by Vella Day
After he cleaned her up, he went down the hallway, presumably to gather their clothes. Just as he returned with her top and his pants, Elana eased off the bed. “We need to do this more often.”
“Damn straight we do.”
No sooner had she dressed than a knock sounded on her door. Considering the time, it had to be Daniel. “Won’t Aiden be surprised to find both of us home?”
“I think we should do something special with the kids once Ian wakes from his nap,” Kalan said.
“What do you have in mind?” she asked as they both headed to the door.
“Let’s see how tired Aiden is before we make the final decision.”
“Aiden is never tired.” That was the problem.
They both went to the front together and answered the door.
“Son! I didn’t expect to see you.” His father gave him a hug.
As soon as the two separated, Aiden wrapped his arms around Kalan’s legs for a second and then took off down the hallway, presumably to play in his room. Her son did love his toys.
“Thanks, Dad, for picking up Aiden,” Kalan said.
“No problem. It gives me something to do, and your mom is happy to get me out of the house for a bit.”
Once he left, Ian’s soft gurgles reached her. “I need to check on our other son.”
In his room, she picked Ian up and snuggled with him. “Did you have a good nap?” she asked. Someday, Ian would surprise her and actually answer.
With her child in her arms, she walked into the living room. “I have an idea,” she said. “How about we just stay home and watch a movie that Aiden would like.
Kalan smiled. “Perfect. We can do an early dinner, and then I’ll make popcorn while we watch it.”
“Great.” It would be a perfect family night, one she’d longed to have.
Chapter Fourteen
‡
Kalan was up early the next morning, looking forward to going back to work. Elana was spending the day with the kids, helping Aiden to be creative with his coloring book and then letting him watch some television. If the day was nice enough, most likely she’d take them outside to play. The weather forecast suggested there would be a very small warm front this week, the one and only for December.
After giving hugs and kisses to his family, Kalan headed out. His first stop was to the shifter doctor’s office. A letter from the doctor stating Kalan was fit to return to work was a must. The last thing he needed was to be put on desk duty.
He planned to spend some time during his lunch break to start his Christmas shopping. Finding the perfect gift for his mate was always difficult. For the last two years, he’d asked Anna to help him. This year, he wanted to do everything himself.
On the trip to town, Kalan called Jackson. “You’re up early,” his brother said as a way of greeting him.
“I’m on my way back to work. I was wondering if you had any news on Brother John, Brother Thomas, or the deceased Brother Daryl.”
“I do. The town of Silver Lake should be happy Daryl Oliver is no longer around. He has a long rap sheet—mostly B&E.”
“That makes sense that he’d be the one to barge into our house. And Thomas or John?”
“They are Thomas Sanchez and John Bass. While they used burner phones when they called Wes, they didn’t when they spoke with Daryl.”
After the break-in and attack, Kalan had searched the ripped clothes of the deceased man. While he didn’t have a wallet on him, he did have a phone—one he’d handed over yesterday to Jackson when he was at the McKinnon and Associates office.
“Do you have their addresses?” Kalan said.
“I’m looking them up now.”
“Call me when you have them.”
“Will do,” Jackson said.
Kalan disconnected, happy to have such a talented brother who was willing to bend a rule or two when needed. If humans had been aware of shifters, Kalan would have insisted everyone follow the law. The problem was that the humans wouldn’t understand how very dangerous these Changelings are. Sometimes, one had to take extreme measures to take them down.
Kalan wanted to watch these two, but he might not have the time. It all depended a lot on how much work Dalton or their boss needed him to do.
Now more than ever, Kalan was convinced all of the cases were related. If they found Sean Treacher, they might solve the pawnshop murder and the attempted murder of the antique dealer.
He parked in his reserved space in front of the sheriff’s department. When he walked into the station, many of the officers stood and applauded. It was a tradition they did for any wounded officer. Little did most realize that his bear had healed him in a day.
His boss came out of the office, held out his hand, and smiled. “Good to see you’re back, Kalan.” His upbeat tone was rather out of character.
“Good to be back.” He handed Smythe his doctor’s note, hoping to speed up the process of him being fully released to duty. Since he’d been shot, he’d have to talk about it to a shrink. Hopefully, the meeting would be limited to one visit.
“Sorry about Wes. I’m assuming Dalton filled you in on him wanting to return to the Memphis area?”
“He did.” Kalan hoped his boss didn’t think Wes wanted to leave because Kalan and Dalton had been too hard on him. Regardless of Smythe’s opinion, there was nothing he could say now to make a difference. “I’m going to check with Dalton and ask him to bring me up to speed on the cases.”
“You do that. And take it easy.”
“Trust me. I’m as good as ever.”
“I hope so.”
Smythe turned around and strode back to his office. His action of being so welcoming was a little odd though. Usually, the chief kept to himself and didn’t come out of his office to welcome back anyone. Whatever.
Kalan returned to his desk and then rolled his chair over to Dalton’s. “When I visited Wes in Harden, he gave me the names of three Changelings.”
Dalton looked around. “How about we take this to the conference room?”
Kalan pushed back his chair. “Good idea.”
