Shifter Wars (30 page)

“Wait a second,” I said. “Do we want this person to know we’re on to him? What if he goes postal?”

“But if we don’t investigate, we are granting a murderer full access to Griffin and his family,” Jean Luc argued.

“What are your thoughts, Griffin?” I prompted.

“I need to go to Nevada.”

Where in the hell had that come from? “We don’t know if there’s even anything
in
Nevada.”

Griffin picked up a silver pen from his desk and rolled it between his fingers.

I walked over to him. “What is it?”

“There have been rumors of a sect of shifters out west.”

Something twisted in my gut. “What type of sect?

“One that doesn’t follow our laws.”

“And we’re just hearing about it?”

“I’ve never had any real evidence of their existence. It has just been supposition, until now.”

“So you believe Jason’s theory?”

“I believe someone is planning a takeover, and besides my family, the only ones I trust right now are in this room.”

The irony was not lost on me that the group consisted of humans, demons, and a vampire. I wanted to reach out to him, but I could practically see the wall he was building around himself. What would I do if I couldn’t trust the very pack I would give my life for?

I spoke softly, “If we can’t trust anyone here, we need to secure a safe place for the Connors.”

Griffin nodded. “And Bea…they might come after her as well.”

“I’ll work on finding a safe house,” Misha volunteered.

“Until Misha can locate one, I will stay close and watch over the Connors and Bea,” Jean Luc added.

For once, I was going to be the voice of reason. “We can’t just go to Nevada. We need to have at least a general area to search. We need some type of lead.” I looked at Misha. “Have we searched the shifter’s van yet?”

“Not yet, it’s back at the warehouse.”

Griffin’s gaze tracked the room, acknowledging everyone. “Let’s reconvene later, when we have more information. Remember, right now, this is the only safe room in the house to talk.” He stood and looked out the window.

He had dismissed us. It was easy to see Griffin the leader as he stood stoically while the group filed out of the room. I, of course, would not be dismissed.

I clicked the lock on the door and walked over and stood next to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” He gave me a stony look, jaw tightening as if challenging me to doubt him. His eyes told me a different story, the normal green darkening almost to a murky brown. He should have known not to push me.

“Don’t lie to me,” I said.

He glared at me, and I could have sworn the temperature in the room dropped.

“What did you say?” he enunciated in a tone which would have scared the dead.

“I said ‘don’t lie to me.’ You can act all king-of-the-mountain with the others, but you don’t have to shut me out.”

“I don’t have time for this, Kyle. I need to figure out my next moves.”

“
Our
next moves.”

“There is no
our
. You and your team’s purpose now is to protect my family. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Like hell. You’re not doing this on your own.”

He took a step toward me. “We’re done discussing this; I’ve made my decision.”

My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t stop it. He was shutting me out. “How are you going to go out west without tipping them off? You can’t use your jet.”

“I’ll figure out another way.”

I thought for a moment. “We could make it look like you’re leaving the country with the family.” I tapped my index finger on my chin. “Or would it be construed as a weakness? That you’re running?”

He paused before answering. “Since the poachers have been taken care of, I’m going to let my people know the threat has been contained. Traveling would then be acceptable, but we would still need a legitimate reason.”

“What about a new investment opportunity for the company? What if an investor invited you and your family to his home?”

“It might work, but I don’t know which shifters to trust right now.”

“So we don’t make the investor a shifter. What about a vampire? Jean Luc could pull some strings and have a vamp inquire about investing.”

“The Council might not like it,” Griffin answered.

I moved to stand in front of him. “Once the threat has been taken care of, you can explain everything to the Council.”

He nodded tightly. “Agreed.”

“See, you do need us.” I wanted to say, you need
me,
damn it
, but he was spooked. I had seen that expression in my own reflection before. I risked reaching for him, and he stepped back. His wall snapped into place.

“I can’t do this right now.”

“Do what?” I argued. “Allow yourself to feel?”

“From an early age, shifters are taught to hide our emotions. Emotions can be a weakness. As leader, every conversation I have, every negotiation I run, every time I stand in front of my people, my emotions must be controlled.”

“Well, you better get them in check, then. I might not be able to smell you, but you are throwing off big-time emotions right now.”

I watched in amazement as his eyes sparked and then shuttered. When he opened them again, they looked at me as if I were a stranger. “You are a distraction. It must stop.”

I was surprised at how much those words tore at my chest. “You think so? Well, this distraction isn’t going anywhere.”

He walked past me, unlocked the door, and yanked it open. “Goodbye, Kyle.”

I stood for several seconds, studying his face. His expression turned into a stony mask of indifference, and I almost couldn’t recognize him. I walked out into the hall and continued moving without looking back. The office door shut with a resounding click behind me, and I kicked myself. I had goaded him into shutting down.

I rounded the staircase and stopped myself just before plowing into Bea.

Before I could get a word out, her eyes widened in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I choked out.

“He’s ruined it, hasn’t he?”

I wasn’t sure what ears were listening. I had to be careful. “Now that the threat has been neutralized for the Connors, it’s back to business as usual.”

“I’m sorry, Kyle. Maybe if I talk to him?”

“No. There’s no point.” I would deal with him later, when I didn’t want to beat him to death with a stick. What he didn’t realize was he was dealing with the queen of avoidance. I was better than anyone else at pushing people away, so I knew all the tricks.

