by Ivy Sinclair
Billy looked away from me shaking his head. “I’m not saying a word.”
“That’s not what it sounds like on this end.”
“Need I remind you that we’re standing in the middle of the opening event of the biggest shifter Summit in history?” Billy asked with a grim smile on his face. “You better keep your cool too.”
He was goading me on purpose when he knew that I couldn’t do anything about it. He thought he was being clever. I think I’d have a lesson or two for ole’ Billy Miller soon.
One of the security guards appeared next to Billy’s shoulder. Billy stood up straighter as the guard whispered something in his ear. He frowned at an envelope in the man’s hand. I didn’t catch the exchange, but my name was scrawled across the top of the envelope.
“What’s that?” I asked, reaching for it.
Billy put his hand up blocking mine. “Murray had this shoved into his hands a few minutes ago. The guy who gave it to him said somebody else paid him twenty bucks to give it to you. We don’t know where it came from.”
“It’s got my name on it, so obviously it’s meant for me.”
“Which also means that it could have something in it that would do harm,” Billy argued.
“How about we take this outside?” I said.
I could tell that Billy wanted to resist, but I wasn’t about to back down. It was time that the council members started figuring out that I wasn’t my brother. Things were going to change.
I gestured toward a flap that I saw off to the side to a small alcove that I knew the staff was using for their breaks. Once inside, I gave a gesture to the few staff members gathered there, and they scattered. It was nice having somebody listen to me for once without any questions.
I stuck out my hand for the envelope again. Billy shook his head. “I’ll open it. If it’s safe, I’ll give it to you then. Did you know that Markus had three separate attempts on his life in the last twelve months? There’s a protocol here, Lukas. Let me do my job.”
It was a low blow bringing my dead brother into it. Grudgingly, I nodded.
From somewhere in his pockets, Billy produced a pair of latex gloves. That seemed strange to me, but I guess that was part of the job description. Always carry latex gloves. After putting them on, he took the envelope from Murray. The larger man stepped back next to the flap’s opening to block anyone else from seeing inside or trying to come in.
Billy gingerly pulled on the envelope’s flap, and it opened with barely any protest. He squeezed on it so that it filled with air, and he looked inside. I saw his frown again.
“What’s inside?”
Billy reached in and removed a single item. It was a small, torn piece of shiny, red fabric. I had seen something exactly like it, not more than a couple of hours before.
“I thought you said Maren’s car was in the parking lot?” I tried to keep my clipped words calm.
Billy looked at me in surprise. “It is.”
“That’s a piece of the dress she was wearing,” I said.
Billy started to hand the envelope to Murray, but I swiped it out of his hands. I grabbed the piece of fabric and brought it to my nose before inhaling deeply. I could still smell her perfume on it. Billy spoke into his walkie-talkie. “Anybody got eyes on Maren Lene, the reporter? She should be somewhere outside.”
We both stood there and listened as each of the security detail checked in with a negative.
“Dammit!” I swore. I crashed through the other side of the tent wall and into the night. On this side of the tent, it was quiet. Too quiet. I put my nose into the air and took a huge whiff. I smelled nothing but booze and cigar smoke.
“Lukas, you need to go back inside,” Billy said as he followed me into the night. “I’ll take care of it.”
“The hell you will,” I said. “I need to find her. You think I’m stupid? This is a threat, and it’s a threat for me.”
“Exactly,” Billy said as he tried to grab my arm. “It’s a message for you at the worst time possible. Let me take care of this.”
“Maren is my responsibility. She was here because I asked her to be here,” I said. “Are you going to help me find her or not?”
There was a long sigh. “Of course, I’m going to help you find her.”
I started to make my way around the tent to where I had last seen her. “Then get a move on and make yourself useful, Sheriff.”
CHAPTER FOUR - Maren
I sat at a table with a tape recorder in front of me. It was strangely reminiscent of a similar scene, not more than eight hours ago when I went through the same exercise with Lukas. But this situation was entirely different. Every minute that I spent with these men was another moment that I was putting Lukas in danger. But for the moment, I had to play along.
“Tell me about what your organization does,” I said. They wouldn’t allow me to have a pen and paper when I asked. Just the recorder.
“We’re a small but powerful group.” The leader sat across the table from me. He was slung back in his chair and had produced a beer from somewhere. It was quite a production for him though to try to drink it with the hindrance of the handkerchief in the way. I was almost grateful for that because I could only think that alcohol would make the situation worse. “We’ve been in existence almost since the beginning.”
“The beginning of what?”
“When those half-breed bastards decided to come out into the light of day and started thinking that they were the same or better than the rest of us. Somebody had to do something about it. Too many people just rolled over and acted like it was normal, but it’s not. They’re not human. They’re dangerous. The more people try to act like they’re not any different than us, the more dangerous all of it gets.”
This kind of vitriol made no sense to me, but I had heard it all before. My father got hate mail to the newspaper as often as he got emails and letters thanking him from shifters around the country.
“So what exactly does Rally Against Claws do?” I repeated my earlier question a little bit differently because he hadn’t answered it yet. That was typical when dealing with zealots. During my tenure at the college newspaper, I had done interviews with several gang members doing time in a minimum security prison. Their hatred of those different from them ran deep.
