A million questions slammed through her mind, bouncing off the back of her gritted teeth and closed lips. The amount of time she'd spent on the streets and at the Academy had taught her to carefully observe before reacting. But it was really hard not to sometimes.
He'd abducted her mother. What had happened to her? Corra knew she had been deathly ill. Had she died alone somewhere? Tears stung her eyes, though it wasn't the first time she'd asked herself that over the years.
Her thumb slid over Professor Columba's pendant again as she drew a deep breath.
"When did she die?"
"Who?" Rollo grunted.
"My mother."
He huffed, "Save your questions for your grandfather."
She remained silent for the rest of the long drive.
Eventually, Zeek navigated the car along a narrow paved road through dense forest, then turned onto a narrower path with large gates blocking the route about half a kilometer in. He lowered his window and shoved his face in line with the camera aimed at the driver's seat, and the gate slowly slid open.
Big gates meant high walls. This is bad. She slowly inhaled to keep her heartbeat at a measured pace to stop her fear from spiking.
Another half kilometer and they circled around a water fountain and pulled up to a building as big as any institution she'd ever been dropped through.
Ambitious.
No shit.
The front door swung open to them as they mounted the front stairs. The surreal moment was like something out of a movie. Men in suits seemed to linger at every doorway within her view.
Zeek led her into an extravagant office, with lush sofas and a roaring fireplace. She expected some debonair salt-and-pepper-haired gentleman with a cigar to slowly turn in her direction on a leather chair behind the mahogany desk.
Instead, she was presented to a shrunken old man dressed in a flannel shirt and stained and rumpled jeans, complete with work boots. Thin hair was slicked back from a saggy face with hard eyes.
"Granddaughter." His gap-toothed smile was easy, like he did it all the time to set the vulnerable at ease. He reached out a bony and age-spotted hand with faded tattoos toward her. She sensed that he'd been a physically powerful man at one time and still held power despite his advanced age.
Corra didn't move as she stared at this man, feeling no familial connection whatsoever. It wasn't the same as when she saw Caleb and her inner self acknowledged brother.
No part of her whispered, grandfather.
"What happened to my mother?"
His eyes glinted as he assessed her. "Straightforward. That's okay. I never was one for fancy manners. I do expect to be respected, Corra."
Her lips compressed.
"Leave us," he commanded, and several more men in suits slid out of the shadows to file out of the door she'd entered. Zeek and his father followed.
"I want Zeek to stay," Corra said on impulse.
The old man's bushy brows rose. He nodded, looking Zeek over for a moment. "Interesting."
The door closed, and Zeek stayed close to it. She could see he was confused by this request but remained silent.
Corra drew a breath. "I have training early in the morning, so I'd like to get back sooner rather than later."
"Ah, yes. FUC cadet. Caleb's doing, no doubt. Contrary, idealistic boy." He wandered closer to the fireplace then turned his back on it, warming his old bones. "I still have one grandchild that isn't so foolish, are you, Zeek?"
"No, sir," he answered in an even tone.
Impatience growing, Corra pressed the old man. "What happened to my mother? I know Zeek's father was involved in her disappearance. I saw him take her away."
"Ah, you were there!" He shook a gnarled finger in the air. "It took a long, long time to discover and confirm your existence. She was so protective of you."
Was. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat.
He straightened, and a sliver of fear wedged in her lower spine.
"We brought her to our kennels to live with the other bitches when we quickly discovered she was sick. Oh, don't worry. She was cared for up to the end. The medication facilitated the information we got from her about you. By then, you were nowhere to be found," he said. "My daughter, Sheila, took good care of her sister-in-law."
"Did my father know?"
"About you? No. He was fighting for us and teaching Caleb and Zeek the ropes, so I didn't want to distract him from that duty."
Corra heard the change in Zeek's breathing.
The old man's gaze slid to Zeek. "Now that you're getting your shit together and dropped the drug nonsense, you can start training to take your father's place as our enforcer, since he's past his prime."
