Possess: An Alpha Anthology

by Anthology

  Secret second families were gold. “Baseball goes this late into October?” I struggled into my sneakers without untying them first and wobbled to my feet.

  “It’s kids, not the major leagues.” He shrugged. “Let’s go.”

  Jasper and I reached the door at the same time.

  He had to be insane. “You can’t come, Jasper. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I’m shadowing Rob,” he said. “Besides, you said this Chaew character is a white collar criminal, not a killer.”

  “We can’t be babysitting you—”

  “Audrey,” Rob said, “we don’t have time to argue. He’ll stay out of the way.”

  “I’ll stay out of the way,” Jasper promised.

  I knew it was a bad idea, but Rob was right—we didn’t have time to argue.

  Chapter Three

  Unable to stop thinking about Corbin’s visit, I dialed him as I pulled out of the parking lot, right on Rob’s bumper.

  “Hey, baby.” Corbin’s deep voice sent a frisson of pleasure sliding through me. “If you changed your mind about lunch, it’s too late.”

  An irrational sliver of disappointment joined the guilt-fest in my head.

  “Well, I’m calling because I might have really good news in a couple of hours,” I said. “If I do, I’m taking the day off tomorrow to hang out with you.”

  “Assuming it fits my schedule.”

  I felt my cheeks heating. “Of course. I wouldn’t—”

  “I’ll make it fit. And I’ll wish you luck.” Approval warmed his voice. Corbin was supportive of my work, which I appreciated. He had more money than any hundred men could spend in as many lifetimes. He wasn’t thrilled with the sometimes dangerous nature of my job, but he put up with it because it was important to me.

  He also gave me space when I needed. Well, usually. Like any powerful, alpha-type male, he could get a little protective, but overall, he was patient and perceptive. Plus, he cooked. He was perfect.

  “We’ll go out tonight,” he said.

  “No matter what happens, I’ll be home by seven,” I promised. “And Corbin, I’m sorry about earlier. I like it when you stop by.”

  “I should have called,” he said. And then, “For tonight, I’ll make reservations somewhere nice. Either we’ll have something to celebrate, or you’ll need cheering up.”

  Getting dressed up and heading out for a fancy dinner would make Corbin happy. He deserved that. “Sounds great.”

  We hung up. My brother accelerated through a yellow light, and I followed; every second mattered. In the passenger’s seat of my brother’s car, Jasper was gesturing, his movements animated. I guessed he was talking Rob’s ear off.

  Twenty, thirty minutes ticked by. Rob traded large streets for smaller ones. I was starting to wonder if we were lost, but suddenly the road was choked with slow-moving traffic, and a little farther up, small groups of people, kids in grass-stained uniforms, moms trying to keep toddlers and older children herded together.

  “Shit,” I muttered. The game was over… Rob’s tip had come in a little too late.

  A sedan pulled out of a parking spot in front of me, and I slammed the brakes and flipped on my turn signal. Ahead, Rob kept driving.

  I was surprised he didn’t make Jasper stay with the car. Maybe he hadn’t thought of it.

  I dialed him as I jogged across the street, the scents of popcorn and funnel cake whirling around me.

  “Jasper can drive around the block,” I said.

  “He already got out of the car. Find Chaew.”

  Like I didn’t know to do that. I hung up, slid the phone into my pocket and scanned the crowd. Chaew was in his thirties, just shy of six feet tall, with dark sideburns and dark hair. Assuming he hadn’t cut or dyed anything.

  There were too many people, so I pushed through the masses, heading for the bleachers. I scrambled up them, the metal benches echoing hollowly under my feet, and began scanning the crowd, starting with the section closest to the street.

  To do that, I had to ignore the group that was milling around the parking lot, but I couldn’t look everywhere at once.

  My heart pounded, and my mouth turned dry. Chaew was here, somewhere. One man, a selfish thief whose capture would pump several hundred thousand dollars into the business bank account. Then Dad wouldn’t have to keep draining his savings.

