Caged, page 25
“Someone beat us here.” I dropped my glamour and called another spell, ready to let it loose at the first sign of danger.
Liam drew a deep breath behind me, scenting the air. “I don’t smell anyone.”
“Just wait.” I trusted Scath, trusted her senses even more than Liam’s. Especially given his current condition. I held still, letting the cat sith prowl ahead. Even as I watched her walk, I couldn’t hear a sound, not even a brush of her padded paws against the carpet.
Claws dug in, and she shot forward. My heart leapt into my throat, and I let out a strangled sound of surprise as the cat sith dove through one of the bedroom doorways off the short hallway ahead. A vulpine squeal followed by a feline growl made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and a second later, Scath padded out of the room.
She held a large fox by the scruff of his neck in her jaws.
“St. John,” Liam snarled.
The fox had gone limp, but as its eyes rolled up to Liam it began to squirm. Scath shook him once in warning, then set him down. She kept her mouth low and partially open, ready to grab him again if he ran.
The fox stood on the carpet for a moment, muscles tense as he weighed his chances of escape. I said a small prayer that he wouldn’t run. Scath might be injured, but I had no doubt she’d catch him. And I couldn’t guarantee how she’d feel if he made her run again.
Blessedly, St. John dropped his head, letting out a soft huff of defeat. His body rolled, and bones snapped out of place, muscles making a wet sucking sound as his body convulsed. Energy pressed against my skin as the universe responded to the shifter’s magic, letting him pull mass from the astral plane to build his much larger human form. His shift was nowhere near as smooth as Liam’s, or any of the other shifters I’d seen. But then, St. John was fairly new.
When it was done, he knelt on the floor, naked and panting as he recovered his strength. He didn’t look up, didn’t acknowledge our presence at all.
“You have ten seconds to tell me what you’re doing here,” Liam bit out.
“Or you’ll what?” St. John rasped, his voice weak as he fought for breath. “Tear my heart out?” He snorted and shook his head. “Don’t bother. Your sister’s done that already.”
Liam narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
St. John didn’t try to stand. I didn’t know if he was too weak or if it was a conscious choice to stay submissive in Liam’s sight and avoid tempting the testy alpha to put him in his place.
“Whatever you might think of me, I love Brenna. I don’t deserve her, but wretch that I am, I’ll fight for her all the same. After…” He squeezed his eyes shut and sucked in a deep breath through his nose. “After Kevin died, we grew closer. Grief can do that.” He laughed, a short derisive sound. “Then she found the aconite pills. She was so…” He shook his head. “I don’t blame her for pulling away from me. I wish I could do the same. But I can’t help but think, if I hadn’t left her alone, if I’d refused to leave… Maybe she wouldn’t have been taken.”
He lifted his face to look at Liam, pain etched across his features and the first hint of anger warming his eyes. “Liam, something is wrong. Brenna wouldn’t bite someone like that. Someone has her, and they’re making decisions for her.”
It was what Liam wanted to hear. Confirmation that his sister was innocent. He stood a little straighter, and some of the tension leaked from his shoulders. “There is no question that Brenna was at Varca’s, and she did bite Paul. We found the evidence she was helping Stephen start a new pack. How are we supposed to know for certain you didn’t talk her into going to Varca’s?”
St. John frowned. “Why would I do that?”
“You’re a thief. Maybe you saw a way to steal Varca’s money and fund that new pack you and Brenna were so anxious to be a part of.”
The werefox gritted his teeth, his eyes lighting up with a crimson gleam. “You don’t know your sister at all. I could no more manipulate her than Stephen could. I’m telling you, someone is forcing her to do these things. She’s in trouble.” His gaze slid to me. “You’re a witch. You must have figured out there’s black magic at play here.”
“There’s no such thing as black magic,” I said automatically. “Any magic can serve a purpose, it’s all in the intent.”
“What are you doing here?” Andy interrupted.
