by Renee George
He gave me an assessing look then smiled. “You’re picturing me naked, aren’t you?”
I blinked. “I am not.” I mean, I had been trying really hard not to, anyhow.
His smile turned wolfish, which was really weird for a bear. “Tell me about these three people. These, what did you call them? Hume’s day preppers?”
“They actually call themselves TSS, the Therianthrope Survival Society. Which is a real fancy name for a bunch of doomsday weirdos. They believe that when humans find out about therians, there will be a reckoning. The humans will come and exterminate us.
“In a way, it’s sort of what we talked about this morning. People are scared of what they don’t know. They are scared of anything different from themselves. The TSS believe that if it ever gets out that we exist, it will be an extinction level event for our kind.” I shivered.
“It’s an extreme point of view. Unfortunately, the theory has enough teeth. I can see why some would believe it’s true. How long has the group been around? And how many are there?”
“TSS has been around for about fifty years or thereabouts. I would say there are probably close to a hundred people at their compound. They own several patches of land near the lake. Dad has had a few run-ins with them. Mostly drunk and disorderlies.” I chuckled. “They have their own stills and make a potent moonshine. Nothing dangerous though. These are the kind of folk who want to avoid drawing attention to themselves. I can’t see them doing these abductions or the murders.”
“We’ll have to interview them.”
I nodded. “They’ll give some pushback. They are scared of humans, but they have a severe dislike of integrators. You and I are integrators. They see us as a threat to their existence. What if we pop a nail or grow fur at the wrong time around the wrong human? We might be better off letting my dad handle the TSS interviews, or at least bring him or Eldin along to soothe the path.”
“These guys sound like a real stable bunch. I agree to having an escort, but not Farraday.”
I’d been distracted thinking about the preppers, but Dom’s dismissal of Eldin drew me back to the now. “Would you prefer Deputy Boden?”
It was Dom’s turn to blink. “I...no, of course not,” he sputtered.
“Eldin is a fully capable lawman, and he’s worked longer for my dad than any of his other deputies. Besides, I trust him completely.”
Dom’s mouth thinned into a grim line. “Completely, huh.”
I stood up and grabbed my purse from the floor. “I’m late for dinner. I’ll report on what I learn from the Messers when I get back.”
Before I could get past him, Dom reached out and snagged my wrist. Him sitting on the edge of the bed while I stood there put us at nearly the same height. His gray-green eyes were stormy as he stared at me. “Don’t...” He let go of me and shook his head. “Don’t treat the Messers like witnesses or suspects. Treat them like old friends.”
“Yeah. I know. They’re more likely to give information to me if they think it’s social and not official.” I tugged my arm from his loose grip.
Dom stood up. “I’ll see you when you get back. Wake me if it’s late, and we’ll go over a plan for tomorrow.”
My skin tingled where he’d grasped me. I resisted the urge to rub my wrist. I didn’t want him to know how much he affected me. “Okay,” I said more breathlessly than the situation warranted. “I’ll see you when I get back.”
I SHOVED A LARGE FRY in my mouth, and almost spit it out as it burned the crap out of my tongue. “Ow,” I breathed around the hot as hell potato.
“You always do that,” Eldin said. He took a bite of his burger. A rivulet of juice dripped down his chin.
After I managed to swallow the crispy coal, I laughed. “And you always do that.” I grabbed his napkin and tossed it at his chest. “Wipe your face, caveman.”
His tongue snaked out of his mouth, and he licked at the beef juice, managing to smear it around and make an even bigger mess.
I giggled. He laughed. It took me back to being sixteen again. “You always could make me smile,” I said.
“It’s a gift.” He grabbed the napkin and wiped his chin. His expression blanked then turned serious. “This used to be a quiet town.”
“You mean during the decade that Neville Lutjen was selling out our kind to hunters?” I shook my head.
A lock of his brown hair fell over his green eyes. “When you put it like that it makes me sound naive.”
