Derek gripped her waist, deepening the kiss as his tongue delved into her mouth. When Grace moaned against his lips, he almost lost all self-control.
He broke the embrace and took a step back. “You can’t be kissing me like that, or we’ll never focus enough to stakeout the school.”
Grace giggled and entwined her fingers with his. “Okay, right, focus,” she said. “But when all this is over, I’m taking you back to my place and we’re not leaving, for days.”
Derek growled low in his throat. “I like your way of thinking.”
Grace had brought her car with her, and it was parked in the lot of the Maple Inn. As the school was a little further away, and they didn’t know how long they’d have to track the Carnegies for, they got into the vehicle and drove across town. Grace parked opposite Lenox Memorial High, in a position that she could see the main exit so that they’d spot any students leaving and hopefully be able to find Heather Avery easily.
Together they sat in Grace’s car, watching the school for any sign of activity, while listening to the radio, and eating and drinking the snacks Grace had been thoughtful enough to bring with her.
“I spoke to my mom earlier,” Grace said as they waited.
“Oh yeah?” Derek replied, raising an eyebrow to indicate she should go on.
“She wants me to have therapy for what happened with Will. She said we should all attend as a family too, so we can work through this issue.”
“That’s good. Isn’t it?”
Grace smiled sadly. “It’s good, and I know keeping a secret like that for all those years wasn’t healthy, but part of me wishes she’d never found out. And of course, part of me wishes I’d never done it in the first place.”
Derek’s chest tightened and his heart ached. He knew all apart keeping a secret for ten years, and wishing he’d never done something as a teenager. He only hoped when he finally told Grace the truth, she’d understand.
Grace sighed. “But I suppose I’m lucky she’s even speaking to me at all. If someone I cared about kept a secret like that from me, I don’t know if I could ever forgive them.”
Derek’s blood went cold and his throat constricted.
Tell her the truth, his mind screamed, and he opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
“Oh, what’s that?” Grace distracted Derek from his thoughts as she pointed towards the school. The main gate had opened, and a figure who was unmistakably Heather Avery stepped out.
They watched as she walked away from the school, and then Grace said, “We’re on,” and started up the engine of her car.
They followed Heather as stealthily as possible, keeping a safe distance between the teen and the car, so she wouldn’t realize she was being followed. Heather walked along the street, listening to music through headphones attached to her phone, and occasionally glancing at the phone’s screen, as though checking for messages.
Heather walked up East Street, turning right when she came to Bentrup Court, and making her way down the looping road that ended in a cul-de-sac until she came to Post Farm.
“We’re going to have to follow on foot,” Grace said, pulling the car to a halt.
“We can’t let them spot us,” Derek said. “They know my face, and if the Carnegies suspect we’re following them, they might hurt the girl.”
“Agreed,” said Grace. “I have a couple of baseball caps in my trunk. We’ll cover our heads and pull up the collars of our jackets so they can’t clearly see our faces. If anyone notices us and turns in our direction, we’ll start making out, so we just look like a couple who sneaked into the forest for a little fun.”
Derek chuckled. “You’d take any excuse to make out, wouldn’t you?”
Grace blushed. “What? It’s a good cover.”
She got the baseball caps out of the trunk and handed one to Derek, before twisting her copper hair up onto her head and covering it with the cap so it was far less noticeable.
“Don’t tell more you’re a Yankees fan?” Derek said, staring at the cap Grace had handed him.
Grace nodded sheepishly. “Is that going to be a problem?”
Derek rolled his eyes. “Where’s your sense of state loyalty?”
Grace shrugged. “You really want to debate baseball teams now when we should be following Heather.”
Derek shoved the cap on his head. “Good point.”
They trailed behind the teen, walking quietly, being careful not to step on falling branches and taking cover behind trees each time Heather looked around. They’d been walking for about fifteen minutes when Heather came to a stop, pulled out her phone and checked it. Satisfied with whatever she saw on the screen, the girl remained where she was.
