Collateral Damage

by Susan Harris

  Derek rose to his feet and stuck out his right arm as Anna pulled a syringe from her bag. Inching forward to help Anna reach him, his shoulder touched the bars and he winced as the silver burned him. Anna quickly and efficiently tapped for a vein, stuck the needle in, and withdrew blood from his arm as he gritted his teeth against the sting. When Anna removed the needle, he yanked his arm back and stepped away from the silver. He could still feel it itching at his skin, but it no longer burned.

  “I’ll examine this right away. We’re looking for a drug, right?”

  The witch’s gaze travelled over him, and her eyes glazed over for a second before returning to their normal blue-green. “Yes. It’s faint, but I can feel it in there. It’s almost gone, though,” she said as she slipped the syringe into a container, then into her bag. “I’ll rush these through, my friend.”

  “Thanks, sweetheart.”

  Anna slipped from the room, leaving Ricky and Derek alone once again. Derek suddenly felt filthy and wished he could clean the blood from his skin. He walked around the cell a few times while Ricky tapped away on his phone. After a lengthy silence, Derek slid down the wall and leaned his head back against the tile.

  “Did they not realize that any evidence you had on your person would have been contaminated after leaving the scene?”

  Derek snorted. “I don’t think they really cared about proving me innocent, Ricky.”

  “How’d ya mean?”

  Folding his arms against his chest, Derek answered, “Think about it. They found me in a room with a dead girl who was, no doubt, ripped apart by teeth and claws. I lost control a number of times while we hunted Donnelly, and they all witnessed it. I appeared as a wolf in front of them for the first time, and they were afraid. I’m a monster in their eyes, and what happened to that girl could only be the work of a monster.”

  Ricky kicked the bars and grunted. “Hey, get your head out of that pity party, D. I might not be able to kick your ass, but I know a blonde who probably could. So buck up, sunshine. We’ve got a case to solve.”

  Derek’s wolf hearing came back in a burst of sound as he heard Sarge stomp down the corridor while barking orders down the phone. He couldn’t make out who Sarge was talking to through the thick, concrete walls, but he still managed to earwig most of Sarge’s words.

  “And you’re just going to take this away from us? From my team? Whoever is doing this is framing one of us. I won’t stand by and let him be burned at the stake for something he hasn’t done.” A brief moment of silence, then a growled response. “If you knew Derek Doyle at all, you stuffy pen-pusher, then you wouldn’t even ask that absurd question.” Another pause. “If you deny my team the opportunity to work to prove his innocence, then you can have my resignation right now with the rest of the team to follow. Try having a ten percent crime rate for supernatural creatures in the Munster area.”

  Derek’s heart sped up. Sarge was bluffing, right?

  Sarge gave a grim laugh. “That’s what I thought. And of course, I will work with anyone you send in to investigate this. I’m sure you want to prove Agent Doyle’s innocence as much as we do.” Sarge slammed his phone shut and stormed into the room.

  Ricky wisely kept quiet and tapped his foot against the ground.

  “Bloody bureaucrats. We can stay on the case, but we have to work with I.A. to solve it. They are sending two agents from the head office to interview you about what happened. Still haven’t gotten the go-ahead to get you cleaned up.”

  “Make the suspect uncomfortable and watch for his reaction. Right out of the playbook, Sarge.”

  Ricky cracked his knuckles. “Who they sending down from Internal Affairs, Sarge?”

  Sarge cast Derek a look of pure pity, and his brows almost touched when he frowned. “The griffins. They’re sending in the bloody griffins.”

  Ever’s heart had yet to stop racing since she’d gotten the call from Ricky about Derek’s arrest. Her panicked dash to change her clothes had brought Erika to the main part of the house and prompted the newest member of the team to drive Ever to the station. The girl kept silent on the journey, but then again, Erika had been a rock since she’d moved in.

  The nightmares continued to plague Ever, and she found her friends’ familiar features throughout her elaborate dreams of fantasy and madness. On nights when Ever woke screaming and clawing at her chest, Erika magically appeared by her side and held her, murmuring reassuring words to calm her. But Erika never mentioned those nights; she simply acted as though they had never happened.

