by Lola Kidd
She was second-guessing herself though. She hadn’t known him long enough to get a good idea of his more subtle moods. Maybe he’d just had a hard day at work or he was nervous having her stay at his place. Whatever it was she didn’t know how much longer she should be staying with him. If it was due to her being in his home, it might be best to keep it moving already. She was putting a big burden on him. They were supposed to go out to solidify their story, but maybe that was a bad idea too.
That night she was in his bed again, without him of course. This time she wasn’t totally alone though. She was on her laptop. She’d contacted Bettina after her meeting with Game and they’d come up with a plan she hadn’t told Zach about yet. She wanted to get a little more info before coming to him with it or maybe not tell him at all. It depended on how all this stuff with the recent attack with down.
Either way, they were looking for dragon towns. There were a few well-known towns and a few that they knew because of their network. Abbott was one of the lesser known ones and there had been attacks around there. They were starting with the little-known ones since it seemed the best bet for whatever they were looking for. It was a little like searching for needle in a haystack if you’d never seen a needle in your life. Extremely difficult, little chance for success, and time-consuming. She had no plans for tomorrow so it wasn’t like she needed to get a good night’s rest for anything.
She was hoping to get an interview with the human who was attacked, but she didn’t have an address for him yet. Bettina was doing some sleuthing to find it overnight while Tally worked on the dragon towns. She was checking every news story she could find from the last five years and any local message boards she could find. So far, she wasn’t having great luck. There were a few reports of suspicious attacks but nothing that screamed shifter-on-human. Nothing that would make her pick up and go there.
It wasn’t until nearly four a.m. that something hit. Ironically, it was where she already was. There was something on a message board about an attack near Abbott. She’d already heard about this one, but it included names of a Keeper-affiliated Pegasus shifter that was looking for a human woman. It was all hearsay and there was no proof, but she was going to ask Zach about it. She wouldn’t tell him why; she was just going to spring in it on him and then see how he reacted.
That wasn’t the nicest way to do it, but she still wasn’t one-hundred percent on him. Looking up the Pegasus wasn’t giving her anything. This guy was a ghost. Usually shifters like him went one of two ways: either they were everywhere or they were totally quiet. Since he worked with Keepers as the heavy it would make sense he had zero online presence. He was so unusual though, it wasn’t totally impossible to try to find him. Searching for mentions of Pegasi, she was able to find a few reports. Most were unsubstantiated but two were near other dragon towns and they were within the last two years. That was big. That helped her narrow her focus.
After another two hours as dawn was breaking, she finally was forced to go to sleep since her eyes were burning and unfocused. She’d found something. Maybe it would turn out to be nothing, but she felt good about this. There was what looked like one other dragon attack and also something right where she was. The one other attack was near a dragon city that was on the East Coast. It was an attack on a family driving to Florida by a tiger shifter. It wasn’t something major and no one got hurt, but the family wasn’t even from the town and they weren’t robbed or anything. Everything about it looked like it was a random attack on a human by shifters.
The other was the attack right here in Abbott. This was a rumor and she’d obviously heard about it before. The new info was something that was just mentioned on her own site in the comments. The human attacked? None other than the wife of Keeper chief Rhett. If true, this was big. It would explain why he had tried to Compel her with magic maybe. He would have a stake in keeping all this quiet. Maybe he even Compelled his own wife. That seemed diabolical but not out of the question. It would be easier for him to do if she were his mate.
Maybe that was why Zach was so keen on taking her on a date. Maybe that was the way all shifters kept their secrets. She wished her grandparents were still around so she could ask them. It was hard to drift off to sleep with this knowledge in her mind. This could all be one big ruse. A ruse that shifters used frequently to keep their secrets safe. It would explain why someone like Zach was so interested in her. She was good-looking, but she knew she was no beauty. Her look was “alternative.” As in alternative to conventional beauty. It was a specific taste.
Zach on the other hand was very conventionally attractive. Yes, looks weren’t everything, but they didn’t exactly go together. They would never look right. And most of all, it wasn’t like she was his mate. If she was, he would have told her already. Everyone knew shifters went hard for their mates. They wouldn’t let their mate out of their sight once they found them. No shifter male would be casually asking their mate out on a fake date for show. That wasn’t how it worked. He wasn’t passionate about her and he wasn’t showing any signs of interest outside of friendship.
Fine and all. It wasn’t like she was pining for him. But if he suddenly started to show more interest in her, it would confirm her suspicion. He was only using his “love” for her to get into her head and keep her quiet. It would be a major sacrifice on his part. Shifters who never found their true mate lived a tortured life. But she had no doubt he was the kind of man to do that for his kind. It wouldn’t be easy but he would for sure do it.
It made her feel gross even thinking of it. She would never let him go through with something like that. Not that it was a problem. He wasn’t showing any interest. They were friends working the case. But her idea was still good. She wished Bettina were here. She didn’t want to discuss these kinds of issues over the phone. It was too big. It was too much to try to talk about it all without giving too much away. If someone was listening in on her calls, they would know everything and that could be a problem for her too.
