Bite (Bloodlines Book 1)

by Crissy Smith

  Jackson’s eyes widened before he nodded. Kieran was glad he didn’t have to spell out what he meant to his old friend. He hadn’t even told Remy or Angel about Mount Fauna. They knew he’d been captured and tortured but he’d never gone into detail.

  “My apologies. I know how you feel about shifters and yet two are inside your suite.”

  “These are the only two shifters that I trust, and I do trust them,” Kieran said. “This is my partner, Remy.”

  Alex was still standing close to Remy and even though he’d stopped trying to intimidate his partner, Kieran could see the Walker trying to hold back a sneer.

  “His best friend too,” Remy added.

  “A wolf shifter,” Alex spat.

  “Yes,” Remy said with a growl. ”You got a problem with that?”

  “What if I do?” Alex replied as he rolled his shoulders and braced his feet into a fighting stance.

  “Enough!” Jackson snapped. He didn’t even have to raise his voice to have Alex and Remy both freezing in place. Jackson looked back at Kieran. “Please excuse Alex. He has a past with a pack of wolf shifters.”

  If anyone could understand, it was him so Kieran nodded before he turned to his partner. “Remy?”

  Remy’s shoulders slumped and he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about whatever happened to you but I had nothing to do with it and neither did my pack. My family has been involved with protecting others for generations. I have nothing against Walkers.” He waved a hand in Kieran’s direction. “Obviously.”

  “Yes.” Alex ran his hand over his face. “That was very rude of me. I’ve been around wolf shifters before. I guess I was just caught off guard. I expected to just share a couple of drinks and visit with my boss’s oldest friend.”

  “Well, let’s sit, why don’t we?” Kieran offered.

  “Why do I get the feeling that you asked us here for more than just catching up?” Jackson said as he strolled over to one of the chairs and sat.

  Alex followed to stand behind Jackson’s chair while Remy backed off until he stood against the wall. Kieran led Dakota to the couch so they could sit together.

  “What are you up to, K?” Jackson questioned.

  “You always could read me,” Kieran told him. “So you must also know that I’d need better answers to what we spoke about earlier.”

  “I figured that’s what you wanted to discuss,” Jackson said.

  “It is, among other things,” Kieran hedged. He didn’t want to start the conversation until everyone was there.

  “You’re being cagey,” Jackson accused.

  Behind him, Alex shifted on his feet.

  Kieran had no doubt that if anyone tried to harm Jackson, Alex would attack. Luckily Kieran had two shifters on his side but he really just wanted to talk. “I’m sorry about that,” Kieran said honestly. “I think I might still be in shock a little. It’s not every day that a ghost comes back from the past.”

  “I understand that,” Jackson agreed.

  “Since we’re on the subject,” Dakota said, “why did you contact Kieran today?”

  “As soon as I heard about him staying in the hotel, I made plans to return right away, and since I’d just gotten in, I had Alex find him for me,” Jackson replied, peering between Dakota and Kieran. “I told you this earlier.”

  Kieran opened his mouth to respond but Dakota covered his knee with her hand. “Kieran had a very busy morning and your timing is rather suspicious.”

  “I have no idea what happened this morning,” Jackson said as he sat forward in his chair and braced his elbows on his knees. He was talking to him, and Kieran believed him.

  “I was just so excited and nervous to see you again I didn’t want to put the meeting off any longer. I’d stayed away at your boss’s request but you came to my hotel. We could have run into each other in the casino, café, bar or anywhere in town really. I didn’t think that would be a good idea.”

  If that had happened, Kieran was certain he would have freaked out, thinking he’d lost his mind. “I’m glad you did.”

  “When was the last time you spoke to Caspar Westbridge?” Dakota asked.

  “Not for several years.” Jackson frowned and broke eye contact with Kieran. “Is this an interrogation, agent?”

  “It can be,” Dakota said with a smile. “And it seems you know more about me than I believed.”

