“I have no idea at all,” Davidson replied firmly. “I wish I did. I know I’m not being particularly useful right now.”
“That’s OK,” Ross waved a hand. “Tell me, Mr. Davidson, do you live alone?”
The question evidently surprised the man because he jerked in his chair as though he’d been hit. “Live alone?”
“Yes,” Ross replied, interested by his response. “Do you live alone? By yourself?”
“Uh, yes. Yes, I do.” Clearing his throat, Davidson gave a slight laugh. “Of course, I have friends who visit from time to time.”
“Then we’ll need a list of those names,” Thomas said from the corner. “Just to clear them.”
Davidson looked quite offended. “I can assure you that none of them would have had anything to do with Jenny’s disappearance.”
Ross cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes as he glared at Davidson. “We need that list, Mr. Davidson, whether you believe that or not. Or don’t you want us to do the best we can to find Jenny?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Davidson gave in. His shoulders slumped, and Ross knew he had won an important battle. Davidson would have to give him names, and Ross would look into them immediately. They would have to be real people, of course, because anything false would come up blank and then suspicion would fall on Davidson himself. Maybe, just maybe, they might be able to find someone else involved with the hunters.
Davidson began scribbling down his list, glancing up at Ross with something like anger in his eyes. “Can I meet the rest of the team?” he asked as he wrote. “I’d really like to meet everyone. It’s really important for my peace of mind.”
Ross didn’t know what to say. He was running out of excuses and had no idea how Ash was doing. Connor’s mouth was tight, and he could almost see Thomas’s hackles rising. Opening his mouth, without even being sure what would come out of it, Ross was interrupted by the opening of the office door.
“I brought you a coffee, Ross,” Ash muttered, his face pale but set. “Sarah’s coming to help in a minute. I think I’m going to turn in.”
Relief flooded Ross as he nodded his head. “Of course. It’s pretty late. See you in the morning, Ash.”
“Night.”
Just as Ash left, Sarah came in and sat next to Thomas. With a nod toward Ross and Mr. Davidson, she set about sorting out the papers on Thomas’s desk.
“Well,” Ross said with a grin on his face. “It seems you’ve met the team, Mr. Davidson. I hope that brings you the peace you were looking for.”
Davidson seemed disappointed, angry even. “Yes, it does,” he muttered, practically throwing the piece of paper at Ross. “I think I need to get back home to make sure there’s not another note. Please do let me know the moment you have something.”
“Of course,” Ross replied, getting to his feet. “Connor, please show Mr. Davidson out.”
With a feeling of satisfaction, he watched as Connor led Davidson from the room, closing his eyes in relief as he heard the front door slam. They’d done it.
Chapter Five
Ross had sent everyone to bed as soon as Davidson had left, after making sure Ash was OK. Thankfully, his brother was just a little dizzy, but Connor had got to him in time to get him to make an appearance for Davidson’s sake. Ross was relieved he’d managed, even if he’d felt entirely awful. It had been enough to get Davidson off their case, at least for now.
“How is everyone feeling this morning?” he asked, grabbing a cup of coffee. “I know last night was tough.”
“We’re fine,” Sarah replied on behalf of herself and Thomas. “Not so sure about Ash, though.”
Ash merely grunted, his face still quite pale. Ross wasn't surprised at his reaction. He'd been hit with a big dose of tranquilizer, so he'd need a couple of days to recover.
“I’m fine, if anyone’s wondering,” Connor said with a grin. “Then again, I wasn’t the one knocked out yesterday!”
Ross snorted. “Yes, about that. There’s more to this than you all know.”
That got everyone’s attention at once. Four pairs of eyes landed on him, their gazes intense.
“When I went around the back of Davidson’s house last night, I found Jenny.”
Sarah gasped, her hand at her mouth.
“What do you mean you found her?” Ash asked, looking confused. “I thought Davidson came to tell us she was missing!”
“Davidson’s a liar,” Ross replied hotly. “He’s got her in a cellar in his house. She’s a shifter.”
“What?” Connor exclaimed, suddenly looking horrified. “So, he is a hunter then? What is he going to do to her?”
“How do you know she’s a shifter?” Ash asked.
“Should I phone my sister?” Sarah interrupted.
Ross held up a hand, asking them all to be quiet for a moment while he collected his thoughts.
"One thing at a time," he said, waiting until there was quiet. "Yes, she's a shifter. I was in my wolf form at the time, and she recognized me at once. There's no way a human could do that. That's why Davidson's having such a hard time identifying us all."
Thomas let out a long breath, his arm going around Sarah’s shoulders. Ross sensed the tension in the room, knowing that each and every shifter wanted to protect Jenny even though they knew nothing else about her.
“What are we going to do?” Thomas asked heavily. “You said she’s in Davidson’s cellar?”
Ross nodded, his face grim. “There’s no way she can get out of that grate, and I don’t think there’s another way to get to her. She warned me to stay away, though.”
Ash frowned, and Ross already knew what his question would be before he asked it. “Why did she warn you? What’s so dangerous?”
