“Let’s just go back to the cabin,” Ain suggested, stepping forward and apparently taking the lead. “It’s late, everyone’s tired, and I’d like a hot shower and dinner.”
“They’re just cockatrice,” Lina gently said from behind her. “The bad guys. If the jaguars said they were cockatrice graves, I have no reason not to believe them.”
Knowing they would only be humoring her if she pressed the issue, and not wanting to delay the rest of them any longer, she nodded and headed back down the trail. “All right. Fine. Let’s go.”
Still, she knew that cavern would haunt her thoughts. As would the graves.
She also wanted to know why the jaguars, whose noses were just as good if not better than wolves’ noses, were able to be surprised by a skunk. Not just one of them, but all three of them.
She also wondered if it had anything to do with the reason the big cats suddenly seemed to have no interest in getting within touching distance of Elain.
* * * *
The jaguars begged Blackie’s leave by phone that night, citing their skunked condition, as well as pressing business matters developing at home that they needed to attend to. By the next morning, everyone else wanted to change their return flight to that afternoon. There was a tropical storm churning in the Gulf with a potential track toward the west coast of Florida.
Elain, the lone holdout, wanted to stay in Maine and cover every square inch of ground, including taking a shovel to the two graves, if she could find them.
But she could tell her men, as well as her friends, were anxious to return before the storm hit.
Late that night, they were back in Florida and retrieving their vehicles from long-term parking. Elain had stayed mostly quiet throughout the flight, stuck in her thoughts and nursing the nagging suspicion that there was more going on than she could see.
And it was driving her crazy.
Chapter Forty-Six
The journey from Maine went smoothly. When she exited the customs area, she spotted a young man, tall, nearly seven feet, holding a sign with her name on it.
She walked up to him. “I’m Lacey Fraser.”
He immediately reached for her largest suitcase. “I am Roberto. This way, ma’am,” he said in heavily accented English.
She followed him to a new-looking Land Rover that she suspected had more than a few hidden enhancements, like armored sides and bulletproof glass. He held the back passenger door open for her and offered her his arm, like a perfect gentleman, to help her inside, before he loaded her bags for her.
“How far away is it?” she asked once they were underway.
He glanced in the rearview mirror. “One hour, ma’am. If you need to stop somewhere, please let me know. And I have been placed at your complete disposal during your visit. If you need anything, or wish to go anywhere, I will make it so.”
She smiled. “Thank you, son. That’s very kind of you.”
“You are an honored guest. We are all very happy to have you visiting our Clan.”
“I’ve never been here. Can you tell me some of the history of the region?”
He really loosened up, chatting and entertaining her during the drive, pointing out things in the landscape, telling her stories. The journey didn’t seem that long. By the time they pulled into the high-walled, huge compound, she felt she’d made a friend.
Ortega Montalvo himself immediately appeared in the courtyard to greet her, opening her door and offering his hand to help her out of the SUV.
“Lacey, my dear. This is an honor.” He kissed her cheek. “When you called me yesterday to tell me of your arrival, I must admit it came as a very pleasant surprise.”
She smiled. “I think you know why I’m here,” she softly said.
The jaguar’s eyes changed, his expression shifting as he nodded. “Now?”
“Please.” She raised her voice to a normal level and offered him another smile. “And then you can show me around your beautiful home and we can relax and catch up.”
He hooked his arm through hers and gave a quick command in Spanish to Roberto. Lacey knew enough of the language to understand it was to take her bags to her room and to await them in Ortega’s private den.
Laying her other hand on his arm, she quickly sensed all she needed to know to confirm her suspicions.
Ortega, with his brothers Juan and Ricardo now trailing them, slowly walked with her toward a doorway at a corner of the compound. “This was a military installation in the past,” he softly said in English. “Many tunnels.”
“Dungeons?”
His smile held no humor. “Yes.”
They wove their way below ground, where she suspected it stayed perpetually cool despite any heat outside. “I would like to meet your other guest as well,” she said.
She felt the way his arm jerked a little. “And who would that be?”
“It’s quite all right, Ortega. Your secret is safe with me. But I have something I wish to say to him.”
“You do realize he is a father?”
“Yes. I would like to meet the baby. I promise, I mean them no harm.”
“Very well.”
They rounded one more turn in the corridor and came upon a desk where a heavily armed man sat in a chair, reading a newspaper.
He stood without speaking at their approach and used an electronic keypad to unlock the heavy metal door, opening it for them.
“We have made some upgrades,” Ortega said. “Security measures.” Down another dark, windowless corridor, another desk with two guards sat before a similar door. One of them stood and unlocked it.
This door opened into a dank, dark corridor lit with bare bulbs strung from the ceiling on a wire. Lacey found herself unconsciously huddling closer to the jaguar when he patted her arm.
“You have nothing to fear here, my dear. I promise you, he is harmless. We are the most dangerous things down here.”
They ended up before one more metal door. This one was unguarded. Ortega reached out and thumbed a code in, pulling it open once the lock beeped and displayed a green light.
