Sharon knocked on the door and it was opened immediately by a very large were who smiled fondly at her and then turned to Garrett, his intelligent eyes taking him in and then moving over the rest of the group, assessing each one. This was obviously the Beta, Jake, Sinc’s father, Quentin’s second in command. When his gaze locked on Sinc I could see him tense slightly and then move on until the entire group had been filed into categories: dangerous or irrelevant. Somehow I thought that I was put in the latter group, being female. Huh. Already I was pissed. I saw Liam grin out of the corner of my eye. I had no doubt that he was right up on the top of the dangerous group, at least if Jake had any knowledge of the fae and their abilities.
He stood aside and allowed us all to enter, then said, “I’m Jake.” He indicated a room to his right. “Please wait here and make yourselves comfortable. I’ll let Quentin know that you’ve arrived.”
Garrett smiled and said, “Thank you, Jake.” Sinc didn’t look at her father, but instead moved directly into the room to gaze out the window at the woods beyond the side yard. Sharon left quickly with her mate as the rest of us entered the richly furnished room, sitting in various comfortable chairs and couches while we looked at each other with curiosity.
Jake hadn’t said anything at all to his daughter. He hadn’t seen her in over ten years. I for one thought that was pretty messed up, so I walked over to stand next to her. She smiled a quarter smile and when I put my hand on her shoulder she actually twisted around to give me a hug. We stayed like that for a few seconds and then broke apart.
She looked around the cozy room with a wistful expression. “I used to play in this house with Quentin’s sons when I was young. It has the coolest attic with all kinds of trunks and wardrobes and fun stuff to mess around with. And they have a pool out back where I learned to swim. When we played hide and seek it would take over an hour to find us. I used to love coming here…”
“We used to love having you here.” A young man stood in the doorway. He definitely wasn’t the Alpha, but he seemed at home in this lavish house. He was 6’ tall, with broad shoulders, thick dark blonde hair worn long to brush against his collar and piercing dark blue eyes. “How are you Sinclair?” He was taking her in from head to toe in a curious way, but it didn’t seem to make her uncomfortable.
“I’m well, Gabriel. How are you and your brother, Karl?” We were surprised that she didn’t correct him and ask to be called Sinc. Instead, she seemed to lose her tightly guarded expression, probably still remembering those happy childhood times she’d shared with him. Sinc introduced all of us to Gabriel, Quentin’s eldest son and heir. I pulled on the lines and felt thick rings of power spinning around him. He was definitely Alpha material.
“We’re both well. Karl is out of town but he’ll be at the meeting tomorrow night. He’s very excited to see you again. Perhaps the three of us could spend some time together while you’re here. I’d love to catch up.” Sinc hesitated and then nodded her head, surprising us all. She probably thought she’d get some inside information cozying up with the alpha’s sons.
Gabriel turned to the rest of us. “It’s nice to meet all of you. We’re hoping that you’ll be able to help us with this difficult situation. I’ll take you to my father.” He led us to a conference room, where several men stood around speaking quietly. It wasn’t hard to figure out which one was the Alpha as he moved away from the others to stare at Garrett and then the rest of us. He was very tall, 6’5”, with thick black hair tied at his neck, dark eyes and perfect skin the color of coffee with a touch of cream. His handsome features were native American in origin and his smile was warm, yet his curious eyes were scanning us the way Jake’s had when we’d first arrived.
Garrett took a moment of his own to survey the others, then everyone was introduced and shook hands. Quentin smiled, gesturing for us to sit as he took his seat at the head of the table. Garrett sat on Quentin’s right, then me, Sinc and Ethan. Sasha and Liam stood behind us as Jake and another wolf named Joseph stood behind Quentin and Gabriel. Gabriel sat to Quentin’s left along with Craig. It didn’t surprise any of us that there were no female weres at the meeting. I watched Jake looking at Sasha, Garrett’s second, as if he was disappointed. Sasha leaned against the wall and smiled back in his usual relaxed way. Gabriel’s attention was only on Sinc.
