Broken Shadows

by Kathleen Brooks

  “So, you do have some backbone.”

  “Ryker,” Trent snapped and the man shrugged as if the reprimand meant nothing to him. “This is my cousin Ryker Faulkner.”

  “And, again, why should I listen to you?” Skye asked again, not impressed with his alpha act. She’d been around sleazy, manipulative casting directors and producers. She managed them and she’d manage this man too.

  “Because one of my companies is a specialty tech company that works hard to not be known by the general public,” he said easily as he laced his fingers together and looked over at her as if she should know what that means.

  Skye raised an eyebrow as if saying, yeah, so? and was pleased to see the faint smile return to Ryker’s lips.

  “So that little brand-new program Agent Shaw put on your phone developed by some young wonder kid? That’s from my company.”

  Agent Castle let out a low whistle, but the sheriff looked annoyed. “What the hell, Ryker? Do you not tell us anything anymore?”

  “I’m telling you now.”

  The sheriff flipped him off and Ryker’s smile was broad and genuine. Goodness gracious. That man was hotter than sin and looked as if he knew every sin imaginable in the best possible way.

  “So, what does this secret tech company have to do with keeping Miss Jessamine safe?” Agent Castle asked.

  “We have our own GPS smart trackers. They’ll program to her trace DNA. If someone else touches it or tries to remove it, we’ll get a notification. They’re small, so you can put them in your shoes, your underwear, your phone case, your purse . . . everywhere. You can even swallow one. However, they also have the ability to be turned into a listening and recording device if needed. Either we turn them on and listen, or we can set a perimeter that will automatically alert us and go live with sound should you leave that area. We’re also working on voice activation with a select password. That’s still in the works, but soon you can say a chosen word and it’ll automatically start recording and notify us.”

  “So, a wire?”

  Ryker gave a little snort. “A wire with unlimited range. You could be in France and we could still activate it and listen. These run off of private satellites so distance isn’t even a factor.”

  “That’s a little scary,” Skye told him with all seriousness. “I don’t want people listening to me at any time they want.”

  “The product isn’t known. My team isn’t known. Unlike FBI trackers, no one can hack them or will even know they’re there. They don’t show on scans and aren’t subject to jammers. Further, if you place one near your body, like on the inside of your bra strap, I can even program them to set off a notification if your heart rate spikes, such as if you’re in danger.”

  “Or if I’m working out.”

  Ryker shook his head. “We’re a little smarter than that. It won’t go off during sex either.” Skye knew she blushed, but that didn’t stop Ryker from continuing. “If it’ll make you feel better, only I will monitor you. If there’s any trouble, I can share it with Granger and Castle. I don’t know Shaw so I’m not sharing anything with him. Deal?”

  “Deal,” Castle and Granger quickly said.

  “I’ll think about it,” Skye said. Ryker gave her a slight nod to indicate he knew she was serious about it.

  Skye was about to go meet Karri when the front door was flung open and Karri raced inside. “We have a big problem.”

  9

  Skye didn’t even have time to ask before Karri was shouting for the entire bar to shut up. Miraculously everyone did. The TVs were turned off, dart games paused, and beer mugs set down. Heck, people even stopped chewing their food. Karri then pressed the unmute button and held the phone out.

  “Sorry, I’m back. What were you saying?” Karri asked into the phone. Skye looked at it and saw the caller ID showed that it was Karri’s mom.

  “Did your order for new fabric come in? I was hoping it would arrive in time for the Hisatuh ceremony. But, I’m sorry, I was telling you before I can’t talk right now. Some men from L.A. came to talk about my daughter.”

  “What about her?” Karri asked.

  “They’re doing a story on her and Skye’s friendship. We’re talking about how they met, where they’d travel to on spring breaks, and even the relationship our family and Skye’s family have developed. I talked to Skye’s mother just a moment ago and she’s being interviewed too. Isn’t that something? I’m so proud I could burst. Look, I’ll see you soon to work on the Hisatuh ceremony. Bye.”

