Wild Keepers

by Dee Bridgnorth

  She frowned. But why hadn’t he taken her back to him when he had the chance? Why had he nursed her through her twisted ankle, and made up a story about Julia hiring him?

  None of it made sense. None of it.

  Sighing, she got up, pacing the room restlessly. She couldn’t work it out. Was Zach on Fitzpatrick’s side, or not?

  She picked up one of the books on the table, staring at it. He had been holding this book, staring at it almost tenderly. Why? It was just a book of poetry. It couldn’t have any meaning for him, and yet he had been holding it as if he cherished it somehow. She kept staring at the cover, but she was no longer seeing it.

  The wolf and the eagle.

  The vision of the two animals jolted into her mind again. What did it mean? She didn’t understand what it was telling her, not in the slightest. Sometimes her visions were opaque, but she could usually work them out, eventually. But not this time. They had been standing in the midst of flames, and then suddenly the two animals were in their place.

  She dropped the book, letting it fall to the floor. She suddenly remembered that she had dreamed of a wolf, when she had been at that motel with Zach. She had seen it running along and known it was in danger. A wolf with jet black fur.

  The same wolf that she had just seen with the eagle.

  She had talked in her sleep. It had been directed at him. Whatever she had said, it had spooked him. He wanted to know what it meant, but she couldn’t tell him.

  A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. There was a meaning here. She just knew it. And whatever it was, it was tied up with Zach.

  She bent over, retching. She felt herself twisting and changing, as if something wanted to emerge. With all her strength she fought it, hitting herself in her fury to stop it. Eventually, it died down, and she started to feel normal again.

  Sienna took a deep breath, her heart hammering in her chest. Something was going on. And she simply had no idea what it was, or how Zach was connected to it. The first time she had seen him she felt that she knew him, but she had never met him before. Whatever it was they were bound somehow together to fulfil it.

  And she had sent him away. Her heart plummeted. He would not renew his offer to help her now. She would probably never see him again.

  Sienna couldn’t suppress the feeling that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.

  ***

  Zach took a deep breath, trying to focus, but it was simply impossible. All that he could think about was Sienna. The memory of their kiss played over and over in his mind, like a record stuck in a groove. Even though he was inexplicably sitting in Jack Fitzpatrick’s luxurious office, waiting for the great man himself, he still couldn’t drag his mind away from her.

  As soon as he had left her and resumed his shift after his break, the summons had come. The old guard, Ted, had approached him with a sour look on his face. Zach’s heart had plummeted in his chest—was Ted about to chastise him, or worse yet, fire him? He had gone to see Sienna in his break and wasn’t late returning, but maybe Ted had worked out that he hadn’t been sitting in the guard’s kitchen eating a sandwich like he was supposed to be.

  But no. That wasn’t mentioned at all. Instead, Ted had informed him that Jack Fitzpatrick wanted to speak to him in person. Now. In his office, no less.

  “Why?” asked Zach, mystified. “Is he going to fire me?”

  “How should I know?” barked Ted, frowning. “I’m just the messenger boy.”

  So here he was. He had been waiting for the man for over ten minutes, and in that whole time he hadn’t managed to drag his mind away from Sienna, even to wonder why he had been summoned. What did it matter, anyway? She didn’t want his help. How many times did she have to tell him before it finally sank in? If he was going to be fired, it was probably for the best. Then he could just go back to his regular life and forget all about her.

  And pigs might fly, thought Zach darkly. He knew that he could no more forget Sienna and leave her to her fate than stop breathing. She had gotten under his skin, well and truly. If only he hadn’t kissed her. He had panicked her, there was no denying it. And he was still ashamed that she felt he had taken the kiss without asking, even though that had not been his intention.

  His reverie was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Jack Fitzpatrick walked quickly in, sitting behind the desk. Zach noticed that he was dressed in his usual smart grey suit and tie. He flashed that brilliant white smile, as if he was auditioning for a toothpaste commercial. Zach could barely stop himself from reaching over the desk and calmly smashing the man’s head into the antique mahogany wood.

