The Shifter's Catch

by T. S. Ryder

  She swiveled her head to one side, trying to spare her eyes from the light. Didn't they always say to go into the light when you were dying? So that meant she wanted to stay as far away from it as possible.

  Her vision cleared once she was no longer being blinded. Something large and black lay next to her. A body in a suit. Her fluttering heart stopped. Grayson! Bile rose in her throat, choking her. She forced herself to find the face. Not Grayson. Relief washed over her. But it still looked familiar. She blinked. The burly guard from Grayson's house.

  Whatever relief she had felt disappeared in an instant. Grayson's house. The guard's shirt was stained with blood, a surprised expression in his blank eyes. The sounds that had been muffled and indistinct suddenly became clear.

  Olivia was calling for her father. Hudson was crying. Arabella pushed herself up but a foot collided with her face and she went down again. Kennedy bent over her, pressing a gun to her forehead. The scowl was heavy on the other woman's brow, a sneer on her lips. "I guess you were right, Bella. I do have too much of a temper. But that doesn't matter now. Not where you're going."

  She buried her gun into Arabella's stomach and pulled the trigger. Once, twice, again and again. Pain exploded through Arabella's brain and the darkness claimed her again.

  Chapter Ten – Grayson

  Three days and it already felt like a lifetime without his children.

  Grayson's feet dragged along the hospital corridor, like his feet were too heavy to lift. His whole body felt sluggish, unable to draw out the energy to move properly. With his shoulders slumped towards the ground, wrinkled, torn clothes smelling like smoke, and reddened dry eyes, he was the epitome of a defeated man. His fires were so low they were almost charcoal. He hadn't slept since they were taken and there was nothing he could do to get them back.

  The kidnappers hadn't even given him a chance to step back from politics like they ordered him to. They just took his children. He had spent the last two days scouring every threat he had received, but none of them went after his children, except the call he'd gotten right before they were taken. Why would they call to warn him off, and then just take the children without giving him a chance to comply?

  He licked his lips nervously outside of Arabella's room. He hadn't gotten a ransom call yet, and every time he visited her, he felt helpless. When she first came out of surgery, she had asked him about the children. Hearing that they were taken sent her into such a frenzy that the doctors had to sedate her. Since then, she'd been silent and withdrawn.

  Grayson had never felt so helpless.

  He entered Arabella's room to find the curtains drawn around the bed. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and cleared his throat. "Arabella? It's Grayson. Are you awake?"

  The curtains were drawn back to reveal Arabella completely dressed. Her eyes were less vibrant than usual, but her face was set in grim determination. Grayson immediately moved to help her, but she shook her head and turned her back on him. He stepped back, remembering how she had already made it clear that she didn't want a relationship despite their past intimacies.

  "What are you doing?" he asked. "You should be in bed resting."

  "I'll rest when the twins are back. I'm checking myself out."

  Grayson stared in a mix of amazement and horror. "Arabella, you can't. You were shot. You need to stay in bed."

  Arabella shook her head. "I'm fine. I can walk around, I don't need a wheelchair and as long as I refrain from any seriously strenuous tasks, I won't reopen my stitches. Besides, I got a transfusion of shifter blood and it's really sped up my healing processes."

  "I know." Grayson inched forward again. "Otherwise you might not have survived that shot. But shifter blood isn't a cure-all. You need to give yourself time to recover."

  Arabella shook her head. "I can't stay here any longer. Not when the children are out there in the hands of that . . . "

  Grayson's heart clenched. He quickly strode to her side and reached to put his arms around her, but she elbowed him in the sternum and skipped out of his reach. She eyed him warily, as though expecting him to do something like insist on holding her. He was so hurt by the distrust in her eyes that he drew back. Did she blame him for the twins being taken? Or did she think he'd use her distress to take advantage of her?

  "At least let me drive you back home," he said. "I know you'll want to know what is happening with the investigation—"

  "No." She shook her head again. "It's my fault they were taken, and I have to get them back."

  He wanted to hold her, but clearly, that was the wrong thing to do. He ran a hand over the stubble poking out from his chin and shook his head. "Arabella, you can't blame yourself. You were shot."

  She didn't respond as she tucked her thin wallet into the pocket of her sweater.

  "I am doing everything I can to get them back. I've got private investigators, the police, everybody. But I haven't even gotten any calls for a ransom yet."

  "It's not going to be that easy."

  Her eyes met his, and the guilt in them could have strangled him. He was silent, staring at her, wishing he knew what to say to comfort her.

  "There was nothing you could have done to stop the kidnappers. They were professionals—"

  "So am I."

  Grayson frowned. "You mean a professional nanny or—"

  "No." Arabella shook her head. She sagged for a moment before striding to the door. She checked up and down the hall before she closed the door and returned to him. Her hands twisted, and tears glimmered in her eyes. "Grayson, I'm going to tell you something. And I'll understand that you'll hate me for it, but—"

  "I don't hate you."

  She pressed a finger to his lips, quietening him, but pulled back quickly. She chewed on her lip for a moment before straightening her shoulders and sucking in a deep breath. "Grayson . . . I've been lying to you since we met. Everything – at least, almost everything – that I've done was a lie. But I need you to know that I love Olivia and Hudson. I didn't want this to happen."

