Hyena Moon, page 19
His mother's eyes were on his face. He stared back at her, unflinching. “What if they decide to keep you as a hostage? It would be foolish of me to allow them any leverage.”
He barked a hard laugh. “What leverage? They think you don’t want me after you left me behind once already. They know you wouldn’t be willing to trade for me.” This he had no doubt about. “Besides, they won’t do anything to me. They’re too weak—they wouldn’t dare risk Lenore getting hurt. Believe me, Cormac won’t let that happen.”
Samara tipped her coffee mug to him, kind of like a salute. “You’ve thought of everything apparently.”
Rafe was wary. He had to be careful. If he pushed too hard for this, they’d know something was up. “I can go, arrange the details of the switch, maybe spy around a little. Or you can send Teresa in my place. Makes no difference to me. I was just making a suggestion since Kess called me.”
“Why should we trust you?” Teresa was watching him from beneath hooded lids, the blue of her eyes barely visible. His mother eyed him quizzically.
Rafe had to sell this. He decided that something that sounded simple and honest was the way to go. “Because you’re my family. My pack. I came back because I wanted to. And where else am I going to go?”
His mother was silent. He tried not to fidget, to just stand there and look like this was the most boring discussion ever held in his presence. He thought about calculus a lot.
“Go on, then,” Samara said, waving her hand at him as if shooing away a bug.
He turned to Teresa. “One thing. I’m going to need to see the girl. It would help if I had her scent on me as proof we’ve got her and I’ve seen her.”
“And maybe get a little tail? I saw how you looked at her." Teresa grinned at him.
He gave back what he hoped was his wickedest smirk, determined to play along even if the idea made him sick. "Well, Kess was dangling her in front of me like a piece of meat…"
"Rafe, you sly dog." There was a certain amount of respect in her voice. Figured she'd respect him for something like that.
"Just make sure she's in good condition when you're done with your fun." Samara looked at the two of them, eyes glittering beneath heavily shadowed lids. “Teresa, you’ll take your brother to see the girl as soon as possible. I want this resolved quickly. I've waited a long time for Miami.”
Teresa got up. “Be ready in ten,” she called back as she left the room.
“There’s a lot riding on this, Rafe,” his mother said, stretching her arms over her head. She stood up and walked closer to him, so that they were almost touching. “Don’t disappoint me. You know what happens when you disappoint me.” She stroked his smooth cheek gently, the threat implicit, and then left the room as well.
Rafe put his hands on the back of one of the kitchen chairs and tried not to throw up.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lenore sat in the corner of the small room, knees pulled up tight against her chest. She didn’t know how long she’d been here, but took it to be a few hours at least. Without a window or phone, she had no way of knowing. The room was bare, except for an empty bucket shoved in the farthest corner from her. Otherwise it was just her and the four walls. The door was locked from the outside. A dim light bulb hung overhead.
She’d been expecting Rafe to show up at Vizcaya, but he hadn’t. She’d walked around the village since the museum and grounds didn’t open for several more hours, hoping that maybe he’d just gotten delayed. A car pulled up to the front and a young woman in what looked like a work uniform got out and popped the trunk. She began unloading a bunch of boxes from it and Lenore sort of drifted over.
The woman noticed her. “Hey,” she said. “You’re here too early. We don’t open until nine.”
Lenore came closer so she didn’t have to shout. She was maybe around Kess’ age, perhaps a little older. “I was supposed to meet someone.”
“Maybe they’re caught in traffic?” Lenore shrugged. “Look, since you’re here, can you give me a hand with all this? I’ll let you hang out on the grounds for free.”
Lenore had been raised that you always helped people who needed it, so she nodded. She didn’t see any down side to getting into the house for free. “Okay, sure.”
The woman smiled. “Great. Grab what’s in the backseat while I get this stuff. It’s unlocked.”
Lenore moved to the driver’s side of the car. It was a coupe, so she opened the door and moved the lever to push the back of the front seat forward so she could get to the box that was in the backseat. She was getting ready to lean in to pull out the box when she felt something hard smash into the base of her skull and she pitched forward into darkness.
