He smiled.
She was more alpha than any human female he’d ever met.
Somehow he’d help get her job back, and he had a suspicion that the raw news footage the reporter had given him would provide the trail.
Reaching for the mouse to start the video again, Rafe was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Sir?”
“Sylvia, I thought I told you to go home.”
“I know, sir, but I think you may want to see this.” His personal assistant grabbed the remote and clicked on the plasma television across the room. Another couple of buttons and the channel changed to a local news program.
Rafe stared, somewhat stunned, when his mate appeared onscreen in a deep blue jumpsuit with a badge hung around her neck. White puffs testified to a chill in the air as she spoke.
“While attempting to serve a warrant at the home of Ernesto Caprini,” she said, “my partner, Detective Steve Cooper, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Caprini’s body was discovered in the home, the victim of an apparent suicide.”
“Could you tell us how Detective Cooper came to be injured?” an unidentified voice asked.
“A guard dog, believed to belong to Caprini, attacked him. The dog was terminated.”
“Detective Lyons, Evalyn Drake. What was the warrant for? Does this have something to do with the Canine Killings?”
“As you know, Ms. Drake, I’ve been unwilling to risk the integrity of the recent murder investigations by revealing a suspect prematurely or speculating on rumor...”
How had she gotten her badge back? he wondered. His eyes narrowed on a small Band-Aid on her neck, partially hidden by the jumpsuit’s collar.
“However,” she continued, “I will say that evidence recently came to light that implicates Caprini in a plot to discredit and frame a renowned Chicago businessman with whom Caprini has had competitive dealings in the past. We believe the evidence shows Caprini knew about, and was involved in, the homicides of Senator Victor Robertson, Carl Shumaker, and Jimmy Harden, all residents of the City of Chicago.”
That answered some of his many questions, Rafe thought. His phone rang. He punched the speaker blindly.
“Rafe...” Gabe’s voice sounded urgent.
“I’m watching it.”
“Luc called. He’s just arrived there.”
“The guard dog?”
“That’s what I’m wondering. Luc says there are cops and reporters everywhere. He’s been unable to get close enough to Mackenzie without drawing undue attention to himself.”
“I’ll call her.”
“We tried that. She doesn’t have her cell or she’s not answering it.”
“Sylvia, get Evalyn Drake’s number.”
“Right away.” She left, returning a moment later.
“I’ll call you back, Gabe.” Rafe hung up and dialed the number, as his assistant excused herself and closed the door behind her.
The news report had ended only seconds before, but Rafe could hear the activity in the background when Drake answered after the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Drake.”
“Mr. Stone, you must have caught my live shot.”
“Always in the thick of things, I see.”
She laughed good-naturedly. “How about an exclusive comment? You are the renowned businessman the detective was referring to, no?”
“I’ve yet to speak with the detective, so I can’t comment; however, if you’ll hand her your phone...I may be able to provide you with a statement afterward.”
“Deal.”
He heard her call to Mackenzie, then a pause, followed by the curious voice of his mate.
“Rafe?”
“I believe you’ve quite surprised me, darling. I hadn’t expected you to make a public appearance tonight.”
Her voice dropped to a murmur, and he pictured her stepping away from the reporter. “Yeah, well, I was going to call you, but something came up.”
“So, I gathered.”
“Caprini’s dead. We stumbled across the body moments after the deed was done.”
Rafe noted her choice of words and read between the lines. The man hadn’t committed suicide after all.
“He was pressuring Shumaker to alter your software. When he refused, they killed him and tried to blame it on you. But they didn’t count on Shumaker documenting everything. He’d recorded phone calls, kept a journal. It’s all there. The plot. Everything. And ballistics tied the weapon used at the warehouse to the one used on Robertson, so you’re in the clear.”
That explained the reason she had her badge back.
“The guard dog?” he asked, not one to waste time getting to the point.
The silence that met his question unnerved him.
“Mackenzie...”
“Anton’s dead.”
Her words punched him. His breathing skid to an abrupt halt. He had to force the next question from his mouth. “How?”
“I shot him.”
He closed his eyes, telling himself she was alive. Safe. He hadn’t needed to be there to protect her, but couldn’t help feeling as if he’d somehow failed her.
“He attacked Cooper, broke his arm, but Cooper got a shot off and wounded him. He had to change...” Her softly spoken words penetrated his brain like salt on an open cut.
Cooper had been there for her. He wasn’t sure whether to be furious about that or relieved, but since she was alive and talking to him, he chose the latter.
“...Rafe, did you hear what I said?”
“What?”
“I remembered what you said. If I hadn’t known about him, what he was capable of, I couldn’t have taken him down. If you hadn’t told me what wounds were fatal, what his weakness would be, I wouldn’t be here.”
“God!” The emotions were damn near overwhelming. With elbows on the desk, he cradled his head in his hands.
“You saved my life. Do you understand?”
It took him a moment to respond, and even then he could only manage two words. “I understand.”
“Good. I need to speak with you about what Cooper...uh... He...” Her voice drifted to a stop, and Rafe realized what she couldn’t say.
“He witnessed the change.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll deal with it.”
“How?” The worry in her voice made him frown.
