. He dodged my fist and wrapped me up in a bear hug.
I shrieked and lashed out at him, wanting to fight free so I could run and keep running until I forgot all about Edgar Chase.
Edgar held me tighter and made shushing noises. "Isobel, breathe. You're fine. You'll be fine. We'll get him. But you've got to let it go. You've got something better here. We've got something better."
I couldn't breathe. All the air had been sucked out of the room when Edgar used my real name. My eyes burned and I couldn't see through a blur of tears. His arms tightened until my ribs creaked, and the fight drained out of me. It didn't really matter if it were his fault. K
eller was still gone. A sob escaped before I could bite it back, and my knees failed.
Edgar caught me, held me up, as the world collapsed around me and it felt like every grief I'd suffered in the last ten years slammed into me at once. Drowning. I was drowning.
Chapter 23
Ivy sobbed with a terrible, gut-wrenching sound — struggling to breathe, clenching her fists, nearly sliding to the floor before he caught her. Edgar's heart broke. The disappointment of discovering Keller's escape nearly finished her. And the sense of betrayal in her eyes when she looked at him, as if Edgar had known or helped Keller escape... That nearly finished Edgar.
He held her up as best he could, even as Ivy flailed and fought, raging against the loss. He felt almost numb as he tightened his grip around her. She could hurt herself. It was better if she hurt him instead. The lion grumbled and growled, wishing they'd been able to kill Keller just so Ivy wouldn't have to think about it anymore, but Edgar concentrated on her. He needed to get her somewhere safe and comforting and quiet. His den, preferably. Standing in Keller's empty office was just a cruel reminder of what hadn't happened.
Edgar smoothed the hair back from her face and pressed his cheek against the top of her head. "Breathe with me, Isobel."
She flinched when he used her name, and Edgar wanted to take it back. He didn't know why he'd said Isobel instead of Ivy, but it fit. Ivy fled from the experiments. Isobel would stand on her own for her new life. He crooned to her as the lion purred, desperate to comfort her enough that they could get her back to their den, and she turned her face to his neck. Edgar rubbed her back. "It will be okay, I promise. It will."
"It won't," she whispered. Her hands trembled as she braced on his shoulders, trying to straighten and untangle from his embrace. "This is going to go on forever. I'll never find him and I'll spend the rest of my life trying, but it will never..."