by Zara Chase
“Doing it’s the easy part. Leaving it behind when you walk out the door takes work.” She shrugged. “It’s impossible not to have favorites, too, which is what got me into this mess…”
“Tell us,” Rafe said when her words trailed off.
“Okay, if you’re really that interested, there’s this kid called Mia. She’s just fifteen, mixed race, and absolutely gorgeous. Huge eyes, beautiful face and a body to match, and…oh, I don’t know, a vulnerability, I suppose, that kinda gets to you. I knew as soon as I met her that her looks would get her in trouble.” She paused. “Well, not just her looks but her fundamental desire to be loved for herself. She’d latch on to anyone who showed the slightest interest in her because she’s so desperate to belong.”
“I’ve seen it in my professional life,” Jared said softly.
Caitlyn offered him the ghost of a smile. “Yes, I expect you have. Anyway, Mia had four foster families in the space of a year. They didn’t work out because the wives didn’t want someone who looked like her under their roofs. They couldn’t stand the competition or were fearful that their husbands would stray. In one instance the older boys in the family got all gooey-eyed over her, got into fist fights about her and…well, I’m sure I don’t need to draw a picture.” Caitlyn paused to sip at her coffee. “I could relate to Mia’s problems because I’d been through similar stuff. I managed to get her placed with an older family where there was no danger of her being abused, or of causing the family to implode. I knew the family personally and could assure her she’d be safe with them. And she was, for a while. Then she met a guy who promised to get her into modeling.”
“Oh, shit!” Jared said softly.
“Exactly. I smelt a rat immediately, but Mia was convinced the guy had punched her ticket to fame and fortune, and she wouldn’t listen to anything I said. She accused me of being jealous of her, just like everyone else in her life.” Jared touched her hand. “Her foster family called me three weeks ago to say she’d disappeared, but I figured there wasn’t much I could do about that, not if she was determined to go her own way. Then I got a desperate call from Mia herself, begging me to go get her.”
“Did she say where she was?”
“No, the call got disconnected before we got that far, like someone had caught her in the act. Anyway, I searched her room at her foster home and also called in a favor from someone I know who traced the calls she’d made on her cell before she went missing.”
“And the trail led you to that restaurant?” Jared asked.
“Right. I found Tony’s name and the restaurant address scribbled on a piece of paper in her room, and several calls to and from that number.”
“So why didn’t you get the authorities involved? Go to the police?”
Caitlyn snorted. “With what? Mia was a runaway, one of thousands of kids who take off every day, but in her case there were no parents pushing to have her found. Her foster family called to say she’d disappeared, but they wouldn’t do anything more about it. Foster kids disappear all the time for various reasons and the couple she was with were experienced enough to know that.”
Jared nodded. “That’s sad but true.”
“Her lack of a family is probably why she was targeted,” Caitlyn said. “Anyway, what were the police going to do without proof of abduction?”
“Did you find any proof?” Rafe asked.
“No, the moment I did I intended to involve the police.” She paused. “But there was something going on at that restaurant, I’d swear an oath on that. Tony lived above it, but the door had a keypad. You couldn’t get through it without a code, and it was never, ever left open.”
“Probably to stop customers wandering into his personal space,” Vadim said.
“No, there was more to it than that. I overheard phone calls, saw some most unsavory-looking characters coming and going from upstairs at odd times. And Tony was on edge. Something had gone wrong, but I couldn’t find out what.”
“But you have your suspicions?” Jared suggested.
“Yes, once I saw a beautiful girl of about Mia’s age going up those stairs with a guy I’d seen hanging around Tony.”
“You think the girls were being abducted and forced into prostitution?” Jared asked.
“I did at first. Then it occurred that there seem to be thousands of attractive women who enter that profession willingly. Why the need for coercion?”
“Because they’d been specifically targeted,” Bryce said slowly. “I’m willing to bet that the girls are sold off to rich men craving fresh young flesh.”
“Yes, and I think they were kept at Tony’s place until they could be moved on. I just couldn’t prove it.” Caitlyn went on to explain about Tony’s invitation to stay for a drink. “It was the first chance I’d had to get close to him and possibly find out more. Then that guy came in and killed him.”
“And you called it in?” Rafe asked.
“Yes.”
Jared squeezed her fingers. “So why run?”
“Because I saw the killer’s eyes. I recognized him.” She paused, panic striking when she remembered his cold expression. “He was the policeman the detective assigned to drive me home.”
“Fucking hell!” Jared stared at her and increased the pressure on her fingers. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
“But you only saw his eyes.”
“And I’ll never forget them. I have an artist’s eye for detail.” She nodded emphatically. “It was him all right.”
“No wonder you cut and ran.” Bryce slid the fingers of one hand gently down her arm in a gesture that she found oddly reassuring. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down though, so she shook him off. “You must have been terrified.”
“What made you come to Impulse?” Rafe asked.
“You know, I’m not sure. I intended to head for a big city and lose myself in a crowd, but I felt… You’ll laugh at this, but I felt compelled to come this way.” All four men shared a prolonged glance, but none of them laughed. “What’s the matter? What did I say?”
