They used the back entrance to the lab, the one Curragh and Xavier had come in when Kara had run into them. As the memory hit her, she realized they had come to visit a fellow wolf and see if the evidence of their being there with her suicide ‘victim,’ was kept mum. Secretly she hoped Curragh would continue to be a mystery to her, at least on some level. It sure kept things interesting. “Maybe it’s best not to tell each other everything,” she mumbled.
Carrying Tahl inside and placing him on a table, Howard asked, “What?”
“Huh?” She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud. “Uh, nothing. I was just…never mind. We left the girls in the car. I want to make sure they stay put, so let’s make this fast. I have to meet your mother.”
“Your wait is over,” came a smooth female behind her.
Kara spun around. Now that she knew not everyone was human, she could spot the signs much more easily. This lady looked like she might be heading up a charity committee with her Ralph Lauren suit and matching pumps, but her warm, sandy brown hair was much longer than it needed to be for a woman of normal society, in that role, and her eyes were of the palest blue. Even though she had to be in her late fifties, she was fit, vibrant and her skin shone like it had light behind it.
“Mrs. Peters.” Kara held out her hand. Women like this always made her self-conscious. She was such a tomboy in every way, even with these curves. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m—”
“—A cop. Yes, I can tell. What happened to your face? And that dress!”
Howard coughed, uncomfortable. “Mom, don’t be rude.”
She asked the whole room, “Who says I’m being rude?” as if on stage. “She is a cop, isn’t she? I’m right, aren’t I? Howard! What happened to you?” Her mouth fell open as she circled her son, checking out the tight clothes, covered in patches of rust-colored red.
“There was a…well…a massacre.”
“Not the blood! You’ve got muscles!” Mrs. Peters was truly dumbfounded. “You’re not a little weenie anymore!”
Kara bit the inside of her cheek, embarrassed for him. There’s something about parents—they can cut you down ant-sized with one carelessly chosen sentence. Howard was stammering and mumbling nothing that made sense, and he went to push his lost glasses up on his nose. But they weren’t there, and somehow that reminded him. Kara saw him stand straighter. He squared his shoulders and faced the one partially responsible for his late blooming.
“Mom. Watch Tahl. Make sure he goes nowhere. Call the pack if you need to.” He walked past her and grabbed his lab coat as she gaped at him. “We’ll be back.”
Kara followed him out and bumped his shoulder with hers as they headed for the exit. He glanced over and caught her smile, and a side of his mouth turned up. And out they went.
It wasn’t much of a surprise that the ballerinas hadn’t moved, but now the baby was crying.
Unlocking the doors with her key fob, Kara muttered, “Shit.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
A stop at a convenience store later and Kara, Howard, the baby and two brainwashed dancers were standing in Captain Mazzagatti’s office. One of the ballerinas fed the baby applesauce while the other watched. Kara was still in her floor length gown and hadn’t stopped talking since she’d surprised him with their dramatic entrance. The Captain leaned back in his chair listening intently with a pen twirling in both hands, his elbows on the armrests of his large office chair. When she was finished, he remained silent for a couple moments to digest everything he’d heard.
“Kruglov is a woman?”
Well, a werewolf. “Yes, sir. He is a she. Always has been.”
He thought about it. “Well, that explains why we couldn’t find her.”
“And I can describe her for a sketch artist. I remember every detail.”
“And how is it that Dr. Peters came to rescue you?”
“Save the day,” Howard corrected.
The captain looked at him. “Excuse me?”
“She said I saved the day.” He squished his mouth up at the captain’s deadpan expression. “It’s just semantics. Never mind. Go on.”
“And how did Dr. Peters come to…save the day?”
Kara wanted to apologize ahead of time for what she was about to say, but it had to be done. It was the only way the story would seem at all plausible. “Dr. Peters was stalking me, sir. When Viktor’s men kidnapped me knowing I was the lead detective on their case, Dr. Peters had been spying on me at my apartment. With binoculars.” Howard coughed out his shock, but Kara didn’t look over, so it came off as him being embarrassed rather than appalled. “He saw them take me, and followed us to the tunnel’s entrance.”