St. John hesitated, his gaze flicking to Scath before he slowly rose to his feet. “I overheard you talking about May. You said she might be holding Brenna, so I came to check it out.”
“You overheard us?” Liam growled. “You were supposed to be confined to your room.”
“I’m a thief,” St. John said calmly. “As you’re constantly reminding me. Did you really think an anklet would hold me?”
“I take it you haven’t found anything,” I said, speaking up before Liam could give voice to the anger burning in his eyes.
“I didn’t find Brenna. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing here to find.”
“If there’s something here to find, we’ll find it.” Liam reached for his phone. “I’ll call Ruth and have her come get you.”
“I’m not leaving,” St. John said matter of factly.
“We’ll let you know if we find anything.” I tried to tell him with my expression not to annoy Liam. He ignored me.
“I’m the thief, I know where people hide things. If there’s something here May doesn’t want us to find, trust me, I will find it.”
“Find it or plant it?” Liam asked.
St. John’s jaw tightened. “I’m not your enemy. We both want the same thing. Brenna home, and safe.”
Liam swayed forward, and I stepped between them before he could do something rash. “Scath, stay with him. Make sure he doesn’t try anything funny.”
St. John frowned as I leaned down to touch Scath’s collar. His eyes widened as the glamour fell away, revealing Scath’s true form.
“I wouldn’t try anything, if I were you,” I said.
St. John recovered quickly, giving me a short nod. He walked away from Liam with Scath trailing after him, completely unconcerned with the fact he was completely naked.
Andy went off on his own, in full FBI mode as he headed for May’s computer. I called my magic and threw it out ahead of me as I walked through the house, methodically searching each room for some trace of magic. Nothing caught my eye or triggered my magical sensors. If May was a witch, she didn’t practice her magic here.
“Ah ha!”
St. John’s cry of victory brought Liam and me hurrying to the living room. The werefox stood beside an open closet door, one hand holding a piece of smooth plastic. I looked to the closet and realized he was holding the front panel of a vacuum cleaner. In the vacuum itself, tucked against the bag, was a large brown envelope.
“You wouldn’t have found this,” he told Liam, reaching down to pull the envelope out. Before I could open my mouth to warn him to stop, he opened the envelope and grabbed the papers inside.
“And now you touched it,” I said, my voice tight with frustration. “Which will nicely explain away any of your fingerprints we may have found on it.”
St. John ignored me, raising his eyebrows as a lump of cash tied into a bundle fell out of the envelope as well. Liam stepped forward and tore the paper and the money out of his hand. The werefox glowered at him, but didn’t object.
Liam frowned. “It’s a list of names, addresses, and dates.”
“And that looks like it might be May’s share of the profits,” I pointed out. “It seems she just didn’t deposit her money like Paul did.”
Andy entered the room, coming from one of the bedrooms. “Her computer is password protected, I’ll need to have someone from IT look at it.” He approached Liam and looked over his shoulder, scanning the papers. “I recognize a few of those names. Three of them are friends with Ms. Thomas on social media.”
“And that’s the name of the private group for the people with wolfdogs as service animals,” I added, pointing to a note at the bottom of the page. “That’s the group Ms. Thomas showed us a picture of.”
“And this,” Liam said, pointing to a list of names on another sheet of paper, “is a list of sanctuaries in surrounding areas that will accept wolfdogs.” He frowned and squinted at a name scrawled in the margin. “I think I’ve seen that name before too. He’s a private citizen that owned a wolf.”
“So May was involved.” I bit my lip. “Maybe May and Ms. Amica are the same person? If May is a witch, she could easily disguise herself. And making Paul act as the face of the connection to Paw Patrollers would give her plausible deniability if anything went wrong.”
Liam turned back to the page with the names and addresses. He pointed at the name at the bottom of the page. “This one is dated two weeks ago, right around the time Brenna disappeared.”
“If this really is a list of people who received service wolves, then maybe that’s her,” St. John said excitedly.
