Now, though Garret’s evil twin had stolen his life, the male remained surprisingly calm and not filled with hatred for all that had been taken from him.
“It’s going. I’ve made some changes. Deseria, who is the mother of my other son, told me who my brother’s closest allies were.”
“You trust her?” Enyowas asked.
“I do, she and I were in love at one time,” Garret said.
Enyowas nodded. “So what did you do with your brother’s supporters?”
“I asked them who they wanted in charge. They all said Garner,” Garret said.
“What did you do with them?” Enyowas asked, figuring his friend would have let them go.
“They no longer walk the earth.”
His answer left Enyowas surprised.
“I considered letting them go, but they’d only be back to help my brother escape and try to take back the clan. I couldn’t let that happen. Too many of my people have been hurt by my brother,” Garret said.
Enyowas agreed. “And the rest of your clan, how are they adjusting to you being back?”
“Most are good, though some are used to the luxury of how my brother ran things, but I’ve made it clear I won’t take any of their crap, and none are willing to risk my wrath. Yet,” Garret said, though he didn’t sound overly worried.
With good reason, Enyowas could feel the amount of power he wielded. “Well, if you need a hand with anything, you be sure to give me a call.” It still made him see red every time he thought of what Elianna had gone through in this clan.
“You’ve already helped, and I am forever grateful,” Garret said as he led Enyowas down into the basement where his twin was being held.
“It’s probably best if I don’t come in with you,” Garret said as they passed by two small barred cells and stopped in front of a closed door.
“I understand,” Enyowas said, then entered the small room and closed the door behind him.
Not so perfectly coifed anymore, Garner sat cuffed to a metal chair. His gray slacks and white dress shirt were wrinkled and dirty, and his hair mussed as well. The restraints likely wouldn’t hold him long, but the four burly guards in the room definitely could.
Enyowas studied the cold male. Garret and Garner might be twins, but their personalities were night and day, one full of light and the other all dark. “Why’d you do it?”
“Why did I do what?” Garner asked, a bored and superior air about him.
“We found the bodies of all the woman you’ve killed, along with that of Tito, and I want to know why you saw the need to take their lives.”
“I’ve no idea what you are talking about,” Garner said.
“Quit playing games.” Enyowas snarled. “I caught your scent at the crime scenes.” Actually, he’d only caught Garner’s pungent scent at three scenes, but Garner didn’t know that. “Tito might’ve been shady, but he didn’t deserve to die like that. None of them did.”
Garner gave a small smirk but didn’t say a word.
“Fine, then answer me this, why my sister? What could she have possibly ever done to you to make you kill her?”
“Who’s your sister?”
“Elsary.”
“Never heard of her. Was she good in the sack?”
Enyowas growled, and his fingers morphed into claws as he did a very slight shift. Before he knew what he was doing, he had them pressed into Garner’s throat. “Do not ever speak of my sister that way again.”
The guards began to close in on him. “You’re not allowed to harm the prisoner until we’re given word it’s okay to do so,” one said.
“Consider this your okay,” Enyowas said without taking his eyes from Garret’s twin.
The air spiked with nervous energy, but not from Garner. In fact, his eyes narrowed on Enyowas and he drew in a deep breath.
“The permission has to come from our new Tomlee,” a different guard added.
“He’s just out the door,” Enyowas said, studying Garner. He had to give the guy kudos, even with a set of deadly claws digging into his throat, he didn’t seem the least unnerved. Enyowas pressed a little deeper, drawing blood. “Why. Did. You. Kill. Elsary?”
“I never even met her, or, if I did, it wasn’t memorable enough to recall, though I do believe I smell a sweet little mongrel on you.”
His imperious tone set Enyowas on edge, and to avoid ripping the throat out of Garret’s twin, he stood and moved away from the vile male and pulled Sary’s chain and pendant from his pocket. “Maybe you recognize this?”
