Furever Loyal

by Riley Storm

  “Maybe.”

  Kincaid shrugged and walked through the door, back into the offices and pulled open the front door. “I am innocent. I don’t want to be imprisoned. Or worse. I need you to believe me. This is a big step toward that.”

  She followed him outside, pausing as he pulled the broken door back into place.

  “You probably won’t go to jail over this. It’s not enough proof for that. Not yet at least. Once the police get involved though, who knows what their digging will find.”

  He snorted and they started walking back to the SUV together. “The police aren’t going to be involved at all, Haley.”

  “But you said imprisoned.”

  “Yes. My House will see to the punishment. They’ll toss me in jail if they don’t just kill me.”

  “What?!” she exclaimed loudly, before closing her mouth and looking around to see if anyone had heard.

  “They don’t take this sort of thing lightly, Haley. There’s a lot of bad blood between the wolves and bears, and if they think I’m in league with them, that I helped them by hurting my House…”

  Haley was too overwhelmed by everything she was hearing, and what she’d just seen. Her brain was trying to turn itself off, protesting at any new information, even as she made the connection between House Canis and wolves, and House Ursa and bears.

  “You’re not the only one who can do…who can do…” She waved her hands around, uncertain of the word.

  “Shapeshift? No. We usually just call it shifting. But most members of any of the Houses can do it.”

  “Right. Of course.” She rubbed at her face. “This just makes so much sense now. Thank you for completely destroying my world.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

  She just waved him off. “Take me back to my office, please. Now. I need to think. A lot.”

  Kincaid unlocked the car as they got close. “Are you going to be okay? Do I have to worry about you?”

  “How the hell am I supposed to know?”

  12

  Haley was freaking out.

  He watched her from his seat in one of the chairs in her office. So far, he hadn’t said anything except to answer any questions she’d had, but the last one of those had been twenty minutes earlier. Now she was just staring at her computer, but even her fingers had stopped typing.

  There were no outward signs, no loud hysterics. It wasn’t that sort of breakdown. What she was doing was all internal, as she struggled to adapt her worldview to accommodate what she’d learned with him. It was a lot to ask of someone who had been told their entire life that these sorts of things were impossible, that nobody could actually do something like that. Then to see it happen in front of you, it could mess a person up.

  Kincaid knew he needed to step in, to do something, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. What would be the best method for snapping her out of it, without screwing things up worse? In the end, he decided to try and focus her emotions the easiest way he knew how.

  “You’re welcome, you know,” he said dryly, putting as much sarcasm and arrogance into his voice as he could.

  Haley’s eyes snapped into focus, glaring daggers at him. “For what? What the hell did you do that I should be saying thank you?”

  “How about saving your life?”

  “Saving my life…” She frowned at him. “And just how did you do that again? Was it by breaking into the office after I expressly told you not to? Or was it by starting a fight with the security guard instead of surrendering peacefully? Or the part where you involved me in the middle of a freaking war between shapeshifters?!”

  By the end of it, she was yelling at him near at the top of her lungs. The massive door was shut, and he hoped it at least muffled the words enough that the people in the rest of the office wouldn’t understand just what she’d said.

  “All of the above.” Now that he had her attention, he dropped the attitude. “I’m sorry, Haley. I didn’t intend for it to go that way. I wouldn’t have broken in if I’d thought it would put you in danger. That’s the honest truth.”

  It was. He would have sent her away first, if he’d had any inkling that Canis had assets in the area, guarding a shell company.

  “Yeah, I bet you would have.”

  Kincaid sat up straight in his chair, dropping both feet to the ground as he uncrossed his legs. “You didn’t get hurt at all, did you? Anything that I didn’t see?”

  She inhaled, ready to tear another strip off him, but almost at once she sagged wearily. “No, Kincaid. I didn’t get hurt. Just…shook up. This is a lot to process, to believe. Shapeshifters? I know I saw it. Twice. But still...”

  He watched as she slumped forward, resting her elbows on the desk and her head in her hands.

  “Then the spy part of this. That’s not me, you know? I like sitting behind my desk. On the computer. Working with numbers. That’s me, that’s what I do. This sneaking around, breaking in, trying to unravel a mystery like a sleuth? Not my deal.”

  “Does that mean you believe me now? That I am being framed?”

  “No.”

  He covered up his frustration at her response.

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “Something?” he said, pushing just a little bit harder.

  Haley shrugged, an awkward-looking gesture because of her position. “It’s weird. I’ll give you that.”

  Kincaid smiled faintly. “I’ll take it, I guess. It’s better than you being totally convinced I’m a traitorous piece of shit.”

  “Now I know the reason for the animosity between you and these Canis people, it lends a bit more credibility to the fact that there might be something more going on. But it doesn’t mean you aren’t a part of it either.”

  “I understand.” She was just saying that to cover her tracks, he was pretty positive.

  “What do we do now?”

  “First, I see what else I need to do, to ensure that you understand the need to keep my secret quiet. That you aren’t going to suddenly blurt it out or go tell anyone you shouldn’t.”

