by Kyle, Celia
“It didn’t turn out so well. Did it?”
Cray shrugged. “I dunno, six years behind bars seems like a small price to pay for my daughter’s future.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. I can’t agree. Six years without my father—”
“You were already grown by then and I knew you wouldn’t have to go back to live with Sanne again, not with all that money in the scholarship fund.”
“Dad, you should have taken the deal they offered. Who wouldn’t take half the sentence for giving back your part of the take? God, I hated you for refusing.”
Cray twined his fingers in hers and held tightly. “I couldn’t. Don’t you see? First of all, that would have depleted the fund entirely. I couldn’t allow either of us to break our promises to your mother.”
Elissa’s chin quivered at the twisted sacrifice he’d made for her. Six long years in prison, just so she could get her degree. “I can’t believe you did that for me, Dad.”
His lips pressed into a thin line. “That was a big part of it, for sure, but I won’t let you believe it was the only reason, Elissa. I was also scared. Really scared. Buddy’s friends… Like I said, they’re bad guys capable of terrible, terrible things. And if you’ll recall, part of that plea deal was that I had to rat them out. No way was I going risk your life or mine over a measly six years.”
“How bad could they really be? I mean, they would have been arrested too.”
Cray’s face turned ashen. “Worse than whatever you’re imagining. I heard rumors back in human prison about shifter ex-cons leaving with heightened powers. They were into something I didn’t want to mess with. My momma may have raised a misguided panther, but not a dumb one.”
“Come on, Dad,” she snorted in disbelief. “Shifter superpowers? Like that’s even possible.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but I heard things. Saw some weird shit too. Maybe it was all rumors, but I wasn’t about to risk it. Six years was a piece of cake compared to what they would have done to me. Or worse, you.”
The fact Cray had sacrificed himself over a possible threat that couldn’t possibly be true somehow touched Elissa’s heart. A shrink would no doubt blather on about some complex or another, but she couldn’t help believing that her father’s love was true—a little crazy, but true.
“Dad?” she asked softly.
“Yeah, sweets?”
“You always told me you’d go straight once I was on my own.”
“Yep.”
“I mean, I always thought it was a line of bullshit—”
“Ah, there’s your mother’s attitude,” he said with a smile.
“So why did you agree to another job with Buddy?”
Cray turned to her, his expression deadly serious. “I didn’t, Elissa. You have to believe me. Buddy said he needed a ride, that his car had broken down. I had no idea he was playing me.”
Staring into his rich brown eyes, Elissa was shocked to realize that she did believe him. Everything he’d just laid out—aside from the shifter experimentation part—made total sense.
“So…” she prompted, and he smiled.
“I meant it. I’m done with crime. You can put that in the bank.”
With a satisfied nod, Elissa jumped to her feet and shed the robe. Cray looked confused.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting ready to shift. You too. Hurry up.”
He stood and tugged the sweatshirt over his head. “Why?”
“Because you paid dearly for my degree, and by god, I’m finally going to put it to good use.”
Chapter Seven
The wind under Ragan’s wings held his sleek draconic form aloft as he soared among the clouds far above the city of Los Angeles, his sharp eyes scanning the city below. Frustrated as he was, it annoyed him that life down below went on as usual. A flock of crow shifters glided a few hundred feet under him, the cars on the busy streets swarmed like ants, and the cries of other dragons from all corners of the city pierced the background noise while blending enough that humans couldn’t identify them. The cityscape usually calmed him, but he was at his wit’s end.
He’d searched for Elissa everywhere he knew to look, starting with her apartment, but no luck. Following her distinctive, spicy scent through backyards and alleyways, he knew she’d shifted and was on the prowl. Along the way, he caught the faint scent of another panther, one who’d passed by a while before Elissa. Had to be Cray Pardus, which meant she was out searching for her father. For a brief moment in time, he got excited at the prospect of tracking Elissa all the way to Cray, but his hopes were dashed when her trail led to a small river and then vanished. Whether she’d meant to or not, entering the river had effectively thwarted him.
