by R. J. Blain
My mother pointed her spatula at me. “Normals?”
“Fenerec. I wouldn’t lure Normals over here. They’ve been giving me the silent treatment all week. I figure Carlos wants to make a run at me. That’s part of why I swung by last night.”
A year away hadn’t changed the pack much; at the first hint of office gossip, the Fenerec converged. While our pack had bitches, none of them had come for breakfast, leaving my mother the only female in attendance.
“Get showered and changed. I’ll have your share of breakfast ready so you can at least posture on a full stomach. I’ll wrangle the pack into looking presentable so you can strut your stuff.” With her eyes wolf gold, my mother glanced in the direction of the front door. “Calling my puppy a green recruit! The nerve.”
I escaped while I could.
There were several ways I could handle Carlos and the other Fenerec. I could keep my casual appearance as I had my entire first week. In silent, mutual agreement, my partner and I had taken to wearing casual clothes to the office, although I’d kept a suit in my FBI-issued SUV in case we were called into the field.
Despite not having lived with my parents in over a decade, I kept several changes of clothes and everything I would need for a long-term stay at their house. I picked my best suit, grabbed a yellow tie for a splash of color, and made myself presentable.
My appearance would be my first weapon. If my mother was getting the pack to look presentable, the place would be crawling with suited FBI agents.
If the entire staff of my new office hadn't ostracized me for being Karma Johnson's partner, I wouldn't be choosing to earn their dislike with a major Fenerec power play. I settled my hip holster in place before heading downstairs.
The buzz for the gate sounded over the intercom as I was making my way back into the kitchen.
“You took too long,” my father chided.
I was right about my mother’s plan; the pack had dressed in suits with their badges and identification lanyards on display.
“Who wants to get the door?” my father asked.
My mother had changed into work clothing, too, and she headed for the entry.
“I better go with her so she doesn’t kill them.” I adjusted my cuffs, smoothed my tie, and followed after her, wondering if Carlos and his fellow Fenerec would survive if my mother decided to challenge them outright.
Probably not.
The driveway was packed with cars, and I was amused that almost all of them were openly marked as belonging to the FBI. Carlos and my other Fenerec co-workers had come in three vehicles, and they were dressed in jeans and t-shirts.
Blindsiding fellow FBI agents should have bothered me a lot more.
“How can I help you boys?” my mother called out.
“Uh, we’re looking for Agent Thomas.”
“I’m Agent Thomas.”
I lifted my hand and bit on my knuckle so I wouldn’t snort or laugh. My father joined in, hovering behind my mother. “I’m Agent Thomas, too.”
Carlos recovered faster than I expected. “Jake Thomas. We’re looking for Jake Thomas.”
“Come on in, boys,” my mother replied, backing into the house and leaving the door open.
The living room connected to the entry, and our pack gathered to watch. The instant Carlos made it to the door, he froze, his eyes brightening to gold and widening. I picked that moment to step into view. “Agent Carlos.”
“Agent Thomas,” he replied, straightening.
“You needed something?”
“Did something happen?”
I breathed in deep, satisfied at the undertones of worry and anxiety in the scents of the visiting Fenerec. “Just meeting with the pack,” I replied, heading deeper into the house and waving for them to follow me. “Worked with most of these folks at the Washington headquarters.”
“I thought you transferred here from Vegas.”
“I transferred to Vegas from Washington. You weren’t told about my background with the FBI?”
If none of them had seen my file, it was no wonder they weren’t happy with me. My new partner didn’t look all that old. It was never a good idea to partner younger agents with other inexperienced agents.
Carlos shook his head and turned rather pale for someone with a dark tan. “All we knew was that you were transferring from Vegas.”
There was an art to ignoring a pack of focused Fenerec; I avoided meeting their gazes. I retreated to the kitchen and made myself some coffee. “Coffee?”
“No thanks.”
“What can I do for you?”
“It’s about Agent Johnson.”
I huffed my annoyance at the man’s inability to get to the point. “I guessed as much. I haven’t seen such a hostile workplace since a shooter went on a rampage at the Mall a few years back.” If I were nice, I would have let it drop, but I took advantage of Carlos’ astonished, slack-jawed expression and said, “I still don’t understand why I had to head that case.”
“You headed that investigation?”
Carlos looked like he was about to choke on his own tongue, and I smiled at my victory. The other visiting Fenerec shifted their weight, their scents sour with their nervousness. “What can I say? It’s in my blood.”
It was true, too. From my very first memory, I’d been raised in the lifestyle. While my parents had shifted from active duty to management, I remembered when they’d been field agents. Like all Fenerec, I was older than I looked, and I had the feeling Carlos and his Fenerec friends had forgotten that.
When Carlos didn’t reply, I forced my expression to cool and professional. “I’m glad you came calling, actually. I want to know more about Agent Johnson.” I allowed my tone to dip and take on a dangerous edge, one promising violence if I didn’t get my way. My wolf stirred, and because of him, I demanded, “Everything about her.”
The interrogation didn’t last long; Carlos didn’t know anything about Agent Karma Johnson—nothing of substance, at least. She had blown through eight partners in two years, and my first day at the Baltimore office had been her first day back after being shot in the line of duty.
