by C. T. Adams
“That would be a great idea!” Cloudsfall said with a smile. “I can tell you that it’s going to get pretty ugly down here when this pack finds out. They’re likely to wind up drinking too much and saying things that’ll get them killed by the Minnesota people.”
Outrage flooded her and the noise that escaped her would have been considered rude in most circles. She didn’t care, though. “Excuse me? That’s not saying much for my people, Will! You’re making them out to be pissy and petty, and they’re not!”
The Comanche Ranger snorted and shook his head with chin dropped and eyes bordering on insulted. His power rose until it nearly singed the air. “You gonna tell me Paco doesn’t have a mouth on him after a few tequilas, Cara? Get real! People down here are used to it, but trust me when I say that the lowest of the people moving down here are bigger dogs than Paco—and he’ll get his ass kicked. I’ll bet there’s not a single member of the Minnesota pack who can even get drunk.” He looked at her with cold sure-ness. “Other than you, Cara, there’s not a person in this pack who’s not going to wind up on the bottom of the combined puppy pile.”
After Cara was able to close her dropped jaw, she looked around at the three men with horror. “Is that true? Are y’all planning on moving down people who are going to completely eliminate my pack structure? If so, then Will’s right. My people will probably fight and die before they’re willing to be turned into the kicking dogs—omegas to a bunch of outsiders.” Could this be what Ten Bears, or whoever the hell he was, had referred to? Was she going to be forced to send her people into a losing battle with other Sazi? No. She was their alpha and would protect them before she’d send them into danger. “I demand a say in who comes down—their powers, their abilities and… cultural attitudes. Like it or not, human prejudice is an issue, too.”
She leaned back after her little diatribe, fingernails digging into her palms. She struggled to keep her face blank, her body appearing loose and confident, and her emotions minimal. The silence was deafening and the lack of scent from both Will and Lucas was unnerving. But Adam was bleeding enough emotion for all of them. He bounced from excitement to anger to worry and fear. It was a heady combination of smells that nearly made her sneeze. He didn’t say a word, but Cara could tell he was annoyed by how the muscle at the back of his jaw was flexing and how he was struggling to keep his magic in check. It roiled the air around him like an electric cloud. Still, she couldn’t hear his teeth grinding, so that was something.
After a few tense moments where everybody tried to ignore the heightening energy and battle scents, Lucas nodded. “You’re right, Alpha Salinas. You deserve a voice in who comes down here. The council didn’t discuss the issue, but I’m sure Councilman Molotov would agree. I know I’d want to debate the matter if I were in your shoes.” He paused and took a slow breath, obviously thinking hard. He slapped his open palm down on the varnished wood table-top. Even though it was done lightly, Cara jumped. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. In a few minutes, we’re all going to walk out the front door, visible as the sun. We’re going to be laughing like old buddies who have just had a friendly lunch. If anyone is on the street that either you or Will recognize, Ms. Salinas, you’re going to invite them over and introduce us.”
“Introduce you as… who, sir? An investor? An attorney? A friend of Will’s?”
Lucas nodded. “All of the above… well, mostly anyway. From now on, though, until this is done we’re all on a first name basis. Lucas, Will, Adam, and Cara. That’s the only way it’ll work. Here’s the story on me. I’m an attorney from Colorado who’s getting close to retirement. I know some mutual friends of Adam’s from Minnesota. I ran into him at the motel and he was on his way to lunch with Will, who he came down here to see. Will invited Adam to the friendly lunch he already had scheduled with you, Cara. Now that I’ve met you all and heard all the great things the town has to offer, I’m interested in investing and think my mutual friend of Adam’s would be interested, too.” He turned to Adam and pointed a finger at his chest. “Who in your pack has the most ready cash, or already has investment properties? We’ll need to involve them.”
Adam pursed his lips briefly. “Probably Mike and Sheila Kassner. They’ve got a string of art galleries in the cities and do some rental renovations on the side. He’s loaded but is getting fed up with his partner in the gallery, a family member—not part of the pack. He’s actually one of the people who offered to come down.”