Inside, a bipolar set up. Half the room looked like a modern, sterile research laboratory or hospital treatment room, complete with bright exam lights, implements, monitoring machines, cabinets full of medical supplies, and a stainless steel exam table.
The only thing out of place were the silver manacles and chains dangling from it.
Although the commercial-grade stove and kitchen sink along one wall were a little…odd.
The other half of the room was original dungeon. Dark, dank, dirty. Rock walls and a bare stone floor. In the far corner Lacey saw movement at the end of more silver chains.
The dirty lump shifted position. She couldn’t tell which end was head or tail, then she realized he wasn’t shifted. He was in human form.
“He is shorter than the last time you saw him,” Ortega said, dark humor coloring his voice. “Once he realized I was serious when I told him he would get no other food before he finished what I put in front of him, no matter how many times I put it in front of him, he complied.”
“And what was that?”
“I started with his left pinky toe. He just finished part of his right calf yesterday.”
Lacey let out a giggle despite herself.
“I’m glad to see you approve.”
“Can he still hear?”
“Oh, yes. I left him his right eye, and have made sure his hearing remained intact. Although I can’t say the same for his ears.”
She stepped forward, Ortega staying with her. She found her grip on his arm comforting. Stopping a few feet away from the thing that used to be Rodolfo Abernathy, she looked down at him and let out a relieved breath when she confirmed it was the monster himself. His right eye opened and swiveled toward her, a wild, feral look there.
Finally releasing Ortega’s arm, she knelt so she could get a better look. It looked like in addition to the amputations, he’d been burned and flayed at various times.
“Does he
suffer?” she asked.
“Every second,” Ortega assured her as he knelt beside her. “Last week, we removed a patch of flesh from his back and then tattooed the names of my son and daughter-in-law in the spot. And those of other victims. Juan went to medical school twenty years ago. He has been amazing in keeping this thing alive and relatively healthy. We make sure to prevent infection, keep IV fluids going as needed. We don’t torture him every day. We let him heal up enough between sessions that he can take more.”
Nodding, her eyes went everywhere at once, taking it in, relishing it.
“And the names. You included Colleen?”
“Yes. Marston told me about her.”
The lump made a sound.
Cocking her head, she tried to listen. “What’d he say?”
“Oh, probably help me, or kill me. Those are his two most common ones right now.”
“You know, Rodolfo,” she said, addressing the lump, “I hope you think of Colleen’s warning every second you remain alive. She warned you that your daughter would be your downfall. You killed her because you couldn’t stand hearing the truth. How’d that work out for you, asshole?”
“Mercedes?” Ortega asked.
“I’m not sure. Since he fathered Fiona, some could argue Colleen’s warning talked more about her.”
“I don’t understand,” Ortega said.
“Well, had he not abducted your daughter-in-law, you would not have come after him the way you did.” She started to get to her feet, but Ortega smoothly stood and took her arm to help her. “I didn’t hear Colleen’s words first-hand. Her mate related it to me later when he told me what happened. Her vision could have meant Fiona as easily as it meant Mercedes.”
Ortega considered it. “True.”
She turned her back on the lump. “I heard rumors from Roberto that your cook has been busy today?”
He laughed, signaling to Juan and Ricardo to follow them out. “Yes, my dear. She absolutely has. I asked her to prepare a feast in your honor. And she prepared a special batch of flan for desert just for you. I know it is one of your favorites…”
The door closed behind them, closing off the moans from the lump that once was Rodolfo Abernathy.
* * * *
Emerging into the cleansing light of day once more, Lacey took in her first grief-free breath since losing Colleen. “Is there time before dinner for me to have my other visit?”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Please understand that I ask to remain with you. He is under my protection, and I am a man of my word. It is nothing personal.”
“Oh, I don’t mind.” She patted his arm. “And it won’t take me long. If he wishes to join us for dinner, I have no objections.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“You know, Jocko is a very lucky man. If you ever tire of him…” He trailed off with a laugh.
She smiled up at him. “Why you frisky jaguar. I do believe you’re flirting with me.”
“Of course I am, my dear. I would be foolish to pass up such an opportunity. My wife does not mind if I flirt as long as I take it no farther.” His brothers left them as Ortega led her inside the main house and upstairs, across to another wing. They stopped before a large set of wooden doors, where he knocked.
From inside, a man’s voice. “Come in.”
Ortega opened the door, which wasn’t locked, and indicated for Lacey to go first.
Marston Hill turned, shock registering on his face when he recognized his visitor.
She immediately waved him down. “It’s all right, Marston. I come in peace.”
In his arms, he held a baby cradled, feeding her from a bottle.
Lacey felt her heart tightly squeeze. “May I come closer?”
He nodded.
She walked over, tears welling in her eyes. The baby looked up at her even as she greedily sucked down her formula.
“She’s beautiful,” Lacey whispered. She held out a finger and the baby grabbed it, holding tight. “I told Mercedes when I saw her in Yellowstone that she’d have a girl.”
He seemed at a loss for words.
Lacey looked up into his eyes. “She really did love you, Marston.”
He nodded.
She returned her attention to the baby. “My sweet Colleen,” she softly said.
