by Susan Harris
“How is mon loup?” Caitlyn enquired without looking up from her nail task.
“He’s being Derek. I really do think he’s holding back his anger. It won’t be good if he unleashes it at the wrong time.”
Ricky squeezed her shoulder as he scooted around her. “So, anybody got ideas on who could have the resources to pull off a stunt like this? It’s gotta take money and manpower.”
Donnie grimaced. “Arthur de Valera claimed to be shocked about what occurred to Derek and said, I quote, ‘If Agent Doyle was a member of my pack, we would use all our available resources to help prove his innocence. But alas, due to his indifference, Agent Doyle is on his own.’”
“Arthur’s still a suspect, but D has put a lot of people in their place, even before joining P.I.T. We would have to wade through ten years of casework to try and eliminate names,” Ricky replied with a sigh.
Caitlyn slid her knife into her boot and pulled her phone from her jacket pocket. “I’ll ask Melanie to sift through them. Give her something to do instead of hassle me.”
“She only wants to learn how to fight, Cait. She’s bored around the house.”
Donnie’s chastising drew a scowl from Caitlyn, who dropped off the desk and exited the room while dialling her phone.
Ever studied Donnie’s expression, but the hulk of a man remained stoic. A former rugby player, Donnie was built like a mountain, and even with his boyish good looks, he scared her a little. Not enough to keep her distance, though.
“What about the man who changed Derek? From what I gathered from Derek, they didn’t part on the best of terms. Does anyone know if he could be responsible?”
Ricky scrubbed a hand over his face and whistled. “Neville Morris is one evil SOB who definitely could have orchestrated this whole thing. If he did, though, you can be certain we won’t find any evidence he was here or set things in motion.”
A commotion sounded outside, and a raised voice boomed with authority throughout the station.
“I have a right to see my client, and you cannot withhold his civil right to council. If you or your station do not want me to file a complaint with the Garda commissioner that Mr. Doyle, as a member of the supernatural community, has been denied all the rights awarded to humans, then I suggest you let me see him at once. I have no issue contacting media outlets in regards to this issue.”
Opening the door, Ricky grinned and whistled. The woman glared toward the whistle, then her features softened and she dismissed the officer she had been verbally thrashing. She wrapped her arms around Ricky in a hug, and when he released her, Ever noticed the faint hint of a birthmark on the side of her face.
She saw it then, the resemblance. The woman must have been in her early sixties and had the same shape eyes and nose as Derek, with brown hair that cut off at the strong outline of her jaw. She felt Ever staring at her, and the woman turned, running her gaze over Ever before staring her dead in the eyes.
Ever could understand now how people felt under cross-examination.
“Forgive me. I’m Chloe Doyle, Derek’s niece. And you must be Ever, his mate. I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but…”
Ever took the hand that was outstretched to her. “Maybe when this is over we can meet under better circumstances.”
The woman nodded and then turned to Tom. “So, can someone please explain to me why Derek is plastered all over the news for a murder he didn’t commit?”
Leaning back in his chair, he surveyed the news coverage in glee. His plan had worked, and with Doyle behind bars and out of his hair for a bit, now he could move forward with the main goal of his plan. Nobody would suspect him, and if anyone did, he would just take them out of the equation.
The wolf pressed a buzzer on the phone on his desk, and the door sprang open quickly, his men knew he did not like to be kept waiting. The two wolves in front of him had done well with their mission and deserved to be rewarded.
He glanced at the man with the maddening eyes. Reaching for the gun holstered in the strap under his desk, he effortlessly pulled it free, aimed, and shot the man in the centre of his forehead. The body crumpled to the ground a second later, and he eyeballed the man left standing.
“Why did I shoot him?”
The wolf shifted. “He enjoyed killing the girl too much. He became a liability.”
“Good. Dismissed. Take the body with you.”
The wolf scurried from the room, hoisting the dead wolf over his shoulder. The phone shrilled, and he scowled at the name on the display.