Wow. Strong family values.
"What do you want from me?" Corra demanded, pulling her loving grandfather's attention back to the point of her visit.
His flinty eyes darted back to her face, and he smiled again.
She was beginning to really not like when he did that.
"Well, to take your place as the Family's Queen Bitch, of course."
Zeek grunted behind her.
"Excuse me, what?"
"Our matriarch," Zeek said from behind her.
"Your mother's passed her prime, too, and hasn't proved to be as fruitful as she should have been," the old man said to Zeek.
Wow, this guy is gold. No wonder Caleb wanted out.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm nobody's bitch, queen or not." Corra turned toward the door and had taken a step before the old man's hard voice stopped her.
"You might want to think it over, long and hard, granddaughter."
She looked up at Zeek, still standing in front of the door. She could smell the anger rolling off of him, but his face was unreadable as he looked at their grandfather.
"I'll give you a few minutes, but in the end, I know you'll come to your senses. As will Caleb, in time."
Corra spun back to him, teeth grinding, low growls rumbling up her throat.
He smiled that gap-toothed grin. "That's my girl. You're gonna need that spunk. First, I have a little incentive." He wandered toward a second door in the back corner of the room, giving it a sharp knock with his knuckles before wandering back to stare at Corra.
She turned to Zeek. "Was my father anything like this guy?"
He gave a non-committal shrug.
She blew out her breath and turned her attention back to the second door as it opened.
What the holy fuck?
Katz walked through it with a smile of surprise. "Corra! You’re here. Hello Zeek." She said, letting her eyes linger on his face.
"What's going on?" Corra demanded of the old man.
22
Bryah took a deep breath, filling her squirrelly lungs. Gripping the branch with her toe claws, she spread her glassy wings and jumped. The air caught her as she angled her body, tugging her upward as she aimed to land in the next tree.
Below her, she could see guards wandering the perimeter of the estate. It was like one of those old places turned museum that she saw documentaries about all the time. She wondered if this one had been built by an old Canadian railway baron or something.
She made a safe, if not graceful, landing on her target branch, paws clutching at the bark, and glanced back toward the wall where she'd left Darcy and Caleb.
Putting her engineered glass wings away, she prepared to go the rest of the way squirrel-style and scrabbled down the trunk. Dashing across the pristine lawn, she made her way toward the window that was alight. Climbing up the stone wall, she cast a quick glance around her to ensure she hadn't been seen and inched closer to the windowpane.
She breathed a sigh of relief on seeing Corra, tense and standoffish, in the middle of the room, facing a rough old lumberjack-farmer type. Sliding over to see the rest of the room, she caught a glimpse of Zeek by a door. A patch of fog appeared when she pressed her nose too close. Jerking away, she almost lost her balance, regaining it just in time to see Darcy's si
ster walk into the room.
Holy shit!
No matter how she pressed her ear to the glass, she couldn't hear anything through it. And she didn't have any of the equipment a full field agent might have nearby. She needed to get back to Caleb and Darcy.
Growling rumbled up her spine.
Two dogs stared at her with big black eyes, sharp yellow fangs bared at her, alerting on her position. One lunged with snapping teeth, sending her scrambling up the stone wall to the lintel that capped the window, where she could see more shadows racing toward her position.
Shitballs.
Barking filled her ears. Climbing higher, she bypassed the second-story window to the third, making a run for the eaves and the roof to get a better view of escape routes. Thank God dogs couldn't climb; she just prayed there weren't any avian shifters to get her from above. Not seeing anyone else on the rooftop, she took a moment to catch her breath.
They were trespassing. Even if Caleb and Darcy called Joe Suricatta, she couldn't be sure they'd be able to save their asses if they needed the help. This wasn't a sanctioned mission.
There was a thump, and the roof tiles beneath her shuddered. Looking for the source of the vibration, Bryah turned to see a gorilla-shaped shadow facing her direction.