“Our mission is to educate the world about the dangers of an integrated society,” the man said.
“There are some that would say your methods are a bit…extreme,” I replied.
“There is always a spectrum of belief on that matter. There are brothers in arms of mine that would say that we have been too gentle. Unfortunately, in this world, the bigger bangs are required to get the attention we need. It isn’t easy breaking through the noise to get our message to the masses.”
“That sounds like justification of violence no matter what the effect.” I wasn’t supposed to be letting my own opinions color my questions, but I was tired and scared out of my mind. There wasn’t any way to truly remain unemotional in this situation.
“Sometimes violence is the only way.” I could hear the grin in the man’s voice, and his response transported me back to another time and place.
I was seventeen, and the only thing I wanted for my birthday that year was a kiss from a certain boy in my life who still had no clue that I liked him as something more than a friend. So instead of being a grown-up and telling him how I felt about him, I asked him to take me to the drive-in over off Route 64 in the next county over.
If it had been anyone else, they would have thought that it was a date, but Lukas and I hung out all the time. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that we had reached an age where people might question what we were always doing when we were alone together. In fact, when I’d hear other kids give him a hard time about, I all too often would hear his response of “Chill, we’re just friends. She’s like my sister.”
That was so not how I wanted him to view me. So there we sat, next to each other in a parked car in the twilig
ht getting ready to watch a movie at the old drive-in, but there wasn’t the slightest bit of romantic tension between us. Lukas munched on a tub of popcorn watching the previews while I wanted to throw up my hands in frustration.
I had paid extra attention to my attire that evening. Turning seventeen seemed to make my chest magically appear overnight. Where I had been flat as a pancake before, the rounded curves of an impressive bosom was finally making its appearance. I had bought a skin-tight halter top that accentuated every curve. Paired with the denim mini-skirt and white sling back sandals, I thought that it was more than obvious what I was hoping for as a result of the evening. I thought my dad’s eyes were going to bug out of his head when he saw me leave the house. Lukas barely gave me a second look though when I got into his car, and consequently I had been pouting the entire way to the drive-in. Lukas didn’t notice.
“I still can’t believe this is the movie you picked to see for your birthday,” Lukas said in-between mouthfuls of popcorn. “It’s more like this is my birthday. I figured you’d drag me to another stupid chick flick. I’ve been waiting to see this movie all week.” I told him I wanted to see the latest action flick. It was a bit of an annual tradition to see a movie for our birthday celebrations with each other. There wasn’t much else to do for fun on a Friday night when you were a teenager in Greyelf.
“I decided I wanted to try something new,” I said trying to angle my body toward him for maximum effect. Lukas’s attention was squarely on the screen in front of us. After a long pause where he still hadn’t looked in my direction, I couldn’t stand it anymore. “I’m going to go get a soda.”
His nod was the only response I got. It took everything I had not to slam the car door in frustration. I trudged over to the concession stand and stood there with my arms crossed pretending to read the menu. There were only like ten things on it, and it wasn’t as if I didn’t have them all memorized, but I was stalling for time.
Because I was wracking my brain trying to come with a plan to get Lukas to look at me that way, I didn’t immediately respond to the fact that someone had decided to stand next to me, also looking at the menu.
“Hey there. You look like an angel fallen from heaven.”
I rolled my eyes at the weak pick-up line as I tossed my hair over my shoulder and glared at the boy next to me. He wasn’t terrible looking, but compared to Lukas’s brawny physique he was decidedly skinny. His black hair was on the longish side, and considering his pale skin and all black attire I could only assume that he ran with the goth crowd. His eyes were sky blue though, and stood out starkly against the wall of black.
“Lame line and not interested,” I said as I turned back to the menu.
“Ouch. Straight through the heart,” the boy replied, mocking me by putting his hands over his heart and pretending that I had stabbed him. “Just trying to make conversation. I haven’t seen you around here before.”
I had no interest in drawing attention from any guy other than Lukas, but I understood that was the risk I ran by wearing the outfit I had crammed myself into for the evening. I should have been flattered. Then I had an aha moment. I pasted a smile across my face and stuck out my hand. “That’s because I live in Greyelf, so I don’t come this way that often. I’m Maren.”
He gave me an answering grin as he took my hand. I noticed he squeezed it a bit too hard. “Joshua.”
“Nice to meet you, Joshua.” I cut a glance over my shoulder. I could see Lukas’s car, and I was almost certain that the popcorn munching inside had finally ceased. If there was one thing that I did know about Lukas, it was that he didn’t care for me talking to boys that he didn’t consider ‘worthy.’ I wasn’t quite sure how he made that determination, but he seemed intent on being judge and jury for any potential dates of mine. That should have bothered me a lot more than it did, but I preferred to think that it was his way of expressing how he really felt about me. Of course, his keeping me from going on any dates didn’t seem to stop him from going on dates. I was fairly certain Joshua would not make Lukas’s approved list.