Perhaps he wasn’t as healed as he thought. He had never said the name Changeling at the station if it could be helped.
“Tell me what you know,” his partner said once they were in the unmonitored conference room.
Kalan told him about his conversation with Wes, and then what Jackson had found out. “If my brother wasn’t happy working at McKinnon and Associates, I’d ask him to join us. He’d make a great police interrogator.”
Dalton laughed. “I can only imagine.”
As if his brother and he were on the same wavelength, Kalan’s cell rang. “It’s Jackson.” Kalan swiped the icon and put the phone on speaker. “You got something?”
“Yup. Brother John Bass owns his own accountant firm. Brother Thomas Sanchez is a caretaker at the church on Pine Avenue.” Jackson gave them the men’s home addresses.
“What’s your next move?” he asked his brother, not wanting them to duplicate efforts.
“I’ll ask Kip and Connor to put trackers on their cars, as well as place a small microphone on their homes that can pick up conversations inside if they are near the window.”
“I like it. Maybe we can finally find Sean.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. Their leader might be someone totally different.”
“That’s why I want to follow them. I’d ask for a face-to-face, but I doubt they’d talk,” Kalan said. Shifting and nearly killing them wasn’t an option either.
“Good luck, bro.”
“Thanks.”
Kalan disconnected.
“I’m happy we have a lead, but I really worry about Sean. He’s been held hostage for a long time already. We don’t even know if he’s alive,” Dalton said.
“True, but until they get enough sardonyx to steal Sean’s powers, they’ll keep him alive. According to Kip, Sean is a beast of a man who is used to adversity.” Kalan stabbed a hand through his
hair, hair he’d forgotten to tie back this morning. “Any idea on how we should proceed?”
Dalton leaned forward. “Want I’d like to do is beat the truth out of them, but I realize we can’t go that route yet.”
“Yeah, that won’t look too good for the town’s perception of the sheriff’s department if we attack a suspect—especially one who works at a church.”
Dalton waved a hand. “I know. It was wishful thinking. How about we follow Thomas Sanchez? If he sees us, we can say we’re lost souls looking for redemption.”
Kalan laughed. “Sad to say, there’s some truth to that statement. I don’t see us having anything to lose. We can take my personal car.”
“That works,” Dalton said. “The cruiser would be a bit suspicious.”
“No kidding.”
“How about we ask Ronan to join us? If he can get a lock on the reverend’s aura signature, it might come in handy when we do find Sean.”
Thankfully, Dalton didn’t say if we find Sean. “Good thinking.”
*
After Kalan and Dalton did a quick background check for any additional information on both of the Changelings and came up empty-handed, they picked up Ronan and Kip and then headed out to the church where Sanchez worked. While Kalan really wanted to get this guy—if he was guilty—Kalan didn’t want to be on stakeout late into the evening. Elana was with the kids all day, and she deserved to have a break. Besides, he missed his family.
It had torn his heart out last night when his own five-year old asked him why he was never home. It didn’t matter that Aiden’s statement wasn’t true. Kalan took off one day a week to spend with them, but if that was how Aiden saw him, Kalan wanted to rectify his bad image. For starters, he needed to be more mentally available when he was home. There had been times when he let Aiden play in his room while Kalan did research on the computer in the living room. In the future, Kalan needed to spend time with his son—as in kicking the soccer ball around or teaching him how to fish.
He, Dalton, Ronan, and Kip had been parked across the street from the church for several hours already when a gentleman, who looked a lot like the man they were seeking, emerged.
“I believe that is Brother Thomas Sanchez. Show time, guys,” Kalan said.
He started the engine and took off down the street, not wanting Sanchez to spot four men in a car. Needing to turn around, Kalan ducked down an alley, did a U-turn, and then waited to see which direction Sanchez would go.
Once their suspect took off driving north, Kalan followed at a discreet distance. The man’s first stop was at a supermarket, not some hidden shelter.
“This might be a waste of our time,” Kalan said.
“Unless he is buying food for Sean,” Kip added.
“He could be, but we won’t be able to tell if the food is just for him or for a hostage. For all we know, Thomas Sanchez is married with six kids.”
“He’s a Changeling.” Dalton didn’t need to remind them. “From what I’ve been able to tell, Changelings are rather socially inept, and most do not have families.”
“Good point, though it’s hard to grow a Clan without kids,” Kalan said. He turned around and faced Ronan. “Did you get an aura read off this guy? Or do you need to be closer.”
“I did. His colors are a blend of maroons and blues with some swirls of intermittent greens.”
That made no sense to Kalan, but Ronan had worked some serious miracles ever since his move to Silver Lake. “Good to hear.”
After Brother Thomas left the store, he headed north once more.
Sanchez pulled into the drive of a fairly nice home. Dalton whistled. “Maybe I should change jobs. This place is a lot nicer than I would have thought a caretaker could afford.”
“This isn’t Sanchez’s home,” Kalan said. “It belongs to the other guy—John Bass.” Kalan continued down the street, searching for a parking place. “I wonder what those two are chatting about.”
“Maybe it’s some kind of Changeling meeting,” Dalton said.
“Bass could be his accountant, though why would a caretaker need one?”
