The Finding (55 page)

Elise swallowed
hard. A sick feeling roiled about in her stomach and it was all she
could do to keep from bolting from the coffee shop.

“My friend’s
ill. We...we have to go.” She stumbled over an explanation as she
gathered her coat and purse, then helped Mel stand up. Holding her
arm, she guided her around the server who had come to clean up the
spill, then through the maze of crowded tables.

Once outside,
Mel collapsed against the wall of the building, turning tortured
eyes to Elise. “What...?”

Elise shook her
head. “I don’t know.” She pressed her hand to her mouth and stared
upward, blinking rapidly. They were on a crowded downtown street;
falling apart wasn’t an option. She was the senior Alpha female and
Mel looked horrible. It was her job to take charge. Duty first, she
reminded herself. Wasn’t that what Kane always said? Duty first.
Trying to purge the emotion from her voice, she cleared her throat.
“The baby...?”

“It’s fine.
Don’t worry. It jumped when I felt that sudden...whatever it was
that we felt...but it’s fine now.”

“Good.” Elise
rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath, trying to remain
detached. That’s how one got through difficult situations, or so
she’d been told but it was rather hard to do when it felt like
someone had just ripped your heart out. “That was intense. I’ve
never felt anything like it before.”

“Any idea what
happened?”

Pursing her
lips, she shrugged. “Kane blocked me out this morning—the silly
man.” She paused and blinked, struggling for calm before
continuing. “He didn’t want to worry me while he was on a
‘mission.’ But just a moment ago, the block vanished with no
warning, as if he completely lost control and then... wham!” Elise
shook her head again. “Kane doesn’t lose control. Not ever. It’s
one of the frustrating things about him. But he was in pain;
intense pain. I think he transformed, but it shouldn’t have been
like that; agonizingly painful.” Her eyes filled with tears as
emotion began to take over despite her efforts to prevent it. “I
can’t sense him now. There’s nothing there at all; no thoughts, no
feelings...” Her breathing hitched and she forced herself to take
deep breaths, fighting against the feeling of despair that rose
inside her. “He can’t be...” She clenched her fists, unable to
voice the words.

Mel grabbed
Elise’s hand and held it tightly. Her chin wobbled and it took
several tries before she could speak. “It’s the same for me. I just
suddenly had a jolt, almost like he stuck his finger in a socket
and his feelings crashed into my brain and then, just as quickly,
they were gone.” She wiped her eyes. “I feel of hollow inside, like
a part of me is missing.”

Their eyes met
and they stared at each other, sharing the pain and emptiness of
suddenly losing an integral part of themselves. Even when mates
blocked out their mental connection, there was still a sense that
the other was there, but now a black void existed on the fringes of
their minds where just minutes before a living, breathing mate had
been.

Elise turned to
look down the street, towards Aldrich’s building. “It makes no
sense though. Who or what could take out two Alpha’s at exactly the
same time?”

Mel turned as
well. “I don’t know, but we need to find out.”

Elise nodded
and stuck out her chin. Her despair was fading and her logical mind
was taking over. She refused to believe that both Kane and Ryne
could be...gone. “Come on. We’re not going to stand here and wallow
in our misery. Something is going on and we need to figure it
out.”

Mel sniffed and
wiped her nose. “I agree. Ryne and Kane are in that building and we
need to find them and help them with...whatever this is.”

They hurried
down the street until they stood on the sidewalk in front of the
building that housed Aldrich’s penthouse.

“What now?” Mel
looked at the entrance. A security guard stood in the entry way,
his arms folded across his chest and a bored expression on his
face. “Do you think he’ll let us in?”

Elise peered at
the man carefully. “I think he’s sleeping.”

“Then maybe we
can just sneak by him.”

“No. If we get
caught, he’ll never let us in.” Elise nibbled on her lip then
smiled when an idea came to mind. “We’re going to try the old
‘pregnant woman needs a bathroom’ routine.” She grabbed Mel’s arm
and dragged her to the entrance, hissing instructions as they went
along. “Look pale and worried. Hop up and down a bit like you
really need to go pee, too.”

