by Abby Tyson
"All of the children's medical and family histories are confidential, of course," came Second's professional reply. The bottom door opened farther. Savi scuttled back into Berto's room and shut the door as quietly as she could.
Heart pounding, she ran towards the other door that Second had brought her through the first time, but then she stalled halfway across the room. If she went that way, the people in the office below would see her. What if they told Second or Berto?
Savi heard footsteps on the stairs and searched frantically for a place to hide.
The curtain.
She ran towards it. When she pulled it back, she could barely stifle her scream.
Lying in a medical bed, connected to an IV and a beeping medical monitor on wheels, was a man with dark hair whose identity was hidden by both a paper face mask over his nose and mouth, and a sleep mask over his eyes. The monotonous, pulsing heart rate reminded her that he was unconscious, and Savi reached for the sleep mask in hopes of unearthing more of Berto's secrets. Her trembling fingers grazed the silky fabric at the same time that the door opened, and she jumped back as if electrocuted.
"It's thoughtful of you to come by, doctor," said Second, "but I assure you, Mr. Almeida is showing stable life signs."
Mr. Almeida? Save held in her gasp. Berto's the man in the bed.
"As I've told you both before," came an old man's wobbling voice, "I am uncomfortable with this level of sedation occurring so frequently. I'm bound by my own ethics to confirm his health."
They're coming back here!
Although her hammering heart was bound to give her away, she scanned the small space for a hiding place. Even on this side of the curtain, there were pedestals, taxidermy animals, and large display cases. The problem was that Second could come in from either side of the curtain, and none of the objects in the room provided cover from both sides. Savi dove behind a wide pedestal with a stuffed black wolf on top and tucked herself as far against the wall as she could. If they came in on the same side as she had, her hiding place would provide no cover, and they would see her immediately.
"Mr. Almeida and I fully appreciate the importance of maintaining personal and professional integrity," said Second, partially drawing back the curtain.
They're coming in from the far side.
Savi's sigh of relief escaped without her consent, but thankfully the clatter of the metal curtain rings against the metal rail drowned her out. Breathing as silently as she could, she listened as the doctor inspected Berto's condition.
At last, after what seemed like hours, he said, "He's stable for now. Once again, however, I must state my professional opinion that he cannot continue like this. Living with extreme pain is a hardship, but at least it's living. If he continues these serial comatose states, his brain may no longer continue to be functional."
Extreme pain? A shocking realization timidly whispered its truth into Savi's ear.
"I understand, as does Mr. Almeida."
Goosebumps broke out on the back of Savi's neck at Second's voice, which was directly on the other side of the stuffed wolf. If she turned around, there was no way Second wouldn't see her.
But when Second spoke again, she'd moved away, back by the door. "Thank you for your concern."
Second escorted the doctor out, and Savi counted to fifty before she allowed herself to race down the stairs. Ensuring that the door closed properly behind her, she ran over to Dave, who was looking far too conspicuous hunched against the corner of the building.
"Thank god, Savi," he said, straightening up when he saw her. "What happened? Did they see you? Did you find anything?"
Hardly believing it herself, she whispered, "He's a werewolf."
Dave studied her, trying to understand.
"Berto," she clarified, "he's the person we were brought here to hollow."
Chapter Thirty-Three
Pulling into a spot across the parking lot from Marley's motel room, Savi was surprised by how calm she was at the prospect of seeing him again. Between her hangover and Hettie and Berto, she hadn't had much of a chance to process what had happened Saturday night.
She knew she was partially to blame for Marley's outburst. She'd sabotaged the date from the start with all the breakup talk, and egged him on when things got physical only to shut him down at the last minute. But she also knew she'd been right when she told him she was entitled to say no at any time, and he had to respect that.
As for all of the Ren talk, that was just plain nuts. Sure, they were identical twins, but Savi hardly ever saw them that way. Ren was as cold and distant as Marley was warm and passionate. She had caught a few glimpses of what might lie beneath Ren's reserve over the past week, but she had honestly never considered him as anything but Marley's stoic and sometimes overbearing brother until the moment Marley had accused her of seeing him otherwise.
And Marley really needed to get ahold of his temper. Although she'd seen evidence of it before, she'd always held firm to the belief that he wouldn't hurt her -- until Saturday. There was no way they could have a healthy relationship if she was always afraid of making him angry.
Healthy relationship? Am I seriously considering staying with this guy?
He'd said he loved her. Even though logically she knew that couldn't be true, a part of her couldn't help but want it to be. And even though she knew she wasn't in love with him, she couldn't completely ignore the voice that always added yet to that statement.
She pulled out her phone and stared at it. She still hadn't listened to Marley's messages. Whatever he had to say, she needed to hear it in person, to see him say it. And she wanted to do the same for him.
With another long breath, she got out of the van and knocked on his door. Instead of Marley, Lila appeared. The stone casing Savi wore around her heart cracked at the thought that Marley had already replaced her.
You're the one who told him you never wanted to see him again, a cruel voice reminded her.
"Is Marley here?" asked Savi.
Lila recoiled as if Savi had slapped her. "Haven't you listened to your voicemails?"
