by Sam Crescent
“I’m not upset. Believe me, I’m not. It’s just … I don’t know how to help this girl. She deserves our help. Her mother is out there and from a brief glance of that damn tape, she didn’t leave her daughter willingly. It sucks.”
Liam reached across and took her hand, locking their fingers together. “Whatever happens, I’m not going to let you go. I’m going to take care of you, I promise.”
She offered him a smile. “You’re so sweet.”
“Hey, don’t ruin my image, okay?”
Liam tried to make her smile, but the truth was he was fucking terrified. He didn’t have the answers, and he had a horrible feeling he knew why.
****
Several hours later, Jenny was about done with watching the same piece of twenty-minute footage. They’d gone through seven pizzas and some ice cream as they watched the details from his apartment. Liam was in the process of rewinding it again.
“Seriously? What else could you be missing?”
“We have to find out what the hell was going on in there. You know I’m right.”
“I know you’re being crazy and completely obsessing about this right now, and it makes absolutely no sense to me because it is the same footage. The car gives you enough details to know a make and model, but not the exact car. The men we can’t even see because they conveniently keep away from the cameras. There is nothing here, Liam. We’re losing time.”
“The more I watch, the better I’ll understand.”
“Understand what?” she asked.
“Why this happened.” Liam turned toward her, his eyes shifting as his wolf came close to the surface. He ran his fingers through his hair, in control. “There was a little girl in a building that should have been fucking empty, Jenny. Six people died. Six. Not one or two, but fucking six. Tell me again how that could have happened?” he asked, glaring at her.
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly. I don’t have any answers. None of us do. All I have is this one twenty-minute scene that gives me everything and not enough.”
Jenny looked at the image that had been frozen on the screen.
She stared at the screen. The mother being held back as the building went up in flames. “Modern technology,” she said, frowning.
“What?”
She clicked her fingers. “Back there. You spoke about the joys of modern technology. Social media. A fire. There’s like an entire group of apartments and houses not too far from where that fire was burning. Someone had to have called the damn fire department. They could never tell you who, right?”
“Right? I’m feeling rather slow right now. What’s your point?”
She moved toward his laptop. “Modern technology. Everyone is always on their damn phones, aren’t they? Always filming everything. Even something like a fire.” She fired up the internet, located one of the media sites, and began to type in random search queries.
She scrolled through the list of them and the moment she recognized the building, she cried out.
Liam moved to sit beside her as she pressed Play. “Holy shit balls, you guys. I hope no one is in there.”
“You think this is going to help?” Liam asked.
Jenny wasn’t looking, nor was she listening to the man who held the camera. There were times the picture moved as he walked forward or back, but she caught sight of the burning building and what was more, she hit Pause as soon as she saw the little light at the edge of the building and just across the street, another image of the car.
Liam moved in closer.
“See,” she said. “To many, this little light here is just a bad reflection or tricky recording. That’s the girl.”
Liam kept on staring at the screen.
She looked at him then at the screen. “What is it, Liam?” she asked.
“Jenny, look at the car,” he said.
She looked at the car.
“Now look at the men.”
She frowned as she took a closer glance at the car and tilted her head to the side. The car was the exact same one as her brother Danny’s, but the man holding back the screaming woman was none other than her brother Lewis. Even with the screen blurred, she saw it was him.
Coming out of the video, she found another, and sure enough, this one stayed focused on the fire, but they clearly didn’t know what kind of footage they had.
After putting the laptop down, Jenny got to her feet, pacing the front of the sofa. “No,” she said, shaking her head.
Liam sat back and stared up at her.
She reached for her cell phone and he captured her wrist. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’ve got to know what the hell is going on.”
“Jenny, that’s not a good idea.”
“A little girl died and a woman could be mourning her child. I’ve got no choice but to interfere. This isn’t my fault. They made me part of this by doing this. I don’t have a choice.”
“This isn’t a very good choice.”
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” she asked. “It’s something I’ve got to do.” She opened her cell phone and dialed her brother’s number. Lewis answered on the third ring.
Keeping her voice light, she arranged for her brother to come to the apartment. Once she finished talking to Lewis, she dialed Danny.
Her assumptions were correct as Danny told her that Lewis had borrowed his car and apparently damaged it beyond repair. It was crushed and gone. All evidence wiped clean.
Running her hands down her sides, she felt a little sick.
Liam moved toward her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I’m here for you.”
“I … I didn’t have anything to do with this,” she said.
“I know.”
“I mean it. I didn’t do anything. I’m not allowed to be part of their business.”
“I know.”
Tears filled her eyes. “My brother could be responsible for killing that little girl.”
Liam cupped her face. “I’ve got you. Okay? I’ve got to call my dad and yours. You know this, right?”
She nodded her head.
“This isn’t your fault. We don’t know why Lewis was at that building, okay?”
“It doesn’t make it right.”
“Babe, you cannot blame yourself for everything your brothers do.” He took possession of her lips. “I don’t want to leave you, but I’ve got to make this call.”
