She locked the door behind us. “What’s up?”
I pulled my keys from my pocket as we walked to the truck. “Caine seems to be going for her car. We need to make sure it’s not fixed for a while, not until the she-wolf shows up again.”
“Can’t you send someone else? That was an important meeting you just shut down.”
The Upper Peninsula assholes were the least of my worries, and I growled as I unlocked the F-250. “This is important. Stopping the abductions is important. Caine’s attackers probably know that you and I are in town. Word travels fast in places like this. I don’t want anyone else on our team breaking cover.”
We loaded up and rumbled out of the parking lot. My palms itched. Something told me the woman was going to be a problem.
Once we turned onto the county road, we overtook her quickly. Between our truck and her bright blue rollerblades, it was no contest. Still, I stared in fascination as we approached. She bent low and thrust her long, lean legs side to side as she glided down the road with a pair of white sneakers slung over her shoulder. Her motions were so fluid and elegant, it was like a dance, and the way her ass flexed beneath those cut-off shorts stoked a heat deep within me.
I slowed as we drove around her. For safety.
Regina glared at the woman as we passed. “That wolf killer should be standing trial before pack law, not skating around town.”
Disgust tinged her words, but I understood. Savannah had killed a pack member. I’d kicked Dane out, but once pack, always pack. Self-defense or not, there needed to be some sort of justice for his family.
Regina’s eyes seemed to say, Your sister wouldn’t have hesitated to drag Savannah in by her long red hair. Stephanie had believed in the Old Ways, just as plenty of the pack did.
She would have been the alpha one day.
I tightened my grip on the wheel. “The seer told me the woman will lead us to answers. We need her for now, and we’ll protect her until we don’t.”
Regina stiffened. “You shouldn’t have gone to that fortune teller. Divination is one of the dark arts.”
I said nothing.
“Only the moon-mother knows the future,” Regina pressed. “You should have at least warned me.”
Our pack forbid the perverse practices of the occult. My sister would never have gone to a seer. But Stephanie was dead, I was in charge, and we were desperate.
Fuck the old rules.
“The seer got us this far,” I muttered.
She snorted. “And what, are you going to start breaking all our taboos? Will you try scrying next?”
It was impossible for our kind to use that kind of magic, but I gave her a warning growl. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect the pack.”
Regret tinged her eyes. “Which is why I worry, Jaxson. There will be a hidden cost. The fates take as much as they give.”
“I know.”
While I hadn’t told Regina, the seer had already warned me. If you find the woman, you will find the answers you seek. But those answers will destroy you.
That didn’t matter—the pack did, and I’d deal with my own destruction when the time came. For now, I needed to end this madness.
Regina checked her side mirror and crossed her arms. “So, what are we going to do with the woman, then? Just sit around and watch her skate?”
That would be a good view.
Regina would smell my arousal at that thought, so I growled and took control of the conversation. “If you want to string her up for what she did to Dane, you can bet that his she-wolf partner will want to rip Caine to shreds.”
“It’s a good thing those two abductors weren’t a mated pair.”
She was right. If they’d been true mates, the she-wolf wouldn’t have run. She’d have ripped her way through the car doors and torn Savannah limb from limb or died trying. I’d seen it happen before: Billy, my brother-in-law, had gone berserk when my sister died. It had taken all my strength—and my father’s—to stop him from starting a war with the fucking sorcerers who’d killed her.
But even if those two weren’t mates, the missing abductor was a wolf, and she would come looking for vengeance.
“Then what’s our plan?” Regina asked, stirring me from the echoes of Stephanie’s death.
“I’ll make sure the mechanic doesn’t fix Caine’s car. Then you and I will pretend to head out of town this evening and circle back through the woods. I’m hoping the she-wolf will return as soon as we’re gone, and the rest of the team can jump her and beat some answers out of her.”
It didn’t take long to pass through Belmont. The town was insignificant, and you could miss it if you blinked. I pulled into Randy’s Auto Body and parked in front of one of the open bay doors. Savannah Caine’s car sat in the second bay.
