Pack Justice (Nature of the Beast Book 1)

by RJ Blain

  I clenched my teeth at the thought of Andrea becoming a victim because of me. “Over my dead body.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of, Sean,” Captain Ramirez replied.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sometime after the explosion but before we arrived at the station, whoever had targeted me and my home had sent a video to the cops, along with a bunch of pictures of the night before. One showed me arriving at my house after dinner with Kevin.

  The final picture showed my house moments before the detonation, including my car still in the driveway and the house lights on as I had left them. To all appearances, it looked like I had been home.

  I hadn’t lingered when Kevin had picked me up in the early morning; it would have been easy for someone to miss the short time he was in my driveway.

  The station’s conference room wasn’t large enough for the massive task ahead of me. Evidence littered the table, and I wasn’t the only one wearing gloves to keep my fingerprints off things as we searched through old papers, mail Marcello and Dan had gathered from my box while I had been missing, and an assortment of packages and items sent to my office address.

  Hundreds upon hundreds of items waited, and the police needed me to confirm what I knew about each and every one of them. I slipped into a numb daze at the pieces of my life flowing by me. The bills, I learned, had been covered by the pack anonymously, which in turn had been funded by the Inquisition.

  I still had questions about who—or what—the Inquisition actually was, but I’d have to wait until I escaped the police station and cornered Andrea or Ramirez. I took off my glasses, set them aside, and massaged my temples to drive away my growing headache.

  “If it makes you feel better, the package arrived before you showed up at your place,” Marcello said, handing me another envelope. “Oh, look. Another bill.”

  “Story of my life,” I replied, taking the envelope and pulling out the folded sheet of paper. Like every other bill received during my disappearance, a notecard with the date of the bill’s payment was clipped to it. “The insurance company is going to love the call I’ll have to make to them soon.”

  “We’ve already started the ground work on it. At least your safes—yes, all three of them—did survive. We get to go through them next. Aren’t you excited? You must be so excited, Sean. You get to watch us sort through your private life, one item at a time.”

  “Didn’t you already do that? My private life is very boring. Anyway, one of the safes belongs to Idette.” I didn’t have the code or key for it, and I wondered how the police would crack into it. “Good luck getting into it.”

  “We have people who can, don’t you worry. We already have the warrant to examine all evidence from your property, too. Never seen the inside of the safe?”

  “I have no idea what’s in it. We had one private safe each plus the household safe.”

  “Why?”

  “I had one to protect client information. Idette got hers because she didn’t think it was fair I had one and she didn’t.” Snorting, I returned the bill to the envelope and set it aside. I considered putting my glasses back on but decided it wouldn’t make any noticeable difference in how much my head hurt. “Idette had a habit of watching me put things in my safe, so you’re not going to find a whole lot in mine unrelated to clients or defense lawyers.”

  “Any surprises we should know about? Love letters to the innumerable women you must have had in the wings?” Marcello waggled his eyebrows at me before handing over another envelope. “Put your glasses back on, Sean. We’ll never get through this if you have to squint at everything. Remember, we’re looking for odd bills, bills in wrong amounts, or anything unusual. If Idette left a paper trail, I want to find it.”

  I had my doubts, but I kept quiet and did as I was told.

  Hours dragged by, and by the time Dan and Captain Ramirez came with the contents of Idette’s safe, I was fighting to keep my eyes open. Marcello gave me yet another cup of coffee. Coffee was supposed to have a rich flavor, and its bitter bite should have woken me up, but I barely tasted anything.

  “You look dead on your feet,” Ramirez said, setting a box in front of Marcello. “We’ve already gone through your other safes, and while nothing looked out of place, I want you to do an inventory on them, too.”

  “I thought you’d be locking me in one of the interrogation rooms and grilling me for hours about where I was, what I was doing, and how I was doing it,” I complained, eyeing the box warily. “Do I even want to know what’s in this box?”