“Sir.”
“I need you in the city with me now.”
“On my way.”
He hung up the phone and growled. A little while longer, that’s all the time he needed to hold his composure and keep pretending. It was all coming together quite nicely.
Phase two of his plan was certainly under way.
Ever couldn’t help but grin at the ferociousness of the woman related to her mate. Chloe Doyle’s jaw was set, and she had a determined look in her eyes that Ever had seen once before—when Derek was hunting down Stephen Donnelly. Ever’s nervousness at the situation Derek had landed himself into slowly began to dissolve. If anyone could yank Derek from the boiling water getting hotter and hotter on his sexy little tail, Chloe could.
Ricky ground his teeth, his jaw clenching in anger. “Someone must have leaked info to the press. Probably the same person who’s setting Derek up.”
“Whoever it is, they want to make sure that Derek is the main focus of this attack. Would it be overstepping to say that with Derek behind bars, this person may target those closest to him?” Chloe asked, a slight tremor betraying the iron exterior of the woman.
Tom clasped a hand on her shoulder. “Derek made precautions for this very instance. Apart from some pictures in his well-alarmed home and the fact you told a roomful of officers that you were his niece, there’s no link to you or your family.”
Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, and then her eyes darted to the remaining people in the room, noting Caitlyn as she slipped soundlessly into the room. “But Derek has another family, one he would die to protect. Are you guys in danger?”
Ricky chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “Danger? I laugh in the face of danger. Ha, ha, ha.”
“Dude,” Donnie said with a smirk and a glint of amusement in his eyes, “did you just quote The Lion King?”
“Dude, how did you know that was from The Lion King?” Ricky teased.
Ever shook her head but found herself smiling along with them. Even in this dark time the team was so sure Derek would be fine that they found time to laugh and joke. But Derek wasn’t free yet, and they all had a job to do.
Caitlyn came to stand by Ever. “If this unsub means to frame Derek for murder and then go after those he cares for, then he won’t attempt to come after us. He’ll go after Ever.”
Ever raised an eyebrow, and Caitlyn continued. “Everyone saw his reaction to you when you first started working with us. They’ll no doubt know now that you are his mate, his very human mate.”
There was a glint in Caitlyn’s eyes as she held Ever’s gaze—unspoken words between them. They needed to talk, and sooner rather than later.
But you’re not entirely human, now, are you, Ever?
The voice returned to haunt her, the madness creeping into her bones again and willing away the happiness she had found in her new life with her new friends and mate. Blinking her eyes, Ever tried to quiet the voice within her.
Tom folded his arms across his chest. “Ever doesn’t go anywhere without an escort. And that is not up for argument, Ever. Samhain and Faoláin have yet to forgive me for almost getting you killed less than a month ago. If I want to dine on your mother’s apple crumble again, then I have to insist.” Tom spoke the last words with a small smile.
“Plus, Derek will probably eat us if something happens to her.”
Everyone fell silent and glared at Ricky.
The warlock simply shrugged. “Wh
at? Too soon?”
Ignoring him, Chloe shook her head. “I need to go see Derek now. Can someone show me where he is?” When no one moved, Chloe shifted her feet and lodged her hands on her hips. “Okay, someone want to explain why y’all are so reluctant to let me see my uncle?”
After a very pregnant pause, Ricky sank into his chair and leaned back. “D isn’t exactly presentable at this time. Proper protocol isn’t being followed, if you catch my drift.”
Chloe shivered. “Is he still in the same condition as depicted in the media coverage?”
“Yup.”
Chloe swore, gathered up her stuff, and looked at Tom. “I really need to see my client right now.”
Tom indicated for Chloe to head out in front of him and then rotated his finger to the rest of the room, telling them to carry on.
