by Vella Day
She’d seen Kalan’s happy-go-lucky attitude, but he had his serious side too. From what Mr. Murdoch said, Kalan was just a normal, well-adjusted boy—who happened to be a bear shifter. She wanted to ask how old Kalan was when he first shifted, how strong he was as a kid, and because he was a bear, did he like fish more than meat, but she didn’t know Mr. Murdoch well enough to ask. He might be upset if he thought she was obsessed with his son.
“Tell me a bit about yourself,” Mr. Murdoch said after he whipped up the eggs, added some milk, and then poured the mixture into the now heated pan. “By the way, I’m very sorry to hear about your parents. Terrible tragedy.”
“Thank you. Did you know them?”
“I knew their names and who they were, but we’d never spoken.”
“I’m not surprised. They weren’t around much.” Under her breath, she mumbled, even for my childhood. Elana looked up to see if he heard the last part, but Mr. Murdoch had looked away. In a hurry to change the conversation to something happier, she blurted out, “I own my own flower shop.”
He smiled. “Kalan told me. What do like the best about being an entrepreneur?”
That was easy. “While I’m able to decide what to buy and what prices to charge, the best part is being able to make people happy with my arrangements. I love being creative.”
He smiled, and she could see a lot of his son in him—the same eyes, straight nose and cute dimples.
“You and Kalan seem like a perfect match.”
Her heart nearly stopped at his comment. They weren’t even dating. Having wild, intensely crazy sex one time didn’t mean they were a couple. “Pardon me?”
“Kalan always had this bad boy image and never seemed willing to give his heart to any girl. You seem to be helping him change all that.”
She didn’t dare hope that was true. “Perhaps it’s because his job is to protect me that he has to take things more seriously.”
“I don’t think so. I know my son.” His dad stirred the eggs in the pan. “I like you. You’re direct and seem like a sensible girl. While the circumstances aren’t the best, I’m glad Kalan was assigned to protect you.”
“Me, too.”
*
“What did you find?” Kalan asked as he entered Darden’s living room.
Rye held up a piece of paper. “The Stanley’s address was rolled up in a newspaper.”
“Well, well. That is interesting. I guess James’s intel was spot on. This implies Darden either planned to see the Stanleys about the purchase or he’d already visited them. But did he kill them?”
Rye placed a hip on the desk. “We could come up with a dozen scenarios, all plausible, but without further evidence, we basically have squat.”
“It’s better than nothing. My question is why was he hiding the address? Seems to me he’d want to ditch it once he visited them—assuming he already had.”
“True. If Darden murdered the Stanleys, why is he dead?” Rye asked.
“Excellent question.” One he’d yet to figure out. “We need more evidence if we have any chance of connecting him to the murders.”
Rye held up a hand. “A car’s coming up the drive.”
That wasn’t good. The person would know someone was there since his Jeep was on the street next to the drive. Kalan had never tested the front door to see if it was unlocked, but there wasn’t time now. He doubted it was the killer since there would be no good reason to kill Darden and then return so soon after—unless he’d left something behind that would incriminate him.
The vehicle came to a stop in front of the house, and Kalan detected a wolf signature. “Let’s head to the back.”
They rushed through the living room to the kitchen and stepped past the dead body. Kalan didn’t want to go outside in case the person planned to use the back entrance. There was a room off the kitchen, which might afford a place to hide, but before they could decide where to go, the front door opened. They pressed their backs against a wall to avoid immediate detection, but this person surely had to recognize the two shifter signatures.
“Hey, Chris, where are you, man? Spotted a car at the end of the driveway. Who’s here?”
The two shifter signatures wouldn’t raise a red flag since the man would assume one was Chris and the other a visitor. Drawers opened and slammed shut. Curses followed.
“It’s time to see what he’s up to,” Kalan telepathed.
