Eric stormed into the room with a look of fury in his eyes so hot he could have shot flames. “Where’s the kid?”
David stepped in behind him and narrowed his eyes at Alexis.
She plastered a huge smile on her face. “His mom called, and he had to go home.” She turned to Eric’s dad. “It’s good to see you again, David. What brings you out to our neck of the woods?”
“I’m checking up on my son.”
Eric’s hands clenched into fists, and a vein in his forehead throbbed. “And everything is fine, so you can go now.”
Alexis stood and hung the guitar on the wall. “Don’t be rude, Eric. He drove all this way.” Eric couldn’t do a damn thing while his dad was around, so the longer she could keep David in the house, the more time Michael would have to get away. “Why don’t you stay and visit a while? Can I get you a beer or some coffee?” She padded toward the door.
David cut a suspicious gaze between Eric and her. “I’ll take a beer.”
“How about you, babe?” She slapped Eric’s ass on her way to the hall. “Want a cold one?”
“Sure.” The word was barely audible over the sound of his grinding teeth.
The men shuffled into the living room as she popped the tops on two cans of Bud Light and handed them the beers. David settled into a recliner, and Eric glared at her as he dropped onto the sofa. She flashed him a smirk and perched on the arm of the couch.
David’s gaze bore into her as he set his beer on the coffee table and crossed his arms. “After that story you told me about my son, I wonder why you’re here.”
She swallowed, lowering her gaze and trying to look ashamed. “I’m sorry about that. We had a little tiff, and I was mad at him. I thought getting him into trouble would make up for him hitting my friend, but…” She glanced at Eric. “It was a stupid thing for me to do. I apologized, and he forgave me. Didn’t you, babe?”
Eric grunted in response.
David eyed her skeptically. “So you two are together now?”
Forcing a smile, she rested a hand on Eric’s shoulder. “‘Til death do us part.”
She managed to keep Eric’s dad in the house for another half hour, and by the time he left, two more veins had popped out on Eric’s forehead. He watched from the window as David drove away, and as he turned to face her, his face flushed red.
Her blood turned to ice in her veins, but she held her ground, planting her feet firmly on the floor and lifting her chin defiantly. Eric backhanded her, and searing pain exploded in her cheek, the momentum of his swing knocking her to carpet.
“You’ll pay for this.” He patted his pockets. “Where the hell is my phone?” He stomped down the hall and returned with the device. “You ordered a car with my phone?”
“You hid mine.”
His eyes narrowed. “You sent him to O’Malley’s? Isn’t that the pack’s headquarters?”
“He’s being protected now.”
“Like hell he is.” Growling, he punched some buttons on the screen. “The kid got away. Go find him.” He paused as the other person spoke. “I don’t give a damn what you’re doing; go get that kid.”
Chapter Eighteen
Bryce lifted his head from his hands as a vet tech shuffled into the waiting room. She had a warm smile, and she looked him in the eyes, putting his fears at ease. “Mr. Samuels?”
“How’s my boy?”
“His leg is broken and a few ribs are bruised, but he’s otherwise healthy. He’s sedated, and we’d like to keep him overnight for observation.” She offered him a tablet to sign.
He scribbled his name on the screen. “Can you tell how it broke? Did he fall down the stairs?”
Her eyes tightened. “From the X-ray, it looks like some sort of blunt force trauma caused the break. A boot or something else hard.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. Whoever hurt his dog would pay.
“We’ll call you when he wakes up and let you know when you can get him.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Bryce nodded and turned for the door. As he exited the building, his phone buzzed, and he fished it from his pocket. Karen’s name lit up the screen.
He pressed the device to his ear. “Where are you? Where’s Michael?”
She paused. “I’m at work. I was in a meeting when you called, and Michael’s at home. Is everything okay?”
Dread sank in his stomach like a brick. “He’s not there, and I found Sam at the foot of the stairs with his leg broken and the leash attached to his collar.”
She didn’t respond.
“Karen? Have you heard from him today?”
“No.” Her voice was a whisper.