She nodded. “Make the call. I’ll be fine. I promise.”
The lies just kept sliding off her tongue, without a care in the world. She tuned out her husband. All this time, she stared at the screen that had been paused.
What was Lewis doing in that damn building?
Why was he taking a woman away?
She put a hand to her stomach, feeling the sickness swirling in her gut. Lewis was the oldest son. The one due to take over the entire family.
Liam cupped her cheek. “They know that your brother is coming. Our dads want to hear the conversation. I’ve got the call on speaker.”
“Okay,” she said. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Are you okay, sweetheart? Liam told us what happened.”
“I’m fine. I am.”
The doorbell rang. Silence filled the air.
“Don’t give anything away.”
She nodded her head and moved toward the door, finding Lewis looking as impeccable as he did in those videos. He’d always been a loving big brother to her, but now as she looked at him, she wondered if there was a part of him she didn’t know.
“Hey, weirdo,” he said. “I figured you’d still be enjoying your honeymoon.”
“I was, but something came up.” She stepped out of the way for Lewis to pass across the threshold.
Clenching her hands into tight fists, she offered her brother a smile.
“So, what can I do for you?”
“You want a drink?” Liam asked, making his presence known.
“Wow, I’m the first guy to be invited into your home and o
n your honeymoon, I’m honored.”
She chuckled, but it sounded forced even to herself. This was … intense. She kept looking at her brother, trying to understand him.
Lewis was always nice and sweet to her, but he was due to take over from their father. In the back of her mind, she had a distant memory of sitting in the closet, Danny seated beside her.
“He has to be mean, Jen. He doesn’t mean anything by it. It’s just who he is.”
Jenny had forgotten about all the times Lewis had been mean to her growing up. The bully he’d become shining through.
Liam returned with a glass of whiskey for her brother, a water for herself, and he stood, hands in his pockets.
“This is some place, huh?”
“Yeah. Liam said he’s going to take me out, show me all the sights from this side of the city. You know, seeing as we’ve all kept to our own side, it would be nice to see how a Wolf lives in their little domain.” She took a deep breath, looking at him. “Have you taken the time to enjoy this part of the city?” she asked.
“No. This is the first time I’ve been here. You know how it is with work.”
Jenny knew he was lying. He wouldn’t even look at her. She couldn’t believe it.
Staring at Lewis, she oddly wasn’t afraid.
Chapter Eight
Anger filled Liam as he looked at his brother-in-law. Lewis wore the mask of being a nice guy well, but he’d always believed there was something the bastard was hiding, and he’d been right.
Lewis had no reason to be near that building, and he shouldn’t have even known anything about it. Yet, here he was lying to them. To all of them, and it pissed him off.
As he stared at him now, it took every ounce of control he possessed not to kill him. He wanted to rip out his throat, but he held back.
Jenny had gone quiet, watching her brother. He didn’t know what she was thinking about or what she could even have to think about.
“What’s with the twenty questions? Surely, you’ve got a lot on your mind without pestering me?” Lewis asked.
“We know you were there,” Jenny said.
“Excuse me?”
Liam told him the location and watched as Lewis went red.
“That’s impossible. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Lewis looked from him to Jenny, then back again.
“We saw you,” Jenny said. “I need to know who the woman is.”
“I need to know what you were doing at one of our warehouses,” Liam said. He needed to have answers.
Lewis laughed. “I know you see your dead people, Jen. I do, but this, interrogating me like this, and to our enemy. This is a betrayal I didn’t expect from you.”
“A betrayal? You were at my wedding. They are not our enemy and haven’t been since the moment we were married, Lewis.” Jenny advanced toward Lewis and Liam watched as her brother took a step back. “You’ve been working against our father?”
Lewis looked at Liam and finally, the façade dropped. The anger, the hatred, it all shone through.
“Do you think I was going to let him align our names with this filth?” Lewis asked. “You were never supposed to be married. The weirdo that you are, you were supposed to scare him off with your talk to the dead and all of that.” Lewis spat at the floor beside her feet and Liam growled.
The sound echoed around the room, filling every single atom of air.
Jenny put a hand against his chest. “I don’t care about what you did to the building or to whoever died in there. I need to know about the woman you took,” she said. “Her daughter.”
Lewis looked at her. “How do you know about the little girl?”
Jenny put her hands on her hips. “How do you think I know? This came on my honeymoon! I had to go and find out what it was and who was responsible. The little girl is being held there.”
“Like a hostage?”
“She’s dead, Lewis. I believe she died of smoke inhalation, but she’s gone. There’s a spirit, a bad one—” She stopped as a sob came from Lewis. “Lewis?”
“I told her she had to be wrong. I gave her strict instructions not to take our daughter to work again. I told her.”
“Our daughter?”
Tears fell from Lewis’s cheeks. “You’re not that stupid, Jen. You’ve been kept from the world, but even you know what this means.”
Liam watched her, looking between the siblings. “Care to clue me in?”
