by Alisa Woods
He cut off as she rushed up to him—she seemed like she was going to throw her arms around him, but then pulled back at the last second.
Instead, she just gripped his arm. “Jace.” She was breathless. “This is bad. Really bad.”
Jace frowned. “Whatever it is, we’ll handle it. Together.” He tugged her inside and closed the door. Then he slipped his hand into hers—he was a little surprised she didn’t object, but she had a thoroughly freaked-out look on her face, and he didn’t like that one bit. He ushered her into the great room where his brothers and Olivia were watching them with quiet, intense expressions.
Jace gestured to them. “We’ve been working on another way to find Noah, as well as Agent Smith.” He pulled her closer with their clasped hands. “What did you find the Senator’s office?”
She scanned the faces in the room, hesitating—once again, she seemed to be calculating who she could trust and who she couldn’t.
She shook her head and blurted out, “Senator Krepky is planning on calling for registration for all shifters.”
“Registration?” Jaxson frowned. “You mean the kind where we have to come in and register openly as shifters?”
“But…” Olivia looked vaguely horrified. “There’s a reason why you guys keep it secret, right?”
“The reason being that most people fear and hate us? Yes.” Jared’s voice was cold and harsh. But it was the truth.
“But that would ruin Riverwise,” Olivia said, the horror becoming more plain. “And every other shifter business. How can he even propose doing that? What about civil rights? What about—”
“Krepky doesn’t give a shit about any of that.” Piper cut her off, but not in a mean way—more like she was just trying to get to the point. “It’s all about politics for him. He’s just playing off the fears of the people. I don’t even know if he would have the votes to put something like that through, or if it would sustain in the courts, but he’s going to do it. And when he does…” Her lovely face paled.
“And when he does, the pressure will be on,” Jace finished for her. “Shifters will be outed anyway. Friends, neighbors, anyone… a proposal like that would just fan their fears. It could endanger everything in the shifter community.” Shit. This was even worse than he thought. He turned back to Piper. “Did you find anything more about the military shifters who are missing?”
Her face reddened. On any other woman, he would take it as a blush, but on Piper, he didn’t know what to make of it. “I can’t use my normal methods to get that kind of information.” Her teeth were grinding, and she was forcing the words through them. “I’m going to have to hack into the Senator’s files from the outside or break into his office—basically, steal them outright instead of bribing for them. But I’m sure the information is there. I’m sure he’s doing something. His assistant all but acknowledged the existence of a secret program—he just wouldn’t give me the details. Without a price. One I’m not really willing to pay.”
Jace’s wolf surged and roiled under his skin—he could too easily guess what kind of price a man would exact from a gorgeous woman like Piper, and the idea of another man touching her nearly brought his wolf to the surface in a fit of jealousy mixed with a violent need to protect her from that kind of predation. He was glad she had said no to whatever was asked, but he didn’t like the alternative, either—hacking into a Senator’s files would likely land her in jail.
Jace squeezed her hand. “You’re not doing any of that—”
She yanked her hand from his, and her face darkened further. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Jace River—”
Before she could finish, a subtle beep came from her pocket, and she cut herself off midsentence. The frown on her face was equal parts concern and surprise. She fished her phone out of her pocket, and her father’s face loomed large, looking angry and spiteful.
Piper flashed a look to Jace, and he hated the fear in her eyes. “You have to take it,” he said. “But we’re right here. It’s going to be okay.”
She shook her head rapidly, as if she hardly was controlling the motion, and it was born of a deep, primal fear. She seemed to force herself to tap the phone to accept the call. The Colonel’s face came to life—a Facetime call.
“You just can’t leave things alone, can you?” The Colonel demanded in a harsh voice, no preamble whatsoever.
“Nice to see you too, Father.” Piper’s voice was strong and defiant, but Jace could see the widening of her eyes. And he suspected the Colonel could too. That was probably why he was Facetiming—so he could use his commanding presence to intimidate her. Just one more thing to loath about the man.