Both he and Rye strutted out to the living room and found the man with his hand in the desk drawer. He whipped around and froze. The intruder was of average size and in need of a shave and a haircut. Glancing right then left, he turned then charged outside.
“Fuck,” Rye said.
They both took off after him. The skinny man didn’t have a prayer. Before the guy had the chance to shift, Kalan nabbed him by the back of his shirt. The intruder twisted around and managed one swing before Rye grabbed his hands and tugged them behind his back.
“Got any cuffs?” Rye asked.
“As a matter of fact I do.” Kalan grinned, slipped the pair from his back pocket, and tossed them to Rye. Kalan leveled a stare at the man. “Don’t even think about running or shifting. Bears like to eat wolves for lunch.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“Don’t tempt me.” Kalan might have shifted just to scare the guy, but he didn’t have a spare outfit in the Jeep.
The newcomer lifted his chin. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Let’s get you inside where we can chat about whether that’s fact or fiction.”
The man jerked away from Rye but thankfully followed Kalan inside. From the kitchen, Kalan snatched a chair and brought it to the living room. “Sit.”
He spit but then obeyed. “I ain’t telling you goons jack shit.”
Kalan shrugged. He’d dealt with guys like many times this before. They thought they were tough until things went south. Then they sang like a canary. “Why not, if you haven’t done anything wrong?”
“There are some people around here who wouldn’t appreciate me talking, that’s why.”
“Just tell us why you’re here then.”
“I was looking for something I gave Chris. I guess he’s not here, but he should arrive any minute. He’ll explain everything.”
From his arrogance, he truly believed his friend was still alive. “Come with me.”
Rye helped the cuffed man stand then shoved him forward. The guy grunted. A few steps later, he was staring into the dead eyes of Chris Darden. “Holy fuck.” He spun around and looked like he was about to shit. “You fuckers. Why did you kill him?”
Kalan was about to say that they hadn’t, but then thought better of it. “Because he wouldn’t tell us what we wanted to know.”
“Okay, okay. It was an address. I was looking for a fucking address. There’s no crime in that.”
Rye slipped the piece of paper from his pocket. “This the one you want?”
The man squinted. “Yeah.” He reached out to take it, only to realize he was cuffed. Rye shoved the piece of paper back in his pocket. “That’s mine. Give it back.”
The intruder acted like he was still in high school. Kalan dragged him back to the living room and sat him down. “Tell me what you know about the Stanleys.”
“Never heard of them.”
As much as Kalan wanted to smack him, he feared it would make the man clam up faster. “The address you claimed belonged to you has their name on it.”
“Oh. I forgot.”
Kalan was losing his patience. “Why did you need to see them?”
“I ordered something from them, but then they fucking tried to cheat me.”
Okay, Kalan hadn’t expected that. “Be more specific.”
He pressed his lips together. “Rye, convince him,” Kalan said.
Rye clasped the man’s neck and began to squeeze. “Shift and I’ll tear your throat out before you reach the door.” Rye’s harsh tone convinced Kalan his Alpha might do as he threatened. Th
is Changeling would be a fool not to believe him.
“Fine.”
Rye let go. “Me and Chris were supposed to buy some sardonyx from the Stanleys. They’re importers.”
That much he’d already figured out—with help from James. “Had you purchased this stone from them before?”
“Yes, only this time that ass, Mr. Stanley, asked for more money. Said it was harder to get this time.”
“What did you do?”
He glanced to the kitchen. “It wasn’t what I did, it was what Chris did. He went at the man and stabbed him in the gut. The ass deserved it too.”
That was consistent with their injuries. “Where was Mrs. Stanley at the time?”
“Bitch comes out from the kitchen and starts screaming at us for harming her SOB husband. She acted like we were the ones who’d done something wrong.”
“You shut her up?” Rye asked slapping him in the back of the head.
“No, motherfucker. Chris got her. In the gut, just like her old man.”
Kalan would have to see if forensics could prove one knife stabbed both people or if this dude had taken things into his own hands. Kalan jerked him to his feet. “You’re coming with us.”