  Ever felt a strange connection to the girl who now lived in the apartment above her garage. When she glanced at the girl’s profile, Ever couldn’t help but stare. Tanned skin, whiskey-coloured hair that kinked a little on the ends, and eyes the same colour as her hair. Her lips were full, and high cheekbones only added to the girl’s allure, drawing many an admiring stare from anybody she passed by. Like Derek, Erika held that aura of supernatural grace that cast eyes in their direction. They couldn’t help it—it was in their DNA.

  “He’ll be okay, you know.”

  Ever blinked and refocused on her companion. “I know, but I’m still worried.”

  The left side of Erika’s mouth lifted. “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t worry.”

  Leaning back into the plush luxury of Erika’s car seats, Ever rubbed her hands together, more for something to do rather than the temperature. Night had settled in—a devastating shade of midnight almost obscured by the gunmetal clouds that gathered. The low, distinct grumble of thunder added to the eeriness of the occasion as Erika steered into the police station and parked.

  Ever made to get out of the car, but a hand on her arm drew her attention back to her new friend. “Look, Ever, when Donnie called, he told me they haven’t let him change or clean up. I had to warn you. Ricky told him that Derek doesn’t look pretty; he looks guilty.”

  Ever flashed a weak smile. “I’ve seen him at his worst, remember?”

  Erika shook her head. “You’ve seen him resist the change, and you can’t recall what happened in the woods that night. This will be the handsome man you fell in love with, covered in the blood and guts of some woman they think he slept with, and then mauled to death. It won’t be pretty.”

  Resting her hand on top of Erika’s, Ever ignored the static that shocked her at the touch and said, “Thank you for the warning. But this is part of who he is, and I need to grow a pair and deal with it. I’m stronger than that.”

  “Damn straight you are.”

  They exited Erika’s ice-white Range Rover and headed into the station. The whole place froze when Ever strode in, and only a very dangerous glare from Erika made them turn back to work. Ever’s hands trembled and nausea rolled in the pit of her stomach, but she lifted her head and continued forward until both she and Erika had slipped inside the P.I.T. offices.

  A small square room with only one window, P.I.T. didn’t exactly have a whole lot of room to work. The team’s desks were almost jammed together, and the little space that was left consisted of whiteboards and picture boards for the team to work from. The picture board was covered with a white sheet, and Ever knew they had done so to prevent her from laying eyes on the horror.

  Tom Delany, or Sarge to those who worked for him, stood with his back to her, staring out the window, his hands firmly clasped behind his back. His shoulders were hunched and his muscles tense as he turned to face her. Tom opened his arms, and as she had done many times as a child, Ever ran into them, welcoming the warmth of his embrace and the comfort of having someone in her life who hadn’t really changed since her childhood.

  “Is he okay?” Ever whispered into Tom’s shoulder.

  Tom pulled away and swept Ever’s hair back off her face. “Derek is fine. He’s more than fine. I’ve never seen him so calm and collected. Me and the damn warlock are more wound up than your mate is.”

  Mate… The word brought goose bumps to her skin. “He’s blocking me through the bond… I can’
t hear him.”

  That hurt her more than she thought it would. When she had first awoken after her lights-out moment, when the team had taken down Donnelly, the mating bond and the supernatural side effects that came with it had made her uneasy. Now, she missed the sense of connection that bound her to Derek on such a spiritual level.

  “No, honey. Derek was drugged, and it zapped his supernatural side dry. From what he said, your boy is only getting his senses back now, and the mating bond is still out.”

  “Oh.”

  Well, now she felt stupid and pathetic. Ever had feared, for a brief moment, that he had blocked her so she wouldn’t know what he was feeling or what he had seen… or if he had actually killed the girl.

  Ever pushed that thought from her mind, scolding herself for being an idiot.

  “Can I see him?”

  Tom gave her a reluctant shake of his head. “I don’t think so, Ever. As calm as he is, as much as he appears to be fine with everything, if you see him like that, it might break him. Derek will always be afraid that you will see him as the monster he thinks he is.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” she spluttered.