Savi's hand went to her purse. "He left me a few, but I was hoping we could talk in person." Peering past Lila, the room appeared to be empty. "Is he with Ren?" she added hopefully.
Nissa ran into the room through the back door. "Did she find him?"
"Find whom?" asked Savi.
"She doesn't even know," griped Lila, glaring at Savi.
"You didn't listen to the messages?" Nissa asked condescendingly.
"Why do you guys care so much about Marley's voicemails?" Savi demanded.
"What happened on your date?" Lila asked in reply, her tone accusatory. "We got back in time to see Marley run out of here looking like he was going to kill someone."
"Marley didn't --" Savi stopped herself. If he hadn't told them anything, she certainly wasn't going to. "Nothing happened."
Taking a step closer to her, Lila inhaled deeply, then scowled. "You're lying."
Savi hadn't thought it possible to be more intimidated by beautiful, sexy, strong Lila, but now, noticing for the first time how tall she was, Savi was even more confused by Marley's affirmation that he was not attracted to her. In her flowing purple sun dress and crown of braids, she looked like a queen.
"It's private," said Savi, trying not to cower. "It's between me and Marley."
"Ren knows. He's been cagey since Saturday too."
"That doesn't mean you automatically get to know."
With an angry roar that made Savi jump, Lila threw herself on the nearest bed.
"So are you going to tell me where Marley is?" asked Savi, remaining in the doorway.
At that moment, Ren and Glenn arrived, coming into the room from the back door. Glenn went up to Savi and wagged his tail, then sat beside Nissa, who absentmindedly stroked his neck.
"Did you find him?" Ren asked Savi.
"Find whom?!" Savi demanded.
He frowned. "You didn't listen to the voicemails?
"
Savi wanted to cry out with frustration, but instead she clenched her fists and said, "Can you guys please quit with the comedy routine and tell me what is going on? Where is Marley?"
"That's what we'd like to know," said Lila.
"Why are you saying that like I did something wrong?" bristled Savi.
"Did you?" fumed Lila.
"Enough," ordered Ren. Turning to Savi, he said, "No one's seen Marley since Saturday night."
Savi stared at Ren without really seeing him, his words echoing through her mind like an empty cave. Hastily she started scrambling in her purse for her phone. "He called me," she said, flipping it open, "three times yesterday. Maybe he --"
"That was Ren, dumbass!" cried Lila, leaping off the bed and disappearing out the back door.
Ren proceeded to tell her that he'd been carrying Marley's cell around since Sunday morning, and had used it to call her because he didn't have Savi's number in his own. They'd spent the past day and a half searching for Marley, but hadn't found any clues to his whereabouts. Savi, in turn, told them -- including Lila, who returned after a few minutes -- all about what she'd found in Berto's office, along with the conclusions she and Dave had come to.
"We think Berto is taking these kids off the streets and getting them in shape so when they're altered, he can ship them off to the highest bidder as mercenaries," she explained. "Berto himself said that he was a global network, and everyone who knows him -- Second, Baxter, and even Omar -- said that he's really well connected, even with governments and criminal organizations. So ostensibly he has access to the clientele. But he's a total hypocrite, because he's a werewolf and wants to be hollowed."
"A lot of the people living at the Den seem like decent folks who fell on hard times," said Lila. "I can't picture them turning into killers just because they're altered. Being a werewolf doesn't automatically make you evil."
"Yeah, the people I've talked to are clueless too, and they don't seem like killers," agreed Savi, "but what other explanation for that video and all the trips to sketchy countries is there?"
"Glenn says that money has a way of making good people do bad things," said Nissa.
"Dave said something similar," said Savi, "but I don't know if that's it. Berto said something to me once about love being the greatest fear. We know he's using me, my mom, and Dave against each other, trapping each of us here by threatening to hurt the others. I bet he's doing something similar with the werewolves who won't do it for the money alone."
The memory of Veronica smiling down at her son pressed in on her. What lengths would a mother go to in order to protect her child?
"But we still don't know where Karis is," said Nissa.
"Or Marley," said Lila, glaring at Savi.
"Or Hettie," snapped Savi, glaring back, "but if what we think is going on is actually what's going on, we've got bigger problems."
"What do you mean?" asked Ren.
"Think about it," said Savi. "Not only is Berto exploiting people who are already really vulnerable, which in itself is reprehensible, he's also creating a werewolf army that is available only to those who are willing and able to pay for it. That's a road that leads to problems on an apocalyptic scale. Now that he knows about coywolves, there's no telling how safe any of us are."
"He wants to know what you're suggesting," said Nissa, her hand between Glenn's ears.
"We need to do more than rescuing Hettie and Karis."
Savi took a breath. This was the hard part. "We need to take down Berto."
Her words hung in the air, and for a blissful moment Savi hoped that everyone would agree and she wouldn't have to fight them on this.
Not so much.
Nissa and Lila's silent shock exploded into vehement protests, talking over each other in their eagerness to shoot down Savi's idea.
"You just said he's really well connected," Lila pointed out.
"We can't let anything distract us from the real reason we're here," cried Nissa.
"A guy like that isn't easy to take down," said Lila, "and impossible for us."
