Demi frowned. “That’s not my grandfather’s name.” Demi had never met her grandfather because he’d died before she was born, but she knew his name was William Cross.
Vance continued, “About a month after they got their license, they were both attacked. Your grandmother suffered from a broken arm and a concussion, but Mr. Stall almost died from being beaten to death. He was in the hospital for three months, and when he was released from the hospital, he promptly moved three hundred miles away. Your grandmother didn’t go with him.”
“Wow,” Demi said. She’d had no idea her grandmother’s past was like that. “She never talked about Floyd Stall or being attacked.”
Vance smiled in sympathy. “Upon further investigation, we were able to discover that Floyd Stall was human.”
Demi’s jaw dropped.
“Back then, there was no social media like now to take credit for things, but we suspect that she was attacked by some sort of purity group.”
There were a bunch of murmurs among the group.
“What do you mean, purity group?” a female cat-shifter with red-and-black hair asked.
“Just like humans have the KKK, neo-Nazis, and other alt-right groups who believe that people of certain races or religions shouldn’t mix, there are shifters who believe the same thing.”
“So, why haven’t we heard of them before?” Vaughn asked. “And what about Demi herself? Her parents were obviously a shifter and a human. Why did nothing happen to them?”
“I’ll circle around to your first question, son,” Vance said. “As for Demi, she was born in 1987. Almost fifty years after her grandmother first got engaged. Many things had happened since then. The end of World War II and the end of Nazi Germany, the civil rights movement, and the counterculture movement. Just like humans, shifters became more open-minded as well. Also, Demi’s parents never married. There was no record that they were together, like her grandmother’s marriage license.”
Hearing about her grandmother’s past made sense of why she had been overprotective and paranoid. It also explained why she had never been a fan of her father getting her mother pregnant. Demi had always suspected her grandmother was a little prejudiced herself, but instead, she’d probably been worried for her only son.
“So, were these groups only against shifter-human matings?” a male cat-shifter, who had his arm around a pregnant female wolf-shifter, asked.
“From what I learned when I talked to my father, no, they were against interspecies matings of all types. But it seems that humans were sort of the low species on the totem pole.” Vance smiled apologetically at Siya.
Siya sighed and said, “Figures,” under her breath.
Demi stifled a laugh.
“So, no one has heard of these groups for years?” Vaughn asked.
Vance shook his head. “No. But—”
“So, my grandmother made me scared for nothing,” Demi said.
“She was worried about you,” Siya said.
“I know. It still sucks.” Demi understood it, but it didn’t make it any easier, knowing she’d grown up with the rules about her identity pounded into her over and over again. It didn’t help, knowing was raised in secret when she didn’t have to be.
“All of this could have been explained tonight, like we originally planned,” Saxon pointed out. “Why did you move the meeting up?”
Vance looked at Reid, who stood up from the couch and handed his laptop over to the alpha.
“Reid discovered something this morning.” Vance hit a few buttons and sighed. “Help me with this.”
Reid took the computer back, hit a few more buttons, and gave it back to Vance. “Just hit this,” he told the older cat.
“Thank you,” Vance said to Reid and looked up at the group of them. “Reid found a video this morning. Of the attack last night, Demi.”
Demi gasped.
Siya’s hand flew to her mouth.
“Someone was there, recording a video?” Saxon asked, his jaw clenched.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Saxon motioned toward himself, and Vance gave him the laptop. “You just need to—”
“I know, sir,” Saxon said.
Saxon hit play, and Demi leaned in close to watch the video with her hands clenched. The attack, which had seemed to last forever, was over in minutes.
Demi sat back, stunned. “I can totally tell that’s me.” She looked at Saxon. “I’m going to go to jail. Or worse, get locked up and experimented on if they figure out it wasn’t a weapon I used to kill that man.”
Siya put her hand on Demi’s shoulder. “Hey. It only looks like you because you know it’s you. The video isn’t that great. It was dark, and there was hardly any light in that alley.”
Demi smiled at her friend. “Thanks.”
Saxon shook his head. “I can’t believe he just stood there and filmed it,” he said, staring at the screen. His head flung up. “Please tell me we’re doing something about this.”
“Yes,” Reid said. “So far, every video that is popping up is being taken down immediately, thanks to a program I have. Thankfully, the guy has a YouTube channel, so that’s the only place he’s been trying to post it. Apparently, he makes money off of stuff like this. But, if he goes to another website, my program will find it.”
“Why didn’t you find it last night?” Saxon said accusingly.
Demi put her hand on his leg. She wasn’t sure if it was the right move, but she felt like she had to try to calm him.
But Reid was a big boy and could take care of himself. “Because it wasn’t online last night.” His voice was firm. “I probably found this within an hour of it being posted. I hauled my ass out of bed for this after being up all night.”
Saxon didn’t say anything.
“That’s what I thought. You’re welcome. I also have the guy’s address…”
There was a heavy pause.
“Thank you,” Saxon mumbled. “Now, can I have it, please?”
“That’s up to Vance.”
Saxon narrowed his eyes.
“I’ll give it to you when this meeting is finished,” Vance said. “I want you to go over there and erase it from his phone.”
