by Jane Jamison
“So you left town?” Evan regretted the question as soon as he’d said it. He could’ve asked it in a less accusing manner.
“I had to get away. Not only to protect everyone I cared about—” The tears coursed down her cheeks. “I was afraid and a coward. I just couldn’t take it any longer, so I left.”
“And you think this might be Pela coming after you now, sugar?”
She nodded. “Yes.” She swallowed hard. “I didn’t put it together until now. Pela has this weird thing about killing birds.” A small sob escaped her. “There was a dead bird, a quail outside Mr. Ethanson’s apartment. Just like the one he left on Miss Charlotte’s porch. He probably put it there to toy with me, to frighten me before coming to hurt me. But I didn’t remember. I didn’t put it together with the other one.”
“But why? You’re not a threat to him any longer.” Evan glanced at his friends, seeing if they understood. They had the same questions in their eyes.
“You don’t know him. He’s a vindictive, evil man. Once he thinks someone has done him wrong, he doesn’t care about anything except getting back at them. I should’ve known he’d find me.”
“So this is personal. He’s out for revenge, even when he doesn’t need to go after you any longer?”
“Who else could it be? If it’s not Neelson—” She looked to Drake, the silent question in her eyes. He nodded, reassuring her again that it wasn’t the werecat. “Then it has to be Pela.”
“How’d he find out you’re here? Fate’s not even on the map.”
She wiped away the tears, her sobs growing fewer. “Carol Ikson must’ve told him. She’s another prosecutor I worked with and the only one who knew where I’d gone. If she told him, then that means he’s done something awful to her. Oh God. Please, we have to call the Dallas police. We have to find out if she’s all right.”
“I’ll handle it.” Drake stood then paced out of the building with his phone, already calling the Dallas police.
“I’m sorry I lied to you.” She gazed up at Evan, eyes brimming with tears. “I couldn’t tell anyone. Not and leave it all behind and start over.”
“I guess we all had our secrets.” He wouldn’t make her feel bad for holding back her past. How could he when they’d kept what they were a secret from her? He knew his cousins felt the same way. “But now everything’s out in the open, right? We all stick to the truth from now on.”
“He knows where I am.”
The pain in her voice was almost more than Evan could bear. “It’s okay. You’re safe with us. We won’t let anything happen to you. I swear it.”
“He’s right, babe.” Tyler’s tone had dropped lower, the amber flecks in his eyes signaling the rise of his wolf.
“He won’t get within ten feet of you, sugar.”
She sucked in a hard breath. “I’m not the only one in danger. If he can’t get to me, he’ll go after those closest to me. Oh God. He’ll hurt Miss Charlotte. We have to get to her.”
* * * *
“Why doesn’t anyone answer?” Emeline had tried calling the house far too many times. Her stomach twisted into one hard knot.
“She doesn’t always answer, sugar.”
“But Mrs. Jacobs is there. She’d pick up.”
“Maybe they’re outside. Or just busy,” offered Tyler. Yet she sensed that he didn’t buy his own explanation. “Shifters aren’t very fond of phones.”
“So Mrs. Jacob is a werewolf, too?”
“Like we said, there are a lot of us in Fate.” Derek pulled his pickup to the curb in front of Miss Charlotte’s house.
She burst out of Derek’s truck and raced toward the house. “Miss Charlotte!”
“Hang on, sugar.” He was by her side, grabbing her arm to spin her around. “We don’t know if there’s anything wrong. Let’s not upset the old girl.” He motioned to Tyler and Evan. “Check around the back and side, guys. And the basement, too.”
She jerked out of his hold. “Let me go. Look. The front door’s wide open.”
“Easy. Lots of folks around here leave their doors wide open to get air circulating through the house.”
He was right, of course. Miss Charlotte had done it a hundred times before. Unfortunately, most of the time she left the door open, she also liked to wear the thinnest of nightgowns that didn’t hide her naked body. Emeline still hadn’t gotten used to it, but Miss Charlotte had declared that, “Anyone who comes into my house can damn well see me the way I am.”