Double shitballs.
Darcy and Caleb ran for the car as soon as the barking alerted someone of Bryah's presence. With the wall too high to climb, they needed to get back to the gate as quickly as possible.
"What are you going to do?" Caleb asked, slamming the door closed as Darcy cranked the starter.
"I don't know, but Bryah's in trouble, and we have no idea if Corra is too."
"Assuming they both are, we're here alone." Caleb's voice was strained. "Can you ram the gate?"
"Are you kidding me?" Darcy snapped. "That gate would crumple this car, and we'd have no way to get back to the Academy."
"I'll call Joe."
"They won't get here in time."
"Bryah was in contact with him the entire ride here. He knows where we are."
"Corra went willingly with Zeek. They have no viable reason to storm the place."
They argued back and forth on options in the passing seconds till their headlights illuminated the thick black bars of the gates.
"I have an idea," Darcy said, getting ready to leave the car.
"Wait, whatever you're doing, I'll go. You need to be ready to drive," Caleb said.
"With all the guards distracted by Bryah, I was going to see if the gatehouse was abandoned so I could open the gate."
Caleb eyed the bars. "I wouldn't fit between the bars."
"I would. Switch places with me."
Caleb got out and took Darcy's place behind the wheel, watching for potential company.
Darcy stripped down, tossed his clothes in the car window, and shifted.
He pushed his head through the gates then shimmied the rest of his body through the narrow space. He ignored Caleb's audible chuckle as his hips stuck awkwardly between the bars till he popped the rest of the way through. Spying the gatehouse, he ran, paws flying over the clipped grass.
It was empty. Shifting back to two legs, he eyed the collection of monitors. Guards converged in a loose ring surrounding the mansion. He punched the button to release the gate and, seconds later, rejoined Caleb in the car, pulling his clothes back on in the front seat as they raced up the long driveway.
Caleb parked behind Zeek's vehicle and ran up the front steps. "What now?"
Darcy shrugged and rang the doorbell.
A pinch-faced butler opened the door, allowing them entrance to the foyer with armed men at every door.
"Good evening," he said to the butler, straightening his suit. "I'm here to collect my fiancée. She's visiting her family."
The butler's brow rose. "How did you get here?" he said, head tilted back so he could look down his nose, yet still up at Darcy, who stood much taller than himself.
"Gate opened. Drove through," Caleb grunted. "I'm here to see my grandfather."
Beady eyes narrowed on him. One of the armed men spoke to another and disappeared.
A moment later, he reappeared, approaching them. "This way."
Darcy and Caleb followed him down the hall and were admitted to a study far more extravagant than anything his mother would have allowed her own designer to get away with.
He breathed a sigh of relief, filling his eyes with the sight of Corra standing in the middle of the room, eyes narrowed on the old man in front of her.
"Darcy!" Katz's voice pulled his attention.
"What the hell are you doing here? Everyone’s looking for you."
"She's here to negotiate, but not in the way she thinks she is," the old man said to Darcy. "Ah, Caleb, my boy! Good to see you. You make it so difficult to get you here to see your old Granpap."
Katz’s head turned to the old man, her expression startled. “What do you mean? It’s just an engagement contract.”
Ignoring her, the ancient old man's face lit up at the sight of Caleb standing next to Darcy, who scowled back at him.
Zeek stepped forward, drawing Caleb's attention. The second his eyes focused on the bigger guy, Caleb was on him. Fists gripping the front of his jacket, Caleb backed him into the nearest wall.
"What the hell are you doing bringing her here?" he snarled.
"Caleb, calm yourself. He was doing what I told him to."
Zeek pushed Caleb off of him, and they stood staring one another down for several long moments.
The old man grunted with impatience. "Assuming you've got a straggler up on my roof that is being attended to by my men, we should get to the point of this meeting. Although I thought it would be just you and me, Corra, all of this is rather unexpected."
He shuffled closer to the fireplace.
