Secrets

by Lynn Crandall

  “She’s ready, Casey. Quit dragging this out.” Lara kicked him under the table.

  “Yeah. I need to get back to work.” Hazel eyes that glimmered with green glints turned in her direction. It was Asia.

  “Yes. Good idea.” Casey set his glass of water aside. “Michelle, I told you you’d never be alone until this mess with William Carter gets straightened out.”

  Michelle nodded her head but kept quiet.

  “The colony has helped out, taking turns watching your property and keeping you in a line of sight when you’ve left your house, because I can’t always be at your side.” Michelle held up a hand in protest. “I don’t expect that of you. Or any of your friends.”

  Tizzy chuckled. “It’s okay, Michelle. We got your back. We live a quiet life and keep to ourselves, as Casey has probably told you. But when danger occurs, our unique abilities allow us to set things straight. With you, it’s a little more personal. Casey has become attached to you. And the problems swirling around you appear to connect to a larger problem.”

  Michelle rubbed her chin, her thoughts whirling. “Is the bigger problem related to my house? Or do you mean the missing cats?”

  Booker’s topaz eyes gave away his identity. “We’ve collected enough information to know there’s a bigger problem, but we don’t know what.”

  Casey directed his gaze at Lara. “And there is still much more we don’t know, but we’re working on it. In fact, I learned some pivotal information last night.” He turned sad eyes on Michelle. “This is going to sting a lot, sweetheart. I penetrated the building down the street from your house. I needed to know more about the research project. I had to piece it with other things I’ve learned. It turns out, William Carter Enterprises is responsible for the missing ferals and roamers.”

  Fear froze Michelle’s drooping heart. “What do you mean responsible for?”

  “I found caged cats in that building that belongs to Carter. I don’t know all that’s going on there. We’re working on the pieces still. But it’s not good.”

  Michelle felt something ragged and shadowy roll off Casey. It sent slivers of fear piercing her veins. “Tell me.”

  Lara sighed heavily. “Michelle. It appears Carter is doing tests on the cats. Some of the cats have suffered deformities. You saw that in your premonition. I don’t know why, yet.”

  “This is terrible. What is he after?”

  “We don’t know.” Lara studied her, then continued. “He had Madeline in one of the cages.”

  Michelle clenched her teeth. She couldn’t scream. It wouldn’t do any good. The helpless feeling she was so accustomed to carrying around threatened to weaken her muscles. Her heart raced in her ears and she wanted to … do what?

  Casey’s arm encircled her. He held her, steadied her. “When I saw her she was sedated. Something big is happening tomorrow and it’s killing me that I don’t know what it is. But it won’t happen to Madeline. I took her to Lara’s clinic and she is being cared for.”

  Michelle shook her head. The air around her thinned and she struggled to keep her grip on the present. “Thank you, Casey, Lara. All of you for your help. It means so much to me.” Tears blurred her sight, and she heard her voice get quiet. “What can I do? Those other cats need help. What have I done to prompt such malicious action?” It all poured over her, like a bucket of cold water dumped on her head, drenching her. The rape, the trial, the potential loss of her house, and now the cats’ disappearances, all tied to her.

  “No, Michelle. This evil is not your doing.” Casey cradled her in his arms. “William Carter is the darkness that infiltrates this town, irrationally but significantly.”

  He caressed her hair as she rested against him. His voice, reverberating in his chest so solidly, offered promise to make things right.

  Asia spoke up. Her voice was laced with a low grumble that got Michelle’s attention, pulling her back to the present. “I can communicate telepathically with animals, Michelle. I’ve read Madeline and she’s better. Her trauma at the Carter facility has left her troubled and fearful. But she’s going to recuperate just fine. You had something to do with that, not the research on cats.”

  Michelle studied each person sitting at the table and gathered her determination. “What’s next?”

  The room gave a collective sigh and the others sent out vibes of getting down to serious business. She soaked in it, pulled strength from it.

  Casey directed a soft gaze at her, wrapping her in a cloud of love. “Maybe you’ve had enough of a shock for today.”

