Tales Of The Sazi 05 - Moon's Fury (30 page)

Cara let out a small, sad chuckle. His worried tone was enough to break down the tough walls she'd carefully constructed around …well,
everything.
He had the right to know about the pack he might be joining. Plus, if he was going to get annoyed, better it was over the phone. So, she told him—about Yolanda and why they'd been driving on the back road to happen to see the owl. She talked about the pack, and why she hadn't introduced him properly that night at Rosa's. He listened to it all silently, only showing his presence by an occasional acknowledgment of okay, fer sure, or ahh. Then, of course, came the birds and the snake, and Yolanda hitting them with the truck.

"I suppose it was good she missed the
tree,
and she's right that it was probably the only way I didn't wind up dead. I'd been doing fine up 'til then, but then just hit the wall, so to speak. Turning him back took everything I had left. You know a Sazi's in bad shape when she can't even get out of the way of a
truck.
Yo probably wasn't doing more than thirty when she hit us.”

She'd hoped that chuckling would lighten the conversation, but Adam went suddenly still—

enough that she furrowed her brow and asked. "Adam? You still there?”

He sounded almost breathless when he replied, as though he'd been running for hours. "Yeah. So

…wha-…what time was it you said that happened?”

She tried to figure it in her head, from leaving the restaurant to looking at the watch before she headed down to the canyon. She couldn't remember still having her watch back when she crested the hill by the truck. Maybe it dropped off on the climb. She'd have to ask Will if he spotted it. "I'm guessing, but I'd say around one twenty, or a little later. Why?”

Another long pause allowed her time to drag herself up to a better sitting position and take a sip of diet cola. His voice sounded stronger when he replied, almost matter of fact. "No reason. So, what did Will find?”

She shrugged. "Not much, unfortunately. He couldn't find a trail, but he got some blood that he's going to give to Bobby. You know anything about that, by the way? Why's he coming down…not that I mind. He's a good cop and I can certainly use the help.”

Whatever had been bothering Adam dropped away, and he started in on his own story, from getting home to seeing the …
massacre
site, and talking to Bobby and his partner.

"Um, an
assassin?
In Wolven?" She blinked a few times, trying to process that. "Wow, things have sure changed there. Oookay, well…I suppose that's good to know. I guess so long as he keeps his nose clean here." She stopped and snorted. "Oh, who am I trying to kid? That's going to bug the
shit
out of me. I'm going to have to sit on my hands not to go through the posters and find out where he was wanted so I could call them.”

This time, Adam did chuckle. "Already did …at least as far as finding out he's presumed dead—

big shoot-out at an airport between two mob factions that was caught on film by a television crew. I'll show you the clip I found on the web when I get back there. But since all the bodies, including the reporters, disappeared, everything is still an open file. My fingers are turning blue from denim dye as we speak.”

Cara let out a laugh and it felt good after everything today. The thing she noticed that lifted her mood more than anything was hearing the words
when I get back there.
It shouldn't matter. But she suspected Yolanda was right. She was toast.

Then Adam told her about the room they'd found, and all her humor dropped away. "Oh my God! Will mentioned this, but he didn't give any details. You found
how
many pictures?”

"Over two dozen." Adam paused and she could almost see him shake his head in angry frustration.

"Have you matched them in with any missing persons' reports yet?" Asking that reminded her about the AMBER Alert, and the clothes Will had found. "We might have something down here on that to help tie things together. Will found a pair of jeans and a shirt in the canyon that matched an AMBER

Alert out of Oklahoma yesterday. If you can get a copy of that somehow, you might see if there's a picture of
that
girl on the wall. We might find out if the girls were being targeted specifically, or if the photos were taken
after
the abductions.”

There was a trace of pride in his voice that made her feel like preening as Yo had done. "Wow!