"You must be Mr. Karak, I presume?" he said to Darcy. "Your sister here has come to assess me and my estate and negotiate a business agreement between our families. She believes this would benefit all parties involved." His flinty eyes swept the occupants of the room. He wagged a finger to the room at large. "That was not in my plans."
"Your plans?" Corra choked.
There was an eruption of voices from everyone in the room before the old man’s voice cut through them.
"Yes, my plans. I have someone in mind for you that would be much more suitable than this…this cat."
Darcy swallowed the hiss that rose from his gut. He stared at the old man. All of this was eerily familiar to the situation with his mother.
He stepped toward the old man. "Corra and I are engaged. She's under the protection of my family."
“That’s right,” Katz said, moving closer to Corra, head at an imperious angle. “That’s why I asked Zeek to set up this meeting. To make it work to the benefit of both our families.”
A large shadow loomed outside the window. Zeek moved forward to open it and slid aside to allow the huge gorilla to climb through it into the room, gripping something in his fist.
"Hmm, that won't do. No." He spun to Katz. "Here is where the hard negotiations begin. My interests are my family’s interests. And your family has nothing I’m interested in."
Bryah's tiny little squirrel head poked out the top of the fist.
Corra and Caleb immediately dropped into crouches, growling at the massive beast tottering toward the old man.
"Let her go, King Kong!" Corra snarled.
Before he realized what he'd done, Darcy put himself between Corra and the huge shifter, then reached for Katz and pulled her closer too.
The old man smiled at them. "Now that I have my bargaining chips, I will begin. Corra, dear, I'd like you to come and keep an old man company for the last years of my life. I'll teach you how to be the queen of this family. Since your brother rejected his position as bull, it falls to you to keep the family going. Zeek here will be your enforcer when the time comes."
She stopped snarling, straightened, and sidestepped Darcy's body. "You want me to take
over and run things? Here?"
"Corra, you don't want this life," Caleb said quickly. His eyes were on Bryah, trapped in a fist prison, head moving as she struggled to wriggle herself free.
"How do you know what I want?" Corra asked Caleb.
Darcy's mouth popped open.
"And you," she said to Darcy, "your family only thinks I'm acceptable if I have some sort of worth." She straightened her shoulders. "You and I never would have worked. You're too much of a tomcat for my taste. And I'm too rough around the edges for you. Besides, I'd never be sure if I'd really be accepted for myself or what I could bring to the table."
"You think this isn't the same situation?" His heart was hammering in his chest. He turned to the old man. "I'm taking her home."
"Are you sure?"
Darcy nodded.
The gorilla held up his fist as the old man pointed at Katz. "Your sister may leave here with you unharmed, along with whatever that is." He waved at Bryah. "Caleb, you're always welcome here; it's your home."
"Like fuck it is. If you hurt her, I'll rip you to pieces, Rollo," he snarled at the gorilla.
"That belongs to you?" The old man's eyes widened, and then he shuddered. "I'm disappointed. But as I was saying, so long as Corra agrees to stay here, they may go."
"If she doesn't?" Darcy asked.
Bryah let out a squeak of distress when the gorilla fingers twitched around her.
"Zeek will take Miss Karak to another room in the house, and she'll never see the light of another day."
Zeek’s head whipped toward his grandfather, eyes wide.
"So if I willingly stay, everyone else can just leave?" Corra asked. Her tone lacked any emotion.
Darcy saw the way her eyes slid to Bryah, and the shake of her fingers dangling at her sides.
"Yeah, sure," the old man said. "But…if not, I'm fine with using more dramatic methods to convince you of the right choice."
"So, what? You'll kill us?" Katz demanded, her cheeks blazing with anger.
"Smart girl."
"You do realize that by doing that, you're declaring war with our family," Darcy said.
"I don't think FUC will take the news lightly that you're threatening one of their cadets." Caleb pointed at Bryah.
Diamond in the Ruff (Pedigree) Page 14