The Way Home (13 page)

She heard the whirr of something in the air the second before she was struck in the lower back. Susan cried out, unable to keep on her feet. There was a second impact to her shoulder. She hit the ground face down and knew that it had to be Rick behind her.

“You stupid fucking bitch,” he was breathing hard; at least she'd made him work for it. His foot connected with her side. Pain spiraled through her, but Susan swallowed down the cry because she'd seen the look on his face when he'd kicked Caro to death. He'd enjoyed every whimper and moan. “I was going to keep things nice for you. I wanted you to be comfortable your last days. Just remember, you did this. This is all on you.”

Susan fought back as best she could when he wrestled her arms behind her back and bound them with zip ties. Her feet received the same treatment. Rick delivered several more kicks, all to sensitive areas like her kidneys and ribs. The pain was enough to make breathing hard, the position she was in made it more.

Footsteps approached. “Need a hand?” Michael's voice was distinctive enough to make Susan's stomach clench hard. Fear flooded her.

“Take her to the barn, to the cages. Make sure that she's kept quiet.”

“Any way I want?” Michael sounded delighted at the prospect.

“Dose her,” Rick told him sternly. “Be sure to search her thoroughly.”

Michael let out a laugh. “Can do, Boss. Can do. Maybe after I get her nice and settled in, we can talk about when I get to go back to Center City and finish what I started?”

“Do you think I've forgotten about the one you lost? Do you know how much money I lost when her buyer wasn't able to finish her off?”

“You should have told me she was one of those. I'd have treated her a lot differently if I'd known that she was a chameleon.” Michael countered. “She's got to be dead, some little mouse or something eaten by an owl or whatever.” Susan held her breath, she could feel the tension rising between the two men. It was a good thing, at least for her.

“Or something and whatever, that's the best reason that I've ever heard.” Rick's voice had no trace of humor in it. “In case you missed the demonstration earlier, I have no tolerance for something that I own trying to get cute. Now, get her back to the house.”

Chapter Twelve.

Houdini heard the knocking on the door, he just didn't care. Instead of getting up and answering, he rolled over and pulled a pillow over his pounding head. Instead of taking the hint and going away, whoever was on the other side of the door tried the knob, and he heard the rustle of keys. What the fuck? That got him up and out of the bed. He wanted to see just who had the balls to try and use a master key on his room.

He yanked the door open, glared at Adelaide on the other side. “What?” He demanded. If it had been anyone else, he'd have added a few curses and insults, but he always felt a soft spot for the pretty pregnant woman.

“I need to talk to you, right now. Would you please put on some pants?” She didn't wait for him to answer, simply slid past him into the room.

“I was sleeping.”

“You were passed out, either from the Jack Daniels or the weed, and I realize you're probably feeling shitty. Suck on this.” She took a foil wrapped candy from her pocket. “Trust me, it'll help.”

Houdini took the candy from her, she knew her shit when it came to remedies. He unwrapped it and tasted it. “Fuck me, that's the most vile thing I've ever tasted.”

“But it'll work.” She kept her gaze averted from him, so he reached for a pair of sweat pants and pulled them on.

“Alright, you can look. This shit better work, I think shit might taste better. Anyway, what's so important that you're here, banging on my door?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Talk,” Houdini replied. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for her to speak.

“I got a package today. Caro is dead.”

“You expect me to be sad about that?” Houdini couldn't care less what happened to the traitor. As far as he was concerned, she was dead to him the moment that she'd betrayed them. He found a bottle of water next to the bed, went over and grabbed it.

“She sent me two envelopes. I only opened one.” She reached into her pocket and pulled it out. “You need to look at it.”

“I don't really give a shit what she has to say about anything, and neither should you. Fuck her. I hope she died bloody and hard. She betrayed us, Adelaide. She's got blood all over her hands, innocent blood.”

“But you want to see this, trust me. Please, just look.”

“I'm going back to bed,” Houdini shook his head. “And taking these sweat pants off again, just so you know.”

“Don't try and scare me away. It's about Susan.”

