The Finding (51 page)

The sound of
the door handle turning caught her attention and both she, and the
wolf within, stiffened, alert to the possible approach of danger.
It could be Bryan here to rescue her... Cassie bit her lip and
sniffed, trying to search the air for a familiar scent. She wasn’t
too good at this yet, but it didn’t appear that Bryan was anywhere
nearby; she was sure she’d be able to detect him if he was. She
shifted her feet under her so that she was crouched, ready to
move.

Whoever was
trying to get in, pushed at the door, then murmured something in an
angry tone. There was a pause and then a loud bang as
something—possibly a shoulder?—hit the door. The wooden panel
reverberated, but held strong. Another strike and then a
splintering sound filled the room.

Cassie leapt to
her feet and started to back up, her heart pounding, her eyes fixed
on the door. What should she do? Leave Kellen and save herself? She
shook her head; there was no way she could do that, but what other
course of action did she have? Quickly she scanned the room, but it
was bare of anything that even vaguely resembled a weapon. Whoever
was responsible for holding Kellen here knew what they were
doing.

Another hit
shook the door and the frame pulled free. Beefy finger tips
appeared around the edge, gripped the wood and then the door was
moved out of the way to admit Hugh and a middle aged man who looked
vaguely familiar.

Hugh stepped to
the side and the man came forward. Cassie bit back a gasp of
surprise. It was Mr. Aldrich, her uncle’s lawyer! Bryan had been
right; Ryne hadn’t killed him. She eyed the silk scarf tied around
his throat and thought back to the gaping wound she’d seen there
three years earlier. What scars might that bit of cloth be
hiding?

“Ah, Miss
Cassandra. How nice to finally meet face to face, though I must
admit your presence here is a trifle puzzling.” Aldrich looked
curiously around the room then back down the hallway. “Hugh, go
find Swanson and see if you can figure out how she managed to
breach my security.”

Hugh left
without a sound. Mr. Aldrich put his hands behind his back, rocking
slightly on his heels as he looked her up and down. “I must say,
you haven’t changed much over the years. Of course, I only know you
through a picture we found at the Estate. It was strange that your
uncle never introduced us despite all the occasions that I was at
the house.” He cocked his head. “Any idea why Mr. Greyson was so
cautious about revealing your existence?”

Cassie shook
her head, unsure where the conversation was leading.

“I’ve theorized
over the fact. Would you mind if I share my musings?” He quirked an
eyebrow, but when she didn’t respond, he continued. “I think it’s
because he was hiding you from the world”

“Perhaps.” She
shrugged and forced herself to leave her hands still at her side
rather than twisting them nervously.

Pursing his
lips, Mr. Aldrich shook his head. “But it doesn’t quite fit. I know
the rich do take extreme precautions with their children, but Mr.
Greyson seemed to go above and beyond. I think there was an added
reason, don’t you?”

Cassie
swallowed nervously. There was something about the man that gave
her the creeps. His eyes were too cold, his voice too smooth. She
took a half step backwards.

“Still not
talking? Well, I’ll tell you my theory. Greyson hid you because
you’re a werewolf.”

Her eyes flared
wide, despite her wishes and Aldrich chuckled.

“You’re
surprised that I know? You shouldn’t be. I was there that night. I
heard him tell the other werewolf about you just before I was
attacked.”

“I...I thought
you’d died that night.” Why she felt compelled to share that tidbit
of information she didn’t know.

“I almost did.”
He reached up and loosened the scarf around his neck, then undid
his collar and pulled his shirt open. Some type of breathing tube
came into view, but that wasn’t what drew the gasp from her lips.
It was the appearance of the skin around it; horribly disfigured
with scars from numerous stitches crisscrossing his jaw and
disappearing down towards his chest.

“I...I’m
sorry.” The words passed through her numb lips. She knew Ryne had
attacked him, but the fact that Aldrich had lived had somehow
lessened the event in her mind. Now it all came rushing back to
her; the growling, the blood, Aldrich’s screams as long sharp teeth
ripped at his flesh. The damage inflicted had been severe. She
grimaced as the reality of how of fierce a werewolf could be came
into shocking clarity once again. When she was around Bryan, she
forgot that. Frowning she considered the point...

