by Beth Alvarez
“I rarely conduct much else.” Thaddeus stopped at the top step.
“You ain’t comin’ in, either,” Kade said.
The old man sniffed. “I shan’t need to. I’ve come to collect you, Mr. Colton. We are to return to my station in Nashville immediately.”
That was the furthest thing from what he’d expected. Kade retreated into the foyer. “What? Why?”
“A Keeper need not justify themselves to their charges.” Thaddeus inched toward the door. “A second vehicle has already been deployed to attend to Keeper Jones. We shall be returning in mine.” He paused, the lines around his mouth deepening. “I will drive.”
“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” Kade protested.
“You have been recalled,” Thaddeus said, his voice hardening. “You are a hazard and a liability and have been scheduled for corrective action. Failure to comply means you will be subject to immediate termination.”
“Cole,” Justine prompted softly. “Support.”
Cole’s mouth dropped open. “But-”
“Now!” she snarled.
Cole swept his rifle from his shoulder, cocking it and leveling it with Kade’s head.
Kade froze, staring at the barrel of the gun as his stomach dropped. A sense of betrayal burned hot in his chest and he struggled to tamp it down. Business. Duty. This was the life of a hunter.
Cole’s finger hovered against the trigger. Every bullet in that rifle was coated with silver. Leveled with his head, one shot was all it would take. “Don’t make me do this, Kade.” His voice caught, betraying the emotion that put turmoil in his blue eyes.
Slowly, Kade raised his hands. “Thaddeus,” he choked out, grief binding in his throat even before he looked at his Keeper. “You can’t do this. I’m... I’m getting married.”
Justine closed her eyes, hugging her arms to herself as she turned away.
“No,” Thaddeus murmured. “I don’t believe you are.”
FIFTEEN
* * *
DESPITE THE WARM afternoon light, a darkness hung over the Hilltop House when Felicity stopped the car. It chilled her to the core and she rubbed her arms before getting out of the driver’s seat.
Under normal circumstances, she would have ignored the text message from an unfamiliar number until she was done closing the bakery, but the terse message had demanded attention.
It’s Cole. Get home. Simple words, but jarring. She didn’t know how the hunter had gotten her cell phone number, but the moment she pulled up in front of the house and saw the police SUV outside, she was glad.
A dark woman in a black suit stood on the porch with Sam Foster, speaking in such low tones that Felicity couldn’t hear anything until she was at the foot of the stairs.
“Rest assured, we do take this situation very seriously.” The woman’s eyes flicked in Felicity’s direction for half a second, then returned to the sheriff. She pulled a black card from the pocket of her jacket, extending it with two fingers. “If you have any more questions, you can reach my department at this number.”
A Keeper, then. Felicity should have guessed from the suit. Somehow, she’d never pictured a female Keeper. Even if she had, judging by her experiences with Thaddeus, this woman wouldn’t have been what she imagined. She was young and fit, wore simple makeup that was flattering to her dark skin tone, and wore her long hair in a multitude of small, tight twists. Most remarkable was the fact that when she did acknowledge Felicity, she turned her head and smiled.
Felicity could only recall twice that Thaddeus had smiled at her, and the first time had been so threatening it turned her stomach.
“You must be Miss Hammond. I’m Justine Jones.” She extended her hand. “I’ll need to speak with you as soon as I’m finished with Sheriff Foster. Would you mind waiting inside?”
“Of course,” Felicity replied, clasping Justine’s fingers and managing not to twitch at how cold they were. Justine was so much more lifelike than Thaddeus that the chill seemed out of place. Just like it did with Kade. She gave Sam a dubious look, but the man’s face revealed nothing, so she bit the inside of her lip and slipped inside.
The scene in the living room wasn’t any more reassuring.
Owen and Cole were locked in a staring contest, except Owen was sitting on the couch and Cole was standing over him with his rifle in hand, clearly holding him under guard. Neither acknowledged her presence until she spoke.
