by J. D. Tyler
“Dammit,” she moaned, ending the call. Should she wait for him to come home? Try again?
Somewhere, a creak sounded in the house. Almost like a footstep on the old boards near the back of the house, perhaps outside. On the porch. Her pulse leapt and she tried Micah’s phone again, but her mate wasn’t answering.
“Fuck this.” As soon as voice mail picked up, she left a message, voice wobbling, trying not to cry. She was already moving toward the kitchen. “I’m driving to the compound. Someone broke into the house while I was at work. Whoever it was tore up our bed, Micah! I’m getting the hell out of here. See you soon. Call me.”
Scooping up the container of possibly contaminated food, her purse and keys, she jogged out the door, barely pausing to lock it behind her. She definitely wasn’t staying long enough to pack an overnight bag for them both. They’d worry about a change of clothes later.
In seconds she was on the road, glancing in the rearview mirror, trying to calm her racing heart.
She could’ve sworn she felt malevolent eyes watching her as she raced away.
* * *
Micah rubbed his tired eyes and again scanned the list that he, Nick, and Jax had been over several times.
“We don’t have much,” Jax remarked, tossing down his section of the list in frustration. Then he stroked his goatee thoughtfully. “The shifters who healed and have been released from Sanctuary are doing remarkably well, according to our sources. All of them are accounted for.”
“And the worst cases are still inside, under our care.” Micah sighed. “Some are getting close to release, but none of them is fit enough to cause the damage we saw earlier today.”
Nick nodded. “Agreed.”
Picking up a paper from the center of the conference table, Micah looked over the names of the deceased again. “These people who didn’t make it out alive—do we have verification on every single one?”
“That’s the problem,” Nick said. “In a few cases, we only know what other shifters told us, that some of the captives disappeared and were presumed dead, although we didn’t find their bodies. They may have been disposed of long before we made the rescue. We’ll never know for sure, but we have to assume they’re dead.”
Micah’s jaw clenched as he studied the names.
“What’s wrong?” Jax asked.
“There are names in all three of these groups belonging to shifters Bowman made me torture. Any of them would have motivation.”
“But not opportunity.” Jax frowned.
Nick handed him a highlighter. “Mark the names in question. We’ll see what turns up.”
“I never knew all their names and can’t remember many of them,” Micah clarified. “But Bowman liked to tell me because it made them more real in my eyes. Made it even worse, what I was about to do to them. He wanted to desensitize me to my human side and theirs, over time.”
“Sick fucker,” Jax spat. “Wish I could kill him all over again.”
Bowman had gotten what he deserved when Jax ripped him apart—or so the team had said after that particular mission, in which they’d rescued Nix from the last-known lab. Micah had wanted so badly to accompany his Pack brothers, but hadn’t been well enough back then.
Micah highlighted the names he could remember, and he was ashamed at how many there were. Not that the number made a difference—one or twenty, his role was equally terrible. Once he was finished, Nick and Jax scanned the names.
Nick tapped the sheet listing the rescues recovering in Sanctuary. “There are four shifters in particular that I know came in here in really bad shape. Much more so than the others. I think we should interview them first.”
Micah thought about that and winced. “You’re right. But is it a good idea for me to be there? They suffered at my hands, and my face is going to be the last one they want to see.”
“Which is exactly why we need for them to see you,” Nick said grimly. “I’ll check with Mac and Melina, of course, but I believe that seeing you whole and healthy, being productive, will be good for them. Give them hope.”
“I feel like I should apologize for my part in their suffering.”
“Then do that if it helps you. It might help them, too. And if there’s someone among them who knows anything about these attacks, or is connected in some way, their reaction to you might be telling. Either way, I’d appreciate your take on each one.”
“Someone’s connected,” Jax put in. “Whoever wrote the note and left it with Mr. Cade’s body knew your lab-subject number. Only a prisoner or one of Bowman’s cronies could’ve known that.”
Nick gathered the lists. “All right. Sit tight while I go get the okay from the doctors to question these patients.”
That might take a few minutes. The docs were fiercely protective of their charges, as they were all aware. After Nick walked out of the conference room, Micah studied the polished surface of the big table. The silence was suddenly a living, breathing entity, weighing down air in the room. He struggled for the perfect words, but there weren’t any.
So he settled for the ones that were eating at his soul. “I’m sorry for how I reacted to hearing about you and Jacee,” he said quietly, meeting his friend’s gaze. He found no censure there, only understanding. “I was out of control. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“There was nothing to forgive. You were already on edge from all the shit your body was going through.”
“But I—”
“Forget it, Micah. I mean that. You’re my brother, and nothing is going to change that.” Jax smiled to show he really did mean his words.
Relief flooded him, and the breath whooshed from his lungs. “You don’t know how I’ve been beating myself up about that day.”
“I have some idea. It’s past history, okay? I think maybe our mates might even become friends one day.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Jax said. “They seemed to get along fine when you were recovering. Translation: they didn’t rip each other’s faces off.”
They both laughed, the tension broken, and Micah clapped his friend’s shoulder. “They might not do lunch and shopping anytime soon, but they’ll make it.”
“True that.”