Aldrich
inclined his head. “Thank you. If it wasn’t for Franklin—”

“Franklin was
there?” She looked up in surprise, his words jolting her from her
dark thoughts.

Aldrich
narrowed his eyes and seemed to be studying her for a moment before
he replied. “Why, yes. Yes he was. He came looking for your uncle.
Unfortunately, it was too late for Mr. Greyson, but Franklin
summoned help and saved me. I’m very grateful to the man and tell
him so whenever I see him.”

“He’s still
alive? Do you see him often?” Cassie took a half step forward,
eager for news about the man who had been more of a family member
to her than a servant.

“Yes. And the
cook—Mrs. Teasdale, I believe—is still there as well. They’ll be
delighted to have you back home to fuss over.”

For a moment,
Cassie forgot everything else that was going on as memories of the
two servants flooded her mind; making Christmas cookies in the vast
Estate kitchen, finding Easter eggs with Franklin at her side
holding the basket, birthday parties where they’d all worn silly
hats, picnics at the beach... She blinked, tears threatening at the
thought of seeing Franklin and Cook again. They were still alive!
She could picture them moving about the house, cooking and
fussing...

“I’ll take you
to them right now if you want.” Aldrich smiled at her and extended
his hand. “My secretary, Miss Matthews, will summon my chauffeur
and we can be on our way in a matter of minutes.”

Chapter
23

Mel and Elise
peered out of the taxi window at the high rise across the street.
It was an impressive structure, rising some forty floors, rivalled
by few other buildings in the area.

“Wow! Aldrich
has really moved up in the world.” Mel said as she fished some
money out of her purse and handed it to the driver. “His law office
was impressive, but this place is amazing. It must have cost him a
fortune.”

“Are you sure
we should do this?” Elise bit her lip and looked at her, a worried
frown marring her brow.

“Yes, we most
definitely should do this. We’re not sitting at the motel twiddling
our thumbs. Our men are up there and they might need us.” She
nudged Elise to get her to open the door and climb out. Mel
followed and the taxi drove off, leaving them on the busy
sidewalk.

Elise looked
around at all the people hurrying up and down the sidewalk. She was
jostled to one side by an impatient businessman who was talking on
his cell phone and obviously not watching where he was heading.
“Where is everyone going in such a hurry?”

Mel grabbed her
arm and pulled her to stand by a mailbox. It offered some semblance
of safety as the crowds parted to walk around it. “To work, to
appointments, who knows? Chicago is a lot different than Smythston
or Stump River.”

“You can say
that again. I’m not used to so many people in one place.” She
swivelled her head around once more to stare at the crowd. “So,
should we just stay here and wait for the men to appear? Or try to
find someplace to hide? We’ll be kind of conspicuous if we stay by
this mailbox very long.”

“True.” Mel
glanced around and then grinned. “Ah-ha! I thought I remembered one
being in this neighbourhood.”

“One what?”

“A coffee shop!
It’s my favourite chain. We’ll sit there and keep an eye on what’s
happening over here. If the boys need us, we’re close at hand.”

Elise winced.
“Kane will be furious if he finds out I’m here.”

“And Ryne will
be royally pissed off, too.” Mel giggled.

“You like
making him angry?”

“Well...not
exactly. But the making up part is well worth it.” She winked and
grinned.

Elise stifled a
laugh, her eyes dancing merrily. “Sounds like fun.” She sighed
quietly and sobered. “Kane and I don’t have too many disagreements.
Lately, it’s usually me trying to cajole him out of a mood, when
pack business gets too intense.”

“Our pack’s
still small, so that hasn’t happened yet, thank heaven.”

“Lucky you.”
Elise sounded a bit wistful and Mel looked at her carefully.

“Trouble in
paradise?”

Elise shrugged.
“Not really. It’s like I said at dinner the other night. Kane has a
lot of demands on his time. He tries to make sure we have time
together, but it’s not always possible. And when he’s free, I’m
often busy with the kids. It’s different now that we have a
family.”

Mel made a
noncommittal sound and rubbed her swollen belly, wondering how
parenthood might change her relationship with Ryne. She hadn’t
thought much about it, still caught up with her other recent
discovery. “You know, we’ve been here a whole day and I haven’t
even met Kane yet...” Mel let her voice trail off and bit her lip.
Could it be that Kane was purposely avoiding her? Did he somehow
sense that she was—? She gave her head an imperceptible shake. No,
that couldn’t be it, could it...?