“What is going on in here?”
Cole’s body turned toward her, but his eyes remained fixed on Owen. “Oh good, you got my message.”
Felicity pushed him aside and caught Owen by the arm, tugging him to his feet. “What happened?”
“What the hell is a Keeper?” Owen demanded. “This son of a-”
“Whoa, whoa.” Cole raised a hand. “There’s a lady standing right there!”
The way Owen lurched toward Cole made her heart flutter with panic. She put both hands on his chest, holding him in place. A fight between a hunter and her future brother-in-law was the last thing she wanted happening in her living room.
Owen gritted his teeth, but stilled. “I came around the corner to find G.I. Joe here escorting my brother to a car with a gun against his back. They won’t tell me anything.”
“He called the police!” Cole protested.
Felicity ignored it. “What does he mean, you escorted Kade to a car? Where is he?”
The hunter shifted on his feet, glancing out the window and scratching the side of his nose with a thumbnail, avoiding eye contact. “Birch showed up with Justine. He said Kade was being recalled. He’s to be put in-”
“A protection program, of sorts,” Justine said from the doorway. She peered into the foyer, then gave Felicity an expectant look.
Vampire. Right.
“Come in, Miss Jones. Please. I’d like to hear a full explanation of what’s going on.” Preferably before her father got home. Felicity could have groaned.
“Keeper Jones,” she corrected, smoothing the lapels of her suit as she slipped into the house and closed the door behind her. “But you may call me Justine. I suspect we will be working together until a certain issue is resolved.”
Felicity sighed, letting Owen go and sitting down. “Cole, put away the gun. I don’t want any more of this nonsense in my house.”
Cole glanced to his Keeper for approval.
Justine flicked a hand. “Do as she says. May I sit, Miss Hammond?”
“Felicity is fine. And of course, make yourself comfortable.” She expected Owen would sit down again, too, but instead he paced to one of the windows and watched as Sam’s police SUV pulled away. She clasped her hands in her lap.
“I trust you have met Thaddeus Birch?” Justine sat in a chair beside the windows. Sunlight spilled in on either side of her, painting wide golden paths on the floor. Now that Felicity had seen what sunlight could do to their kind, she thought it brave. Then again, maybe Justine had chosen that place because it was the only spot where sunlight wouldn’t wander across her while she sat.
“I have,” Felicity said, though her attention wandered to Owen again. Cole looked at him, too.
Justine pursing her lips. “May I speak freely?”
Evidently, the way Felicity hesitated was answer enough.
“Very well. Before we start, you wouldn’t happen to have any coffee, would you?” Justine asked, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knee.
“I don’t know, I wasn’t...” Blinking, Felicity looked to Owen.
“I’ll get it,” he muttered, stalking around the corner into the kitchen.
She hadn’t expected that to work.
Justine leaned forward, lowering her voice. “Listen, I know you want to respect your fiancé’s privacy and choices, but I’m going to have to stay here until my hunter’s contract is resolved. I can’t play cover for your intended’s situation at the same time. If you don’t want someone to be included in this conversation, you’re going to need to get them to leave befor
e we discuss what’s going on.”
Cole cleared his throat. “Ma’am, I need to meet the, uh...” He trailed off, unsure how to describe Brady. Felicity supposed it would be difficult, trying to keep Owen from overhearing.
And after what he’d just seen, she couldn’t possibly ask him to leave.
She squeezed her eyes closed. “Tell me everything you can.” Kade would forgive her for spilling his secrets, and she would pray nothing worse came from his brother learning the truth.
Owen returned with two mugs in one hand, the little basket of creamers and sugar packets she kept for guests in the other. He put both on the end table beside the couch, then sat, staring at the Keeper across the room.
“You’re dismissed, Cole,” Justine said. “Thank you. I will follow up with you later this evening.”
The hunter flicked two fingers against his brow in a mock-salute and headed for the door.
Owen slid to the edge of his seat. “You’re letting him leave?”