  “We’re pretty confident you were the victim and not the culprit, Mr. Scott, as you can’t be two places at once. Your alibi with Mr. Weston checked out, and we have eyewitness accounts from several real estate agents and home owners stating you were viewing properties. More importantly, we have a few eye witness accounts of the actual culprits, including the man who dropped off the little package of video and photographs.” Ramirez tossed a manila envelope in front of me. “Any of these men look familiar to you?”

  I set aside my coffee and pulled out several sheets of paper with pictures printed on them. Sure enough, I recognized all six men in the photos. “I might even be able to give you their names with a few extra cups of coffee or some sleep. I prosecuted all of them.”

  “Looks like Idette is finished trying to capture you and is now out to get rid of you—either that, or the gentlemen are acting on their own to get you out of the picture for their own reasons, including the freedom to pursue Idette.” Captain Ramirez shrugged, picked the envelope back up, and slipped the pictures inside. “We have sufficient evidence to connect them to your wife.”

  “Does this mean I won’t have to hire a defense attorney to prove I didn’t destroy my property?”

  “You’re in a position to press charges, although I will recommend you use a lawyer. I’m sure you can find someone who will be glad to represent you. You know the routine. Of course, this assumes we’re able to catch them.”

  Something in Ramirez’s tone warned me the police—and the Inquisition backing them—had no intentions of allowing the men to live long enough to stand trial.

  I really wanted to go somewhere I could take a shower and crawl into bed and sleep for a month, but I turned my attention to the work in front of me and said, “Anything I can do to help.”

  “Let me know if you find anything,” the captain ordered before leaving the room.

  With a long groan, I slumped over the table and covered my head with my arms. “Can I quit?”

  “Doesn’t work that way, Sean,” Marcello replied. I heard him dig through the box, then yelp several moments later. “Ah, fuck.”

  I turned my head, staring at him. “What?”

  “Silver jewelry,” the Fenerec muttered, reaching across the table to pick up a pair of tongs, which he used to lift out the pieces made of the metal. “Bitch could have warned me.”

  I sat up, staring at the collection Marcello situated on the desk. They were already in evidence bags, but I recognized the pieces immediately. “I gave those to Idette years ago. I thought she had gotten rid of them.”

  “Our bane,” my friend grumbled, shaking his head. “Do yourself a favor and avoid touching any of it. The shit’ll burn you right through leather gloves and leave your skin black. Once you get a little older, it won’t bother you quite as much unless the silver’s old, but still. Be careful. The stains will bleed right through your clothes, too, and it’s a real bitch to get out. If you think you’ll be near the stuff, black gloves are best.”

  “I already got educated.” A shudder ran through me at the memory of the silver Idette had glued to my collar and harness. “Hand me something that won’t try to kill me.”

  Marcello snorted and handed over a bag filled with envelopes. “Looks like the crazy bitch was hiding some papers of some sort.”

  I chuckled, put on a new pair of latex gloves, and went to work. The first sheet I unfolded had me sucking in a breath. “Uh, Marcello?”


  “What?”

  “Are prison security personnel supposed to take home copies of the prisoner transfer lists and routes commonly used?”

  Marcello dropped the tongs and snatched the paper out of my hands. “Captain! We got something, and it’s not good.”

  I flipped through the papers, and by the time Ramirez made her appearance, I was trembling. While I could speculate why someone would blow up my house, I was starting to wonder if Idette had been involved to get rid of the evidence in her safe.

  The papers weren’t just a list of routes; it was a roadmap to busting people out of jail. It explained how Idette had helped Douglass Roberts escape from prison. Ramirez put on a pair of gloves before taking the sheets from me.

  Her face paled, and she stared at me for a long moment, her mouth open. Clacking her teeth together, she flipped through the pages. “Well, this could be a motive to get rid of the entire house. If Idette was working with a bunch of criminals, she definitely wouldn’t want anyone to know she had copied this information. Jesus Christ. Get those dusted for prints. It probably won’t help, but maybe we’ll get lucky. We could use some luck right now.”

  Ramirez tossed the pages on the table, spun on her heel, and stormed off.

