Her wolf sat back on her haunches and whined submissively.
Joanna clucked her tongue disapprovingly at her wolf, but it made no difference. Her other side was like a dog with its tail between its legs. Then she tasted the faint metallic scent of dragon on her tongue.
The mystery deepens, Joanna muttered to her wolf.
“Why don’t you come in?” Shawn asked and opened the door wider for Fiona.
“You aren’t going to ask what a dragon shifter is doing on your doorstep at stupid o’clock in the morning before you let her in?” Joanna folded her arms and lowered her head to lock eyes with Fiona. Unlike her wolf, she was not going to cower before any shifter.
Even one who could flame grill you in seconds? her wolf asked.
No.
Fiona didn’t hide her amusement as she sniffed her clothes. “I must change my perfume.”
“I’ve met a couple of dragon shifters in my time,” Joanna said. “They leave a faintly metallic taste on my tongue.”
“Observant.” Fiona glanced sideways at Shawn. “I like her. Now, shall we go inside?”
“You’re not going to ask why she’s here?” Joanna asked Shawn.
“No.” His jaw tightened, and his body tensed. Shawn was troubled. “Fiona wouldn’t be here if she didn’t need to be.”
“Shawn knows me well. We have a…history.” Fiona glanced at Joanna as if assessing her before she stepped into the house and headed to the kitchen. “I smell brownies.”
“Do you want one?” Shawn asked as he went to the coffee pot and started a fresh brew. Joanna inhaled deeply as the aromatic scent filled the kitchen. She had a feeling this was going to be a long day.
“I wouldn’t say no.” Fiona pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table as if this were a regular occurrence. Joanna’s curiosity deepened. What history did Shawn have with a dragon shifter that needed a clandestine house call?
As Shawn busied himself making coffee, Joanna positioned herself in the corner of the room. She could watch both Shawn and Fiona while melting into the background. She wanted them to speak freely and forget she was listening.
“Okay.” Shawn placed a cup of coffee and a brownie on a plate in front of Fiona before passing a coffee to Joanna. Then he sat down and waited while Fiona sipped her coffee and took a big bite of her brownie. The man sure had patience. Or maybe he was wise enough to know not to rile a dragon shifter before she’d had a cup of coffee.
“These are good,” Fiona said, taking a second bite of the chocolate gooeyness.
“I always wondered what dragons ate for breakfast,” Shawn joked.
“Normally Harlan will insist on a healthy breakfast. So we can keep this as our little secret.” Fiona’s eyes flicked up to study Joanna as she sipped her coffee. “Are you going to introduce us properly?”
“Oh.” Shawn facepalmed. “Sorry. I’m still half asleep.”
“And a little shocked.” Fiona smiled but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Instead, if Joanna had to guess, she saw anxiety laced with uncertainty.
“I don’t know if having a dragon shifter turn up on the doorstep so early in the morning is a regular occurrence, but if not, I’m not surprised Shawn is a little shocked. I know I am.” Joanna sipped her coffee without taking her eyes off Fiona and Shawn.
“I’ll explain.” Fiona finished her brownie and rubbed her fingertips together, the crumbs dropping to her plate. “After you make the introductions.”
“Okay. Joanna, this is Fiona. As you guessed, she is a dragon shifter.” Shawn looked from one woman to the other, his expression guarded. He was hiding something. But from whom? “Fiona, this is Joanna. She is my mate. So whatever you have to say you can say in front of her.”
Fiona’s eyes narrowed. “Military or police?”
Joanna jolted upright in surprise. “Police. How did you…?”
“When you’ve been alive as long as I have, you get a feel for these things.” Fiona stood up, crossed the room, and held out her hand to Joanna. “I’m Fiona and I am one of the good guys.”
Joanna’s mouth twitched at the corners. “Does that mean whatever you have come here to tell Shawn is going to make me suspect that you are not?”