Andy nodded. “Let’s go.”
“I’m coming too,” St. John said.
Liam braced a palm flat against St. John’s chest, his aura flaring out in a flash of skin-biting heat. “No, you’re not. You’re going back to the center where Blake can keep an eye on you.” He pressed harder. “And this time, they’re going to shower you, and then watch to make sure you don’t sneak away again. You’ll turn over whatever alum you have left to Blake.”
St. John opened his mouth, then shut it. He glanced from Liam to Scath and back, obviously weighing his options. Finally, he nodded stiffly. “Fine.”
“I’ll take him back,” Andy volunteered. He looked at St. John. “I’m assuming you didn’t walk here?”
St. John glowered at him for a second, then let out a huff of breath. “I parked a block away.”
“I have an extra set of clothes he can wear,” Andy said, heading for the door.
“Scath can go with you,” I offered, looking down at the cat sith to make sure she was amicable to the idea. She made a low chuffing sound, but didn’t seem to object. I looked at St. John. “I’d behave yourself, if I were you. Don’t let the fact that she’s injured fool you. As far as she’s concerned, you’re the healthy dose of protein she needs to get better.”
St. John’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t say anything. He did lean away from Scath though.
Andy handed me the keys to his SUV with less hesitation then most men would. Liam didn’t look happy that he’d been passed over for driving, but the same desperation that would have made him a dangerous driver made him hold his tongue so as not to slow things down even more. It did make for an uncomfortable drive.
I pulled into the driveway of the two-story house with pale yellow siding and black shutters. Liam exploded out of the SUV before I’d even put the vehicle in park. He knocked before I had time to close my door behind me, and I was still five feet behind him when a teenager answered the door, a girl about fifteen years old. And behind her, a large white wolf.
Liam jerked back, almost falling off the porch steps. “Brenna!”
Chapter 23
Liam dropped to one knee, reaching out to cradle Brenna’s head in his hands. Brenna barked, her tail lashing back and forth as she pressed against his palms. The teenager frowned.
“Her name’s not Brenna,” she said uncertainly. “It’s White Fang.”
I arched an eyebrow at the name, then tensed as footsteps sounded on the linoleum floor behind the girl. A thin man with a shock of chocolate brown hair and black wire-rimmed glasses appeared behind her. He put a protective hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her away from the door.
“Can I help you?” he asked. He looked down at Liam. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask you not to touch the dog. She’s a service animal.”
Liam’s eyes flicked up to the man, and I watched him visibly swallow his anger, clinging to Brenna as if she were his anchor. “No, she’s not. She’s my dog. She was stolen from me last month.”
The man stiffened, one hand rising to grasp the collar of his pale blue button down shirt. “I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken.” He reached down to take hold of the collar around Brenna’s neck, as if to pull her back into the house. “This is not your dog.”
Liam twitched, his hands pressing harder against the sides of Brenna’s head for a moment before releasing her. An image flashed through my mind of Liam diving at the girl’s father.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” I said carefully, trying to draw Liam’s attention away from the man. I pointed down at Brenna. “You can see she recognizes him.”
The man didn’t look down, probably because he didn’t want to know if it was true. But Brenna definitely recognized Liam, and showed an excitement that made me think she wanted to go to him. But the hesitation in her body, the way she leaned closer to the teenager when her father pulled her back, gave me pause.
“She’s Tanya’s service animal,” he repeated.
“She’s my dog,” Liam said, his voice strained. “And I can prove it.” He took out his phone and scrolled through his photos before pulling up the one he wanted. He showed it to the man. “This is a picture of us together.”
The man glanced at the photo, but didn’t release his hold on the collar. “She doesn’t have any distinguishing markings. That could be any white wolf.”
Liam’s jaw tightened. “You think two people in Cleveland, Ohio possess a fully trained white wolf?”
“Fang came from a respectable company that provides service animals to…” He hesitated, pressing his lips together. “To at-risk youth.” A hint of desperation crept into his voice. “This isn’t your dog.”
