Circle of Fire

by Keri Arthur

  He just had to hope she didn’t get sick of waiting and go off alone. There was a lot of strength in Maddie, despite her fears.

  When he finally pulled into the café’s small parking lot, he was relieved to see her truck was still parked there. But sitting right next to it, in an unfamiliar dark blue Ford, was a man he recognized. Terry Mackenzie.

  He’d known the FBI agent was involved with the investigation into the sixteen disappearances, but he was the last person Jon had expected or wanted to see in Taurin Bay.

  He half thought about driving past and parking around the corner, out of Mack’s sight, but at that instant the man looked up. Jon smiled grimly. Some days you just couldn’t win. He parked the truck and climbed out, approaching the car cautiously. While Jon had worked on several of the same cases as the agent over the last ten years, their relationship was neither professional nor personal. Jon trusted the man with his life, but not with his secrets.

  The car door opened, and the big man levered himself out with an awkwardness Jon knew was highly deceptive. Mack might look overweight, but he was fast when it mattered.

  “Well, well.” The big man’s hard gray eyes watched him carefully, as if ready to pounce given the slightest provocation. “Fancy meeting you here.”

  “About to say the same thing myself.” Jon crossed his arms and leaned his shoulder against the outside wall of the restaurant. He knew there was nothing casual about this meeting. There never was with Mack.

  Mack unhurriedly opened a pack of cigarettes and pulled one out. “Weren’t you in Atlanta last week?”

  He nodded. Another missing child had turned up. Another murder yet to be solved. “I met your partner there.”

  “So I heard.” Mack lit his cigarette and puffed on it thoughtfully. “Find any clues yourself?”

  “No.” As usual, the only sign of injury had been the small wound on the kid’s wrist—a cut so small it might have been missed. Only there wasn’t a drop of blood left in the child’s veins. But Mack knew that; he would have seen the same coroner’s reports that Jon had.

  “Then why are you here?”

  Why was Mack here? There was no such thing as a coincidence where the FBI agent was concerned. “Maybe I’m just taking a break.”

  Mack exhaled a long plume of smoke. “Yeah. And I just might sprout wings and fly.”

  His gaze narrowed. Had Mack been digging around? Though where he would look for such information, Jon couldn’t even begin to guess. It wasn’t the sort of thing kept in any official records he knew of.

  “What can I do for you, Mack?”

  “You know another kid went missing a week ago.”

  Jon nodded. He wasn’t about to tell the big man about Maddie’s nephew. He had a feeling she didn’t want to get involved with cops—of any variety.

  “Well, this time they’ve taken two.” Mack reached inside his jacket and pulled out a photo. “Have you seen this woman around?”

  It was Maddie standing beside a lanky kid who could have easily been her son. Evan, obviously. She looked different, he thought, staring at the photo. It was Maddie as she should be. Happy and laughing. He studied it a moment longer, then handed the photo back to Mack. “Why do you expect me to know every pretty lady in the district?”

  Mack smiled. A shark with a dental problem, Jon thought.

  “The woman seemed to know about the disappearance before it happened, then went missing shortly after. The kid’s father is the local detective, and he’s raising a hell of a stink. He seems to think she knows more than she was telling. It just might be the break we’re looking for.”

  Maddie was in deep trouble. And though it would have been easy to let Mack grab her and haul her in for questioning, it wasn’t fair. Not when she’d saved his life. He owed her more respect than that.

  “What has all this got to do with me?” he asked casually.

  Mack took a final puff on the cigarette, then threw it on the ground and crushed it under his heel. “I want to know what you know, Barnett.” His cold gaze fixed onto Jon’s. “We know you’ve recently started working on this case at the request of the parents of several missing kids. We know you work for the Damask Circle, a supposedly charitable, worldwide organization. Yet you, and others, curiously turn up to investigate the more bizarre police cases—and often get there before the police do. I want to know why you’re in Taurin Bay, and what you know about the kids that have gone missing.”