He wasn’t getting rid of me so easily.

Chapter 37

There was something liberating and more than a little disgusting about crawling around inside a van looking for evidence. Even if the van was pretty clean.

The back area was pristine, other than Gil’s clothes piled in the corner of the cage. I crouched in the cage and picked up a plastic evidence bag for his shoes. After I checked his pants pockets, they were bagged as well. The last item was his sweater. As I reached for it, I started to shake, my heart keeping time with my shallow breaths. My vision went hazy and memories flooded in. But knowing they were not my own still didn’t make the panic dissipate.

I grabbed the metal bars in front of me to stop myself from screaming. The silver heart bracelet Mommy had given me for my birthday jangled, and I wrapped my other hand around it to stop the noise.

I listened for him, knowing he was close by. I jerked at the sound of a rough voice outside. He was talking, but I didn’t hear anyone else.

“I got her…she’s alive, I haven’t touched her.”

I held my breath, and he continued, his voice getting louder. “That wasn’t part of the plan. Her pelt’s worth a lot of money!” Silence. “Fine, you’re the boss.”

Footsteps stamped angrily toward the back of the van, and I wrapped my arms around my legs and huddled in a ball.

“Kyle, where are you?”

Jason’s voice penetrated the fear, and I latched onto it. Trina’s memory faded, and I was left with more than a few questions. I took a moment to collect myself and then scramble out of the cage.

“Kyle!”

“Back here,” I shouted.

Jason walked around the van. “Have you found anything yet?”

“Nope.”

He considered me for a second. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I motioned to the cage. “This makes me sick.”

“I know what you mean.” He hesitated. “If you ever want to talk about last night, I’m available.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

Thankfully, he let it drop. “Can I help you?”

“There are a couple of fast food bags up front. Why don’t you put on a pair of gloves and search through them?”

“Oh joy.” He grimaced but snapped on a pair of gloves.

“Has Misha found anything yet?” I asked.

“The van is registered to a holding company in Nevada, but he’s pretty sure it’s a shell company. He’s trying to track down who owns it.”

I walked around to the front of the van and opened the driver’s door. Shoving my hand into the door pocket, I searched around and came up empty. “Has Doc turned anything up yet?”

“She took the dead shifters’ fingerprints, and Misha loaded them into the database to search. Nothing yet. She’s working on Ken now.”

“Is she okay?”

Jason stopped digging through the bag to look up at me. “She’ll be fine once she figures out how he died.”

“You’re good for her.”

“Thanks.” He dug through the bag again, but if I wasn’t mistaken, his ears had reddened slightly.

I frowned. With everything going on, I had forgotten about Jason. I was going to have to tell him about his shifter background, what little we knew of it, but now wasn’t the right time.

Jason looked up at me. “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“He’ll come around, Kyle.”

Jason had misunderstood my mood, but correcting him would have caused more problems. “He’s pushing me away. He doesn’t have to be a damn island.”

“Of course he does.”

“What? Are you on his side?”

“There are no sides. Think about it. So far, they’ve attacked his family. If this continues, they’re going to go after the rest of his vulnerabilities.”

“I’m not a damn vulnerability.”

“If he cares for you and others know about it, they may come after you. He’s protecting you.”

“Stop being so damn reasonable,” I retorted.

“Once the threat is neutralized, he’ll change his tune.”

I huffed. “And the next time there’s a perceived threat? I’m not going to stand on the sidelines while he faces everything alone.” I yanked back the mat under the front driver’s seat. A small piece of paper was jammed in the corner. “Bingo.”

“You got something?”

“Maybe.” I stood and flattened out the paper. It was faded, but it was some sort of parking garage ticket. Misha should be able to find out where it came from.

* * *

“The ticket is from a casino parking lot in Vegas,” Misha announced. “I’ve traced the holding company to Vegas as well. There’s also a large Haltrap clan in the vicinity.”

Jason interrupted, “Which would explain the hit-demons who blew up the limo.”

“Right,” Misha concurred. “I’m going to learn everything I can about the casino so we can determine what the next move should be.”

“Whatever it is, Griffin’s not doing it alone.”

I jumped when a voice spoke behind me. “I agree,
ma petite
.”

Jean Luc sauntered into the lab. He never failed to scare the crap out of me when he vampire-sneaked into a room unannounced.

I tried to calm my rapid heartbeat. “I’m going to put a bell around your neck, you stealthy vamp.”

He smiled, and I melted just a teensy bit. He truly was a gorgeous specimen. “You will have to catch me first.”

I didn’t bother with a retort. We both knew I couldn’t catch him. “Did Griffin talk to you about my idea?”

“Yes, Griffin has already told his staff the poacher threat has been neutralized. By tonight, word will have spread throughout the supernatural community.

“I have placed a call to Philippe Benoit,” he continued. “He lives in Switzerland and is involved in a number of investment ventures. In addition, he owes me a rather large favor. The invitation for the family to travel to his villa will come directly from him.”

I gave Jean Luc a thumbs-up. “Misha, do we have a safe house for Bea and the Connors?”

“Yes, I have one in mind. I’ll speak to Father.”

I bit my lip. One of these days Boris was going to object to us using the clan safe houses.

“Philippe won’t have a problem being in the middle of shifter politics?” I asked.

“
Au contraire
,” Jean Luc replied. “Vampires love politics.”