  “Shock? You mean learning about you and your colony?” She shook her head. She had to make him understand. “I’ve seen something wonderful. It’s been a gift to discover the truth about you and your friends. I’m privileged to be one whom you trust. I won’t let you down. And right now, I’m drawing from your strength. Shocked? Maybe. But in a good, eye-opening, amazing way.”

  Casey nodded his head, soberly. “There is a lot more to share, about ourselves, I mean. But right now the most compelling thing to attend to is to discover what Carter has planned next.”

  The members sitting around the table all nodded. Booker spoke up first. “Have you formed a plan? I have patients this afternoon at the hospital, but tonight I’m all yours.”

  “Actually, right now all I need is for you all to do your turn watching Michelle.” Casey’s angry expression chilled the air in the room. “And Lara, give us a schedule for watching the facility. I don’t want anyone going inside, but keep us abreast of who and what comes and goes. I suspect things are escalating. But we’re going to introduce a change of plans for Carter.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Casey walked with Michelle up to her office, arm in arm. “Come in. Say hi to the sisters.” Unease still stirred in her gut, but Casey’s presence calmed her.

  They walked through the door and immediately Sterling and Lacey walked into the outer office. Casey exchanged a look with Michelle. “Hi, you two,” he said.

  Michelle hung her coat on the hook and watched them try to constrain their exuberance from Casey.

  It didn’t work. “What’s up?” he asked, studying them.

  Sterling held up a disk. “We have footage!” She shoved it into Michelle’s computer and waited. “What you’re about to see is a gathering at a restaurant of various businessmen and women. It’s pretty fuzzy, but you can make out some faces.”

  Casey peered closely, stroking his stubbly beard. Michelle watched the footage, too, squinting her eyes, hoping it would help clear the picture.

  Pointing to one face, Casey blurted out, “That is William Carter. What is this, a board meeting?”

  Lacey shook her head, contemplative. “No. Not of Carter Enterprises. Keep looking.”

  Impatience drove through Michelle like hot peppers. “I don’t recognize anyone but him. What’s so exciting about this grainy footage at a restaurant?”

  Casey exchanged glances with Lacey, then Sterling. “I recognize a few other faces. For one, my dad, right there.”

  Michelle squinted again, trying to make out the man’s face Casey pointed to. “Your dad, eating with William Carter? I don’t understand.”

  Casey stared unblinking at the frames.

  Michelle gasped, pointing to another man’s face. “No, no. That’s Bruce Dobosky.” Her heart pumped hard in her chest.

  Casey’s arms wrapped around her, instantly warming the cold drifting through her.

  “I’m sorry, Michelle. I didn’t recognize the son of a bitch or I wouldn’t have sprung this on you.” Sterling dove to stop the images from filling the screen.

  “No. Don’t. I’m okay. What is this meeting about? It seems like more than a chance dinner together.” Michelle pursed her lips and grounded herself to the floor as the footage resumed.

  Between the three of them, Casey, Sterling, and Lacey identified nine men and women from Laurelwood. Each one held a reputation for being a powerful politician, judge, businessperson, banker, scientist, or
developer.

  “We’ve been able to piece together information that points to an organization made up of these people. They fly completely under the radar locally, probably because of their connections.” Sterling ejected the disk and continued. “They seem to share interests in influencing business, finance, and politics. They call themselves The Nexus Group.”

  Lacey propped herself up on Michelle’s desk and rolled her eyes. “They meet in secrecy. That’s all we know.”

  Casey’s gaze scanned the room, but his eyes were distant. “That’s a lot. Do you know how long they’ve been in existence?”

  “For nine years,” Lacey said. I did a search on the number nine and didn’t come up with much, except in numerology nine stands for taking over.”

  “Nine people. Nine years.” Casey stared at the floor. “I wonder how the nine is significant for this group.”

  “Yeah, like this ninth year is part of a timeline, or something.” Michelle’s brain whirred in circles, trying to pull something useful out of the air. “Has anything happened in the past, say, when they first organized?”