  “That’s the truth.”

  Ever stepped back out of his embrace, letting her arms drop to her sides. She all but stamped her foot on the floor. “Well tough. I’m his mate, and he needs to see me. I need to know he’s fully aware that I know he didn’t do this. Screw him and his overprotective B.S., Tom. Take me to see him, please.”

  She added the please even though it wasn’t a request. Erika grinned at her, and Ever returned the smile.

  “Then I guess I don’t have a choice.”

  Tom motioned for Ever to head out, pausing only to tell Erika to check in with Caitlyn and Donnie and get up to speed on the case. He inclined his head toward the picture board as they spoke. Then he stepped outside with Ever, and they made their way down the hall.

  Ever had spent a little time down in the lower level of the station—it had been where Derek had first kissed her, where he had stated his intentions toward her, and where she had felt the initial spark of love that had kindled in her chest for both the man and the wolf.

  Tom led her in a different direction, away from the staff accommodations. They manoeuvred down a dark corridor, flanked by some serious-looking cops with heavy-duty weapons. The cops averted their gazes from Tom as they strode past, and Ever wondered if her godfather had unleashed his temper on them.

  At the end of the corridor, Tom stilled and peered over his shoulder at her, his hands around the handle of a steel door. He opened his mouth to speak, but Ever raised a single eyebrow and Tom chuckled.

  “Wait here a sec.”

  He slipped inside, leaving the door slightly ajar. She could hear raised voices within.

  “Damn it, Sarge, Ever doesn’t need to see me like this. Take her back upstairs, and tell her I’ll see her when they decide to let me clean up.”

  “You really don’t know my niece if you think she will listen to a word I have to say where you’re concerned.”

  “You’ve got muscles, Sarge. Throw her over your shoulder and drag her upstairs.”

  Ever yanked open the steel door, crossed the threshold, and, ignoring Tom and Ricky, faced Derek head on with hands on her hips.

  “Derek Doyle, don’t be such a chauvinistic male, thinking Tom could simply go all caveman and toss me over his shoulder because you feel insecure about me seeing you—”

  She stopped mid-rant, taking in Derek’s appearance. Dressed simply in his work pants, Derek remained seated on the ground in his cell. His feet were bare, as was his spectacular torso, but now it had added colour. Crimson was smeared across his defined abs, and there was an unmistakable handprint on his chest. She blinked in surprise at the blood that stained his lips and chin, but what tugged at her heart the most, what threatened to spill tears from her eyes, was the complete look of shame and helplessness in Derek’s hazel eyes.

  He fully expected her to bolt.

  Steeling her own emotions, she tilted her head to the side, shrugged her shoulders, and said, “You’ve looked worse.”

  Nobody spoke for a moment until Ricky snickered and had to cover his mouth. Sarge shook his head, grabbed Ricky by the collar, and pulled him from the room, leaving Ever and Derek alone. When he continued to look at her without speaking, Ever sighed and eased down on the ground next to the bars, leaning her head against the wall and waiting.

  “You shouldn’t have come down here,” Derek said after a heartbeat of silence.

  “I’m your mate. Where else would I be?”

  “Asking your mom for a way out of it?”

  With a snort, she smiled. “Jesus, Derek, all this just to get out of taking me on a date? I mean, you could have just told me you wanted to stay in.”

  Derek let out a bark of laughter, and the muscles in his neck relaxed. His lips tugged up into a lopsided smile, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She had never felt this way about someone before, and the way she felt for Derek scared her.

  Shifting, Derek slid across the floor and came as close as possible to the silver bars without them burning his skin. Ever scooted over closer to the bars and reached her hand inside as far as it would go. For a second, Ever thought Derek wouldn’t touch her. She swallowed hard, only calming when Derek twined his fingers with hers. The scalding heat of his touch flooded her entire body… just as it always did.

  They both sat there, saying nothing for about five minutes, Ever waiting for Derek to speak first. His thumb circled her palm, and her eyes closed. It was a familiar pattern for them now; for the past few weeks, when Derek had come over they would curl up on the couch together, and he would take her hand in his and trace his thumb across the palm of her hand.