I came away with two important pieces of information: Karma really couldn’t swim and an address in Vermont belonging to the Johnson family.
Carlos and the other Fenerec with him beat a hasty retreat with my pack snickering the entire time.
“Hey, Mom?”
“What do you want now?”
“The keys to your Jag would be a good start. I think I’m going to drive up to Vermont. I still haven’t gotten a personal car, and I’d rather not show up in that SUV—or explain to my supervisor why there are hundreds of new miles on it.” The nine- to ten-hour drive would give me some space, and my mother’s car would give me all the speed I could ever want.
“You’re going to pay a visit to your partner’s parents?” With a shake of her head, my mother went to the kitchen island, grabbed a ring of keys from the basket, and tossed them to me. “All right. Leave the keys for your SUV in case your father has to run out, and I need a vehicle.”
“No joyrides, Mom,” I said, pulling out my keys and taking the SUV’s off the ring. “I’ll have yours returned Sunday night at the latest.”
Twenty minutes later, I was on the road in my mother’s Jaguar. She had gotten a new one since I’d left home, but I was smart enough to keep quiet instead of accusing her of having a midlife crisis.
I was the one supposed to be on a crash course with a midlife crisis, not her. I was the only one over thirty who hadn’t had a chance to have one yet.
The drive took me ten hours. I checked myself into a hotel not far from the Johnson home. Carlos didn’t know much about my partner’s family except they were religious and went to church on Sundays. I’d have to wait until they came home—or arrive before they left.
I opted for sleeping in. While I held some hope I’d be able to go home, drop off the Jag, and sleep before work, I had a feeling I would be showing up at the office in m
y mother’s car. At least the Jag was rigged with a siren and had lights under the front seat if I needed them on Monday.
I underestimated how long church lasted on a Sunday. It was almost three in the afternoon before I drove by and a van was parked in the Johnson’s driveway. With a relieved sigh, I parked and got out.
Someone had noticed me pulling in because I had a chance to knock only once before a tall black man answered the door.
I’d seen enough strange things in my life I wasn’t phased by a black man having a white daughter, so I smiled, made sure I kept my wolf contained, and asked, “Are you Mr. Johnson?”
“I am. What can I do for you, son?”
I pulled out my FBI badge and showed it to him. “I’m your daughter’s new partner, Jake Thomas, and I wanted to know if I could ask you some questions, sir?”
“Mind if I have a look?”
Once I put my badge in his hand, I dug out my identification card and offered it as well. “Of course, sir.”
“You’re like my daughter. You look younger than you are.”
“Runs in my family, sir.” Maybe carrying family pictures in my wallet made me unusual, but no one believed me when I tried to tell them my dad had stolen my face without photographic evidence. I pulled out the picture and showed it to Mr. Johnson. “This is me with my father. It was taken a little over a year ago.”
That Dad and I were wearing matching suits made the similarities even more striking, and Mr. Johnson chuckled. “If you hadn’t told me, I’d believe you were twins.”
“We hear that a lot.”
“I bet you do. Come on in, son. If you’re armed, please leave your ammunition in the bowl beside the door; we’ve got little ones running around the house.”
I appreciated the man’s request, made sure the chamber was empty, and left the magazine in the bowl beside a fresh bouquet of flowers. If there were children in the house, they were so quiet I couldn’t hear them, not even with my wolf’s help.
“Ma’s in the kitchen,” Karma’s father said, leading me down a long hall past a sitting room that looked like a toy factory had exploded in it. The kitchen was large with a table capable of seating ten taking up most of the room. “Ma, this boy’s Karma’s new partner.”
Karma’s father was dark even for a black man, but her mother was darker still. Carlos hadn’t told me Karma was adopted, but my wolf’s grumbling in my head ensured we’d be teaching the Fenerec a lesson on withholding information.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“What do you want?” Karma’s mother demanded, her body stiff with tension.
Her reactions gave me the clue I needed to crack my partner’s wariness. Something had happened with her past partners, and her parents didn’t trust me. Rising to their challenge, I offered my best smile and made sure my wolf remained locked deep within. “I thought the best place to come and learn about my new partner would be from her home. An agent from our office gave me your address.”
“What do you want to know?” The tension spread to Mr. Johnson.
“Whatever I need to know to watch over her. I don’t want to pry, sir, and I don’t mean to cause any offense, but she’s been through a lot of partners. There’s a reason for it, and I’d like to know what’s gone wrong. Personally, I can’t see what the issue is; she’s a hard-working, smart woman.”
The Johnsons stared at each other. Karma’s mother relaxed first, favoring her husband with a smile before turning it on me. “You’re the first one of her partners to come see us.”
It was my first time visiting a partner’s parents, but I wasn’t going to tell them that. Then again, my past partners had been happy enough to have me working with them. Unlike most Fenerec, my phone was always tracked by the Inquisition because I was the puppy of a pair of Alphas. If we got into tight spots—and we often did—help was a broken cell phone away.
“Ma?” a high-pitched voice asked from someone behind me. “Is Sissy here? The bowl’s full.”