“Don't talk about Susan. Get out. Get the fuck out.” It had been three weeks since he lost her. At first he'd woken up every morning sure that she was going to come walking through the door or call, it had to be a mistake, but he'd gotten over that as quickly as he could. Pity parties weren't exactly his thing, so he kept to himself and did everything that he could to track down The Hunters.

“You don't understand. This isn't about her being dead, it's about her being...”

“Shut up about Susan. Get out, Adelaide. Get out now.” Houdini's hands were clenched into tight fists. No one had pushed him into talking about Susan after he'd punched Eddie in the face for bringing her up.

“No. I will not go, and I will not shut up. Look at it, Houdini. Just look at it.” She pulled a photograph out of the envelope. “Please, just look at it.”

It was hard not to when she was shoving it in his face. Houdini took the photo, looked at it and felt everything inside of him run cold. “What the fuck is this? Some photoshopped shit?”

“Look at the time and date stamp, Houdini. It was taken seven days ago. That's Susan, seven days ago. She's not dead. It wasn't her.”

“It's a trick, Adelaide. One last mind fuck from the woman who betrayed us all.” He snarled the words, anger so hot and furious rolled through him, but he couldn't look away from the picture. It was a clever fake and her hair was different, shorter.

“It's not a trick. It's the truth. I know it is. I saw it. After I saw the picture, I saw it.” Adelaide grabbed his hand and squeezed hard. “I saw it.”

Houdini went still.
“What?” As far as he knew the last vision that Adelaide had was also of Susan when she'd first disappeared. And that hadn't really been a vision from the way she explained it, more of a flash.

“I saw her. She's alone and scared but she's still alive. She's still alive and she needs you. She needs you more than you could ever realize.”

“What was in the other envelope?”

“I told you, I didn't even open it. I opened the picture, saw what I saw and then came in here.” Adelaide looked up at him. “Houdini, I....”

“Are you lying?” He reached out, grabbed her arms and knew that his grip was tight when she winced, but he couldn't soften his hold any more than he already was. “Are you telling me the truth?!”

“Yes. I'm telling you the truth. I swear it.”

“You'd better mean it, because if this is all a lie and she's dead, I'm going to come back here and kill you. I won't give a flying fuck that you're pregnant. So, I'm going to ask you again. Are you telling me the truth?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes on his.

Houdini released her arms. “Go and get the other envelope, Adelaide.” He turned his back to her but heard her open and shut the door. His attention returned to the picture. Susan alive. It couldn't be, but if Adelaide had seen it, well, he had more faith in her visions than he did in most things.

She was alive and he'd packed away her things. They were in boxes in the closet. He couldn't look at them day after day, just sitting there waiting for her when she was never going to return. Now she was coming back, and he'd packed her away. What had he been thinking? What would she think when she came home and saw what he'd done? It wasn't just boxing her things up and putting them away; a lot had happened since they'd found her body.

If it wasn't her body, whose body had in been? Why had her necklace been there or her clothes? Why hadn't it ever occurred to him before that her death could have been faked? If Rick was the driving force behind The Hunters, it was very possible that he blamed Susan telling him who she really was on changing his life. Had he orchestrated a death scene so that they wouldn't keep looking for her? And had he fallen for it. They all had.

Fuck.

<#<#<#<#<#

“The latitude and longitude are within the state park, on the opposite side of where we've been looking.” Houdini tapped the screen. “We won't know what's going on until we get eyes on it. There's nothing that far out that I can tap into. I called Mason, he's close, and he's going to go have a discreet look to see what he sees.”

The second envelope in Adelaide's package had been a listing of coordinates for the next hunt as well as a letter from Caro explaining why she'd done what she'd done. He hadn't given a shit about her explanation, but the coordinates filled him with a feeling he couldn't even name.

“This could be a trap,” Lina pointed out. “Why should we believe anything that Caro says? She's a traitor and a liar.”

“And she realized she'd done the wrong thing. I think that this is her way of trying to make it right, or at least that's my take after reading her letter. You're all welcome to read it.” Adelaide sighed. “I'm not excusing what she did, but this is going to help up take down The Hunters. We've got to give her credit for that.”