He broke his silence. “How did you know her name? Did Ortega tell you?”
Lacey shook her head, cherishing the moment.
“I…Mercedes made me promise to send you a picture and tell you her name,” he said. “I’m sorry I haven’t done it yet.”
“It’s okay.” Tears slipped down her cheeks. “May I please hold her?”
He glanced over at Ortega, who nodded.
Reluctantly, he handed the baby over.
Lacey let out a soft sob as she stared into the baby’s eyes and bottle fed her. “Colleen. Sweet, gentle Colleen.”
“This is more than just knowing her name, isn’t it?” Marston asked.
Lacey nodded. “I saw it.” She finally turned her gaze to Marston. “In Yellowstone. When I talked with Mercedes.” She returned her attention to the baby. “The Goddess works in mysterious ways, sometimes.”
Apparently it finally clicked home. “She’s your Colleen?”
Lacey nodded. “I talked with Baba Yaga and confirmed it. The Great Wheel has once again been spun around. She isn’t the first to return.”
“What does this mean?”
Lacey shrugged. “Frankly, I don’t care.” She let out a soft laugh that she felt down to her toes. “And no, I won’t be telling anyone about you or her. As long as you promise to let me come visit her and send me pictures and updates. Call me Aunt Lacey, if you want.”
“Of course.”
After a moment, she placed a kiss on the baby’s forehead before returning her to her father. “You have a second chance, Marston,” she softly warned him. “I will be watching. If—”
He shook his head. “I’m not that man any longer. I swear it. I will do whatever I can to help out and make amends. I know it won’t be enough for some, but I have to at least raise my daughter.”
She carefully wrapped her fingers around his wrist, mindful of the baby. After a moment, she slowly nodded and released him. “I believe you.” She looked at Ortega. “He’s telling the truth.”
“I suspected,” Ortega said. “It’s hard to hate a man who makes silly noises while bathing an infant.”
“What does Fiona know?” Lacey asked Ortega.
The men seemed to share a guilty look. “That’s…complicated,” Ortega finally said. “We told her that Abernathy abducted her mother while she was pregnant and then killed both her and her father. That my wife and I are her biological grandparents, and Marston is one of her father’s distant uncles.”
The irony of the amount of truth in the last statement made her smile. “Okay. That’s easy enough to go with. Will she also be joining us for dinner?”
“If you wish.”
“I do.” She let out a sigh. “For now, at least, we can relax a little. Enjoy the simple pleasures of life.”
“What about the cockatrice?” Marston asked.
“They are not our fight any longer,” Lacey told him. “I mean you and I. Although I know Ortega won’t let go, and rightfully so. But you and I, our jobs are done for now in that regard.” She gently stroked the baby’s head. “We have reached a time to enjoy our later years and let the younger ones take over that battle.”
“I need to tell you something that you need to pass on to your Clan.”
Lacey met his gaze. “And what is that?”
“There’s a book. Well, more than one, there were at least two that I know of. I’m pretty sure one of them is in the possession of your Clan.”
“The cockatrice spellbook?”
He nodded.
“And?”
“The one that had belonged to Edgar, my mate’s brother. She found it in Lenny’s house after he died in Yellowstone.”
“She was the one who ransacked his house?”
“Yes. We ran so fast when the cockatrice were coming after us, we forgot the book. We couldn’t get back there for it.” He nodded toward Ortega. “I told them where it had been, but they said the house had been torn apart already by cockatrice. They got away with the book.”
Lacey felt a chill ripple through her. “So it’s back in their possession?”
“I think so.”
Ortega held out his hands. “The stink of them was all over the place. I swear to you, we didn’t find it.”
“I believe you.” She heavily sat in a chair and stared at the baby cradled in Marston’s arms. “The nest my Clan killed in Maine, I believe members from their group are ones who killed Mercedes. But when our people searched the house, they didn’t find another book. So it’s likely already in someone else’s hands.”
Lacey took a deep breath and let it out again. “But, like I said, it’s not our fight any longer. I will, however, figure out a way to pass the information on to my Clan without revealing how I know it.” She stretched her arms over her head, weary from her travels, feeling joints pop and creak in her neck and shoulders. “The best thing you can do is to stay completely hidden,” she said. “It will be difficult enough for me to keep this from the girls. I don’t need you doing anything stupid and revealing yourself.”
Marston nodded.
“At least this explains a lot,” Lacey said. “Why I never saw anything about you dying. About my Clan killing you. I thought for sure that Lina was going to fry you to a crisp, but I never saw it.”
Marston apparently didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t reply.
“If Liam finds out where you are, he won’t hesitate to kill you. You realize that, don’t you? Or his brothers.”
“I know,” he quietly said.
“Believe me,” Ortega said, “if it wasn’t for the baby, his head would have been sent to Blackestone without a second thought.”
“You don’t know what Mercedes did, do you?” she said to Marston.
“What do you mean?”
“The evidence she sent to my Clan. About Rodolfo killing Paul Abernathy.”
A Wolf in the Fold [Triple Trouble 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 38