  “Why haven’t you asked me if I did it?”

  His voice was level and void of emotion—it broke her from nice thoughts, and she slowly lifted her lids.

  “Because I know you, Derek Doyle, and regardless of what may or may not have happened in the past, the man I know—the broody wolf I fell in love with—wouldn’t have done this.”

  The motion of his thumb faltered, then began again. “But I could have.”

  Ever sighed. “I said you wouldn’t, Derek, not that you couldn’t. I’m under no illusion that, if you wanted to, you couldn’t rip me apart in a split second before I had a chance to blink. I just know you never would.” She stressed the last word, hoping to get through his thick skull.

  “I’d never hurt you,” he growled.

  Idiot man…

  “I know you’d never hurt me, Derek. I wouldn’t be here if I even for one second thought you would.”

  “Good.”

  He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it.

  “But seriously, Derek… bit much to get out of a date with me.”

  He chuckled again, and the spark returned to his eyes as he finally held her gaze.

  “You look tired. Are you still having nightmares?”

  “Nice change of subject, mister.”

  “Nice avoidance of the question, Doc.”

  Ever blew out a breath. “They’re not so bad.”

  When he scoffed, she changed her words. “I mean, I’m kinda used to ‘em now. But Caitlyn suggested I go talk to someone about them, that it might help. I’m thinking about it.”

  “Things might get messy from here on out, Ever. Whoever set me up, whoever is playing this game, is only getting started. I couldn’t bear it if you got hurt by this.”

  Ever squeezed his hand. “Nah. Since you’re gonna be MIA for a bit, and with Melanie still out, I think I’ll stick around and make sure Ricky stays out of trouble.”

  “Beautiful and a miracle worker? I lucked out with you.”

  “Smooth-talker.”

  The door cracked open next to where Ever sat, and she raised her eyes up a boot-clad leg until she looked into the devilishly handsome face of Ricky Moore. With his long, dark hair tied back in a ponyt
ail and a cherubic face, Ricky made many a girl swoon.

  Folding his arms across his chest, Ricky glanced down at her. “We good?”

  “We’re good,” she answered.

  “Sarge wants to know if you wanna head upstairs and give us a hand.”

  Ever glanced at Derek, who repeated his previous gesture and pressed his lips against the back of her hand.

  “Go—it’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

  Reluctantly, she slipped her hand free of Derek’s and got to her feet. “I’ll be back soon.”

  After slipping from the cells, Ever waited until she was far enough down the hall that Derek’s newfound lack of hearing might stop him from listening in as she bent over and dry heaved, ignoring the cops around her. Her eyes watered, and she felt dizzy. What if they couldn’t figure out who was setting Derek up? What if they decided he was too dangerous and killed him? What if…

  “You okay, tough girl?”

  Ever straightened and nodded. “I’m okay. Just worried ‘bout him.”

  Ricky cupped her cheek. “Don’t worry about the ol’ wolf, Ever. He’s tougher than his good looks give him credit for.”

  He slung a reassuring arm around her shoulder as he escorted her out. Ricky released her once they went up into the main section of the station, holding open doors for her and keeping an eye on her as she passed.

  “He asked you to shadow me, didn’t he?” she asked as they both walked into the P.I.T. room.

  “His exact words were ‘guard her with your life’. And since I’m quite fond of myself at times, please try not to go on any midnight strolls with psychopaths if you can, okay?”

  Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Ever couldn’t help but share a laugh with him. “I promise to try.”

  “Good woman.”

  The rest of the team awaited them, with the gentle giant Donnie covering the picture board when he sensed her arrival. She shot him a grateful smile, and he nodded. Caitlyn perched cross-legged on the edge of her desk, using a knife to pick at her nails. With ringlets of raven curls that framed a porcelain face, Caitlyn was stunning, as if modelled from a 1950’s movie star. Her slate-grey eyes saw everything, except maybe for the hungry looks her first protégé, Donnie, frequently sent in her direction.