Quinlan: Foster’s Pride – Lion Shapeshifter Romance (Foster's Pride Book 3)

by Kathi S. Barton

  “I’d have not been able to do it if you’d not picked me up and shaken the shit out of me a few times back then. I would have been dead, literally, had you not gotten me cleaned up and off that shit when you did.” Lily said she needed her. “Not nearly as much as I needed you then and now. You’re all I have in the world with these kids. Let me have some fun with them before I have to go back out in the real world and take pictures of someone’s idea of how they need to resolve something other than having a conversation.”

  “Is it bad for you sometimes?” Rogue only nodded. “They say you’re the best. Even the FBI goes out of their way to make sure you have the best equipment. Of course, the article didn’t say your name, but I knew who they were talking about. My little sister is a crime solver.”

  “Aunt Rogue?” Glad for the interruption, she looked at her new niece, Billy. The kid was beautiful. Extremely smart too, but painfully shy. She asked her what she needed. “I would like to ask you if I can get this. Now, don’t tell me to just put it in the cart. I don’t want to share it. I’d like to have it. After I read it, I’ll share it, but I’d like to have it to read myself.”

  She took the book from her and looked at the cover. It was about husbandry, something she knew a little about but not enough to get her any kinds of points in joking about it. Rogue handed the book back to her.

  “I would love to have you read this book. And you don’t have to share if you really want to keep it. I don’t see any of the others showing any kind of interest in that sort of thing, do you?” Billy blushed and shook her head. “I will tell you something. The family we’re going to see, the Fosters? One of them, I don’t remember his name right now, is a vet. A great one too, from what my friend says about him. While we’re there, you can talk to him if you’d like. Quin. That’s his name. Quin might even let you tag along with him on a few of his cases if you ask him nicely.”

  After hugging the book, Billy put it in the cart. Rogue had noticed that she was good at herding the kids around all the time, keeping them in line as well as helping out with the youngest, Sandy, when she got cranky or hungry. Rogue looked at her sister, asking her if she knew Billy had wanted that sort of book.

  “I did. Before her father died, she’d been bringing home all sorts of animals. They followed her home, she’d tell us. But since then, I think because she knows there isn’t the money for any extras, she’s not been doing that.” Rogue was going to see if she could hook Quin and her niece up as soon as she got there. “I’m going to have fun from now on. I might even buy myself something while we’re here.”

  “Good.” Her phone went off, and she looked at it. “Okay. Hold that thought. It’s work. I have to take this. All right?”

  “Yes.”

  She went outside to answer the call after handing her sister her credit card. The service was supposed to let the company know she could only take emergency calls while on vacation, so Rogue knew this had to be bad.

  “I’m sorry, Agent Fisher, but there is a need for your services.” She told the caller where she was. “That’s another reason for this call. You’re not too far from where we need you to be. The address is being sent to your phone, as well as all the information you’re going to need to get there. Flight plans have been approved, and we’ll need you to get to a place we’re using to pick you up.”

  After getting the information, she told the caller—they didn’t use names on that end—that she’d need to square away her family first. After being told she had about forty minutes, Rogue helped Lily and the kids load up the SUV they’d been using and talked to her sister.

  “Everything you need to know to get to the Fosters is on the GPS. Just follow it, and it should take you about an hour to get there. I’ll call Hi-Men when I get to the landing site.” Lily asked her about that. “I’m going to be picked up in the parking lot right over there. The chopper will land long enough for me to get on it and out of here. You are going to be just fine driving to their home and making yourself helpful in what they’re going to be doing for you. It will be just fine.”

  “I should wait for you.” Rogue told her she didn’t know how long she’d be. “Rogue, I don’t know these people. I can’t just barge in on them and expect them to be happy about it.”

