“Why hasn’t the Leo ever looked into this before?” Heather glanced at the book, but the list she was writing wouldn’t handle itself. She went back to it, keeping one ear on the Leo’s reply.
“I think you were right. It was hidden from us. The Kermode became something of a legend, the Arctic Fox became extinct because of predators, and the Polars’ demise was blamed on global warming.”
“Seriously?” Heather scowled. “Polars lived anywhere they wanted to.” After all, who would stop them?
“I know,” he grunted in response. “It’s just so damn stupid.”
“Did your uncle know about this?” Heather added another name to the deceased list.
“I don’t think so. He agreed way too easily with my father.” He sat down heavily on the sofa, jarring Artemis, who’d nodded back off once Barney and Kincade left. “My father was the Lion Senator.”
“Fuck,” Heather breathed.
“He was voted out after I became the Leo. The Lions believed he would be prejudiced toward my ideas, and they wanted someone more neutral. Even now, he tries to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do.” Sebastian closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead wearily. “I may have to bring him in for questioning.” Sadness infused his tone, his expression falling as he opened his eyes. “This sucks.”
“Yeah.” She couldn’t imagine her father turning out to be a traitor, not only to the family but to all Foxes. Before she could say anything about it, something caught her eye. “My brother and sister both have the mark, but it’s been crossed out instead of erased.”
“Meaning they never did whatever it was to become a white shifter.” The Leo scratched his head. “Or maybe they thought that once they hit adulthood they were no longer eligible?”
“But Jamie Howard became a white Puma at the age of—” she double-checked the paperwork, “—twenty-seven.”
“Which just means they were wrong.”
“True.” She added three more names to the deceased list. The list she was compiling was only during the current Leo’s reign. So far, twenty possible white shifters had been killed before puberty struck, while ten had died while in their teens or late twenties. And she was only on page one. Everything in the book was confirming what they’d theorized, that only one white shifter existed for a species except under special circumstances.
“Artemis?” The Leo poked him with his toe. Artemis was sprawled out on the carpet, his arms and legs askew, his eyes closed. A single silver strand marred the darkness of his hair.
“I think he’s communing with the spirits.” Heather had seen Julian do something similar, except he hadn’t been all sprawled out like that. He’d been cross-legged, his back straight, his shoulders relaxed. “See the white stripe? He’s using his powers, but he’s not in his man-Tiger form.”
“Really?” The Leo leaned down and breathed in Artemis’s ear. “Hello, Artemis.”
Nothing, not even a twitch of Artemis’s lips. He didn’t even pretend to snore.
“He’ll come out of it when Tiger releases him.” The spirits could be demanding of the ones they chose.
“I wonder what it’s like to talk to your spirit animal.” He stared at Artemis for a moment before shaking his head. “Ah. Never mind. I need to read more of this book, figure out what else my dear old daddy was hiding from me.”
“Why didn’t you read it?” She glanced up, asking the question that had been bothering her since the moment he told her of the book. “The Leo wanted you to.”
“My father is a very strict man.” Sebastian shivered. “I didn’t say no to him, not until I became the Leo. Then I kicked his ass out of my house when he tried to get Kincade replaced with a Beta of his choosing.”
“You and Kincade are close, huh?” No more deceased on the first page. She started the next list, of those who’d actually become white shifters. That would be the shortest.
“He saved my life once,” Sebastian said softly. His voice was full of affection for his Beta. “He’s also my best friend.”
“You had to use your Leo voice, didn’t you? To get your dad to leave, I mean.” She added Jamie Howard, Chloe Williams, Artemis Smith and someone named Bianca Flores, a Jackal, to the white shifter list.
Four. Only four had survived. Shit.
Time to start the list of those who’d lived and hadn’t become white. That, also, would be a short list.
“Fuck.” There was horror in the Leo’s voice, catching her attention once more.
“What?”
His expression was equally horrified. “Listen to this: ‘Should all white shifters cease to exist, so too shall the Leo, for his life is tied to theirs.’”
Her jaw dropped. “Fuck,” she breathed. “No wonder they’ve been hunting them down.”
“Power.” He carefully put the book back down on the table, but she could see the way his hands shook. “It all comes down to power.”
“And who has it.” She tapped her finger on the table. “They’d not only gain control of their own species, with no oversight, but they’d be able to rule the entire shifter world without having to worry about someone stepping in and stopping them from whatever abuses they wished to heap on us.”
“They could rule as they wished.” He picked up his coffee mug and studied it for a moment before throwing it at a wall, shattering it. “Fuckers think that they can kill me? We’ll see about that.” He turned on her, his eyes the gold of his cat. “New priority,” he said, his Leo voice in full force. “Get me a list of every living white shifter. Name, address, number of people they’ve fucked, I don’t care. I want them.”
She bowed her head. “Yes, sire.” She immediately began going through the other pages, barely listening in when he got a phone call. Tiger, check. Jackal, check. Puma, check. Fox, check. Bear…well. She supposed Julian would do, so she wrote his name down. Jaguar…nope. Not yet, anyway. There was no Hyena either, but down near the bottom of the second page she found a white Lynx named Darren Perkins. No Cheetahs, Wolves, Coyotes or Ocelots had survived to become white, but the Cheetah and Wolf at least had some with marks next to their names. She jotted them down with question marks.