  Best of all, I wouldn’t have to go crawling to Corbin for help.

  I had to find Chaew; it wasn’t optional. The pressure was palpable, squeezing my chest.

  Unless I’d missed him, he wasn’t heading to the street. Maybe he’d already left. I turned to look at the road again and spotted Rob jogging past the parked cars, ducking his head to catch a glimpse of each occupant.

  Good. He had that covered. I swiveled back around and began to scrutinize the parking lot. With each person I looked at and then discarded, my pulse jumped another ten beats per minute.

  And then… I saw him.

  Chaew had cropped his hair, but his sideburns were intact. Vain men could be counted on to be vain, I supposed.

  He was walking with a petite blonde woman and a boy who looked to be seven or eight. His hand rested affectionately on the boy’s head. Under other circumstances, I might have had misgivings about arresting a man in front of his son, but not today, not Chaew.

  Without letting him out of my sight, I fished my phone from my pocket and redialed the last number I’d called. “I’ve got eyes on him,” I said. “Red shirt, black bomber jacket, jeans. With a kid, number 23 on his uniform, and a blonde woman my height. They’re heading to the north side of the parking lot.”

  “On my way,” Rob said. “The kid’s your height, too? He must be under five years old, then.”

  “Ha.”

  We didn’t hang up, and I could hear my brother breathing more heavily, could hear him apologizing to the people he accidentally jostled as he ran through the crowd.

  “Rob. They changed direction, heading toward the concession trailer truck thing,” I said. “I can only see the back of it. I’m going to lose sight of them.”

  “Damn it.”

  I took a step down on the bleachers, unsure if I should stay put or head toward where the action would soon be. I had a good vantage point, but once they went behind the trailer, I was going to lose sight of them. There was a building back that way, the bathrooms, I guessed, and beyond that a section of woods.

  This recreational area wasn’t the least bit familiar to me, and I assumed Rob didn’t know it, either. That gave me pause. We didn’t know how many exits that building had.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Rob. He’d reached an empty bit of field, and he kicked his pace into a run.

  I nodded in approval, and I could practically feel the ground beneath his sneakers as he sprinted toward the concession stand. He hit the next crowd.

  “Try going to your right,” I said. “It’ll be faster. Shit—I just lost them. I’m heading over.”

  “Don’t—” Rob said, but I ignored him. He had probably guessed where I was; there weren’t an unlimited number of spots that would give someone a decent view of the baseball fields. But he didn’t know how bad my angle was.

  Plus, once Rob had approached Chaew, he’d likely need backup. At the very least, I could confirm that we were bounty hunters, not random kidnappers. Though I expected Chaew would give himself up without a fight provided we agreed not to slide the zip ties over his wrists in view of his kid.

  At least, I hoped it would go down that easily.

  I jumped off the bottom bleacher and headed toward where I’d last seen Chaew.

  “Audrey!”

  Someone collided with me, hard enough to send me reeling, to knock the breath out of my chest. It only took me a second to recover, but that was too long.

  “Sorry,” Jasper panted, excitement strangling his voice. “I was looking everywhere for you. I saw the guy with a woman and a kid.”

  I snatched up my fallen phone. It h
ad disconnected. I didn’t have time to utter the hundreds of curses flashing through my mind. I gripped the phone tightly and ran, pushing myself.

  Dad had always insisted that Rob and I keep ourselves in good shape. It was company policy, though Dad only checked up on the two of us. Although Rob and I weren’t merely employees anymore, we both put in our time at the gym. At the moment, I was grateful for that.

  I smashed into the crowd. “Excuse me. Pardon me. Sorry…” I didn’t know why I was bothering.

  Then, just like that, the concession trailer was in front of me.

  There was a line.

  Chaew wasn’t in it, but his girlfriend and son were.

  A bad feeling twisted in my stomach.

  Chapter Four

  “Where is Chaew?” Rob asked as he caught up to me. He was only slightly winded—impressive considering how far he’d run.