“I trust you can ensure his silence?”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t worry, Detective. He’s safe from me.” Besides, he owed the man a debt he could never repay simply for being there when his mate was in danger. “I want to see you.” He needed to hold her.
A pause. “Okay. As soon as I’ve finished up here, I’ll come to your place. But I need to swing by my apartment first to get a change of clothes.”
“The penthouse. One hour?”
“All right. I’ll see you soon.”
“Mackenzie.”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
The sudden catch in her breath made him smile. “Same to you, wolfman,” she whispered, and he laughed.
“Hurry home, Detective,” he ordered. “Now, let me talk with Ms. Drake a moment.”
“Gotcha, did she?” Her amusement tickled his ear.
“Just paying for the use of her phone. A certain female detective is without her cell phone, I believe.”
“So it’s my fault, is it?”
“Entirely. I intend to collect payment from you shortly,” he teased.
“You can try. Here you go.”
The next voice he heard was the ever-inquisitive Evalyn Drake. After answering her questions and dodging a few others, Rafe hung up, fixed himself a much-needed drink, and contacted his brothers.
Seated on the couch with a balloon of brandy in hand, he relayed to Gabriel the information he’d learned from Mackenzie. Her actions in taking on Anton and surviving the encounter had won the detective newfound respect from his brother.
“She has no idea how many people she’s saved by taking him out.”
“I know,” Rafe agreed, fighting back a shudder by sipping the warm liquor. But for her quick actions and an untold amount of good fortune, she could have easily been another victim.
Would he ever get used to the idea of his mate putting herself in harm’s way? The females of his species were well known for their protective aggression when guarding their young, but they didn’t seek out danger. He took another swallow of brandy.
“I can’t say I regret his death,” Gabe said. “God knows I’ve worked towards that goal ever since the bastard took Ariana from us. But I would’ve liked to have seen him...to have asked...”
“He wouldn’t tell you the truth, even if you’d been there, Gabe. We may never know what happened the night Ariana vanished.”
“Do you think...? Maybe he had something to do with the other vanishings? Several occurred in areas he was known to frequent. Maybe it’s over, now that he’s gone?”
“Only time will tell, brother.”
After speaking with Gabe a few more minutes, Rafe called Luc, confirmed the news about Anton, and released him from any further duties at the scene. There was nothing more to do there, with the wolf that had been Anton carried out in an evidence bag.
Rising from the couch, he glanced at his watch. Mackenzie would be on her way to her apartment by now. He’d be waiting for her when she arrived at Stone Corp. Tower.
Rafe walked to his computer to shut it down and call it a night, when something frozen in the video image on his monitor caught his eye.
A closer look, a sudden curse, and Rafe was running for the door.
Mackenzie was exhausted, but it felt good. So did the weight of the badge hanging around her neck. Her thumb rubbed the cold surface of the badge as if it were a good luck stone.
She’d been able to wrap up most of the case in a satisfactory manner, without exposing the existence of Lycans. Caprini’s suicide note explained his death, while the wolf took care of the rest. It was just a matter of time before his bite impressions and DNA would be compared to evidence gathered from Robertson and Shumaker. They’d match, no doubt.
She pressed the brake as the car approached a flashing traffic light and glanced both ways. The only soul in sight was a driver in a cab heading away from her. Not much of a traffic jam at this hour of the night. She turned onto her street.
All that was left now was to tie up loose ends. Namely, two. First, locate the murder weapon used in the Robertson homicide. Mackenzie felt certain the 9-millimeter recovered from Caprini’s hand would turn out to be the one used on Harden. But a .45 caliber had been used on Robertson, so it must be somewhere. Unless Caprini had tossed it, which was possible. Second, find Bernardo. She’d put out an APB on the bodyguard, who hadn’t turned up. Until he was found, there was a missing link in the chain of evidence.
Parking Cooper’s car on the street, she made her way to the front entrance of her apartment building. A frigid wind bit her face, whipped at her hair, so she hurried her steps.
Before leaving the crime scene, she’d called Cooper’s cell to check on him and found out that he’d already been released, after refusing to allow the doctor to admit him overnight for observation. The concern over a slight concussion wasn’t enough to keep him in a drafty hospital gown, dining on hospital food. With a cast on his arm and a prescription for painkillers, he’d taken a cab home.
She’d promised to fill him in on Lycans after her morning debriefing with Fuller. And after speaking further with Rafe.
Mackenzie stopped in the lobby to check her mailbox. Electric bill, phone bill... She’d been pre-approved for another credit card. Ripping it to shreds, she tossed the tiny pieces in a trash bin on her way to the elevator.
Watching the light count down the floors, she waited patiently until the bell chimed and the doors slid open.
Empty. Good, she thought, not in the mood to arrest any sex-craved juveniles for public indecency who—for a thrill or out of stupidity—sometimes made out in the elevators.
She stepped inside, pressed the button for her floor, and leaned against the back wall, then rolled her head to stretch the tension from her neck muscles.
She could use a shower, a hot relaxing one. Maybe Rafe would forgive her the delay. Then again, maybe she could convince him to join her for a hot bubbly soak in his Olympic-sized tub.
