Wolves, Witches and Bears...Oh My!

by Nicky Charles

  “You forgot it?” She sighed. Ryne wouldn’t believe she needed yet another replacement ID.

  “Well, with all the excitement, it slipped my mind.” Roxi grabbed a towel and dried her hands. “I’ll get right on the phone and call Pietro’s. I’m sure someone handed it in to the wait staff.”

  “Or walked off with it.”

  It turned out luck was on her side for once and her purse was waiting for her so she swung by to get it. Her phone, ID and cash were all as she’d left them, and she thanked the staff profusely. Upon checking her phone, she found a message saying the diner was closed for the next week while renovations were being done and everyone was on a paid vacation until further notice.

  Paid vacation? That was an unexpected surprise. There’d been no rumours about repairs, not that they weren’t needed. Mr. Henderson had been letting things slide. She glanced down at her wrists; they still bore the marks of her attempts to free herself with the rough edge of the metal shelving. Maybe there was something to be said for things not being perfect.

  With her purse tucked close to her side, she headed to the store where she’d purchased her glasses. There was a discount section and they promised same day service. Hopefully, in a few hours, she’d be able to see clearly again.

  She took her time choosing the frames, imagining how Armand would react to each. She even went so far as to snap pictures of herself wearing a few of the contenders, thinking she’d send the images to him. His number wasn’t on her phone but she still had it memorized from when she lived in Stump River. Funny how some things stuck in your memory.

  In the end, she didn’t forward the images, instead choosing a frame she felt suited her. As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she decided Armand had been right; she’d spent her life hiding; first behind too much makeup and then going to the other extreme of downplaying her appearance. Neither had made her truly happy. Maybe it was time to just be herself and not worry what others thought. What she looked like had no impact on her abilities.

  It crossed her mind that Armand would be pleased and she thought to call him but once again, she resisted the urge. It was better to make a clean break.

  The rest of the day passed slowly. She headed home with her new glasses, only to poke about the apartment, unable to settle. Going to the centre to volunteer would have given her something to do yet she called in and cancelled, not wanting to face questions about Armand.

  After straightening the items on her dresser and making the bed—an unduly slow task as her hands had lingered over the sheets Armand had slept on—she sat down at the computer thinking she’d check the news and see if there was any mention of last night’s events. Instead, she found herself on the airport’s website, trying to decide what flight Armand would be on, and what gate he’d be leaving from. It made no sense to torture herself that way, but she couldn’t help it.

  Roxi peered over her shoulder. “Staring at the airport’s flight schedule won’t change anything.”

  “I know. His flight leaves in ten minutes.” She swallowed, the lump in her throat feeling larger by the minute.

  “Are you thinking you made the wrong decision?”

  “No. Yes. I don’t know. At the time it seemed right. The facts haven’t changed.” She forced herself to turn off the screen and stand up.

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Thanks, but no.” She noticed Roxi was dressed up. “You’re going out with that guy from last night?”

  “Yeah. I’m giving him another chance despite the fact he needs to buy groceries.”

  She laughed. “Have fun.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to hang around?” Roxi hesitated in the doorway, concern marring her usually perky expression.

  “No.” She forced herself to smile. “Go enjoy yourself. I can get through this on my own.”

  Roxi gave her a doubtful look but finally agreed and left.

  She looked at the clock. It was almost seven.

  Wandering to the window, she stared up at the sky.

  Thirty seconds.

  Thirty seconds and Armand would be gone.

  It was for the best. Their lives were going in different directions.

  Fifteen seconds now.

  Was the flight still on time? She didn’t dare look.

  Ten, nine, eight… Tears blurred her eyes and she rested her head against the window frame.

  Three, two, one… The numbers on the clock rolled over to seven. The zeros were like the hole in her heart.

  Her breath made a moist area on the window pane and she drew a little heart in it, then watched as it quickly faded in the heat of the summer. Just like her time with Armand. Gone too fast.

  She shifted her gaze to the sky where a contrail was appearing. Was it from his flight? There was no way of knowing but the pain in her chest had her believing it was. She pressed her hand to the window, wishing she could reach out and touch him one more time.

  They wanted different things out of life, she reminded herself. Holding on to faint hope wasn’t fair to either of them.

  The trail in the sky was disappearing almost as fast as it formed. Buffeted by the wind, the bits of white were scattered across the sea of blue until they dissipated into nothingness, only their memory remaining.

  Maybe it was a sign. Relationships and contrails, neither were meant to last.

  Her fingers curled into her palm and her arm dropped to her side. It was time to go.

  “Good-bye, Armand,” she whispered into the sky. “I’ll always love you.”

  Armand sat in his seat, staring at his phone. He’d delayed getting on the flight until the last possible minute, hoping Lucy would appear at the airport or that she’d call saying she’d changed her mind. But she hadn’t called, and he didn’t try to contact her either.