Worry gnawed at his gut as he glided along on a warm zephyr. Trust was important to Ragan, and he had every reason not to trust Elissa. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to believe she’d had anything to do with the Bradford burglary. But he couldn’t shake the feeling she’d held something back, something she was afraid to share with him. If she didn’t trust him enough to come clean, why should he trust her? His brain told him he shouldn’t, but his heart argued otherwise.
Ragan called on his inner magic to keep his body cloaked and hidden from human eyes as he circled the landing pad atop the roof of the building housing Wildridge Security, making sure it was clear before starting a steady descent. Meant for helicopters, it worked perfectly for dragons as well. Dragon bodies were large and carried a lot of momentum, so when they landed on top of buildings, a lot of precision went into keeping them from jostling the whole structure and freaking out everyone inside.
After bringing his form up to a sweeping halt just before touching down, his hind legs kissed the ground at the same time he shifted back, and he jogged a few steps in human form, naked. He held his magic around him as he hurried inside the locker room and grabbed a fresh set of clothes from his locker before making his way to the Wildridge office.
Passing the big glass window of Mutts ‘N Stuff, he waved at Alice inside, relieved that half her inventory obviously wasn’t currently running amok inside Wildridge. Bellicent sat at her desk, as usual, staring at her screen and scrolling absently, as usual.
“Any calls?” Ragan asked as he entered, part of him hoping for the sliver of a chance that Elissa had called to touch base.
“No,” she snapped before he had even finished the question, not looking up. Ragan rolled his eyes and almost made it past her desk before she spoke again. “Oh, but there’s someone waiting for you at your desk.”
Ragan stopped. “Who?”
“How the fuck should I know?” She raised an eyebrow at him as if Ragan had asked her to solve a crime. He gave his head a brief shake and headed to his office, wondering how the hell the receptionist avoided getting fired with that kind of attitude.
Shaking his head in bewilderment, he made his way through the cubicles to his space only to find a woman sitting behind his desk, her hands folded in front of her and smiling. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Elissa.
“Thanks for meeting with me, Mr. DeFever,” she spoke as if they’d set an appointment. “Care to have a seat?”
Dressed in a crisp black dress suit, she looked every bit the professional. The gorgeous professional. Even as his mind rebelled against the thought, his body yearned to pull her into his arms and kiss the secrets out of her.
Scanning the room, he only saw Bellicent, and she was doing everything in her power to ignore him—as usual—so he settled in the chair reserved for visitors and scrutinized her. “I’ve been looking for you all over this damn city, you know.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
She seemed calm, almost confident—the total opposite from earlier when guilt had clearly been eating her alive. She was up to something.
“I should take you into custody right now for obstruction of justice,” he said, his amused tone implying he had no such intention.
“You could do that,” she said, mat
ter-of-factly, tilting her head to the side and twiddling her thumbs. “But I bet you’d rather hear what I have to say.”
“I want the truth, Elissa,” he said, leaning forward. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Me too, and that’s why I want assurances.”
Uh oh. Only people guilty of crimes they don’t want to be prosecuted for asked for assurances. “What kind?”
“Immunity for me, my father, and a man named Buddy Kass.”
Ragan frowned. “I have no idea who that is.”
“Oh, that would be the gentleman who robbed Stark Bradford’s house.” Elissa leaned back in Ragan’s chair and steepled her fingers coolly as if she had just put his king in check. “So, would you like to talk?”
“Would I… What are you… Who…” Ragan started, but his blood boiled and a puff of smoke escaped his lips as he growled at her. “I’ve been trying to get you to talk this whole damn time and now you’re pulling this?”
“Ragan—”
“How many more layers is there going to be to this, Elissa? How the hell am I supposed to help you when I can’t even trust you? Do you even want my help? Do you trust me? Have you ever?”