  A cold ball slipped down his spine, landing heavily in his stomach. He tried to fight off his rising anxiety, but it was difficult. Stiffly, he nodded at her to continue. What was she getting at?

  "When I was sixteen, I was taken in by an organization that trains young people to be spies. They trick us in with promises of work and a better life, and then they make us do things . . . No, 'spies' isn't the right word." She took another deep breath. "They teach us how to kill people. How to manipulate people, steal secrets . . . anything that we're hired to do. I'm a professional kidnapper and assassin."

  Grayson's mind reeled. He backed away from Arabella, shaking his head. He already knew what this meant, but couldn't believe it. No. There was no way that Arabella – sweet, loving Arabella – would have been privy to his children being kidnapped.

  "They keep track of every single thing they give us, from water to clothes to a place to sleep. They charge us for everything and with each mission we complete, some of our debt is paid. They said this was my last mission. Nobody was supposed to be hurt." Tears flowed freely down her face. "I wanted to find another way. I wanted to fake my own kidnapping. But the organization . . . they knew that I was . . . wanting to change things. They didn't want that, so they authorized my partner to go ahead with the mission without me. She took the children."

  Rage flared through his body. His fires whipped to a frenzy. He had never hated anybody as much as he hated her in that moment. If anybody else had just told him what she had, he'd have torn them apart. But this was Arabella, and there was still a part of his mind that refused to believe that she could have anything to do with putting his children in danger.

  "I will get them back. I will do whatever it takes, but I will get them back," she said. "Grayson, I promise."

  She reached for him. He jerked away as though she had a gun in her hand. Smoke billowed from his nostrils. Without a word, he seized her around the waist and dragged her towards the window. Arabella cried o
ut as he let loose a blast of fire, shattering the glass outward. He paused a moment to make sure his grip was secure, then threw them both out of the window. Arabella screamed, clinging to him. His suit ripped apart as he shifted. His wings snapped out, catching them, and he quickly lifted to a higher elevation. Arabella's arms gripped him firmly, and he cupped her in both hands to make sure she didn't fall.

  He flew for a solid hour, the whistling wind doing nothing to calm his rage. Eventually, he set down on the top of a snowy mountain peak. With a blast of fire, the snow all melted around them. He set Arabella down and Shifted again.

  "Grayson, I am so sorry," she sobbed. "I love them, I really do."

  "What did you do?" he hissed.

  Between sobs ripping through her body, she told him everything. How this was supposed to be her final mission, and that she had set everything up in meticulous detail to ensure that nobody would actually be hurt but that his political days would be behind him. Grayson's rage went from hot to cold, and by the time she was done, he didn't know what to say or do. He didn't know the person he was looking at.

  He turned, screaming into the air as a ball of fire erupted from his mouth. His massive shoulders slumped. After everything he thought was between them . . . it was all a lie. To her credit, she didn't beg him to forgive her. She knew what she had done was unforgivable.

  "You are going to get them back," he said coldly. "No matter what it takes."

  "Yes," she agreed.

  "And then you're going to jail."

  There was only a brief moment's pause. "Yes."

  He turned back, breathing out the rest of the smoke that filled his lungs. He wasn't sure what else to say, but as he gazed at Arabella, a pain he never thought he'd experience again filled him. How could he even look in her eyes again after this?

  "I haven't received any ransom demands," he said. "I was going to back off politics. What changed?"

  Arabella's eyes dropped. "They could see me. I was getting emotionally attached. Maybe they thought I wouldn't go through with the job. But whatever the reasons, I haven't just been sitting in the hospital. I've been researching. I have a place to start looking."

  "Good." He drew in a deep breath to calm himself, then nodded. "Good. I'll fly you back to my house. I want to be in on every step of the way."

  "You will be, and I will get them back." She wiped away her tears and a look of fierce determination came over her face. "No matter what."

  Chapter Eleven – Arabella

  The still-healing gunshot wound in her side pulled as she climbed out of the car, but Arabella didn't even let herself wince despite the pain. Kennedy was no doubt watching. To show any weakness could be fatal at this stage. And she couldn't die.

  Not until the twins were safe, at least.

  After that, her mission would be complete and the organization would most likely want her dead, anyway. Why they hadn't already had her killed was a mystery, unless they wanted to use her for something else . . . or, worse, send her through retraining. She'd seen the people who had come out of that program. They were little more than zombies.

  Part of her wanted to think that she could stay with Grayson, but that wasn't an option, either. After seeing the fury in Grayson's face when she confessed the truth, she knew there wasn't any place left for her with him. And even if there was, staying with him after going against the organization would only mean that he and the children would never be safe.

  No, her only mission from now on was making sure that Olivia and Hudson were returned to their father unharmed. After that, it didn't matter what happened to her.

  She pushed those thoughts from her head as she strode towards the apartment where Kennedy had been living. Arabella doubted her colleague was still there, but she would be monitoring it. Going here would reveal that she had survived the gunshot, but Kennedy was notoriously sloppy. There had to be something there that would point to where the children were now.