Quentin spoke first. “Garrett, it’s a pleasure to meet you and your mate, Jackie, and your team. Welcome to Los Altos.”
“Thank you for your hospitality. We’d like to hear whatever information you have regarding the disappearances and then we can begin our work.”
“Please excuse me if I take a moment to greet Sinclair.” He looked at her with a quiet intensity.“ I hear that you’ve made a name for yourself as an investigator.”
“I’m in charge of our team’s forensic and computer science division. I’m also being trained as a fighter.” Her gaze was confrontational.
He smirked. “Yes I’m sure that you’re good with a gun, Sinclair.” Wolves had little respect for people who used guns to win battles.
Garrett spoke up. “Sinc protected us all against a pack of wolves when a blood witch conjured a knock out spell. She’s quite courageous and an indispensable member of the team.” My heart warmed when I felt Sinc relax slightly after Garrett’s supportive words. Standing behind Quentin, I noticed Jake arch an eyebrow in surprise, but then quickly revert back to his neutral expression.
Quentin’s expression was cold as he stared at Sinc. “I'm pleased to know you've reached your full potential, such as it is.” Before we could react, Quentin continued in a more businesslike manner. “We need to discuss your fee.” Garrett’s eyebrows rose. “It’s high.”
“I understood from your email that the fee was acceptable. It was explained that the work we’ll be doing is detailed and time consuming.” Garrett didn’t look worried, having been warned by Sinc that this might happen.
“I was under the impression that you were bringing in professionals to handle the investigation.” Quentin sat back in his leather chair, looking relaxed and confident. “I understand the fae are here for security reasons and that your mate has excellent tracking skills, but I don’t feel that your young team of shifters are worth what you’re asking.”
“They’re all experienced, but this is beside the point, Quentin. You agreed to the terms.” His voice was calm and his manner was relaxed, but I could feel him pulling in a small amount of power from the lines as a precaution.
“I’ll pay you seventy-five percent of what you asked, which is still an exorbitant amount. That’s really all the pack can afford. These men have families to support.” From what I’d seen as we walked to the meeting, there was no sign of financial struggle. Everyone drove late model SUVs or new pick-up trucks. The few wolves that had watched us walk by were all nicely dressed and the homes we’d passed were quite large.
Sinc leaned in and whispered in my ear and I forwarded it to Garrett. “The pack is very well off financially. Sinc checked it out before we came.”
Liam sent to Garrett and me. “He’s lying.”
Garrett smiled as Quentin glared at Sinc. “The fee is non-negotiable. I was honest about who I was bringing and you accepted our terms. We’d like to help you find these teenagers, but if you aren’t happy with my team for whatever reason, then we’ll leave within the hour. We’ll still have to bill you for our time and whatever expenses we've incurred up to this point. Also, since the Western Pack Council are involved, we'll have to email them a report." They were the governing body for werewolf packs in the western U.S. and Garrett's cousin Aaron was on the board. Garrett smiled pleasantly and waited for Quentin’s response.
“Maybe we could try…” Craig had started to speak, but was cut off by a lethal glare from his alpha. He looked down immediately.
Quentin was fuming, but he managed to pull it in with some effort and then smile tightly. “I suppose that I’ll have to accept your terms as they stand, but if you don’t do the job yo
u’ve hired on to do I will expect a full refund. We won't be taken advantage of." His voice and expression were frosty as he looked us over one at a time in a slightly intimidating way. What he’d said could be taken as a threat, not of violence—yet, but a threat nonetheless.
Garrett would need to nip this in the bud, and I had every expectation that he'd succeed in his usual classy way. Still looking cool as a cucumber, he narrowed his eyes in thought while saying, “I can guarantee that you’ll be satisfied as long as we’re given the freedom to conduct the investigation as we see fit. And if you would re-read the contract that you signed you would see that partial refunds are only given out at my discretion. We’ve already received your retainer and as per our contract, the balance of our fee is to be wired to our bank in Crescent City by Friday. However, if there's a dispute regarding our work I'm sure the WPC can settle it."