She’d woken up here. Wherever here was, well, that was anybody’s guess. Her cell phone and wallet were gone, and her charm bracelet was missing. She’d panicked at first, but felt overall too horrible to do anything much more than cry. Her head hurt a lot and it was making her sick to her stomach. Lenore had stayed where she was on the floor until she felt better.
Now though, her mind was racing, circling around and around, like a snake eating its own tail. Who grabbed her? Had she been captured by a serial killer? She'd watched Dexter over at Wyatt's house. If you went by that, Miami did seem to have a high number of active serial killers. She stifled that frivolous line of thought. It was more likely something to do with the hyenas and the leopards than regular humans. The attack on Kess had probably been part of it. And what the hell was going on with Rafe? Was he behind all of this?
She knew one thing though. Her brother was absolutely going to kill her for this. He'd treated her like an adult—FINALLY!—and then she'd hared off on a scheme of her own and wound up here, wherever here was. She'd gone out alone, wanting to prove that she was right about Rafe and that her brother was wrong about him. The only thing she'd proven was that she was still a kid. She put her head on her knees and tried not to cry. Mac, Finn, and Kess were probably worried sick.
Lenore wanted to do something other than just sit here, but she couldn’t find anything useful to do. It wasn’t like she could shift into another form—and even if she could, what would she do different in that form than she was doing right now? It wasn’t like she’d be able to change into a werepancake and slide to freedom under the gap between the door and the floor. The only thing she could do was try to control her panic and find out as much as she could. She refused to think about what might happen to her if whoever had kidnapped her decided not to come back.
She heard muffled voices through the thick door and saw a shadow cross the small bar of light that showed in the crack beneath the door. Lenore stood up, back braced against the wall, unsure of what to do. The door opened and a tall, dark shape was silhouetted against the light, then he stepped inside and the door closed behind him.
Rafe stood before her. Anger filled her, coupled with disappointment and a crushing loss. It had been him. Mac had been right about him all along and she’d just been too blinded by her infatuation with him to see it. She was ashamed of herself. She’d run right into the trap he’d set for her.
“You son of a bitch!” she shouted, taking off her shoe and hurling it at him. He ducked—his reflexes were great—and she threw the other one at him. He dodged that too. “Get out of here, you…”
He was next to her suddenly, his hands on her shoulders. She struggled, spewing a string of curse words at him that her mother would be horrified to find out she knew. His strong hand closed over her mouth and his voiced hissed in her ear, “Would you shut it and listen! I’m going to get you out.”
She stilled, startled. She nodded against his hand and he removed it slowly but still held her pressed against him. “Look,” he whispered, “I haven’t got a lot of time. I’m going to see your family and Kess now. My mom thinks I’m working out a deal, so she’s letting me go back. But the next time you see me, be ready to move.”
“I don’t get it,” she whispered back.
“I don’t have time to explain.” His amber eyes flared in the dim light. “Do you trust me?”
She looked at him, trying to read who he really was. To balance what she thought she knew about him with the events of the last few days. She couldn't; none of it made sense. So instead of thinking about it, she went with her gut. Her father had said, when in doubt, always lead with that. Your gut always knows what's right when your head and your heart are confused.
She nodded yes.
Rafe’s mouth swooped down on hers, capturing it in a brief, but intense kiss. She kissed him back, mind whirling. Not exactly the circumstances she’d planned for her first kiss with him, but she wasn’t going to complain now. She was getting used to weird.
He broke it off suddenly, pushing himself back. “Okay, now you can scream at me all you want.”
She did, shrieking at him as loud as she could. He grinned at her, holding her tight and she had to fight not to laugh when he smiled at her like that. He let her go, but waved at her to continue as he went to the door and knocked. Before it opened he winked at her. Then he was gone.