  “Of course I do,” Jackson told her. “I know everything that happens in my city with any paranormal.”

  “Funny,” Dakota commented. “I always thought of this as my city. You know, since I’m out there every night keeping it safe and watching out for trouble.”

  Jackson relaxed his stance, appearing more comfortable, but Kieran didn’t believe the gesture for a second. The power that radiated from Jackson was pure Alpha, and although he might not be a shifter, Jackson had an aura of dominance that surrounded him. “You do a good job keeping the streets safe. I commend what you and your Organization have done. However, this is a big town and paranormals can fall through the cracks easily. Especially ones who don’t want to be noticed. I notice.”

  “And use your contact within my company,” she said.

  Kieran turned to stare at Dakota. She was a badass and her questioning Jackson showed that. She sat next to Kieran calm and in control like she had no worries in the world. When she wanted to get her point across, like at that moment, her tone was cold and hard. “Maybe we shouldn’t…” he started. They weren’t supposed to get into Jackson’s relationship with Dean yet.

  “It’s okay.” Jackson waved Kieran off. “I do. But you must be aware as it’s your partner I speak with.”

  Dakota narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t know until today.”

  “Ah,” Jackson commented. “And you don’t trust me.”

  “Maybe I don’t understand why you didn’t make yourself known to everyone. Dean wouldn’t have kept you a secret unless you’d insisted.”

  “I did, as matter of fact,” Jackson confirmed. “If you know Kieran’s story, you have a pretty good idea about mine. I prefer to keep my business my own and have no need to get involved with any more shifters than necessary.”

  “So you chose Dean because he was human?” Dakota asked.

  “Actually, your boss had him contact me,” Jackson corrected. “But yes, I did agree to use him as my contact because he was human. You’d have to ask him why he accepted.”

  “I will,” she said.

  As she finished speaking, a knock interrupted whatever it was Alex was going to say. Alex jerked his head around to Kieran. “Are you expecting someone else?”

  Kieran nodded before he stood. “Excuse me for a second.” He walked quickly to the door, not wanting to leave the four of them alone for very long. At least he wasn’t going out of the room so he could still keep an eye on them and hear what was being said.

  As he approached the door, he caught the scent of his boss. Normally that would have put him at ease but just then Kieran had a lot of anger and confusion directed at Caspar. He pulled open the door to find the two humans he’d been expecting.

  “Kieran.” Caspar inclined his head.

  Kieran held the door open wide. “Come in.”

  Caspar frowned but did step inside. Kieran knew the minute that Caspar spotted Jackson since his boss stiffened. Caspar snapped his head back to him. “I shouldn’t be surprised, but you’ve caught me off guard.”

  “Why?” Kieran asked as he slammed the door. Luckily for Dean he’d followed Caspar closely so he was already in the suite. “Because you didn’t think I’d find out that the only person that could possibly understand what I’ve been through was alive?”

  “You’re angry,” Caspar said.

  Kieran fisted his hands at his side. “Yeah, you could say that.”

  “So think about how you would have felt back then. We didn’t know Jackson was alive until he contacted us. If I would have told you about him, you’d have given up everything you’d worked so hard for
.”

  It was difficult to keep from hitting the man in front of him. The human who’d been like a father to him. “You mean I’d have given up what you wanted me to be.”

  “No.” Caspar moved fast for a human and grabbed Kieran’s hand. “I cared for you. I’d taken you in, taken care of you and didn’t want to lose you. If you’d have left, there is no telling what would have happened to you. I didn’t want to have to hunt you one day.”

  Kieran’s hand shook where Caspar grasped it. He wanted to believe so bad but he just wasn’t sure.

  “K?” Dakota stepped up to his side, and he was so fucking relieved that he reached for her in front of everyone, not even caring if it made him look weak. She allowed him to wrap his arm around her shoulder. “Why don’t we sit down so we can talk about this?”

  “Talk about what?” Dean asked. “And why are you here? You don’t need to get involved in this.”