  Karri hung up and everyone was quiet for a moment except for Agent Castle who looked up at Karri with worry. “If I’m not mistaken, Hisatuh translates into treacherous little winter and that ceremony isn’t performed this time of year.”

  Karri’s eyes shot open wide. “That’s right. It’s a warning. The people she’s with are treacherous. How did you know that?”

  “My grandmother is Oneida.”

  Skye was just as surprised. Karri’s Onondaga Nation was one of the present-day Six Nations. Oneida was another one. “What clan?”

  “Bear. I read that you’re Wolf.”

  Karri put her arms across her chest and stared down at him. “You did a background search on me?”

  “Of course I did or I wouldn’t be very good at my job.” Agent Castle turned his gaze to Skye. “Change your mind yet about the trackers?”

  “You read my mind. They’re looking for me.”

  “Who is?” Ellery asked into the quiet. “I’m sorry, pregnancy brain. I don’t feel as if I’m following.”

  “I think that’s the perfect question,” Skye told her. “We don’t know who they are or who sent them. However, what they don’t know is Karri’s mom is horrible at technology and always leaves her laptop open and never covers the camera. So, hotshot, you think your little tech company can get a look inside?”

  Ryker’s lips turned up into a slow, full smile. Karri cursed under her breath from where she stood next to Skye. “I think I like you, Jessamine.”

  “Jury’s still out on you, hotshot. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  * * *

  It took him one text and less than two minutes before they were all looking at a live stream of Mrs. Hill’s living room. Two men sat on the couch as Karri’s mom fed them food and talked about how sweet Skye and Karri were to her and the entire Onondaga Nation.

  “Screen—”

  “Already sent it to you,” Ryker said as Agent Castle’s phone pinged with an incoming text message. “I’m recording this too and will send it to you when they’re done talking.”

  “So, where would Karri and Skye go if they want to unwind?” one of the men asked.

  “The beach or for a hike. They love the Redwoods in California. Nature is very important to them both. I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I need to wrap this up. I hope I answered all your questions. Do you have my phone number? You can call if you think of anything else.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Hill. We’ll do that.”

  Skye felt her brow crease as she watched the men. “Something seems familiar about them.”

  “You know them?” Agent Castle asked as the screen went dark and Ryker went back to working on his phone.

  “I feel as if I do. Or at least I’ve seen them before.”

  “The one on the right is Enzo Bruni and the left is Ace Hinton. They are employed as security experts with Star Power Private Security out of Los Angeles,” Ryker read from his phone.

  “Wow, okay, hotshot, you earned your name,” Skye told him before closing her eyes and thinking. Star Power Private Security. She let her mind go back. “I remember how I know them. They did security for the movie that comes out next month. Did the movie studio hire them because they think I won’t do the press tour?”

  Ryker typed into his phone and then shook his head. “So far we can’t determine who hired them. I’ll let you know when I find out.”

  “They were also the private security Lenny recommended to you for bodyguards,” Karri remin
ded her.

  “Do you think it’s okay for me to call my family?” Skye asked Agent Castle and Ryker. She didn’t know how, but he’d become the head of her security team without even realizing it. At least he was head of her technological security.

  “Yes, but don’t give any indication of where you are. Not the time it is here, not the season, not the sound of the water. Nothing,” Agent Castle informed her.

  “Okay. I’ll call them right before bed. That way they won’t worry about me. They’ve texted me, and so has my agent, my manager, my PR person, and my lawyer. Oh, and Mason. I guess I didn’t have as many friends as I thought.”

  “How could you?” Karri asked, “Lenny kept you away from everyone. I swear, half the time he probably made up those mean things he says he heard other actresses say about you.”

  “Should I reply to them?” Skye asked Agent Castle. She didn’t want to get into another fight with Karri over this, especially when she was starting to realize that Karri had been right about Lenny manipulating her.

  “A simple text that says that you’ve gotten their messages but need some time to disconnect. Then thank them for giving you your privacy. Isn’t that in every PR comment?” Agent Castle asked with a little smile and Skye began to like him even more. It was just snarky enough to let them know she was pissed.