I didn’t know if he didn’t say ‘addict’ because he thought it was none of our business, or if he still wasn’t emotionally ready to use that word for his daughter. But I’d seen the track marks on her arms. And I knew what they meant.
Liam took a few steps back, then knelt down again. “Come here, Brenna.”
I felt the push in his words. Liam wasn’t taking any chances. He’d obviously noticed Brenna’s hesitation too, and he put the full power of his alpha influence into the command. Brenna lurched toward him, easily pulling free of the man’s grip. She went to Liam and sat down, waiting.
The man dove forward, his hand reaching for her collar. Liam was faster.
One hand met the stricken father’s chest, halting him so abruptly it knocked the wind from him and he staggered back. He choked, trying to regain his breath as he glared at Liam.
“I’m calling the police,” he wheezed.
Liam pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and held it open, showing the man his badge. “I am the police.”
The blood drained from the man’s face. “Please,” he said, his voice hoarse. “You can’t take her. Tanya needs her.”
Liam put his badge away and lowered one hand to rest on Brenna’s head. “Why don’t we go inside and you can tell me how you came to be in possession of my dog, Mr…?”
“Davis,” he said. “Peter Davis.”
He led us into the house like a man going to the gallows. We passed through a neat kitchen and I noted Tanya standing at the counter, shoveling an amount of sugar into a cup of coffee that would make even Peasblossom wince.
Her father didn’t even glance that way, his attention locked on Brenna trotting by Liam’s side.
“So tell me how you came to have Brenna?” Liam asked.
“We were contacted by a man from a company called Paw Patrollers near Cleveland,” he said quietly. “He said he’d seen some of my posts on social media.” He gestured toward Tanya, and his mouth twitched, as if he wanted to smile, but couldn’t. “Part of the way I cope with Tanya’s…problem has been to blog about her, and I share the posts on social media. Sometimes it helps other parents who are going through the same thing. I don’t use our real names, but Mr. Bannon saw my posts, and he managed to track me down. He asked if I’d be interested in a service animal.”
“So he contacted you first?” Liam asked.
The man nodded. “I told him I couldn’t afford a service animal. Honestly, I’d never really considered it. I thought service animals were for people with diabetes and epilepsy, stuff like that. I never dreamed what a savior an animal could be for…” He struggled, then forced himself to finish. “For an addict.”
His voice broke and he ducked his head.
My heart twisted in my chest. I’d known a lot of addicts. A lot of families who suffered right along with them. How devastating it must be to watch your child go through that nightmare. And drag you with them.
“How much did he charge you?” Liam asked.
“Nothing.” He cleared his throat. “He said his company worked with a foundation that donated a few dogs a year to families that can’t otherwise afford one. He told me the woman in charge liked to choose families with a child that wouldn’t normally qualify for a service animal for health insurance purposes.”
“You said Tanya is an addict?” I asked.
The look Mr. Davis gave me held the weight of a very tired parent. “It’s a terrible word to use for a child, but it’s the right word. You have no idea. Heroin destroyed her. Destroyed us.” He gestured at the television set. “I just bought that. To replace the one she sold. I had decided to go without, but having Fang… I’ve just been more hopeful lately.” He stopped and shook his head. “And now…”
He dropped his head into his hands, his shoulders sagging, his elbows propped up on his knees.
“Was Mr. Bannon the one who brought Brenna to you?” Liam asked.
“Yes, and the woman from the foundation came with him. He introduced her as Ms. Amica. He said the foundation Ms. Amica ran had a wolf sanctuary. When one of the wolves at the sanctuary gave birth to a pup that demonstrated a temperament well-suited to training, she would let Paul take it to one of their training centers. Since a lot of people still believe in the stigma surrounding wolves, they give them to families who need them but can’t afford to be prejudiced.”
Liam leaned forward. “Where did they tell you they train the wolves?”