Derek and Grace crouched behind a tree, waiting to see what would happen next, and a few moments later, a figure approached from the opposite direction.
“That’s them. The Carnegies,” Derek hissed, recognizing the man who approached Heather as one of the guys who had beat the crap out of him when Lana had been taken.
Derek and Grace clamped their mouths shut, shrinking back behind the trees so there were barely visible, and hardly daring to breathe.
“Heather Avery?” the man asked when he reached the girl’s side.
“Yes,” she replied.
“What’s the passphrase?” he asked.
“Purity for Lenox,” she said, and he nodded.
“Perfect. Follow me.”
The man started to lead Heather away, and as he did, Derek noticed he was doing something strange. Not only was the guy covering his and Heather’s tracks, but as they walked, he sprinkled something that looked like cat litter pellets on the ground.
Once Heather and the man had advanced a safe distance, Derek and Grace moved from their hiding spot and started following them.
59
Grace
Grace walked over the cat litter pellet the Carnegie guy had dropped, lifted it to her nose and sniffed. It smelled of nothing. She handed it to Derek, who sniffed it too.
“So that’s how the bastards are hiding their scent?” he said, throwing the pellet on the floor. “And of course these would dissolve in rain, so no one would have any idea what they’d been doing.”
Grace kicked at the pellets, not sure if she should be impressed or frustrated with what the Carnegies has done.
“Crafty. If they weren’t corrupting kids, and a danger to your pack, I’d almost admire them,” she whispered.
“They’re not stupid, I’ll give them that,” Derek replied, his eyes darkening.
Walking cautiously, and making sure to remain hidden, Grace and Derek tracked Heather and the Carnegie member as they walked through Post Farm. As before, they made little noise being careful not to step on anything that might give them away, and keeping hidden in the shadow of the trees.
Heather and the Carnegie man continued until they came to Willow Creek, and from there, they walked along the stream, and out of the wooded area, until they were back in civilization. Grace and Derek trailed behind them, using the bushes and undergrowth as cover.
The Carnegie man led Heather along Willow Creek Road, to where a black, unmarked van was waiting for them.
“You’re sure you want to join us?” The man asked as he and Heather paused beside the van.
Grace and Derek watched from the trees, keeping hidden. Thankfully, even in his human form, Derek’s senses were better than any human’s and he could see and hear what was happening. In a whisper, he relayed the information to Grace.
“I’m certain,” Heather said, with an affirmative nod. “Those wolves are a menace to society. They need to be put down.”
A sick smile spread across the Carnegie man’s face, and he opened the back of the van, then gestured that Heather should enter. She hesitated for a moment, and the man smiled encouragingly.
“It’s okay,” he said in a soothing tone. “We’re going to a safe house, where the wolves can’t get us. All your school friends are waiting, and
they’ll be so pleased to see you’re joining them.”
Apparently reassured by his words, Heather got into the van.
Even though Grace hadn’t heard what the man had said to the teen, and only knew what had transpired because Derek had told her, a shudder rippled down her spine.
“The sick bastard,” she whispered, watching as the man got into the van after Heather and the engine roared to life.
“Quick, we haven’t got much time,” Derek said, stripping out of his clothes. “I’ll be faster in my wolf form. You go back and get the car. Call the precinct and the fire station. Tell Ben to ready the pack.”
Grace stared at him wide-eyed as Derek undressed and then shifted into his wolf form.
“How will I find you?” Grace asked.
Derek pawed at his jeans, and Grace felt around in the pocket until she found his phone. She turned back to Derek to see the wolf had opened its mouth, displaying its teeth. For a moment, she didn’t understand, then Derek whined impatiently.
“If you think it’s safe,” Grace said, hesitantly shoving the phone in the wolf’s mouth.
Derek clamped his jaws around the phone and took off after the Carnegies’ van. Grace bent down to scoop up his clothes, shoving them in her purse. Then she turned around to walk back the way she came. She hurried through Willow Creek, along the stream, and then back through Post Farm, until she came to Bentrup Court, where she’d parked her car.
