Breaking Out

by Gayle Parness

  I blew my nose on a tissue and wiped off the worst of the snot. Pathetic. I was pathetic. I thought about the trip on the ferry and how cool it had been holding Jay’s super large hand. He was really gentle for such a big guy.

  Another knock. “You okay?”

  “Not really.”

  “You want company?”

  “I’ll get dressed and come out.”

  “I’ll wait here.”

  The vision of him leaning against the wall like he had outside the bathroom did all kinds of funny things to my belly. I threw on jeans and a tee shirt, pulled my hair into a ponytail, smeared on some lipstick and walked back into the hall. This time he looked concerned.

  “You were crying.”

  “I’m worried about my family.” And that was not a lie.

  “How much do they owe?”

  “There’s an enormous fine, but it’s not just money.”

  “What else?”

  “My father disgraced the court by marrying a half breed. In my world, the eldest child is held responsible for the parent’s mistakes. I have to turn over my first female child. When she’s three years old she’ll be taken away and raised by my mate’s family where they’ll watch her closely for any signs of humanity. If, by the time she’s fifteen she’s found to have any human characteristics, she’ll be left on land to find her own way in the world. If she’s accepted by my people, I’ll only be able to visit her four times a year and the visits will be supervised.”

  “That’s probably the most fucked up thing I ever heard.”

  “Can we go for a walk?”

  “Sure.” As soon as we were outside the house, he took my hand. It felt so good to have someone’s support, even in this small way.

  “You can punch me if it helps,” he suggested.

  “In what bizarre way would that help?”

  “It gets out the anger.”

  “That’s not what females do.”

  “I forget. You’ve never met Charlie’s mom, Jackie, or Aaron’s mate, Kathy, or…”

  “Females hit their mates?”

  He laughed. “Females like Jackie duel with males, using swords and knives. She’s chopped off some heads—only the bad guys of course. Female fae can be every bit as deadly on a battlefield as the male warriors, and I can pretty much guarantee that Ms. Turner has taken down some misbehaving wolves.”

  “Can you teach me?”

  “To chop off heads?”

  “To fight.”

  “You’ve come to the right place, Ms. Ivy. My dad’s spent thousands of hours training me. But first, you’ve got to build up some strength. You’re joining a gym.”

  “What? No I’m not.”

  “It’s either that or I make you run around the high school track everyday and you lift weights in front the whole student body.”

  “No way, I’m…”

  “Good. There’s a gym on the next block.”

  “But I’m strong. I’m a good swimmer.”

  “You are, but do you swim everyday?”

  “No…”

  “You’re going to the gym every day.”

  “But I want to learn to use weapons.”

  “Using a knife involves quickness and strength. Martial arts will give you balance and focus. Don’t worry. I got this figured out.”

  “Can anyone ever win an argument with you?”

  “Maybe. Sometimes. Charlie’s pretty good at it.”

  “He’s pretty good at everything.”

  “You like him?” My comment made him bristle a little. I stared at my feet, smiling.

  “You mean, like him?” I looked up to see Jay nodding, his eyes narrowing. “No. He’s cool and working with him will be awesome, but no. He’s not for me.”

  “I thought he was really into you at first.”

  “He knew right away that I was something different, not human. I was like a puzzle for him to figure out.”

  “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

  “You have a girlfriend, Jay?”

  “Not for a while.” He grinned at me. “You applying for the job?”

  “Being your girlfriend would be hard work.”

  “Right back at cha, Ivy.”

  “True.”

  He squeezed my hand and held the door to the gym so I could go in first.

  CHARLIE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  They’d found out who’d stolen the chela. The chieftain himself called me about it. It was always a shock to hear my new desk phone ring.

  “Triad. This is Charles” How many times had I heard my dad answer his office phone the same way? “Rogues, Incorporated. This is Garrett.” Only, unlike Rogues, Inc., I hadn’t planned on taking jobs involving anything more serious than stolen property or lost pets. Ms. Turner and her dead wolves had one-eightied those plans. Maybe my next case would involve finding Fido.

  “Master Cuvier, this is Chieftain Marea. I have the information you were seeking.”

  “You know who stole the artifact?”

  “Yes. It was the assistant secretary of my chamber cabinet. His name is Errol”

  “He admitted to stealing it?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “He has a human form?” He wouldn’t be able to pick up the chela if he only had a steed and a kelpie form.

  “Yes. He’s a distant cousin of mine.”

  “But he needed help.”

  “Help?”

  “He wouldn’t have been able to lift it by himself.” I added.

  “We’re quite strong.” He sounded less sure.

  “And how did he sneak it out of the building?”

  “This is your investigation, sir, not mine.” He sounded stressed.

  “If the wolves don’t have the person responsible soon, it could be a big problem for you and your people.” There were a few heartbeats of silence on the line. I didn’t try to fill it. Sometimes it’s better to wait.

  “He’s on the dock across from your office. He’s being guarded.”

  “I’ll take a walk over there. Ask him some questions.”

  “Fine. I trust no harm will come to him?”