Smiling at the thought, her hand dug for the keys as she approached her door. She slipped the correct one in the lock, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.
As the door clicked shut, she flicked the light on.
Her brain leaped into action one second after her eyes focused on the interior.
Her body froze. The envelopes slipped from her lax grasp to scatter on the floor.
She’d found the missing .45 caliber murder weapon.
It was aimed at her heart.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Fighting the urge to stare down the barrel of the HK Mark 23 handgun, Mackenzie forced her gaze to meet that of the man who wielded it. She would not ask what Richard Robertson was doing in her apartment, although the stupid words had damn near burst from her mouth the moment she saw him.
Instead, she slowly raised her hands, knowing they’d be worthless in stopping a bullet. Her badge hung like an anchor around her neck. A lot of damn good it did her now when she was unarmed.
“Where’d you take him?” Richard asked.
“Take who?”
“Anthony, damn it. Don’t play fucking games with me. He didn’t come back. I saw the news. You tranq’d him or something. I don’t believe you killed him. No one can kill him. He’s fucking immortal.”
Oh shit. The man was seriously losing his grasp on reality. His hand shook a bit, and that scared her almost as much as the words he spouted.
“You knew about the wolf?” she asked. Maybe she could buy some time to come up with a plan. “About Anton’s...Anthony’s...ability?” Keep him talking, she thought. Find a way to stop him. To survive.
He blinked, a small smirk tugging at his mouth.
“Of course. Anthony’s going to make me one, as soon as we topple Stone Corp. That was his price. I help him get what he wants—he gives me what I want.” He stepped closer, pointed the gun’s muzzle at her like an accusing finger. “But you... You were supposed to arrest Stone, not fuck the man.”
“You made the video.” She said it with raised brows.
A smile was his only answer.
“You had me fooled,” she said, hoping to draw on his ego. “I mean, you had an alibi.”
“Bernardo’s sister. She’s clueless. Take her out for a little wine and dine, slip her some Liquid Ecstasy, and the girl believes anything you tell her. Ha! She’d even swear on her mother’s grave.”
“You’re a smart one. I’ll give you that.” Let him brag. He had a smug air of superiority about him. “I’d pegged Caprini as running the show, him and his bodyguard, but I was wrong.”
He gave a bark of laughter. “His bodyguard? Bernardo works for me, even took out Harden on my orders. You see, I call the shots.”
Somehow she doubted that, since Anton had fooled the man into assisting with a vendetta against Stone by convincing him he could gain immortality.
“Ernesto Caprini was a patsy, an expendable one, if the plan went awry.”
“The plan?” She hoped her confused expression would convince him to explain. Each passing minute was another chance to discover a way out, another sixty seconds she remained alive.
“When my bookie let it slip about Shumaker’s employer, I came up with the plan. It was flawless. We could milk Stone’s clientele for the hell of it first—through his own software—and then let him take the fall if the authorities found out.” His expression soured. “But then that chicken-shit Shumaker thought he could steal the money he owed us and got himself fired. And Harden had to get greedy.”
“And your father...?”
; His eyes darkened with anger. When his fingers tightened on the gun, she feared she’d pushed him too far.
“That pathetic excuse for a man. Always spouting grandiose agendas but never willing to take risks. Take a gamble.” With an abrupt laugh, he gestured with the gun, but not enough that she felt comfortable risking an offensive maneuver. “He cut me off when I dropped out of Princeton. The bastard thought that would stop me; make me ‘grow up...get back on the straight and narrow.’ I told him he’d regret it. I warned him. He had no idea how powerful I’d become.” His gaze cleared, as if he’d returned from a foggy trip back in time. “But he recognized it when I shot him. That’s power. Taking a life.”
“Actually, that’s murder, and it’s a crime.”
His smile was pure arrogance. “Shame I missed you at the warehouse. You were to be the victim that would finally convince them to take down Stone.”
“That was you? I thought...”
“Oh, Anthony was there. He doesn’t like to use guns, but if your body showed up shot and mauled like dear old Dad... this time dumped somewhere on Stone’s property?”
She didn’t know whether his look or his words ticked her off more.
“But Anthony wouldn’t risk it when Stone showed up. He took my gun and led you off so I could get away.”
“Then I did shoot him.”
He nodded and grinned. “Then you should know he’s unstoppable. I will be, too, once Anthony fulfills our bargain. So, bitch...time’s up. On your knees. Now!”
She delayed until he yanked her hair, causing her to cry out in pain, and forced her down. The gun pressed to the back of her head.
“Where the hell is he?” His voice rose and with it went her blood pressure. “Answer me, goddammit!”
Oh, God! She was dead if she told him the truth. She was dead if she didn’t.
“I—”
The phone rang.
“Tell me.” He gritted out the order and popped her on the head with the butt of his gun.
What she wouldn’t give to have their positions reversed.
“That’s Rafe,” she said, a bit breathless despite herself. “He’s expecting me. He’ll get suspicious if I don’t answer.”
Richard paused for another ring, then yanked her to her feet. Her moan escaped through gritted teeth.
Lycan Packs 1: Lycan Instinct Page 30