“After he got his guns,” said the captain. “Why do you have these guns again?”
“I’m a collector. It’s all legal. I have the paperwork.”
The captain raised his hand to stop him from talking. “And how did you find where Kara was if you left to get them.”
Kara’s heart stopped. She hadn’t thought of that. That’s the problem with lying, you have to make more shit up to keep it going. The captain stared at them. It’s over. He knows this is all a crock.
Howard blushed. “I’m embarrassed to say I had a tracking device where I located the GPS in her phone. Months ago. It’s how I know where she is at all times. I’m sorry. It’s a disease.” He cast his eyes to the floor with an expression of mortification that made Kara almost break.
Mazzagatti looked a little disgusted, but he bought it. “And what of these vigilantes you saw when you were underground?”
“I don’t know who they were, sir. They spoke in a foreign tongue. She’d had them prisoner. Maybe, like I said, some sort of bad business dealings she was holding them accountable for? But the second they saw those guns, they took advantage of the situation, grabbed them and opened fire. We were lucky they didn’t take us out, too.”
The Captain pointed his pen to the ballerinas before setting it down. He was about to say something, but then he changed his mind. “I’ll have someone search the databases for missing girls. And an infant boy.” He shook his head and said to himself, “Kruglov is a woman.”
“Yes, sir. And she’s still out there. Now we know what we’re looking for.”
Mazzagatti’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Does this mean you’re coming back to the force?”
Kara was taken off guard by the question. She’d meant we as in her and Curragh, and his pack. Or had she meant the force? She didn’t know the answer. The words had spilled out and now faced with the possibility of returning to what she’d been trained to do, she stammered, “I don’t know, sir. I’ve been through a lot. I need some time, if that’s okay.”
The captain gravely nodded. “Take all the time you need.” He pushed a button on his phone and called in Slater and Rodriguez. Then he looked at Kara. “Write down the location of Kruglov’s hiding place.”
“Oh, Dr. Peters can do that. His car is still there, I believe. I was blindfolded.”
“Right.” Mazzagatti pushed a piece of blank paper and his pen toward Howard, but then looked back at Kara. “Then how’d you get here?”
“They hijacked me in my car. It was still there. We left Howards…Dr. Peters’ car, behind because I needed him to help me with theses three.”
“But you didn’t notice where you were when you were driving away.”
Kara knew exactly the way to put his mind at ease there. “Sir, he drove. I’m in a bit of shock still. You know how I get when women are involved in crimes. I…well, that’s all, sir. And when you get to Kruglov’s hideout, if that’s what you can call it, you’ll understand.”
What they’d find during this investigation would be something for the record books, that she knew. Not only the room where the dead still lay, but the vast corridors of luxury kept private beneath the city of Chicago. All this time Mazzagatti had been searching for what was literally right under his feet.
“You can go.” As Kara and Howard turned
for the door, the captain added, “And Dr. Peters, go see someone.”
Howard smiled sheepishly, “The obsession is over, sir. I think maybe it was just my destiny to—”
“—save the day,” the captain finished for him, with a look of displeasure.
But Howard’s smile brightened. “That’s right. If you need me, you know where to find me.”
“I’m sure I’ll be in touch.”
Kara held the door open for the young doctor and was about to follow him out, but turned back to say goodbye to the child. He was sitting on one of the ballerina’s laps, and she was lightly bouncing him. She had a small smile on her face. That was a first. Kara walked over and kneeled by the little guy. “They have a healing quality to them, don’t they?” The girl’s eyes flickered like she agreed. Kara stroked the peach fuzz on his soft head. “Bye sweetheart.” She rose up and turned to the one man who’d showed her respect in this place. “Will you tell me what happens? I want to know if they find his mom and dad.”