Chloe stopped, pivoting back to them, and her eyes ran over each and every one of them. “My mother asked me on her deathbed to ensure that Derek lived a full life, and to be honest, I haven’t lived up to my end of the deal. But you have. Your team is the best at what it does. Find out who wants my uncle dead so I can ensure that my children and my children’s children have a protector to watch over them. Please help him.” Her voice wavered before she cleared her throat, turned around, and swept from the room.
As soon as Chloe and Tom had exited, Caitlyn spoke. “Melanie is digging into old case files to see if any threats were made against Derek since joining P.I.T. It will be a long list, but Melanie can work through it.”
The centuries-old vampire strode to the board—the one that wasn’t covered for Ever’s delicate stomach—and began to write in a refined, curved swirl of words that matched her own elegant beauty.
“Top of our list of suspects has to be Arthur de Valera. He publically made his dislike of Derek known. He has the power and resources to go after Derek and appear clean. With hundreds of Munster wolves at his disposal, we can’t rule him out, despite his pleas of innocence.”
Donnie, having moved closer to Caitlyn and now resting against the wall in the corner, spoke next. “We need to speak to him face to face, see if we can separate truth from lie. But we also can’t rule out Neville Morris as a suspect. Derek embarrassed him, bled him, and is now the pretty boy face of P.I.T. in Ireland. A man as narcissistic, as self-serving as Morris is reported to be, will not be happy with Derek’s high-profile position.”
Caitlyn scribed Morris’s name to the list. “We have all had threats against us over the years and will continue to do so with the work we do. It’s the curse of the job. We all lose something over the course of time.”
An understanding washed over Ever. She knew that Caitlyn was referring to Melanie. The young tech had been made a vampire after being left for dead by Donnelly, and Caitlyn felt guilty for forcing that life on another. Ever noticed the same guilt every time Caitlyn spared a glance at Donnie when she thought no one was watching. It almost broke her heart to think fear and remorse for changing him ensured that Caitlyn guarded her heart when she didn’t have to.
Donnie’s gaze darted to hers. Ever cursed herself for forgetting that she still did not know the many secrets these supernatural enigmas had, but she was excited to unravel them soon. Even though Donnie still frightened her, she returned the sneaky grin he gave her. In truth, it wasn’t his sheer strength that terrified her but the knowledge that if the vampire really were a mind reader, then he could sense the madness in her mind and would expose her for it, laying waste to the precious time she had with Derek.
Her lids closed for a heartbeat, and when she opened them again, she jerked at the sudden presence of Donnie by her side.
He bent his tall, bulky frame and lowered his voce to nothing but a dull whisper. “I would never betray any secrets that I may have heard without permission. I try to limit what I hear, but sometimes humans and supernaturals, when scared or confused, don’t use their natural shields to block me. Never fear that I’ll expose anything from your mind. Unless it might help keep you alive, your thoughts will always be your own.”
“Thank you.”
Donnie bowed his head and straightened. “But Ever, you don’t smell sick. What you think is madness might be something completely different. If you believe anything, believe that.”
Instinctively, Ever reached up and cupped his cheek. “You’re a brave warrior.”
The words slipped from her lips, but she had no idea as to why she’d said them. She quickly pulled her hand away and looked over his shoulder at Caitlyn. The vampire’s gaze was narrowed, but the mask of elegance returned when she noticed Ever studying her.
She couldn’t be jealous, could she?
A chuckle came from Donnie, and Ever blushed. The former rugby player pressed his lips to her cheek and muttered, “It’s nice to make her a little jealous. It means she cares and I’m finally wearing her down.”
Ever giggled. “After twenty years.”
Holding out his palms, Donnie replied, “I’m a patient man.”
“Hey, stop flirting with the human, dude. We have serious work to do,” quipped Ricky, sarcasm lacing his tone.
Donnie strolled away from Ever, playing with a curl that had slipped free of Caitlyn’s hair tie as he passed. The older vampire continued writing her list on the board, seemingly unaffected, but Ever knew that when there was that pull, that impossible-to-name thing that drew you to another person, it was hard to deny.