“She told me his name is Greg Davidson, and that he wouldn’t stop until he got all of us.”
“Got us?” Connor asked, his face growing tight with anger. “So, he is hunting us?”
“Him and a few others, I think,” Ross replied firmly. “Remember those scents from yesterday? I think there’s more going on in that house than we know. That was something else Jenny said—if that’s actually her name. She said that he knew someone would come to investigate the house. I don’t think she was talking about the police.”
Silence covered the room like a thick blanket as each of his pack members realized what he meant. Davidson was onto them. He'd gone to the police and to them to try and discover who the shifters were.
“It’s just as well you were able to come through when you did, Ash,” Ross continued, softly. “When you showed up, I could see the disappointment on Davidson’s face. He obviously thought you were the one he’d hit with the tranq gun.”
Ash nodded. “Yeah, that’s what we thought. So, now he thinks we’re not the shifters? He’ll start looking at the police?”
Ross took in a deep breath, hoping that would be the case. “I’d think he would. Obviously, he knows that there are shifters here, he’s just not sure who yet. His attention is off us for a little while.”
“Then we should use that to our advantage,” Connor replied, getting to his feet. “We need to try and get her out.”
Warning rose in Ross’s chest. “He’s going to be expecting that.”
“But what’s the alternative?” Ash replied tersely. “Leave her there to rot?”
Ross shook his head, the memory of her frightened eyes looking up at him making him go hot all over. The last thing he wanted was to leave a terrified shifter alone. “I want to get her out too,” he replied calmly. “But we need a plan. There are hunters out there, more than just Davidson, and we have no idea who they are.”
Sarah looked up, her expression telling him that she had a plan. Typical Sarah. She always came up with something, and most of the time, it worked out.
“What?”
“We’ll have to take her away from here,” she said quickly. “Without drawing too much attention to yourselves, of course, but we could easily say that you and maybe
Connor are away investigating the case?”
He frowned. “But where would we go?”
“To another pack!” she exclaimed. “We have to let everyone know that there are hunters on the loose.”
“I can just call the other leaders, though,” Ross argued. “What’s the point?”
She blew out a long, exasperated breath. “Because Davidson is going to put all of his energies into finding Jenny. And that means all of his hunters are going to be doing the same, I’d guess. Our pack’s not that big.”
“So, you think I should go up to the East River pack,” Ross said, understanding what she meant. “They’ll be able to protect her better than we can.”
Sarah gave him a small smile. "I'm not intending to say that we're not as good a pack as they are or anything like that. We're just smaller, that's all. Besides, the farther away from Davidson she is, the better. Whatever his reasons for wanting her, they're obviously important."
Ross didn't want to agree but knew he had to. There wasn't any other way as far as he could see. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Sarah. OK, that means we keep our heads down for a couple of days and come up with a plan. Once we get Jenny out, we'll have to leave pretty much straight away."
"Are we going to take the truck?" Connor asked, obviously a little calmer now that there were the beginnings of a plan.
Shaking his head, Ross saw the gleam in Connor’s eye. The longer he could stay in his wolf form, the happier Connor was. “We’ll take it some of the way,” he said eventually. “But we’ll take the last five miles or so on foot. No way I’m leading the hunters to the East River pack.”
“Sound good to me!” Connor declared. “Right, then. Let’s make a plan.”
Chapter Six
Three days later, Connor, Ash and Ross stood on Greg Davidson’s doorstep, waiting for him to answer.
“I can smell trouble,” Ash muttered darkly. “This place has got a million different scents.”
Connor snorted. “Not quite a million, Ash.”
"There's enough to be confusing," Ross murmured out of the corner of his mouth. "It’s not just Davidson here. There will have been police visiting as well, remember." The door opened just as he finished speaking and Ross smiled at Mr. Davidson.
“Good morning, sir,” he said, sticking out his hand. “We just came to see if you’d got that note back from the police?”
“Oh,” Davidson replied, looking flustered. “I—uh, no, I haven’t.”
“I see,” Ross said, attempting to look disappointed. “However, I was hoping you’d let us into your home for a moment?”
Distrust flashed onto Davidson's face before he covered it swiftly with a look of surprise. "What do you need inside my house for?"
Leaning forward, Connor kept his voice low, as though pretending someone might hear them. “We’ve found something that might help, Mr. Davidson.”
“Really?”
Connor nodded, his eyes serious. “It appears someone might have bugged your home.”
Ross tried not to laugh as Mr. Davidson attempted to appear shocked while hiding his obvious confusion. Since he was the man who had Jenny in his cellar, there was no way that someone could have bugged his home. However, he couldn’t risk telling them that.
“That’s why there are three of you?” he asked, glancing at Ross and Ash. “You intend to search my property?”
“We won’t touch a thing,” Ross promised. “And the cameras are most likely to be in rooms you occupy the most, so you could just point out which ones they are.”
“After all,” Ash broke in, his dark eyes watching Mr. Davidson intently. “We don’t want anything to happen to Jenny. I’m sure you’ll agree that any tip like this is worth investigating.”
