“You think it’s a him?”
The pronoun had slipped from his lips without conscious thought, and it was strange considering it was a woman he’d seen walking away from the victims. What was throwing him and what brought the “he” across his lips was the level of violence visited upon the victims. The intensity was so extreme it felt like the power of a male. It was a sexist fallback and he knew it. To stick with the conviction that it was a man who did these things would be easy, yet he couldn’t quite make that commitment. He knew very well that women could be as brutal as men.
“I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “It feels that way and yet it doesn’t. Something is really off about this whole thing. I think that’s part of what’s getting to me as well.”
Ava leaned closer and took his arm, holding it against her body. “I sensed the same thing as I cleansed each piece of ground. They all had a very different feel to them, which is a little strange when you consider that the condition of each body was essentially the same. I’m pretty sure Lily felt the disturbance too. Did you see the look on her face when we were at the first site? It was as if something or someone had just slapped her. She was definitely feeling something there. We haven’t even been here half a day, and already this is turning out to be a strange and puzzling hunt.”
He had noticed the change in Lily out at the first stop. A person would have needed to be blind not to. Though his skills tended toward the dead, it also gave him a heightened sense of the living. While he couldn’t get into their heads like he could with the dead, he still sensed turbulent emotions. The tension that brought Lily’s body rigid made him think of one of Nana’s favorite sayings: “Someone just walked across my grave.” If Lily had been in wolf form, all the hair on the nape of her neck would have been standing up. So far Lily hadn’t shared with either him or Ava whatever it was that put her on full alert. He really wanted to know and yet wasn’t going to be the one to push. Better sense kept him silent and watchful. She would let them know when it was time.
“Do you think she’ll tell us what was bothering her out there?” While he might not broach the subject with Lily, he didn’t have the same reluctance when it came to Ava.
She nodded, her cheek resting against his shoulder as they walked. “In her own time, yes, I believe she will. You’ll learn to trust her, Kyle. She really is the best and has a way of working through every hunt that manages to stop the violence while keeping her team and the innocent people she came to protect as safe as possible. I’ve seen her do the most amazing things.”
Her words were heartfelt and at the same time tinged with some emotion he couldn’t quite catch. “I hear a but in there.”
Again she nodded. “Sort of. You know, she’s little and mighty all at the same time. I’ve seen her take down monsters three times her size without breaking a sweat.”
“And?”
“And, once you get past the power and the skill there’s something lost about her. Solitary. She’s hands down the best hunter in the order, yet my sense is she’s a lonely soul. I don’t know if she’s ever had the chance to love someone or if she’s always walked the warrior’s path by herself. I hope not. It would make me sad to think she’s always been alone. No one should spend their life without someone else to share the journey with them, especially if that someone is essentially immortal.”
“That’s a shame.” He knew the kind of joy found in love. He felt it right this instant.
“It’s about to change.” She squeezed his arm, and he felt the warm press of her cheek against his shoulder. The light scent of her hair made him breathe in deeply.
That seemed like an odd observation, considering they’d only been here a couple of hours and pretty much the whole time had been out looking at murder sites. He stopped and turned to gaze down at her. “What do you mean it’s about to change?”
She smiled as she tipped her head back so that she stared up at the velvet night sky strewn with sparkling stars. Softly she told him, “She’s about to fall in love.”
Chapter Twelve
Jayne’s cell phone rang and startled her so badly she spilled coffee all over her hands and the table. Fortunately, she’d been sitting here holding the coffee cup long enough for it to have cooled, and instead of her hands getting burned, they were simply wet. Her thoughts had been miles away, and for good reason. Last night’s excursion continued to weigh heavy on her mind.
She grabbed the still-ringing cell as it jittered on the tabletop and put it to her ear. “Quarles.”
“Sheriff?” The female voice was high and trembling. Immediately she recognized it as the voice of Tess Heights. Tess worked at the popular espresso stand at the edge of town before school and on weekends. Everyone knew the outgoing teen, who took her barista duties very seriously. She could picture the young woman with her long hair that seemed to change color week by week. The last time when she’d stopped by for a coffee, it had been almost purple. She was medium height and, while not thin, wasn’t heavy either. More compact is the way she’d describe her, and one heck of a pitcher on the high school’s softball team.
“What’s up, Tess?” She kept her question soft because she had the sense Tess was close to a meltdown.
“It’s Nate.” Her voice squeaked, and Jayne could hear how very close to tears she was.
“What about Nate?” A bad feeling about this call was starting to whisper down her spine. Tess could be dramatic, as could any teenage girl. That said, she wasn’t one to call Jayne unless she had a good reason. While there were definitely teenage girls in town who needed an eye kept on them, Tess wasn’t in that group. She was, fortunately, one Jayne didn’t have to worry about.
“He’s missing.”
“What do you mean he’s missing?” That didn’t make any sense. The last she heard, Nate was away at college in Bellingham. She waited a second for Tess to continue and, when she didn’t, gave her a nudge. “Tess, what do you mean Nate is missing?” One thing about conversations with teenagers, most of the time it was like pulling molars to get the story out of them.