Caitlyn’s phone chimed. When she slipped it from her jeans pocket, she pointed at Ricky, subsequently putting her finger to her lips. Pressing the answer button, Caitlyn set it down on the table and put it on speaker. “Go ahead, ma petite vampire.”
“I hate it when you call me that… sire.”
Melanie’s light and airy tone swept throughout the room, and now Ever understood why she had shushed Ricky. Melanie had refused to see him, afraid of hurting him or anyone else after she’d been turned. Since her kidnapping and change to a vampire, Melanie had taken to her new life with an ease that surprised everyone. But Caitlyn was unwilling to risk anyone’s safety or Melanie’s emotional state because Melanie was bored.
“And I hate it when you call me sire. We are even, non?”
“Yeah. Well, for now, anyway. Okay, back to business. So I ran through the case files you sent me, and a few names popped up again and again. Seems like Derek has made an impressive list of enemies. Should we eliminate all the humans on the list with cash because of the way the girl was killed? By the way, thanks for not sending me the images of that particular mess… the written accounts were enough to turn me off blood—well, not really!”
A slow smile spread across Ricky’s face, and he let his eyes close, listening as Caitlyn answered Melanie.
“We cannot rule out a human with supernatural connections. Compile a list and mail it to me.”
“Will do. But listen, there is something that you might be interested in. When Derek was a rookie on the team, he took down a vampire that was selling contaminated bottles of blood that sent vampires into rages. He had a human brother who was quite vocal about his hatred for Derek and the fact that Derek had murdered his brother in cold blood. Had a few blog rants about it before it was all taken down ‘bout four years back. But nothing stays lost on the net.”
“Why was it taken down, sister?” Donnie asked.
“On his last post, he claimed that he was going to be different—changed—and that he would avenge his brother’s death. I did some extra digging and found employment records for him. You will never guess who he works for.”
“You’re enjoying this far too much,” Caitlyn muttered.
“Boredom will do that to you!”
Caitlyn let out a slew of French that turned the room blue.
“I have no idea what you just said, but I can tell I’m pissing you off. Good! Okay, so before you go all alpha vampire on me, the man is now a vampire who works for an old friend of yours.”
“Chester,” both Donnie and Caitlyn snarled in unison.
“It’s not impossible, but Chester would come after Donnie or me, not Derek. But Timothy could be working alone.”
Donnie’s brow furrowed. “Wasn’t Timothy the bouncer we met a couple weeks ago?”
“He was,” Caitlyn confirmed.
“Then maybe we should pay Timothy a visit.”
“That’s my cue to sign off and get back to my research. Will you guys be home later?” Melanie asked, loneliness obvious in her voice.
Donnie and Caitlyn shared a look. “We will be home as soon as we can. Once we make sure Derek is okay, one of us will pop home. Will you be okay?”
“Sure, brother,” she snorted back at him. “I’m squared away here for now. Will you tell Derek I called? And that he needs to stop by again soon?”
“We will. Good bye Melanie.”
Caitlyn closed the phone shut as Ricky erupted in anger. He snapped up ramrod straight and came at Caitlyn, blue flickering from his fingertips.
“What the fuck, Caitlyn? D has been to see her, but you won’t let me near your house? It’s been three bloody weeks, and I want to see her!”
Caitlyn held out her hand to stop Donnie from interfering and tilted her head at Ricky. “She is not ready to see you, Ricky. Derek is safe, and she is not afraid of hurting him. You, to her, are breakable, and it would kill the humanity in her in one fell swoop if she hurt you. We need to ease her into interacting with people to ensure everyone is safe.”
Blue licked his palms, and Ever watched the interaction with muted curiosity. She would be powerless to defend herself against them if this got bad. Erika, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet, edged her way to stand by Ever, the woman’s fingers sliding down to grasp the hilt of her gun.
“I can protect myself, Caitlyn. I might only be a warlock, but I think I can take out a young vampire befor—”