Great idea! Josef had to have been too preoccupied yesterday morning to do much in the way of adding new things to the wall. He easily could have hidden the photos or transferred the files we've found to a CD or flash drive if he really believed he was in danger. So, if her picture's there, we'll at least know there was
intent."
He paused and then muttered a swear. "Shit! I completely forgot to tell you. One of the pictures Josef had was of
Ziri.
But we don't know yet how long she was a captive before we found her, so that photo could have been taken anytime. You need to keep her under wraps, though. She seems to be a key to a bunch of stuff. That's the main reason why Bobby is coming down. Tony has hindsight, and he's been instructed to use it on Ziri to find out what she saw.”

Cara opened her mouth to protest—there was no way she was letting a known killer get anywhere close to the girl, or her family. But Adam cut her off. "I know what you're going to say, but give it up. Tony was ordered there by the
Chief Justice.
That part is going to happen whether or not you like it. But from what Bobby says, Tony can actually be a nice guy. He likes kids and Bobby promised he'd keep things low-key. Nobody wants to traumatize Ziri any more than she is. The only thing Lucas wants you to do is keep the peace and make sure she stays safe.”

"I don't like this—" A small growl escaped her and it was probably a good thing Adam couldn't catch her scent.

She was getting damned tired of being told what she would or wouldn't do.

"None of us do, Carita. But think about it—if Ziri saw something vital that she doesn't remember, and it can save other girls—”

She grumbled a small acceptance of the fact and started to pick tiny pieces of lint from the pillow under one leg in annoyance, letting the silence grow as she contemplated him calling her by the same pet name as her sister for the second time now. Part of her liked it…maybe a little
too
much. Once she had gathered the lint into a small, furry ball, she deposited it in the empty soda can on the table. Adam sighed, in probably what he believed was understanding and shared resignation. "Well, anyway, they'll probably be there in the morning. Oh, and they'll be in
my
truck. Again, low-key …no rental cars to trace. They'll be driving it down to Mexico after they stop in Santa Helena, to talk with Ziri's family. So, I'll probably need a ride from the airport when I get down there." He let the statement hang as a request, and she struggled not to leap forward with an answer
too
eagerly.

"Oh. Sure, no problem. When do you think you'll be here?”

"Dunno. I should at least stay here for the hunt next week. It'll be the first time for my people without a pack leader.”

My people.
Sure. Of course he had to consider his own pack first. But did that mean he was staying up there?
Forever?
A knot of…something began to form in her stomach and she struggled to keep it from showing in her voice. "Absolutely. You do what you need to do for your pack.”

This time he paused. "Things are happening …well, really fast…for both of us, Cara.”

She let out a short snort of air and shifted her hips, hissing in a breath as pain radiated through her back. "No shit.”

"I mean, with everything going on …I don't know that anyone is certain how it'll play out. The whole damned world is in flux. So, I figured I'd toss one other thing in the air, just to keep in the back of your mind.”

His voice sounded serious, but unsure, so she responded cautiously. "Yeah? What's that?”

She never could have expected what the next words out of his mouth would be. They made her heart race and a thick, wet buzzing form in her ears.

"Minnesota's never had an Alpha Female. But we sure could use one."
21

Was that the doorbell?
Adam turned off the shower and listened. When it sounded a second time, he turned the water back on for a quick second to finish getting the soap out of his hair and then grabbed a towel.

"Hang on a second! I'll be right there." He called the words out into the hallway and took a sniff of the air that flowed in around the paneled door. Ah. It was David. He must just be off his shift. No problem—he'd wait for a few minutes. He probably wanted to talk about how Vivian was chasing after him. Adam had noticed it all day yesterday. Yeah, she might have lost a sister, but nothing would keep that bitch from her goal of running a pack. And if she couldn't have Adam, what better way to stay close to the family than with his brother? Thankfully, she was no match for Bonnie in his brother's heart. Quickly pulling on a pair of underwear and clean jeans, he ran his fingers through his hair and headed to the door barefoot, using the towel to finish drying his arms and neck. He opened the door and was surprised to see not only David, but Lucas and Tommy waiting.

"Hey guys. Afraid you caught me in the shower. I was just getting ready to head down to the club. But I could have grabbed a cab. You didn't have to come get me.”