Garner’s eyes widened for the briefest second, telling Enyowas he did indeed recognize it. “Never seen it before.”
Enyowas snorted and slid the jewelry back into his pocket. “But you admit to killing the others?”
“I admit no such thing, though I can’t say I’m upset over their deaths.” He smirked. “Bitches can be fun for a time, then they get annoying. And Tito, he was plain useless. Really, the world is better off without him, same goes for the rest of the bitches, always begging to be made Queenlee. As if I’d make any of them my queen. But that doesn’t mean I killed them either.”
“And the others?”
Garner shrugged.
Enyowas watched the guy, knowing he wasn’t going to get anywhere else without some help. He had wanted to bring one of their mind readers with him, but the ones they had on staff were currently on other cases. “Fine, you don’t want to tell me, I’ll bring in someone you won’t be able to resist to get the answers I need.”
“Need, it’s a funny, fickle thing,” Garner said.
“What does that mean?” Enyowas asked, but again all he got was another shrug. “Do you feel the need, the urge to kill, is that what you’re saying?”
“I’m not saying anything, but let me ask, how’s little Elianna? She was due to go through her heat. I’ll bet there was some need going on during that, wasn’t there?”
Enyowas ground his teeth. “Don’t talk about her, the way she was treated here is abhorrent.”
Garner’s lips curled up in a smile that didn’t meet his eyes. “Maybe after my men get me out of here, and I take care of my brother, then I’ll come find her. Give her a taste of what a real male is like. Always did wonder how she’d be. Bet she has a tight little pussy, she’d probably be a little tigress.”
Enyowas had to fight from ripping the bastard’s head from his body. “Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re not going anywhere.”
“My clan is used to a certain way of living, they won’t tolerate my brother’s rigid leadership for long. Soon they’ll free me,” Garner said.
Enyowas smirked. “You might be surprised at how many in your clan hates you.”
Garner’s eyes darkened with anger. “I’m done talking to you, but be sure to give my regards to Elianna. Tell her I’ll see her soon.” Garner then looked at the guards. “Take me back to my prison so I can lie down and get some sleep. Maybe dream of a little clouded leopard sucking me off.”
“Dreams are about all you’ll have, since your cohorts are now six feet under in the backyard,” Enyowas said.
Garner paled, and for the first time, Enyowas saw anger in his eyes. “You’ll pay for this. Don’t think I don’t have contacts outside the clan.”
Enyowas ignored his threat. “And once I have someone read you, and we find you guilty, then you’ll join your cohorts in the ground.”
Enyowas left the room.
“Well?” Garret asked as they made their way back upstairs.
“He gave me nothing, but I’m certain he killed them,” Enyowas said. “Still, I’d like to have Shabina read him and make sure. Though I have to warn you, if he’s found guilty, he won’t be allowed to live.”
“Is it bad that I don’t feel regret over that?” Garret asked.
“After what he did to you, I’m only surprised you haven’t ripped him to pieces already,” Enyowas said.
“Not like I haven’t wanted to,” Garret said grimly.
; “Shabina’s super busy at the moment, can I have your brother brought to the EfPP tomorrow, so she can pop in and read him when she has the time?”
“I’ll arrange transport.”
“Great, the sooner we get this done the better,” Enyowas said.
Chapter 17
Enyowas ended the call and tossed his cell phone onto his desk with a growl. Things were not going how he wanted, but then, nothing ever did. Although, a group of supes had escaped the Ilyium, which was always good thing.
At a knock, he looked up to see Ferno in the doorway. “Come in.”
“Shabina’s been waiting. I take it the prisoner isn’t coming?” Ferno said as he settled in one of the chairs facing his desk.
“No. Garret’s brother escaped on the way here, killed two of his guards and injured a third.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.” Enyowas sighed. He needed to shift and go for a run, or better yet, go to Elianna and … right, don’t go there. He couldn’t go to her, no matter how badly he wanted her. He had to keep focused on work. Now they had a dangerous supernatural serial killer on the loose, one who’d threatened her.