Jared, Jaxson, and Olivia held stark still, listening in as well.
“I hear you’ve been sneaking around again,” the Colonel said sneer. “I don’t know what you think you’re going to accomplish with this, Piper, but you’re out of your depth.”
Piper scowled at him. “Noah is your son. I know that doesn’t mean anything to you, but—”
The Colonel snarled into the phone. “I don’t need to be lectured by a bastard about how to run my family! I’ve had no use for you since the day you were born. Your mother would still be around if it weren’t for you, so don’t give me any shit about family. All you’ve ever done is ruin it.”
Jace’ts wolf surged again. His mouth hung open, aghast, then snapped shut in fury. Who the fuck did this guy think he was? How could he talk to his own daughter that way? Jace stumbled forward and practically grabbed the phone out of Piper’s hand—he wanted to give that guy a piece of his mind—but Piper elbowed him out of the way and huddled over the phone, shoulders bowed, as if she could hide this conversation from the prying eyes in the room.
“You’re not exactly winning Father of the Year Award, Daddy.” Her voice was harsh, but Jace could see the shaking of her shoulders. “Just tell me where Noah is and what you’re doing to him. I know you’re involved in this somehow—”
Her father snorted, an ugly sound. “That information is so far above your pay grade, you wouldn’t even understand it if I told you.” The menacing look he gave her seemed to reach across the phone line and run a shiver through her body. “But let me be very clear, Piper—if you keep looking for Noah, you won’t be missing just one brother.”
“What?” Her shoulders dropped, and her face paled. “What have you done to Daniel?”
Her father sneered. “He’s already disappointed me once today: he was weak and unprepared to deal with you. He didn’t understand what a dangerous and disturbed thing you are. But if you keep poking around, Piper, your brother will pay for it and in more ways than just a pay cut and some furlough time. Whatever happens to Daniel will be on your head.”
Piper’s mouth dropped open. “How can you… how can you just…?” She seemed to be gasping for air.
“This is your only warning.” Her father’s face disappeared, the phone switching to black as the call cut off.
Piper’s hand shook, making the phone quiver, then slowly sunk to her side. “He’s a monster.” Her voice was a whisper, not really speaking to any of them.
Jace lurched forward and grabbed her by the shoulders to spin her around and hold her tight… but it was like holding onto a wildcat. She turned, claws out and slashing across his shirt before he even realized what was happening. Blood spread across the white linen, but the slicing pain was nothing compared to watching her flail out of his grasp, growling and crying and sobbing all at once.
“Piper… Piper, stop it,” he stammered.
She pointed an accusing finger at him. “You don’t know him! He’ll do it! He’ll take both of them…” Her shaking hand fell back to her side, defeated.
Jace edged closer to her, hands out, not moving so fast this time. “Let me help you.” He gestured to Olivia. “The coven can do another seeking spell—”
Piper’s eyes widened, and if it was possible, her face went even more pale. Ghostly. “I’m not doing that again.”
<
br /> Olivia stepped forward. “You don’t need to. The memory is vivid enough in my own mind now—with my Aunt Gwen’s help, we could do the seeking spell without you. The only thing is… we would have to do it with the whole coven. Aunt Gwen says she can draw more magical energy from inside the Damon Design office, with all the witches there at once, even if they’re not all involved in the spell.”
Jace turned back to Piper. “See? We can do this. We’ll find him.”
Piper was shaking her head in a small quivering motion.
Jaxson took Olivia’s hand in his. “We’ll do what we can, but it’ll probably have to wait until morning. I’m pretty sure Damon Design is closed for the day.”
“The morning?” Piper gasped, her voice rising again. “I can’t wait until then! You heard him—he’s going to pull Daniel into the same secret program that has taken Noah. He’ll do it no matter what I say, no matter what I do, just to spite me. I have to move now!” She turned to storm towards the door.
