Hominid (27 page)

CHAPTER 87

T
ess pushed Pax toward the door. “Seriously, go out, have some fun.”

“No. We’re fine,” Pax insisted.

“I love you both, but you need a little time alone. Just go have a nice dinner. Forget about all this craziness for a little while.”

Shawn arched an eyebrow. “I could go for a little dinner.”

“Good. Now out, both of you. And you’re not allowed back here for at least another hour and a half.”

“Are you sure?” Pax asked.

Tess smiled. “I appreciate you guys and everything you’ve done for me. Now go take a little time for yourselves. The media’s calmed down a little bit, and Dev said he’ll call if Tyler or any of his crew leave town. Missy and I are just going to relax, okay?”

“Okay,” Pax said. “But if you need us—”

“We won’t,” Tess said, opening the door.

Shawn picked up Missy. “Come here, my favorite little girl.” He gave her a big hug. Pax reached up and kissed her on the cheek, and then Shawn handed her over to Tess.

“Bye, guys,” Missy said.

They headed out onto the porch. Pax turned. “You’re sure you don’t want—”

“Go,” Tess said. “Now.”

He laughed. “Okay, okay. I’m going.”

Tess smiled as Pax climbed into the car with Shawn. She and Missy stood at the porch railing and waved goodbye. But when the car had disappeared from view, the smile dropped from Tess’s face. She scanned the forest around them. She felt like someone was watching them.

Missy tugged on her shirt. “Can we make cupcakes?”

Tess focused her attention on the little girl. “That sounds great. Go wash your hands first.”

“Yes!” Missy exclaimed, and she ran into the house.

Tess smiled, but the hair on the back of her neck began to rise. She scanned the trees again. But there was no one there.
You’re jumping at shadows.

Still, as she headed into the cabin, she made sure to lock the door securely behind her.

CHAPTER 88

T
ess and Missy had assembled all the ingredients for the cupcakes on the counter when they heard a knock on the door. Shelby raised her head with a growl.

“Tess?” Missy asked, fear behind her eyes.

“It’s probably just your uncles.” Tess pulled her phone out of her pocket and pulled up one of Missy’s games. “Here. Why don’t you go play this in our room while I see what they want, okay?”

Missy took the phone and headed to the bedroom. Tess kept the smile on her face until Missy closed the door; then she dropped it. Damn reporters. She stomped over to the front door. Without opening it, she said, “Who is it?”

“Dr. Brannick? My name is Abe Cascione. I work for Carter Hayes.”

Tess sighed and leaned her head against the door.
Crap. I think I would have preferred if it was a reporter.

“Could I have just five minutes of your time?”

Tess debated what to do. Ever since she’d canceled the grant contract, she’d been expecting something like this. Carter Hayes was not known for giving up easily. She’d already ignored over a dozen calls from him.

She blew out a breath as she unlocked the door.
Five minutes, and I never have to deal with this again.

But the minute she got a good luck at Abe, Tess rethought her decision to open the door. With a bald head, a boxer’s nose, and clothes about two decades out of style, Abe Cascione was not what she would have expected one of Carter Hayes’s employees to look like.

Shelby stood just behind Tess, growling softly.
Shelby doesn’t like the look of him either.

Tess stood in the doorway, blocking his entrance. “I’ve told Mr. Hayes that the contract is done. I’ve paid him back the money. There’s nothing to talk about.”

Abe smiled, but the sight only chilled Tess. “Well, you see, Mr. Hayes tested one of those hair samples you collected, and he knows there
is
something to talk about.”

Tess’s surprise was followed by outrage. “You’re the one who stole the sample.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Tess started to close the door. “I think this conversation is over.”

Abe grabbed the door and shoved it back hard, sending Tess stumbling backward, slamming into one of the club chairs.

Shelby lunged at Abe and grabbed on to his leg. Abe slammed his fist into Shelby’s back. Shelby let out a yelp, and Abe kicked her hard in the side, sending her sliding across the floor. Missy appeared in the bedroom doorway with a gasp.

“No! Hide!” Tess yelled as Abe grabbed Tess by her hair.

Abe leaned down and put his mouth right next to her ear. “You know, I’m pretty sure this conversation’s just beginning.”

CHAPTER 89

P
ax watched the trees rush by on the side of the road. Shawn reached over and took his hand. “You okay?”

Pax squeezed his husband’s hand. “I’m good. Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Tess, Missy, our soon-to-be little one. Everything’s changing.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah. I just want to make sure we’re there for them. All of them.”

“We will be.”

Pax’s phone buzzed. He picked it up and peered at the screen. “Speaking of which.” He answered the call and put it on speaker. “Hey, you must be psychic. We were just talking about you two.”

Silence greeted him.

Pax frowned. “Tess?”

Missy’s small voice came over the phone. “He’s hurting her.”

Pax’s stomach dropped, and he felt his heart all but stop. “Shawn.”

Shawn had already thrown the car into a U-turn and was tearing back toward Tess’s cabin. “Talk to her,” Shawn ordered, his eyes on the road.

“Where are you, Missy?”

The girl’s breaths came out in pants. “In the closet. Tess told me to hide.”

“You did the right thing.”

“But he’s hurting her.”

Pax wished he could hug her through the phone. She sounded so scared, so alone. “We’re coming, sweetheart. We’re coming.”

CHAPTER 90

T
ess lay on the floor of the cabin, her ribs aching. She spit out a wad of blood. “So this is how Hayes gets people to do what he wants?”

Abe reached down and yanked her up by the hair. “He’s a determined man. He understands that different problems require different solutions.”

“And what? I’m a problem?”

Abe laughed. “Not for long.” He flung her toward the couch. Tess’s knee banged into the coffee table and she let out a grunt. The crayons Missy had been using this morning went flying, along with the glue.