  Kieran snarled at Dean for talking that way about Dakota.

  “Wait!” Caspar held up a hand. “Dakota is right. We should all sit. I think we do need to discuss things. That’s why you brought us all together, isn’t it?”

  Kieran nodded.

  “Okay.” Caspar dropped his hand and strolled into the living area.

  It took a few moments but Dean finally followed his uncle.

  Kieran turned to Dakota. He didn’t want to say anything in front of the others but he hoped his eyes told her how grateful he was for her presence. The smile she gave him was beautiful and he knew she understood what he couldn’t say. Then she led him back to the couch.

  Caspar sat in the other chair while Dean joined Remy at the wall. Kieran sat and made sure that Dakota was close to his side.

  “It’s time I know everything,” he said. “And I want the truth.” Kieran made sure to meet every single person’s gaze except for Remy’s and Dakota’s. When they’d all nodded, he sat back.

  “Where would you like to begin?” Caspar asked.

  “No place better than the beginning,” Kieran stated firmly.

  Dakota was so proud of Kieran and how he was handling everything. There’d been a couple of minutes where he’d faltered, and she was glad that she’d been able to be there to keep him grounded.

  “I’m not sure where the beginning starts for you,” Caspar admitted.

  “How about the mission that brought you to finding me,” Kieran said.

  It had taken hours but she’d stumbled on some unsealed files that were to do with the Mount Fauna investigation. It had been the last active case that Caspar had worked.

  Caspar glanced toward Jackson. “I can’t talk about that.”

  Jackson snorted. “Like I haven’t had someone hack into your files and don’t already have every detail from everything written about it.”

  “What?” she said at the same time as Caspar.

  Jackson smiled and nodded. “I have a vested interest.”

  She had to respect the guy. While looking into Caspar’s last couple of missions, she’d also run a deep background check on Jackson. There she’d been surprised. With the amount of family money he had, Jackson didn’t have to actually work. He did, though. Not only did he own businesses all over the world but he was also involved in the day-to-day operations of the companies.

  “If you don’t wish to share, I’ll be more than happy to do so for you,” Jackson said to Caspar.

  “I knew you were trouble the first time I laid eyes on you,” Caspar said with an angry glower.

  Jackson merely shrugged, and Dakota couldn’t believe it. If she’d gotten that look, she would have backed down for sure.

  “Fine,” Caspar sighed. “I was the head agent in charge of the Mount Fauna case. You know that but what you don’t know is that there were two other locations that we’d taken down first. The way we found Mount Fauna was by some encrypted files we found from a laptop in a place much like the one we found you at in Missouri.”

  Kieran was so rigid that Dakota was worried that maybe she should have argued against his plan better. Having all the information come to light was a good idea but she didn’t think that Kieran needed the details. She scooted closer to his side and leaned her weight against him.

  “I’d been trying to find the ringleaders for three years when I found you and a stockpile of intel. I knew it would take time to go through all of the information so I took you home to help you heal,” Caspar said.

  “Did you get anyone else out alive?” Kieran asked.

  “No,” Caspar admitted. “You were the only one. We caught them by surprise and not only saved you but got all their files.”

  “Oh.” Kieran sounded so disappointed.

  “We didn’t know that Jackson had survived until he called looking for you,” Caspar said. “But I already explained to you why I didn’t tell you.”

  Kieran looked toward Jackson, and Dakota was certain that the fact that Caspar had known Jackson was still alive would be the most difficult thing Kieran would have to let go of.

  “About a month and a half after I brought you back, we got word from our hackers that they’d broken the code. And gotten the name of one of the organizers,” Caspar explained. “It was a surprise since it was someone I knew.”

  “Who?” Kieran asked quietly.

  “My best friend and partner at the time, Bradley Johnson. We’d gone through training together. He’d disappeared from a mission years before that and was presumed dead. It wasn’t until we found the records of your…capture that we knew he was still alive,” Caspar said.