Lenore screamed at the door for a while longer, until she thought for sure they were gone. Then she gathered up her shoes and put them back on, content to wait. When he came back, she'd be ready to run, just as he'd asked.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Rafe let himself into the house on the water. The doors were unlocked which surprised him, but the amount of weres inside probably meant it was suicide for hostiles to try anything. He hadn't told Kess he was coming and now that he was here, he had no idea what to do or what his reception might be once he was inside.
He took a moment to study the house. It felt like ages ago since he first arrived as one of his mother's entourage. It was hard to believe it had only been weeks instead of years. The place had felt weird at first. Now it felt strangely like home, more than even his bedroom at his mother's house did. He wondered when that had happened.
But he'd messed it all up now. He'd had a real chance here, the opportunity to make a new life, to be a new person. And he'd traded it so he might be able to make his mother care about him. His mother, who didn't care about anything but herself. And power.
He could hear raised voices coming from down the hall. Kess' office door was closed, but he could hear the yelling that was going on in there. And he knew exactly what they were yelling about. And who. Rafe stopped before the door and took a deep breath to steady himself. He didn't bother to knock; just let himself in.
All discussion stopped when he stepped inside. Kess was leaning against the front of her desk, like she always did in meetings. He'd always wondered why she didn't bother sitting behind the desk like his mother always liked to--when they had a desk, that is. Kess had her arms crossed and she had turned to face the door when he opened it. She had been about to say something.
There were other faces, all turned towards him: Finn with a bunch of people he didn't know but were probably werewolves; Bomani, Masud, and a few other wereleopards stood apart. But then a hand closed around his throat and he was lifted and slammed against the wall by Cormac. Rafe’s head banged against the plaster wall, and all he saw were raging silver eyes and teeth a lot sharper than a human's ever got.
"Where is she?" the werewolf growled in a voice like moonlit howls and gravel. His nostrils flared as he caught Lenore's scent and his grip tightened.
He opened his mouth to answer, but Cormac's hold on his throat was far too tight. He got out a squeak, which trailed off when Cormac tightened his grip. Rafe was finding it really hard to breathe.
"Put him down, Cormac!" Kess ordered. Cormac didn't listen. She looked at one of the older men. "We can't find Lenore if he's dead."
"Son! Drop him!" That must be Lenore's father. The pack Alpha's voice was low but firm. It was one you didn't disobey. Cormac dropped him and Rafe landed on his feet, barely.
Kess' eyes were boring a hole in him. "What do you want, Rafe?" Her voice was cold and hard, brittle like a frozen branch.
"I've come to help. I know who has Lenore."
"Yeah, so do we," Finn said without his usual sarcasm.
"No, I mean, I know where they are keeping her. She's safe for now."
"You've seen her?" This from Alaric.
"Yes sir," he said, because how else are you going to address 250 plus pounds of pissed off daddy werewolf? "She's being kept in a room well away from our house. I went to see her and she wasn't hurt."
"What happened?" Kess asked. She was watching him intently, almost like she could read his mind through his body language.
"Teresa happened. She was pissed because our mom was paying more attention to me than her." He didn't want to get too into how that had happened since Kess was a living testament to it, covered in bruises. "So she sent a text to Lenore from my phone that told her to meet me alone. And then she grabbed her." He shook his head, helpless. "I never meant for her to get hurt. I never meant for any of this to happen."
"They want to trade," Kess said, pointing to a piece of paper that must be the note the hyenas sent. "Me for her. Any chance she'll keep her word?"
"Not a one. They don't plan to deliver Lenore at all, if I know my mom." He tried not to flinch at Cormac’s growl.
"Didn't think so. Finn, I'm going to need you to call Laila. We'll need her here, if Mebis hasn't already called her."
Cormac turned to her, registering shock. "Mebis?"
Kess sighed. "I'm the clan leader, Cormac. It's my job to know who's in town. Mebis never left. He's on assignment for the Keepers, overseeing the situation here in Miami since it is so unstable. We have check-ins every couple of days."
"And you didn't tell me this, why?" He sounded hurt and angry.
