by Lia Davis
Instantly, Caleb rushed to her side, picked her up, and cradled her to his chest. The warmth of his chest worked to ease her discomfort; she closed her eyes and sighed. She enjoyed the strength and security his embrace offered.
“Are you okay?”
She still couldn’t move but tried to relay as much as she could with her eyes. He smiled and brushed hair off of her face.
“You don’t know how scared I was.” He rested his forehead against hers. “When I saw him hit you, I completely blacked out and my cat took over. I still haven’t gotten myself fully composed.” He scooped her up in his arms and exited the van. Each step he took was slow and steady; he took his time to get her settled onto the bench seat. He slid into the driver’s side and adjusted her so her head rested on his muscular thigh. His intense gaze now focused solely on her.
“Let’s go home.” She couldn’t think of a better place at the moment.
His hands shook as the adrenaline still pumped furiously through his veins. As Caleb had carried a still-paralyzed Jess back to the loft hours earlier, the day’s events ran through his head like his very own horror movie. He had nearly lost the woman he had grown to care for and he couldn’t calm his nerves. She slept peacefully in their bedroom, but when he’d inspected her for any other injuries, he’d come across a fading bruise on her stomach. Within a few more hours, she would be fully healed, thanks to her shifter genes. But that didn’t make him feel any better about what had happened in the alley.
He hadn’t wanted her to come, but she’d insisted and she was most stubborn creature he had ever the pleasure of caring for. He needed to get to the bottom of the situation before things got out of hand.
Caleb paced the small living room, making it across the whole room within three strides. The slam of a car door let him know Tucker and Cherry were back from questioning. Before they’d reached the top of the stairs he had the door swung wide open. He didn’t waste any time and began to interrogate them.
“What did they say?”
“Nothing. I can’t believe it.” The frustration dripped from Tucker. Interrogation tactics were his specialty in Keystone and if he couldn’t get anything out of them, then nothing could be done. Short of killing them. Which Caleb still contemplated doing.
“You’re telling me they said nothing at all. Absolutely nothing that can help us?”
“Well, they all said the same thing. They are a courier service,” Cherry added. “After the shifters are scouted, these guys are sent to retrieve the targets.”
“Okay, so how isn’t this helpful?”
“The men then drop the shifters off in a new location every time and then leave. They never actually have any face-to-face contact with their bosses,” she elaborated as she walked to the kitchen and grabbed a few beers from the fridge. She handed a bottle each to Caleb and Tucker, taking a seat on the couch.
“How do they get paid?” Caleb cracked open his beer and sat down in one of the low, overstuffed armchairs.
“Cash is left at the drop-off site,” Tucker added as he flopped onto the couch beside Cherry and stretched out.
“So, what did you do with them?” Caleb finally asked. The methods were always the same, so he already anticipated the outcome. He needed to hear it.
“We called an extraction crew. They took them into custody and they will be tried for crimes against shifters.” A trial. What a joke. He could think of better ways to dispose of garbage like them, but he had to follow protocol and they needed to be made an example of.
“How’s Jess?” Cherry asked, concerned.
“She’s better. The drug has worked its way out of her system and she’s just resting now. What kind of tranquilizer did they use anyways?”
“Etorphine. There were a few empty vials in the van. Which means they have used it a lot more than what we are aware of.” Cherry pulled one of the vials from her pocket and tossed it to him. The information set his teeth on edge. He hated nothing more than when someone played dirty. Sedation was a tool for cowards. Anything that kept your victim from fighting back disgusted him.
The bedroom door creaked open and he turned to watch as a drowsy Jess padded into the living room. She stopped beside his chair and sat on the armrest.
“How are you feeling? Are you hungry?” Caleb offered as he rested his hand on her warm thigh.
“Starving.” He blew out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding in relief. The possibility of side effects was slim, but the worry clouded his judgment nonetheless. He slid out of the chair, wrapped his arms around her, and squeezed, reveling in her warm embrace and the fact that she was relatively unscathed from the dramatic evening. Caleb broke the embrace and pulled her to the kitchen to find her some food.
“So, what’s the next step?” Tucker followed them into the kitchen.
“Well, since we didn’t really learn anything new from the shifters, we are gonna go back to our original evidence. We need to reschedule our appointments with the vacant warehouse owners in Westspring and also any of Emma’s acquaintances who might have anything to do with her disappearance,” he instructed. “They’re going to call back, especially after the foiled snatch and grab. So, maybe we can get some more information then.” Everyone nodded in agreement. He returned to making a sandwich for Jess. He was going to get the bastards if it was the last thing he did.
Chapter 13
Jess glanced around the apartment. Maps, with all the possible locations circled in red, were pinned to the walls. She trailed her gaze over them. Where were they holding Emma? Her baby sister could be in any of them, or none of them. No, she couldn’t think like that. Jess pivoted away from the maps. She kept her phone gripped in her hand; she did not want to risk missing a call from Emma or her kidnappers.