“I think we all were. A bunch of ostriches with our heads in the sand.” I bit into another fry, still hot, but not scorching, and enjoyed the way the salt coated my throat. I wiggled the bit still in my hands at Eldin. “The way this killer mutilates his victims before he kills them, we can’t afford to think of Peculiar as a safe place. Not now. Especially since the latest victim hasn’t shown up dead.”
Eldin pursed his lips for a moment then met my gaze. “You think this Lieberman guy might still be alive.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. I think it’s a possibility. The abduction was messy. He put up a fight. I think he is a survivor. Someone our unsub didn’t expect.”
“You know my uncle lives out at the compound, right?”
“That’s right. I forgot Uncle John was a prepper.”
“And you know, they aren’t completely wrong. Coming out to the world is a scary prospect.” Eldin’s gaze drifted for a moment. “Speaking of coming out—”
“I heard you were back in town,” a deep voice interrupted. I looked up to see a massive man with a full beard, broad shoulders, and a bit of belly paunch. His brown eyes were hard but not threatening.
“Brandon?” I stood up, and as in high school, he towered over me. He was even taller than Dominic. Damn, bears were big. I smiled and shook his hand. “Brandon Messer. It’s so good to see you.”
The wariness he’d been carrying eased. “It’s good to see you, Nic. It’s been a long time.”
“About ten years,” I said. “We both got out of here after high school and never looked back.”
“Until this year,” Brandon agreed. “I’m home for good now. I hear you’re with the FBI.”
“Yep, that’s me. Got a badge and everything.” I smiled.
“Hey, Eldin,” Brandon said to my dinner date.
“Brandon,” Eldin nodded. “Why don’t you sit a spell with us? It’ll be just like when we were kids.”
Brandon’s shoulder tensed. “I can’t. I’m cooking tonight for ma. I need to get back to the kitchen. How’s your food?”
“The burgers and fries are awesome,” I said. “Best in all of Missouri.”
Eldin leaned forward. “I can’t believe I don’t weigh four hundred pounds.”
“It’s that fox metabolism,” I said. “You were always a bean pole.”
“That’s the God’s honest truth.” Brandon smiled, finally, and he visibly relaxed. At that moment, I realized he was nervous. But why?
Blondina came out of the kitchen, her face pinched with anxiety. She made a beeline for our table. “How you all doing tonight?” she asked with a forced sweetness. I’d never seen her so apprehensive. What in the hell was going on? And what were the Messers so afraid of?
“Hey, Blondina. Doing good.” I gave her an easy smile. “How are you?”
“Sid called and said you’d be coming in to talk to me, Brandon, Roger, and Selena about one of our punch cards. I don’t know what we can tell you, but ask away.”
My father had a big mouth. So much for keeping my interviews social. “Not at all,” I said. “We think one of your diners might have witnessed a crime in Springfield. We found one of at the scene of a crime. A man was abducted from his home a couple of nights ago, so the whole thing is time sensitive. Truth is, I really don’t believe anyone from our area is involved,” I lied, “but I have to tick every box if you know what I mean.”
Blondina nodded emphatically. “I’m happy to help, sugar. Ask me anything you’d like.”
Brandon averted his eye
s toward the door. I saw an almost imperceptible shake of his head before darting his gaze back to Eldin and me. I turned to see what had drawn his attention.
Mallory Evans, a tall, curvy blonde, had walked into the restaurant. She froze for a moment with a mild look of confusion, then turned around and put her hand on the door.
“Eldin,” I said in a tone that put the deputy on high alert. I nodded toward the door. “Mallory.”
The woman flung the door open and took off in a sprint.
“Shit!”
“What’s going on?” Blondina asked.
I took two twenty-dollar bills out of my purse and put it on the table. “We have to go.” Eldin was already up on his feet and yanking his jacket on.
By the time we got out the door, Mallory was nowhere to be seen. I balled my fists and slammed them into my thighs. “Damn it!”
“Why would she run? She can’t know we found her prints,” Eldin said.