"Because it wasn't any of your concern. This is leopard business. You don't see me throwing a hissy every time you have a pack meeting without me." Kess turned from her boyfriend to speak to Bomani. Rafe raised his eyebrows--the vibe between Kess and Cormac wasn't what anyone could call pleasant. "Call in the rest of the clan. We'll need everyone for this. Meet in the dining room at dawn."
"At once, Kess." The wereleopard signaled to the rest there and they all departed.
"What's going on?" Rafe couldn't help but ask.
"Like we're going to tell you anything," Finn snapped, his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. Then someone—Laila, Rafe guessed—answered and he was talking, forgetting that Rafe had said anything.
Kess had her phone out and was dialing. She spoke briefly to whoever was on the other end then hung up. She looked at Rafe, deciding something, and he tried not to fidget beneath that predator's gaze of hers. Kess thought she came off as unthreatening, but when she wanted to she could be just as frightening as his mother. Most of the time though, it seemed unintentional. Tonight it wasn't. Then she was moving, grabbing his arm and hustling him down the hall and all the way out to the guest house.
She propelled him through the door to the small house and he let her, even though he could have stopped her. He'd gotten stronger over the past few weeks, going for runs with Finn and training with Masud. But struggling with her was not going to win back the trust he'd thrown away. He felt wretched. Kess had given him a chance for a life—a fresh start—when she didn’t have to and he’d pitched it in the trash with both hands.
“We don’t need to worry about bugs in here,” she said without a preamble and Rafe just stared at her. “This is where Mebis and Laila stayed. Pretty sure they disabled any listening devices that anyone had set up.”
“Why would we need to worry about bu…?”
“What are you doing back, Rafe?” she asked, cutting him off. Her voice held a hint of barely leashed fury, but otherwise she seemed surprisingly calm. His mother was never like that. She’d explode at the drop of a hat and often did. Usually at him.
He looked down at his feet, moving the toe of his sneaker on the tile floor. “I had to come back when I heard about Lenore. She’s human, she doesn’t belong in this.”
“Why do you care?”
Anger flared in him, a flash of heat along his bones. He did care, very much, about that human girl. Lenore hadn’t treated him like a freak or a weakling. She had made him feel like he had something to offer, that he wasn’t a worthless failure. She was the first person he was able to be himself around. She was his friend. He thought of the brief moment where his lips touched hers. Possibly more.
“I care!” he shouted at her, feeling the flush of blood in his face. “Of course I care about Lenore!”
“Funny way you have of showing it,” Kess sniffed dismissively.
“You have no right to say that to me! I’m back here, aren’t I? I want to help!” His insides roiled, he was tied up in knots.
Kess sneered at him, disgust in every line of her. It was an expression he was used to seeing, but never on her face, never here. “Oh, that’s good. You want to help.” Her voice was pitched low, but shot out like a whip crack. “Help like you did when you ran to your mommy to sell us out?”
“It’s not like that!” he shouted back at her.
“Then what’s it like?” she hissed at him, eyes blazing gold. “Because you know what I think? I think you are exactly what your mother and sister say you are: a pathetic, useless, cowardly waste!”
His face grew unbearably hot, the scars on it ice cold. He heard a roaring in his ears and realized it was him. And then he was changing, the tremors ripping through him as his body morphed and stretched and pulled itself into a new shape. As a hyena he growled at Kess. He wanted her to hurt, he wanted to see her blood spill on the white tiles, he wanted to snap bone and feed on her flesh. She stood watching him, no fear in her, just fury. He snapped his jaws at her, snarling.
Kess wasn’t finished. “Go ahead and kill me. That’s it. Maybe mommy will love you when you bring back my head! It will save her the trouble! You’ll have finally proven your worth to her! You'll finally be better than your sister!”
He lunged at her but she was already moving, putting the couch between them. She picked up a vase and chucked it at his head. He stalked her slowly, wanting to feel the fear build, to smell it as it poured off of her, but he didn’t smell anything except sun and cinnamon. He raised the hackles up on his back and showed his teeth.