The sun was high in the morning sky at that point. She wasn’t getting much sleep again. She heard Zach begin getting ready for work. Sometime during his shower, she must have fallen asleep. When she woke up again, it was already closer to afternoon. She got up and went to grab breakfast from the kitchen. There was a note from Zach telling her to have a good day and saying that he was looking forward to their date that night. He’d drawn a winking smiley face at the end of the note.
Tally wasn’t so hungry anymore. She took a hard seat on the chair. She was psyching herself out. She needed to get out of this house and take her mind off of him.
The wife of Rhett. She would find her and see if she could get any information from her. She probably wouldn’t say much, but maybe she could give Tally some info unwittingly like the neighbor had.
It only took a short internet search to find out that Rhett and Joseline lived in town. Joseline wasn’t putting on any seminars this week. There was a good chance she’d be at home at this hour. Or maybe the grocery store. Tally couldn’t think of more places you’d go in this weather. Now, to be a creepy stalker and try to find her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“This is the most important date of your life and you want to take her to a chain restaurant?” Beau shook his head. “You are much dumber than you look, my man.”
“I don’t see how it’s the most important date of my life,” Zach scoffed. “Of my career maybe, but I don’t foresee having many dates in the line of work.”
Beau laughed. “What about that little Italian place? My wife loves it and so does Rhett’s. That’ll score you major points.”
“That’s a little too romantic though, isn’t it?” Zach said gruffly. They were blowing this out of proportion. It was a simple date. She wasn’t hoping for anything romantic and if he took her somewhere like that she’d laugh her ass off. He wasn’t looking to make a fool of himself.
“Come on. What’s the problem? Can’t afford it? Don’t worry, I bet Rhett will give you
per diem,” Beau teased.
“Shut up. I have money. Just too fancy is all. I don’t want to make a big deal of the night. She isn’t expecting something like that.”
“You ask a girl on a date and she’s expecting some level of fancy. Why don’t you want to take her to some burger drive-through? No big deal right?”
“We might have a little issue?” Rhett said, stepping into the office.
“Yeah, our boy is a cheapskate all of a sudden. He wants to take her to a drive-through.”
“I don’t want a drive-through. I just don’t want to go overboard.” Zach was trying not to get huffy. Beau was only having a go at him. The more he freaked out and got pissy about it, the more he would tease him. But it was hard.
“Bigger problem than Zach being a tightwad? Though, on that note, don’t be a tightwad. I know I pay you enough to take a woman to a nice dinner. Pony up.”
Zach scowled and nodded. “Sure. What’s the problem?”
“It seems that our girl Tally was snooping around my house. Nora saw her. She was sitting outside for long enough to make Nora nervous.”
“She sat outside and did what?” Beau asked.
“Was trying to see if Joseline was home,” Zach said. “Shit. She must have a lead on the attack here.”
“How?” Rhett asked. “There was nothing about the attack in the news.”
“But there was something about the scorpion that raced across the countryside and caused damage to shifter and human properties,” Zach said. “She must have stayed up late last night trying to find anything strange around these parts. She had an idea about the attack, but she didn’t know that a human was involved. No idea how she got that info.”
“I really wish we had an internet guy,” Rhett complained. “Tuck is great at this kind of thing and Abbott even has a guy whose entire job is to do web stuff. We need someone like that.”
“And we need another full-time Keeper too. So two positions to fill,” Beau said. He sifted through the paper on his desk. “From all the applicants for the full-time job, I bet one of them is competent in web stuff. This is going to be so easy to find someone who wants to work for us.”
“Google?” Zach said. “I’ll try Googling around and see what I can find. But odds are that they’ll use some kind of code if they’re talking about sensitive stuff. Makes it hard to track. Plus, I have no idea where to start looking really.”
“You know what would be really easy?” Beau said. “To ask her. If only we had some kind of agent working undercover for us who could get us this info.”
“Well, yeah, no shit,” Zach said. “But until then, I’ll see what I can find on my own.”
“How are things going with Tally?” Rhett asked. “Nervous about tonight?”
“Not really. We’ve eaten together before.”
Rhett grunted. “Sure. Of course. Do you think she’ll be in town much longer?”
“Since she was nosing around your house, I would guess yes.” He started his work on the computer. “Do you think we should talk to the Abbott keepers?”
“Not really. They know she’s in town and I’m sure they know she’s at your place.”
“Why would you say that?” Zach asked. “It isn’t like we’re being obvious.”
“There’s no chance that they don’t have a tail on her. Their best,” Beau told him. “They don’t tell us everything. They knew about my condition and how to ‘treat’ it right away. We don’t have to give them any more info than necessary right now.”
“Are they the enemy?” Zach asked. He was starting to feel like there was something going on he didn’t know about. Were his boys keeping something from him?
“Not exactly,” Rhett said. “I just don’t trust them a hundred percent. If they knew something as vital as shifters who lost control and they kept it from us, I don’t harbor any notions that we’re all on the same team. I’ve worked with these guys. They’ll do whatever they think is right and everyone else be damned. Including other shifters. They are dragon first.”