She dragged in a long breath and turned to go inside again. “Okay. Let me see if she’s decent.”
He stepped in front of her. “No, I’d better go first.”
“She might not be dressed.”
“Miss Charlotte doesn’t have anything I haven’t seen before.”
“Maybe so, but not like hers.” She couldn’t wait a moment longer. Derek was probably right. More than likely the old woman was sound asleep sitting in front of the television. Besides, Mrs. Jacobs was watching over her.
“Go on, but be careful. And I’m coming in with you.” He tipped his cowboy hat low. “I’ll keep my eyes down until you say the coast is clear.”
As soon as they entered the house, she knew something was wrong. “Miss Charlotte? Mrs. Jacobs?” When there was no answer, Derek pushed his hat back and got in front of her. He put his finger to his lips, telling her to keep quiet.
She followed him until he was close to going into the kitchen. Instead of staying with him, she veered off to the right and went inside Miss Charlotte’s bedroom. The elderly woman was stretched out on top of her deep red-colored bedspread, her hands clasped over her stomach as she often did whenever she took a nap. Emeline breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”
But where was Mrs. Jacobs? Had Miss Charlotte told her to leave? Yet even if she had, wouldn’t her neighbor have called her to tell her?
She edged closer, her breath hitching in her throat. Miss Charlotte’s chest wasn’t rising and falling. Although the woman appeared peaceful, she realized all too soon that she wasn’t breathing.
“Miss Charlotte?” Emeline rushed the rest of the way to the side of the bed. Reaching over, she put a hand on top of the older woman’s hands then pressed two fingers to the jugular vein in her throat.
No pulse.
No breathing.
Her own breaths came in short gasps. She jerked her hand away then flattened it against the bedspread as she leaned forward for a better look.
A warm wetness soaked into her skin.
Oh God, no.
Fearing the worst, she lifted her hand and stared in horror at the blood covering her palm. A dark red pool peeked out from under Miss Charlotte’s nightgown.
“No.” She jerked away, coming to her feet. Anger and fear broke free inside her, and she opened her mouth to scream.
Her cry was cut short by a hand covering her mouth.
“Fuck with me and I’ll slit your throat.” Jerry Pela pressed a long knife to Emeline’s throat. “I’ve waited a long time to get you, you cunt. You couldn’t put me away, but you screwed up my life. I lost all my money. My wife left me because of you. Did you know that? Do you give a fuck?”
She held still, fearful to try and break free. He’d only have to make one quick move to cut her throat open.
Hang in there. Derek and the others will come.
“I wouldn’t hurt her if I were you.”
Pela whipped around, forcing her to move along with him. He gripped her hard, keeping her in front of him. Evan stood in the doorway, but it wasn’t the human Evan they saw.
Red eyes flashed bright as long, dagger-like fangs erupted from his mouth. His features were contorted into a horrifying mask of rage and violence.
“Holy shit.”
The window shattered as two large wolves broke through the glass. Pela let out a cry and loosened his hold on her. As soon as he did, she pushed away from him, throwing her body in the opposite direction.
In a flash of movement too quick to
follow, Evan lifted her into his arms. “You’re safe, baby.”
The same couldn’t be said for Pela. The wolves had him backed against the wall. He brandished the knife, but it did nothing to deter the animals from padding closer, inch by inch.
“You don’t want to see this.” Evan rushed her out of the bedroom, the speed of their movement making her head spin.
Evan placed her onto the couch then held her arm, keeping her with him. Growls and snarls erupted from the bedroom. Pela shouted curses. Then, as quickly as it had started, there was silence.
She struggled to leave, but Evan wouldn’t let her get up. “We have to help them. He has a knife.”
He cupped her behind the neck. “Trust me. His little knife won’t do much damage. They’re fine.” His gaze slid to the hallway. “See?”