“So what brings you to the drive-in this evening?” There was a slight formality and lilt about Joshua’s words that made him seem older than I thought he was. I didn’t think that he was from Minnesota originally.
“It’s my birthday,” I said with a small shrug.
“Well, Happy Birthday!” Joshua said. “Let me buy you something then.”
“Oh no, that’s okay,” I said with a small laugh. I heard the slam of a car door and the sound of heavy footsteps on the gravel behind me. My plan had been to get Lukas’s attention. The thing that I hadn’t considered was my plan might go further than that to a place that wasn’t as pleasant. “I should probably get back to my friend.”
“What’s the rush?” Joshua asked. He put his hand on my shoulder. “We just met. I’d like to get to know you better.”
Joshua’s hand flew off my shoulder an instant later, and I felt the small sting on my skin from the force of the impact with which it was removed.
“What the fuck?” Joshua cradled his hand and glared at the man who had magically appeared by my side.
I put out my hand. “Chill, Lukas. I’m getting a soda. I said I’d be right back.”
“I’ll get it for you then,” Lukas said. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Joshua. “You can go back to the car.”
“I was talking to my new friend Maren. What’s your problem? Are you her boyfriend or something?” Joshua’s glance darted between the two of us.
“Maren is a friend of mine, and I don’t like to see her getting mixed up with deadheads,” Lukas said.
“So she’s not your girlfriend.” A slow smile spread across Joshua’s face.
Lukas took a menacing step forward, and I was shocked to hear a growl erupt from his throat. It was the first time I had ever heard him make that kind of noise, and it reminded me that he was much more than just a normal guy.
Joshua’s face twisted into a look of utter disgust as he looked at me. “So you’re a shifter lover. Sorry, sweetheart, that’s a deal breaker for me.” He looked calmly back at Lukas. “I hope someday you wander out in the front of my shotgun. Then we’ll see who the tough guy around here really is.” He turned on his heel and moved away.
I had to restrain Lukas from going after him, and in the process I twisted my ankle in my stupid high-heeled sandal. I went down with a small yelp and landed heavily on my knees. Tears instantly sprang to my eyes as I felt the hard gravel dig into my soft skin.
The night ended immediately afterward. Bloody-kneed, embarrassed, and pissed off, I demanded that Lukas take me home. I proceeded to ignore his phone calls for three days. He apologized for getting into my business, and to rub it in his face I went out on as many dates as I could with whoever bothered to ask me. Lukas never said another word about who I chose to date again.
I realized that memory had taken me away from the present conversation, and as I came back to reality, I stared at the blue eyes over the red handkerchief. The voice had seemed familiar to me. Was it even possible?
“Joshua?” The name dropped from my lips before I could stop and think about the wisdom of saying his name out loud.
The eyes widened. Then the handkerchief was swept aside, and the hat thrown the floor. I was shocked. And correct. His hair was shorter, and his face had filled out, but it was the man I had met at the drive-in all those years ago.
“I was wondering if these silly disguises were necessary and if you’d remember me at all.”
I looked in the other direction as if that could wipe the image of his face from my mind. “It was a good guess.”
“I should be thanking you, Maren. The night we met, I had an epiphany. I realized that if crap asses like Lukas Kasper could call the shots when it came to our women, then we were done for. We had to rise up and say emphatically ‘NO MORE’!” Joshua slammed his fist down on the table causing the beer bottle to shake. “The shifters think they can bully us around just
because they can turn into animals. But the truth of the matter is that they are animals. We hunt animals. The top of the evolutionary food chain is human, and it’s about time the shifters realized it.”
“You are a sick man, Joshua,” I said in a low whisper. His fervor was terrifying. I remembered the last thing that he said to Lukas, and I was suddenly more than certain that Joshua was finally ready to make good on his threat. “They haven’t done anything to us. They don’t want anything but the same things that we do; to have a good life and to be happy.”
“You are brainwashed,” Joshua said. “You’ve been brainwashed for the better part of your life from what I can tell, chasing around after that bear like a love-sick puppy dog.”
“You can go fuck yourself.” I crossed my arms over my chest. That was when I was hauled up to my feet by the tree trunk of a man standing behind me.
Joshua stepped toward me with a stony-faced expression. He stood up and drew out something from behind his back that I hadn’t seen before. A gun. He pointed it at me and clicked off the safety. “I’d be doing you a favor by putting you out of your misery. You’re human, girl. Lukas Kasper isn’t. You’re a damn fool if you think that those two things mix.”
My breath caught in my throat, but I didn’t flinch. If he was going to kill me, he was going to kill me. There was nothing that I could do about it. Then he smiled and pulled the gun’s sight off me. “You’re still useful to me for a little while longer though. I need your boyfriend to show up, which should be soon if he got my message.”
I had no idea what message Joshua had sent to Lukas, but I knew it couldn’t be good.
“Stick our guest back in her room, Murk,” Joshua said. “We’ve got preparations to finish.”
A minute later I found myself locked back in the room where I had woken up, which unknown to Joshua, was exactly where I wanted to be. Now that my headache had subsided, I was thinking more clearly. Joshua had brought me to exactly the best place for me to be.