“Heather!”
“What?” Why was the Leo shouting at her? She was doing as asked, wasn’t she?
“Sorry. I called your name three times and…” He sighed. “We have an update from Kincade.”
“Did they get her?” She really wanted to know what Kris Jennings had to say.
“They’re under heavy fire, but they’ve managed to breach the mansion.”
“Heavy fire?” Her heart sank. “Barney?”
Sebastian smiled. “He’s fine. Kincade says he went through the back door, so he wasn’t in the line of fire.”
“Good.” Her heart could start beating again. She put her hand to her chest to make sure it was. “Good.”
“You have the list?” He held out his hand and it was no longer shaking. His eyes were still mottled with gold, his Lion very evident in the way his claws kept extending and retracting.
“Yes, sire.” She held up the list. “It’s as complete as I can make it. Any white shifters past page two are already dead.”
“Shit.” He glanced at the list and grimaced. “Possibilities?”
“Huh?”
“Like yourself, or your cousin Wren. Since Chloe’s the white Fox, that means that there are others in your family who could have been rather than her. Possible white shifters, if you will.” The Leo handed the list back to her. “Give me them as well.”
“That will take longer.” She bit her lip. “Wren is a baby.”
“And these assholes will target her, just as they did you. Just as they did Chloe.” He snapped his fingers. “Names, Heather.”
“Yes, sire.”
She jotted down what she could find, including ages of the children who were lis
ted as potentials. “Here.”
Sebastian grunted as he read it. “All the ones who are missing. Wolf, Ocelot, all of them. And multiples of each.” He sighed wearily. “I can’t keep all of them safe.”
“There might be a way.” She stood, tapping the computer monitor. “We could spread the word of what we’ve learned. Secrecy is what has been killing them. If we get the word out about white shifters and where they come from, you declaw the Senators attempting to kill them.”
He stared at her for a moment before smiling. “I’ll leave you in charge of the newsletter.”
“Hell no.” She waved her hands. “I’ve got a job I love, and a mate I’m returning to. Get someone else.” She frowned at the computer. “Someone who knows codes and how to break them.”
“Huh?”
“Think about it. They have to communicate with each other somehow. Get someone tracking Kris Jennings’s emails and you’ll find a trail to other Senators.”
“I think I love you.” The Leo kissed her on the cheek. “You’re officially my favorite Fox of all time.” He rubbed his hands together. “And I know just the person for the job, too.”
“Who?”
He laughed. “My guardian Angel.”
Chapter Thirty
Barney rubbed his ear, healing the damage the sniper rifle’s bullet had done. Fuckity fuck. He’d have to stay down, avoid windows until he was out of the…
He glanced around. Right. Kitchen. Big fucker too. Looked like something out of a magazine, all distressed white cabinets and thick granite countertops with gleaming stainless steel appliances meant for a chef.
He pocketed his gun and crawled across the hardwood floors, ducking behind the island when another bullet came whizzing past him, sending splinters up as it hit the wooden floor. Barney flinched when one of the splinters hit his hand, but held still behind the island, watching the two entrances he could see for any signs of activity. Nothing appeared to be coming his way, so Kincade must have them thoroughly pinned down at the front of the house.
Barney calculated the distance between himself and the set of stairs he could see off to his right. It led both up and down, which meant this place had a basement, most likely one meant for entertaining. He had to decide quickly whether or not she was upstairs or down.
Upstairs could have an escape route if she chose to go out a window. Otherwise, she was blocked in until Kincade got to her. Downstairs, there might be a panic room or a secret passage that would grant her an escape route.
He closed his eyes and tried to listen to his instincts. Up, down, up down, eenie, meanie, miney, mo.
Downstairs it was.
Barney raced for the stairway, ducking when he heard gunfire. The wooden rail was hit, taking a good chunk out of it. He turned the corner of the stairs, making his way down into the basement.
It was lit from the windows that had been installed all around the basement, nice-sized ones meant for not only light but as an escape should the house catch fire or some other disaster befall it, like a pissed-off Kincade Lowe. None of the windows appeared to be open, but that didn’t mean anything. He pulled out his cell and sent a quick text to Kincade, giving him his status and location. He didn’t wait for a return text. He could tell from the shouting and the gunfire where Kincade and his men were.
He began to case the basement, using all of his enhanced senses. The Ocelot Senator’s scent was strong down here, especially around the bar and the pool table. There were other scents as well, including his cousin Carl’s and Darien Shields’s. Both men had been here, but their scents were faint. Other Senators and their aides could also be scented around the room. She must have held a party at some point, roughly two weeks ago from the age of the smells.
Two others were particularly strong, but he didn’t recognize them at all. He made a mental note of them, prepared to show Kincade where he’d scented them. These two had been here as recently as two hours ago, and were frequent visitors. He’d know them if he ran across their scent again.