  I shook my head. “How do you want to play this? Do we want to talk to the girlfriend?”

  “He’s probably just in the bathroom.” Rob turned in a circle, searching. “If he sees us talking to them, he might get suspicious, might take off.”

  “I would check the bathroom, but…”

  “But what?” Rob asked, straight-faced. He went toward the concrete block building.

  I shoved my phone back into my pocket. If Rob called, it would vibrate. I wanted to keep my hands free just in case Chaew came running out of the bathroom and I had to tackle him.

  The number of times I’d tackled anyone… Even though I knew the precise answer, I hoped Jasper wouldn’t ask. He wouldn’t have been impressed.

  Jasper. I wanted to scream. It was like he’d been trying to knock me over.

  Rob jogged out of the building. Just a few steps, then he looked around in confusion.

  Already I was turning, searching for a man alone in a vehicle. The traffic out of the parking lot was at a standstill, so even if Chaew was on his way out, he wouldn’t have gotten far.

  I headed for the single exit, my eyes scanning each vehicle. In the interest of being thorough, I didn’t rule any out, even if they contained other adults who weren’t Chaew.

  He wasn’t there.

  Frustrated but hoping Rob had him, I returned to the concession trailer. Rob shrugged when he saw me.

  I briefly covered my face with my hands, then tilted my head back to stare angrily at the sky. The sky didn’t give a damn, because a blinking yellow arrow didn’t suddenly point out where Chaew had disappeared to.

  Something was wrong…

  My attention jerked to Chaew’s little family. The line was still long, but they hadn’t moved. I probably wouldn’t have noticed that anything was amiss if the kid hadn’t had a murderous scowl on his face. He was a boy denied; I recognized it instantly.

  And the reason… The mother was letting people get in front of them.

  I headed to the end of the line and motioned for Rob to stay put. The queue inched forward. When I reached the blonde, she said, “Go ahead.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “I’m not in any hurry.”

  The kid crossed his arms angrily. She gave him an exasperated look, then turned to me. Underneath the caked-on makeup, she was quite pretty, with wide brown eyes and generous lips. “We’re not in line. I’m stuck here until my boyfriend says I’m allowed to leave.”

  My eyes went wide.

  “No, no,” she said, misunderstanding the reason for my reaction. “He’s not… He’s not controlling or anything. He’s just in a bit of trouble and I guess he got a text or something that there’s a guy here looking for him, so he took off. He had a meeting anyway.”

  “Oh,” I said, managing a smile even though I felt ready to cry. “Do you need a ride?”

  “We came separately.”

  “Well, if you’re sure…” I slipped in front of her. “I appreciate it. I know that awful traffic isn’t going anywhere.”

  “You want a tip? Park in the Feldspar Exterminators lot on the other side of the woods. It’s a couple of minutes more walking. Less than ideal if you’re lugging around a bunch of baseball gear, but you’ll save ten minutes in traffic.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” I didn’t have to feign anxiety as I lifted on my toes to pretend to count the people still ahead of me in line. “Maybe I don’t need that ice cream sandwich after all.”

  “It’s moving fast,” she said.

  I patted my stomach. “I’m having second thoughts. Less time at the gym later, right?”

  She smiled, nodded. I slipped out of line and beelined for Rob.

  “There’s another parking lot through the trees,” I said.

  We walked together, but the moment we were out of sight, we broke into a run.

  The woman was right. It wasn’t far at all. Three cars remained in the lot, all of them empty.

  “Shit,” I said, disgusted with the universe for dangling Chaew and then snatching him away, disgusted with myself and Rob for not having known about the hidden parking lot.

  Corbin would have known. A sour taste prickled the back of my tongue.

  “Yeah.” Rob sighed, ran a hand through his red hair, then whipped out his phone. “Let’s see where the road goes to.”

  It turned out that within two miles, the road merged onto one of the main arteries leading to the expressway. Another few miles past that and hello to the interstate.

  I sank onto the ground and braced my forearms on my bent knees. “Damn.”