He scrubbed a hand down his face and climbed into his car. “Meet me at the station. We’ll file a missing person’s report.”
Silence.
He slammed the door and buckled his seatbelt. “Karen? Did you hear me?”
“Yeah. I’ll meet you there.”
He tossed his phone in the cupholder and sped to the station. When he arrived, Karen was already talking with an officer. Tears dripped from her eyes, and she threw her arms around Bryce when he approached.
“He hasn’t been missing for twenty-four hours.” She sobbed into his shirt.
Bryce narrowed his gaze at the officer. “He’s a suicide risk. File the report.”
Karen sobbed harder.
The officer nodded. “Yes, sir. Ma’am, can you give me a description.”
Releasing her hold on Bryce’s shirt, she wiped her eyes. “He’s tall. A little chunky.”
“He’s one of mine,” Bryce said. “Michael Benson. The report should have everything you need. And put in a call to the area hospitals; he might be injured.”
Karen stared blankly at the wall as she sank into a chair. Lacing her fingers together, she clenched them tightly until the tips turned purple. “We’re moving.”
Bryce sat next to her. “Where are you going?”
She inhaled a shaky breath. “To stay with my mom in Texas. I thought it would be good for Michael to get a clean start. I put in my two-week notice today.” She covered her mouth and sobbed.
“Hey.” Bryce rubbed a hand across her back. “We’re going to find him.”
Her phone rang, and she yanked it from her purse. “It’s our landline.” She held it to her ear. “Michael?”
She let out an enormous sigh and leaned back into the seat, her shoulders slumping in relief. “Are you there alone?”
Her brow furrowed as she listened. “Okay. Stay put. I’m on my way.” She shoved the phone into her purse and shot to her feet. “He’s okay. He’s at home. There’s an officer with him.”
Bryce glanced at the dispatcher, who lifted his hands and shook his head. “Which officer?”
“I don’t know.” She strode to the front door.
Bryce followed her home and stood in the doorway as she hugged her son. She showered him in questions and affections, and Bryce cut his gaze to James, who stood in the living room. Officer, my ass.
“Good to see you, Sergeant Samuels.” James held out his hand to shake. Bryce accepted. “Detective Mason wants to speak with you ASAP. She’s at home, waiting.”
Bryce lowered his voice. “What the hell is going on?”
James glanced at Karen and gave him a pointed look. “I’m not at liberty to discuss the case, but Detective Mason will fill you in on the details.”
“I’m so sorry, Sergeant Samuels.” Michael hung his head and shuffled toward him. “Sam fell down the stairs, and when I couldn’t get him to stand up, I freaked out and ran away. Detective Mason found me by the riverbank, and she brought me home.” He rubbed at his nose as he spoke, looking anywhere but at Bryce. “Is Sam…” He glanced into Bryce’s eyes and looked away. “Is he okay?”
“He will be.” Bryce glared at James, who clamped his mouth shut. The kid was lying. James was lying. The whole story smelled like a wharf in the summertime.
Karen wrapped her arm around Michael’s shoul
ders. “We’ll pay Sam’s vet bill.”
“I’m sorry.” Michael stared at the floor.
“That won’t be necessary. I’m glad you’re okay.” He reached for the doorknob. “If you’ve got this under control…”
“We’re fine. Thank you for your help, Bryce. Officer.” Karen nodded at James.
“A word, officer?” He jerked his head, silently telling James to follow him outside. Stepping off the porch, he shuffled around to the stairs.
“We’ve got a man watching each side of the house. They’re safe.” James handed him a slip of paper. “My number. I meant what I said about getting your girl back, but Luke can’t know.”
He squinted at the paper. “Luke?”
“Say the word, and I’ll be there.” James climbed into a pickup truck and slammed the door, revving the engine before Bryce’s mind caught up with the conversation. Why did it matter if Luke knew? And what men were watching the house?
He got into his car and dialed Macey’s number. “What the hell’s going on, Mace? Since when is James an officer of the law?”
She paused. “Not over the phone. Come to my house.”