He let her dash to Tyler and Derek. They captured her between their naked bodies, and she clung to them with every bit of strength she had left.
“It’s okay, sugar. It’s over.”
She searched Derek’s face. “Is he gone?”
Tyler brushed her hair away from her face in a gesture so tender it almost broke her heart. “He’s dead. He lunged at us and tripped.”
“The asshole fell on his own knife and killed himself.” Derek’s eyes burned with the strange amber color. “I just wish we’d been the ones to take him out.”
She closed her eyes, wanting to believe everything had ended. Was her past truly over? Yet the image of Miss Charlotte hit her, buckling her knees. They helped her back to the couch.
“She’s gone. He killed Miss Charlotte.” The world spun around her as tears streamed down her cheeks. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t come to Fate, she’d still be alive.”
“Stop it, Emeline.” The power, the command of Evan’s voice, surprised her. “You did what you had to do. He’s the only one to blame for her death. Not you.”
She shook her head, unable to believe the sweet, cantankerous old woman was gone. “Why’d he have to kill her?”
“His kind doesn’t need a reason.” Tyler knelt in front of her. “Her death is not your fault, babe.” He hesitated, heralding more terrible news. “Mrs. Jacob’s death isn’t your fault, either.”
She sucked in a hard breath then let it out in a moan filled with pain. “He killed her, too?”
“Yeah. We found her body in the basement.” Derek pulled her against him, his strong arms, for the first time, unable to give her any comfort. “He must’ve caught them by surprise. That’s the only explanation for his being able to kill two shifters.”
Miss Charlotte and Mrs. Jacobs. Both dead at the hands of the man who came to kill her. She couldn’t hold herself together any longer. Turning to put her face against Derek’s chest, she wept, sobs racking her body.
Chapter Nine
Several days earlier, Emeline wouldn’t have believed she could ever feel happy again. After being carried from Miss Charlotte’s home by Evan, she’d ended up on their ranch. Already stunned by Miss Charlotte’s and Mrs. Jacob’s deaths, she’d been unable to handle the news of her friend Carol’s death. She’d been right. Once Pela had gotten Carol to tell her what she knew, he’d stabbed her to death. The police had found her dead body in her living room, along with a dead quail.
The man had to have been insane. Revenge alone couldn’t be the answer. Not judging from the lengths he’d gone to find her. She’d left town, yet he couldn’t let her go free.
“How are you doing, baby? Here. I thought you could use some tea.”
The usually stoic Evan had been more than gentle. All the men had.
“Thanks.” She took the mug he offered her. “You know there’s only so much tea a girl can drink.”
Tyler and Derek rounded the corner of their home. Evan was quick to claim the chair next to hers while the other men used the porch railing for seats.
“You look beautiful, sugar.”
“Yeah. Really relaxed,” added Tyler.
She took a sip, enjoying the attention they showered on her. “Thanks to you three.”
“Nah. We’re just doing what we want to do.” Concern still played at the corners of Derek’s eyes. “What we want to do for the rest of our lives.”
They hadn’t discussed much of anything since they’d brought her to the ranch. Had, in fact, kept their distance, letting her take over the master bedroom for herself while they played nursemaids. Not that she’d ever call them that. She could imagine their horror at the word. They’d waited on her, watched over her, and taken care of all the details she’d been too fragile to handle.
But it was time she faced her role in all of it. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”
Tyler shrugged as though it was no big deal that she’d hidden her real identity from them. “Like all the other times when you said you’re sorry, don’t worry about it. We love you. We don’t give a flip about your past or what your name is. The only important thing is that we share a future.”
At times, he could be downright romantic. “Thank you for understanding.”
“And thank you for accepting what we are.” Evan placed his hand over hers.
His warmth flowed into her. Another myth was broken. Vampires weren’t cold creatures. As far as Evan had explained, they weren’t really dead. Instead, they were another form of life, just like shifters were.