No one was in the dingy little office. I didn’t have the time or patience to wait, so I ducked into the dark garage. My eyes adjusted after a second, and I saw a mechanic with his head down behind the open hood of Caine’s Gran Fury. “Are you Randy?” I asked.
The man stood straight and grabbed a stained towel. “Yep. How can I help you?”
“My truck needs an oil change.” It didn’t need a thing, but humans couldn’t smell lies like werewolves could.
Randy started wiping grime off his fingers. “How about this afternoon?”
“I’m in a hurry. I’ll pay extra.” It wasn’t a request.
The mechanic glanced back at the woman’s battered car, weighing his priorities. It was the perfect opening. “Hell, that thing looks like it’s in pretty bad shape.”
He nodded. “You can say that again. Poor girl ran over a wolf last night. Look at these claw marks—it’s like the damn thing attacked the car. Thank the Lord that monster is dead. They should shoot them all.”
Instead of ramming my claws into Randy’s eyes, I forced my fist to relax. “How bad is it?”
“Well, that depends.” The mechanic scratched his head with still-greasy fingers. “The owner wants it back pronto, and it’s technically running. I just had to reconnect a few radiator hoses. How the radiator isn’t cracked in half, I don’t know. A surprising amount of the damage is cosmetic.”
I stepped close and let my alpha presence wash over the man. “It seems like the damage is a lot worse. Are you comfortable sending the woman out on the road in a vehicle that isn’t roadworthy? Does your insurance cover that?”
The reek of the mechanic’s rising shame and guilt flooded my senses. He rubbed his chin. “I guess I hadn’t really thought of it that way. I’ve known Savannah for a few years. Nice girl. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her because I didn’t fix her car right.”
I nodded. My alpha presence worked best if I led people to conclusions that matched their beliefs. The sheriff hadn’t wanted to believe that monsters could be in his Podunk town, so he’d readily accepted that everything was a wolf attack. The mechanic, on the other hand, probably prided himself on his work and reputation.
I fished a coil of bills out of my pocket and started counting hundreds. Randy’s eyes widened as I thrust the wad of cash into his hand. “I’m sure it will take weeks if you’re going to fix it right. This is a down payment. I’ll pay the entire bill at twice the normal price, just make sure you take your time. And don’t tell the woman about our arrangement.”
He nodded slowly and took the money.
I tossed him the keys. “First, my oil change.”
Randy caught them in cupped hands and headed out front to pull my F-250 into the empty bay, leaving me alone with the Gran Fury.
I checked over my shoulder and extended my claws, preparing to sabotage a few important components of the engine, but Regina gave a low whistle, and I froze.
Retracting my claws, I stepped to the edge of the garage just as Savannah came zipping down the street.
6
Savannah
Oof. Rollerblading was way harder than I remembered.
I hadn’t been on s
kates since I was sixteen. A lot had changed since then, including my shoe size, and my feet were screaming expletives at the rest of my body.
Alma didn’t have a car anymore, her old bird-shit-blue bike had a flat, and I didn’t want to spring for a taxi—not that they were easy to get around here. As a last resort, I’d pulled my old blades out of the closet. I’d had them with me when Alma had whisked me off to Belmont, and I hadn’t put them on since. Skates were for children, and after Mom and Dad died, I was no longer a child.
Once I pushed past the pain in my feet and legs, I embraced the euphoria of speed and being on the open road with the wind in my hair. I’d worked up a sweat and my blouse was damp, so the breeze felt divine.
Actually, these rollerblades were still pretty fun.
I whipped around a bend, and Randy’s Auto Body appeared down the road. The parking lot out front was empty, but there was a black truck with Illinois plates in the left-hand bay. My stomach twisted, and bile rose in my throat. What the hell was that asshole doing here?