He sent to me, Liam and Sasha, “Something’s up…can you feel it? It's almost like he doesn't really want us to investigate.“
I didn’t move but sent back, “I agree. Liam and I are watching auras. I wish more of the pack were here so we could compare.”
Quentin’s eyes flashed amber, meaning his wolf was present and pissed off, but his voice managed to remain calm. “There's no reason to involve the Council. We’ll get down to business. I have the information here regarding the missing boys. Perhaps you’d like to look it over before the meeting tomorrow.” Gabriel pushed a folder full of papers at Garrett. It was overflowing and seemed to be disorganized, requiring more than a few minutes to sort through, at least for most people. It showed a lack of respect which Garrett wasn’t about to let slide.
“Sinc will take a look at it now while we talk.” I passed the folder down to Sinc who worked with Ethan, efficiently spreading out the pictures of the boys and all pertinent police reports and other information, collating and sorting through it quickly.
Garrett’s gaze hadn’t left Quentin’s. “I’d like to hear your take on the situation, Quentin.”
Quentin made a big show of checking his watch. “I don’t really have a lot of time…”
“We only need a few private minutes with each of you.”
“That’s not possible.“
“Surely you didn’t call us here and agree to pay our exorbitant fee as you call it, only to hinder our investigation. Four of my team will be interviewing the adult members of your pack tonight, females included, so we’ll need a complete list. Sinc, Ethan and Brina are going to need access to every site where the teen boys were last seen. The rest of my staff will be working the lab and communicating with other consultants in Crescent City if necessary.” Maya and Rob were on call if we needed their help with something off-site. Garrett would be moving between our groups and also doing a little investigating of his own.
There was complete silence in the room as Quentin and Garrett faced off. Now we would find out how much the alpha was willing to do to aid in the investigation. Quentin knew that if he denied us full access to his pack and his territory, then it would look to everyone as if he wasn’t fully committed to getting the boys back. I knew he wouldn’t personally agree to a private interview, he would consider it demeaning, but as long as we could speak to the others, we’d know which pack members were involved the moment they started to lie to us.
Quentin’s gaze was calculating. “I would insist on another wolf in the room with whoever is being interviewed, and no more than two of you doing the interviewing.”
“That’s fine. We can set up two rooms: Jackie and Sasha in one, Liam and Heinrich in the other. It shouldn’t take us long. We’d like to begin at 8 PM at the house. We want to finish all the interviews before tomorrow night’s meeting. Meanwhile,” he turned to Sinc, “do you know where you want to start your investigation?”
“Yes, I’ll begin at the schoolyard. That was the site of the most recent disappearance. I have my kit with me and I’ve already sent a text to Brina who’ll be meeting us there in fifteen minutes. If it’s alright, Ethan and I will head over there right away.” She packed up the folder, now neat and well organized, and handed it to Ethan who placed it in a messenger bag he was carrying.
“Don’t you want to wait until tomorrow morning? It’s dark.” Quentin was curious. “I suppose we can get some temporary lighting up, but it’ll take us an hour or so.”
“There’s no need, Quentin. I have Brina.” We saw the confused looks.
Garrett explained. “She’ll light up the area with fae light. She can even adjust the brightness. Liam, Brina and Kaera are all trained warriors, but they have many other gifts at their disposal with which to aid an investigation.”
“I’d like to accompany you, Sinclair, if that’s alright.” Gabriel hadn’t spoken for the entire meeting, but I’d noticed him glancing at Sinc often. He turned to me. ”I’ll be happy to be interviewed by you tonight, Mrs. Cuvier. Is midnight good for you? I’ll bring my mother then also.”
“Please call me Jackie. I’ll see you both at our house at midnight.” He was oozing with charm and good breeding, but he seemed nervous. I gave Ethan a look and he nodded. To Liam I sent, “Tell Brina to keep an eye on the alpha’s heir.”
He smiled and replied, “I’ve already told her.” My mouth turned up at the corners as I tried to hold in the laugh. GMTA.