  If he tried hard enough, he could probably convince her to come with him but in the end, she’d resent him. It had to be what she wanted. He thought of his own life, how he’d drifted from place to place trying different jobs, searching for where he belonged. Lucy deserved that same opportunity, even if it felt like he was losing part of himself. His happiness couldn’t come at the expense of hers. It had to be what they both wanted. A shifter and a human both needed to be committed to the relationship if it was to work. The burden of the secret couldn’t be assumed lightly.

  “Sir, your phone?” The flight attendant came by and gave a meaningful glance at the device in his hand.

  “It’s in airplane mode.”

  She smiled and moved on.

  He sighed and put the phone away. It made no sense to stare at a blank screen waiting for a message that would never come. Leaning his head against the window, he stared down at the city that was rapidly disappearing from sight.

  “Au revoir, Lucy. Be happy.”

  Chapter 23

  Lycan Link Headquarters…

  “This is a bogus thumb drive as well?” Fielding looked at the item in his hand and then tossed it onto his desk along side the other one that lay there.

  “Yep. Those are the ones Agent Tinley handed in. He said Soldoti, one of our undercover operatives, gave them to him. One supposedly had the real codes and the other was fake.” Brad Owens shook his head. “When I checked, they were both dummies.”

  “So what does that mean? A real set of codes could still be out there? Or there never was a set of real codes on the second thumb drive?” Fielding tapped his desk impatiently. “Or that bear, Armand St. John, did a sleight of hand and kept them?”

  “I’ve been led to believe he was reliable.”

  “That’s what I was told, too.” He considered the situation, then looked up and pinned Owens with a hard stare. “This hacker you work with, how trustworthy is he?”

  “Daniel? Very. I’ve used him numerous times to test systems.”

  Fielding made a mental note to run his own background check on the hacker. And the bear too, for that matter. It was getting to the point that no one was above
scrutiny. “Any idea where the leak originated? Was it someone hacking into the system?”

  “None of my alarms have been triggered.”

  “Which means an internal leak. One of our own is selling us out.” He shook his head at the thought that those charged with keeping Lycan society functioning and safe would purposely undermine all they’d worked for.

  “It looks that way. They likely gathered the codes over a period of several weeks so there was no mass download of data to raise suspicions.”

  “Regardless, we’re replacing every single code, PIN and key in Lycan Link right down to the closet for the toilet paper.”

  “My team is on it,” Brad assured him. “I have them working overtime.”

  “You damned well better have them working around the bloody clock! I want daily updates so I know what areas remain vulnerable!” He stood up and glared down at the man.

  There was a creaking sound as Owens shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

  Fielding held back a smile. He liked to keep people on their toes.

  “Yes, sir. Was there anything else, sir?”

  “No. You’re dismissed.”

  He remained standing until Owens left then sat down and scanned the report that was on his desk. Jeffrey Tinley had been thoroughly duped. The half-coyote had been recruited to work undercover but his training had been rushed and it showed. Of course, the one who had duped him was the best.

  There was no Soldoti on Lycan Link’s database. The name Dante however raised all sorts of alarms.

  Dante Esparza, Dante Salvatore… Whatever he chose to call himself, he was still on their wanted list, or at least he was until the higher ups decided to turn a blind eye and hire the bastard for black ops.

  Leaning back in his chair, he steepled his fingers and considered the situation. It didn’t sit well with him having the lines between friend and enemy blurred like that. What was Dante up to? How had he discovered the codes were out there and why did he want them? And had he been successful and kept them for himself or had the bear duped him?

  There was a brief knock on his door and, before he could say ‘enter’, it opened.

  He bit back his annoyance as Director Higgins walked in.

  “Fielding, glad you’re here.” Higgins stopped in front of the desk and looked down at him, giving a quick nod and a perfunctory smile.

  “What can I do for you today, sir?” Fielding rose to his feet, not liking the man towering over him. Standing he was an inch or two taller than the director, a fact that had the corners of Higgins’ mouth tightening as he was forced to move his gaze upwards.

  “I read the report about the security leak. Any idea as to the source?”

  “No. Not yet.” Fielding paused, carefully phrasing his next statement. “I wasn’t aware you’d seen the report. It was only handed to me an hour ago.”

  “I keep abreast of the issues, you know that.”

  “Of course.” He nodded while inwardly frowning. Actually, the man usually said he didn’t want to be bothered with reports.

  Higgins began to wander the office, stopping to study the view, then a commendation that was framed and sitting on top of the filing cabinet. “You’re a good man, Fielding.” He tapped the certificate. “You’ve put in a lot of years at Lycan Link. Don’t wait too long to take some time for yourself though. You need to get out there and enjoy life.”

  “Thank you for your concern, but as I’ve said before, I’m hoping to stay until I get my full pension.”

  “I care about my team. Your well-being is important to me. Just remember, money isn’t everything.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Higgins wandered back to the desk and reached out to pick up one of the thumb drives. “These are the items that caused the problem?”

  “Not exactly. The data on them is bogus.”

  “But the original information…?” He studied the item then set it back down.

  “We believe it was intercepted and destroyed, however we can’t be one hundred percent sure.”

  “Ah yes. That bear shifter and the hacker; they’re not official employees. We’d better check they didn’t keep copies for themselves.”