  Jon smiled grimly. Mack had obviously been doing some research into the Circle. Professional, or personal curiosity? “I don’t know much.” And wasn’t that the damn truth!

  “So tell me what you do have, then.”

  He had nothing to lose by doing so. Besides, it was always better to keep on the FBI’s good side. Things got dangerous when you didn’t.

  “Whoever is taking these kids is using them for some sort of ritual that’s performed on the night of the new moon. If we don’t find them before then, we won’t find them alive.”

  “Why Taurin Bay?”

  Because an old witch told me the evil was centered on this area—for now. But Mack was not likely to believe that Seline, the president of the Damask Circle, was anything more than the harmless old lady she appeared.

  “The bodies of four of the kids currently missing have turned up in nearby areas,” Jon added. “The nick on the wrist, the lack of blood—it’s all exactly the same as the five that were found in California last year.” And the six in Nevada before that. Though the killers had been active in Oregon for close on six months, how long they’d remain here was anyone’s guess. But if history was anything to go by, they’d soon move their operations to another state. Which meant they had to be stopped soon. “Taurin Bay is the one thing all the recent disappearances have in common—they were all at school camps here sometime within the last year.”

  “Interesting,” Mack drawled softly. “We’ve just found another body.”

  Jon stood up straight. “One of the missing kids?”

  The big man nodded. “Found him up on Saddle Mountain.”

  The same area where Jon had been shot. “Which kid?”

  “Samuels. The kid was only missing for a month.”

  “What did the autopsy results say?”

  Mack studied him for a moment, then drawled, “The state of decomposition suggests he’d been dead for about three weeks.”

  Which made sense, given the kid had been snatched before last month’s new moon. What was surprising was the fact that he’d been found so soon. Previously, the bodies of the missing kids hadn’t turned up until months later. “They’re getting careless,” Jon commented softly.

  “Or getting ready to leave the area and just don’t care how quickly we find the bodies anymore.”

  So Mack thought the people behind this were in Taurin Bay, too. “Any suspects?”

  The agent just gave him a toothy smile. “I want you to keep in contact with me. I want to know if you see this woman, or find any information. I want the people who did this alive and in prison. Clear?”

  Jon wondered if the man knew he was parked next to Maddie’s truck. Probably, he thought, returning Mack’s hard gaze. “Very. Anything else?”

  Mack’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t mess with me, Barnett. Not on this.”

  Jon nodded, not moving until the agent had climbed into his car and driven away. Then he turned and made his way to the café’s entrance.

  A woman opened the door as he approached, and a familiar tingle ran across his skin. He stopped at the base of the steps and studied the woman’s dark eyes. A brief flash of confusion, even fear, ran through her gaze. He didn’t think its origin was something as simple as being confronted by another shapeshifter in her territory.

  Then she smiled. He couldn’t help responding.

  “I do believe we’ve met before.” She tossed back her mane of golden hair, her voice as smooth as a fine malt whiskey.

  Designed for seduction, he thought. There was something abo
ut her that seemed oddly familiar, yet her eyes were dark, not the green of the cat he’d seen in the forest.

  “Surely not,” he replied lightly. “I’d never forget such a beautiful face.”

  Maddie, he thought with amusement, would probably have made a face at such an obvious line. Or dissolved into fits of laughter. This woman merely smiled, though he felt a wariness in her that matched his own. And it wasn’t the usual wariness of two shapeshifters meeting for the first time.

  “Eleanor Dumaresq,” she said. “Perhaps you have time for a cup of coffee?”

  He took her offered hand. Her fingers were warm and pliant against his, yet he felt the inner core of strength in them. The woman was more than simply a shapeshifter. Old magic swirled about her, so strong he could almost taste it.

  He let his touch linger a little longer than was necessary and studied her eyes. Her gaze called to the wildness within him.

  Old magic was the key—and the danger—Seline had warned of when she’d sent him to Taurin Bay. It was an image that seemed to fit Eleanor well. It could also be the reason why her eyes appeared a different color in her human form than as a panther. Yet there was nothing more than a gut feeling and the words of an old witch tying Eleanor to the disappearances. Nothing more than a hunch suggesting she was the cat he’d seen in the forest. Still, his hunches had proven more right than wrong over the years.