“Brandon tipped her off. Whatever’s going on, he’s in it up to his neck.”
“With torture and murder? That’s a leap.”
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed “Agent Pain in My Ass.”
“Hello,” he answered.
“This is Nicole,” I said.
“I know. What’s going on?”
“Mallory Evans showed up at Blonde Bear Cafe tonight.”
“And?”
“And she saw Eldin and me and took off. We lost her.” Saying it out loud felt humiliating. The first time I officially come up against and suspect, and she just slips away. “Damn it, Dom. I should have had her.”
“It’s okay, Nic. Your dad is working on a warrant to serve on the TSS compound. I’ll see if he can put a rush on it, and I’ll pick you up in town. We’ll find her.”
“She knows we’re after her.” My heartbeat pulsed hard in my throat. “What if she warns the others? What if we’ve missed our chance?”
“There will be other chances.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because there always is.”
A few seconds of silence passed. I closed my eyes, listening to his breathing. “Okay,” I finally said. “Call me when Dad gets the warrant.”
“Where will you be?”
“I have to talk to a bear about a prepper.”
AFTER TWENTY MINUTES of getting nowhere with a certain stubborn restaurant owner about where her son had run off to, I resorted to whining. “Blondina, you have to tell us where Brandon went.”
The large, blonde woman crossed her arms and shook her head. “My son hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“He clearly gave Mallory Evans a warning when she entered the restaurant tonight,” I said, unable to keep the incredulity or the annoyance from my tone.
Her husband, Roger, who was even taller and bigger than his wife, put his arm around her shoulder in comfort. “He took off out the back a few minutes ago.”
Eldin nodded. “Thanks, Roger.”
Blondina turned a venomous look at him. “How could you?”
“Listen, Honey Bear,” he said soothingly. “I agree with you about our boy. He is no criminal. But that doesn’t mean he’s not foolish. We’re not doing him any favors by hiding anything from the police.”
I put my hand on Blondina’s arm. “Look. I’m not going to railroad Brandon. If he’s done nothing wrong, I swear he’ll get a fair shake. You know my dad isn’t going to let anyone innocent go down for something he didn’t do.”
“But it’s not just local police involved, is it?” Blondina gave me the stink eye. “I trust Sheriff Taylor. I don’t trust the FBI.”
I nodded. “Don’t trust the FBI then.” I squeezed her arm. “Trust me. I promise to be diligent and fair. Now, do you know where Brandon might go?”
“First, tell me what this is about? I’m not giving you any information until I know why you’re here, Nic.”
“It’s an ongoing investigation, Blondina,” Eldin said. “We’re not allowed to share any information.”
I cast him a grateful glance. In the periphery, I saw my dad, Dom, and a man I recognized as Judge Harrison Holt. He’d been the judge for the Peculiar Municipal Court for twenty years. I hoped his presence meant they were able to get the warrant.
Blondina, a strong and proud woman, teared up when she saw my dad. “Oh, Sid.” She clutched her chest. “You know my boy. He isn’t a criminal.”
My dad walked right up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “No one is saying he is.” He looked at Roger. “How does Brandon know Mallory Evans?”
The female bear shifter shook her head emphatically. “I don’t know. That’s the honest truth. His divorce was official last month. I don’t think he’d be dating again so soon. That Samantha broke his heart. It’s why he moved back home.”
Judge Holt spoke up, his brown eyes sharp with intelligence. “I’ve signed the warrant to search the TSS compound, but Sheriff Taylor, I think I should go out there with you all.”
“Why?” Dom asked and earned an irritated glance.
My dad said, “Judge Holt grew up on TSS land, his father was one of the founders.”
“Now, I don’t ken with all that they believe. It’s why I went off to college as soon as I graduated high school and earned a law degree. I believe that if the humans ever find out about us, we’re going to need people who know the law.” He looked at Dom and me. “Like you two. You do a great service for our people.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Do you still have ties out on the compound?”