Fiona straightened her shoulders as the two women shook hands. “There is a very good chance that might be the case.” She looked over her shoulder at Shawn. “But there’s no other choice”
“You’re here about Jane,” Shawn spoke quietly as he stared at his coffee cup. He was worried and Joanna had to force herself to stay where she was and not cross the kitchen to comfort him. “I don’t know if I want to hear what you have to say.”
“The woman who gave me Jane is waking up,” Fiona spoke fast, as if she were ripping off a Band-Aid.
“Waking up?” Joanna repeated. “As in she’s been asleep? For how long?”
“In a coma,” Fiona confirmed. “She has been from the time I gave Jane to Shawn.”
“Holy…” Joanna brushed past Fiona and sat down heavily at the table. The dragon shifter gave a child to her mate. No wonder he looked at Joanna with concern when he heard she was a police detective. He sure had one hell of a skeleton in his closet. “What happened to her?”
“She had an accident.” Fiona paused as she looked down at her coffee cup. “She hit her head and slipped into a coma. At least that was the official report. I don’t believe that at all. However, it was convenient for the police not to take further action.”
“So she was taken to hospital and she’s been in a coma ever since?” Shawn acted as if this was all news to him.
“She has,” Fiona confirmed, although she had shifty eyes and Joanna doubted this was the whole truth.
“And Fiona never told you any of this?” Joanna asked her mate.
“No,” Fiona answered before Shawn had a chance. “I never told him any information about Jane or where she came from other than telling him the child needed caring for and he was the man to do it.”
“And you just did as Fiona asked?” Joanna shook her head at Shawn in disbelief. He was a doctor, surely, he knew something wasn’t right about this.
“Yes.” His voice hitched with emotion. “I sensed that the child…Jane was in trouble. Not that a baby can get herself into trouble. But there was something about Fiona’s tone of voice, her expression…she was scared for the child. Instinct kicked in and I said yes.”
“Just like that, you risked everything and said yes to her crazy plan.” Joanna could understand why a man like Shawn would take such a risk. But it was reckless. “Bringing Jane back to Cougar Ridge and raising her as your own could have landed you in a lot of trouble. She could have been a kidnap victim or anything.”
“I completely understood the risks,” Shawn said bluntly. “But I trusted Fiona and I still do.”
“And no one asked any questions?” Joanna asked incredulously. “No one was concerned that you moved back to town along with a child?”
“There have been plenty of questions and recriminations from the folks here. Especially at first, but over time most people have made up their theories of who exactly Jane is. Mostly they figure I had an affair with a woman who wasn’t my mate and we had a child together.” His eyes filled with guilt. “I didn’t discourage those stories. Although, I never outright admitted it was the truth.”
“Shawn adopting Jane was all done correctly. Legally, he is her father. I would never have risked them being torn apart once they had established a father and daughter bond. I am not a monster.” Fiona picked up her brownie and took another bite as if she needed to give her mouth something to do rather than pick a fight with Joanna.
“As long as no one guessed the real truth, it didn’t matter.” Joanna nodded with understanding.
“Until you, it never really mattered what the truth was or where Jane came from. She is my daughter and that is the only truth that mattered. I love her as if I was her biological father.” He sighed, his eyes dark as he studied her face. “If this
makes things difficult for you, I’m sorry.”
He did what he had to do to protect an innocent child, her wolf said sadly. We would do the same. You know we would.
“Is the person in the coma Jane’s mom?” Joanna asked bluntly.
Shawn’s breath hissed through his teeth. He must realize that if this woman was Jane’s mother, and she woke up, he might lose her. How did he feel about the news? He must be torn between wanting Jane to one day meet her mom and get to know her, and the knowledge that the woman might one day claim custody of her daughter.
We might lose her. Her wolf gnashed her teeth, torn in two by the choices that might lay ahead of them. After all, they were Jane’s family too now.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Yvette is not Jane’s mom,” Fiona said firmly. “However, she was found with Jane in her arms so she might know who Jane’s mom is.”