Jess couldn’t seem to shake the nagging feeling plaguing her. Tucker had mentioned Emma could have known one of her captors. The younger man, in Cherry’s opinion, clearly showed remorse for the whole situation. The transcripts of the muffled conversations were spread across the table. She moved to them, racking her brain trying to think of which of her sister’s friends could be involved in her disappearance. Who would know who she hung out with the day she went missing.
Something tickled the back of her brain. She squeezed her eyes shut and dug deep. Jess suddenly gave a jolt as if she’d been struck by lightning, which brought everyone’s attention to her.
“I think I know who the young guy is. Emma had a date the other night with someone named Jordan. I don’t know him personally. Emma said he’d just moved to town.” She racked her brain for any tiny tidbit of information and started to pace.
“Do you think your parents would know anything about him?” Caleb inquired.
“I don’t think they would know much more than me, but I know someone else who might.” She slid her finger across the screen of her phone to call Kels. Her friend answered on the first ring.
“Hey, where the hell have you been?” Kels snapped. “I haven’t heard from you in days.”
“Listen Kels, I really need you to come to my parents’ guest house.”
“Okay…” She paused, her voice rife with concern. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain when you get here. Just hurry.”
Everyone’s attention fixed on Jess as she hung up the phone. With the urge to justify her decision, she started, “Kels is my best friend.” She glanced to Caleb for support. “She was at the diner the day we met. I’ve known her for over twelve years, but she has no idea what I am. I don’t even know how to start this conversation with her.”
Tucker cleared his throat. “Do you know she can be trusted?” The shifter community needed to be very secretive, and for good reason. Humans never reacted favorably and tended to jump to conclusions, werewolves as they were portrayed in the movies for example. The uneasiness he showed as he fidgeted was shared by every shifter she’d ever known.
“I honestly don’t know.” She hated the uncertainty sitting in her gut l
ike a rock. “If you were in her shoes, how do you think you would deal with someone dropping such a bomb on you?” Jess sat down on the couch.
Caleb reached for her hand, encasing it in his much bigger one. “I know this is hard, but we’ll take it one step at a time and play it by ear.” He began to rub his thumb over her knuckles in slow circles. “We’ll do whatever we have to, we’ll get your sister back, I promise.”
Half an hour later a knock sounded at the door. Kels must have heard the urgency in her voice because her usual primp and prep time had to have been cut short in order for her to arrive so fast. The moment to tell Kels the truth had finally reared its ugly head. She just hoped Kels took it well. No one could predict the outcome, and it made her stomach clench with uneasiness. She gritted her teeth, got up, and walked to the front door. Once it was opened, Kels’s tiny form crashed into her. She wrapped her arms around Jess and gave her one of the fiercest hugs she’d ever received. Jess poured everything she could muster into the hug; all the emotion and stress of the last few days needed to be released and Kels had always been her shoulder to cry on. She only hoped Kels would forgive her for all the years of omission.
Jess broke away from the hug first, pushed Kels back a step, and searched her friend’s face in hopes of gaining the strength she needed to get through the inevitable situation. As if it snapped Kels back to reality, Jess received a firm punch to her arm. “What the hell was that for?” she asked, surprised by the sudden reaction from a woman who didn’t have a violent bone in her body.
“You really need to ask?” Her best friend all but screamed. She held up her hand and counted off her fingers. “First, I don’t hear from you for days. Second, the cryptic conversation demanding I get here ASAP is so not cool. Do you know how worried I am?” She finally took a breath and glanced around the room. “And third, why the hell didn’t I know you were hoarding hotties in your parents’ guest house?”
Jess’s eyes grew wide as she gazed around the room at the rest of the team, their faces mimicking her own. She couldn’t hold the urge back any longer and let out a snort followed by roaring laughter. Everyone else joined in; the tension eased from the room. It never failed to amaze her how much she needed Kels. She loved her like a sister, and knew Kels felt the same.
She began to lead Kels around the room, being sure she got a chance to meet everyone.
“Kels, this is Tucker and Cherry.” She gave Kels enough time to acquaint herself with each team member. “They work with Caleb.”
Kels took the opportunity to linger on Tucker. She placed her free hand on his forearm and gave him a gentle squeeze. “It’s so nice to meet you.” Her voice was full of suggestion.
“The pleasure is all mine,” he offered, with a sly grin.
Jess couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
She pried Kels away from him and got back to the task at hand. Once Kels had met everyone, Jess led her back to the couch and sat down hard beside her. Concern spread across Kels’s delicate features and it nearly broke Jess. She couldn’t stall anymore.
“When you took Emma shopping the other day for her date, did she tell you anything about Jordan?”
Her friend’s brows drew together in confusion.
“The reason I’m asking is because Emma is missing.”
Kels’s gasp echoed in the small room, and Jess took hold of her friend’s hand. She didn’t want Kels to lose concentration so she continued, “I need to know as much as I can about this Jordan.”
“I think I’m going to be sick.” She put her head between her knees and took deep breaths.
Jess could hear her heart rate begin to regulate.
She sat back up and met Jess’s eyes with a new determination. “Okay, his name is Jordan Lane. He moved to town a few months ago with his parents. No siblings, as far as I know.” She took a breath and closed her eyes for a moment. “Emma said he drove a new Dodge Charger, red, I believe.”