“Can you describe this policeman?” Vadim asked.
“Sure. Better yet, I could draw him for you. Got any paper?”
Bryce produced pencil and paper and Caitlyn drew a sketch so lifelike that Jared felt the guy might wake up and walk off the page at any moment. When she was finished, Rafe picked it up, studied it and then handed it to Vadim.
“Mean anything to you?”
“No, but I’ll check it out. Mind if I keep this, Caitlyn?”
“Be my guest.” She looked understandably confused. “But why should it matter to you?”
“Jared and Bryce will explain that to you.”
“No time for that. I need to get out of here. I’ve caused enough problems.”
“Where can you go?”
“No one knows about my car, and I know someone who can supply me with a new identity.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to end up like Tony.”
“You can’t live life on the run indefinitely, babe.”
“Nor do I intend to be arrested for a crime I didn’t commit.”
“The police don’t think you committed it,” Rafe assured her.
She glared at him. “Really? Then how come my picture’s all over the news? And what’s the betting that something associating me with the crime doesn’t appear in my studio?” She shook her head. “No thank you very much.”
“The police aren’t stupid, babe.” Jared desperately wanted to pull her into his arms and make the worry lines disappear from her already damaged forehead. Instead he spoke to her in the soothing tone he normally reserved for frightened young shifters who called upon his professional services because they’d lost their way. “Why would you call it in if you were the killer, then disappear but leave incriminating evidence behind?”
She hesitated. “Well, put like that it—”
“You don’t own a gun, do you?” Bryce asked.
Caitlyn shudder
ed. “No, I hate guns.”
“Well then. Even if it’s planted, it won’t have your prints on it. Anything else connecting you to the restaurant can be explained away by your having worked there.”
“And in the meantime, Mia’s trail is going cold. If she was being held there, you can bet she was moved before Tony was shot.” Caitlyn puckered her lips, pulling the lower one between her teeth. “I have a feeling that’s what Tony’s execution was all about.”
“What makes you say that?”
“The killer asked him what he’d done with her.” She lost herself in thought for a moment. “I thought he said where is it, but I’m pretty sure now that he said where is Mia.” Her eyes lit up. “Don’t you see? Mia must still be alive.”
Jared nodded. “If it was her they were talking about.”
“But they used her name. It must have been her.”
“You’ve only just remembered that.”
“I was in shock,” she replied indignantly. “I was preoccupied with fear for Tony and trying to stay hidden. It’s hardly surprising that I got it muddled, but I’m sure now.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll find Mia for you,” Jared said.
“It’s okay. It’s not your problem. I’ll be on my way. They don’t know about my car yet so I’ll have a head start.”
“Sorry to tell you this, darlin’.” Bryce turned up the volume on the television in time to see Caitlyn’s yellow Corvette featured on the news.
“This is the vehicle that the woman the police wish to speak to regarding the death of restaurateur Anthony Angelo, a woman now identified as Caitlyn Eton, is thought to be driving. The police have stressed that Ms. Eton is not a suspect but they do urgently need to speak with her and are concerned for her safety.”
“I’ll just bet they are!” Caitlyn said with a derisive snort.
Chapter Five
Bryce switched off the television, and for several prolonged seconds, no one broke the tense silence that ensued.
“Well, now they know who you are,” Jared said, sighing. “It didn’t take them long.”
“How did they find out about my car so quickly?” Caitlyn asked.
Jared’s desire to reassure her grew stronger by the minute. “Presumably you parked in your building’s garage.”
“Yes, but there aren’t any cameras there.”
“No, but other residents would have seen your car and told the police when they asked them what you drove. A yellow ’Vette stands out, even in a place like Palm Beach.”
“I suppose so.” She paused. “There was a police car outside my building when I exited the garage, but I’m sure they didn’t notice me.”
Jared and Rafe shared a glance.
“What?” she asked, glaring intently at them both. “What is it that you’re not telling me? Do you know something I don’t?”
“Vadim and I will leave you in peace,” Rafe said, heading toward the door. “Jared and Bryce will deal with your questions, Caitlyn. Stay here with them for a while. It’s the best place for you to hide. No one can get to you because of our thin air.”
Bryce laughed. “It’s true. You’ve already found out for yourself that strangers can’t breathe here.”
“Well, if you’re sure I won’t be in the way.”
“We’re sure,” Jared and Bryce said together, flashing identical sexy smiles.
Jared followed Rafe and Vadim to the door. “It doesn’t look good, does it?” he asked.
“Oh, she was definitely sent here, and I’m betting that our enemies know she’s already arrived. They’ll leave it a couple of days and then she’ll get a call from Mia asking her to go and rescue her from somewhere nearby.”
“Assuming Bryce and I will go, too?”
“Right.” Vadim clenched his jaw. “They know they can’t get the better of us on Impulse soil. Let me check out that picture she drew, see if it matches the description of anyone we’ve got on file. Then we’ll know who we’re dealing with.”
“Increase security, Vadim,” Rafe said, “and I’ll warn the entire colony to be extra alert.”