  “Is that a threat? That I’d better keep quiet, or else?”

  “No. I’m just trying to get ahead of any problems before they arise,” he said peacefully, spreading his hands. “I can’t really get a handle on how you’re doing over there.”

  Haley sighed again. “I’m sorry. It’s just that this is tough to come to grips with. To believe something that should be impossible. I know I saw it, but a big part of me keeps asking, well what if I’m insane? What if I’m hallucinating it, and I’m slowly losing my grip on reality?”

  Kincaid got up, walked around the desk and without being asked, dug his fingers into her shoulders. “I promise you, you’re not going insane. You are not hallucinating anything.”

  “What are you doing? Stop that,” she said, though she made no attempt to remove his fingers from her skin.

  “Just loosening some tension, so you can think straight. I don’t know where to go from here, and I need your help.”

  Haley let him work for a few minutes, and he felt some of the stress leave her muscles as they relaxed, until she finally sighed and sat up straight. Taking his cue, he went and sat back down, making no mention of what had just happened. It would be easier that way.

  “I’m not sure what else to do either,” she admitted. “Not unless we can somehow hack into the bank and get the records of where the money went after it left your account or the records of the holding company to do the same. Without either of those…well, we’re screwed. And that’s way beyond my skills.”

  Kincaid was forced to agree. “I’m no hacker either. I don’t think we have anyone at the House who could even do that.”

  The two of them were silent once more, but this time, it was different. Haley was no longer lost in her own mind. He suspected she would get through this just fine, that her brain would be able to adapt to the new world she was a part of. It would help that she worked with him and the Ursidae on the regul
ar. He knew it would take more time for her to truly accept it, but he was no longer worried about her freaking out and telling everyone.

  Despite that, he was determined to keep her safe, unharmed, and behind the desk, where she belonged, like she’d said. The fieldwork, the stuff he was most comfortable with, he would do that on his own and then bring whatever he found to her. Then they could go over it together to form conclusions. Besides, the less she knew of what he was up against, the better.

  The last thing I want is for her to have to watch me kill some Canis asshole who won’t take no for an answer.

  Without speaking, he stood up, preparing to leave.

  “Where are you going?” she asked, looking up sharply.

  “To dig into this a little deeper.”

  “Where?”

  “On my own.” He smiled at her. “You’re right, Haley. You don’t need to get involved. I can handle this on my own from here. If I come up with some proof or something, I’ll let you know. I’ll bring it here, we can go over it together, that sort of thing. But I don’t want you to get hurt. I’ll do this by myself. You don’t have to come.”

  He spoke the truth. Though he found her irritating, especially her unwillingness to believe him, Kincaid was starting to realize he didn’t want to put her in danger. Begrudgingly so, of course, but nonetheless. It was hard to deny after the way he’d nearly lost himself in battle lust when the Canim had gone after her instead of him.

  Kincaid expected that she would be grateful to him for giving her the out, so she didn’t have to bring it up herself. Although, he wasn’t interested in her gratitude, and that wasn’t why he’d done it. All he wanted was for her—and his secret—to be safe.

  “Yes, I do.” Haley stood up as well, facing him across the desk. “Yes. I do. Kaelyn, your Queen, which I guess actually means something closer to that and not just a weird term for President, told me I had to work with you. That we had to work together, to figure this out. Did you forget that already?”

  “Of course not. But that was before things got complicated. They’re different now.”

  “Not really. You’re still looking like a traitor to your…House? Is that the right way to use that term?”

  He nodded but kept quiet.

  “Right. Well, until we can prove definitively one way or another, I go with you. My ass is on the line here too. I might not be in trouble the way you are, but I want to keep the account. You guys pay really well, and the last thing I want to do is deprive myself of that. I am not losing it. Got it?”

  Kincaid smiled, trying to smother the pride he felt over the backbone she was showing now. Although he approved of her fire, of the determination to see this through, the truth was that he could have moved a hell of a lot easier if she wasn’t with him. Plus, he could do things she wouldn’t approve of.

  “I got it,” he said when she gestured for him to speak.

  “Good.” Then she crossed her arms, still glaring at him. “The next time we do this, by the way? We’re going to obey the rules. All of them. Do I make myself clear?”

  He opened his mouth to protest, to tell her just how impossible that was going to be. It would be tough for him to not break his rules, and they were vastly different than the ones she was used to, the ones that up until that morning, had governed her world.

  “Those are my terms,” she said, cutting him off before he could even make a sound. “Take it or leave it. If you want my help, we do it my way.”

  “You’re going to help?” he asked, feeling a little surprised.

  Haley regarded him silently for a few moments. “I’m going to do my best to stay neutral. I want to find the truth, whatever that may be. I don’t care if you’re guilty or not, I just want to know what’s a lie, and what isn’t. We will find the truth in this matter, one way or another.”

  She was good. Really good. But he caught it. The tiniest of hesitations before she said she didn’t care. It was enough though, to betray her as putting up a façade. She was starting to believe him, he could tell. Maybe in time, she might stop hating him, though he wasn’t about to ask for that as a Christmas present.