“I ain’t going anywhere with you two.”
“Do you really think you have a choice?”
The dude lifted his chin. “You can’t keep my kind in jail. I’ll just touch someone and then blend in.”
He was right. “Can’t do that for another few weeks, though.” That was when another red moon would occur. Rye dragged him out.
“What are you going to do with Chris?” the man asked, almost acting as if he cared.
“I’m sure your kind will come looking for him eventually.”
“As soon as I’m out of your stupid jail, I’m telling them you did it.”
Them? He wanted to ask if he was referring to the Changeling Council, but this man had no reason to answer.
Rye just shook his head. After securing the smug asshole in the back of Kalan’s Jeep, Kalan stepped away from his vehicle and called his brother Jackson who worked with Rye’s brother at McKinnon and Associates.
“Hey, what’s up?” Jackson asked.
“I need a big favor.” When they brought this man into the station, most likely he’d say that he and Rye had killed his friend. Should that happened, Kalan wanted no evidence of the man. It would mean Chris’s murderer would get away with the crime, but that couldn’t be helped. He and Rye didn’t need to be dragged through a long, drawn out trial.
Kalan spent a few minutes explaining what happened and then gave Jackson the address.
“Don’t worry about a thing. Your little brother has your back. But you owe me.”
“Big time, but be quick. When someone from the station heads on up here, we don’t need them to find the body.”
“Can do.”
Kalan glanced upward. He couldn’t imagine what it would take to pay off that debt. Once he was satisfied Jackson would take care of the body, he jumped into the driver’s seat and relayed to Rye his conversation with his brother.
“Smart move,” Rye telephathed.
Kalan drove straight to the sheriff’s department where he escorted the interloper directly to central booking.
“What is he being charged with?” the booking officer asked.
“Accessory to murder.”
The man’s eyes widened. “That’s bullshit. I told you I had nothing to do with their deaths.”
“But you were there, which makes you an accessory.”
He pointed to both Kalan and Rye. “I might have witnessed a murder, but these two killed my friend.”
Kalan put on his best acting face. “What are you talking about?”
“You killed Chris Darden.”
“I have no idea who that is.”
“What’s your name,” the officer asked.
The Changeling grunted. “Hank Melton.” He argued a bit more about being innocent, but when he got nowhere, he let the officer escort him to a holding cell. Kalan had no doubt the department would send someone to investigate, but they wouldn’t find much. Jackson was that good.
Hank Melton, if that was his real name, deserved to spend the rest of his life in jail. He’d shown no remorse about the Stanleys’ deaths. Then again, he was a Changeling.
As he and Rye exited the station, Rye turned to him. “You believe Melton? That it was Darden who did the killing?”
“No reason not to, but something seems off. If only the two of them were involved, why is this dude still standing? Why not kill both him and Darden?”
“Maybe they couldn’t find him. The Changeling Council could have believed Darden and Melton had the sardonyx. When they didn’t deliver it right away, they killed Darden. Melton might have been next.”
“That seems plausible. Someone besides Melton is behind this. This guy is too wimpy to have orchestrated the deal.”
“I agree. With Darden dead and Melton not talking, I don’t know how you’re going to find who ordered the buy.” Rye pulled open the passenger side door and slid in.
“Tell me about it. I’d ask James, but he doesn’t seem willing to give up the info.”
“Have you ever tried using Deanna Landon, the psychic, at any of your crime scenes?” Rye asked.
Kalan jammed the key in the ignition and fired up the engine. “Not personally, but the department has. Why?”
“Izzy mentioned that Deanna can often sense how many people were in a room during the time of the murders or theft. Their auras float around for a while she said. Izzy claimed Deanna’s been known to recreate scenes with exceptional accuracy.”
“Forensics finished at the house yesterday. I’ll see if Deanna’s free.”