“Ragan!” Elissa snapped, but he stood, and his irises narrowed into draconic slits as he body stretched the limit of his clothes.
“What’s going on out here?” Charlie stuck his head out of his office to find Ragan looming over Elissa. “Ragan!”
Ragan ignored his boss, keeping his intense gaze on Elissa, who didn’t look nearly frightened enough, considering a half-shifted dragon was fuming at her. Maintaining eye contact, she leaned forward, into his space.
“Do you want to keep all of this, including the Bradford burglary, quiet?” she asked softly.
“Yes!” Charlie answered as he hurried over to join them. “Ragan, I don’t know what’s going on, but dial it back before I have to intervene.”
Begrudgingly, Ragan settled his anger and slumped back into his chair as Charlie pulled up a seat next to him, both of them now sitting across from Elissa. Ragan glared at her but she kept her cool, which part of him had to admire.
“Now,” Charlie said, “can someone please explain what all this is about?”
Elissa rolled back her shoulders and nodded. “As I was just telling Specialist DeFever, I’m asking for immunity from criminal charges—both human and shifter—for myself, my father, and Buddy Kass. In exchange, I will keep everything that’s gone on under wraps. I won’t write a single word about how Wildridge’s security system allowed Stark Bradford’s home to be broken into so easily by a middle-aged leopard shifter.”
Ragan and Charlie exchanged astonished glances. This couldn’t be happening. The sweet, funny, charming woman from this morning had turned into a cool, calculating blackmailer. Part of him wondered if he might be able to kiss the bad out of her. He shook off the thought and scowled at her.
“Do we have a deal, gentlemen?”
“Hell no!” Ragan barked, crossing his arms in a huff.
“Not your call,” Charlie said, eyeing Elissa as he rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, “but I’m inclined to agree with Ragan.”
Giving them a curt nod, she reached down under the desk. “New offer. Same as the old one, but I’ll throw in this.” She hauled a large black duffel bag up onto the desk with a heavy thunk.
“What…” Charlie started to ask.
Elissa answered with a smile. “Everything Buddy stole, of course.”
* * *
Elissa settled down into the straight-backed chair on the other side of the older man’s desk in his private office. She did her best to keep the look on her face neutral, not wanting to give anything away. Cray had warned her how risky her gambit was. Just showing up at Wildridge was a risk, much less blackmailing them. Negotiating, she preferred to think of it.
A soft little voice in the back of her mind warned her this was stepping too far out of line, but what choice did she have? Using the stolen goods in the duffel bag as leverage certainly skirted the line between right and wrong. In fact, it made her feel dirty, especially when Ragan kept shooting confused, almost scandalized looks in her direction.
He placed himself in front of the door, an obvious show of keeping her contained, but she took comfort from his presence. As angry as he was, she wanted nothing more than to be near him. Even if he didn’t like her right now. Her heart ached at the tension rolling off his glorious body, knowing she was the cause. Hopefully he’d understand her position once she explained everything. If not, that was the price she’d have to pay for skirting the law, even if it wasn’t intentional.
Charlie stood behind his desk, rifling through the duffel. He pulled item after item out and checked them against a sheet of paper tucked into a folder. Once the bag was empty, he made a note on the paper and then sat down and leveled a curious gaze on her.
“Ms. Malkin, you said you had an explanation,” he said. “Explain.”
She was so eager for Ragan to hear her story, she almost launched straight into it before catching herself. “Do we have immunity?”
Charlie swiped a hand down his weathered face with a sigh and then nodded slowly. “Fine. Immunity granted. Do you need that in writing?”
“You have a reputation for keeping your word, Mr. Volant. I’ll be satisfied with a handshake.” Elissa half-stood and reached a hand out to him, which he took.
“Okay,” he said as she sat back in her chair, “now talk.”
