Liam added, “Someone must have called the Western Pack Council, since Aaron knew all about the boys. They could have put pressure on Quentin to get to the bottom of the disappearances quickly."
"There could be another reason he’s lied.“ Will didn’t usually contribute to our group conversations, so we looked at him, a little surprised. “Maybe he's protecting someone: his mate or one of his sons.”
I shrugged. “Gabriel is powerful, but he didn't seem like a kidnapper. We have yet to meet Karl or Katrina, but you could be right.” Will looked pleased that I’d taken his suggestion seriously.
Heinrich spoke in his deep, rich voice. “So he’s hired us, but he doesn’t really want us to find out anything. I wonder to what lengths he’ll go to keep us from discovering the truth.” We were all quiet for a moment.
Sasha leaned forward. “Perhaps extreme. With this in mind, we need to take our security seriously. If Garrett, Heinrich, Will and I are not here from dawn until, say 6 PM, then the rest of you are at much greater risk during that time.”
“We can protect them, vampire.” Kaera’s eyes began to sparkle with gold, but she looked more amused than angry.
Sasha leaned back again, smiling his most beguiling smile. “I don’t doubt that, Lady Fae, but even you have to sleep. We need to make sure that our shifter team doesn’t go wandering off unprotected."
Kyle snorted, “We don’t go wandering off like toddlers, Sash. Jeez.”
"I hear kittens are easy to distract. A little catnip and..."
Garrett held in the laugh and tried to look stern. "Focus please. I don’t believe he meant it quite like that, Kyle. But he’s right, the team as a whole is more vulnerable without the four of us, especially with Brina accompanying Sinc as she gathers evidence. It's only a matter of balance."
"They'll think you're still here." Liam reminded Garrett with a smile.
"Yes, the weres don’t know that we’ll be returning to Crescent City every dawn, but they do know that we're weak during the daylight hours. Sash, you and Kaera put your heads together and come up with a staggered sleep schedule that works for the group.”
Garrett looked at his watch. “We have about an hour before the pack is going to start showing up for their interviews. Jackie and Sasha will be in one room and Heinrich and Liam in the other. Kyle and I will watch from the control center. Keara and Will, I’d like you to keep things flowing smoothly. Make sure we’re only seeing two weres at a time. This room can hold ten or twelve comfortably so we can have that many waiting to go in. The rest need to wait outside. When Gabe and his mom show up, send them directly to Jackie. Don't make them wait. Ethan can help you when he gets back. We’ll leave out coffee and water bottles. That’ll have to do.”
Kyle stood up. “They left us some food, so how about we eat something?” He looked over at Heinrich who grinned at him and licked his lips. “At least those of us who eat food. You coffin dwellers ate already, right?”
Heinrich let his fangs lower. “You offering? There’s always room for dessert.”
Kyle laughed. "Maybe there's a rat running around in the basement for you to suck on, Igor."
Rick was grinning too. "Just don't eat too fast. I don't like cleaning up fur balls."
“Children, you need to behave.” I glared at them as I stood. “The next few hours are going to be tough. Quentin's adult pack is only about forty strong, so it really shouldn’t take all night.” I noticed Kaera moving toward Sasha and sitting next to him on the couch, so when the others headed off I waited in the doorway, feeling a little curious.
“What exactly is the meaning of your name? Sasha." She spread out the word, making it sound kind of sultry. "It has an oddly soft sound; very unlike American names.”
“Sasha means ‘defender’ in Russian. I suppose that Kaera has some powerful meaning in fae?” He leaned back in his sexy way and draped a long arm over the back of the couch. He was dripping with seductive charm, since there was no blood more delicious to a vampire than fae blood. Sasha was obviously hoping for a little taste. Having had a taste of fae magic several times myself, I understood the appeal.
“Not exactly.” Kaera shook her head, allowing her thick black hair to tumble over her shoulders, setting off her glittering violet eyes. “It means ‘darkness' and is a tiny part of my True Name, but suits me well, I think. My sister and I enjoy the more dangerous road. My family doesn’t always approve.” She met his gaze, inviting him to make a move.