  And that meant she was someone he’d have to investigate. But as much as he would have loved to accept Eleanor’s invitation and pursue the mystery she presented, he couldn’t. Not with Maddie waiting for him in the café. He didn’t want to endanger her by introducing her to someone who might well be involved in the attempt on his life.

  “I’m afraid I can’t just now,” he said, glancing past her to study the restaurant’s interior. Why did he suddenly feel that Maddie needed his help?

  “A shame,” Eleanor replied warmly, “but I’m sure we’ll meet again. Taurin Bay is such a small town, after all.”

  He glanced at her sharply. There was definitely an edge of warning in her mellow tones. “I’m sure we will.”

  In fact, he’d make damn sure they did. Eleanor might not be the cat he’d seen in the forest, or even the one in the inn, but something told him she was involved in the disappearances. The brief flash of confusion in her eyes the moment they’d met told as much. As did the shimmer of hate that shone through her aura.

  He watched her walk away, then quickly entered the restaurant.

  “MR. STEWART, WHAT A SURPRISE TO SEE YOU HERE.” MADDIE forced a smile and hoped she didn’t look as nervous as she felt.

  “I was about to say the same thing.” He dragged out a chair and sat down opposite her. “This restaurant is not the usual tourist destination.”

  “My sister recommended it,” she said quickly, then silently cursed her own stupidity. Any mention of Jayne and Evan was suicidal if this man was involved with her nephew’s disappearance.

  “Really? Does she come here often?”

  Though Hank’s question was casual, she couldn’t miss the edge of tension around his thin mouth. She nodded, lowering her gaze as she took a quick sip of her drink.

  “What’s her name? Maybe I know her.”

  “Jayne Smith,” she replied, knowing her sister had visited Taurin Bay only under her married name of Gaskell.

  The dangerous light in Hank’s eyes faded. He sat back in the chair and lightly toyed with a knife. She suddenly felt like a mouse facing a large and hungry cat.

  “The only Smith I know is the lovely young lady now sitting opposite me.”

  He meant to flatter her, but he only succeeded in making her feel ill. She pushed the rest of her milkshake away and gathered her bag. She’d be damned if she’d wait any longer for Jon—especially if Hank intended to keep her company.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Stewart, but I really must go.”

  “No time for another drink? It would give me a chance to apologize for my abrupt behavior this morning. You might even find yourself enjoying my company.”

  She forced another smile and shook her head as she stood. “I’m sorry, but I really have to leave.”

  “Why? Are you meeting someone?”

  Her gaze jerked to his at the question. He knows, she thought, studying his eyes. He knows I’m involved with Jon somehow. I should have stayed home, stayed safe.

  But being safe wouldn’t find Evan.

  “What business is it of yours?” she retorted tightly, her fingers clenched against the strap of her handbag. “Do you usually take this much interest in the inn’s guests?”

  He smiled lazily. “No. Just the exceptionally pretty ones.”

  The man was a sleaze, whether or not he was involved with Evan’s disappearance. “I’m sure the inn’s owners will be pleased to discover that you take such an interest.”

  He laughed, white teeth flashing, and her stomach turned. Evil haunted the depths of his laughter. Maddie swallowed and looked away. What on earth made her think that? God, she needed a drink!

  She licked her lips and tried to ignore the thought as she watched Hank warily.

  “I’m only kidding, my dear,” he said with a lazy smile. “No need to get nasty.”

  Despite his conciliatory manner, the amused light in his eyes told her he wasn’t worried by her threat. Why? Did he have some kind of hold over the owner? Or was the owner somehow involved in Evan’s disappearance?

  “Madeline Smith? Maddie? Is that really you?”

  She jerked around at the sound of Jon’s voice. He was threading his way through the tables, wearing a black leather jacket that emphasized the lean strength of his shoulders and the brightness of his golden hair. His gaze met hers for a moment, and fear ran briefly through her heart. Despite his easy smile, there was a light in his eyes that made him look very dangerous. But she’d never been more relieved to see anyone in her life.