“I have some cousins and an uncle. My dad died fourteen years ago. Since he’s been gone, I don’t have much reason to visit, but I still go to occasional social gatherings. It’s the reason I want to go when you serve the warrant. My kinfolk and the other families are heavily armed, and I don’t want any of them to be punished because of paranoia. While I find it hard to believe any of the three people on the warrant are involved in this crime, the fingerprints on the card are enough evidence, as far as I’m concerned, to question them.”
Dom’s brow furrowed, making him look downright grumpy. “It’s acceptable to us. Let’s go.”
My dad circled his finger in the air. “I’ll call Deputy Thompson to meet us at the compound gates with tactical gear.”
The judge pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is that necessary? I really don’t believe this is going to come down to a firefight.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” my dad responded. “But I’m not going to take a chance with my people.”
I knew he mostly meant me, his daughter, but hey, I didn’t disagree. “We have a couple of vests in the trunk of our vehicle.”
“Good.” My dad turned on his heel toward the front door. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Eight
The perimeter of the compound featured high, rough stone walls and a wrought iron gate with motion sensor video cameras. We parked far enough back from the activation area and waited for Tyler Thompson to arrive with the gear. The cold February chill turned even more miserable as Mother Nature added rain to mix.
“This is going to suck,” Dominic said as I turned the engine off.
“We could always wait for the spring,” I replied.
“Smart ass.” He smelled like lime and verbena. I congratulated myself for not leaning over and taking a big whiff.
“Yep.” I caught sight of headlights in my rearview mirror and breathed a sigh of relief. I needed a distraction from Dom’s invigorating scent. If I was honest, I was this close to licking the man. A second later, the lights went out as the vehicle drew closer to us. It was a sheriff’s car. Deputy Thompson had arrived. As the young deputy got out, people exited my dad’s truck. I put my hand on the door latch. “Go time.”
Exiting the car felt like stepping into a margarita—with the blender on full spin. Dad gave me and Dom black plastic ponchos from the back seat of his truck.
“Always prepared,” I said.
“Can’t take the credit. Your mother put them
in there. She loves the weather channel.”
In a way, I guess Mom was a prepper. I smiled. “I’m glad to have it.” I tucked my hands inside. My fingertips tingled as I wiped the dampness onto my shirt.
“You okay?” Dom asked.
“Yes. Raccoon therians have sensitive receptors in their hands and feet that allows us to identify objects and items by touch alone.”
“That sounds handy.”
“Ha ha.” I rolled my eyes. “Getting my hands wet makes them uber-sensitive. Unbearably so.”
Dad nodded. “It only get’s worse as we get older.” He absently rubbed his fingertips together.
“So, you all are good with your hands.” Dom smirked. “I’ll file that away as information I didn’t know.” He rubbed his arms. “It’s freezing out here.”
“It’s not so bad. If it wasn’t raining, it would be comfortable enough.”
“What? Raccoons don’t get cold?”
I smirked. “Yeah, sure. But it takes colder temperatures than what we’ve been experiencing. Besides, I thought bears ran hot.”
“We do. Which is why we’re affected by the cold. I’d go and hibernate right now if someone offered me a warm cave.”
I could tell by his amused look he was kidding. Besides, I’d grown up with bear shifters, and none of them ever hibernated during the winter.
Eldin joined Dom and me. “Ready to go?”
I nodded. “I am itching to get in there.”
Deputy Thompson sidled up next to us. “I’ve never been to the compound before. This should be interesting.”
He pulled a mustard-colored rain poncho out of its pouch. A boom of thunder made me jump right before a loud pop sounded, and my car window shattered. I threw myself on the muddy gravel road, rocks biting into my knees.
“What the hell!” Dom shouted as he hit the ground next to me along with Thompson and Eldin. I looked for my dad, and he and the judge had already crawled behind his truck. He waved at me to move for cover, but it wasn’t necessary. Dom had already grabbed me and was dragging me toward the ditch. I gained my feet and crouch-ran the rest of the distance on my own. The two deputies scrambled for cover as well.