From there, Grace scanned the map on her phone, and worked out her quickest route to Willow Creek Road, where the van and Derek had left from, would be to go down East Street, until she came to Housatonic Street, and follow it south-east until she reached the junction that connected Housatonic Street to Willow Creek Road and Crystal Street. Hopefully, Derek would be able to keep up with the van, and he’d call her when he reached whenever the Carnegies were taking Heather.
As Grace drove, she kept an eye on her phone which was resting on the console, her mind racing with thoughts of all the ways this could go wrong. Derek might not be quick enough to keep up with the van. The Carnegies might spot him in his wolf form, stop the van and capture him. Derek’s phone might not work after being in his mouth for so long. He might not be able to breathe and run properly with a phone in his mouth.
The idea of anything bad happening to Derek made Grace shudder, and she prayed he’d be okay.
Grace reached the junction where Housatonic Street, Willow Creek Road, and Crystal Street met when her phone rang. She pulled over to answer it, relieved to see Derek’s name on the screen.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” Derek replied. He sounded breathless, and for a moment she worried he’d been caught.
“Are you okay?” She asked, tension gripping her heart. If anything happened to him while she wasn’t there, she’d never forgive herself.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little winded. I’ve never run this far before, even as a wolf.”
Relief flooded her, and Grace felt the tension leave her shoulders. “Where are you?”
“Not far from Three Corners parking lot, south of the Woods Pond, where Valley Street meets Woodland Road.”
“Got it. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Be safe.”
“You too,” Derek replied, and then Grace ended the call.
She entered the location Derek had given her into her GPS and followed the route. The quickest way to reach Three Corners from where she was would have been for Grace to follow Housatonic Road over the river to where it met Valley Road, but that route was private property, and she didn’t want to risk breaking any laws. Instead, frustrated at the journey taking longer, Grace drove south down Crystal Street, and through Lenox Dale, crossing the Housatonic River on Mill Street. From there, she had to drive north-west, then north, until she came to Woodland Road.
Grace continued driving north up Woodland Road, until she reached the Three Corners parking lot, the closest parking lot to the body of water. The reservoir and popular fishing spot was situated on the Housatonic River, which lay between the town of Lenox and the October Mountain State Forest.
Grace scanned the lot and found Derek hiding in the undergrowth nearby. As it was the middle of the day, the area was fairly busy, with people visiting the pond to go fishing or simply relax. She almost laughed at the thought of Derek having to hide his nakedness from prying human eyes, then realized how serious the situation was. Not only could Derek get arrested for indecent exposure if someone saw him, but the Carnegies and the children they’d taken were somewhere close by.
Grace ran across the parking lot to where Derek was hiding, pulling his clothes out of her purse and handing them to him.
“Thanks,” he said as he quickly redressed. Once he was decent, they returned to her car so he could fill her in on what he’d discovered.
“They’re hiding in an abandoned boathouse near the reservoir,” he said. “We should call Captain Alcott and Ben Stokes, and get them to send back up from the police force and pack.”
Grace chewed on her bottom lip. “I agree we should call for backup, but not yet. We have no idea what they’re doing to the kids in there, or what sort of danger our friends and family could be walking into. We have no idea how many Carnegies there are or if they’re armed. Just the two of us will draw less attention. We could scout the area.”
Derek shook his head. “I don’t like it, it’s too risky. What if we get caught?”
“We’ll be careful not to. They never sensed we were tracking them in the woods. We can do this,” Grace insisted, staring at Derek steadily, her eyes focused on his, as she tried to convince him. “And like I said, we have no idea what they’re doing to the kids in there. I’m sure none of them expected this when they went on that website. They could be hurt, or anything. We need to see if we can get them out of here first. Then once the kids are safe, we call for backup.”