  “How did you get into accounting?” he asked abruptly. “You’re a very good speaker.”

  Caught completely by surprise, Haley’s mouth worked several times silently before she found the words. “I wanted to go into politics originally,” she admitted.

  He waited a moment, but that was all she was going to give him, he realized.

  “I think you would have been good at it, from what little I’ve seen. You’re a natural speaker. Why did you stop?”

  She glared at him. “Bad choices.”

  Kincaid couldn’t help himself. He laughed out loud. “You would have been perfect then!”

  The glare grew darker. He definitely wasn’t going to be asking for that Christmas present now. Still, he knew a little bit more about his intriguing accountant. It was a shame she seemed convinced he was an ass and treated him as such. If she was a little bit less of a bitch, he realized, he might take her to bed.

  Those legs would look mighty nice without that skirt. Plus, I wouldn’t mind seeing what that top is trying so hard to conceal.

  She was quite attractive, and he suspected she would be even more so if she wasn’t always giving him dirty looks or calling him a traitor.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t have any time to waste in pursuing her, a regret he truly did feel. Right now, his focus had to be on proving himself innocent, so he could reclaim his rightful spot within the house.

  Kincaid knew what he had to do. But despite all that, he still had exactly no idea how to go about it.

  13

  The silence in the room had grown deafening, but what really irritated her was that Kincaid not only seemed not to care, he didn’t even notice! The huge man—or shifter, as she wasn’t really sure what to call him now—had become distracted, speaking slowly to himself.

  “Hey, do you want to share your revelations with the rest of us?” she asked caustically. She might not be some ultra-powerful being who could change into a beast, but Haley wasn’t about to let herself be dismissed either. She had said she was in, and now she expected to be in.

  “I’m trying to figure out how to prove my innocence. We got sidetracked there, and truthfully, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to get back to that. Is that okay?”

  She grated her teeth together. “Of course. We wouldn’t want anyone to know how much of an ass you really are, now, would we?”

  “Honestly I’m a pretty likable guy,” Kincaid said jovially. “It’s not my fault you can’t see that.”

  “Pretty sure it’s precisely your fault,” she muttered under her breath. “I can’t believe I agreed to help you.”

  “Well, you did. So, help.”

  Not for the first time, she wished she had something heavy enough to hit him with. “How would you like me to do that? We already said we can’t hack everything. The office was a bust. What exactly does that leave us to work with?” She grinned fiendishly. “Or do we just go back to the Queen and tell her you’re guilty?”

  Kincaid’s visage cracked as a hostile glare made its way through, directed fully at her. Haley basked in it, enjoying it. She was finally starting to worm her way under his arrogant exterior, and it felt good to be able to repay him.

  “Well, let’s see what we do know.”

  “This oughta be good,” she said, just loud enough for him to hear.

  “We know I’m innocent.”

  “We?”

  He glared again.

  Two points for me.

  “I know I’m innocent. We know that ten million dollars went missing from the corporate account—we still don’t know how. We also know that ten million dollars were deposited into my account.”

  “Sounds right to me so far. And we also know all signs point to you.”

  Kincaid sighed. “Being petty doesn’t become you. You’re better than that. Start acting like it.”

&nb
sp; She looked away. He was right. She’d let him get the better of her, and now she was starting to act like him. Haley needed to stop trying to show him up. Let him be the asshole. You just be you.

  “Continue,” she said, not wanting to acknowledge the truth of his last comment.

  “Thank you. Now, we also know it seems silly that Canis would help me out if I was working for them, without taking a cut themselves. It also seems silly that they wouldn’t set up an account for me from their bank and simply deposit the money there.”

  “I guess.” She had to admit, that did make sense.

  “All in all, this makes it seem like Canis is trying to frame me. Or, at the very least, I’m a complete and utter idiot. Make all the comments you want, but I think you know by now that I’m not that stupid.”

  “Maybe,” she conceded, though she wasn’t happy about it. “But why frame you?”

  “That,” he said, snapping a finger and pointing it at her, “is a very good question. One I can’t answer. Yet.”

  “Did you do anything to piss them off?”

  He shook his head. “No. Until recently, I was away. In Europe. Had been for nearly a decade. Now, I was the top man over there, so I was known to Canis. But their head guy and I, we had sort of a mutual truce between us. We never had any real run-ins with them besides the odd bar-brawl. Nothing serious.”

  “Nothing that would cause someone to have a grudge against you.”

  “Not to the best of my knowledge.”

  “Why were you away in Europe?”

  Kincaid frowned. “I…had a difference of opinion with the King.”

  She felt her eyebrows lift a fraction of an inch. “There’s a King now too?”

  “No,” he said quietly. “He was…relieved of his duties when all this trouble went down.”

  Haley knew he wasn’t telling the entire truth. She suspected that whatever had happened to the King, it was a bit more permanent than Kincaid was letting on, likely because he wanted to protect her from the truth. She was starting to get the impression that violence was second nature to these shapeshifters. Even death, killing, they didn’t seem to act like it was a big deal.