Chosen by Fate (39 page)

“Tell me, Wraith. No secrets.”

No. No secrets. Not between the two of them. “Do you know felines are often bisexual?”

“Yes. And I know Natia is. She had a female lover before we were together.”

“She had another male lover, too. One she might not have chosen but who might have chosen her.”

Caleb looked confused, then horrified. “Elijah?” he whispered.

Wraith nodded. “I saw them together once. Acting intimately toward each other. I thought maybe I imagined it, but given everything else we’ve learned today, it makes sense.”

“So she had him killed? Made his death look like a byproduct of War?”

Wraith shrugged. “It’s a theory. My theory. Maybe she wanted to be free of him. Or from her own shame, at the very least. Maybe she blamed the heat, and that’s why she’s been funding the sterilization procedures.”

Caleb pulled her into his arms again. “And then she targeted you. Because she knows you’re special to me.”

His recognition of the fact, plainly spoken, made joy sweep through her. “It must have eaten her alive. Knowing you turned her down to be with me at Knox’s wedding.”

“Maybe that’s why Colt accepted her money. Maybe he was jealous, too.”

She brushed away his attempted explanation with a slight shake of her head, clearly not wanting to talk about the man who’d betrayed her. More than willing to distract her, Caleb murmured, “Too bad Mahone had to arrive at the wedding when he did and mess things up.”

She snuggled in closer to him and rested her cheek against his chest again. Closing her eyes, she relished his warmth and the beating of his heart. “Yeah. Too bad. Remind me to have a talk with Mahone about that, would you? In addition to a few other things.”

He murmured his agreement and they rested in the silence for a while before he said, “What now, Wraith?”

She didn’t move. She thought about pretending she hadn’t heard him, but she couldn’t. “Now we wait and see what fate has in store for me, Caleb. But for the first time in my life, I’m hoping she lets me stick around for a whole lot longer.”

She felt him kiss the top of her head before he whispered, “Me, too.”

C
aleb got Mahone on the phone later that day.

c “Alton Maddox was the man who executed Elijah, but he was just the hit man. He had governmental authorization for Elijah’s torture, and the government sanctioned his actions. I want the name of the governmental authority you promised me.”

Mahone sighed, and his failure to give up the name immediately had Caleb seeing red. “Damn it, Mahone, if you even try to screw me in this, I’ll—”

“Hold on,” Mahone snapped. “I need to make sure this line is secure. Then we’ll talk.”

Gritting his teeth, Caleb waited. And waited. He was beginning to think this was just another one of Mahone’s tricks when he came back on the line. “Are you there?”

“Yes,” Caleb said.

“We’re clear. The name you want is Vanessa Morrison.”

“Wh-what?” Caleb asked, certain he’d misunderstood.

This time, Mahone spoke slowly, drawing out each syllable as if Caleb were an idiot. “Va-nes-sa Mor-ri-son.”

“The First Lady of the United States? She authorized Elijah’s so-called torture and execution? Where are you getting your information?”

Mahone snorted. “I have my sources, O’Flare, of which you are not privy to. But I’m telling you the truth.”

“I don’t understand . . . Natia paid Maddox a huge sum of money just before Elijah’s death. We assumed she hired Maddox to kill Elijah for her. But what connection would she have to the First Lady . . .” Remembering his recent conversation with Wraith, Caleb swallowed hard; he couldn’t believe he’d been so naïve. “They were lovers?”

“Yes,” Mahone said quietly. “I already knew that, but I didn’t know about Natia funding Maddox or her connection to feline sterilizations. Whether she knows about Morrison’s ultimate objective remains to be seen.”

“What ultimate objective?”

“We have reason to believe she’s part of a group called the Quorum, an organization dedicated to annihilating the peace between humans and Otherborn. I’m betting she convinced Natia that sterilization is a feline female’s right and the way to give her independence and freedom.”

“And the false rapes were more than just a cover?”

“Sure. They had two purposes. They were a cover, an excuse to explain the victim’s infertility if and when it was discovered—after all, maybe the attacker wanted to both rape and sterilize his victims—and a way to cast suspicion on humans and dissention between humans and felines. Not difficult with someone like Harry Jenkins around, already giving us a bad name and stirring up hate.”

“And Natia herself? Do you think she’s been sterilized?”

“I have no idea. But we’ll get our chance to find out.”