  “Do that, and then I think we all need some drinks.” Harper stood up and looked over at her and Karri. “What’s your drink?”

  “I got used to rum and Coke when I was filming Anne’s movie. That feels appropriate today,” Skye said as she wrote out the text and began to copy and paste it to her team.

  “Sounds good to me too,” Karri said, and then the whole table heard her belly rumble.

  “I’ll order some barbeque from The Pink Pig too,” Harper said with a wink to Karri.

  “Don’t you have food here?” Karri asked as she handed her phone over to Agent Castle. “Here, go through these and see if anything looks interesting.”

  Karri walked off with Harper, who was talking about how she wanted to serve bar food but only has part-time help on the weekends so that’s when she does it. Skye didn’t need to see her friend to know Karri’s mind was already on food she could make here without the dietary restrictions Skye was supposed to be following.

  “They’re all writing back demanding to know where I am,” Skye said with a tired sigh. This had been her life because they had been her life. Now she didn’t even want to talk to them. The other night at her house had pissed her off beyond belief. She’d been threatened over a movie role and now she’d begun to see past manipulations. She was trying to take control over her own life now and someone was trying to stop her from doing that. As far as she was concerned, all of Hollywood could shove it at this point.

  “Don’t respond,” Castle told her and then leaned forward. “So, I didn’t see anything about a boyfriend when I ran Karri’s background.”

  Skye put down her phone and turned her attention to Agent Castle. “That’s because Karri doesn’t have one. So, you’re Oneida? Do you visit the area around Seneca Falls in New York much?”

  “According to my grandma, not as much as I should. My mother isn’t a member, and I grew up away from my grandma. We’re close, but not as close as if I’d been able to live nearer. Then, being with the FBI, I’ve traveled around too.” Skye really looked at Agent Castle. He was attractive. He was strong. He was smart. He was calm under pressure or he wouldn’t be the head of the Charleston office. Skye glanced at the bar and saw Karri peeking over to catch glimpses of him. Interesting indeed.

  “What about you? Girlfriend?”

  “I broke up with my last girlfriend about eight months ago.”

  Skye leaned forward as the table talked around them. “So, what do you want to know about Karri?”

  * * *

  Two hours later Skye was stuffed with the best barbeque she’d ever tasted in her whole life and more than a few drinks. She’d hugged Karri goodnight before Tinsley drove her home.

  Trent followed behind Tinsley’s car, but pulled off into his driveway. Skye took a deep breath of air filled with the scents of fresh moss, flowers, and a hint of salt. She had put away her phone and gotten lost in the night with her new friends as all the tension melted away.

  Ryker told her he’d be back tomorrow with what he needed to get her set up. Until then, she was determined not to fall into a pointless cycle of what-ifs and simply enjoy the night. Tomorrow was soon enough to let reality back in.

  “I’m going to call my parents,” Skye told Trent as she crawled onto the large porch swing.

  “I’ll grab us some fresh apple cider and meet you back out here.”

  “Thanks. That sounds great.” Skye waited until Trent went inside and then called her mother’s cell phone.

  It rang and rang and Skye was worried her mom wouldn’t pick up when she finally heard a hesitant, “Hello?”

  “Hi, Mom!”

  “Baby! Oh my gosh, what is going on? Why are you calling from an unknown number? There are men here, baby. They said they were reporters but reporters don’t have guns on under their suit jackets.”

  Skye’s heart fell and reality crashed into her like a ton of bricks. “Karri talked to her mom and she said the same, minus the guns. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

  “I’m fine. Karri’s mom gave me the heads up right as they pulled up to the house so I pretended you were still in L.A. Are you in L.A.?”

  Skye hated not answering her mother, but now, more than ever she had a reason to do exactly what Agent Castle had told her to do. “I can’t say. Just know I’m safe. Did you get a picture of the men who talked to you?”