  Dakota looked over at her partner in shock. She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to have your partner turn on you and everything you stand for. She might be mad at Dean but she still cared for him. She also understood why Dean wanted to make a change. Even through her anger, she wished Dean the very best. He was her friend and she would always have his back. And since she’d already forgiven him, she just wanted to go over and let him know that they would never end up like Caspar and his partner. Instead she stayed seated to listen to Caspar’s story.

  “By the time we figured everything out, Bradley was nowhere to be found and every location we uncovered was empty,” Caspar said.

  “Bradley is a shifter?” Alex asked. “I found his name but we couldn’t locate his file.”

  “We removed all traces of Bradley from the servers. We didn’t want him to get a hold of anything. With his experience with the Organization, we worried he’d find a way to access our files,” Caspar said. “He’s an eagle shifter.”

  Kieran growled. “I remember him.”

  “I figured you might,” Caspar admitted. “I never brought it up because I felt guilty about it being my friend involved.”

  “So you took me in out of guilt?” Kieran questioned.

  “No,” Caspar said quickly. “Well, maybe at first, but after a few days I saw something in you that I knew was pure and good. After that, I concentrated on getting you trained and finding you a partner you could trust. I didn’t want you to go through what I was.”

  Kieran nodded. “But you still kept Jackson from me.”

  “It was years later, Kieran,” Caspar argued. “You would have left us and I didn’t want anything to happen to you. You know I care about you. I just couldn’t take the chance that Jackson would bring out the darkness inside you.”

  “You just said that Kieran was pure and good,” Dakota reminded Caspar. She didn’t like anyone talking about Kieran being evil or bad.

  “We all have a little darkness inside us,” Caspar said. He waved his hand in Jackson’s direction. “Jackson didn’t even remember Kieran at first. And his escape was suspicious.” Caspar glanced toward Jackson. “No offense.”

  “I understand,” Jackson replied. “That is the reason I agreed to stay away from K.”

  “I still think I should have been consulted. Especially after so much time had passed,” Kieran said. “But there is nothing I can do about it now. What I want to know is, why this el
aborate plan to get me here? I know everyone in this room is connected. And I want to know what’s going on.”

  Caspar chewed on his lips, watching Kieran for a few moments before he nodded. “Sparro told you about me going back into the field.”

  “Yes, and—”

  “Wait,” Caspar said when Kieran started to interrupt. “I have to finish what I started. I’ve waited years to find Bradley and we have the best tip we’ve ever gotten. It has to be me that brings him in.”

  “Why?” Kieran asked.

  “It’s the only way I can make it up to you that my partner, my best friend, is responsible for everything you went through,” Caspar said simply.

  “I don’t need that,” Kieran argued. “It can be someone else.”

  “I need it,” Caspar whispered.

  Kieran sighed. “Fine but why do you have to transfer us?”

  Caspar smiled. “You can’t run around wild, and I have no idea how long I’ll be in the field. I trust Sparro more than anyone else to be able to manage you.”

  “You act as if I have no control,” Kieran accused.

  Caspar raised an eyebrow. “If you want to, you have the most control of anyone I’ve ever seen. But if you want to cause trouble no one would be able to stop you. Not even Remy. Hell, sometimes I think you’ve corrupted Remy instead of his calm influence rubbing off on you.”

  “I’m not a child,” Kieran bitched.

  “You broke into the office here, attacked my boss, got yourself locked up, and that’s just what I know about,” Caspar pointed out.

  “You had me followed!” Kieran claimed.

  “I did.” Caspar sat forward. “You’re like a son to me. I would do anything to make sure you were protected. I knew Jackson was here, and that as soon as he learned about your presence in town, he’d find you. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “You suggested I come here, knowing that Jackson would find me?” Kieran repeated. “How does that make sense?”

  “If you needed help, I knew you trusted him. If I’m not able to watch out for you, at least someone could. Someone who had no connection to the Organization. That way you didn’t only have to rely on your partner and other agents.”