“What do you want me to do?” Shawn asked. “I’m sure you didn’t come here at this time in the morning just to tell me this news.”
Shawn was right. Fiona wanted something from him. Joanna was going to make damn sure, no matter what the dragon shifter needed from Shawn, that she would be by her mate’s side every step of the way.
“What do you want us to do?” Joanna corrected. “Whatever this is about we are in this together. Don’t ever forget that.”
Shawn’s fear showed on his face. It was so obvious now. At their first meeting, he’d been worried that Joanna might ask questions about Jane. That her job as a detective might mean she couldn’t let things lie. That she would go rooting around in the past and put Jane in danger. It explained his reaction when they first met and his relief when she said that their pasts were their pasts.
Whatever the cost.
However, things had changed, and she now knew the cost. She also knew she would stand by him through it all. Whatever it took. Even if the cost was her job.
“I want you to go to the hospital and see how Yvette is.” Fiona spread her hands out over the tabletop.
“You think Shawn going to the hospital won’t raise any questions because he’s a doctor?” Jane asked. “But it leaves a trail right back to here.”
“Whoever hurt Yvette all those years ago won’t be looking for a trail to follow. I took care of it.” Fiona took a deep breath. She knew the questions were coming. And Joanna was ready to ask them.
“How did you take care of it?” Joanna asked.
“On the night of the accident…” Fiona paused, her jaw clenched and her nostrils flared as anger simmered beneath her skin. “On the night it happened, I got a call from Yvette. Her voice was slurred, I thought she’d been drinking.” Fiona closed her eyes briefly. “She asked me to meet her. She said it was urgent.”
“So you went to meet her?” Joanna asked. “Did you know Yvette well?”
“Not that well.” Fiona raised her eyes and looked at Joanna. “She sounded in trouble. So I went.”
“And she was already injured?” Joanna asked.
“Her head was bleeding.” Fiona’s forehead creased as if she were recalling the moment. “It didn’t look that bad.” Her eyes misted with tears. “I told her she needed to go to the hospital. But before I had a chance to call the paramedics, she handed me the baby and said…” She sniffed and wiped her eyes.
“What did she say, Fiona?” Joanna asked gently.
“Don’t let him hurt the baby.”
“Who?” Shawn asked gruffly.
Fiona shrugged. “I don’t know for sure.”
“But you do have an idea.” Joanna went to Fiona and sat down in the chair next to her. “Who did she mean?”
Fiona sucked in a lungful of air. “She worked for a man named Ostabell…”
“Ostabell? Roman Ostabell?” Joanna asked.
“You and he have crossed paths?” Fiona asked.
“You could say that.” Joanna’s face paled. “Roman Ostabell is the man who killed my father.”
Chapter Nine – Shawn
“Your father was killed? Murdered?” Fiona’s hands clenched into fists and her eyes flashed a deep amber.
“Yes.”
Fiona forced herself to relax. “I had no idea.”
“Why would you?” Joanna’s voice was flat, devoid of emotion. However, her face was contorted with pain as if she were using all her strength to hold herself together.
“It’s okay.” Shawn went to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her close. For a moment she remained rigid in his arms before she slumped forward and took a bone-shuddering breath before breaking down. Her sobs racked her body, leaving her trembling in his arms.
“I thought it was over,” she said when she could finally speak again. “Ostabell has just been sent to jail.” She wiped her eyes and looked at Fiona. “What does he have to do with Yvette?”
“She worked for Ostabell. Yvette was good with computers and she worked in one of Ostabell’s offices. While she was there, she became suspicious of Ostabell and a certain business associate of his.” Fiona’s words seemed to have a shocking effect on Joanna.
She pulled away from Shawn and turned her attention fully on their clandestine visitor. “Who?”
Fiona shrugged apologetically. “I don’t know for sure. That is what I was hoping Yvette was going to tell me when she called.”
“But she never did.” Shawn raked a hand through his hair. He felt sick to his stomach. All this time he had no idea of the danger Jane might be in. He had no idea of where she’d come from.