Mel rolled her
eyes. “You’re talking to a pregnant woman, remember? I always have
to go pee.” Nevertheless, she put her hands around her belly to
help emphasize its size and tried to look anxiously in need of a
washroom.

Elise pushed
the door open and smiled at the doorman. “I’m so sorry to bother
you but my friend here really needs a bathroom. Is there a public
washroom in the lobby that she could use?”

The man took in
how Mel was shifting from foot to foot, looked at her swollen
stomach and finally her anxious face. He sighed heavily as if
moving his eyes had been a huge effort. “Sure. Go to your right.
Third door on the left.” Slowly, he reached out and pushed the
button that released the door then leaned back against the wall as
if to resume his nap.

Elise and Mel
slipped through the door and turned right as the man had indicated.
Sure enough, a washroom sign was ahead.

Mel winced
apologetically. “I’m sorry, but just thinking about it... Well, I
have to go.”

“That’s okay.”
Elise pointed at herself. “Two kids. I know how you feel. Just try
to make it fast.”

Mel nodded and
slipped inside then moments later returned looking much relieved.
“Okay, I’m ready. Which way do you think?”

They looked
around, but saw no sign of an elevator beyond the one right across
from the front door.

“We can’t use
that one. That man might wake up and see us.” Elise pointed
out.

Mel nibbled on
her thumb nail. “There’s a set of stairs just behind us... Oh no!”
She grabbed Elise’s arm and pulled her behind a potted plant.

“What?”

“Another
security guard and he’s definitely more awake than the guy at the
door!” She looked around then pointed. “This way. There’s some kind
of patio at the end of the corridor. We’ll slip outside until he’s
gone.”

They hurried
down the hallway and stepped outside.

*****

“That will be
our ride.” Mr. Aldrich nodded toward the approaching chopper and
stood up. “Miss Matthews, did you contact Dr. Mason?”

“Hmm?” Marla
blinked at him.

“Dr. Mason.”
Mr. Aldrich looked exasperated. “I gave you the instructions less
than an hour ago. We need to have Cassandra declared mentally unfit
and locked up as soon as possible.”

Cassie narrowed
her eyes. So that was his plan! She’d spend the rest of her life
locked up and most likely drugged out of her mind while Mr. Aldrich
controlled the estate! The money didn’t concern her, but the idea
of being locked up and drugged did!

Already too
much of her life had been spent being restrained, one way or
another. Kept in a figurative glass cage by her uncle, hiding from
werewolves, drugging herself every month... She shook her head. No,
she couldn’t go through that again. Not now that she’d had a
glimpse of what her life could be like. Slowly she started to inch
away.

Mr. Aldrich
continued. “Once I have her out of the way, I’ll start to work on
the estate funds so that I have complete control of all
finances.”

Carefully
Cassie edged farther away. She wasn’t sure where she was going to
go but staying wasn’t an option. There were a few roof vents she
could hide behind and what looked like a rooftop access to the
elevator shaft to the one side. Perhaps she could make it that far.
The door might not be locked and once inside, well... She’d figure
out that part later.

A gust of wind
caught her by surprise and she stumbled. The movement attracted Mr.
Aldrich’s attention and he grabbed her arm and dragged her back,
his fingers biting into her arm. “Don’t even think about it.” He
pressed the gun’s barrel to her side and she winced at the feel of
it against her ribs. “You’re worth more to me alive, but even dead
I can still profit from you. A werewolf corpse should fetch a
pretty penny, don’t you think Miss. Matthews?”

“Corpse?” Marla
frowned at the word and shot a glance between Cassie and Mr.
Aldrich.

“Yes. Even
dead, I’m sure scientists would be interested in studying her.” He
gave Cassie’s arm a shake.

Marla licked
her lips, squinting against the wind. “I...I don’t think—”

“You’re not
paid to think, Miss Matthews. And in case you’re getting squeamish,
let me tell you, I know about the items you’ve been pilfering from
the Estate. Swanson followed you several times. I have dates,
amounts... You cross me and I’ll see you in jail for stealing.”

Marla sputtered
in protest though it did little good.