  She heard her mother sigh and heard her father tell her to put it on speaker. “Baby, are you okay?”

  “I’m safe and unharmed, Dad. That’s all I can say right now. Did either of you get a photo of the guys who came to visit you?” Skye asked again. Maybe Ryker and his mystery wonder kid could find out who these guys were too.

  “No,” her mother said. “I was too nervous trying to pretend that I wasn’t nervous to even think about it.”

  “I grabbed a picture of the license plate as I drove the tractor by,” her dad told her and Skye’s heart rate picked back up.

  “What is it?” Skye asked, moving her phone to speaker and pulling up a text to Trent. She typed in the plate number, the make, and the model of the SUV they were driving and then sent it to Trent.

  “Skye,” her mother said the second her father stopped talking. “What is going on?”

  Skye leaned back against the cushions and sighed. “I wish I knew. I’ll find out though. I have my phone so you can still reach me. Let me know if the men come back or if anyone calls you.”

  “Call us?” Her mother said with a serious laugh that showed it wasn’t funny at all. “We’ve been getting calls from Lenny and Jim almost every hour. I can’t believe that they don’t know where you are. Half the time I can’t even get in touch with you because of the stranglehold they have on you.”

  “Wait, what?” Skye asked, sitting up quickly as Trent walked out the door with two mugs of hot apple cider and a blanket over his arm. His phone was also in his hand and his brow was creased in a way that said he knew something was up and he was trying to figure it out.

  Skye held out the phone and pressed speaker once again. “What do you mean, Lenny and Jim put a stranglehold on me so that half the time you couldn’t get in touch with me?”

  The line was quiet and then her father cleared his throat. “Well, most of the time we’d call and he’d answer your phone and tell us you weren’t available. And we came to surprise you for your birthday when you were on set and he turned us away. He said you were too busy and in the middle of a really important scene and that we’d be a distraction.”

  Skye would have dropped the phone if Trent hadn’t reached out to take it from her. He sat down next to her and put a supportive arm around her. “I didn’t know. I swear.
I always want to talk to you or see you.”

  Skye’s mother gave a relieved sob and Skye’s heart broke at the sound of her father comforting her. Skye turned her head slightly to see Trent’s jaw tight in anger. He too had his own bone to pick with Lenny. Skye had felt controlled and manipulated, but this was worse that she ever imagined.

  “Mom, Dad, I promise I’ll get to the bottom of all this. I’m safe, but I’m not sitting back doing nothing. I’m done letting other people control me.”

  “There’s my girl,” her father said with pride. “You give ’em hell, and if you need us we will come to you any time, anywhere.”

  “We love you with all our hearts and you know, the farm is big enough to bury some bodies. Shoot, we can feed them to the pigs if we have to. Although, I have to admit, that’d be really gross.”

  Skye felt the first tear fall as she laughed. “Thanks, Mom. You two are the best. I’ll call or text soon, okay?”

  “Okay. Goodnight, sweetheart. We love you,” her mother said before the line went dead.

  Trent reached over to hang up the phone and then set it down. Instantly she was in his arms and pulled onto his lap. He didn’t say anything. He just held her as she cried. “I can’t believe Lenny did that to my own parents and I never realized.”

  Trent was quiet for a second, but then said what she’d been thinking. “He’s an asshole.”

  Skye nodded against Trent’s strong chest. She took a deep breath to center herself. “I don’t like who I’ve become.”

  “Skye, you’re an exceptional woman who has accomplished a lot in a very short time. How old are you?”

  “Twenty-nine.”

  “And how long have you been acting?” Trent asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Seven years.” Skye took a deep breath to calm herself. “It’s not a professional thing. I know I’m a damn good actress. What I’m talking about is the farm girl who got into college on a lacrosse scholarship. The girl who took no shit from anyone. The girl who knew what she wanted and went after it, but was always there to be a friend to someone who needed one. That’s what I lost. My independence. I don’t make my own choices anymore, not even what shirt to wear or what kind of car to drive. The second the spotlight shined on me, everything changed.”