Cara furrowed her brows at Adam’s statement. She couldn’t quite figure out what he meant by a family member who wasn’t in the pack. How was that possible? She nearly opened her mouth to ask, but it wasn’t important. What was important right now was getting the stories straight. Curiosities could wait. “So, what am I supposed to do besides introduce you guys?”
Now Lucas turned stern again. He looked at both her and Adam critically. “You and Adam will be spending as much time together as possible for the next three days—making up a list of potential candidates for this pack. Adam, I know that volunteers were your preference for those who came down, but the reality is that Cam’s right. The transition from city to small town is going to be difficult, and Sazi abilities are critical. You’ll need to think of your pack as a whole. Which members could start new businesses down here that might prosper, what businesses are needed here that wouldn’t be seen as an intrusion by the locals? Where to house them, etcetera.”
Cara cocked her head a bit as the phone started to ring in the office again. “Why three days? What’s going to happen then?”
Lucas opened his mouth to reply when an intentionally loud voice came over the answering machine’s recorder. “Cara, it’s Maggie. You’re needed.”
Adrenaline rushed through her. She stood up in a rush without excusing herself and headed into Rosa’s office. It was a damned good thing Maggie had raised her voice, since she never would have heard it normally from underneath the invoices and packing slips stacked on top of the machine.
“You there, Sheriff? You’re not answering your radio.”
Sheesh! She really needed to talk to Rosa about fire hazards like covering up the vents on an electrical appliance—especially one this old. She picked up the receiver and tucked it into the crook of her neck while she removed the multihued papers to find the off button so the conversation wouldn’t get recorded. Ah. There it was. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Maggie. What’s up?”
“There’s trouble down at the hospital, Cara. Billy spotted a white van, just peeking out of the brush off Little Coffey Creek Road. He thought it might be a coyote dropping off illegals, so he radioed for backup and took up a position to watch.”
Oh, God! Here she was, sitting in a stupid meeting while some of her people might be—“Were shots fired? Is anyone down?”
She heard Maggie’s sigh of relief. Even though she seldom showed it, being the dispatcher—hearing horrible things happening and knowing she couldn’t go help—was a huge strain on her. “Thankfully, none of our people. But by the time Rick arrived, Billy noticed vultures were starting to circle. They found three bodies—cause of death unknown. They looked recent, probably no older than last night, according to Billy, but it was obvious animals had gotten to them. I guess it was pretty messy with claw and bite marks. They’re at the hospital now and the coroner’s been called. Rick found papers on them and checked them. The IDs are fake, and there was a whole stack of blank ones in a compartment under the driver’s seat. So if Will’s still there with you, you might mention it. I’ve called it in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but you know how long it takes to get anyone down here.”
“Copy that. Thanks, Maggie. I’m on my way.” She hung up the phone at the same instant she flicked her radio back to life, and walked back to the other room. “Duty calls I’m afraid, gentlemen. We’re going to have to put off this warm and fuzzy meeting for now.” She pointed at Will. “You might want to come down to the hospital with me. We’ve got three dead illegals with claw and
bite marks. No cause of death yet.” Dipping her head to Lucas, she added with a note of apology. “I’d invite y’all, but there’d be questions.”
Lucas nodded and Will stood up with a glance at his boss. “I’ll drop by the motel later and fill you in if it’s a Wolven matter.” He motioned to the items on the table. “By the way, what are those containers for?”
The older man grinned broadly. “I don’t know about anyone else, but the smell of that chile has been driving me insane since I walked in, and now that I’ve been told not to touch it… well, I can’t resist.” Cara let out a brief laugh and he continued. “I figured I’d buy one for each of us—since I doubt your sister would have much cause to object that way. Anyone else interested?”
“Oh, hell yes!” Will exclaimed with a similar grin. “Rosa’s right that I can down a whole pot in one sitting. I think I’ve been really good, sitting on my hands over here.”