Elise let out a
yelp, then glared over her shoulder at a passerby who had managed
to hit her with his briefcase.

“Come on; let’s
find a safer place to talk.’ Mel grabbed her arm and led her
towards the coffee shop. Just the thought of caffeine had her
almost floating down the sidewalk.

“You know you
can’t have any, right?” Elise cautioned as they entered.

Mel pouted and
sighed. “Yeah, but at least I can smell it. Ryne’s been a regular
beast about guarding my caffeine intake. He hardly allows the rest
of the pack to make coffee, thinking I’ll break down. Poor dears
are limited to one pot in the morning and after that it’s uptown to
Ruth’s. That’s the diner in Stump River where everyone gathers
during the day.”

Elise looked
intrigued. “I’d like to visit that place some day. It sounds
interesting.”

“Well,
‘interesting’ isn’t exactly the word I’d use. More like ‘quirky,’ I
think.”

“Quirky can be
good.” Elise stood in line and scanned the offerings that were
listed on the overhead menu. Unexpectedly, she grabbed Mel’s arm.
“Hey! Look at that. They have a decaffeinated coffee. You could
probably drink that.”

Mel looked at
the sign and then read the explanation underneath. “No caffeine,
all natural... Woohoo, that’s new since I was last here! I’ve hit
pay dirt.” She slung an arm around Elise’s shoulders and gave her a
hug. “If the guys don’t need us, how about we spend the rest of the
day here, bonding as sisters-in-law?”

*****

Cassie stared
at Aldrich’s outstretched hand, half-tempted by the idea of seeing
Franklin and Cook again. Then the image of a gun in that same hand
superimposed itself; a gun that had killed her uncle. But that had
been an accident, of course...hadn’t it? She furrowed her brow
trying to recall the events of that night clearly without clouding
effects of emotion.

Mr. Aldrich had
been aiming at the werewolf. It was an act of self-defence. The
wolf had been going to attack him... Her own wolf growled at the
memory of what had happened and Cassie pressed a hand to her
forehead, confused by the flood of memories and conflicting view
points. Who to believe? Who to trust? Her uncle had been a clever
man and he must have trusted Mr. Aldrich, yet Bryan didn’t...

The sound of
pounding feet drew her attention. Hugh was running down the
hallway. Mr. Aldrich heard him as well and spun around.

“The whole
security system’s been turned off and Swanson is out like a light
on the floor. The elevator’s out of commission too.” The big man
panted out the message, obviously unused to moving so quickly.

“Really?” Mr.
Aldrich half turned and stared at her over his shoulder, his eyes
narrowed. “You’ve been a busy girl, Cassandra. I can see that you’d
tamper with security; how else would you get in. But why did you
disable the elevator?”

“I...I didn’t.”
Cassie was shocked by the news. If the elevator wasn’t working, how
would Bryan ever get up here? And what had happened to Mr Aldrich’s
pleasant tone of voice? She tightened her jaw, glad she hadn’t
trusted him just moments before. Apparently Bryan and his friends
had been right. The lawyer wasn’t what he tried to make himself out
to be.

Mr Aldrich
compressed his lips. “Never mind. I’ll figure out your motive
later.” He jerked his head towards Hugh. “Bring her along. I’ll
have to reset the security myself since no one else knows the
code.” With that, he headed down the hall. Hugh grabbed Cassie’s
arm, dragging her along behind.

She stumbled
after him, the feel of his thick, warm fingers pressing against her
skin making her shudder. At least no one had seemed to remember
Kellen was unconscious on the floor so he’d be safe for the moment.
After that... Well, she didn’t have the slightest idea how she’d
save him or herself with no backup.

Hugh pushed her
into the security room, then placed a heavy hand on her shoulder,
no doubt as a warning not to try anything. When she attempted to
inch away, he dug his fingers into her neck, causing her to freeze
in place. The man was big enough to snap her neck without the
slightest bit of effort and she strongly suspected he’d enjoy doing
it, too. Resigned for the moment, she focussed on Mr Aldrich who
was already bent over the computer keyboard. He typed something and
a red light started to flash in the corner of the room.