Jax’s phone buzzed and he checked a text. “Nick says come on over to Sanctuary. Mac and Melina said we can interview the patients on the list as long as they’re not sleeping. If we upset anyone, we have to leave.”
Micah rolled his eyes. “And what are the odds of us not upsetting anyone with our presence at any given moment?”
“About the same as our chances of winning the lottery.”
Together they strolled over to the new building, where Nick was waiting on the fifth floor. Dr. Melina Mallory was standing next to him, her expression as composed and serious as ever. She wasn’t the same woman Micah remembered from before the ambush that had killed her mate, Terry, decimated the Alpha Pack, and landed Micah and Nix in captivity.
She’d let her dark hair grow out some, though, and it almost reached her collar now. The tresses feathered around her face, softening her sharp elfin features. Her eyes were a bit warmer these days as well, her overall appearance the more approachable friend he remembered.
“I mean it, Nick,” she was saying sharply. “You guys say or do anything to set back any of my patients’ progress, I’ll have your balls for breakfast. All of you.”
Well, her appearance was softer—her attitude, not so much.
Nick grinned, unruffled. “My balls are spoken for, Doc. So are theirs.”
“Then you’d best not endanger them, or your mates will be awfully lonely in the days to come.” With that, she gathered a chart and marched off.
Jax stare after her. “That is the most miserable woman I’ve ever known.”
“She’s a tough cookie,” Micah agreed.
“Girlfriend just needs to get laid,” Noah piped up from the nurses’ station. At Nick’s arched brow, he flushed. “Anyhoo, gotta run.”
Micah chuck
led as the guy hurried off. “Nix is gonna have his hands full with that one.”
“And then some.” Jax snorted. “Once he finally pulls his head out of his ass.”
“All right, let’s get this done,” Nick said, shaking his head.
The first patient, a cougar shifter named Boris, was hostile. He was not one of the captives Micah had been forced to torture, but he had suffered terribly, and he wanted no part of them or their questioning. Only when Nick told him about the two murders of innocent people did he relent. Softening the slightest bit, Boris told them everything he recalled about the shifters with whom he had been locked up.
There really wasn’t anything they didn’t already know. The names Boris gave them were on their lists, no surprises. They left the interview disappointed.
The next two shifters were wolves, and they were shy. Afraid. The trauma they’d been through had rendered them nearly incapable of speaking, and any apology for Micah’s part in their misery were neither wanted nor appreciated. At least for the time being. One actually started screaming when he saw Micah and had to be sedated by Noah. They left quickly, before Melina could get word and kick them out, and went on to the fourth survivor.
“This one’s name is Tyler Anderson,” Jax read from the paper. “Eagle shifter.”
“One of mine, too.” Micah felt sick. “He was one of the most vulnerable, and Bowman knew it. The bastard brought him to me many times. Him and his brother.”
“His brother?” Nick’s gaze bored into him.
“Yeah, Parker. He’s on the names of the deceased. I don’t know how he died, though. Bowman stopped bringing him around, and I never knew what happened to him.”
Nick seemed to consider that for a moment, then nodded. “All right. Let’s see if we can get a read on this one.”
Just then, Micah’s cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He couldn’t answer it right then and made a mental note to check it after they were done visiting Tyler.
When they walked in, the young, slight, brown-haired man on the bed was drowsing. The second he noticed them, however, he jolted awake, eyes widening in fear. Especially when he spotted Micah.
“You,” he whispered. His face turned paper white, and his green eyes were luminous. “Why are you here?”
Micah took a deep breath. “First, I want to say how sorry I am for what happened in that hellhole we were held captive in. For the terrible things I was forced to do. And I was forced, Tyler.”
The other man’s voice was almost inaudible. “I know.”
“I hated every second of that place, and I loathed Gene Bowman. As a member of the Alpha Pack, my job is to protect people, not hurt them.”
“I believe you.”
Tyler was taking this better than Micah had hoped. “Perhaps someday you can forgive me. I know it’s a lot to ask, but—”
“Of course. We were both victims, Micah.” Tyler’s eyes were sad as he studied him. “I don’t blame you.”
“Thanks. That’s more than I deserve.”
The eagle glanced at Jax and Nick. “Somehow I don’t think it takes three of you to come tell me you’re sorry. What’s the rest of this visit about?”
Nick spoke up. “We’re here because someone is killing innocent people in the area. Campers. The killer has ties to Chase here and to his time in captivity with Bowman.”
If possible, Tyler paled even more. He swallowed hard as he addressed Micah. “That’s t-terrible. But how would I know anything about that?”
Micah sighed. “The killer left me a note with his last victim. He addressed me by the number I was assigned in the lab, and only someone who was actually inside with us would know that information. Can you think of anything at all that might help us identify who this killer is before more innocent people die?”
Jax spoke softly. “The killer has a grudge against Micah. And while a lot of shifters from that time period might feel he’s getting what’s coming to him—which is wrong and not fair—he’s newly mated. She is innocent, and should something happen to her, and someone had information that could’ve saved her, that’s on their head, too.”
“I—I wish I could help you. I haven’t done anything but stare at these four walls and try to get better, you know? I really hope you catch him. I mean that.”