Cara dropped her chin and shook her head with amusement, but noticed Adam didn’t leap to his feet at the offer. Well, maybe he wasn’t big on Mexican food. “Sure. Why not? She’ll yell and gripe at me tonight, but won’t pass up the money, either. It’s way too much, though, so I really should get you some change. But the safe’s locked and I don’t have any cash on me. Can I bring it to you later?”
Lucas shook his head with pursed lips. “Don’t bother. She’s out a whole morning’s receipts. I should probably add money, not get some back.”
She couldn’t really disagree with that, so she just took the containers off the table and walked over to the stove. In a few seconds, they were full and she passed one out to each—even to Adam, who looked up at her with surprise. She shrugged. “Maybe you’ll like it. I know Rosa would be insulted if y’all didn’t at least try it.”
Will stepped toward the back door. “Be right back. I just want to put this in the car before I forget.”
The radio was buzzing with the locations of her deputies as she wiped down the stove where some of the chile had dripped—Billy was back on the road to check out a reported rattlesnake in someone’s front yard. Elliot was back out at the Garcia house again. When would Miguel ever learn not to get pushy with Estelle when he’d been drinking? She handed him his dick time and again when he started to bitch at her. They’d never actually hit each other, or someone would have to get booked. But they yelled and screamed enough that the neighbors kept calling 911. She couldn’t blame them.
Tim was at the pawn shop on a possible stolen property report. Nothing else was out of the ordinary, thankfully. While she busied herself with quickly cleaning up their trash so she could leave, she heard both amusement and the rumblings of an order when Lucas said, “I’d suggest you say something appropriately complimentary when you meet Cara’s sister tonight, Adam. It would be a good way to start the blending process.”
She swung around sharply before she reached the trash can, a bottle of pop in each hand and what probably resembled horror on her face. “Tonight? But tonight I’m—”
Lucas completed the thought. “Spending the evening with your sister. I know. That’s the point of all this. As I said, you two—” motioning at her and Adam in turn—“will be spending a lot of time together in the next few days. While you were on the phone, I explained the rest of the plan to Adam and Will. As soon as you’re off shift, you’ll drop by the motel and pick him up, then take him to meet your sister and her family. He’ll explain things. Afterward, you can start to work out the details of this move. Now, we all have work to do, so let’s get moving. Adam, you’re with me.”
He picked up his container and walked out the door without another word, leaving her to stand there, looking shell-shocked. An equally uncomfortable Adam stood and followed Lucas out the door with a shrug and an apologetic smile. But although his scent mostly matched his uncomfortable look, a light citrus scent of happiness followed him out the door.
Chapter 6
SOFTLY BEEPING INSTRUMENTS blended with the low lights and antiseptic scent in the hospital room. Cara stepped closer to the bed, being careful not to make any noise that might wake up the occupant. Livid bruises on the woman’s pale skin reminded Cara vividly of the previous night, but the fact that the patient was in a regular room, rather than intensive care made it all worth it. All she’d wanted was to see the slowly raising chest and peaceful expression for herself. She’d just turned to leave when she heard an accented voice that was sleep-filled and hoarse.
“Yo’re her, aint’cha?”
Cara turned around and smiled gently at the lightly frowning face. “How’re you feeling, Mrs. Foster?”
A pause, combined with an uncomfortable scent. “I’m not married. Yo kin call me Missy.” The accent spoke of bayou country, somewhere deep in Louisiana. “Yo’re that sheriff ma girl was telling me about, ain’t ya? Yo’re Miss Cara—the one what called the ambolance?”
“Yep. I’m Sheriff Salinas… Cara. I’m so glad y’all are doing better, Missy. Brittany’s a terrific little girl. It would have been a shame if she wound up without a mom… or worse.” She didn’t want to excuse the other woman’s actions. The girl could have been killed, and these hospital bills were going to follow Missy Foster for years to come. One minute is all it would have taken to buckle up.