Mr. Aldrich
continued, not listening. His eyes were a bit glazed as he spoke,
excitement filling his voice as it rose to be heard over the noise
of the approaching helicopter. “So you will assist me with
Cassandra, Miss Matthews, no more of this foolishness. If all goes
as planned, in a few years we’ll hand her over to science as a
living specimen. It will be a dramatic revelation and turn the
table on the damned beasts that have haunted me these past three
years.”

A specimen?
Turned over to scientists? Mr. Aldrich was talking about her as if
she wasn’t even there! As if she were nothing more than an animal!
Cassie gasped, affront and fear filling her. There was no way she’d
let herself be stuck in some cage to be poked and prodded like some
lab rat. She wasn’t a freak; she was just...different!

“We need to
go.” He began walking, one hand gripping her upper arm, the other
holding the gun pressed to her side.

The natural
wind, combined with that created by the helicopter circling the
building made walking difficult and Mr. Aldrich bent forward to
counteract the force of the moving air. As they drew closer and
closer to the landing pad, Cassie became more desperate, digging in
her heels, no longer caring that Mr. Aldrich might shoot her. She
was
not
getting into that helicopter. There was no way
that...

Her vision
blurred again. There was a buzzing in her ears, her skin prickled.
Was she going to be sick? Was she shifting? Tension built within
her. Oh God, it was happening again! Her breathing quickened. She
felt like she was hyperventilating, her muscles tightening,
straining and then the air shimmered around her...

Cassie had a
vague impression of Mr. Aldrich gasping and stepping back, then in
an instant he was no longer at eye level. He seemed to loom over
her as if she were much shorter than she’d been mere seconds ago.
His fingers were no longer holding her arm, the gun no longer
pressed to her ribs. Relieved to be free, she started to back away,
only to trip when she realized she now had four legs to coordinate
instead of two and the remnants of sticky tape around her
ankles!

Scrambling, she
sought to get her feet under her and shake off the now loose tape.
The rough surface of the roof felt strange under her paws, the wind
whipping her fur about and whistling past her ears was stimulating
yet confusing at the same time as a myriad of scents swirled by.
She ignored them though, keeping her eyes fixed on Mr. Aldrich,
trying to judge his next move.

He was pale—no
doubt as surprised as she was—and he seemed to be trembling
slightly. Then a change came over him as he appeared to recover
from the shock of her transformation. His features hardened, his
eyes narrowed. Even before his hand moved, she knew what he
intended to do.

Letting out a
woof, she spun around and began to run. A shot rang out—her hearing
was even more acute now and the sound seemed louder than it had
been inside the apartment—then a bullet dug into the roof’s surface
mere inches from where she was.

With a yelp,
she jerked to the side as small bits of debris shot up and hit her
in the face. Her legs tangled and she fell sideways, skidding
across the rough surface. Even through her fur coat, she felt her
skin being abraded, her ribs protesting. She rolled over, gained
some control, and sprang to her feet again, taking off running once
more.

Behind her, the
rhythmic thumping of the helicopter blades distorted the sound of
pounding feet. Some instinct had her swivelling her ears back,
trying to determine how close Mr. Aldrich might be. Her heart was
pounding, panic washing over her at the thought of being shot or,
even worse, being captured, drugged, and put in a cage.

Her wolf was
coming to the foreground. Cassie could feel it taking over, telling
her to run in a zigzag pattern that would be harder to hit, to keep
low to the ground. Her eyes darted back and forth, searching for
cover, a place to hide.

A roof vent was
to her right so she veered that way, ducking behind it just in time
to avoid the spray kicked up by the next bullet. Spinning around,
she crouched low and peeked out. Mr. Aldrich was farther away than
she thought he’d be; almost on the other side of the roof.

She couldn’t
help but grin briefly as she realized how fast she must be in this
form. And her wolf seemed to be a quick thinker too. In the middle
of all her panic, a pleasant feeling washed over her and she knew
the animal was pleased with her line of thought. Was that her tail
thumping behind her? She chanced a quick look and saw that it
was—silly beast she thought fondly—then returned her gaze to the
scene before her.

The helicopter
was still circling the roof, the pilot leaning out and yelling at
Mr. Aldrich. Something about the wind and having difficulty
controlling the helicopter. She couldn’t make out the words
clearly.