“What do Bryce and I tell Caitlyn in the meantime?”
“Stall for the time being,” Rafe replied. “But if we find out for definite that she was sent here by others then you’re gonna have to tell her who we really are.”
“It’s too soon for that,” Jared said, shaking his head. “She’s already freaked out about the murder, worried about the kid, and shaken up from nearly dying. I’m not sure she can take any more shocks right now. They’ve fucked with her mind.”
“That’s your field, buddy, not mine. Pick your moment, but hold fire altogether until Vadim checks that picture out.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of ways to entertain her in the meantime,” Vadim said, smirking.
“Her almost dying,” Jared said pensively. “How could our enemies know that Bryce and I would rescue her in time?”
Rafe shook his head. “They couldn’t have. She stopped her car close to the Cat’s Whiskers, remember. Presumably she intended to cross the road and ask if we had a room to let. She would have managed that without feeling anything other than short of breath.”
“Ah, but her cat had other ideas.” Jared nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Go take care of her, buddy,” Rafe said, slapping Jared’s shoulder. “We’ll be in touch real soon.”
Jared went back to the sitting room and found Bryce and Caitlyn seated side by side, deep in conversation. Jared took the seat on Caitlyn’s other side and smiled when she glanced up at him.
“You okay?”
She shrugged. “I’ve had better days.”
“It’ll work out, trust us.”
“It’s Mia I’m more concerned about. I can’t help feeling that it’s too late to save her.”
“Can you believe that?” Bryce pheromoned. “She’s in deep shit, but her first concern is still the kid.”
“When did you last take a moment to worry about yourself?” Jared asked, absently stroking Marvin’s sleek coat when the cat jumped onto his lap.
“I’m fine.” She glanced out the window, the one with the view over the Intracoastal, and seemed to find comfort in the sight of its turquoise waters sparkling beneath a strong Floridian sun. “So, tell me about this place. What’s so special about it, and why does it have such an odd atmosphere?”
Jared laughed, glad she wanted to talk about something else. “That’s the thousand-dollar question.” He held up a hand. “No, make that the hundred-million-dollar question. That’s how much has probably been spent collectively by people trying to figure it out.”
“Good for business then?”
“Quite right.” Bryce flashed a devilish smile. “Who are we to discourage the conspiracy theorists?”
“Conspiracy theorists? How can you conspire to create thin air?”
“Take one simple anomaly, add a dozen different opinions, stir well, stand back, and wait,” Jared replied. “Seriously though, no one really knows why things are the way they are here. Opinions range from a fault line to divine intervention, and just about everything else in between.”
“It looks very pretty and perfectly harmless from in here, but I have no burning desire to step outside again anytime soon.”
“Glad to hear it,” Jared said easily.
“Oh, I didn’t mean that I want to stay indefinitely.”
“Hey, no sweat. We’re glad to have you.”
“Don’t you need to work, either of you?”
“One of my assistants has taken my appointments today,” Jared replied. “What about you, buddy?”
“Are you a shrink, too?” Caitlyn asked Bryce.
“God no! One person in the household analyzing everything you do is quite enough.”
“I do not analyze!”
“Yeah, you do. You can’t help yourself.”
“As well as being a wiseass, Bryce is the best masseur in Florida,” Jared told her. “But you didn’t hear that
from me.”
“Is it my fault if I have magical fingers?” Bryce grinned at Caitlyn. “We both work from this house and have offices on the lower floor. I don’t have any appointments until this afternoon, so I’m all yours until then.”
“You live here together?”
“We share the house, sure,” Jared replied, knowing what she was thinking but not ready to put her straight. “And talking of Bryce’s profession, you look like you’re coiled as tight as a spring, darlin’, which is hardly surprising, given what you’ve been through. Why don’t you work some of your so called magic on her, buddy?”
“Oh no, I don’t think—”
“With pleasure.”
Geez! Would she agree? Jared hardened at the thought of simply watching. No way was he prepared to give them privacy.
“Trust me, darlin’,” he said. “Much as I hesitate to boost his quite disgusting ego by saying this, he really does know what he’s doing. You’ll feel like you’re walking on air by the time he’s done with you.”
She shared a prolonged glance between them, as though trying to decide whether or not to trust them, and then shrugged.
“Why not,” she said, standing up. “After everything that’s happened to me over the past twenty-four hours, a massage is the least dangerous option.”
I wouldn’t be so sure about that.
Jared reached for her wrist and pulled her back into her seat. “Give him a moment to set up.”
“Oh, okay.” She flashed her first non-contrived smile since regaining consciousness. “And we never did complete our frank exchange of views on the treatment of young people without the resources to pay for help with their mental health.”
“Hey, I wasn’t the one throwing rocks in your path. All I said was that the prison authorities have budget restraints and have to prioritize for the overall good of the prison population.”
“And they’ve gotten their priorities all wrong,” she responded passionately. “Unless they address the issues then prisons will continue to be nothing more than training grounds in advanced criminology, and the system will just turn out more young people with an axe to grind. Surely they can see it’s a vicious circle.”