“Church business, I bet,” Kip added.
“Good point.” Kalan glanced down the street. “I don’t see any cars parked on the road. This could be an innocent meeting and not a gathering.”
“Too bad we have no reason to barge in and ask them,” Kip said.
Unfortunately, that was true. “They don’t seem to be breaking the law. Even if we knock politely and then ask Sanchez where Sean Treacher is, he would proclaim his innocence.”
“He left his groceries in the car,” Dalton said. “That implies he doesn’t plan to stay long.”
“So now what?” Kalan said. His ability to think clearly suddenly seemed to have disappeared.
“Connor and I put listening devices on a few of the windows. Jackson wasn’t sure how much we could pick up, but why don’t you call your brother. Hopefully, he’s monitoring them,” Kip said.
“Good point.”
“I’ll see if I can pick anything up, while I sneak around and check them out,” Ronan said. “I might even be able to sense some additional auras. I won’t be able to tell if Sean is there, but I’d like to get a read on John Bass at least.”
That worked for him. “Go, but be careful.”
“I’m a tracker and a former bounty hunter. I know how to be stealthy.” While Ronan was polite, his words had a cutting edge to them.
“Good luck.”
Ronan slid out of the car and headed away from the house. Dalton leaned forward. “I’m guessing he wants to come in from the back side.”
A main street bordered the houses in the front while an alleyway ran along the back. “Seems so.”
Kalan pulled out his phone and called Jackson. “Dalton, Ronan, Kip, and I are at John Bass’ place. Have you picked up any chatter?”
“Not really. They seem to be somewhere that I can’t hear anything other than muffled voices.”
“When you do, let us know.”
“Roger that,” his brother said.
“Oh, while I have you, can you pull up the plans for both of these houses.” Kalan had a hunch.
“What are you thinking?”
Kalan blew out a breath. “I’m not sure, but I want to know if there are any crawl spaces or basements where they could stash someone.”
“I’ll send them to you as soon as I locate them.”
“Thanks.”
A few minutes later, Ronan returned and slipped into the car. Kalan turned around. “I didn’t even see you cut across the road.”
Ronan’s brows rose. “Told you I was sneaky.”
It was almost creepy how good this guy was. “Are you sure you can’t cloak yourself or something?” Kalan asked.
“Don’t I wish! That would make our jobs a lot easier.”
“Agreed.” Kalan started the car. “Did you detect any auras?”
“I’m afraid not.”
That was a shame.
“Aren’t you going to keep following Brother Thomas?” Kip asked.
“I thought we’d check out Sanchez’s house while the cat is away. You never know what we might find.”
Chapter Fifteen
‡
Elana had a fairly relaxing yet exciting day. Ian was very active, moving all over the place. Not only was he crawling, he actually tried to stand, pulling up on everything. When she placed him on his feet, he took a few teetering steps before dropping down to his butt. Kalan claimed that shifter kids learned to walk faster than most children, because they were part animal, but Elana wasn’t convinced yet.
She just wished Kalan could have been with them today to see how fast Ian was growing. He was such a happy child, as compared to Aiden who was pure mischief. She swore that kid was born more bear than human.
Elana checked the time again. Christmas would soon be here, and they needed to do a little shopping. Every time she set up a time with Kalan for them to go, something always came
up at work, and Kalan had to cancel.
She didn’t mind taking Ian with them while she and Kalan looked for gifts, but Aiden understood that Christmas meant toys for him. Because her mate had promised to return home by four, Kalan’s mom had promised to stop by and watch both kids if they needed to shop.
Today was Kalan’s first day back at work, which was why she didn’t want to interrupt him, but she needed to be sure he remembered. Her mate could be a little absent-minded at times.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but you didn’t forget about coming home early did you?” she telepathed.
Silence. “Oh, babe. I will really try to make it. I know we have to go shopping, but Dalton, Ronan, Kip, and I need to check out one more house to see if Sean might be held there.”
Saving a captured man was far more important than her having company while shopping. It wasn’t as if Kalan was a big help anyway. Elana just liked to do things together—like they used to. “Sure. Your mom is coming over in a little bit to watch the kids.”
“I will try to hurry.”
“Thank you.”
Elana understood his need to save the world, but she would love to have her family together more often. Thankfully, Kalan had been doing must better of late.
She’d just checked on Ian to make sure he was dry and was about to feed both of them when her phone rang. Elana sagged. It better not be Felicia telling her she couldn’t babysit today. Okay, that wasn’t nice of her. Kalan’s mom was always very generous with her time when it came to watching the kids on such a regular basis. Elana and Kalan had offered time and time again to pay them, but his parents repeatedly turned them down.
She and Kalan had discussed hiring a nanny, but Felicia thought it best to keep the babysitting in the family. Both she and Kalan had to agree.
When Elana checked her phone, she saw it was the shop. This wasn’t good. “Anna, what is it?”
“Oh, Elana. I am so sorry to bother you, but Megan is throwing up and has stomach cramps. I think she ate something bad. I need to take her to the Emergency Room. Can you watch the store? We have four customers in here, so I can’t just leave.”
“Sure. Give me a sec to gather the kids.”