Barney looked around the edges of the room, searching the bookcases in a small reading nook for “special” books, books that were actually levers. He found nothing, other than the Senator really enjoyed political novels written by human senators, representatives and presidents.
If she was pulling from human politics, the shifters were screwed. The humans couldn’t agree on whether or not peanut butter worked better with jelly or jam.
The pool table came under scrutiny, but no James Bond crap happened when he toyed with the inlay, the balls or the pockets. He could find no hidden buttons or levers, so he moved on to the bar, where the scents were also strong.
He found a beer keg, so he checked that out. Nothing, other than a nice, foamy stream of golden goodness. He hated to waste the beer, but he was on the job. Drinking wasn’t an option.
After, however, he could get as hammered as he wanted.
Hmm. No hidden buttons under the bar, no loose tiles behind the bar, either on the wall or on the floor.
Barney stepped away from the bar, trying to clear his nose of all the scents around it. He had to focus more on Kris Jennings’s scent than anyone else’s. He’d met her before, knew what she smelled like. Finding her shouldn’t be this hard, not for a Hunter.
There. Another spot where her scent was strong, over by a sofa, loveseat and chair set. Oddly enough, her scent was strongest at the edges of the television mounted to the wall on a decorative panel.
He smiled, searched the TV, and found a button that shouldn’t have been there. He pulled out his gun and pressed the button, standing to one side as the wall the panel was mounted on slid the other way.
A gasp sounded. A shot rang out, right where Barney would have been standing had he not moved to cover.
Then it was Barney’s turn. He entered the room, finding two men guarding the Ocelot Senator. The man on the left screamed as Barney swiped his off-hand upward, knocking the gun—and the man’s pinky finger—to the floor. The second man was covering Ms. Jennings, his body over hers while she cowered on the ground.
Barney finished off the first guy with a side-kick to the knee before he could recover from the pain of losing a finger. The bodyguard covering Ms. Jennings lifted his head and pointed his gun at Barney.
Barney pointed his gun at the bodyguard. “Standoff.”
The first bodyguard moaned, clutching at his knee and his hand, or at least trying to.
“Now.” Barney held out his hand. “Give me your gun and I won’t tell Kincade Lowe that you tried to fuck over the Leo.”
The bodyguard’s eyes went wide. “What does the Leo have to do with this?”
Barney smiled, and the man paled. “Who do you think ordered the Senator’s arrest?”
The man put the gun down and got on his knees, his hands above his head. “No job is worth getting on the Leo’s bad side.”
“My sentiments exactly.” Barney walked past him cautiously, just in case this was all a ruse.
The bodyguard didn’t move. The other bodyguard stayed on the floor, watching through pain-filled eyes.
He’d recover, eventually. He pressed his gun to the forehead of the Ocelot Senator, who still looked startled to see him standing in her safe room. “Hello, Ms. Jennings.”
“Do I know you?” She tried to give him big, innocent eyes, but he wasn’t buying it.
He pulled her to her feet, not even trying to be a gentleman about it. This bitch had his mate on a fucking hit list. She could rot in hell. “Nuh-uh. You’re not going to get me with your freaky Ocelot powers.” He slapped his hand over her mouth and, the gun at her temple, began frog-marching her out of the safe room. He kept her between himself and the bodyguards. Just to make things official, he repeated himself. “Kris Jennings, you are under arrest on the orders of the Leo. I’d suggest you take any complaints to him, via Kincade Lowe, PO Box�
�”
“Barnwell!” Kincade’s irritated shout echoed through the basement.
“Yes, Lowe?” Barney replied languidly.
“You have her? Good work.” Kincade slapped him on the shoulder. “I should hire you for my team.”
“Get me the duct tape and let’s get her in the car.” He nodded toward the bodyguards. “Might want to do something about those two as well.”
Kincade’s brows rose. “You took off his finger?”
“Only the pinky.” Barney sighed dramatically. “He’ll never have high tea again.”
Kincade snorted out a laugh. He pulled out his phone and texted. “We’re getting some ice and a plastic baggie. Maybe we can save it.”
“Better make up a good excuse as to how he lost it then.” Barney flicked the blood off his claw. “Can’t exactly tell the authorities at the hospital that he was attacked by a Grizzly.”
Kincade took the duct tape one of his men brought him and used it on Jennings’s mouth. “Cuffs.”
The same special police officer handed over his cuffs. “I’ll get some of the others to see to the bodyguards, sir.”
“Good. Who’s got the perimeter?”
“Aaron and Kinesha, sir.”
“Good.”
“We’ve also called for a van to transport the prisoners.”
Kincade gave him a tight, approving smile. “Excellent. Get me some men down here for these three, and remember. Do not remove the tape from Jennings’s mouth.”
“Understood, sir.” The officer saluted and strode off quickly.
“The Hunters can learn something from your men,” Barney commented quietly.
“Ours can learn something from you as well.” Kincade watched as four officers came down and efficiently gathered not only the bodyguards and Jennings, but the errant pinky finger. That officer looked a little green around the gills. “You’ll get used to it, Pepper.”
She stuck her tongue out at Kincade.
Indirect Lines: Halle Shifters, Book 5 Page 20