  “They’re thrilled, to be honest with you. Carmilla is Hi-Men’s mother. She is excited to have kids around. Hop-Along is working on your case. I’m betting by the time I get back, they’ll have you guys adopted, and you won’t even need me around anymore.” Lily told her that would never happen. “Thank you. I love you so much, Lily. Just go, have some fun, and let the kids have fun. You never know. You might just find someone to take them off your hands for a few hours so you can take a nap.”

  The helicopter landed just as she got to the sight. Hating to tell them bye, Rogue waved at them from the sky until the SUV was no more than a dot. Then she turned to her handler. Receiving a file from her, Rogue got into work mode. It was that or beg them to take her back to the site—she wanted her family back.

  By the time she was in Columbus, Ohio, she had everything she needed to know in her head and on her computer. Her equipment had been put on-site for her to use, as well as two assistants she would need to help keep the notes she made. Things were progressing almost as soon as she was on site. However, as soon as she walked through the door of the abandoned house, she was ready to turn tail and run.

  “It’s bad.” She nodded as she pulled on her coveralls. The man in charge, Agent Carlson, told her the things they knew so far. “Five dead. It was a bloodbath too. No one has been in the room except to check to see if there were any alive. We figured that out from the doorway but had to check. The officer who found them is outside. He’s been sick since he got here.”

  “Did someone know to mark where they were touched?” He told her he had when he’d gone in, but the kid cop had puked in the corner. “Are you fucking kidding me? Not on the victims, did he? I will rub his face in his own guts if he did that.”

  “No, just in the corner. He seemed sort of afraid after he found out you were on your way. You scare the younger cops. Hell, you scare seasoned ones.” She grinned at him. “You always think that is a good thing. It’s not. Well, I guess it could be. He didn’t lose his lunch on the body. Anyway, yes, they’ve been marked where we touched them. Since then, no one has entered.”

  She started away, then paused, looking at the older man. “What is it you’re not telling me? I haven’t any idea why you’d think to save me from something, but tell me.” He looked in the room, then back at her. “Tell me or not. I’m about to go in there, and you know how much— It’s a baby, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  She didn’t want to go in there now. Knowing that she had to, she braced herself for whatever she would find when she got there.

  “It’s bad, I told you. Just do your thing, Agent Fisher, and we can all get the bastard or bastards that did this. All right. You can do this.”

  She rarely needed a pep talk when working—only when it was this bad. While she had done crime scenes before involving children, it was infants that really got to her. Badly. Taking a deep breath of clean air, she turned on her purifier and went into the room.

  ~*~

  Pulling into the driveway, Lily sat there and looked at the house. None of the kids hopped out as she thought they might have. They could only stare at the “house” they’d been led to with the GPS directions in the car.

  “Do you suppose it’s an apartment building?” Lily told Gabe she didn’t think it was. “Me either. It sure is a big one, don’t you think? I mean, the garage is even bigger than the house Aunt Rogue was letting us use.”

  A man came out on the large wraparound porch and waited. Lily opening the car door seemed to be his que to come to them. As soon as she was out, not only did he shake her hand, but he picked her up in a large hug that had her slightly dizzy when he
put her back on the ground.

  “You’ve no idea how happy I am to finally meet you. I’m Loman Foster. My family is inside about to bust to come out and see you. Can they?” She told him sure, even as the front door opened and people poured out. She had a thought of one of those clown cars in the circus—there were so many of them. Sandy hid behind her. Donna, of course, stood in front of her and her sister.

  “Donna, it’ll be all right. These are Aunt Rogue’s friends.” She didn’t move. “Donna, just be nice. They’re not going to harm any of us. You heard what your aunt told you. They’re big men, but not mean.”

  “It’s all right.” A man, as large as the car they were driving, got down on his knees in front of her daughter. “My name is Ronan. I’m Loman’s brother. The other men here, for the most part, are our other brothers. You must be Donna.”

  “Aunt Rogue, she says I’m like her. Even though we’re not blood-related.” Ronan glanced at her, then back at her daughter. “You’re a lion. She said we had better know that, but if we told anyone, she’d beat us with a wet willow stick until we were nothing but strips of meat. She’s very descriptive about things.”