“He has work to do.” Felicity took one of the cups, rising and carrying it to Justine.
“Thank you,” the Keeper murmured, taking it in both hands.
“I didn’t know you could drink coffee.” Felicity returned to her seat, taking the other cup and adding liberal amounts of both sugar and creamer.
Justine laughed. “Honey, eternity without coffee isn’t worth living.” She raised the cup to her chin, inhaling deeply and then taking a sip. “Mmm. Perfect. Now for the hard part.” Her face grew grim. “How many people here do you believe know about Mr. Colton?”
“Not many.” Felicity stirred her drink with one of the tiny straws from the basket. “Brady, now, I suppose. Me. Penny. And Nick.”
The Keeper raised a brow. “Your father isn’t aware? According to Birch, he lives here.”
“He doesn’t know,” Felicity said.
This time, she was the one who received a glower from Owen. “Know what?”
“About your brother’s profession.” Justine took another sip of coffee. “He is a former employee of the organization I work for. I’m afraid I can’t tell you much without approval from the organization, but I can give you a general gist. Kade was an... enforcer. Like Cole, who just left. Simply put, it’s not a profession many people leave, and departing from duty puts him at risk. The man he left with was his supervisor. Keeper Birch came to collect him for his own safety.”
Felicity lowered her cup. “You expect me to believe that?”
Justine gazed at her placidly over her coffee.
“I didn’t hear much,” Owen said, “but I definitely caught something about ’corrective action’ and ’subject to termination’ on my way to the door.”
The thought made Felicity bristle. “That sounds more like the Keepers I’m familiar with.”
“No one said Kade was faultless.” The Keeper shrugged. “I am telling you the truth when I say it’s for his safety, but you must understand that our organization’s inner workings are complicated. Even Kade doesn’t understand the full scope of the situation he’s in, and he was a hunter for what, ten years?”
“Since he left home,” Owen murmured, some light of understanding sparking in his eyes. Why Kade had left, perhaps. Why he’d never contacted home, leaving his family to assume he was dead.
Then again, the assumption wasn’t wrong.
“Is this because of Brady?” Felicity asked. “The contract Cole was here to fulfill?”
“The organization isn’t aware of his interference in that matter. We mean to keep it that way.” Justine leaned forward, leaving her emptied coffee cup on the floor. “They are, however, aware of his identity being discovered. Though Keeper Birch was able to hide most of the situation, they do know he has been recognized as one of us, and that jeopardizes all our kind.”
Owen studied her through narrowed eyes. “Your kind?”
There it was. No avoiding it now. Felicity drew a breath.
Justine spoke before she could. “Your brother hasn’t aged in ten years. Denial is common in mortals, but don’t pretend you haven’t noticed.”
He drew back, fine lines of worry and dismay threading themselves between his brows. “What have you done?”
“Nothing he didn’t ask for,” the Keeper replied simply.
Felicity stifled irritation. There would be time to go over all of that later. “Where has he been taken?”
“That, I don’t know. I find it unlikely Birch would return to his regular offices, though. He will want to take Kade somewhere safe and controlled. If he doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be.” Justine paused, then shrugged. “The best solution is taking care of the threat to the organization and proving your cute little bed-and-breakfast is still a safe place for your sweetheart to hide.”
“You know what she’s talking about?” Owen asked.
Felicity watched the sunlight crawl across the living room floor. She had an idea, but what she was supposed to do about it, she hadn’t a clue. After their conversations about everything going on, she’d assumed Kade would be there to take charge of the situation. She’d never imagined something like this.
Her fingers tightened around her mug. “It’s Nick, isn’t it.”
Justine gave a single nod.
“He found out because of Penny. Because she was the contact established for Kade to...” Felicity trailed off. How was she established as the contact? Thaddeus was the one responsible for arranging the whole situation. He wouldn’t put the information for a job like that somewhere just anyone could find it, unless...