Her eyes traveled to where Shelby lay. The dog hadn’t moved since this brute had hurt her. Her blood began to boil. As she pushed herself up against the couch, her hand slipped between the cushions and brushed something metal.
Scissors.
She grasped them and slid them up her sleeve.

Turning, she glared at Abe. “What do you want?”

“I want to know exactly where you found that hair.”

“Why?”

Abe shrugged. “I have no idea. But that’s what the boss wants.”

“And if I don’t tell you?”

Abe smiled and cracked his knuckles. “Oh, you will. The only question is how much pain you want to experience before you do.” He nodded toward the bedroom. “And how much
she
experiences.”

Tess clenched her fists. “You will
not
touch her.”

“Well, that’s up to you now, isn’t it?”

He reached for her. Tess slipped the scissors out of her sleeve and into her hand. When he grabbed her hair and pulled her up. Tess shoved the scissors into his chest in an upward motion, right under his ribs.

He let out a yell and backhanded her. Her cheek exploded with pain, and she crashed back onto the couch.

Abe stared down at the scissors sticking out of his chest before he lunged for Tess. “You bitch!”

She scrambled off the couch, but slipped and landed with a thud on the floor. Crawling away on her hands and knees, she stumbled to her feet and ran to the kitchen.

Abe yanked the scissors out of his stomach, then marched toward her menacingly. “You know, I
was
being nice. But now I’m pissed.”

Tess backed up against the stove. Behind her, she wrapped a hand around the handle of the frying pan she’d used to make eggs that morning. As Abe charged at her, she swung for all she was worth. The pan slammed into his shoulder and he stumbled sideways with a grunt. She brought the pan back up, backhand, and caught him under the chin.

The front door flew open and Shawn sprinted across the room. He grabbed Abe by the back of his shirt and his neck, yanked him off his feet, and body slammed him, face first, into the ground. The floor shook with the force. Shawn grabbed the back of Abe’s head and slammed his face into the ground again for good measure.

Pax appeared in the door, his eyes wide. He started for Tess, but she waved him off, pushing away from the stove. “Missy. Get Missy. Bedroom.”

Pax changed direction and disappeared into the bedroom.

“Shawn?” Tess asked. Tess had never seen Shawn angry before; he was always so easygoing. She had sometimes wondered how he was as a SEAL. And now she knew. He was a warrior through and through.

“He’s out,” Shawn said. “You okay?”

Tess grimaced. “I’ll live.” Her ribs ached, but she forgot all about them when she remembered Shelby. She ran over and knelt at the dog’s side. “Hey, girl.”

Shelby didn’t get up, but she was awake and breathing. She gave a whimper and a feeble wag of her tail.

Tess lowered her head to Shelby’s. “You’ll be okay. We’ll get you fixed up like new.”

She raised her head as Pax reappeared, Missy wrapped protectively in his arms. He knelt down beside Tess.

“You okay, Missy?” Tess asked.

A tear rolled down the girl’s cheek as she nodded. Tess wiped it away.
She’s shed too many tears for one so young.

“She called us,” Pax said. “Told us you were in trouble.”

Tess rubbed Missy’s back. “You did the right thing. I’m so proud of you.” Then she glared at Abe. Shawn still had the man pinned to the floor, his arms behind his back, and Tess could feel Shawn’s anger.

She was angry too. Furious. She wanted to kill Abe for scaring Missy, and that desire scared the hell out of her.

She turned away from him.
Bastard
.

But she knew
he
wasn’t the real villain here. Abe was just a puppet—one whose strings had been cut.

It was the puppet master she still had to worry about.

CHAPTER 91

T
ess walked behind Shawn as he carried Shelby outside to Madge’s truck. She wanted more than anything to go with Shelby to the vet, but she couldn’t leave Missy alone, and she didn’t think the cold, sterile waiting room of Happy Tails—the one and only vet in the area—was what Missy needed right now.

Madge opened the passenger door of her F150, and Shawn gently placed Shelby on the seat while Madge put her arms around Tess. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll take good care of her. And I’ll call as soon as I know anything.”

Tess only nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Shelby had been her constant companion for ten years. She couldn’t imagine her life without her.

Madge’s face went cold when she spotted Abe in the back of Dev’s cruiser. “You make sure Dev doesn’t let that piece of garbage make it to the jail alive.”

Tears in her throat, Tess gave a little laugh, knowing Madge meant every word. “Not sure he can do that, but I like the idea.”

Madge gave her another squeeze before heading for the driver’s door. “Take care of that little girl, and I’ll take care of this one.”

Tess walked to the open passenger door where Shawn stood rubbing Shelby’s head. He looked at Tess. “She’s tough. She’ll be all right.” He clapped Tess’s shoulder and headed back inside the cabin.

Tess leaned down to kiss Shelby’s head. “You have to be all right, you hear me? You and I have to take care of our little girl, okay?”

Shelby gave her a tired wag.

With a shuddering breath, Tess stepped back and closed the door. Madge revved the engine and pulled away. Tess watched them go, wrapping her arms around herself.

Once again, the image of Abe kicking Shelby appeared unbidden in her mind. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. People called bigfoot monsters—but she’d seen no evidence of that. It was humans who were the real monsters. Monsters who killed or hurt one another for their own gain.

And it was Carter Hayes who had sent that monster after her. Which meant he was a monster too—one with deep pockets and a long reach.

Tess wrapped her arms around herself, feeling cold but knowing it wasn’t from the air surrounding her. This cold went much deeper. She looked back at her little house. The day she’d bought it, she had been filled with optimism at what the future held. And now…

Now I need to figure out a way to protect everyone I care about from being destroyed by Carter Hayes.