  “I guess she is.” Ronan reached up and was handed a small bundle. Opening up the blanket the baby was wrapped in was all that was needed to get all the kids to his side. “This is my nephew. His name is Pete. We thought if you guys could see we don’t hurt babies, you’d allow us to be your friends too.”

  “That’s a really stupid reason to bring a baby to us, don’t you think?” Lily was mortified, but everyone laughed. “Mom, you have to agree. I mean, what would you have done if I showed you a baby and told you I wanted you to like me? You would have…well, you would have taken it in too, even though we don’t have two pennies to rub together. But sheesh, I don’t think this was well thought out. Do you?”

  “I don’t know. Donna, I swear, you’re more like your aunt daily.” She put out her hand to shake Ronan’s. “I’m Lily Fisher. This is my family. I guess you heard from Rogue? She sent us on so we’d not have to wait in the hotel forever for her to get finished.”

  Her car was unpacked, and their things were taken into the house even as she was gathering the kids up. Not only did they help her with the things they’d packed for this trip, but the men also took Rogue’s car to the garage and put it away for her. She’d purchased the car on the road because it was insane to keep renting one. She liked this one better, and when she was working, Rogue was going to leave it for Lily to use. Lily was shown into one of the most beautiful bedrooms she’d ever been in and told she’d be there until they could figure out what to do when her sister returned.

  Exhaustion had never been far away from Lily. She and it had been old friends since the day she’d been informed that her husband-to-be had been killed. Mark had been set to marry her, and she was going to adopt his children. He’d even gone so far as to put her on all his insurance policies as beneficiary, to receive the house as well as anything else he’d owned. Then Missy Tyler had stepped in and made their lives, all of them, a complete nightmare.

  At the knock at the door, she wiped at the useless tears and asked the person on the other side to come in.

  “I’m sorry, honey. Would you like me to come back?” She told the older woman she was all right. “I bet you have been holding on for some time now. Just let it out, and we’ll hold you up. I’m here to tell you the children have been given swimsuits and are now out in the large pool. This house belongs to my son and his wife, Don and Brook. They’re the ones that have the baby. Also, we heard from your sister earlier, and she said she’d call you later with some information. My goodness, you certainly have a wonderful family.”

  “I think so as well. Rogue, she’s been taking care that they have a good time. I don’t know what I’d have done without her.” The woman reminded her that she was Loman’s mother. “Yes, Mrs. Foster. I wanted to thank everyone for making us welcome here. It’s been such a bad year or so for us. I hope your other son can help us.”

  “He will. And please, call me Carmilla. I know that you’re not as trusting as we are, but if you’d like to take a lie down for a little while, we’ll keep the kids entertained. I know how stressful it is to drive. I don’t do it much anymore, but it can be nerve-wracking.” Lily looked longingly at the bed. “Go ahead, dear. I’ll make sure you’re called in plenty enough time for dinner. We’ll be cooking out, so that won’t take a moment to finish. Go on, have a nice rest.”

  She did lie down, but she wasn’t going to go to sleep. Lily promised herself she was only going to be there for twenty minutes or so, then she’d get up and see to her children. It was really nice of them to take care of them, but she wasn’t going to take advantage of anyone. Not ever, if she could help it.

  Just as she was getting up to see if she could find herself a book to read, her cell phone went off. Not recognizing the number, she didn’t answer it. Bill collectors would either leave a message or not. She no longer cared about them hounding her.

  The book she pulled off the shelf was a new science fiction she hadn’t read yet. Putting her feet up on the chair, Lily sat there admiring the room when her phone went off a second time. She’d been notified that whoever had called left a message, but she was enjoying herself too much to see what they had to say. She knew what she was behind on. Lily didn’t need someone to remind her of it.

  She was well into the third chapter of the book when someone knocked at the door. Lily jumped up, thinking that one of the kids might need her when she heard laughter from the doorway. It was Loman.