  He loathed him. Even if he wasn’t holding Sienna upstairs imprisoned like a bird in a cage, he would still have loathed him. Jack Fitzpatrick was the equivalent of a moral black hole: he sucked everything within his radius into his darkness.

  He was going to get him. And he was going to enjoy it.

  “How are you, Brad?” the man asked now, adjusting his tie with a flourish. “Settling in well?”

  Zach forced a smile onto his face with difficulty. It felt as if his cheeks were about to shatter with the effort. Take it easy, he told himself. Now is not the time to show your hand.

  “I’m well, Mr. Fitzpatrick,” he replied. “And the job is great. You run a very tight ship around here.”

  Jack’s smile broadened. “Why, thank you, Brad. I think it’s essential to model that efficiency, wouldn’t you agree? I do try to be a firm but fair taskmaster.” He paused, gazing intently at Zach. “And I believe in fostering potential if I see it in someone.”

  Zach nodded, not sure where exactly the conversation was headed. Why had Fitzpatrick called him in here?

  Jack picked up a silver ballpoint pen lying on the desk, twirling it between his fingers. He seemed to be thinking. Then he suddenly dropped the pen, staring at him.

  “I’ll cut to the chase,” he said abruptly. “I see potential in you, Brad. An energy that somehow reminds me of myself in my younger years.” He smiled.

  Zach smiled back. “Thank you, sir. That means a lot, coming from a man such as yourself.”

  “Indeed.” Jack nodded. “And I believe that if I can mentor someone like you, then I am paying it forward. What goes around comes around, after all.”

  Zach kept smiling, although the effort of it was nearly killing him. The hypocrisy of the man was boundless. How on earth could he sit there calmly talking about mentoring someone and the laws of karma knowing that he was a degenerate slime ball?

  “I want to promote you.” He took a deep breath. “Ted tells me that you have been doing an excellent job, and he’s very impressed with you. I need a personal minder to join my tight-knit team. Would you be up for it?”

  Zach’s mouth dropped open slightly. This was the last thing that he had been expecting.

  His mind started whirring. Why was Fitzpatrick offering him this? He had only been working here for a little over a week, and apart from that unexpected meeting when the man had told him off for running late back to his shift, he hadn’t even spoken to him. It seemed bizarre to be offered a promotion to Fitzpatrick’s inner circle of minders after such a scant work history. Ted had told him one day that the guards who were the boss’s minders were the elite bunch; the rock stars of the security world. Ted had never been offered it, and he had been working here for a lot longer than him.

  It made no sense. But then, Fitzpatrick was capricious. Zach knew that. Ted spoke of it often. And he had seen evidence of it himself. He had watched the poor gardeners, who had painstakingly put over fifty full grown trees into the ground at the front of the mansion, suddenly have to dig them all up because the boss had changed his mind about where they should be placed.

  Who knew? Maybe the politician had just taken an inexplicable shine to him.

  And if he was promoted to one of his personal minders he would have more access than a lowly house border patrol guard.

  He might be able to find out what had happened to
Sienna’s friend, he pondered, thinking quickly. And if he found that out, then Sienna would surely be open to leaving this place. She wouldn’t have anything holding her back if he found this Lola woman. It could be a golden opportunity.

  He could still save her. If she was willing.

  Zach cleared his throat. “I am honoured, sir,” he said slowly. “I would definitely be interested in being a personal minder to you.”

  Jack smiled, extending his hand across the table. Zach took it. They shook.

  “Welcome to the team, Brad,” he said, standing up. “You won’t regret it. As I said, I am firm but fair.” His eyes flickered over him. “You can go and tell Ted that you won’t be rostered onto house duty any longer, and then come back here. I’ll send for my personal milliner to measure you for your new suit.”