I glided into the lot and started applying the heel brake when a dark shape stepped out of the shadows of the garage. I jerked back, my foot caught some gravel, and I launched into the air.
Instead of hitting the pavement, I jerked as two strong arms grabbed me and hauled me up onto my unsteady feet. A jolt of electricity ran through my body, and a shiver danced across my skin.
Jaxson Laurent. A light breeze carried his forest-scented cologne, and heat rushed to my lower belly. His pupils dilated as his dark eyes penetrated mine.
Oh, God.
With my cheeks burning like I’d spent the day in the sun, I awkwardly disentangled myself from his strong arms and balanced ungracefully on my blades. I was a sweaty mess, and my blouse stuck to my body in awkward places.
Jaxson, on the other hand, was just as gorgeous as he’d been last night, only today he was wearing a business suit that contrasted well with his tousled hair and stubble-lined jaw. His deep brown eyes traced over my body, and his lips quirked into a smile. “You should keep your eyes on the road.”
I drew in a ragged breath as his smoky voice skated over my nerve endings. “I hit a pebble.”
Blood rushed to my already red face. That was all I could say? Desperate to rekindle my dignity, I snapped, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Oil change. What are you doing here, Ms. Caine? Not planning to leave town, I hope?”
I sure the hell am.
Something about him made the hair on my neck stand on end, though I couldn’t quite put a finger on it. Power. Presence. An undercurrent of danger.
I dragged my gaze from his. “I’m checking on my car. I was in an accident last night, remember?”
He smiled, though it was nowhere near genuine. “I do. And as luck would have it, we’ve been wanting to ask you a few questions about what happened. Let me introduce Regina Martin.”
A chestnut-haired woman stepped up to his side and held out her hand. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes—not even close. While Jaxson’s expression had been a pleasant façade, the one on her face was an abject lie. I could smell it on her. While her extended hand said, Let’s be friends, everything else about her said, I want to leave your body in a ditch.
Nuh-uh. I knew better than to shake hands with people like that. “Sorry, I’m here for my car. Maybe another time.” I leaned to the side so I could peek into the garage, only to find that Randy was busy working on Jaxson’s ride, not mine.
That ass. Ignoring Regina’s hand, I shoved off my right foot and skated around Jaxson and his sour-faced henchwoman and into the garage.
Jaxson’s relentless gaze never left my back, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how that made my skin feel flushed and sensitive.
It’s hotter than a fish boil in here.
I stumbled over to Randy in my skates. “Hey! How’s my car?”
Randy tilted his hat back on his head. “Pretty banged up. It’s going to take me a couple of weeks to fix.”
I couldn’t have been more surprised if he’d thrown motor oil in my face. “What the shit, Randy? You told me it was running just thirty minutes ago!”
His eyes flicked over my shoulder and back. “I had a chance to take another look. If the cops don’t bust you for a broken headlight, the tranny or radiator will leave you stranded somewhere you don’t want to be. You need to get this fixed.”
Anger boiled up inside of me, but it lacked a good outlet. While I had a nose for lies, Randy was telling the truth—my car was screwed.
The heat of Jaxson’s stare was practically unbearable. I peeked over my shoulder, then leaned toward Randy and lowered my voice to a whisper. “You know I can’t afford to fix all this. I’m broke, and my insurance is crap.”
He smiled. “Well, there’s good news. I called your insurance agency. Everything is covered, including the tranny. They won’t even raise your rates.”
There it was. That was the lie I was waiting for. Fury surged through my veins, and I fixed Randy with a soul-rending stare. “Is. That. So?”
His eyes darted over my shoulder again, telling me everything I needed to know. The goddamned spooks had gotten to him.
“You ass,” I hissed, and skated out of the bay. Coasting over to the suspects, I shouted, “What did you tell him?”
“Nothing,” the henchwoman said.
Truth.
I skidded to a stop in front of lying Mr. Laurent. “What did you tell him?”