"Get Karis out first," demanded Nissa, "then commit suicide."
Turning to Glenn, Savi asked, "How well do you trust Baxter?" Lila and Nissa fell quiet at her question. "With your life?"
Glenn nodded.
She looked back at the rest of them. "When I was with the Zuun, Omar said that they wanted to take Berto down because he basically finances the Alters in the United States. Omar said he was willing to help get my mom, Dave, and Karis out of the Den, which makes me think they know where Karis is being held. In exchange, they wanted me to give them unmitigated access to my blood, which can apparently be used to make a cure for werewolves."
And a lethal weapon. But Savi wasn't about to get into all of that.
"There's no way I'm working with them," said Lila. "They killed Kofi."
"I don't like it either," said Savi, "and I don't trust them to walk away and let us go our merry way afterwards, so we'd need to stay on high alert whenever we were with them. If we want to get Karis and Hettie out though, and get rid of Berto and his operation, I don't think we have any choice."
"Would you really give yourself over to them?" asked Lila.
"Obviously I'd rather not. Once we get a plan worked out with them, we can come up with our own alternate plan where we get out of there and none of us are in Zuun custody."
"How would we even ask them?" asked Ren, speaking for the first time. "We don't know where the lab is, and even if we did, if one of us went, there's no guarantee they would let us leave."
"That's where Baxter comes in."
"Baxter?" asked Nissa.
"Yeah, he's here in Florida. I ran into him Saturday night. He said he left soon after I did, to keep an eye on my mom."
"How do we know he doesn't have anything to do with Marley disappearing?" asked Ren.
"I don't think he did," said Savi. Glenn barked and shook his head.
"He says absolutely not," translated Nissa.
"Who's Baxter?" asked Lila.
"An Alter," sneered Nissa.
"Former Alter," Savi pointed out.
"Baxter knows where the Zuun are?" asked Ren.
"I don't know, but he's the best candidate to go up there and negotiate with them. He's a former Alter, which does make him slightly valuable to them, but at least he's not a coywolf, or a permanent werewolf."
"Or veru malar," said Ren, deep in thought. "He said he would do this?"
"I wanted to run it by you guys before asking him."
"I don't like it," said Lila, "especially the part about us putting our lives in the hands of the Zuun and an Alter." With a dark look at Savi, she added, "There's no such thing as a former Alter."
"Baxter can't be trusted," said Nissa, turning to Glenn and adding, "no matter what you say."
"I don't trust any of them either," said Ren, "but Savi's right. We can't let more werewolves fall into the hands of people who will use them to bad ends."
"If that's even what they're doing," said Lila.
"Either way," said Ren, "we don't know where Karis and Hettie are, and the Zuun do."
"Maybe," corrected Lila.
"We should continue searching the Den ourselves," said Nissa. "Savi can look in the office again, Lila can sniff around --"
"I don't know if I'll get another opportunity to go back in Berto's office," said Savi. "And even if I do, I might not be so lucky as to make it out unseen."
"What if the Zuun have Marley?" asked Lila. "What if they caught him Saturday night like they caught us back home? Are we going to pretend like that's not a possibility?"
"Marley may have left on his own," said Ren, glancing at Savi.
A phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, Ren went pale. "It's my dad."
"He's calling you?" asked Savi.
"This is Marley's." Ren continued staring at the phone, then held it out to Savi. "He won't talk to me."
"What am I supposed to say to him?
"
"The truth. He deserves to know."
At Ren's pleading eyes, Savi said, "You better tell me what this is all about sometime." Taking the phone from him, she said, "Hello?"
"Who's this?" came Warren's unmistakable raspy voice.
"Hi Warren, this is Savi."
"Aha! Good afternoon Savi. I have some very exciting news. Could you get Marley for me?"
"Actually... Marley's... out." Savi turned her back on the room.
"Oh." The disappointment in Warren's voice was tangible.
"Has he been checking in with you like he's supposed to?" she asked, doing her best to sound casual.
"Haven't talked to him since Saturday morning, but I know you kids are busy. Though I was hoping he'd let me know how the big date went."
She heard the question in his words, and winced as she said, "It was really nice."
"Grand! I can't wait to hear all about it when he gets back. Speaking of which, can you give him a message for me? There's a book I need him to pick up."
"A book?"
"Oh yes -- I traced a first edition Udayan to a rare book dealer there in Tallahassee, believe it or not. He's got it on hold for me, but I'm racing against another buyer who's only a few hours away. I need Marley to pick it up as soon as possible."
"Umm, okay. What's the name of the store?" Savi grabbed a notepad and pen from the nightstand and wrote down the details as Warren giddily relayed them to her.
"Thank you so much, Savi. I know I said it before, but I'll say it again: Marley hit the jackpot when he found you."
Savi tried not to let her sadness reach her words. "Thanks, Warren, that's really nice of you to say."
"Don't forget, before three today!"
Hanging up, Savi faced the room of accusing eyes. "I'm not telling him his son is missing over the phone -- that's cruel. Besides, Marley could be fine. And there's nothing Warren can do from Massachusetts anyway but worry."
She held out the notepad to Ren, but he refused to take it from her.