“I will.” Through the glass windows Kara saw Slater and Rodriquez approaching. She really didn’t want to have to explain it all again, so she said a quick goodbye and hurried out. They looked her up and down, aghast. “Detectives.”
“Monaghan,” they muttered, at the same time, and then turned to watch her exit.
Back at the car and safely out of earshot, Howard asked, “Did you have to make me seem like such a nut-job?!”
Kara laughed and unlocked the doors. As they swooped inside, she explained, “You’d told him how I’d emasculated you. It’s payback. And a perfect alibi since that call you made plays into your obsession with my awesomeness.”
Howard chuckled and shook his head more times than was necessary. “Alright. Whatever.”
“Look, when they see what we saw down there? That little detail will be long forgotten.” Turning on the car, she put it in drive and headed back to the lab. “Now, where’s Curragh?”
He told her the address of the pack’s old loft. “I don’t suppose you want to come hang out with me while I patch up Tahl?”
“Hell no. You’re going to have to deal with your mom on your own.” She glanced over. “You’re going to be fine. You’re a different guy now.” He looked at her with skepticism. She reached over and grabbed his leg to give it a friendly shake. “Trust yourself. Your body knows who you are better than you do. Look at you! You’re a man! Or not a man…or…you know what I mean!”
He smiled and looked out the passenger window to murmur, “I guess you’re right,” more to himself than to her.
She drove the rest of the way in silence. The radio was off. They needed the quiet. All Kara wanted now was to be in her lover’s arms again. She couldn’t wait to see him.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Xavier parked the ambulance right in front of their loft so they could get Draik upstairs as quickly as possible. They had on suits from Kruglov’s enormous closet, but underneath they were dirty as fuck. They’d only had time to wash off their faces and necks before they had to get out of there. And it was a close call, they were sure of it.
“Well, not enough time has passed that the landlord could have figured out we abandoned our old place.”
Looking up at the third floor, Curragh noticed the curtains still shut like they’d left them. “I guess rent is still paid up.”
“Yup.” Xavier grabbed the keys from the ignition and they both jumped out.
Scanning the street, they opened up the back of the cab. Curragh grabbed Draik and threw him over his shoulder while Xavier snatched two suitcases up by their handles and put a third under his arm. Both doors got kicked shut. They headed for the building, eyes darting left and right. Still no one. Xavier dropped one of the handles to fumble with the keys.
“Hurry up,” Curragh said.
“Fingers are acting funny,” Xavier muttered. “I need some sleep.” The key turned and they were in.
Taking the stairs, they made it to their floor in a hurry. It would do no good for anyone to spot Draik like this. “We need Howard to get over here.”
“I know. Tahl can wait.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
The keys weren’t as much trouble this time. As they caught sight of her standing inside their dark loft, she slanted her eyes with fury, her voice a low hiss. “It’s about fucking time.” With her suit ripped and bloodied, hair tamed by her fingers only moments before, Viktor Kruglov had been waiting.
Xavier dropped the handles, and Curragh almost dropped Draik. But he slowly set his unconscious friend down, never losing sight of the she-wolf-from-hell. She pulled out a gun as Xavier advanced on her. Both wolves stood like statues before the barrel of a shaking Taurus Judge, a revolver perfect for short range.
“Do you know how long it took me to build my empire?”
“Your accent—” Xavier muttered.
“—SHUT UP!” The gun shook in her hand. “I should have killed your fucking friend when I had the chance but no, I had to abide that STUPID law.” With an ugly sneer, she motioned with the gun to Draik. “What if they take everything from you, these wolves you’re not supposed to kill because they’re your own kind? Own kind! What a joke! You’re nothing like me. What if they take everything from you? Even your own husband?”
Curragh snarled, “You did that.”
“YOU MADE ME!” she shouted. “It’s what started all of this. My broken heart!”
Xavier snorted, “You don’t have a heart.”
She pointed The Judge at him and cocked her head. “You think you know me? I have the biggest heart of all of us. You know how many people I took care of? Clothed? Fed? Loved like I was their MOTHER??!!!”