  Rob touched my shoulder. “There’s nothing we could have done differently,” he said.

  “We should have known sooner about the kid.”

  “Well, we know now. If we hurry back, we might be able to follow the mom.”

  “Someone tipped Chaew off,” I said dully. That was the problem with having every bounty hunting company on such a big case. Stroop Finders had been careful not to do anything to alert Chaew, but within a few hours of the bounty going public, he had learned it wasn’t only the police he had to worry about. Now Chaew would be even more careful, assuming he didn’t leave town immediately.

  The grass between my sneakers was sparse. I wondered if a tick was crawling up my hip, planning to take a bite, maybe give me some kind of horrible disease. “Jasper collided with me,” I said. “If he hadn’t been there—”

  “It wouldn’t have made a difference.” Rob lowered himself onto the ground next to me.

  I snatched up a blade of grass, folded it in half, and rolled it back and forth between my fingers. The smell of crushed green briefly reached my nose before a breeze carried over the faint scent of fried dough.

  “Let’s follow her anyway,” I said. “I assume you have her address?”

  “I’ll get it. And I agree; we should follow her. It’s a long shot, but it’s better than sitting on our hands. If you take Jasper, I’ll make a few more calls.”

  That hardly seemed like a fair trade.

  Sometimes long shots panned out, but usually they didn’t. I should have known that hoping for even a smidgen of luck was just asking for more disappointment.

  The woman, whose name was Anise, went to the grocery store, then home to a suburb that was well out of my price range. The homes weren’t huge, but they were nice, tasteful, the yards manicured by professionals. At least there were some cars parked on the street, so we wouldn’t stick out too much.

  Rob took a spot outside her house, under an oak tree. I knew she’d freak out if she saw me again, so I stopped around the corner.

  “I’m thinking we stay until at least midnight,” Rob called to say.

  “Agreed. Do you want to take first watch?”

  “I have a dog to walk,” Rob said. “I can come back at six. Will you be ok until then?”

  “Sure,” I said, digging around in my back seat for a baseball cap I could pull low over my eyes if Anise happened to stroll by. “I have Jasper for company. If I get a craving for vodka, he can pop out and buy some.”

  Jasper was still chuckling as we parked in sight of
Anise’s house. He thought I was kidding about the vodka, and under different circumstances, he would have been right. I didn’t want him there, and I suspected it was going to be a long, pointless stakeout.

  On the bright side, if I managed to thoroughly bore him now, he’d believe me later if I told him I was busy with drone work.

  “This is fun,” Jasper said after an hour of doing nothing. He sounded sincere.

  A man biked past. I checked to make sure it wasn’t Chaew. “We could be out here for days without making progress,” I pointed out.

  “True. But still, it’s exciting, knowing anything could happen at any moment.”

  “You know, when I was a kid, I thought the same thing.”

  He dug into his pocket and pulled out a pack of gum. “So you always wanted to be a bounty hunter?” he asked, offering me a piece. I accepted it.

  “I brought up the kid thing to make a point about keeping your expectations realistic.” I smiled to show I was teasing. “But yeah. I thought it was cool.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I’m trying to transition to PI work,” I said, popping the watermelon-flavored gum into my mouth.

  “Bounty hunting is that bad?”

  “I like unraveling mysteries,” I said. “Being a bounty hunter, every case is different, but it’s a lot of the same, you know? Always someone who did something they shouldn’t have, and then they didn’t show up when they should have…”

  “Makes you sound like a truancy officer.”

  I considered that. “Yeah,” I said, starting to feel a little glum. “Actually, it does.”

  Jasper lapsed into silence. I found myself wishing for Corbin; sometimes he came along on stakeouts. Not to help, but for the company. Talking with him was the second best way to pass the time. The best way, of course, was waiting until dark and then indulging in a quickie or two.

  Like he was reading my mind, Jasper said, “Keeping hours like this must be hell on your dating life.”

  “Maybe I don’t date,” I said.

  “At all?”