There was an interesting note to Tyler’s voice at the end. A certain fierceness to his tone, a sincerity. Micah glanced at his two companions, and judging from their expressions, they’d noticed, too.
“Yeah,” Nick said. “Well, we’ll leave you to rest. If you think of anything important, day or night, call any of us. That’s my card with my cell phone on the front. Jax’s and Micah’s cell phone numbers are on the back.” Taking a card from his pocket, he handed it to the eagle shifter.
“Thanks. I will.”
They filed out, Micah taking one last look at the shifter on the bed. Tyler was staring at the card Nick had handed him with a torn expression on his face. Then he took the card and stuffed it inside his pillowcase—hidden.
Once they were safely down the hallway, Micah said, “He knows something. He hid the card you gave him inside his pillowcase.”
“Hid it from who? That’s the question.” Nick gazed thoughtfully in the direction of the room. “We’ll need a list of visitors to Sanctuary.”
“I’ll get Noah on it,” Jax said, and jogged off in the direction of the nurses’ station.
Curiosity finally got the better of Micah. As he and Nick followed Jax, he pulled out his cell phone and saw he had a missed call from Jacee. Smiling, he played her message.
His smile quickly died.
“I’m driving to the compound. Someone broke into the house while I was at work. Whoever it was tore up our bed, Micah! I’m getting the hell out of here. See you soon. Call me.”
“Oh, fuck!” he yelled, and ran for the elevator.
“What’s wrong?” Nick shouted after him.
Jax took off, and Micah wasn’t sure if he’d even gotten the chance to talk to Noah. At the moment he didn’t care. He punched the elevator button several times, but that was too slow. Whirling, he bolted for the stairs.
“What the fuck’s going on?” Jax grabbed his arm before he hit the door to the stairwell.
“I got a call from Jacee right before we went into Tyler’s room.” Micah was panting. Panicking. “She— Someone broke into her house while she was at work today. She got home and it was a mess. Whoever it was tore up the bed.”
“Shit.” Jax’s worried eyes bored into his. “Is she okay?”
“I—I think so. She said she was driving here.”
“Call her. Now.”
“Okay. God, why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you’re in panic mode. Call.”
Leaning against the wall, Micah made the call. He was in agony waiting for her to answer as his phone rang. And rang. “She’s not picking up. What if . . .”
He was going to pass out. Right the fuck out, in front of them.
“Micah!” Nick shouted in his face, grabbing his shoulders. Micah blinked at him. “She’s driving. She’s not going to answer while she’s scared and driving, all right? Calm down. Let’s go downstairs to the driveway and meet her. She should be here any minute.”
“You’re right.” He took several deep breaths, and the spots in front of his face began to clear up. “Let’s go.”
The thundering of his heart wouldn’t stop as he jogged down the stairs, his friends right behind him. At the bottom, he exited the stairwell and jogged through the lobby and out the doors. Outside, he crossed the lawn and ran partway down the drive, then stopped, waiting, listening.
“Where is she?”
“She’ll be here,” Jax soothed.
At last, he heard a car’s engine. Coming up the long road to the compound at a good clip. When her car rounded the last turn and he spotted her behind the wheel, he could’ve keeled over in relief, after all. She screeched to a halt, threw the car in park, shut off the ign
ition, and was out, running to meet him.
The look on his mate’s beautiful face, he’d never forget. Pure fear.
Micah met Jacee halfway, held out his arms. She barreled into him, nearly taking him off his feet, and he wrapped her up tight. Held her and kissed her hair, whispered comforting words as best he knew how. She was shaking from head to toe as she hugged him close, like she’d never let go.
“I was so scared,” she said, her voice breaking. “He was there. At first I thought I was imagining it, but then I saw the bedroom. He tore it to pieces!”
Oh, God. That could have been his mate. If she’d been home when the monster came, or if he’d waited for her.
“Shh, I’m here, baby. I’ve got you.”
“I feel so violated.”
“That’s exactly what he intended. We’re going to catch that son of a bitch,” Micah promised. “He’s had a fucking busy day, since he’s already tipped his hand once today.”
Leaning back some, she looked up into his face. “Really? What happened?”
He told her about the attack on the Cades, father and son. And the note blaming Micah left with Mr. Cade. About referencing Micah’s lab number.
“So it’s someone who knows you.” Her eyes were wide, more afraid than before, if possible. “This monster is killing and threatening you directly.”
“Yeah.” There was more. But now wasn’t the time to tell her about Nick’s horrible vision. Not with an audience. “Like I said, we’re going to get him.”
“Damn right.” She gestured toward the car. “I brought something that might help.”
“What’s that?”
“I think he tampered with some food in the fridge. Maybe your lab folks could run some tests on it?”
Nick walked up then and nodded. “They can, and if it’s been contaminated on purpose, they’ll be able to pinpoint the source, most likely.”
Jacee walked to the car, leaned in, and retrieved a plastic container. Then she brought it to Nick. “What should I do with it?”
“I’ll take it up to them. No worries. After I drop this off, Micah, Jax, and I are going to drive back to your place and pack what you need for the foreseeable future.”