Jenny turned toward him. “The girl, she’s my niece.” She sniffled then turned toward Lewis. “How could you do that? How could you keep her a secret?”
“She’s human. She has nothing to do with our world and her mother was just some fun.”
“Where is her mother now?” Jenny asked.
“A hospital. I’ve been searching the city looking for … her.”
“What’s her name?”
Liam put his hands on Jenny’s shoulders, offering her what little comfort he could provide. She put her hands on top of his.
“Anna. Her name is Anna. She’s eight … was, she was eight years old.”
Liam leaned forward and kissed the back of his wife’s head, trying to give her comfort while she was so clearly in pain.
“Eight years and you didn’t tell anyone? Does Dad know?”
“No, I don’t,” her father said, speaking up. “I’ve heard enough of this. Liam, bring my son to me. I will handle this.”
“Dad?”
“Jenny, you need to rest. We’ll take care of this.”
“But, Dad!”
“No, buts. This is now out of your control. This is my decision.”
The line was cut off.
“I’ll be expecting you, son,” Liam’s father said.
The line went dead.
Liam looked at Lewis. Seconds ago, the man was filled with anger and hatred, now he just looked lost.
“You can’t take him,” Jenny said.
“Sweetheart, you and I both know our dads gets what they want.” Lewis sighed. “Let’s go.” He looked at Jenny. “You saw Anna?”
“She didn’t know it was you,” Jenny said. “She said the men with nice clothes. The ones she has to be quiet around.”
Lewis covered his face. “I loved her. I did, Jenny, but I knew this world, our world, would spit at her.” He shook his head. “I fucked up big time.”
Jenny turned toward Liam, putting her hands on his chest. “Don’t send him away.”
“This is out of my control.”
She whirled back to see her brother. “Did you set the fire?”
Lewis shook his head. “No. I was there to pick up Tana and Anna. She had gained enough information for me, and I was done, but the fire was already going strong when I arrived. I had no way of putting it out. There was nothing I could do.”
She cursed.
“If you see Anna, tell her Daddy loves her so much and that he’s sorry. He’s sorry for not being there all the time. Tell her I’m going to think about her every single day.”
Liam had already grabbed him by the shoulder. He turned to look at his wife, who was crying.
“Please, for your own sake, stay here. Please.”
Jenny’s tears cut him to the core. “You shouldn’t take him.”
“You know the rules. We need to make sure no one knows about his involvement. He has made a mess of everything. Please, tell me I can trust you.”
“You can trust me.”
He doubted it, but Liam knew his father would cause trouble if he didn’t handle this first. All he wanted to do was hold his wife, to let her know it was going to be okay.
Instead, he held her brother, taking him from his apartment, toward the elevator.
“My sister is a good person.”
“You spat at her feet less than twenty minutes ago,” he said. “Don’t try to claim to be the doting brother. You’re not.”
“I know that my sister is as good as dead. The life that was handed to her is a death wish. I watched it slowly con
sume my mother and I was there to see my grandmother die. That’s all that happens to those that have her curse. They die. It’s not pretty. It’s a slow death, painful.”
Liam wrapped his fingers around Lewis’s throat. “For your own sake, you better hope my wife doesn’t suffer that self-same fate, otherwise, you’re going to be the one I’m coming for. I’m going to kill you, and tear you limb from limb. By the time I’m through with you, no one will ever be able to recognize the body.”
“Do you think I give a shit?” Lewis snarled at him. “I lost my daughter.”
“You may act like the nice guy, but you and I both know differently,” Liam said. “You shouldn’t have been on our property in the first place. You love your daughter that much, but not enough to let your family know about her.”
“You know nothing.”
“I know enough.” He shoved Lewis out the open elevator doors.
“You know enough? You think you know enough. You don’t have a clue. You can judge me all you want, but you’ve known Jen a matter of days. In real terms, you’ve known her hours, and that’s all. Me, I’ve lived with her. I know what it’s like for her. For people to stare at her because she’s talking to someone only she could see, or the way strange shit happens all around her. I was there. I lived with it. Anna didn’t have Jen’s gift, but she was human. I know because I got her tested. The wolf blood didn’t run within her veins, but she was my daughter. I’ve lived my life with people starting at their horrible rumors and judgments. I kept my daughter away to protect her. Judge me all you want, but until you have a kid of your own, don’t you fucking dare tell me what I should or shouldn’t do for the love of my child.”
Liam hated that Lewis had him beat. He couldn’t judge. Even before he’d truly met Jenny, he’d heard about her. The rumor mill was always running rife and certainly within wolf packs.
He slammed the door closed and couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to do if his son or daughter was given the same gift that Jenny had.
****
There was no way in hell Jenny intended to do as she was told. She wasn’t a child and no one was going to make her do something she didn’t want to do, not even her husband.
With a coat on and her cell phone at the ready, she managed to get past the guards with a few more idle threats. It wouldn’t take the guards long to realize she couldn’t hurt anyone, then this freedom she had would end. She’d have to come up with more elaborate escape plans.