“Consider it done,” Saxon said. He looked so angry that Demi was almost afraid of him.
“Demi,” Reid said, “I want you to know that, so far, I have not found any evidence that any police have downloaded the video. You have to remember, there is a great big world out there with billions of videos. Think of all the things you see online.”
Demi took a deep breath. “That is true.”
“There is one more thing though.”
“More than the video?” Vaughn asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Vance said.
“In my search, I discovered that one person had downloaded it. A Donald Wright.”
“Who the hell is that?” Saxon asked.
“Upon first glance, he seems to be no one important. He’s a cat-shifter, single, no children, and the manager of a hardware store. But I did some more digging, and his father and grandfather were part of a group that is called Pure Pride Power.”
“What the fuck is Pure Pride Power?” Saxon asked.
“They’re a purity group,” Vance said. “You asked why you hadn’t heard of them before, and that’s because we can’t find any record of them for the last couple of decades.”
“So, they no longer exist?” Vaughn asked.
“That’s the thought,” Vance said.
“But a direct descendant of a purity group has a video of Demi, a half-human/half-shifter, killing someone,” Saxon said. “That doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Me either,” Vance said.
Same here, Demi thought. Maybe my grandmother wasn’t so paranoid after all.
Chapter 19
Jeff Schultz hit the refresh button on his browser and waited for the page to load.
“Noooooo,” he yelled into the air and slammed his finger down onto the Enter
key on his keyboard in frustration.
He’d uploaded the video he’d taken last night for the umpteenth time, only to have it disappear when he hit the refresh button. It didn’t matter what site he used; the video was gone.
“I hate you, you piece of shit,” he said as he hit upload again and waited for the file to load.
“Are you talking to your computer, the website, or the internet in general?”
Jeff screamed like a little girl and spun around in his chair. Considering he lived alone, hearing another voice in his living room was cause for him to be freaked out.
The sight before him gave him even more reason.
Three huge men stood in front of him with grim faces, but the one in the middle looked like he wanted to murder Jeff. He had unusual hair that was blond and brown, and his bright green eyes were filled with fire.
Jeff swallowed. “I-I don’t have any mo-money, but ta-take whatever you wa-want.”
Green Eyes fisted Jeff’s T-shirt and pulled him out of his chair. “Do your thing, Reid,” he said to the redhead next to him.
Redhead sat down in Jeff’s computer chair and started clicking away at his keyboard.
“Hey, you can’t do that,” Jeff protested, momentarily forgetting it was one against three.
Green Eyes shook Jeff like a rag doll. “Shut your fucking mouth.”
Jeff’s teeth clacked with the force of his jaw closing.
“Where’s your phone?” the dark blond guy standing next to Green Eyes asked.
Jeff shook his head.
Green Eyes punched him in the mouth, and his head almost came off his shoulders, but he remained standing since Green Eyes still had ahold of his shirt.
“Motherfucker,” Jeff shouted. “That hurt.”
Green Eyes looked unimpressed. “It was supposed to, asshole. Now, answer the man. Where’s your fucking phone?”
Jeff had no idea why these guys were here, and while he’d told them to take anything they wanted, he’d meant anything but his phone. He pursed his lips tight. He didn’t care if he got beat up. His phone was his bread and butter.
Green Eyes grabbed on to Jeff’s shirt and spun the two of them, so his back was to Blondie. “Search him.”
Blondie began patting down Jeff’s chest and moved down. He started with the back of his jeans and came around to his front pockets.
“Oh, I think I’ve found something,” he said when his hand clinically brushed against Jeff’s penis.
“Is it the phone?” Green Eyes asked.
“No. Just a tiny penis.”
Green Eyes snickered.
“Hey, fuck you,” Jeff shouted over his shoulder.
Blondie stood. “I doubt you’re fucking much of anything with what you’re packing in your pants.”
“Packing? Or lacking?” Redhead joked from his seat at the computer without missing a click as he typed away.
“Ha. Good one, Reid,” Blondie said.
“Zane,” Green Eyes snapped.
“What?”
“Find the phone,” Green Eyes said through clenched teeth.
“Chill, man. I’m on it.”
Jeff heard Blondie walk away.
Green Eyes dragged Jeff over to the couch and pushed him into it. He pointed a finger. “Stay if you want to keep what’s left of your miniscule package.”
Jeff immediately covered his crotch with his hands. “I’m not that small.”
Green Eyes snickered again. “Whatever you have to tell yourself, man. You obviously don’t have any balls if you leave a woman to be attacked by a man in a dark alley at night.”
Jeff’s eyes widened with panic. “How the hell did you know—”
“Found it,” Blondie said as he walked back into the room. He held Jeff’s phone with his forefinger and thumb at the corner. “It was in the bathroom. I hate to think of what he was doing in there with it.” Blondie put his other forefinger and thumb in front of his fly and pretended to jerk what could only be a small dick.
Jeff scowled. “I wasn’t masturbating. I was taking a shit.”
Blondie grimaced and threw the phone at Jeff, smacking him in the chest. “Gross. As if that’s better.”
“That hurt,” Jeff said, rubbing his sternum.