  Sterling punched in a link and brought up a news article reporting the beating of a teenage boy, the son of one of the members. “The article says that the boy was mugged and beaten by a group of athletes from the Laurelwood High School. The boy had been hooded, so he had no way to identify the young men, but he did recognize who he thought was the team quarterback.”

  Casey read out loud from the article that the boy survived, but soon after the quarterback disappeared. His body was found later in a farmer’s field in a nearby rural area.

  Michelle squirmed uncomfortable in her seat. “Vigilante group?”

  Sterling troubled her lower lip. “I don’t think we have enough information to predict what the group’s goals are. But we’ll keep looking.”

  “This whole situation with my house and the missing cats is growing. My brain needs a break. I’ll finish up these reports this afternoon, then I’m going to go home to spend some time with my cats. I’ve also got some stuff to attend to with Cats Alive.”

  “I’ve got things calling for my attention, too.” Casey tweaked her cheek, smiling softly at Michelle.

  “I’ll walk you out,” she offered.

  “As far as the hallway. I don’t want you alone for even a minute.”

  While Sterling and Lacey beamed at her, Michelle walked with Casey to the hall outside the office. “Thank you for today, Casey. It means a lot to me that you’ve shared all about yourself with me.”

  He pulled her close, tilting her lips to meet his. A delicate kiss to her lips flipped her heart. “I’ve been alone and lonely for so long, it’s a gift to me from you to allow me to share the truth. I’ve had nightmares of it turning out completely different. Thank you.”

  She answered with a kiss. “So is there anything else I need to know about you?”

  “Oh, probably a thing or two. Nothing you need to know right now.” He took her hands in his and dropped his gaze to look at them. “I’ve got some things to do. I might not see you tonight or tomorrow. But whatever happens, please don’t turn me away.”

  The elevator door opened and two people talking walked out and down the hall. When she was sure they were out of earshot, she responded. “I know I’ve pushed you away before. I don’t plan to do it again.”

  She pivoted to return to the office, but stopped to toss over her shoulder with a grin, “If you don’t fuck up.”

  • • •

  Urgency pushed Casey’s pulse. There wasn’t much time. He could feel it all around him. Something was perched on the edge of dropping. But he had to talk to Jackson. He pulled his car into his work parking space and leaped out.

  And stopped just as quickly. “Agent Callahan.”

  “Mr. Mitchell. Walk with me.” Dressed in a gray suit and gray dress shirt, the agent put his dark sunglasses back on and walked toward the end of the parking lot, where his black SUV sat. He opened the passenger side for Casey and motioned him inside.

  As he slipped into the driver’s seat, he eyed Casey. “It’s been a few days since we talked. What do you have for me?”

  Casey drummed his fingers on the door handle. He was not about to share what he’d learned with this agent. Not when he knew only enough to cause havoc with Michelle’s life. “I don’t know anything. Carter is surrounded by privacy measures. I’ve been unable to penetrate them yet.”

  “Really.” His dry voice made Casey’s skin crawl. “Do you not understand the assignment? There is no wiggle room. I need information from you ASAP.”

  “If you know lives are at risk, you know more than me.” Casey scrambled inside, trying to keep his temper quiet. “Look, I’m willing to help. But I need more time.”

  The silent man in the back seat got out and opened the door for Callahan. “I’ll give you a week.”

  The other man slammed the door closed and climbed back in. As Casey walked toward the Carter, Inc. office, he watched the SUV drive away.

  He swept away any thoughts about the meeting with Agent Callahan. He had actual important business to deal with and he didn’t need nonsense cluttering up his mind.

  He grabbed some documents from his office. He took the steps up to Jackson’s office two by two. “Hi, Julie, is Jackson available?” Without waiting, he knocked on the door and opened it enough to peek in. Of course, he could see through the walls that Jackson was in his office, but he had to keep up a pretense with the normals.

  “Come on in, Case.”

  Casey gave him a stilted grin. “Mind if I close the door?”

  “Go ahead. Have a seat.” Jackson peered at him, his eyes locking on Casey’s. “Spill.”