He let out a slow breath. “Is Michael safe?”
“We’ve got…people…watching him. Get over here. Now.” She hung up.
Bryce reversed out of the driveway and hightailed it to the French Quarter. His emotions flipflopped between satisfaction that his suspicions about Macey and her new friends were well-founded and sickening dread for the same reason.
He parked two blocks from her house and hoofed it up the sidewalk to her front porch. As he lifted his hand to pound on the door, it swung open and Macey ushered him inside. Luke lounged on the sofa in the living room, and Macey sank down next to him, gesturing to the chair for Bryce to sit.
He paced in front of the coffee table instead. “I want answers, Mace. You’ve got a man impersonating an officer. Michael’s lying about where he’s been. James is lying. You. Alexis. Shit, everyone’s lying.” He threw his arms in the air. “What the hell is going on?”
Macey tugged on her bottom lip and glanced at Luke. “You’re going to want to sit down for this.”
“I don’t want to sit down.” He didn’t mean to yell, but goddammit, he needed the truth.
Luke leaned forward, resting a protective hand on Macey’s knee.
Bryce took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm his sprinting heart. Unclenching his fists, he lowered himself onto the chair and rested his palms on the arms. He pried his teeth apart and tried to keep his voice calm. “I’m sorry. Will you please tell me what’s going on?”
Macey sat up straight. “You were right about everything.”
“I…” Her confession took the breath from his chest. “What do you mean everything?”
Luke grasped her hand and nodded. “Tell him. It’s time he found out.”
“You accused me of being different since I met Luke, and you’re right. I am. Or…I haven’t changed, but I finally understand what I am.”
“What you are? Mace…” He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Will you please try to make some sense? I need facts. What happened to Michael? Why is James posing as a police officer? Why are you ignoring the autopsy reports for the bodies we pulled out of the river?” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “And what’s going on with Alexis?”
She locked eyes with him. “Werewolves.”
“What?”
“We’re werewolves.”
He held her gaze, waiting for her to crack a smile or roll her eyes and tell him he’d been overreacting. But she returned his stare, her eyes tightening as if she were willing him to accept the absurd remark.
Blowing out a hard breath, he leaned back into the chair and crossed his arms. “C’mon. Be serious.” Did she take him for some kind of idiot? “Whatever you’re involved in, it’s affecting the people I care about. You can either tell me the truth, or I’ll figure it out for myself.” Werewolves, my ass.
She scooted to the edge of the couch and gave him a sympathetic look. “This is going to require some open-mindedness, so please hear me out.”
“My mind is open to facts. Tell me the truth.”
“We’re werewolves.” Her face held the most serious expression he’d ever seen, but there was no way.
He threw his arms into the air. “This was a waste of time. I’m going to get a real officer to look out for Michael, and I’m going to get Alexis back.” He shoved to his feet.
“Sit down, Bryce.” Luke’s voice boomed with so much authority Bryce planted his ass in the seat without thinking twice. “My mate is trying to give you the facts, and you’re going to listen to her.”
His mate? What the…? And who the hell did this guy think he was giving an order like that? Bryce opened his mouth for a comeback, but Macey beat him to it.
“It’s okay, hon. I’ve got this.” She patted Luke’s knee and scooted closer to Bryce, turning to him again. “Are you ready to listen?”
“Yeah, sure. Why not?” She’d probably spin some crazy story about magical creatures lurking in the shadows all around that no one had ever seen, but maybe he’d be able to glean a few bits of actual information from the tale.
“You believe in my ability to read spirit energy, right?”
“I’ve seen you do it. Of course I do.”
“And you remember Chase’s wife, Rain? She’s a witch; she can cast spells.”
He nodded. “She told me spells are like prayers, but they’re something else, aren’t they?”
“They’re a way of manipulating energy. Magic is, at its core, energy manipulation.”
Crossing his arms, he arched an eyebrow. “What are you trying to say?”
“Magic is real.”