Jace lunged after her, catching her by the elbow. “Wait! My brothers will call Daniel and warn him.”
Piper whirled on him, but this time her claws stayed sheathed. “He won’t believe you!”
“Jaxson will convince him.” Jace motioned subtly to the others in the room, who were quickly getting the hint and filing out to the kitchen. He kept his voice calm, in spite of the rising panic of his wolf pushing to get out. “We have to give Olivia time to do this right. Just until the morning. Then we’ll know if the coven can find him or not.”
She was back to shaking her head again. “I have to get back to the Senator’s office… I have to find out where they’re keeping Noah before it’s too late…” There was a dazed look in her eyes, crazy and in pain, and it tore through Jace to see it.
“It’s too dangerous, Piper.”
“You can’t stop me!”
Jace sighed. “No, I can’t stop you. But, please, just give me a couple minutes. Give me a chance. We can talk in private.” He tilted his head toward the stairs and prayed she would just grant him this one thing. He just needed to get her away from the door and cooled down, so he could figure out how to keep her from running off again. Because he had a sick, sick feeling in his stomach that if he didn’t stop her this time, she would be the next one to disappear.
And he would lose her forever.
To his immeasurable relief, she gave him one, small nod. “Five minutes,” she said, thickly, her eyes glazed.
“Five minutes,” he agreed, holding back the smile that wanted to burst forth.
She dully walked up the steps, and he followed close behind. She was in pain—he could tell by each heavy step—and he would give anything to erase that.
Piper’s feet seemed to catch on every small bump in the polished wood floor of the safehouse hallway. Jace led her to one of the many, identical rooms—once she was inside, she realized it must be his bedroom. The sheets on the bed were rumpled, as if he had just gotten out of it… or perhaps never made it. Clothes were strewn haphazardly around the room.
Jace closed the door behind them.
Piper turned to face him, the dull weight of the Colonel’s words and threats still pulling her down like a boulder around her neck. “You have five minutes, Jace River.” She was so tired. She needed to catch her breath and clear her head, before she would have any chance pulling off this idea of infiltrating the Senator’s office.
Jace closed the distance between them and took her hand. “I know your father pisses you off, but fuck that guy. Don’t let your anger at him drive you into doing something dangerous.”
“I do dangerous things all the time.” Even she could hear the dullness in her voice.
He gave a small smile. “I know. But you’re smart about it. When you’re out in the field, you don’t let anyone run your life. You don’t let some asshole with a bunch of military awards tell you what to do. Besides, the Colonel doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.”
She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and looked straight up into the Jace’s dark, caring eyes. “He does know what he’s talking about, at least when it comes to me.”
“He doesn’t know anything about you.” Jace’s face darkened. “That couldn’t be more clear from the way he treats you.”
Piper turned away from him, folded her arms, and faced the door. Jace didn’t know about her past. Staring at the door, she said, “You’ve got three minutes, Jace River.”
Jace loomed at her back without touching her. “The Piper I know faces down military MPs and sneaks into a house full of shifters. What did you see during Olivia’s spell that scared you so badly? Did he… did your father do something to you when you were a kid?”
“He didn’t do anything to me.” She unlocked her arms and let them hang by her side. “He hated me before I was even born.” She turned to face him. The confusion on his face was mixed with a kind of sadness—a concern she’d never seen before, not directed at her, anyway. It worked a kind of magic inside her, prying loose the truth and forcing it up to her lips.
“He called me a bastard.” She huffed a small, mirthless laugh. “And it’s true. I’m not really his daughter. The Colonel fought and killed my biological father. He wanted my mother for his own, but she was already mated to another man. It wasn’t until after he shattered the mating bond by killing my biological father, that the Colonel discovered my mother was already pregnant. Even she didn’t know she had a pup growing inside her. Me. The Colonel wanted her to abort me. He literally wished I had never been born. My mother refused, but ever since I came into the world, he’s resented me. After that, he wanted a new pup, a real progeny, so he forced himself upon my mother for years, trying to impregnate her. She secretly took birth-control pills to stop it, but when she was finally discovered, the Colonel threw them all away and finally got what he wanted: Daniel. The Colonel always treated me like I was the kid who didn’t exist. But that wasn’t the worst of it.”