Sinc, Ethan and Gabriel left the room and those of us that remained focused our attention back on Quentin. “You’ll hold all of your interviews here in my home.” Quentin spoke with a crisp authority. He was used to being obeyed without question, but we weren’t pack members.
“We’ve already set up two interview rooms in the house you’ve been kind enough to put us up in. It will be less distracting if the interviews are done there and not under...not in the home of the alpha.” I smiled pleasantly at him as he twisted his mouth in annoyance.
“I have to insist, Mrs. Cuvier.”
“Jackie, please.”
“Jackie.” His stare was intense and I felt a small prickle of energy seeping down my spine, as if he were trying to glamour me, something I’d never heard of a werewolf being able to do. Liam and Garrett could feel it too and I sensed them pull in more energy in response.
Garrett knew that Quentin’s attempt was pissing me off so he spoke up quickly, trying to avoid a confrontation. “We need complete control over our investigation. It’s the only way that the results will be accepted by the community as being free of outside influence. This is how we work a case.” Quentin frowned. “It’s all laid out in the contract. If you’ve misplaced your copy, I can have Sinc email you a new one in a few minutes. Perhaps you’d like to look it over before the meeting tomorrow.”
As Quentin’s words came back to slap him in the face, the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees. The two leaders locked gazes for a moment before Garrett spoke again. “Quentin, we have no interest in interfering in pack business. We only want to bring these boys back to their families. Please allow us to do the job we were hired to do.”
After another tense moment, Quentin stood and smiled, although not as warmly as he had earlier. “You will use your house for the interviews and Sharon will make up an interview schedule beginning at 8:00 PM tonight which she’ll email to you within the half hour. She and Jake will make sure that every adult member of my pack is there at their assigned interview time.” He looked at Jake, who nodded.
“I will allow you free access to all of the pack lands, as long as there is at least one wolf accompanying you. Please keep me informed of anything that you find out pertinent to the case. Tomorrow night at eight we will welcome you properly at our pack meeting. Thank you for helping us out with this difficult situation. I must say goodnight as we have other business to attend to.” He nodded and left abruptly, followed by Jake and Joseph. None of them were smiling.
Craig paused to say to Garrett, “Thank you. We appreciate what you’re doing.” He left quietly.
I turned to Garrett. “This was not what I expected.”
/> “No. I think we should flash back to the house to discuss everything in private.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Five seconds later the four of us had settled into various chairs in the main living area of the house along with Kyle, Heinrich, William and Kaera. Sinc, Brina and Ethan were busy at the school. “Kyle, find anything interesting?” Garrett smiled, fairly sure of what Kyle would tell us.
“There was a bugging device in almost every room, plus cameras in all the main common areas and entrances. Someone who knows what he’s doing is really worried. I’ve taken care of all of them plus I’ve added some of my own surveillance equipment. The interview rooms would make 007’s boss proud.” Kyle gave us a toothy grin. “Kaera and Will helped me organize the temp lab.” We’d rented a trailer to use as a temporary forensic lab and it was well equipped for our purposes.
“Excellent. Thank you. Let’s discuss our take on tonight’s meeting.” Garrett sat back and waited, feeling that the team should feel free to speak out and not always look to him. He encouraged us to use our minds and our instincts and to feel comfortable brainstorming ideas in front of him.
This time it was Liam. “Quentin lied several times. I believe that he knows where the boys are and the reason they were taken. Why he called us in is the question.”
I had an idea about that. “I think that he may have been pressured into doing something about the disappearances by his pack, or at least the members who are not involved in whatever is going on.”
Garrett nodded. “I agree with you. Although the alpha is the supreme leader, he can be overthrown if there's enough dissension in the ranks and there’s a werewolf strong enough to take him out. Weres can challenge the Alpha, but they may have to fight his second to the death before they can approach him. Jake is quite formidable, but considering the circumstances, I think someone might be desperate enough to cause problems. The loss of a child is devastating and can cause a parent to behave in uncharacteristic ways. Calling us in to calm the masses, so to speak, could be a motive.”
Blown Away (Rogues Shifter Series Book 4) Page 7