Had she told him that a week ago, he’d never have believed it. Hell, he didn’t believe in ghosts until he’d seen how she could read spirit energy. But after the way Alexis healed his burns with a simple touch, he couldn’t deny it anymore. “I know. Alexis said you were related to witches.”
“We are, way back in the family tree.” She furrowed her brow. “What else did she tell you about us?”
He shrugged. “Nothing I didn’t already know about your parents dying when you were young. And she showed me her healing powers.”
Her eyes widened. “Healing powers? When she was hurt?”
“Yeah. Then she healed me when I was hurt.”
Macey gave Luke a quizzical look, and he shrugged. “It’s not unheard of,” he said. “The witch genes could be active in her system.”
She shook her head. “Anyway, you do believe in magic, whether you want to admit it or not.”
He had no problem admitting to things that could be proven. “Go on.”
“Do you remember last year, when those women claimed some kind of animal saved them from the attackers?”
He closed his eyes for a long blink. “I remember.”
“And then I saw a wolf in the woods behind the crime scene?”
A lump formed in his throat. This story was starting to make too much sense. She couldn’t be serious.
“That wolf was Luke. I didn’t know that he…that we…were werewolves at the time. Once I figured it out, everything fell into place.”
“Hold on, now. You had me going for a minute there, Mace, but how could you be a werewolf and not know it? Do you black out every time you sprout fur and forget?”
“Only the first-born child of a werewolf couple can shift,” Luke explained. “Macey was raised by humans, and Alexis went rogue as soon the change came, so she never knew until they reunited.”
“Wha—?” He clamped his mouth shut. Questions ricocheted around in his head, but he couldn’t grab on to one long enough to speak it coherently. Luckily, Macey knew him well enough to give him the answers he couldn’t ask for.
“A rogue is a werewolf who doesn’t belong to a pack. Alexis didn’t know what she was until the first time she shifted when she was thirteen. She fr
eaked and ran away and has been living on her own ever since.”
His mind didn’t want to believe it, but somewhere deep in his soul it made sense. Why the hell would something so ridiculous make sense? He’d been working too hard. Too many distractions had his thoughts wound up in a jumbled mess. He needed sleep. Or an appointment with a psychiatrist. “You’re telling me that Alexis…is a werewolf?”
“She is.”
He shook his head. Nonsense. It was all nonsense. “Werewolves aren’t real.”
“We are.”
He crossed his arms. It wasn’t possible. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Macey looked at Luke. “That’s your cue.”
“I’m on it.” Luke stood and strode down the hall.
Leaning toward him, Macey took Bryce’s hand as he uncrossed his arms. He hadn’t realized how cold his own had turned until the warmth from her palm seeped into his skin. “It took a lot of convincing for me too,” she said, “but I think this will do it.”
A shuffling noise sounded from the hallway, and in padded the biggest wolf he’d ever seen. Light-brown fur covered its massive body, and as it opened its mouth to pant, fangs the size of daggers filled its enormous maw.
Bryce’s heart rate kicked up, and his muscles tensed, ready for fight or flight…he wasn’t sure which. “What the hell?”
The wolf approached Macey and sat at her feet as she rested a hand on its neck. “This is Luke.”
“No, it’s not. It’s a pet. A mutated Siberian huskey or something.” There was no way. That beast couldn’t be… Luke wasn’t a…
The animal licked Macey’s cheek from jaw to ear. She laughed and pushed it away. “What have I told you about that? Show him.”
The wolf paced to the center of the room. A shimmering mist gathered around its fur, almost as if it were glowing, but not quite. Bryce rubbed his eyes and looked again. As the mist grew denser and the image wavered, the wolf rose onto its back legs and transformed into…
“Luke?” Bryce’s mouth fell open. How could he—? “But you—”
Luke laughed. “Convinced?”
It wasn’t possible. Supernatural creatures didn’t exist in this world, yet he’d watched a wolf turn into a man right before his eyes. He stood and paced toward Luke. Reaching out his arms, he hesitated before clapping his hands onto his shoulders.
Bound by Blood (Crescent City Wolf Pack Book 3) Page 19