Right now, he wanted to forget all about the Changelings and focus on something positive—like nibbling on something or rather someone.
“So how are you and Elana doing?” Rye asked.
“What?” He didn’t need to be discussing this with his Alpha—or rather he wasn’t ready to.
“I can sense your turmoil.”
No use hiding it. “Fine. She distracts me beyond reason.” Rye said nothing. “Okay, Elana is my mate. There, are you happy now?”
He glanced over at Rye, who was grinning. “Totally.”
Chapter Fifteen
‡
After Kalan dropped Rye off at his house, he hurried back to Elana, wanting, or rather needing to celebrate with her. His biggest hurdle now would be to convince his dad to go home. Having his father hang out and talk shop would only make his desire to be alone with his mate that much stronger.
Hank Melton had admitted that Chris had murdered Elana’s parents, so the hard court press to insulate her from all the danger was now gone. He couldn’t dismiss the fact that someone had killed Darden, however. Not that Kalan gave a shit about the Changeling’s death, but he wished he understood whether this new killer was still focused on finding the sardonyx. If so, would he believe Elana had it, and would she therefore still be in danger?
None of the crime scene investigators had reported finding a large sum of money at the Stanley home, so it appeared the killers hadn’t paid for the goods yet—unless the Changelings had set up something in advance, and Elana’s parents had tried to double-cross them.
Despite being able to provide some closure for Elana, Kalan wasn’t looking forward to telling her that her parents probably hadn’t given her that stone because it reminded them of her good heart. Instead, they’d given her the so-called gift so they could honestly tell Darden and Melton they didn’t have it on them. The fact the killers tore up the Stanley mansion, Elana’s apartment, and Brian’s hotel room implied the men weren’t going to stop until they located it. He could only hope those two who’d trashed Elana’s apartment and Brian’s room were now dead or in custody.
Kalan pulled into his driveway, his mind suddenly jolted by the most obvious fact of all. Why would these men have gone to Brian’s hotel room? Th
ey wouldn’t have known the Stanleys even had a son unless they’d met him. Fuck. Brian might be involved after all. Until he figured out how, he wouldn’t tell Elana about his concern.
What he needed right now was to forget his troubles by delving into Elana’s sweetness. He’d deal with those unanswered questions later.
As soon as he eased out of his Jeep, his senses shot to high alert. The number of family shifter signatures overwhelmed him, as did the noise coming from the backyard. What the hell was going on? Elana’s laugh floated toward him, creating more confusion.
Because it was faster to go through the house to reach them than by going around to the back, he charged toward the front door. Kalan stepped inside and stopped, not believing his eyes. Everyone was sitting on the porch, jammed together at the table filled with snacks of all kinds. His dad, mom, and Blair, as well as two members from Rye’s family, Finn and Chelsea were there. He’d asked his father to watch Elana for a few hours, not invite his whole damn family to a party.
Kalan was about to barge in and demand answers when his dad stood and lifted a red Solo cup, as if he was about to toast something. At that moment, Kalan wished he had the ability to become invisible.
“To Kalan’s mate!” His dad smiled down on Elana.
His mate? He told her? Holy crap. If it wouldn’t upset his mother, he’d kill his father right now. Yes, Elana was his mate, but he’d wanted to take his time to establish a long and trusting relationship before he told her.
“Thank you,” she said with the sweetest of smiles.
Thank you? It was only last night that she’d learned werebears even existed, yet she was okay with being a mate? Most likely Izzy had filled her in on what happened in the process, but that didn’t excuse his father’s comment.
His dad sat down. “Has he bitten you yet?” he asked.
That was it. The man would die a slow and painful death for asking.
“Where? On my ass?”
His siblings laughed at her sassy response.
This was becoming worse by the minute, but Kalan could barely breathe, let alone move. It was as if some witch had put a curse on him. He rubbed the back of his neck and stretched it from side to side, trying to relief the tension that had seeped in.