“You’ll have her examined when she’s taken into custody,” Caleb agreed.

“Something like that.”

Mahone’s mild response immediately put Caleb on edge. “You’ve already got her? Damn it, Mahone, you might have moved too soon. Bringing her into custody is going to tip off Morrison. Make her go underground.”

“She hasn’t been brought into custody, O’Flare. Not the way you’re thinking. She’s dead.”

“Dead?”

“Last night she was found in an alley in Los Angeles. You wanna guess which one?”

“The alley behind Maddox’s clinic? But who . . . ?” Caleb felt no remorse. No grief or regret for the female he’d kissed countless times, the last time being just before Wraith’s heart had stopped beating.

“Whoever did it made it look like she overdosed on Ecstasy. When we collected her body, it wasn’t a pretty sight, but it was enough to make it look like an accident. Let’s just hope Morrison believes it and chalks up her lover’s death as another victory for the Quorum.”

“It was the vampire, Colt. He’d have the drug connections and the resources to do it.”

“And the motive. After Natia’s body was found, he walked into Bureau headquarters. Confessed to hiring Doug and Emmett to kidnap Wraith in order to get her away from you. He claimed his own feelings for Wraith motivated him. And he fervently denied authorizing anyone to hurt her. In fact, he said, and I quote, ‘I’d kill to make sure no one hurts Wraith. I have.’ Of course, he clammed up after that and brought in his attorney.”

“Where is he now?”

“Out on bail. He’ll probably serve his time for conspiracy to kidnap and be out on the streets in months. You gonna be paying him a visit?”

Maybe. Eventually, Caleb thought. But first, he’d tell Wraith what Colt had done. Because she deserved to know that Colt had cared enough about her to kill the female who’d endangered her. Right now, however, he had far more important things to think about. “What about Morrison?” he asked Mahone.

“We leave her alone. We want her to think she’s safe. In the meantime, we have a man working his way inside. He hasn’t gotten in yet, but hopefully soon. You okay with that?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m okay with it, but if we bring the Quorum down in the end, that’s all that matters.”

“Good.”

“Mahone, I want to cash in my IOU. And I need delivery to be ASAP.”

“I’m pretty sure I know what you’re going to ask for, and all I can say is, I’ll do my best. But I’m not holding out hope at this point.”

“I’m not going to rely on hope. I’m more of a take-charge kind of guy.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, I’ll do my part and you do yours, and maybe together, it’ll make a difference to someone we both care about.”

 

Wraith opened her hotel room door, frowning when she saw Lucy was alone. “Where’s Dex?” The three of them had agreed to share a cab to the airport before splitting. Dex and Lucy were returning to Quantico, where Mahone would brief them on Felicia’s “attack” and get their thoughts regarding the felines. Wraith and Caleb, on the other hand, would fly to Maine, where Caleb intended to access all the information the wraiths had managed to collect on the turning phenomenon. Wraith had already called Joanna, who was, despite the way Wraith had treated her in Oregon, anticipating their arrival with every intention of giving Caleb access to anything he wanted.

Caleb had told Wraith about Colt. How he suspected Colt had been the one to kill Natia after he’d found out Natia had ordered Wraith’s death rather than her relocation. She tried telling herself it didn’t matter, that Colt had betrayed her nonetheless, but she couldn’t deny that the news brought her some comfort. For all his weaknesses and mistakes, Colt had truly cared about her. Just as Ramsey had, which had been evidenced by his newfound inability to truly hurt her, even as she asked him to. Humans were flawed and loved by flawed individuals.

Still, that love mattered.

Apparently, she was far more human as a wraith than she would’ve thought.

“Dex isn’t ready to return to Quantico,” Lucy said. “He’s decided to spend a few more days in L.A. I’m pretty sure he’s hoping to run into a certain vamp again.”

Wraith couldn’t say she was surprised. Dex had been beyond furious when he’d discovered the vamp had left before they’d reached Maddox’s clinic. Jesmina had played him—with Lucy’s full cooperation, of course—but there was more to Dex’s interest in her than wounded pride. She studied Lucy carefully for any signs of jealousy or hurt feelings, but the mage’s expression was surprisingly bland. “Are you okay with that?”

Lucy nodded. “Who would have guessed the were had such a good heart? But he’s way too alpha for me. I need someone mellower. Someone like Caleb,” she teased, her face lightening with her attempt at humor.