Sasha was reaching for her hand when I spoke up. “Kaera, I think you should get something to eat. Sasha and I need to talk.
Sasha glared at me, but Kaera only nodded with a slight smile. “As you wish, Jacqueline.” She got up and went into the kitchen as I stared at the angry vampire on the couch.
“Jackie…”
“I don’t give a crap what you do on your free time, but Kaera’s here to work and so are you.” I suddenly felt dizzy and so I plunked myself down awkwardly in a nearby chair, clutching at the arms to steady myself. Sasha looked at me strangely for a moment and then must have sent a message to Garrett because he was by my side in a flash.
“You look pale, are you unwell?” Garrett kissed my forehead to feel my body temperature and then took my hands in his as he squatted next to me.
I sent a mental thank you to Sasha who’d seemed genuinely concerned, then lifted my eyes to look at Garrett. “I’m fine, I think I need something to eat. It’s going to be a long night.”
“I can take Sasha’s place in the interview room if you need me there.”
I glanced at Sash who I knew was looking forward to dealing with the weres, although he was keeping his expression blank. “You know that he’ll call you if there’s a problem. You've said yourself that he and Heinrich are master interrogators. If we’re interviewing a male wolf, I’ll play good cop and if it’s a female, he’ll play—very good cop. We have it all worked out.”
Sasha winked at me, grateful for the confidence I had in him, despite my feelings regarding his constant flirting. Garrett’s small nest had endured more horror at Eleanor’s hands than I could ever imagine. Garrett and I wanted them to feel like they were an important part of our team, hoping that they could eventually eke out a new life for themselves and put the nightmares behind them.
Garrett nodded. ”It sounds like an excellent plan, so come inside, my love, and eat something.” He kissed me sweetly and then helped me into the kitchen where I ate two helpings of fried chicken and mashed potatoes, feeling better by the time the first weres arrived for their interviews at nine o’clock.
We’d decided to ask the most basic questions related to the disappearances while I watched their auras and tapped into the lines to see if they were lying. Liam had taught me what to look for, so I hardly spoke at all and just let Sasha do most of the work.
Sasha would introduce the two of us in a friendly way and then make a few bland comments or ask a few generic questions to put them at ease. With the single female weres, he’d walk back and forth to give them a good view, all the time asking them questions in his laid back sexy way and listening to their answers, rewarding them with a smile. The mated females would get a different Sasha, as he’d sit across from them and speak with a concerned look on his face, appealing to their motherly instincts for any help they could possibly give us. With all the males he’d ask his questions in a very professional manner, so none of them would feel like he was being confrontational or accusatory in any way. I’m sure we learned a lot more than we would have with someone less experienced on board.
While we waited in between interviews, I had a chance to ask him some questions of my own, deciding this was a perfect opportunity to learn a little about his history.
“So what did you do before Eleanor found you?”
Sasha was hesitant at first, looking almost shy. Finally he shrugged. “I painted.”
“Houses?”
He smiled wryly. “No, portraits and landscapes. I particularly enjoyed painting po
rtraits of beautiful women.” He grinned , then his expression turned wistful. “I also loved painting mothers with their children.”
“You made a living doing that?” I didn’t mean to sound so shocked, but this information didn’t jell with what I’d seen of the amazing warrior sitting next to me.
“Actually I did. I was much sought after in Moscow, believe it or not.”
“Of course I believe you. But how did you learn to fight?”
“At sixteen, I was a soldier in the Imperial Army. I had a natural gift for weaponry and hand-to-hand combat, but I hated the waste of human life, always for causes only important to the royal house and the wealthiest families. Too many peasants were killed for their small plots of land, their women raped and their children left to starve.