“Where’s Veldi?” Ferno asked.
“He’s helping with the newly turned were’s from the mall fiasco, then he’s meeting up with Shabina and they’re heading over to see to the recent Ilyium escapees staying at the shelter, why?” Enyowas asked.
“If the Ilyium had this many supes and humans caged, how many do you think they have elsewhere?” Ferno asked instead.
“There’s no telling.”
“Supes are not easy to take down. They’ve got to be using enough drugs to drop an elephant to be capturing the ones they are.”
Enyowas agreed.
“Have we learned how they all escaped?” Ferno asked.
“Supposedly, a small group of supes sneaked in and freed the Ilyium prisoners from the compound where they were being held out in Liberty Lake. But the real question is, what are the Ilyium witches up to? Why are they taking captives?”
“I assume they’re doing some kind of experimentation,” Ferno said.
“Has to be, though to what end is anyone’s guess. Apparently one of the buildings was blown up, and I’ve heard they were collecting blood, when they weren’t torturing people,” Enyowas said, anger building. They’d been trying to locate the missing supes but had been unsuccessful. Thankfully, someone else had found them. “Why do you want Veldi?”
“I don’t. I needed to talk to you and didn’t want him to hear what I have to say,” Ferno said.
“What’s going on?” Enyowas asked.
Ferno rubbed at his short, cropped hair. “I think we have a problem, Boss.”
Enyowas waited.
“I had Veldi’s girlfriend’s car collected from the impound lot like you asked, but the male I sent picked up a strange vibe and refused to take the car to be destroyed until I saw it.”
“I’m really not going to like this, am I?” Enyowas asked. The teams were filled with supes and they all brought different abilities or gifts to the table. So, if one had a vibe about something, it heralded looking into.
“Pretty sure you’re not,” Ferno said.
“What did you find?”
“I think Elsary might have been in the car.”
“What?”
“Sorry, Boss.”
“Elsary and Veldi’s girlfriend had been friends, somewhat, so it’s not impossible she’d have been in the car, I guess.” Enyowas studied the other man. “But you don’t think it was a simple hit-and-run, do you?”
“I know that’s what we were told, but I think there’s more going on,” Ferno replied.
“Fuck.” Enyowas logged in to his computer and pulled up the police report. He quickly scanned it and frowned. “The report says the car flipped a couple times before wrapping around a power pole. And there were no eyewitnesses at the scene.”
“Correct, it’s pretty mangled. And, no, no one who hung around at least,” Ferno said. “Anyway, I could be wrong about this. Heck, Elsary could have been in the car at any time, but I thought you might want to check it out before I dispose of it. I had the tow truck park it in the far corner behind the dumpster so Veldi doesn’t see it.”
“Appreciate that, let’s go.”
Enyowas cringed at the sight of the mangled little tin box. Veldi had hated the POS car, but his girlfriend had been very independent and refused to let him get her anything different. Enyowas walked around and caught a familiar scent on the passenger side. Yup, definitely Sary.
He tried to open the door, but it was stuck. He tried again, using more force this time, and with a loud ear-piercing screech of metal, it yawned open.
Enyowas studied the interior, using all his senses. The scent of his sister was even stronger. The driver’s side was covered in blood, but there was a spot on the passenger seat close to the door.
Enyowas leaned close and sniffed. His heart double-tapped as he caught a familiar scent he didn’t want to catch. He straightened up, studying the car once more and noticed a few more tiny splatters. The he saw it. His sister’s phone wedged down the side of the seat. He pulled it out, noticing the cracked screen, then closed the door. “I’ll have tech look at this later.”
“Think they’ll get anything from it?” Ferno asked, doubtfully.
“No,” Enyowas said, pretty sure they wouldn’t. “Let’s take a drive.”
“To the accident scene?”