  “I have IT working on minimizing the potential risk. It will take some time but—”

  “An excess of precaution. Excellent. I’ll use that in my news release.” Higgins rubbed his hands together.

  “A news release? Are you sure that’s wise?”

  “There’ll be rumours. We need to let our people know we’re on top of things. That any attempt to infiltrate our system, no matter how small, will be dealt with swiftly and severely.”

  “Severely? I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Not your concern, Fielding. Not your concern. As for this data leak, keep me abreast of any developments as soon as they arise.” Higgins turned to leave then stopped with his hand on the door handle. “And don’t forget what I said about getting out of here. It would be a shame if you kept working longer than you should.” He left, pulling the door shut behind him.

  Fielding sat down and eased back in his chair replaying the conversation in his mind. Had there been a veiled threat in Higgins’ words? Or had he been at the job too long and was getting paranoid?

  He reached for the phone, planning to set up a meeting with Reno, one of the few people in the organization whose integrity he trusted completely. Getting another perspective on the situation helped. They could meet somewhere in town and hash things out except… He paused, his gaze caught by the thumb drives on his desk. Dante was involved. How much of that did he dare share? How much could he share? Letting his hand drop back onto the arm of the chair, he reconsidered his strategy.

  It was better to keep Reno out of this as long as possible. If they seemed too cozy, how long would it be before Reno came under scrutiny?

  He scanned his office, not for the first time wondering exactly who was privy to what he said within the four walls. It was damned inconvenient having to second-guess every word he spoke. Opening his desk drawer, he swept the thumb drives inside and then pushed it shut.

  Yes, he’d handle this without Reno as long as possible. But he did need some boots on the ground, someone to do some fact checking.

  He pulled up a file on his computer and began to search his resources. They’d recently started a new unit. It was a mixed batch of shifter species, halves and even some humans who, by a twist of fate, had grown up in packs. Humans, coyotes, foxes, halves…who would have thought the day would come that they’d be part of Lycan Link?

  Back in Chicago…

  Lou knew it was a cliché to say life goes on but that’s what it did. Days drifted by becoming weeks and then a month. Sometimes she could almost believe the events of the summer had never occurred except there was now an empty feeling in her heart. A feeling that only disappeared at night when her dreams were filled with memories of Armand and she’d imagine his arms holding her, his voice whispering her name as he made slow, sweet love to her.

  When she’d begun living in Chicago after the attack that almost killed her, she’d missed him but now it was ten times worse. As she’d tried to explain to Roxi, it was like crème brûlée; you might see it on a menu and think you want it, however you can’t miss it if you’ve never had it. But once you take that first taste… Well, Armand was her crème brûlée and she was definitely going into withdrawal.

  She did her best to keep busy, down time giving her too many opportunities to dwell on whether or not she’d made the right choice. What if she’d returned to Stump River? What if she’d begged Armand to stay? What if, what if, what if… But she’d made her choice and he’d made his; so she started her fall courses at college, continued to volunteer at the centre and worked at the King’s Plate which was becoming a hub of activity and change. With Kathy and Jeff gone, new staff had been hired; a woman named Marisol was now the chef. She was friendly and talented, making suggestions to upgrade the menu by adding a new twist to the standard
fare and more health-conscious modern choices, as well.

  “What’s this green stuff?”

  “Why is there a twisted orange slice on my plate?”

  “The mixed vegetables used to be softer when Jeff made them.”

  “Hrmph. I guess they taste better even if I do have to chew them longer.”

  Paul and Will had grumbled about the change in food, staring suspiciously at the contents of their plate but they’d eventually been won over as had the other regulars. Andrew continued to try to safeguard her against imaginary advances though the new co-owner, Ashton Blake, was more than capable of doing that should the need ever arise.

  Tall, well-built and extremely friendly, Ashton ran a tight ship. The female customers swooned over his blue eyes and blond hair despite the fact he was gay, while the men were impressed with his level of fitness and knowledge of whatever sport was in season.

  As Ashton had explained, his expertise was in investments and business management, but this was the first time he’d attempted to run a diner. However, when his business partner had presented him with the proposal, the challenge had intrigued him enough to take the risk. Mr. Henderson had willingly accepted the offer put forward and, in less than forty-eight hours, the deal was done.

  “There’ll be changes beyond the renovations,” Ashton had told them when the King’s Plate had reopened. “We want to keep our established clientele while also appealing to new customers.” He’d flashed an impossibly perfect smile at them. “That’s where you come in. You’re the front line, the first contact people have when they enter the building. Make them feel welcome, part of the family, as if this is their new home away from home. Friendly staff and great food, that’s going to be our mantra.”

  It had been a good pep talk, except Gin had quit the next day; all the positive vibes too much for her to handle. But the tired feeling that had permeated the diner for so long was fading, replaced with an upbeat spirit and more customers. New dishes, new décor, central air-conditioning, even a new shelving unit in the utility room. Lou stared at it, remembering how the broken edge of the old shelves had saved her. However, there’d never be a need for that again…at least she hoped not. She’d already had more than her fair share of adventures in her life.