“I still don’t like it,” Derek said, he turned his head to stare at the reservoir in front of them. “But you might have a point. Okay, we’ll go in and scout the area. If we can rescue any kids without drawing attention to ourselves, we will, but if there’s any danger, we retreat and call for backup.”
“Got it,” Grace agreed, and she opened the car door, then paused when she realized Derek hadn’t gotten out too.
“I’m going to shift into my wolf form again,” Derek said, removing his leather jacket and t-shirt, folding them neatly then placing them on the backseat. Grace suppressed a smirk. Now was neither the time nor the place for dirty thoughts. They had kids to rescue, and a shifter-hunter’s hideout to infiltrate.
When Derek was naked, he handed his black shorts to Grace and she slipped them into her purse, then watched with fascination as his bones popped, his muscles rippled and he changed back into the wolf she could now easily recognize as him. Even though his eyes were amber now, instead of blue, Grace could sense Derek in there somewhere, inside the animal. She felt reassured she had something so strong and powerful by her side and knew he’d never turn that power on her. When he’d claimed her, not only had he taken her body, heart, and soul, but he’d become her protector. She felt safe knowing Derek was by her side, and would always be in her life.
60
Derek
Derek stealthily crossed the parking lot, keeping to the bushes and undergrowth around the reservoir to avoid being spotted by any humans, or worse, Carnegie lookouts. Grace crept along beside him, crouched low so she too was hidden from view.
They walked around the edge of the reservoir, away from the parking lot and the more populated area where humans were fishing, or relaxing at the water’s edge. For a moment, Derek feared they’d been spotted, when a dog howled and began running through the scrub in their direction. Grace tensed beside him as the dog bounded towards them. But it wasn’t Derek the dog was chasing. In his wolf form, Derek let out a sigh of relief as the dog ran after a small rodent that had been searching the undergrowth for food.
With the dog’s attention elsewhe
re, Derek and Grace continued their slow and careful approach towards the abandoned boathouse Derek had seen the Carnegie man and Heather enter. He paused to sniff the air, but there was no one guarding the outside of the building - all humans were inside, many of them gathered in one area, judging by the intermingled scents he picked up.
Derek slowed his approach, trying to work out which would be the safest way to enter the building. He could smell many scents by the main door, and the large gathering of humans just beyond that, but to the rear of the building were no living scents. He thought that would be their best route in.
He led the way, Grace following as soundlessly as possible, around to the rear of the building to where the scents of humans were scarce. Behind the building was a large, overflowing dumpster that smelled disgusting. Derek wrinkled up his nose and tried not to inhale the scent. Not far from the dumpster was a door leading into the rear of the building. Derek pointed his snout in that direction, and he and Grace approached cautiously.
Derek lifted his paw and pushed the door. It opened easily, and no alarm sounded. He realized the Carnegies, in their arrogance, thought they were unfindable hidden away here in the abandoned boathouse on the reservoir and hadn’t bothered to set any security for the building. They were right, too. If Derek hadn’t followed them, he would never have found them here. The area around the boathouse was cordoned off with a high, barbed wire-topped fence, and notices saying the building was unsafe and no one should enter. Anyone enjoying the reservoir would have no reason to journey this far.
As Derek pushed the door open, Grace followed behind him, finally standing from the crouch she’d been in, as she looked around the darkened hallway for any sign of life. The area seemed abandoned, the structure too unstable for the Carnegies to want to use the rear of the building, apart from as a throughway to the dumpster.
Derek sniffed the air, trying to figure out where the Carnegies were keeping all the kids. Now he was inside the building, he could smell three distinct areas - a large meeting room where the scents of adults and teens intermingled, a second, smaller room where he could only sense teens. Something about this room disturbed him, the smell of human waste was strong, as was a thread of fear. The children there were terrified. The final room he could sense, the smallest of the three, reeked of the Carnegies. He could easily distinguish between adults and teens, and the adults had a familiar scent of foreboding and danger.
Firefighter Wolves Shifters (A Paranormal Romance Series Boxset) Page 29