The Johnsons glanced at each other, and Karma’s father grinned. “No, Marie. This is Agent Thomas, your sissy’s new partner. Why don’t you come say hello?”
My wolf adored children, and I did, too, but while I was expecting one, I was caught off guard when six Normal puppies flooded the room and pounced, burying me beneath them.
Once my wolf came out to play, it was difficult to retake control. He knew better than to betray our nature to Normals, but he wanted to play, and the Johnson children were game. I should have been grilling Karma’s parents about her, but instead, we were all on the floor wrestling with their herd of two- through eight-year olds, none of which were of their flesh and blood. My nose confirmed the truth, although three of the kids looked like they could have been their biological children.
It took almost an hour to wear the children out. Karma’s mother finally managed to shoo them away to the back yard. My wolf wanted to keep romping, but I restrained him, getting off the floor and taking the time to smooth my suit, which had somehow survived intact.
“I’m sorry about that,” Karma’s mother murmured, her lie souring her scent.
I chose to ignore the falsehood. There could be a lot of different reasons she wasn’t sorry, including the fact she was happy her charges had enjoyed themselves at my expense. “Not a problem at all.”
I wasn’t lying, either. In my line of work, the last thing I wanted was to be near kids. They were either the victims or the family of victims, and nothing riled my wolf faster than a child in distress.
“Have you been fostering long?”
Both of Karma’s parents flinched. “We’d fostered until we had a boy of our own, but he passed on, God bless him. When we found out we could get a baby girl a year later, we took Karma in and adopted her. After that, it seemed natural to have more kids in the house.”
A cold chill went through me as a few pieces clicked together in the complex puzzle that was Karma Johnson.
Her interest in CARD had a deeper motivation than I liked, and if it didn’t involve the Johnson’s son, I’d be shocked.
I wasn’t human, and I hadn’t been since I’d turned twelve, but I understood puppies. I understood the drive to protect them. The years hadn’t eased their grief; it added a sour bite to their scents.
I couldn’t force myself to smile. “Your daughter told me she was going to apply for CARD once she was eligible. I’d be honored to be her stepping-stone to get there, if that’s what she wants.”
They stared at me, their mouths hanging open, the grief in their scents dying away under warmer tones, though I couldn’t quite pinpoint the emotion. My wolf approved of my decision, but I had the feeling he’d roll over and let Karma Johnson do whatever she wanted to him so long as she paid him—and me—attention.
My words opened a floodgate, and it didn’t take long for me to learn why my partner feared me and everything I represented. Karma Johnson was the type of woman who would put her life on the line for what she believed was right, and she had the scars to prove it, including three bullet wounds still healing from her previous partner’s failure to watch over her in the line of duty. Someone had taken a photo of her at the crime scene, lying limp in a pool of her own blood. The image included her old partner, and in his expression, I saw no compassion for the woman he had betrayed, his eyes dead and cold.
He hadn’t been the first to fail her, but he would be the last.
I prayed I never found out who the man in the photo was, because I doubted my wolf would let me leave him alive. While I was certain there was more to Karma Johnson than what her parents told me, any other issues could wait. The photograph was enough to convince me I had a long, hard road ahead to earn my partner’s trust.
The Johnsons insisted I stay for dinner, and I learned the family truly did attend every church service. I had no idea how I’d been roped into attending with them, but I took Mrs. Johnson to the church in my mother’s Jaguar while the rest of the family crammed into the family van.
> When I finally escaped, an hour after story time, it was after ten. If I wanted to make it to work on time, I would have to test the limits of my mother’s car. Stifling a groan, I plugged my phone into the car’s charger, routed the sound through the stereo, and called my mother.
“Where are you?” my mother demanded.
“Vermont,” I admitted, backing the car out of the Johnson’s driveway. “I’m not going to be able to return your car until after work. As it is, I might be late getting back to Baltimore.”
“I can pull some strings if you need. Find out anything?”
“Possibly. Can you put Dad on?”
“Of course.”
A moment later, my father answered, “What is it, pup?”
“Can you poke around in the CARD database and find out if there was a case involving the Johnson family?”
There was a long moment of silence. “One sec. This have something to do with your partner?”
“A suspicion on why she’s so driven to join CARD.”
“Yeah, give me a minute, I need to go to my laptop. Here, talk to your mother.”
“You could just put it on speaker phone.”
“We’ve got pack visiting,” my mother said. “They were hoping to see you. They want to meet your new partner.”
“Not happening,” I snarled. My wolf was pleased with my possessiveness.
“Oh?”
“Mine.”
“A little territorial today, are we?” Instead of upset, my mother sounded amused.
I pulled over and sent my mother a copy of the picture Karma’s parents had shown me. “Just sent you a photograph of why. Most of our pack are agents. Her ex-partner is the reason for that picture.”
My mother hissed. “I see. I didn’t see your partner’s full file; I was just asked to recommend a Fenerec to partner with her, as there were some concerns. I picked you, since it would put you back in my territory where you belong. That, plus it was about time you got some field experience working with Normals. I’ll pull her file and find out more. This picture is reason enough for me to look around. I’ll make sure the pack keeps a distance. I’m going to get info on this man in the picture, too.”