  “Fancy meeting you here.” He stopped beside her. His eyes held a warning as he lightly kissed her cheek.

  She cleared her throat and tried to ignore the warm tingle his lips left on her skin.

  “It’s been a while,” he continued. “What, six, seven years?”

  She nodded, going along with his game. “You’re lucky you caught me here at all. I was just leaving.”

  A hint of a smile tugged at his lips, but she sensed his attention was on Hank, not her.

  “Surely you can stay for a cup of coffee?” He pulled out the chair she’d just vacated. “Don’t believe we’ve met,” he added, holding his hand out to Hank. “Jon Barnett.”

  “Hank Stewart.”

  “Really?” Jon said, the surprise in his voice at odds with the slight narrowing of his gaze. “You’ve changed. You look nothing like the photo that appeared in the Gazette article a year ago.”

  “Ah.” Hank’s smile was easy despite the wariness in his eyes. “That was my older brother, Tim. He fills in for me quite often, and happened to be on duty the day the photographer came. Just as well, too. He’s more photogenic than me.”

  The tension levels rose a notch. “Really?” Jon said to Hank. “Odd that we haven’t seen him around much lately, then, isn’t it?”

  “Unfortunately, he was killed in an accident not long after that article appeared.” Hank shrugged and rose to his feet. “It’s been a delight, Miss Smith. Maybe we can do this again another day.”

  The predatory light in his gaze belied the blandness of his smile. She edged a little closer to Jon. “Sure.” When hell freezes over.

  “See you back at the inn, then,” Jon said.

  “That you can be assured of,” Hank murmured. He nodded to Maddie and walked away.

  She waited until he’d left the restaurant, then grabbed Jon’s arm, pulling him around to face her.

  “What the hell was that all about?”

  “You needed help, didn’t you?” he replied mildly. He sat down at the table and reached across to her half-finished milkshake. “May I?”

 
She nodded. “What made you think I needed help? And why show yourself to Hank? He might be involved with the attempt on your life.”

  “He might be. Or he might not.” Jon shrugged and took a long drink.

  She frowned. “Why on earth were you going on about that Gazette photo?”

  Again he shrugged. “Just stirring the pot, so to speak.”

  Jeez, he could be so damn infuriating sometimes! “Will you just answer my questions?”

  “No.” He pushed the empty shake container away and sat up straight. “Why didn’t you tell me your brother-in-law was a cop?”

  She blinked in surprise. “What has that got to do with anything?”

  “Plenty. He’s reported you missing and claims that you may know more about Evan’s disappearance than what you’re admitting—especially since you seem to have been aware of it before it happened. The cops, as well as the FBI, are sniffing around Taurin Bay looking for you.”

  Trust Steve to do something like that. And obviously, Jayne hadn’t mentioned the fact that she’d asked Maddie to search for Evan. “Why is everyone in Taurin Bay? Why are you?”

  “Because the bodies of several missing teenagers have been found nearby.” He hesitated, his gaze searching her face. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

  “I didn’t think it was important enough to mention.” And she didn’t think Steve’s hatred for her would blind his common sense. Damn it, it wasn’t as if this were the first time she’d had a vision concerning Evan. Steve certainly knew about these visions, even if he didn’t acknowledge them—or her. He’d even seen them hit her a couple of times.

  But he also knew about her shady history with sudden disappearances. Maybe, in his fear for Evan, he was grabbing at straws. Maybe it was easier to believe she might have been involved in taking his son simply because it would make the chances of Evan coming back alive greater.

  She rubbed her eyes wearily. How was she going to avoid the police and still find Evan? Lord, another round of questioning was not what she needed right now! She’d had more than her fair share when Brian had disappeared. Nor had the questioning stopped when they found his remains among the smoking ruins of their house. She knew some of the investigators still suspected she’d killed him, even though his death had eventually been classed as accidental. And they weren’t far wrong in their accusations, either.