“He came home on Friday for a long weekend.” She choked back a sob. “He had dinner with me last night.”
“And…” This could be a long conversation.
“And then he said he was going out for a little while. I went up to my room to do homework and fell asleep. I didn’t hear him come in, but I figured it was because he was trying to be quiet so he didn’t wake me up.”
“He’s not there?”
“No,” she cried. “He never came back home.”
“Maybe he left again?”
“No, no, no. You don’t understand, Sheriff. His bed is still made. Nate is pretty lazy about his bed, and there’s no way he would sleep all night and then get up and make the bed. He always waited for Mom to do it.”
Tess made a good point and probably a very accurate one. Jayne glanced up at the clock and was surprised. Six o’clock. Geez, had she really been up for two hours already? Didn’t matter how long she’d been sitting here. It was more important to calm Tess down. Nate was nineteen and a really good-looking kid. The fact he was out all night didn’t shock or surprise Jayne very much. What college guy didn’t stay out all night now and again? It might be a little against character to do it when he was here to stay with his sister, but given the right set of circumstances—the right persuasion from the right young lady—and he might very well have shirked that responsibility.
“He probably spent the night with a friend.” Of the female variety was what she didn’t add. Tess was upset enough already. No need to make her feel worse by the idea that her brother would blow her off for a better offer.
This time she could hear the tears in Tess’s voice. “Sheriff, he wouldn’t do that. Mom and Dad are out of town, and Nate never leaves me home all alone. Never, and he wouldn’t now especially, you know?”
She did know. Not only would Tess’s parents not leave a beautiful young woman at the house alone, but they wouldn’
t leave her alone right now. Nobody in the community would feel safe enough at the moment to do that. Nate would most definitely have come home last night, beautiful, willing girl aside. Once more a bad feeling washed over her. First thing, first, she needed to keep Tess safe. “Okay, Tess, where are you?”
“I’m at home.” She sniffled.
“Alone?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m going to call the station and have Deputy Landen come pick you up. Do you understand?” A noise made her turn. Lily had just walked into the kitchen wearing blue jeans and a cream cable-knit sweater. With her long dark hair, she looked incredible. Lily pointed to the coffee carafe, and Jayne pointed at the cupboard above it. Lily smiled, opened the cupboard door, and pulled out a mug.
“Yeah.” Tess hiccupped, bringing Jayne’s attention away from her beautiful houseguest and back to the terrified girl.
“All right. I want you to go with Deputy Landen, and then I’ll meet you at the station in a little bit. Right now I want you to stay on the phone with my friend Lily while I call for Deputy Landen. Do me a favor and stay on the phone with Lily until the deputy arrives. Can you do that for me?” She kept her own voice calm and soothing.
“Okay. Yeah, I can do that.”
“Good. Now here’s my friend.”
She handed the phone off to Lily, who’d been listening as she’d sipped coffee and picked up immediately on what Jayne needed her to do. God, it was great to have people around who got it. Then, she grabbed up the handset of the landline she’d never been able to part with, despite using her cell almost exclusively, and called Dana Landen as Lily continued to talk softly to Tess. She appreciated the sweet and gentle way she spoke to the frightened teenager. Not everyone could do that. This woman had more skills than she was letting on. Another thing she liked about her.
Damn it. Her hold on the righteous indignation that she’d embraced since the moment the council told her they were bringing in the Jägers was slipping away. Instead of her dislike of the interlopers growing the longer they were here, it was doing quite the opposite. This tiny, pretty woman who didn’t look big enough to take on a kitten had her admiration growing every time she turned around.
She was just putting the handset back on the charger when she heard Lily say, “No, Tess don’t go. Stay on the phone with me. Tess? Tess?”
Jayne whirled around to see Lily staring the phone. Her face was a mask of concern. “She hung up?”
Please don’t let that be true. “She hung up?” she asked again.
Lily frowned and nodded. “She was talking with me and then said someone was there. She ended the call before I could stop her.”
There was no way Dana could be there that fast. Or could she? She had been out on patrol when Jayne called, and she hadn’t pinned her down on exactly how long it would take her to get to Tess. It had to be Dana…she hoped.
Jayne took back her cell from Lily and hit the button to recall the number from the last received call. It rang five times before going to voice mail. Shit. This did not bode well.
“Come on,” she told Lily as she grabbed her keys and headed toward the garage door. Fortunately, even though it was early, she was fully dressed, including her gun belt. She didn’t want to waste a second.
Lily didn’t hesitate either. She grabbed her bag from where she’d dropped it last night and followed Jayne outside. The expression on her face was as grim as Jayne felt.
They were in her car and driving far in excess of the speed limit toward the big house where Tess and Nate lived with their parents. She didn’t want to waste any time getting there, particularly after the dropped call. It made her nervous not being able to reach Tess and talk with her. She’d give anything right now to hear her voice.