Missy nodded, barely perceptible amongst the white sheets that seemed to envelop her small form. The machines attached to her continued to beep softly. “I’ve thought ’bout that… a lot. Pretty stupid o’ me not to strap her in. Mama’s been reminding me just how lucky we was.” She stopped and then stared up strongly at Cara, her gaze intense and filled with… something. “But it wasn’t all luck, was it, Miss Cara? I remember things—not all of it, mind yo, but enough. It ain’t natural, me being alive, is it?”
Cara forced herself not to show any surprise, but it was an effort. Madre de Dios! Could she have remembered her lifting off the truck? She didn’t dare talk about it, but she would have to check up on Missy for a few days, see just what memories she had. Pasting a smile on her face, she replied lightly, “Heaven was watching over y’all, that’s for sure.”
Again Missy nodded, but her eyes kept that same intensity. “Yes’m. God works in mysterious ways. And yo don’t gotta worry, Miss Cara. I won’t tell no one. Not never.” She reached out a hand, lifting up the tubes attached to her skin with white tapé that nearly matched the color of her skin. Her eyes filled with tears. “I can’t tell yo how grateful I am to have a ’nothah chance to watch ma baby grow up. I won’t mess it up—I promise.”
Cara took the woman’s hand in hers and blinked back tears as she squeezed lightly. Missy’s scent made it clear that she wasn’t kidding. Citrus and hot metal, tinged with wetness said the woman was both grateful and determined to straighten out.
They remained that way for a moment, just holding hands, until Cara heard a man clear his throat in the doorway. Will’s voice was flat, but his scent said he was a little choked up, too. “We really need to get to it, Cara.”
She nodded, released Missy’s hand and turned toward the door, leaving the woman she had saved to go attend to those she didn’t get to in time.
“THIS IS NOT good.” Will’s hushed voice spoke the understatement of the year as she stared with horror at the mangled body only partly covered by a white sheet. The scent of the man’s blood couldn’t cover up the other scents—coyotes and vultures had feasted on the body, but before that had been… Sazi who’d fed. On a human. ¡Madre de Dios!
“No shit,” she replied with an equally quiet voice. “But pathology wasn’t my strong suit at the academy. What do you think the coroner’s going to say? Is there any chance they’ll think the three men killed one another?”
Will shook his head, his expression grim. She watched as he tried to find something to do with his blood-covered examining gloves, moving his hands around without touching anything. Finally, he stripped them off and tucked them in the front pocket of his pants, inside out.
“Not even a chance. Look at the lividity
of the abdomens on each of them. It’s obvious they died on their stomach and the blood pooled. You already saw the back. It was talons that severed this man’s spine and cracked his skull. To me, there’s no other plausible cause of death. But the most disturbing thing to me is the parts that were taken before death—the lips, cheeks, eyes, and liver. Damn! The screams must have been horrible. Someone must have heard, even being that far out in the sticks. No, a raptor did this, and from the different radius of openings, there were more than one. We’ve got some rogue shifters out there attacking humans. This is definitely a Wolven case, but I’m not sure how to handle it since so many people have already seen the bodies… and who knows how many saw the actual event?”
“So what do we do? Someone’s going to come in any minute to prep them for the autopsy and there are too many people in the hallways to just walk them out of here.” She opened her senses fully, her mind working furiously on an explanation for being here without having signed in, in case anyone walked through the door. The reception nurse knew they were in the building, because she’d asked after the Foster woman to learn her room number.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I’ve already got aversion magic surrounding this room. I did that when we walked in. Nobody will want to get anywhere close to the door until we’re gone. But actually, now that I think about it, isn’t Bob Sloan still the coroner here?”
When she nodded, he continued, the cool scent of relief pushing his fear and anger to disappear into the overhead fans. “Good. He’s an excellent G.P., but forensics aren’t his strong suit, either. This is going to look like an animal attack to him… no doubt in my mind. He’ll probably slap a label of death by misadventure on it after a cursory examination and call it good—especially since they’re probably not from local families, who might want a full autopsy and lab work. At worst, he’ll attribute the skull punctures to a bobcat or javalina.”