Her heart fluttered. Had he done this on purpose? Was Kade’s own Keeper the one responsible for the risk they were up against now?
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Justine said. “I’m not a mind reader.”
Felicity gave a bitter laugh. Mind reading would have been useful right now. If Kade were there, she might have a better idea of whether or not Justine should be trusted. Or did that ability work against other vampires? If it did, maybe Kade would have better insight into his end of the situation.
“Did Kade have his phone with him?” Felicity asked, forging on as best she could.
Owen frowned. “The old man took it. With a rifle to his back, Kade didn’t fight much.”
“I doubt a bullet to the back would do much,” Felicity said, “even if it was silver. With a rifle, he would have shot right through.” And Kade would know it, too, which meant he hadn’t gone entirely against his will.
“Silver bullets?” Owen’s tone said everything. By now, he thought they were all nuts.
“Not an uncommon tool for hunting the supernatural,” Justine said. “For all that he’s good at hunting, it seems your brother’s now the prey.”
“But who’s hunting him? Nick, or the Keepers?” The moment the question left Felicity’s mouth, she wished she could take it back.
But Justine regarded her levelly, as if sizing her up. To her surprise, the Keeper smiled. “Who can say? I don’t think the organization is sure what to do with your husband-to-be, to tell you the truth. He’s too valuable to kill, but too dangerous for them to ignore what’s going on. He’ll have to prove himself to Birch, and that’s no easy task. And on top of that, the problem in Holly Hill will need to be eliminated, whether or not he’s here.”
There was note of suggestion in Justine’s voice. Felicity almost didn’t dare ask. “And you’re here to help with that?”
Whatever thoughtfulness had been in the woman’s expression evaporated in an instant, leaving behind a cold, guarded mask. “I am not allowed to interfere with another Keeper’s charges. I’m here for business. Take care of the werewolf, then go home. That’s it.”
“Werewolf?” Owen interjected, incredulous.
Both women ignored him.
“And what if that contract is tangled up in Kade’s business?” Felicity slid to the edge of the couch.
Justine didn’t answer.
“Nick intended to use Brady against Kade. He was tryin
g to blackmail him. A cut of the bounty on Brady in exchange for keeping Kade’s secret.” Pausing, Felicity wet her lips. “That means Nick knew about the contract. If it was assigned to Cole, doesn’t that mean this falls within your jurisdiction? Cleaning up the leak would be your job.”
The Keeper uncrossed her legs, leaning back in her chair. Something glittered in her dark eyes, the corner of her mouth quivering as if she struggled not to laugh. She tapped her fingernails against the arm of the chair and, for the first time, Felicity noticed the Keeper’s pretty French manicure. It was so subtly feminine—so subtly human—that it seemed out of place.
And yet it wasn’t. There was something so much more alive about Justine, more open, more approachable. When the Keeper finally cracked a smile, Felicity breathed in relief.
“I should have known I’d like you,” Justine murmured. “Colton never liked the vapid ones. Never fell for any of their tricks. I honestly didn’t believe it when I heard Birch had lost his prized hunter to a woman. Now it makes more sense. You sure belong with a vampire, honey. You already see right through us.”
Owen barked a laugh, slapping his thigh. “That’s it. You’re messing with me.” He thrust himself up from the couch, raking both hands through his silver-spangled black hair. “This whole time, all of you have been screwing with me! And you had me going, too. The gun, the secret organization, the way he looks-”
“Owen,” Felicity prompted softly.
An angry flush crept up his neck. “Where is he?”
She reached for his arm. “Owen, no one is messing with you.”
“This is real, whether you like it or not,” Justine added.
“Real?” He laughed again. “You’re sitting here, drinking coffee and talking about werewolves and vampires! Like Kade’s some kind of... of...”
“Government-employed undead bounty hunter responsible for killing supernatural creatures?” Justine reached for her cup. “Yeah. It’s something like that.”
Felicity growled under her breath. “I’m sorry, Justine. Would you excuse us for a minute?”