  ***

  Jack watched the man known as Brad Miller walking across the lawn towards Ted. His eyes narrowed slightly. He had to admit the man was good. He had just put on an almost-Oscar-winning performance. He had even managed to get his eyes to shine with pride when they had shaken hands to seal the deal.

  He smiled slowly. He was good. But the man couldn’t quite conceal the enmity that was bristling through him like a live electric wire. Jack had felt it stretching through the space between them despite the smiles and humble words.

  Brad Miller had to act the part of grateful servant. But Zach Byrnes simmered just beneath the surface enough to make things interesting.

  The information had come through last night, along with a recent photo. Jack had recognised him instantly from when he had almost bowled him over a few days ago. The man that Julia had hired to find Sienna was the new house guard. He had managed to infiltrate his tight security network to get close to her again.

  Jack gazed down at the man, unable to suppress a laugh. Was he in love with her? His poor, crazy Sienna, who suffered so with her visions. Zach Byrnes would have his work cut out. Sienna was pricklier than a desert cactus.

  Or maybe it wasn’t that. Maybe Zach Byrnes, wolf shapeshifter, just couldn’t resist the role of rescuer. Sienna was Rapunzel locked in the tower, and he was determined to be the prince who set her free. He had met the type before. They were so tediously uptight with their desire to save the world.

  He could have just had him removed, of course. Taken off the payroll and off the planet. But he never could resist watching people marching to their doom like lemmings falling off a cliff face. It would be fascinating to see how Zach Byrnes was planning on saving her.

  And he firmly believed in the old adage that you should keep your friends close but your enemies closer. That was why he had promoted him to his inner circle of minders. To keep him very close.

  His masters had approved his tactics. Apparently, the wolf shapeshifter pack that Zach Byrnes was a part of were his masters’ mortal enemies, as well. The Wild Keepers had been around since the city was founded; a constant thorn in their side. His master saw the chance to be rid of them once and for all. Julia had even known their secret hideout.

  Jack’s smile widened. Let the show begin.

  Chapter Twelve

  Zach stared down at the cell phone in his hand. He knew he had to do it once and for all. But every time he picked up the phone to press the number, something stopped him.

  Cowardice, he thought darkly. That was what was stopping him.

  It never ceased to amaze him that in his job as a Wild Keeper he was able to perform complex investigative work to flush out demons. He was able to battle with his mind and his hands. When required, he was able to turn into a wolf, and if need be tear out the throat of a demon. He was a powerhouse of bravery and skill.

  That was in his day job. But where his love life was concerned, it was a whole other ball game.

  He knew he had to do it. After today, when he had kissed Sienna, he had known he couldn’t let this drag on. He needed to call Crystal and tell her the truth. How could he kiss another woman and still pretend that he was going to marry her? He felt like a cad. When he had heard of other guys doing this to their girlfriends he had always thought that they were bastards of the highest order.

  He sighed, staring up at the skylight on the roof of the warehouse. It had been quite a day. The whole strange interaction with Sienna, and then the meeting with Fitzpatrick, where he had been offered a promotion.

  Ted, the old guard, had been livid when he told him. He just didn’t get it how Zach had been promoted to the inner circle after a week when he had been slaving away as a house guard for over ten years. And Zach couldn’t enlighten him. He had smiled sheepishly and thanked him for his help, then gone back to the house to have his new suit fitted.

  He was now officially a minder. Black suit, white shirt, black tie. He felt like he had joined the Secret Service or was auditioning for a role in Men in Black. It was bizarre, to say the least. And his first shift started tomorrow morning. Seven a.m., sharp.

  He rolled over onto his stomach, punching the pillow. It would probably be for nothing anyway. Sienna had been so angry, and adamant that she had to stay in that awful mansion to try to find her friend. The only thing that was keeping him going was the belief that he might be able to help her in that quest, and in doing so she would finally see that he was on her side.

  He punched the pillow again. It wasn’t only that, of course. He still couldn’t get that damn kiss out of his mind. It was like it was haunting him. And he had kissed a lot of women in his time. Why was he mooning over this one?