Elissa’s tummy buzzed with anxiety over how Ragan would react. She swallowed hard, trying to find the words to start her story, but none came to mind. The easiest way was to simply start, but she’d have to focus on Charlie. If she caught sight of Ragan’s disdain, she might not find the nerve. She wanted him to look at her the way he did that morning before he knew exactly what sorts of dark secrets lurked just under the surface.
“Last night, I acted as Buddy’s getaway driver after he broke into Stark Bradford’s house,” she said flatly.
Charlie blinked in surprise and somewhere behind her, Ragan choked out a strangled grunt. She quickly continued before either could say anything.
“Just let me tell you the entire story before you judge me, okay?”
Charlie nodded and waved a hand for her to continue.
“My father knew I was frustrated with my job at Rawr News. I went to college for journalism, for god’s sake. I have a degree. I worked my ass off for this. I’m too talented to be stuck writing fluffy crap. I should be breaking stories. Big, hard-hitting exposés. My dad just wanted to help me.”
Ragan snorted behind her, but when Charlie shot him a warning glance, he quieted down.
“I’d told him my latest assignment was on Wildridge, and—unbeknownst to me—he reached out to an old acquaintance, Buddy Kass. He’s sort of like a switchboard for all things shady and skeezy in the shifter underworld. If anyone might have access to damning dirt on your fine organization, it would be Buddy. So when Buddy admitted he had some intel that would turn my light profile on Wildridge into a solid piece of investigative journalism, I have to admit, I took the bait. You understand, right?”
She didn’t know why she wanted Charlie’s forgiveness, but she did.
“Understand? Yes. Empathize? Maybe not so much,” Charlie replied tersely. “Continue.”
“Buddy insisted on meeting up in person to discuss it. You know, for security’s sake. Only problem was that Buddy’s car had broken down. He said he needed to be picked up at one in the morning, sharp, and then all would be revealed.”
Her next words were spoken to Charlie, but they were meant for Ragan. “I let my ambition cloud my judgment, and when a shortcut was presented to me on a silver platter, I jumped at it. It was selfish and stupid. And really, really shitty, I know that now. I need you to know how sorry I am.”
“Sorry you got caught, you mean,” Ragan said icily.
She finally turned to look him in the eye, sadness pouring from every cell. “I didn’t get
caught. I came to you and am sitting here admitting everything. I’m truly sorry.”
“Apologize after you finish,” Charlie said, drawing her attention back to him.
Elissa took a few seconds to compose herself, willing away the rising tide of tears that threatened to spill. She wouldn’t let them, not this time. They’d only think they were crocodile tears anyway.
“We did as Buddy asked and drove to the Malibu address he gave my dad. I admit I was suspicious because the neighborhood looked far too upscale for any of my father’s old friends, but I’d been seduced by the promise of a scoop. We waited for a long time, far past one, and I was about ready to drive off, but then Buddy jumped into my back seat wearing all black and screaming at me to drive. Honestly, I thought we were being carjacked. It’s not unheard of in LA although probably not so much in Malibu, so I was genuinely terrified. I sped off hoping to get away with my life, only to find that I was the getaway driver.”
“Then what happened?” Charlie prompted.
“Buddy had thought my father would be the driver, just like their last heist, so he was surprised to find me there. He never intended to embroil me in any of this and neither did my dad, mainly because he honestly thought Buddy only needed a ride. Aside from the burglary, it was all a big misunderstanding.”
Charlie watched her for far too long without speaking and Elissa squirmed under his scrutiny. “So why didn’t you turn him in?”
“I don’t know,” she answered, shaking her head and dropping her gaze to her clenched hands sitting in her lap. “I panicked, I suppose. I didn’t think anyone would believe my dad didn’t know anything about Buddy’s plans, with his record. And they’d think I hadn’t fallen far from the family tree.”
“So did he ever tell you the alleged dirt he had on us?”
Elissa grimaced. “That your most famous client got robbed right under your noses.”
To her surprise, Charlie cracked a smile and chuckled. She dared to peek back at Ragan, but he seemed just as suspicious of her as ever. God, how could she make him believe her?