  The dreaded questioning session happened before they let me leave the police station, and I admired Captain Ramirez’s ruthless tactics. I was so exhausted by the time she ordered her detectives to grill me I couldn’t remember what they asked, let alone my answers.

  I couldn’t even remember their names, except the woman had a strange, smoky scent to her. Her partner watched me in silence.

  Since returning home wasn’t an option, I ended up staying at a hotel twenty minutes away from the station. According to Marcello, the place was operated by the Inquisition, and if Idette or one of her conspirators wanted to get to me, they’d have to fight through a small army of Fenerec and witches to do it.

  The check-in process went by in a blur. I felt sorry for the manager, who had to shuffle reservations and make certain there was a room he could give me for at least two months.

  By the time I had a room key in my possession, I regretted being unable to accept Andrea’s offer of staying at her place. Until the people who were trying to kill me were dealt with, I couldn’t risk Andrea.

  My spirit beasts and I had different opinions on a lot of things, but we all agreed on that; we had to protect Andrea, no matter what the cost. I could deal with Idette and her pack of convicts.

  Andrea wouldn’t pay the price for my failings, not if I could do anything about it.

  I regretted not having ripped out Idette’s throat in the forest. What would be different if I had left Douglass Roberts alive?

  Who would have paid the price for my leaving him alive? The thought chilled me.

  My room was on the top floor of the hotel, and I was staggering and yawning when I made it inside. Instead of the single bedroom and bathroom I expected, the place was more like an apartment, with a small foyer leading to a sitting room.

  Andrea sprawled on the couch wearing a bathrobe, and her eyes were a brilliant yellow. “You’re late.”

  I closed the door behind me, slipping the latch into place to keep people out and Andrea in. Purring at the welcomed intrusion, I dropped my suit jacket to the floor and loosened my tie. “I was unaware my room was already occupied.”

  “Suffer. We had some of your clothes at Ramirez’s place. I was kicked out of the police station and ordered to make myself useful, so I went shopping on your behalf. You have six new suits. They probably need altered, but it’s better than going to work naked.”

  “Work,” I grumbled, tossing my tie on top of my jacket. “I guess showing up after several months and quitting is bad form, isn’t it?”

  “Just a bit.” Andrea slid off the couch, showing a great deal of her bare legs as she did so. “You need a bath before you get dirt all over the room.”

  “Does the bath come with a pretty lady?”

  “Do you want it to?”

  Andrea’s red eyes at my destroyed home haunted me. Desperate to keep the mood light, I said, “If you promise more good bites than bad bites, definitely. I’m still supposed to thank you for sparring with a reporter on my behalf and invite you to coffee. Maybe some flowers. Do you like flowers?”

  “I like flowers if the right man is giving them to me. I have been instructed to bring you completely up to speed on everything that has been going on this weekend. But first, we’re taking a bath. You’re filthy. You have black smudges all over your nose, and it looks like you dunked your hair in a pigsty. I’m surprised they let you check in looking so rumpled. I’m not even sure your suit can be salvaged.” Andrea wrinkled her nose. “You stink.”

  I scowled, but I couldn’t argue with her. It was after midnight, I hadn’t managed to get a shower, and I reeked of smoke. “I should have told you and Captain Ramirez I was going out this morning. I’m sorry.”

  Andrea stared at me from the doorway of what had to be the bathroom. I thought she was going to reject my apology, but then she smiled. “It worked out. You scared the hell out of me. I saw your house and thought there was no way anyone could be alive in there, but I didn’t want to believe you were gone. I didn’t feel anything.” Her smile faded. “I knew something was wrong when you were shot.”

  “I’m sorry I got shot, but I’m not sorry I did it.”

  Taking a bullet had hurt, but if I faced armed men again as a wolf, I wouldn’t hesitate to use what I had been taught. Instead of going for a kill, I had options. I could disarm without killing someone in the process, and the knowledge comforted me.