"When I was released, I took up painting, studying with a local artist to improve my skills. I wanted to create something beautiful, something original, but all I was able to do was take what was beautiful already and put it on canvas in my own feeble way. The loveliest married and unmarried women from all the best houses came to my studio and commissioned me to paint them.” He gave me one of his devilish looks. “It was my pleasure to accommodate them.”
I was fascinated by his tale. “How did you meet Eleanor?”
“She came to me one evening and asked to be painted in her home. I preferred to use my own studio but she insisted. Eleanor was exquisite and I easily fell under her spell and couldn’t refuse. By that time, I had become a rather shallow excuse for a human being and I arrogantly believed that she’d not only pay me well but also be seduced by my twenty-six year old charms as so many others had.”
He turned away and looked out the window, painful memories darkening his expression. “I came to her home for seven nights to paint her, intending to draw it out for as long as possible. I never suspected that anything was odd about her. She used a rented and furnished house as her base, leaving her nest elsewhere, except for Antoine who answered the door when I'd arrive, behaving like a perfect servant. She'd easily glamoured me into believing that I’d fallen in love with her.” He smiled sadly as his voice grew soft. “I’d bring her white roses when I came to her each evening and she’d make a fuss over them like it meant so much to her.”
He turned away again, as if he was still embarrassed after all this time by his naivety. “When the painting was finished she took me into her bedroom and turned me. There was no discussion. She'd chosen me and I was now her property to do with as she pleased. I would have rather she’d killed me.”
He was silent for a few moments, shaking off those memories before continuing. “The next month we moved to her mansion in Louisiana. She’d lived there on and off for two years and had already decided to take Garrett and his family for her little ‘experiment’. We brought them in chains to her villa in Carmel, California. One week later, Garrett was a member of our nest and the rest of his family was dead.”
Moved by his story as well as the trust he'd placed in me, I looked at his long graceful fingers and asked, “Why don’t you paint anymore, Sasha?”
“The painting I’d done of her was my last. She hung it over her mantle so I was forced to look at it daily. She liked to torture us that way. When Heinrich was turned, he had a picture of his daughter and his wife in his wallet. She'd bring it out when he resisted following her commands and she'd talk about all the horrible things she'd do to them if he didn't obey her." He shook his head and lowered himself into the chair next to mine with a long sigh.
"My skills as a painter weren't what drew Eleanor to me. She sensed that I'd inherit her charismatic charms, so when I did, she put me to use luring in female victims. She called them cattle. When she found out I’d been a soldier, and had quit because I’d hated the killing, she forced me to train in the fine art of torture. I became one of her enforcers. When I refused, I was tortured, usually by Antoine. She broke all of us over and over so we continued to do what she demanded. Garrett was the only one strong enough to stand up to her for any length of time."
A shiver ran down his entire body as he remembered what she’d done to him and the others. “Whatever artistic gift I was born with shriveled up and died many years ago.” He shrugged his shoulders and looked at me, probably thinking I’d be appalled by what I'd heard. Instead, I wiped away a tear. "Don't weep for me. There are many more deserving of your tears."
A kernel of an idea grew in my mind. He watched a smile spread across my face and arched a blonde eyebrow in curiosity. “What? My story is now amusing to you?”
“Can I speak to you privately, in your mind?” I knew that we were being monitored by Garrett and I didn’t want him to hear. Sasha nodded. “Garrett’s birthday is right after Christmas on New Year’s Day.”
“Yes, so…?”
“Would you paint my portrait so I can give it to him? He’s got one of his family hanging over the fireplace that he loves, and I thought he might like one of me too.”
Sasha smiled at the idea. “He would treasure it, but you could find a much better artist to paint it. I’ll check around for you.”
“No, I want you to do it. Please. It'll mean more to him and me if you do it.” He didn't look convinced. "You know it's true. You've part of his family, and mine too."