“Yes.” Elsary had been in the car, and that was her blood. Now, for some reason, all his senses screamed that this wasn’t an accident like they’d been led to believe. But if not, then what had Elsary been up to? Was she responsible for Veldi’s girlfriend’s death?
Ferno drove them to the accident site in his pickup truck. They watched the traffic for a bit, taking in the seedy neighborhood and boarded-up buildings.
“It’s not very busy, but there is steady traffic,” Ferno said.
“The report said the accident happened at eight p.m.”
“Correct.”
Which meant that there would be even less vehicular traffic at that time.
“Still, it’s hard to imagine that there weren’t any witnesses,” Ferno said, eyeing an old man with a long, dingy gray beard, and thin strands of long salt-and-pepper hair falling in his face and all around his head. The thin, stooped male was pushing a shopping cart toward a group of tents.
“I know Shabina’s gone back out. Do we have any other mind readers not presently busy?” Enyowas asked, eyes on the homeless.
“Everyone is pretty tied up, but I might be able to get someone out in a couple days if you want?”
“I do.”
Elsary, what were you doing?
Chapter 18
Enyowas had Veldi’s girlfriend’s twisted hunk of metal sent to the scrapyard, though he was no closer to learning what Elsary had to do with the accident. As he turned the lights off in his office for the evening, he couldn’t help but wonder if Elianna had arrived back from her shopping trip with his sister.
Sima had been prowling around restlessly for days driving everyone nutty, and Elianna needed some new clothes and other items, so he’d suggested they go shopping together. At first Elianna objected, until he handed her an ATM card.
“What’s this?” she asked. “I really don’t want to owe anyone.”
“It’s from Garret. He apologizes for how his clan treated you.”
She shoved it back at him. “I don’t want it.”
“If you really don’t want it, that’s fine, but you should know, this account was opened with funds taken from those who hurt and abused you, in order to teach them a lesson,” he said.
“Doing that will make the clan hate him,” she said.
“He’s definitely stirring the pot, but then they need to be shaken up a bit before he can get them back on the right track,” Enyowas said, hoping his friend knew what he was doing.
“Well, this will make them hate me
even more than they already do,” Elianna said.
“Probably, but let me ask you, do you think that sentiment would change if they weren’t punished? Besides, do you plan to go back to your clan?”
“No, never.”
Enyowas didn’t realize he was holding his breath until she answered. Wow, he really needed to step back and take a breath. Let Elianna have some room. “Right, so don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t know …”
“They shouldn’t get away with doing what they did and not have any repercussion.”
She cautiously took the card back, as if afraid it might bite her. “I guess you’re right. How much is on it?”
“Ten thousand.”
Elianna’s eyes widened. “Okay, I’m not saying no anymore. Please tell Garret thank you from me.”
“Will do.” Enyowas grinned. “I really appreciate you taking my sister to the mall.”
“I noticed she’s a bit antsy, so no problem.”
Enyowas climbed off his bike at the same time Veldi got out of his truck. Up ahead, closer to the entrance to clan home, was the car he’d let Elianna drive to the mall with his sister.
Both females were unloading shopping bags, and as he watched Elianna smile and laugh, Enyowas grew hard.
Only they weren’t alone. Two cocky, unmated young males—clan mates—were helping the women.
Enyowas’s blood began to boil. As usual, they were flirting, which never bothered Enyowas before. But now it had him tensing up. Neither he nor his cat liked any other male around Elianna.
One of the young men caught sight of him and Veldi, and moved away from both females, but the other was all smiles, and practically salivating over Elianna as he rushed ahead to grab the door.
A low snarl vibrated in Enyowas’s chest.
Veldi shot a look his way. “You’re attracted to her, and I think she’s great. So either claim her already, or go find someone to fuck.”
“What?”
“You’re irritable as hell, go fuck someone and get Elianna out of your system if you don’t want to mate with her,” Veldi said.
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