  “Nor should you be sorry. You did the right thing, you know. That’s what being part of a pack is all about. Just try not to get shot again. It’s not good for our nerves. My nerves, especially.” Andrea giggled. “It’s a good thing I work for the Inquisition, or they would have thought I was nuts. Captain Ramirez isn’t very happy with me right now.”

  “I’m pretty happy with you right now,” I offered, peeling out of my shirt and tossing it on the pile near the door. “I’m not normally this much of a slob, I swear.”

  “Stop fussing and get naked. I can’t do what I want with you when you still have your clothes on.”

  I laughed and obeyed. With a sensuous smile, Andrea beckoned me with a finger and disappeared into the bathroom.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  If Andrea had any plans for us, I spoiled them within five minutes of leaving the bathtub. I meant to go to the couch, but she herded me to the bedroom, and the instant I flopped on the mattress, sleep seemed like a really good idea.

  Waking up with her curled beside me pleased a purr out of me, and I stretched, grimacing at the creaks and pops of protest from my joints.

  “It’s too early to get up,” Andrea mumbled, rolling over. “Go back to sleep.”

  There was an alarm clock in the room, but it was too blurry for me to read. The glow of the numbers reflected on my glasses, which were on the other side of Andrea on the nightstand. I grumbled and crawled my way over her, reaching for them.

  “Sean, what are you doing?”

  “Glasses.” I snagged my glasses with a triumphant huff and managed to get them on my face. The clock informed me it was seven.

  “Explain how you can’t read the numbers on the clock without your glasses, but you can locate your glasses.” Andrea laughed and poked my chest. “You’re just pretending to be blind, aren’t you?”

  “Innate eyeglasses detector. Very useful when blind.” I yawned and stretched again. “Is it morning or night?”

  “Probably morning, could be night. I don’t care until Monday. I have you where I want you, and I intend to keep you here. When I let you out of my sight, you get into trouble.”

  The way my stomach gurgled warned me it was probably evening rather than morning. I considered the damage to my sleep schedule and decided it didn’t matter. Taking off my glasses, I set them out of harm’
s way, scooting closer to Andrea until I could rest my chin on her shoulder and breathe in her scent. “I don’t get into trouble. Trouble finds me.”

  “I see. And who jumped out of the window as a cheetah in an effort to get rid of a crazy bitch?”

  “I’m supposed to be the prosecutor.”

  “Defend yourself, Mr. Scott,” Andrea challenged.

  “Temporary insanity. I thought it was a really good idea to rip her head off at the time. Instead, I went after Douglass Roberts and let her get away. She probably blew up my house to destroy the evidence of stealing the prisoner transfer data from her job—ex-job, that is—and likely wanted to make sure I was in it when it happened.” I paused, sighed, and shifted closer to press my nose to Andrea’s throat. “I was trying to get rid of the house, but she sped the process up a bit. You know, I was coming up to the room and cursing because I couldn’t just go to your place. Finding my room already occupied was very nice.”

  “Why are you sweet talking me, Sean?”

  “I want dinner, and I want you for dessert,” I informed her, dropping a gentle kiss on the side of Andrea’s neck.

  “Aren’t you forgetting breakfast?”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s night, so we can skip breakfast and lunch.” A knock at the door put an end to the rest of what I wanted to say, and I sighed, grabbing my glasses and putting them on. “The pretty, naked lady should stay warm in bed. Does this room come with a bathrobe?”

  “Bathroom,” Andrea replied, pointing at the door. Smiling at me, she wiggled under the blankets and smirked as I got out of bed. “I put real clothes for you in the closet, too.”

  “If they don’t like me in a bathrobe, then they can suffer,” I grumbled, pausing long enough to grab one of the two bathrobes hanging in the bathroom. I tied the sash in place before heading to the door.

  Someone had removed the ruined remains of my suit. I checked the peephole to discover Marcello and Dan in uniform on the other side of the door. I sighed, unlatched the door, and opened it. “If you’re looking for coherency, I’ve been awake maybe ten minutes.”