“That’s great, Kels, what else?” She could barely contain the hope flooding through her. Tucker began to type on his laptop and she assumed he was adding the new information into the search.
“He always hung out on the outskirts of the groups, a loner of sorts. Never played sports.” She closed her eyes once again. “Emma also told me something weird though. She said she could be herself around him; they were the same. The thing is...I know Emma. She made him seem like an introvert and she’s the furthest thing from it, so how could he be just like her?”
She might not have understood what Emma was insinuating, but Jess sure did. Jordan was a shifter. The details all began to fall into place. Cherry said there were two suspects talking, a dominant and submissive. So that meant the Lanes could possibly be responsible for abducting her sister and countless others. Now that they had a name they could dig a little deeper to find out for sure.
“Did any of that help? Please say it did,” she pleaded. Desperation dripped from every word. Kels wrung her hands together.
Jess smiled and nodded. “It definitely helped.”
“What I don’t understand is why are you not calling the police? This seems like something they would be looking into, right?”
The question was simple enough, but what Kels didn’t understand was that Caleb and his team were the “police” in this situation. She glanced at Caleb and searched for an answer she already had the solution for. He beamed back at her and winked.
Kels squinted her eyes as she scrutinized every action between them. “What’s going on with you two?”
Jess sighed. The time had come; they couldn’t hide the truth any longer.
“Kels? I haven’t been completely honest with you.” Her friend’s full attention was now focused on her. “Before I say anything I need you to promise you won’t freak out.”
She couldn’t believe she had used that cliché line. Of course she would freak out.
Kels nodded in agreement and watched her, her brows furrowed slightly.
“Instead of explaining it, I think I’ll just show you. You can ask questions afterwards.” She stood and wandered to the opposite side of the room.
Kels turned until she stared straight at Jess. Her face scrunched in confusion.
Tucker and Cherry moved toward the door. Jess guessed they were trying to cut off any sudden exit Kels might have in mind after the truth was revealed. She hoped they were just being overly cautious, but a feeling nagged at the back of her mind and said her naiveté could bite her in the ass if she didn’t proceed with precaution. She shoved the dread aside as she began to undress. By the time her shirt and pants were off, the confusion on Kels’s face switched to wide-eyed shock.
“Are you trying to tell me you’re a nudist, Jess? ’Cause it’s cool if you are, nothing to be ashamed of. If you got it, flaunt it. Am I right?”
Jess chuckled, shook her head in response.
She stood in the middle of room naked and took a deep breath; the change rushed through her. The surge started in her hands and feet before it pulsed through her limbs like an electric shock. Kels pushed herself up from the couch and watched in bafflement. Caleb moved closer to Kels.
Jess knelt down onto her hands and knees as the final change coursed through her. She could only imagine the shock of what Kels witnessed. Long, delicate fingers transformed into paws with razor sharp claws. Golden fur spread across her pale smooth skin, dotted with black rosettes. Jess tossed her head back and roared. The sour smell of Kels’s fear made Jess crinkle her nose, but she also caught the faint spice of her curiosity, which comforted her.
She met Kels’s gaze. Her labored breath came in quick bursts and her heart rate accelerated. Trying not to startle her further, Jess padded toward her. Kels took a cautionary step away and landed right back onto the couch.
Jess padded nearer to the couch.
“I know it’s a lot to take in, but you need to understand she’s still your Jess. She would never hurt you.” Caleb stroked Jess’s back, inciting a purr from her. “You can touch
her if you want.”
“I don’t understand. How is this possible? How did I not know?” Kels inched her hand toward Jess then stroked Jess’s cheek.
Jess leaned into the embrace, encouraging Kels.
“I can’t believe this. So can your whole family do this?”
Jess chuffed in response.
“It kinda makes sense, you know.”
Jess tilted her head in question.
“I’ve always been a cat person. It must be the reason we get along so well.”
She laid her head on Kels’s knees as relief washed over her and soothed her ragged nerves. The weight she’d carried for so many years lifted.
“So where do we go from here?”
By the looks on everyone’s faces, the question startled more than just Jess. It would be best to shift back for the rest of the conversation. She turned to leave, but not before she did a full-body rub past Caleb. The rumble that emanated from his chest made her heart skip a beat. She trotted off to the bedroom where she shifted and dressed as fast as possible.
Caleb glanced at Kels as the clacking of Tucker’s keyboard echoed throughout the small living room. His team began to dig into the Lanes’ lives, looking for anything helpful.
“So, Caleb is it?”
Not even a second after Jess’s tail disappeared into the bedroom, the interrogation began and he could only hope he was prepared for it.
“I’m assuming you’re one of the reasons Jess has neglected to call me?”
He resisted the urge to squirm under her intense stare, making a quick adjustment so he sat a bit straighter on the couch. He cleared his throat. Her full attention zeroed in on him as well as a couple of other eavesdroppers.
“Yes, partially. We’ve spent some time together, and I’ve come to care for her.” He did a quick check of the still-closed bedroom door. “I can totally understand your hesitance to Jess spending this much time with someone you don’t know, but she and I have a connection I’ve never experienced before.” He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.