“We’ve got to—” The ring of her cell cut off her words. “Quarles,” she barked. It was Dana and relief flooded through her. Everything would be fine now that Dana was there with Tess. She lifted her foot off the gas pedal just a touch as she wrenched the steering wheel to the right. The car screeched on the gravel as it turned into the driveway. At the end of the long drive, she could see Dana’s cruiser parked next to two others. Good. Her people were here in force.
“Sheriff.” Her voice sounded strange, which wasn’t a good sign. Her relief was short-lived. “We have a problem.” Even worse. She pulled the car next to Dana’s and hit the brakes.
“Tell me.” She was opening the car door as she talked, still intent on getting inside as quickly as possible.
“Tess is dead.”
*
Little Wolf was at it again. Bellona sighed as she listened to her explain what she’d done and why she’d done it. When Bellona put down her phone she simply stood there and shook her head. Not much damage control she could do for this one. Not with the sheriff now right smack in the middle of the mix. She closed her eyes and let out a long breath.
On the other hand, Little Wolf’s rationale made a certain amount of sense, given the unique set of circumstances she’d been faced with. Her actions were, in their own right, a sort of damage control. She personally preferred a bit more self-control, but she’d learned over the years that things often didn’t go as desired or as planned. This was one of those instances. It was going to have to play out as the universe willed.
One of the things she loved about Little Wolf was her daring and her way of thinking on her feet, whether she was standing on two or four of them. It was an asset that would serve her well over the years. If she was careful, like Bellona had always been, she could plan to use that brain for a very long time.
Despite this morning’s minor setback, she still had high hopes for Little Wolf and this place. Other than the sheriff, who from everything Little Wolf had told her, was working in an environment way beneath her league, that is. Jayne Quarles, according to Little Wolf, had no business here in Stevens County. While it was her hometown, she’d been the one everyone in town knew was bigger than this place. She’d gone on to prove them all right when she rose within federal law enforcement in record time. With the exception of her brother’s untimely demise, her reasons for leaving the federal life behind and returning to her hometown were not common knowledge.
Given what had happened today, Bellona really wished Quarles was back in the big city. Not that the rest of the county’s law enforcement wasn’t skilled or capable. It wasn’t like the old days when small-town cops were hick cops. Even the smallest counties had training and resources not even considered years ago. No, it was just that Bellona suspected Quarles had more experience with violent crime and psychology expertise with respect to the mind of killers than most local officials. That sort of specialized know-how would push her to dig deeper and tap resources the others might not have developed. What it really did was make her dangerous.
If she could get rid of Quarles it would make her life much easier. From past experience, she was aware that this incident with Little Wolf wasn’t likely to be the last. It was the way of the young, and she didn’t blame them. Raising a new pack was a bit like raising a family. They had to grow up and mature. The decisions they made early on weren’t always the best. It was to be expected.
She didn’t mind the work or the energy it took to guide them. In fact, she relished it. The years had flowed by in her solitary pursuit of life, and it made her feel alive and refreshed to once more share her world with a pack of young, enthusiastic wolves. The little errors in judgment along the way were minor and something she was happy to deal with. In time, they would learn just as she had.
This blip, however, was one she had to stay far away from. The others she easily handled for Little Wolf alone and under the cover of woods and moonlight. Her confidence in her beloved was well placed as far as she was concerned. If she’d determined now the deed had to be done, then it had to be done. Better safe.
Let the sheriff do her best. Bellona would be watching from the shadows to make certain her best wasn’t good enough. She’d had plenty of experience thw
arting law enforcement all over the world, and ultimately, if the sheriff caused too much trouble, well, she had a solution for that as well. Avoiding that particular course of action would be her preference, and she would continue along her current path, keeping that intention in mind. Making run-of-the-mill townspeople disappear was one thing, but knocking off a sheriff. Well, that was a bit trickier.
The other slight concern was the Jägers. Today’s unfortunate incident was sure to whet their appetite for a fight. They could call themselves hunters or protectors or whatever in the hell they wanted. She knew the truth about them and had known it since a very early age. They were predators no different than those they hunted. They cloaked themselves in righteousness, telling the world they came to protect the innocent. It was a lie and she would call their bluff, for she had seen them destroy the innocent too many times to buy into their sales pitch.
Not all the preternatural creatures that inhabited the world were monsters. In fact, in her opinion, few belonged in that category. Just as humans had their monsters, so too did the preternatural community. It didn’t mean they were all horrible beings. Actually, she took exception to that characterization. It was true she had killed, and early in her life she had killed for sport. Each instance was the result of her youth and inexperience. It didn’t make her bad then or now. She’d grown and learned only to kill when it was necessary. She would teach Little Wolf and the pack they were creating the same standards of behavior. They were not bad people, not evil werewolves. They would only do what they needed to do in order to survive.
Yet the Jägers would come after all of them if she didn’t stop them first. She hoped to avoid any unnecessary violence. All she had to do was a bit of redirection for both the nosy sheriff and the interfering Jägers. Do that and they would be on their way and this little berg would be hers. She wasn’t asking for much. Not after what she’d been through century after century. The universe owed her a reward and it was time to collect. Here and now.
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