Lucas looked serious, possibly even more so than he did the night before, and all three of the men had such a mixture of scents—none of them good—that Adam was a little taken aback.

"Can we come in? Something's come up." The elder wolf's voice was flat and his eyes were filled with furious intensity.

"Jesus! Something
else?"
He stepped back quickly, adjusting his balance as one damp foot slid a little on the polished linoleum entry. "Sure. Of course, come on in." He glanced into the living room and winced a little at the mess. The suitcases were still strewn on the couches from where he'd dumped them after David brought him home, and a stack of mail and newspapers was spilling off the coffee table.

"Sorry the house is such a pit. I haven't really had time to do much other than sleep since I got in.”

They walked past him without comment and stepped down into the small living room. Adam closed the door and followed them with the towel around his neck, picking up the suitcases so they could sit. As he put them on the floor next to the hall closet, he motioned with his chin toward the open doorway behind them. "Hey, I've got a pot of coffee in the kitchen that's probably finished brewing by now. Why don't you guys grab a cup while I finish getting dressed.”

David nodded. "I could use some caffeine. It was a long night. Go ahead, bro. I know where you keep everything.”

Five minutes later, he was dressed and had brushed his teeth…twice. There was nothing quite like extra garlic pizza sauce to make his mouth feel like an army tramped through it the next morning. Everybody was seated around the living room when he stepped back in and he noted David had fixed a cup for him. He sat down in his favorite recliner, took a sip of the sweet, creamy coffee and took a deep breath. "So, what's the scoop this time?”

Tommy and David both turned to Lucas. He dipped his head and closed his eyes briefly, and the anger and frustration that rose from him was tinged with sorrow. "Josef is dead.”

Adam nearly spilled the coffee before it got to his lips. "What? But the healer said he'd be fine…ready to stand trial in a week or so. What happened?”

"Murder
happened…while our backs were turned. We should have posted a guard at the clinic. You said it yourself—what if Josef was supposed to check in at a certain time? We worried about them scattering before we could arrest them, and didn't think about the alternative— that they might take him out before he could wake up and spill the beans.”

"Shit. Did we lose anyone else…any of the staff, during the fight?”

Lucas started to tap one finger on his cup and his response both relieved and worried Adam.

"No fight. Nobody remembers a damned thing. I talked with both healers and the nurses. It's as though a ghost came in and injected the venom. We're definitely dealing with a pro— no prints, nothing on the video monitors, not a single one of Josef's hairs out of place. It was only the smell that gave it away at all.”

The word
venom
grabbed Adam's attention, especially after what had just happened to Cara.

"You said
venom.
Did someone smell a Sazi snake when they checked on Josef? Was it rattlesnake venom? Has anyone checked?”

Lucas shook his head, but David raised his brows. "Not rattler venom, but we're not certain of the exact species yet. It is definitely in the viper family, though, possibly an asp. No, the scent that gave it away was concentrated cinnamon oil. Someone was trying to
cover
a scent, so I ordered the body not be moved until I could go through the room. I did a mind-link with my mate, Tatya, and she noticed an odd bruising in one of the wounds. The venom was injected in an existing wound. It's similar to a method employed in another case recently. I'm checking into that angle with the snake councilman, Ahmad al-Narmer. Why did you think rattlesnake?”

He told them what happened to Cara yesterday and how the rattlesnake had been going to bite her to get information. "Of course, that brings up a rather uncomfortable subject to me." He took a deep breath and looked at all three of them in turn. "The deputy with Cara managed to get the snake off her by using the sheriff's truck to
literally
run them over.”

Tommy let out a short whistle. "Whoa. Brutal. But I'll bet it worked.”

Adam took another sip of coffee and let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh yeah. It worked. Fer sure. But that happened at around one twenty yesterday—" He let the statement hang to see if anyone else would pick up on his reasoning. Tommy didn't react, but then he hadn't been with them at the time. David winced.

Lucas nodded slowly and let out a breath. "She pulled on your magic and you're feeling the result. So, you're thinking you're mated then? That's going to change a few things.”