  “If he admits to killing the wolves I’ll have to call the WPC. Then it’s up to them.”

  “Were the wolves killed in the ocean?” he asked.

  “They were drowned.”

  “I see.”

  “According to the female alpha, they were chopped to pieces on the shore. However, I wasn’t able to examine them on site. Ms. Turner said she didn’t want to leave them outside on the beach for the wildlife to attack.”

  “Why would someone go to all the trouble of using a chela? An axe or a sharp blade would work as well.”

  I’d spent quite a lot of time musing over that same question. “The only reason I can come up with is to frame a kelpie.”

  “I see. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of the wolves wanted to cause us additional problems. They’ve already taken some of our territory and we’re helpless to do anything about it. We are not adverse to sharing, but the Catalina Pack has other ideas.”

  “Does the WPC know?”

  “They would support their own.”

  “My Uncle Aaron is on the WPC. I’ll let him know. Any territory infringements go through him.”

  “Aaron Green?”

  “Yeah. He’s my dad’s first cousin.”

  “How is that possible? Your father is a fae lord. Lord Kennet.”

  “Kennet is nothing to me.” I hadn’t meant to sound so angry, but I was having that reaction more and more now that I was older. I took a long, deep breath. “I apologize, Chieftain. My mom is mated to Garrett Cuvier and his first cousin is Aaron Green. Garrett is my father. Kennet is the scum who raped her.” Everyone knew the story.

  “I see. I suppose I owe you an apology as well.”

  “Not necessary. I’m touchy on the subject.”

  “I can understand that. Still, you inherited his gifts.”

  “Yes.” I didn’t want
to elaborate on the ones I wished I hadn’t inherited.

  “I would be most appreciative if you spoke to your uncle, Master Cuvier. On land, in human or steed form, we are helpless against the extremely aggressive wolves.”

  “I’ll call him tonight.” After I spoke to the guy on the dock.

  “Thank you. Might I speak to my son?”

  “Sure.” I shouted his name then got back on the phone. “We’ll speak again soon.”

  “I look forward to it.” Marea said.

  Rylen took the phone and made himself comfortable in one of the chairs on the other side of my desk. I left to give him some privacy.

  Fifteen minutes later Jay and I walked down to the dock with Rylen, leaving Ivy behind after making her promise not to cook anything. Samson was back at the house with us, so she said she’d take him out for a run on the beach.

  Jay took her by the arm. “Don’t go swimming. Tellek might grab you.”

  It was kind of sweet the way he was so protective of her. “You two a thing?” I asked.

  “No. She’s sixteen, as you pointed out a few days ago. But maybe when she’s seventeen we might think about becoming a thing.”

  “You’re treating her like she’s special.”

  “She is. We’re friends for now.”

  “That’s cool.” I didn’t say anything else.

  The man in question wore a bathing suit and was seated on a bench along with another burly guy.

  He stood when I approached, speaking in Fae, “Sir. I swear to you that I had nothing to do with the death of that wolf.”

  I responded in the same language. “There were two.”

  “There were? I haven’t been out of our grotto for over two months.”

  “What do you do?”

  “I work in the labs, developing new food sources. In my spare time I help at the museum. There’s a lot to do and only around a quarter of our population has a human form.”

  “Do you have people who can corroborate where you were on the night of the murder?”

  “Yes. I have a family. I was home with them.”

  “But you took the chela out of the display case?”

  “I explained to the chieftain, it needed a cleaning. Lord Tellek pointed it out to me last week.”

  “Lord Tellek.”

  “Yes. He’s been very interested in the museum. I’ve seen him there at least four times in the last month.”

  “When you took it for cleaning, where did you leave it?”

  “I locked it in the lab overnight. When I came back in the next morning, it was gone. I reported this to the head of the museum, but he didn’t seem concerned.”

  “Could you please write down his name?”

  “Certainly.”

  “If I need to speak to your family, I’ll let you know, but I don’t think it’ll be necessary.” He bowed to me and left, diving into the water along with his guard.

  “You know this guy, Rylen?” Jay asked.

  Rylen responded in English. “Of course. I know every citizen, as is my duty. He is well liked and respected. I do not believe he would have anything to do with the murder of the wolves.”

  “What about Tellek?”

  “To what purpose?”

  “Do you think he might want to set someone up? Cause trouble for his own people?”

  “I do not understand why he would do such a thing.”

  “Is he strong enough to lift it himself?”

  “It is lighter than it looks to be and he is a large male.”

  “He’s twice as wide as I am.” Jay chuckled.

  “You’re much taller.” I added.

  We started walking back, checking the beach for signs of Samson and Ivy. “Do you think the wolves might have paid him?”

  “To kill two of their own?”

  “Do we know for sure that those wolves were part of the Catalina Pack?” Jay asked.

  “Good question.” I took a few minutes to organize my thoughts, the other two talking quietly behind me.

  “I’ll call around. Find out if any wolves are missing from other packs in the area. Jay, you go online. See if you can dig anything up that way. Also, check out Tellek’s finances. Maybe he owes someone some money and got paid off by the wolves or some other supernatural group to cause trouble for the kelpies.” I turned to Rylen. “Do you have first names?”

