“What happened?” she asked, staring at the mess.
“My guess is either Roark or the tactical team paid the station a visit,” he said, picking up an overturned chair.
“Why didn’t Maggie clean this after they left?” Red asked, glancing at the open safe door. The yellowed copy of Little Red Riding Hood was still inside. It had been Morgan’s and Kane’s favorite book when they were children. And the inspiration behind Kane’s murders.
“She said she didn’t want to get in trouble if they came back.”
“Right.” Red marched out of his office. She’d had enough of Maggie’s crap. Morgan might not believe his assistant turned on her when he left, but Red knew the truth. “This stops now!” she shouted.
Maggie Sheppard let out a startled yelp and her eyes rounded. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said, hiding her trembling hands beneath her desk.
“I put up with your appalling behavior when Morgan was gone, but it ends now,” Red said.
Maggie’s eyes turned dark amber as the wolf inside her surfaced. She stood, directly challenging Red.
Red’s claws came out and her vision faded, before snapping into a clarity that only came with her Other self. “I will not accept anything less than your full submission,” she growled. Tufts of hair covered her arms. Bones broke and her teeth ejected. Red screamed, but somehow managed to keep her feet beneath her. “Do you understand?” Her jaw snapped at Maggie, stopping inches in front of her face.
Maggie whimpered. “Yes.” She quickly lowered her gaze to the floor.
“Does anyone else have a problem with me running Nuria with Morgan?” Red asked, her voice nearly unrecognizable. Soon she wouldn’t be able to form words at all.
“No,” a chorus of deputies shouted.
“Good,” she said. “Now get back to work.”
Morgan stepped out of his office and surveyed the scene. Pride colored his features. “You heard her,” he barked.
Everyone jumped and busied themselves, even the ones who had nothing to do.
She’d finally claimed her spot in the pack—in this town. Red looked at Morgan. His eyes glowed softly, letting her know she’d conquered his heart long ago.
There would be no more defiance as long as they led together. They’d proven ten times over that they were meant to be mates. And no one, not Roark, not Nuria, not even death itself, would ever tear them apart again.
Epilogue
R
oark Montgomery stood on the front porch of his stone cabin in the Republic of Utarado. He’d found this place tucked inside a dead forest on the side of a mountain range that used to hold twenty feet of snowpack. He’d killed the recluse who owned it and buried him out back. That had been twenty years ago and no one had been any wiser.
There was a nip in the air. He held the cup of synth-coffee to his lips and blew on it before taking a sip. It was bitter, but the warmth cut the chill from his bones. The woods had seemed eerily calm today. No sounds of scurrying creatures, only the slight breeze that caused the branches to creak incessantly. He raised the cup again and was about to drink when he heard a piercing howl.
It wasn’t the first time he’d heard the wolves, but they tended to come at night, not during the day. He squinted at the woods, searching for signs of movement in the branches and among the petrified tree trunks. Foliage deserted the forest long ago, leaving it bare. Nothing caught his eye. He drank the coffee, then put the cup down. A second howl came, this time much closer. Roark reached for his gun. The howl was answered by another and another. The hair on his neck rose. It was the only warning he got.
Roark didn’t see the attack coming, but he felt it. Teeth and claws ripped at his body, tearing pieces of his life away. He saw flashes of amber eyes. Familiar eyes. In that moment the truth shined with clarity: Roark was staring into the faces of death.
His death.
There would be no mercy. No reprieve. For he’d shown none.
Iron jaws clamped onto his bones, snapping them like twigs. Roark screamed until he could scream no more, but there was no one around to hear him. The trees and mountains didn’t care, and neither did his attackers.
The world swirled in pools of crimson, then slowly faded to black, taking his dreams of power with it. He gasped, then gurgled. Then Roark did something he’d never done before. He died.
“That about wraps it up,” Chaos said to the investigative team. “Did you find anything else?” she asked.
The IPTT members shook their heads and waited for the cleanup crew to gather their equipment.
Chaos walked around to the back of the cabin and up the ridge. The sun dappled the area thanks to the dead tree branches. She was about to turn when she saw a flash of metal on the ground behind a stump. She walked over to investigate.
This would be her last case for a while. She was off to do an exchange with the Nurian Tactical Team . . . and to see Raphael Vega. She ignored the thrill that thought brought and kicked the object with the toe of her boot. It rolled over.
Chaos recognized the object instantly. She glanced around to make sure no one was looking. When she was sure she wouldn’t be spotted, Chaos leaned down and quickly picked it up. She shoved the device into her bag and walked back to join the rest of the team.
“Are we finished?” she asked.
“Yes, Lieutenant,” one of the men said.
Chaos smiled. “Very well, Private. Let’s head back to the shuttles and return to IPTT.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The ride to International Police Tactical Team headquarters didn’t take long. She couldn’t believe that Roark had hid practically under their noses. They would’ve never found him if the anonymous tip hadn’t come in this morning.
She thought about all the havoc the man had wreaked. Chaos had no doubt that he was behind Bannon Richards’ attempt on Red’s life. It frightened her that it could have just as easily been her, since they were both drugged with influ-gas. The tox report had come back inconclusive. Raphael had been telling the truth about the gas being undetectable.
They parked the shuttle and Chaos strode into IPTT headquarters. She had one more thing to do. She typed up her report and submitted it before heading to the commander’s office. Chaos brushed her hand against the wooden surface of the door and waited for the camera to extend and scan her eye. It did and she was quickly allowed inside.
“Sir, have you read my report?” she asked.
“I’m finishing it up now,” Commander Robert Santiago said. “Is this your official finding?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. There was insufficient evidence that a crime occurred,” she said, standing at attention.
“Says here that only animal DNA was found on the scene,” he said.
“That’s correct, sir. We did a very thorough sweep.”
“Then I suppose this case is closed,” he said.
Chaos nodded. “Yes, sir.” She watched the commander write “Animal Attack” across the report, then “Case Closed.”
“You about ready to head out on your exchange?” Robert asked.
Chaos’ stomach fluttered at the thought of spending a year in Nuria. She and Raphael could pick up where they’d left off. She blushed, when she realized exactly where that would be. “Yes, sir.”
He nodded. “Good. Enjoy yourself,” he said.
When she didn’t immediately move, Robert Santiago looked at her. “Is there something else to report?” he asked.
“No, sir,” Chaos said, taking the navcom out of her bag. She placed it on his desk and went back to standing at attention. “But you may want to return that to its owner. I found it outside Roark Montgomery’s cabin.”
The commander reached for the navcom and turned it on.
“Gina, where are you? I’m not sensing your presence,” Rita said.
He quickly powered down the navcom and shoved it into his desk drawer. “I will make sure the owner gets it. We’re meeting for lunch tomorrow. I’m sure she’ll be
grateful you returned the navcom.”
“Tell her to be more careful next time,” Chaos said.
Robert Santiago leveled a piercing gaze at her. “Now that Roark Montgomery is dead, I assure you there will not be a next time.”
CrimsonCover
Title
Copyright
Dedication
chapter one
chapter two
chapter three
chapter four
chapter five
chapter six
chapter seven
chapter eight
chapter nine
chapter ten
chapter eleven
chapter twelve
chapter thirteen
chapter fourteen
chapter fifteen
chapter sixteen
chapter seventeen
chapter eighteen
chapter nineteen
chapter twenty
chapter twenty-one
chapter twenty-two
chapter twenty-three
chapter twenty-four
chapter twenty-five
chapter twenty-six
chapter twenty-seven
chapter twenty-eight
chapter twenty-nine
chapter thirty
chapter thirty-one
chapter thirty-two
Epilogue
Crimson Page 31