  “I forgot.” He leaned against the door and asked her if she had enjoyed herself. “I did, actually. I can’t remember the last time I read even a want ad in the paper without anyone coming to get me. It was wonderful. But out of line. You must think I’m a terrible mother.”

  “What I think of you is that you’re an amazing woman, and exactly like Rogue described you to be—a good person and a great mom. You have done an amazing job making things work out when you didn’t have two pennies to rub together.” Loman laughed. “Donna is the spitting image of Rogue. I don’t know how that happened, but I love it. She’s going to be a heartbreaker one of these days.”

  “Billy too. Oh, she wanted to talk to your brother. The one that is a vet. Rogue said she’d fix it for her. I didn’t know she had thoughts of working in husbandry until this trip.” Loman told her that Quin was out right now and would return in the morning. “I wouldn’t have thought his sort of job would take all day. But then I’ve never had a pet in my life, so I haven’t any idea how they work.”

  “Rogue told you we were lions, correct?” She nodded. “Good. I’m telling you that because there are currently six kittens in the barn that have been adopted by your kids. You can leave them here if you’d rather not take them with you.”

  “I don’t even know where we’re going.” He said they had a home for them to use. “All this. I just don’t understand any of it.”

  “What do you mean?” She told him. “We’re being nice to you because you’re a friend of my family. Not only that, but you’re a nice person as well. Even if I didn’t know your sister, I’d still think you’re a wonderful human being. Just being around you makes me—”

  He stiffened, and she knew one of her kids had been hurt. When she started around him, he stopped her with his hand. Loman told her that her kids were fine. It was Rogue.

  “Is she hurt? Does she need me to come for her?” He said she was venting. “Oh. She does that very well too. I hope you don’t get offended easily.”

  Loman shook his head while he still looked concerned. She followed him down the stairs, and when he pointed to the back doors, she headed that way so he could deal with Rogue. At the last minute, she ran back up the stairs to get her phone. Sending her sister pictures might cheer her up, she thought.

  The kids were having a wonderful time. They had on s
wimsuits she’d never seen before but didn’t mind. Once her sister returned, she’d ask for a loan and pay these kind people back. Her phone was ringing again just as she was getting the kids lined up in one shot. It was the same number. She also had four messages from it.

  “Hello.” She looked up at Cass when he sat down next to her on the decking around the pool. “I’ve been working on your case. I hope you don’t mind me telling you, but you were royally screwed on it. I’m going to get back your home, money, and anything else I can take from that—” He looked around before he whispered “bitch” to her.

  “Your mom is close—is that the reason for the whisper?” He nodded at her and grinned. “All you Foster men, you’re very charming, aren’t you? Rogue told me that you and Loman used to have so much fun when you were in college. Also, that women were always falling all over you. I can see why now.”

  An elderly woman in the ugliest bathing suit came and sat with her too. “My goodness, it does a person a good turn when there are children around, don’t you think? I’m Jane Foster, this one’s grandma. I was talking to him about your case earlier. My goodness, that woman needs to have her tits pulled up over her head.” Lily couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. “I’ve been hanging around my granddaughters-in-law. Not too much, mind you, but it certainly has been fun learning new ways to insult someone. Those are the most well behaved children I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. You’ve done a good job with them.”

  “Thank you. They’ve made it very easy for me.” She watched them playing while her phone rang again. “Someone is really wanting to talk to me. I’ve only just decided I’m not in the mood to be told how much I owe someone. I know I’m behind. It’s why I’ve been working so hard.” She looked at the two people at her little table. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that to you.”

  “You trust us. That’s a good thing.” Jane looked at the kids before getting up and going to the water again. “One thing you’re going to find out soon enough is that we protect those we love. And I’m quickly falling in love with your little family here. You let Cass there see what the person wants, and he’ll take care of them for you. Not a better attorney around, if you need one. Like I said, you can trust us for anything and everything, my dear.”