“Damn, we’re sure getting formal. How about we get down to the basics?” Derek acted as though he was calm and collected, but he couldn’t get settled, shifting back and forth on his feet.
She’d learned a lot about them in only a few short days. Yet as much as they’d watched over her, she’d watched them, too. “Okay. Shoot.”
“We’ve taken care of everything. Miss Charlotte didn’t want a memorial. Most shifters don’t. We don’t care for funerals or cemeteries. Instead, we followed her wishes and cremated her at the edge of town.”
She almost dropped her mug. “And you didn’t tell me? I would’ve wanted to be there to tell her goodbye.”
“She wouldn’t have wanted you there, sugar. Not that she didn’t care for you, but it’s a hard thing to watch. I’m sorry, but we had to respect her wishes.”
“And Mrs. Jacobs?”
“Her husband’s taking her body back to Virginia where she grew up.”
A wave of nausea washed over her. So many people had died because of her.
“I know what you’re thinking, baby.”
Whether it was the tone of Evan’s voice or her need to see his dark eyes, she opened hers and sought comfort there. “You do?”
“We do. You’re blaming yourself.”
She dropped her gaze to her drink. “If it weren’t for me coming to Fate, they’d still be alive.”
“Then more people you cared about in Dallas would’ve died instead. Like Carol.”
Drake Hardwick had contacted the Dallas police and received the awful news. He’d been the one to tell her men, who had then told her.
“Drake has friends in the Dallas PD. They’re taking care of matters on their end. You won’t have to tell anyone else what happened, much less go back there.”
“I have a question.” Tyler tilted his head at her. “What do you want us to call you? Emeline or Katie?”
All three of the men waited, ready to accept whatever she decided. She’d given it a lot of thought and had come up with the only answer that made sense to her.
“My name is Emeline Newsom. Katie Latner is gone as far as I’m concerned. I came to Fate to start a new life with a new identity, and that’s what I still want to do.”
“What about everyone else? The only other person who knows is Drake, and he’s promised to keep it to himself until you say different. What about your friends? Are you going to tell them who you really are?”
“They already know who I am in every way that counts.” She met Derek’s hard gaze. “I’m their friend Emeline. Don’t you see? Katie is as good as dead. I don’t even think of myself as her any longer. I’ll tell the
m in time, but not just yet. When I do, I trust them enough to accept me as Emeline.”
“But you’ll be keeping a secret from them. Is that what you really want to do?” asked Tyler.
“For now, it’s what I have to do. They’ll know soon enough just like they’ll tell me what they want me to know once they’re ready. Maybe it’s hiding secrets, and maybe it’s more a matter of respecting each other’s privacy.”
“Whatever you want to do is fine with us.” Evan slid his palm up her arm. “As long as you’re with us.”
“What about Miss Charlotte and Mrs. Jacobs? What does everyone in town know about their deaths?”
“Drake’s telling everyone that a rogue werepanther killed them since we don’t have many of those around these parts. As far as they know, the cat’s pride is handling the matter.”
“We know it’ll take time, but the future’s nothing but good, sugar. All you have to do is to trust us on that.”
“I do. I trust you without question. Still, I don’t suppose you have a job for me.” She didn’t have to worry about making a living since Miss Charlotte had left everything to her in her will. Her men had told her enough times that they wanted her to take some time before making any decisions except for one.
“You can do anything you want, but your main job is the same as ours. Taking care of each other. Being mates and raising a family. If that’s what you want.” Evan offered his hand to her. “If that’s what you want, then take my hand. Let us show you how we feel.”
“You’ve already shown me in so many other ways.” She put down her cup then placed her hand in his. “But I wouldn’t mind if you showed me in another way, too.”
She yelped as Derek tugged her onto her feet and kept pulling her into the house. Evan and Tyler followed them to the huge master bedroom, the room they’d promised they’d kept for her and her alone.