He leaned back and shoved his hands in his pockets, a satisfied look on his face. “Why? Are you trying to go somewhere? Not with that vehicle, I hope. Especially after I asked you to stay in town last night.”
“Why are you trying to keep me here?” I snapped.
He tilted his head. “Why do I have the feeling you’re not going to stay put, Ms. Caine?”
I wanted to impale him with eye-daggers, but it was really difficult to be intimidating when I was barely balanced on my rollerblades. I leaned in carefully, trying not to flop on my face, and gave him the best glare I could muster. “Because people are trying to abduct me? That seems like a damn good reason.”
The vixen chimed in. “Mr. Laurent and I are trying to stop these abductions. You’re an important witness. We need you to stay in town until we can apprehend the people responsible.”
I took a step back. “‘Apprehend the people responsible’? Who exactly do you work for? I know it’s not Wisconsin DNR. You have Illinois plates, so nice cover there, idiots. You’re not cops, and I’m not telling you anything until you produce credentials.”
“We represent an interested party,” the woman said. It looked like she was interested in gutting me.
“FBI? CIA? ATF? Campbell’s Soup?”
Jaxson inclined his head, and I thought I saw a flicker of gold in his eyes. Whoever he worked for had power. Control. I could practically feel it radiating off him. That, and a deep, intoxicating scent of forest and cedar.
He spoke with a voice so low and rough that it excited the nerves under my skin. “You don’t need to worry about the details, Ms. Caine. While the authorities are doing nothing, we’re hunting your attackers down. We just need your cooperation.”
Honestly, when he said it like that, it made sense. Sheriff Kepler was a goddamned idiot, far past his prime and way out of his league. And so far, the state investigation had produced jack-shit. If I wanted answers, I was going to have to cooperate with the spooks.
At least they seemed marginally competent, if exceedingly suspicious.
“I’m not blind,” I said. “You showed up at the Taphouse right before I was attacked.”
Jaxson looked around. “We’re hunting the people who were hunting you.”
Truth.
“Fine. You want my cooperation? I need answers first. Do you believe I was attacked yesterday by the same people who are responsible for the other abductions?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
My heartbeat began to drown out the noise arou
nd me. Shit was getting real. “My assailants said, ‘She’s the one.’ Am I being targeted?”
“That is a possibility, which is why it’s safest if you just head home. We have people watching your back.”
Holy hell. I was under surveillance? My heart raced, and my skin turned cold, even in the hot midday sun. These assholes had to be FBI or the actual damned men in black.
“Who’s after me?” I whispered. “I need to know. Why am I being targeted?”
“I’m afraid we’re not at liberty to disclose the details of the case,” the woman said.
I glared at Jaxson. He’d said the same thing the night before—lyingly.
This was bullcrap.
I stepped forward on my blades, moving so close to Jaxson that I was sure he could hear my heartbeat. “If these psychopaths are hunting me, give me one good reason why I should stay put.”
My mouth soured, and I could almost taste the frustration radiating off him. Behind those shadowy eyes, there was a man struggling to maintain control. A beast, lurking below the surface. My muscles tensed, and the hair on my neck stood on end.
Jaxson leaned down so that his mouth was next to my ear, and his breath danced over my skin. “You have no idea who or what you’re dealing with, Ms. Caine, and you’re not in possession of all the facts. Three people that we know of fought back, just like you did. The difference is, their entrails ended up splattered across the floor of their homes, and their bodies were ripped apart, piece by piece.”
I jerked back, eyes wide.
He straightened and fixed me with a stern expression. “From your experience in the parking lot yesterday, you might imagine how.”
I shook my head in denial as images of that tattooed psycho ramming his claws into the other man’s chest flooded my brain. The monster had thrown the man’s body onto the hood of my car like he was a rag doll. He’d grabbed my wrist—he could have just as easily gutted me and left my blood splattered across the parking lot like a Jackson Pollock painting.
Murderous psychos with claws for hands. I’d fallen into an episode of The X-Files.
Wolf Marked (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 1) Page 4