  The door's deadbolt posed no problem and Arabella slipped inside. What little had been in the apartment before was now completely stripped away. The only thing that indicated that Kennedy and the twins had even been there was a blanket laying on the floor. Pink with a satin trim. Arabella's heart clenched. It was Olivia's favorite blanket – the one she couldn’t sleep without.

  Arabella picked up the blanket, her heart thudding against her ribs. It was cold. Her stomach clenched. Was Kennedy keeping them warm enough? Was she feeding them? How was she reacting to them crying, to their demands to go home? Was she hurting them?

  Arabella's phone rang. It was a harsh sound in the silence and made her jump. It showed a blocked number. Dread slid down her spine as she answered.

  "Arabella," a cool, feminine voice that she didn't recognize greeted her. "Our sources tell us that you're out of the hospital. How are you feeling?"

  She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "Where are Kennedy and the Alexander twins?"

  A pause answered her. "This business no longer concerns you, my dear. Come home and we will discuss your unprofessional behavior. If you insist on doing what you have been doing . . . well, we will have to terminate our relationship."

  The threat was expected, but hearing it aloud calmed Arabella. She supposed it was an odd reaction, but she didn't care. Death she could handle. She inhaled deeply and released the breath, all of her fears drifting away.

  "I never wanted this 'relationship' with the organization," she said. "I still don’t know why you people chose me. I never asked to be a part of it, and yet I've had to dedicate my life to pay off the debts that you thrust upon me. You kept me a prisoner, then said I had to pay you for the expenses of holding me against my will?"

  "Arabella—"

  "I'm not finished." She took another deep breath. "I didn't want this life, but I am good at what I do, even if you think I'm too compassionate. I have had the lowest failure rate among my department. If the Alexander twins are returned to their father unharmed, then I will spend the rest of my life working for the organization. I'll come back and never leave."

  "You misunderstand," the voice said, almost amused at this point. "Your mission to get Grayson to step back from politics was successful. Your debt has been expunged. We want you to return to claim your reward. But –"

  Arabella clutched the phone as the pause drew out, each second marked by the beating of her heart.

  "But I'm afraid dear Kennedy has gone rogue. We can't have that, can we? Stay out of this, Arabella. We will handle it."

  She knew exactly what 'handling' it meant. And while she winced to think of what would happen to Kennedy, her colleague was the last thing on her mind. They wouldn't care about two small children ending up as collateral damage.

  "I can take Kennedy down," she insisted.

  "You're too close to the issue to do what is necessary."

  "No!" Arabella cried automatically, but the woman only hung up.

  Her head spun, the bullet wound stabbing pain through her body. She stumbled to the bathroom and vomited. Whether it was the injury or stress, she didn't know. A black darkness crept in at the edges of her vision, but she fought it off and laid down on the floor. Her head still spun, but her body relaxed enough for her to think clearly.

  They were going to kill the twins. That's what they meant when she was too close. They were going to kill Kennedy from a distance, and they were going to kill the twins with her. Terror ran through her body, threatening to paralyze her, but she managed to push it aside. She just had to find Kennedy first. If she did that, she could get the twins back home and disappear before the organization could target them again.

  A search of the apartment revealed nothing useful. So either Kennedy had been more thorough than usual or the organization already had done a cleanup on it.

  She left everything where it was, though it pained her to leave the blanket behind. Either way, leaving the blanket behind was a very deliberate act. A taunt from Kennedy, perhaps. Or a way to place a bug in the Alexander
home. She left it in the apartment. Bringing it back like this would only cause Grayson more pain, anyway.

  She debated what she should tell him as she drove back to his treetop house. The taunting pink blanket? The threatening phone call? Or just tell him that it was a dead end?

  A roar greeted her when she stepped off the elevator and into the house. Huge fists grabbed her and threw her against the wall. Arabella punched into the ribs of her attacker before she realized it was Henry. Her blow made pain flash across the dragon's face, but he didn't let it slow him down. He pinned her by her throat, fire flickering between his teeth.

  "Name one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now."

  Grayson's voice rang out. "Henry! Let her go."

  Arabella made sure that she stayed limp and contrite, staring into Henry's eyes. Grayson grabbed his friend and pried him off of her but not without difficulty. Arabella knew of a dozen ways she could make the dragon release her. He was holding her sloppily, but she didn't want to antagonize him further. Grayson pushed him back, standing between the two of them. She coughed and rubbed her sore throat.

  "Why are you defending her?" Henry snarled. "It's her fault that the children are out there all alone."

  Arabella flinched, but she had to agree with him. "Yes, it is. But I am going to do everything in my power to get them back."

  Henry snorted. He stepped forward again but Grayson put a hand out, stopping him.

  "Right now Arabella is our best chance at getting them back. I'm not putting my children in any more jeopardy than they already are. Calm down."

  Arabella took a deep breath. She hadn't wanted anybody but Grayson to find out about her past, but given how close he and Henry were, it was an inevitability. She just hoped that he wouldn't end up costing them too much time as they explained the situation.