His challenge lingered in the air for a few minutes, before Davidson eventually conceded.
“Of course, of course,” he muttered, holding open the door. “Please, come in.”
The house was larger than Ross had thought, his keen eyes searching out every nook and cranny. There were no lights on in the place, giving it an eerie look. His nose twitched. He could smell her almost immediately. She had been in this room recently.
“This is the living room,” Davidson said, leading them through a small hallway toward a larger room. “My bedroom is up the stairs, and the kitchen is through to your left.”
“If you could just show me where your bedroom is,” Ash said, wandering toward the stairs. “Then I can start a quick search there.”
Ross made a great pretense of beginning to search the room as both he and Connor ignored both Davidson and Ash entirely. They had to get him to believe that they were genuine.
“This way,” Davidson muttered, walking toward Ash.
The moment Ross heard footsteps on the stairs, he sprang into action. Heading to the kitchen, he sniffed hard, trying to find her scent.
“Here,” he whispered, finding a small door on the other side of the kitchen. Pushing it open, he found a tiny space with stairs leading below.
“I’ll warn you as soon as I hear him coming down,” Connor said, urging him on. “You’ve got about ten minutes at the most.”
Ross moved quickly down the stairs, not even turning on the light. His human senses were sharpened, thanks to his abilities, and he didn’t need the light to see.
The cellar was dusty, but Jenny’s scent was strong. Following it carefully and trying not to make too much noise, Ross made his way to another door and found it locked.
“Jenny?” he whispered, pressing his ear to the door. “Are you there?”
“Who is it?” came the wavering voice. “Who’s there?”
Ross struggled to explain. “It’s me. I saw you a couple of days ago, through the grate.”
Her reaction was instant, slamming her body against the door. “Help me, please,” she cried, turning the handle over and over. “I have to get out of here.”
“Just give me a couple of minutes,” he said quietly. Pulling out his lock-picking set from his pocket, Ross bent down and carefully began to work. Sweat trickled down his back, waiting for that final click that would let him know he’d done it.
“Two minutes,” he heard Connor whisper. At the same time, a click sounded, the handle turned, and, just as he got to his feet, a woman fell into his arms.
After a moment’s shock, Ross righted her carefully, seeing her frantic expression. “Are you Jenny?”
“Yes, yes, I am,” she whispered, her hands still clutching his arms. “Is he still here? Can we go?”
“No, no,” Ross soothed, hoping she was going to do what they’d planned. That had been one thing they weren’t sure of—whether she would do what they asked her to. That was going to be the worst bit. If she didn’t agree, their entire plan would go out of the window.
“Please,” he said quickly. “You need to listen. You can’t come with us now. We’ll leave the door unlocked.”
“What?” Jenny breathed, her eyes wide and staring. “You can’t mean to leave me with him!”
"No, no, I don't," Ross insisted. "But if you leave now, he'll know that we've been involved. We have to protect ourselves." He tipped up her chin with one finger, registering just how frightened she was. "We'll leave the door unlocked so that you're not trapped. Does he come downstairs often to see you?"
She shook her head. “Only when the others are here, and they were here last night.” A shudder shook her small frame. “He’ll leave me alone today. He always does.”
Ross nodded, giving her a small smile. “Then we picked the perfect day for it. Leave the door unlocked, and once you know he’s gone up the stairs to bed, that’s your chance to leave.”
Jenny’s face calmed, although he could almost smell the fear coming from her. “We’ll be right outside,” he said carefully. “Once he’s gone to bed, let yourself out and come outside. I can make sure the front door is unlocked.”
He could see the indecision on her face, inwardly begging her to agree. “I know this is di
fficult,” he said, hearing Connor’s urgent whisper. “But I have to go. He’ll be back any minute.”
“Please don’t leave me,” Jenny whispered, still clinging to him. “He’s going to kill me.”
“No, he won’t,” Ross replied grimly. “Remember, we’ll be right outside. As soon as you can, shift and then follow us. OK?”
“Ross,” Connor whispered, growing more and more nervous. “We have to go. I can hear his footsteps on the stairs!”
Jenny closed her eyes briefly, before letting him go. Ross let out a breath of relief as she walked back to the cellar.
“Thank you,” he murmured as the door closed. Hearing Connor’s urgent whisper, Ross took the stairs two at a time.
"Have you found anything?" Davidson asked as he studied Connor and Ross in the kitchen.
Ross turned away, pretending to inspect the bottom of the kitchen units while attempting to get his breathing under control. The last thing he wanted was for Davidson to guess that he’d been rushing up the cellar stairs.
“We did, in fact,” Connor replied, taking attention away from Ross. “In the living room.”
There was a brief silence. Evidently, Davidson was thoroughly surprised that someone actually bugged his house. Then again, he wasn't to know that Connor had just grabbed that stuff from the office. It was all to fool Davidson, and, from the look on his face, it seemed to be working.
Loved by The Alpha Wolf (The Lone Wolf Book 1) Page 3