Curragh glared, remembering the room of dead bodies piled on one another. If she thought herself a mother figure then her discipline was a death sentence. But he wasn’t about to argue with crazy. “You must be hurting pretty bad.”
She looked at him, eyes wild. “You’re mocking me.”
Curragh stuck his tongue on the back of his teeth and clicked it. “Nope. It’s awful what happened to your family. We didn’t mean for it to go that way.” Xavier looked over to him like he was nuts as Curragh continued, “We can let you go, and you’ll rebuild. In time.”
A sardonic laugh fell from her lips. “You can LET me go? I think you are overestimating yourselves.”
“Well, no one here is going to kill anyone. There’s the law.”
Veins popped out on her forehead. “FUCK THE STUPID FUCKING LAW!” She raised the gun and trained it on him, right between his eyes. The front door swung open, and she turned her head, surprised to see Kara rush in.
Curragh had heard her coming, knew her footsteps, knew the scream would be heard if he could make the she-beast raise her voice loud enough. Then Kara could distract her by coming in. It worked. In seconds he knocked the bitch over and disarmed her as she shouted out in surprise. She’d been distracted only for a second, but that was all he needed.
Enraged, Kruglov grappled for the gun and proved to be stronger than he would have thought, but not stronger than he was. He pinned her, and Xavier kicked the revolver out of reach. Curragh flipped her over onto her stomach and held her arms behind her back, bringing her up to standing with great effort, because she wouldn’t stop fighting.
“Now what do we do with her?” Xavier demanded.
Curragh knew what he wanted to do—exactly what he’d said he would. He knew she’d played a part in what happened to Kara, as well as everything else she’d done over years and years and years. “She deserves to die.”
“We won’t be able to show our faces around our kind again. You know this.” Xavier was somber, and right.
Hissing and biting at the air to get at him, Viktor Kruglov looked as though she’d lost her mind. He held her away from him. “She has to die, Xavier!”
His packmate offered another solution. “We can turn her in to the police.”
Curragh stared at him, knowing that was the o
nly answer. Even if today he didn’t agree with the law, he didn’t want them to have to go into hiding. Not when he’d found his mate. He wanted to live their lives as they had been. Free.
“Do it!” Kruglov shouted. “I’ll tell them our secret! I’ll shift! Right in front of the cops. I’ll tell the bastards everything!” She started laughing, and they stared at her with hatred. A gunshot went off and a hole appeared in her forehead, the laugh vanishing with her breath. Her body went limp, and Curragh’s head swung over to Kara.
With feet hip-width apart and her knees bent a little, like the pro that she was, Kara stood with the gun still smoking. “You couldn’t do it. But I’m not a werewolf. And that fucking cunt had to die.” Her hands fell, The Judge hanging by her side. “We have to wait until dark, then get rid of the body. There’s no way to explain her being here without exposing you.”
Curragh was impressed, albeit a little stunned. “That’s against the law,” he smiled.
Kara stared at him a second before her lips turned up at the corners and light danced in her eyes. “You’re a bad influence on me.”
Xavier shouted, “I like this woman!” whooping afterward.
Curragh dropped the body and went for Kara. He scooped her up and kissed her. She returned the kiss and murmured against his lips, “I had to.”
“I know.” He buried his face in her neck and squeezed her hard before setting her down. They looked over to find Xavier carrying Draik to his old bed.
“Jesus, this is how he was last time we were here. Poor fucking guy.”
“He sacrificed himself. He’ll be happy to know it wasn’t for nothing.” Curragh had one arm around Kara and she rested her head on his chest.
“I’m so tired.”
He kissed the top of her head and nodded. “Me too.”
“And I need a shower. But not until we take care of her.” Kara stared at what used to be Kruglov. She shuddered. “I’m so glad that evil thing is dead.”
Werewolves of Chicago: Curragh (Werewolves of... Book 6) Page 20