Wraith snorted. “Just goes to show how much Caleb had you fooled.”

Sobering, Lucy asked, “Are we okay?”

Wraith nodded, hesitated, then awkwardly pulled Lucy into a hug. She felt the mage stiffen in surprise before she hugged her back.

“I decided to catch an earlier flight,” Lucy said as she pulled away.

Surprised, Wraith struggled for the right words. “Okay, well . . . Tell Mahone, if I don’t see him myself, I said thanks.”

“Oh, Wraith . . .” Lucy’s eyes welled with tears, and her face twisted with profound sadness.

When she felt moisture gather in her own eyes, Wraith shook her head. “None of that, now. You’ve got to be strong, Lucy. How else are you going to keep the guys in line?”

Lucy sniffed. “You’re right. But that’s more your job, Wraith. I’ll sub for you while you’re in Maine, but as soon as you return, I’m handing over the reins. Got it?”

“Got it,” Wraith said, her affection for the mage growing despite her desperate attempt to remain unaffected.

After Lucy left, Wraith turned on the TV, hoping it would distract her until Caleb returned. He was doing some “research” on wraiths, even though she’d told him everything she knew and still none of it shed light on what their purpose was or if there was a way to avoid expiring. When he returned emptyhanded, maybe he would begin to see the hopelessness of the task he’d set for them, but then again, hopeless or not, she was grateful for the excuse to spend more time with him. Maybe it showed how weak she really was, but now that she knew he loved her, she wasn’t turning him away any longer. Being without him when she died scared her more than the thought of death itself.

She flipped through the channels, stopping when she came to local coverage of a college event, something called the Giving Bowl, a takeoff of the Rose Bowl, only on a much smaller scale. According to the newscaster, the game was happening as they spoke, not too far from where Wraith was staying. Admiring the simplicity and sheer whimsy of some of the floats, she jerked when the camera panned on the image of a smiling woman. She looked like a typical California girl, blond and athletic and tan. Recognition prodded at Wraith until it became a sharp pain in her temple and she winced. When the newscasters proceeded to interview the girl, Wraith turned up the volume.

“. . . my sister, Annie,” the blonde said, gesturing to a younger, sweeter-looking version of herself.

“So, Christina, you and your sister are here hoping to bring positive exposure to your former sorority, which your sister has recently joined. Can you tell us a little about it?”

“Sure. Delta Gamma is a sorority whose mission this year is to aid the homeless. The theme of our float is ‘Shelter for All.’ ”

“And even though you’re pretty busy with your day job, working with Red Cross, you still devote a lot of time to the sorority and the various charities it supports.”

“It’s a joy, even more so now that my little sister is there.” Christina put an arm around her sister’s shoulders and hugged her, her affection for the girl radiating in her expression. As she did, the camera closed in on Annie, and Wraith stared at the delicate necklace with a ballerina shoe pendant around Annie’s neck.

It was the necklace she’d seen in her dream.

And behind her—Wraith narrowed her eyes as the camera panned out, giving her a clearer view of the mini-market behind the two girls.

She’d seen that store before. As soon as she realized that, an unexplained and unexpected knowledge flooded her brain. In a few minutes, Christina and her sister would walk the parade next to their float, then join a post-celebration party. Afterward, they’d walk home, but not before stopping at a convenience store to pick up a pack of gum.

Cinnamon gum. That same type of gum Wraith preferred.

She knew these things despite the sheer ridiculousness of the notion.

And that meant she probably knew Christina and Annie, or at least had known them in her human life. If they were going to be stopping at that store, that would be her chance to talk to them. To ask them questions. To possibly figure out.

Who. She. Was.

I
t had en over fifteen years since Caleb had walked the Otherworld. The first time had been on his soul journey, just before he’d been recognized as a full shaman by his people; for two days, he’d conferred with the spirits of his grandfather and great-grandfather, learning the history of those chosen to keep balance between the earth and its inhabitants. Three years later, when Lilah Featherstone’s body had been found on the reservation and there had been no trace of her little boy, Marco, Caleb had journeyed to see her spirit and discovered they’d been attacked by a stranger; before she’d died, Lilah had yelled at Marco to hide in his “special place.” Three hours later, when he’d come out of his trance, Caleb had led the search parties to a set of caverns edging the river at the southernmost part of the reservation. There, they’d found Marco, huddled into a ball, his face stained with tears.