Zach nodded. “Got it. I just don’t want to step on any toes with our work here.”
“Has she written any more stories?” Beau asked.
“Not yet. But she has to have something up on the site soon. She can’t let it go too long between stories or people will get bored.”
“Gotta keep stoking the flames,” Beau said bitterly.
“It isn’t like that,” Zach said as he searched a web page. “She doesn’t want to get anyone hurt. Shifters included.”
“Don’t delude yourself,” Beau said. “The Abbott boys are dragon first and your human is human first. It is what it is. She may not want to get anyone hurt, but I can’t see this ending any other way. I just want to make sure the one getting hurt isn’t one of ours.”
“So who should get hurt then?” Zach asked. His heart was beating hard in his chest. His animal wanted out. He and Beau disagreed about much but they always worked it out in the end. They’d never disagreed about a woman like this. Zach didn’t know why he was getting so bent out of shape. It wasn’t like Beau had said anything controversial. Of course Tally was human first. She was a human after all and her best ties to the shifters were dead. Even if she said she cared about shifters, if push came to shove, she would side with her kind. Beau was right. It was what it was.
So why did it make him so angry and sad?
“I hope no one,” Rhett said. “We need to wrap up this intel mission and get her out of town and off the case if possible. We need to start thinking endgame.”
“Okay. I was hoping she’d leave as soon as this professor thing was done,” Zach said. “I think she’ll move on to a different dragon town.”
“Right, but that’s not what I mean.” Rhett pulled up a chair. “We need to start looking at alternative ideas moving forward.”
“Like killing her?” Beau asked, clearly uncomfortable.
Rhett rolled his eyes. “No, asshole. I was thinking like telling her and teaming up with her.”
Zach nearly stood up. “No way. Absolutely not. That would be a terrible idea.”
“I don’t think so. You trust this woman. You think she wants to keep everyone safe. If that’s true, the best bet we have is to tell her exactly why she can’t move forward with her story. To kill it or at least to hold some information back from the public. I think we should put all our cards on the table.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Zach huffed. He looked at Beau who shrugged. “No way. I won’t do it. That won’t help anyone. She’ll be furious. She won’t want to work with us if she thinks we’re liars.”
She’ll never talk to me again. She’ll never trust me again. She’ll never want to see me again. He didn’t need to say it. He wouldn’t admit it. But that was the truth. If he told her he’d been lying all along, that he’d been playing her, it would all be over. They wouldn’t even be friends after this. There was no way his animal would let it stand. He could already feel him reaching up to get out.
“Maybe not, but I think she will,” Rhett said. “If you bring her in after you come clean, we can speak to her as a group and I think we can convince her. Honestly, I think you’ll be fine on your own. You two seem to have a strong enough bond.”
“I’ve known her for less than a week!” Zach yelled. He pressed his lips together and put his head down to collect himself. “Look, I get what you’re thinking here. I see what the idea is, but I disagree. I won’t do it.”
“How about you think about it for a bit? If you change your mind, tell her tonight and bring her in tomorrow. I’ll bring Jocelyn too and we can all talk.”
“And if I don’t change my mind?” Zach asked.
“I’m confident you’re going to see it my way after sitting with it for a few hours.” Rhett got up and put a hand on his shoulder. “No need to do the internet search right now. Why not head home early and get ready for your date?”
Zach nodded. He wasn’t going to do it. He wouldn’t. He cou
ldn’t. There was too much at risk.
Chapter Twenty-Four
She wished she’d brought more stuff with her. She’d never planned on being gone this long, let alone going on a date. Tally had her new clothes laid out in front of her on Zach’s bed, along her new makeup. She’d splurged and bought herself some new lipstick. It wasn’t too expensive and it would make a statement. The clothes were only a nice blouse and a pair of jeans. Both could be worn again and fit with her current wardrobe. She made a mental note to always include fancy clothes when she packed from now on.
The day hadn’t been nearly as productive as she’d hoped. She’d found Rhett’s house and it did look like his wife and child were home, but she couldn’t bring herself to go and knock on the door. She didn’t understand what was holding her back, but she would try again tomorrow. She needed to get her head back in the game and this date night might be exactly what she needed to relax and get her mind right.
She hadn’t made a big deal of it when he’d first asked her, but she had to admit she was excited to get to know Zach outside of an investigative setting. He was interesting and this would give her more of a chance to see him when he was relaxed. Even though she was staying in his home, he was “on” whenever she was around. This would be more informal and they could talk about things that weren’t related to their jobs or at least outside of this case.
Tally knew she had to get another post up on the blog. Bettina was on her case and wanted to do a story outside of the shifter thing. She’d already started something tangentially related and was going to send it to Bettina in the morning. It sounded like a good idea. Giving people a few more things to read would invigorate the site. Hopefully. She was worried that people were going to get bored of her story or that they would move on as soon as there was someone more popular writing about the issues. If they had something else going on, it would help to keep people invested in their reporting.