“I don’t have paints or brushes or…”
“Make a list. Those supplies will be my gift to you, Sasha.” He shook his head. “Don’t argue with me. We’ll go together to the art store and you can get everything you need. I want you to start painting again. We’ll make one of the rooms in the Vamp Villa a studio for you. Maybe Aedus will want a picture of Philladre and the baby.” I realized that I was jabbering on excitedly without considering how he might feel about this idea. “I'm sorry, Sash. You can think it over. I'm being pushy, aren't I? I only thought you might like to paint again.”
He stared at me for several seconds looking puzzled. I laughed. "I'm serious, about all of it." Perhaps he could finally believe that we were a team: a group who supported each other during our work but also in our everyday lives. He’d trusted me with personal information that he’d rarely shared.
Understanding passed between us as he nodded his head. “Mistress, I would be honored to paint your portrait. Thank you.” His smile was genuine and it made me very happy to see it.
CHAPTER SIX
We’d managed to finish all of the interviews an hour before dawn, so we had thirty minutes to go over our list of prime candidates before Garrett and his nest had to take off. Everyone was sprawled on various chairs and couches, with Brina perched on a window seat near the front door and Kaera leaning against the wall near the hallway that led toward the back entrance. The fae sisters always put our safety first, giving the rest of us a chance to relax after a very long and stressful night.
I decided to speak first, because Sasha and I had something that would surprise everyone. “Katrina, Quentin’s mate, is a witch.”
“Get the fuck out. Did she try to cast a spell or something?” Kyle was immediately sitting up and leaning forward, excitement glittering in his eyes. Garrett was wincing, Ethan was rolling his eyes, Sinc had already thrown a pillow at him and Liam was laughing.
Sinc glared at him. “Kyle watch your language. We’re not home. The pack isn’t allowed to curse and we’re on their territory. If you curse at the meeting tomorrow night it'll be a sign of disrespect, so please make an effort.”
“Not allowed to curse? What is this, Los Altos Boy Scout Camp?”
“Kyle.” Garrett's serious tone got his attention. “Sinc’s right. We need to stay on our best behavior while we’re here.”
“Okay, boss. But I took care of all their hidden microphones and cameras. And I'd just like to add that Sinc curses plenty, so her werewolf training didn't exactly stick.” He turned back to me and smiled. “So, get the frickin' hell out, Jackie! Did she try to cast a spell or something?” We all laughed, we couldn’t help it, which just encouraged him. We should know better by now.
&n
bsp; “No, she didn’t. In fact she’s hidden it well. I don’t even know if Quentin knows.”
I scowled as I suddenly remembered what had happened during the meeting yesterday when I felt that Quentin was trying to Influence me magically. “Actually, I take that back. He knows and she’s taught him some basic stuff. He tried to glamour me during the meeting to get us to hold the interviews in his house.” I looked at Garrett and Liam. “You felt it too?” They nodded
“How can a werewolf do magic, I mean other than when he shifts form?” Ethan asked.
“Quentin's not just a wolf, he's an alpha. Maya told me that a really strong alpha could be taught how to tune in to the power he carries with him all the time and use it for very basic spells.”
“Jackie, are you sure? I practically grew up at their house. I would have known.” Sinc folded her arms.”Karl never said a thing. Neither did Gabriel. And Katrina used to bake me cookies and read me stories…” Her voice trailed off as she tried to remember anything that might have clued her in to Katrina being anything other than wolf.
“Witches bake cookies and read stories.” Kyle was laughing. ”They have kids.”
“Not if they’re werewolves. Not naturally, anyway.”
I tried to reassure her.“I didn’t smell blood magic."
Liam added, "That doesn’t mean she’s not a blood witch. A powerful witch can hide her dark scent."
"Well, let’s hope that isn't the kind of magic we’re dealing with. Other than Katrina, Gabriel was our only other liar.”
“Gabriel?” Sinc was shocked again.
Sasha nodded. “Even I could tell he was lying. He’s not really good at it. He was telling the truth when he said he didn’t have anything to do with the disappearances but he lied when he said that he had no idea who took the boys. So he knows plenty, he’s just not talking.”
Blown Away (Rogues Shifter Series Book 4) Page 8