  Sienna didn’t even like him. She certainly didn’t trust him. He had about as much hope with her as he had of flying to the moon. And yet, he still couldn’t leave her be. He frowned, staring at the phone still clutched in his hand as if it might suddenly reveal the answer to it all.

  Sienna Carter. She was a paradox. A smart, beautiful woman who had no belief in herself. A runaway who suddenly wanted to stay captive. A fortune teller who believed that her gift made her a freak.

  Thad was right. He would probably be better staying the hell away from her.

  He heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He turned his head slightly. It was the alpha leader himself. Zach tensed, knowing that he was about to be questioned, and that Thad wouldn’t be happy with the answers he gave.

  “Hey.” Thad sat down next to him. “Heath told me you were up here. He said that you had a face full of thunder and he was scared to talk to you. He thought you might bite his head off.”

  Zach laughed softly. “He’s not far off the mark. It was one hell of a day.”

  Thad nodded. “Tell me about it.”

  Zach sighed, staring at him. How did the alpha leader do it? He always managed to put people at ease, and the next thing you knew, you just had to confide in him. It was a gift that not many people possessed. Zach could feel the pull of it now—the desire to just blurt it all out. To confess. Lay it all at his feet and hope that he could make it better.

  “I think you are right.” He gazed at Thad. “About my feelings for Sienna. They are way more complicated that I thought.”

  Thad took a deep breath. “I thought so. I could tell.” He paused. “Did something happen?”

  Zach nodded slowly. “Yeah. I burst into her room like Indiana Jones, ready to swing her over one shoulder and spirit her out of there.” He grinned. “Except she didn’t want saving.”

  Thad raised an eyebrow. “That’s strange. Did she say why?”

  Zach looked glum. “For starters, she still doesn’t trust me. I don’t know if she ever will. And secondly, she has this bee in her bonnet about saving her missing friend. The one I told you about, who lived with Julia.”

  “Lola?”

  “Yeah, Lola.” Zach ran a hand through his hair. “She was almost hysterical, saying that she couldn’t leave until she had found out what had happened to her. She thinks she can save her.” He rolled his eyes.

  “What’s wrong with that?” Thad stared at him. “You want to save Sienna. Why can’t Sienna feel the same way abo
ut her friend?”

  Zach gazed at him, dumbfounded for a moment. He hadn’t thought of it like that. He had been so hell bent on getting Sienna out of that place that the spectre of Lola was just something standing in his way.

  He suddenly felt ashamed of himself. He had never met this Lola, but she meant a lot to Sienna. So much that she was willing to stay captive to try to find her. And Lola was another missing woman, just like Sienna had been. A woman who was as much a victim of the machinations of Jack Fitzpatrick as Sienna.

  Of course he should do everything he could to try to find her. For Sienna, but also because it was the right thing to do. Lola didn’t deserve any of this, either.

  “You’re right,” he said slowly. “She does have the right to do it. And I’m going to help her.”

  Thad sighed. “It is the right thing, Zach. I was reluctant for you to go into that house and do this, but now that you’re there, you should follow it through. And that includes trying to find out where this Lola is.”

  Zach nodded. “There’s something else,” he said. “I was called into a meeting with Jack Fitzpatrick today. He’s promoting me to his inner circle of minders.”

  Thad raised an eyebrow and whistled. “That’s mighty fine work, Zach. If you are in the inner circle, the chances of finding out what happened to Lola, and where she might be, increase significantly.” He paused. “Did Fitzpatrick say why he wanted you?”

  “He wants to mentor me,” said Zach dryly. “It’s out of the goodness of his black heart.”

  Thad laughed. “He’s a narcissist, then. That’s not unusual. Narcissists often kid themselves that if they do good deeds sometimes it wipes out the rest of their shoddy behaviour. They think it redeems them.”

  “It would take a lot to redeem that bastard,” hissed Zach.

  Thad took a deep breath. “Zach, the reason I came up here to speak to you is that Julia got in contact with me today.”