  “I am Rylen Marea. Lord Tellek is Tellek Marea. He is also a cousin of my father.”

  I frowned. “Is he in line for the throne?”

  “Third. After me is my sister, Tania. She is mated to a lord.”

  “Call your dad. Have him place a guard on her. Just in case.”

  “Yes lord.” He bowed. This was getting old. “Rylen. Please don’t bow to me. I’m an informal kind of guy. I understand the need for it at court, but out here in the real world, it just makes me stand out. I don’t want that.”

  “Yes, lord.”

  “Say this: okay Charlie.”

  “Okay, Charlie.” He was frowning in concentration.

  “Perfect.”

  Samson came bounding up the sidewalk, Ivy running after him, giggling. The expression on Jay’s face was like nothing I’d ever seen him wear—a mixture of pride, possession and even affection. I laughed quietly to myself. Whether he admitted to it or not, this boy was toast.

  IVY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Jay was online and Charlie and Rylen were on the phone calling around to find out if any wolves were missing. I was sitting around twiddling my thumbs. This was not acceptable. Wasn’t I part of this team?

  I snuck out the back door, leaving a note on my bed for the boys. They’d find it eventually and I wouldn’t be gone for long. There were other places to get info besides using the internet and the phone. I could usually tell when someone was lying, although the subtle kind was harder for me, but it was worth a try. Plus I knew right away what kind of supe someone was, as long as they were full blood.

  Charlie and Jay weren’t utilizing my skills.

  Where to start? Maybe the local coffee shop? Weres drank coffee, right? I headed for the nearest shop and ordered myself a small latte. This could be a long afternoon and I didn’t want to get jittery.

  There was a wolf sitting at table in the back. I sat at the table next to his, making a show of putting on lip gloss and adjusting the tee shirt so it showed more cleavage.

  “You’re a very pretty little thing, aren’t you?”

  I smiled in a flirty way. “Thanks.”

  “You want to share my table?”

  “I don’t know, are you dangerous?’

  “Only if you want me to be, baby.”

  It was so hard not to roll my eyes, but hey, this was what I was here for. “Okay, then.” I got up and moved to his table. His eyes roamed my body and he seemed to like what he saw.

  “You want a refill?” He pointed to my cup. Wow big spender.

  “No thanks. This is already my second.” He nodded and smiled. He was missing two front teeth. They’d grow back eventually ‘cause he was a wolf, but it wasn’t a good sign of him having a peaceful nature. “Are you one of those wolves from Catalina?” I asked, widening my eyes for effect.

  This told him I was a human in the know, probably one of those sluts who liked to live dangerously. Some of them became werewolf groupies. “Why do you want to know?”

  “I heard two of your pack were killed. Chopped to pieces. I used to love going to the island, but I’m gonna avoid it from now on. There’s some crazy person out there murdering people.”

  “Where did you hear about it?” He asked, smiling pleasantly.

  “On the docks. A fisherman was talking to his friend.”

  “The island’s safe. If you come out, I can show you around.”

  Yeah, right to his bedroom, unless he was planning on pushing me against the brick wall in the alley. “Oh, that would be cool. Can you take me to the pack lands?”

  “Maybe.” A total lie.

&nbs
p; “Do you know how they died?” I asked, crossing my legs. His gaze headed to my thighs really fast.

  “Like you said, they were chopped up.”

  “Are you sure it was a human? Maybe it was a vampire who did it. Those creeps freak me out.” Vampires and wolves were usually enemies.

  “No vampires on the island.”

  “Or maybe a wolf from a rival pack. I mean the two who died were from your pack, right?”

  He leaned back in his chair. “What’s your name, sweet thing?”

  Definitely not Sweet Thing. “Daisy.”

  “Daisy? Really?”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Joe.”

  “Joe? Really?” I giggled.

  He laughed. “Daisy it is.” He looked me over in a whole new way, trying to make his mind up. “I’m heading back to the island now. You want to come?”

  “How am I getting home?

  “I’ll bring you back.”

  “And you’re gonna just show me around, right? I’m no whore. I don’t go for guys who don’t treat a female the right way.”

  “I’ll be real polite.”

  I shrugged. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  “I just have to pick something up at the building next door, then we can take off.”

  “I’ll wait here.”

  “See you in a few.”

  “Cool.”

  He left. The next thing I knew, two other wolves had sat down across from me. “Who’re you working with, Daisy?”

  I sat up straighter and smoothed down my hair. “I’m having coffee. Who are you?”

  “Why’re you asking questions about what happened on the island?”

  “Cause I like to go there sometimes and now it’s becoming a dangerous place.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “You can think whatever you want. Doesn’t matter to me.”

  “It’s going to matter a lot.” The dark haired one gestured to the bald guy who took hold of my arm, squeezing it, bruising it. I started to cry out for help but the one in charge moved closer. “Scream or make a fuss and you die right here. You understand?”