  Casey eased back in the chair and realized he’d been tight, held in, all day. He let a sigh escape, gathered his thoughts, and told Jackson about the recent developments with The Nexus Group and reminded him he was going undercover.

  Jackson took it all in, his face grim. “I’m so sorry you’ve found your dad is a part of something destructive with my father. But you know he has no limits. He’ll pressure people, pull them in to something they don’t understand, and create an illusion to suit his needs.”

  “I know. I hate that my dad seems to be involved in whatever this group is too. I can only hope he’s unaware of what exactly he’s gotten himself into. But I promise you this: if my dad is dirty, I’ll make him pay.” His words sounded harsh and unloving. He didn’t want that kind of obstacle between them, but he wasn’t going to tolerate deceit.

  His mind tracking multiple thoughts, Casey walked to his own office on autopilot. The stuff he’d picked up at Carter’s research facility and learned at Aegar Investigations earlier reminded him of a comic book storyline or something from a summer blockbuster. Not something out of real life. Of course, some people would see him, a were-cat, as something from a fantasy.

  His first thoughts were all Michelle. What is she doing, where is she, is she safe, can I avoid hurting her with my next move?

  The noises coming from other offices and the break room disrupted his thoughts of her. It grated on him that he didn’t know much about Carter’s plans. The Pretid device figured into them, clearly, but instinctively Casey saw that quite possibly the device testing was a way to gather personal information on participants and somehow use the device to administer a drug, one that was already in animal studies at the research facility near Michelle’s home.

  He walked to the windows and scanned the nature area that made a courtyard outside the Carter, Inc. building. The trees swayed, carefree, going with the direction of the fall breeze. Autumn leaves drifted to the ground, covering it in dark rust and deep purple.

  He turned back to his desk and inside his gut, something shifted. He knew his next steps.

  A quick call to Michelle came first. It rang once and he heard her voice on the other end. He melted.

  “Hi, Casey. Miss me?”

  “I do miss you. But I have a favor to ask you.” Wh
en she didn’t say anything, he continued. “No matter what you see or hear in the next few days, don’t give up on me.”

  “Casey, you sound so serious. You’re scaring me.”

  “I know, I know. It sounds ominous. It’s something I have to do and I wish I could tell you more but I can’t. Just promise me you’ll—”

  “I’ll be here.”

  He heard her breath, her voice, and he believed her. “Thank you. I know you can take care of yourself, Michelle, but we can’t underestimate William Carter. The colony will be watching over you. You won’t be able to reach me, but if you need something, don’t hesitate to call Lara.”

  “Okay. I don’t understand, but don’t worry about me.”

  “I’ll be thinking of running my hands down your back, to your behind.” The thoughts of her naked skin raised pressure in his groin.

  “Stop. You’re making me miss you more.”

  “I’ll be in touch soon. Good bye, Michelle.”

  He set down his phone, shifting gears. His inside growled with demands. Casey wanted to march to his dad’s office and insist on an explanation.

  But his brain knew better. If he did that he’d surely raise suspicions with Carter and his merry men and women. No, he had to be patient and smart. That meant making an appointment with the devil himself.

  After a brief conversation with Carter’s secretary, during which he’d poured on his charm, he had his appointment. Admittedly, suspicion gurgled in his stomach when he was able to schedule it for that evening. Hell, I’m not one to question destiny. William Carter doesn’t know it yet, but his destiny lies with me.

  He flexed his fingers, feeling the gathering tension. He needed a run. He had a few hours before his meeting with William Carter. The more he thought about it the more he felt the stirring in his skin and body to shimmer. He gathered up the paperwork he’d been studying for days, shoved it in his briefcase, and shrugged on his jacket.

  He eased his Prius around traffic, trying to remain calm and patient. He’d never experienced an information overload before. The things he knew about Carter—his research facility, his property takeover—spun in his head, trying to land in a coherent picture. Clearly, too much information wasn’t the problem. It was a lack of important pieces. That’s why he had no choice but to talk to Carter.