I wish we could go back to the same state of ignorance, his cougar said forlornly.
“We first met when I’d arranged an adoption for one of her work colleagues. It was a casual encounter. But then a year later Yvette contacted me and said she had some disturbing information about the man she worked for.”
“What kind of information?” Joanna’s tears had subsided, and she was fully in control of her emotions as she talked to Fiona. Shawn suspected she’d switched to her professional headspace to help her deal with the situation.
It was the same when he was at work. No matter what came through the doors at the hospital, if he wanted to save lives and help people, he had to stay calm and in control.
“She’d seen some emails.” Fiona paused and drank her coffee. “She was convinced that Ostabell and the CEO of a major firm of lawyers were involved in selling babies for adoption.” She looked up at Shawn and Joanna. “Particularly shifter babies. It seemed that some people who knew about shifters wanted to raise one.” She ground her teeth together. “Like we are pets you buy in a pet store. But we’re not pets.”
“No, we’re not,” Shawn said hoarsely.
“Anyway, there was no actual proof. We tried to get proof. Yvette risked her job to find a shred of evidence. Nothing concrete that we could take to the police. There seemed little we could do.” Fiona got up abruptly from the table and paced the room. “We hit a dead end.”
“What happened to Yvette after that?” Shawn asked quietly. “What did she get mixed up in?”
“I had no idea…” Fiona held her hand up as if defending herself. “I swear I had no idea she planned to take things further on her own. I was making inquiries in the background, trying to find out anything I could about illegal adoptions.”
“What happened?” Joanna pushed gently for answers. “What did Yvette do?”
“Yvette began dating the CEO she suspected of being involved. She got close to him.” Fiona ducked her head and placed her hand on the countertop. “When I found out, I confronted her and told her it was too dangerous. But she said she could handle it. She said she couldn’t stop until she knew the truth.”
“And she got in too deep?” Shawn’s voice was barely audible. “And that’s how she got hurt.”
“I think so. I don’t know for sure…but I think so.” Fiona turned to face them, her arms folded across her body.
“So let me get this straight.” Joanna stood up and approached Fiona. “Yvette da
ted this man to get the proof about the babies he was allegedly selling. And Roman Ostabell had something to do with this?”
“I believe so. How deep his involvement went, I don’t know. The emails Yvette saw were private, they were sent between the CEO and Ostabell. The references in them were some kind of code. She put it all together.” Fiona drained her coffee cup and placed it down on the table. “Yvette said that Ostabell found the babies. Specifically, he found pregnant women who didn’t want to keep their babies for whatever reason. The other guy found people willing to pay a lot of money to adopt the unwanted babies.” Fiona pressed her lips together as her eyes glowed a deep amber.
“Okay. Do you think Yvette found the proof or at least raised enough suspicion that they finally realized she was investigating them?” Joanna asked. “And that was why she was attacked?”
“Yes.”
“And Jane. Where did she come from?” Shawn asked.
“I think she was one of the babies. How Yvette ended up in an alleyway with her, I don’t know. All I do know is that she was willing to give her life for the child. A child she asked me to protect for her.” Fiona straightened her back. “And that’s what I did. If at any time someone had reported their baby was missing, if the mother had come forward, I would have handed her over. But no one did. Nothing. I waited a month before I contacted Shawn.”
“How does a baby go missing and no one report it?” Shawn murmured.
“Because she didn’t belong to anyone.” Fiona ground her teeth together. “No one cared enough about her to even look for her.”
“This is all unbelievable.” Shawn needed more coffee. A lot more coffee. Or maybe whiskey.
“I know and I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have come to you now if there was any other way.” Fiona shook her head. “I just don’t want Yvette opening her eyes and believing she is all alone in the world. Not when the last thing that happened to her before her coma was being attacked. So, I’d like your professional opinion. I want to know, from someone I trust, whether Yvette is ever likely to wake up or if this is just a false alarm.”
Shawn Spring Shifter Seasons Page 6