“Man, you are the biggest pussy,” Blondie said, shaking his head.
“Pussy or not, you don’t stand around and let females get attacked,” Green Eyes said with disgust.
“Whoa, whoa,” Blondie said, making the time-out sign. “Isa would argue that that’s sexist.”
Redhead turned around for the first time. “So would Tegan.”
Green Eyes rolled his eyes. “Fine. You shouldn’t stand around and let anyone, male or female, get attacked. At the very least, you call the police.” He leaned down toward Jeff. “What you don’t do is record it and upload it on the internet.” He picked up Jeff’s phone. “Now, unlock the thing.”
“No.” Jeff didn’t know what they would do with his files. He needed them to post online. He lived off the money he made on his YouTube videos. He looked longingly at his laptop. His phone was all he had left.
Green Eyes sighed. “Hold him,” he said to Blondie.
Blondie trapped Jeff’s shoulders against the couch, and before he could fight back, Green Eyes used Jeff’s thumb to open his phone.
“Got it.”
Blondie released Jeff.
Jeff lunged at Green Eyes, who swatted him back down as if he were a fly buzzing around his head.
Green Eyes started swiping across Jeff’s phone and shaking his head every few seconds.
Jeff’s bottom lip hurt from him chewing on it so much. He could only guess what Green Eyes was looking at.
Green Eyes walked over to Redhead and threw the phone on the desk. “Wipe them both.”
“Already halfway there,” Redhead said as Jeff’s screen went black, and it began to restart. The initial Welcome message popped up, telling him that everything he’d saved was gone.
Jeff cried out in despair, but inside, he was playing it cool. What these assholes didn’t know was that he could still recover the files on his computer. He watched a couple minutes more while Redhead hit a few buttons on Jeff’s phone. He was probably resetting the cell, too.
Jeff just hoped they would hurry up and get out of his apartment, so he could go about fixing everything.
Redhead stood. “Done.” He handed Jeff’s phone to Green Eyes, who then did the impossible.
Green Eyes broke the cell in half with his bare hands.
Jeff shrieked.
Green Eyes opened the patio door and threw the two pieces over the third-story balcony.
Jeff bolted from his seat after being momentarily stunned.
Blondie quickly pushed Jeff back down.
Redhead closed the laptop and handed it to Green Eyes, who did the same thing he’d done with the phone. Green Eyes then reached in and pulled out the hard drive. He threw it on the ground and repeatedly jammed the heel of his boot on it. After he was satisfied, he threw all the pieces over the railing, too.
Jeff was crying now, tears streaming down his face. “Why?”
Green Eyes narrowed his eyes and walked toward Jeff. “Because you are the equivalent of human scum. You had multiple videos and pictures on there of people in bad situations. You are selfish and deserve to rot in hell. Unfortunately, I’ve been ordered not to kill you.”
Jeff squeaked. He didn’t want to die.
“Maybe, next time, you’ll think about exploiting human suffering.”
“I didn’t take all those,” Jeff protested.
“Doesn’t matter. You took the one last night and did nothing. That was a huge mistake.”
“How am I supposed to pay my rent?”
Blondie snorted.
“Get a fucking job,” Green Eyes said.
“Or change the content of your YouTube channel,” Redhead said.
“But then I’ll lose my followers.”
Blondie shrugged. �
��Better than dying.”
“He just said he was ordered not to kill me,” Jeff said, pointing to Green Eyes.
“It doesn’t mean he won’t.” Blondie raised his brow. “I won’t tell. Reid?”
“Tell what? I didn’t see anything.”
Green Eyes smiled, and Jeff thought he was going to shit his pants.
“Okay, okay. No more videos of people getting beat up or fighting or anything else. I promise.”
“And?” Green Eyes said.
Jeff’s eyes widened. He didn’t know what else he was supposed to say.
Green Eyes smacked Jeff on the side of the head. “Next time someone’s in trouble, you’re going to call the police or step in to help.”
Jeff repeated the words.
Redhead looked at his watch. “Saxon, we’d probably better go.”
“Yeah, we’re done here,” Green Eyes said and clocked Jeff under the chin, knocking him out.
When Jeff woke, he was alone.
He scrambled off the couch and ran to his balcony.
Down in the ground, in the middle of the road, were his phone and computer. Even before the truck ran over them, he already knew there was no way he was getting his stuff back.
Chapter 20
“Ugh, how long did I sleep?”
Siya looked up from her phone to see Demi walking out of Saxon’s room where she’d been napping. He’d rather insisted on her resting, and Demi hadn’t refused, telling Siya how much her friend needed her rest.
“Only about an hour.”
Demi sat down on the couch next to her. “What are you doing?”
“Going through e-mails, cleaning some stuff out. Nothing exciting. How are you feeling? How’s your wound?”
“I’m good, all things considered.” She pulled up the side of her shirt. “How does it look?”
Siya leaned closer and gently pushed on the sides of the stitches. “Good. It’s a little swollen, which is to be expected.” She looked up to her friend’s eyes. “Are you taking any ibuprofen? That’ll help with the inflammation.”
Forbidden Seduction Page 9