Jace’s horrified expression was working its way into her heart, loosening her tongue even further, spilling out things she had never told anyone—not anyone who didn’t already know, like Noah.
“What the hell… what kind of alpha does that?” Jace was aghast, and she was sure that in the perfect world of the River brothers, with a loving family and mates who adored them, this kind of thing must seem… impossible.
“He was the kind who abused everyone… including my mother. I don’t think he actually hit her—although I don’t know what happened behind their closed bedroom door. I think the mating bond, perhaps, protected her a little. At least enough so that he didn’t actually kill her. But he made her so miserable, she decided to take care of that herself.”
She had to stop talking because her throat was closing up too much.
Jace moved even closer. Her back was up against the door—the door she had been ready to charge out of just a moment ago—and he was so close, they could almost touch.
“Piper, I’m so sorry.” His voice was a gentle whisper that knocked loose the words again.
“The mating bond killed her. That, and having a bastard child with a mate who didn’t want me. So, you see, I really did ruin everything.”
“Piper. No—”
“No, it’s true.” She put both hands on his chest and pushed him slightly away, unable to deal with the fact that he was so close and so caring and so concerned with those dark, gorgeous eyes. “I long ago swore off mating. I saw what it did to my mother. And I was worthless, good for nothing to my father… except whatever he could sell me for as mate for some other asshole alpha he knew.” Tears were coming up unbidden to her eyes. “I was never good for anything but a strategic alliance. It was the only thing I could take from him. So I did—I left. I vowed never to mate. And I’ve been running my life my own way ever since. And now he’s ruining my brothers’ lives with some other damn scheme of his that I’m sure increases his power or prestige or something. And I’m not going to let him do it! I’m n
ot to let him take the one thing that matters to me in this world, the only person who’s ever given a damn about me—Noah was there when Mom died. He knows the truth about how our father is, what he’s really like.”
She was trembling so hard and backed up so much against the door, it felt like all her insides were going to spill out. The look on Jace’s face—pitying and horrified—just twisted her stomach more. He reached for her cheek. She tipped her head back, but there was nowhere to go. He held her with a gentle touch that just wrenched the tears from her eyes and made them spill down her face.
“Your father is wrong. About everything, but especially about you.” His words, soft and close, made her tremble. “No true alpha does something like that. No decent man treats a daughter that way. I don’t give a fuck if you’re his biological daughter or not. You were born of his mate, the woman he was supposed to treasure and care for and love above all things. If I had a daughter, you can be sure I would treasure her like the moon and the stars. Like the love I would have for her mother, my mate. You don’t treat a dog the way your father has treated you, much less a beautiful woman. A gorgeous, smart, incredible woman. He’s wrong about everything… and I’m not going to let him manipulate you into doing something that will only get you hurt.”
She wrenched her face out of his hold and turned around to face the door again. She slammed her palm against it once, twice, three times, and let out a growl. Why did Jace have to be such a good man? The kind she could never have. Why did he have to say those words to her? Didn’t he know her anger was the only thing that kept her going?
She grabbed the doorknob and yanked on it, but his hands against the door held it closed. “Let me out of here!” she screamed as she pounded her fist against the wood.
“Piper.” His voice was soft, but with an underlying command tone that rippled through her like a shiver. “Turn around.”
She closed her eyes and let her head fall against the door. Then she turned around, still trapped in the cage of his arms on either side of her, his palms pressed against the door. She looked up into his dark eyes, and they didn’t just hold concern anymore. They were blazing at her with a dark heat that lit fires all over her body.