“Whatever. We'll know more when Mason checks it out.” Houdini got to his feet. “If there's any sign that the info is correct, I say that we get up there. Get into position and show these fuckers what it's like to be hunted.”

“It's only only about seventy-two hours until the moon, so if that's the place, they'll have to be there setting up.” Vera caught her lip between her teeth. Houdini knew that besides him she'd taken Susan's loss the hardest. For the better part of a week, Vera had stayed locked in her room at Rose's house, unable to process losing her best friend. “I say we go now, why are we waiting? It's just wasting time. Let's go.”

“Vera,” Deacon spoke up, “you're not going with us.”

Houdini was as surprised as she looked at the announcement. In the months since she'd changed, Vera had become one of the most valued members of the Strays; along with the rest of them she'd thrown herself into any situation that might involve The Hunters. She was a good fighter, with every indication one day she'd be great. He'd been showing her some boxing before they left Wyoming.

“Before you flip out on me,” Deacon held up his hand, “we need people to stay here, to protect the town. You're good with them, really good.”

“Bullshit,” Vera had jumped up from her seat while he was speaking. She stalked towards Deacon, eyes narrowed with obvious anger. “This isn't about you needing my people skills. You don't want me in the fight.”

“Vera...”

“Don't even try it, I know that's what it is, and you know it even though you've been doing your best to block me from it. I'm not staying here. No way. I'm going. I'm fighting.”

Houdini knew that this was going to disintegrate into an all-out fight, which was par for the course with the two of them lately. Maybe it was the tension, the never knowing when the other shoe was going to drop, or maybe it was them truly getting to know each other. It was easy to forget that they hadn't been together that long, just a little over six months.

“You're not going.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, buddy, but you don't own me or tell me what to do. I'm going.” Vera stood up to her full height, which put her at about Deacon's shoulders. Houdini would put even money on them in a fight. He'd pull punches, but she wouldn't.

“Vera.” Deacon's words were a warning. Most of the room began to clear out; no one wanted to get swept up in this particular match. Houdini didn't want to, either, but he wasn't going to turn around and walk away until he knew what the hell that they were all doing.

“Enough,” he couldn't stop himself. “You don't want her to go, Deke, but you know more than anyone why she has to go.”

“Would you be so willing to send Susan into danger if she was pregnant?” Deacon rounded to face Houdini. “If she was pregnant, would you want her going?”

The idea of Susan pregnant made him remember the serious lack of protection they'd used in the weeks leading up to her being taken. Would he want her on the front lines pregnant? No. Hell no. But he knew, from experience, that a pregnant woman didn't like to hear that she couldn't do something simply because she was pregnant. “I wouldn't like it, but it would be her choice.”

“Thank you,” Vera said triumphantly. “I'm going. You can't stop me.”

“We need someone to drive the van,” Houdini pointed out. “Someone to wait outside and make sure that no one else shows up for the party.”

“Nate and Mike will be in the van with you.” Deacon did not look happy about it. “And you will stay in that van, or they've got my full permission to restrain you.”

“Yeah, no. That doesn't work for me. I'll be careful. I'm not stupid and I don't have a death wish. I'll be careful and I'll wear a vest, but I have to do this. I can't just sit back and watch while it goes down.”

“You're not in the first wave.” Deacon spoke through gritted teeth. “And we're going to have some long talks between now and then. Long talks.”

Houdini was glad when his phone rang. He knew that it would be Mason. “Come on, Man. Tell me something good.”

“What the fuck did you send me into?” Mason hissed the words into the phone. “I just barely managed to not get spotted. Got at least two dozen people, there's fucking tents and a bonfire. It's not just some locals looking for a good time, though. They've got some cages set up and two tractor trailers outside, which I'm guessing are full of people.”

“Are they guarded?” Houdini demanded.

“Of course they're guarded. There's two four-men teams, one team per truck, and from what I saw, they're not there just for show. You need to get up here. I already let everyone in the park know to meet up about five miles down the road, got to keep a distance. They've got Weres and Shifters here. I'm going to try to get some pictures, figure out the full scope of what we're dealing with.”

“Give us three hours,” Houdini told him. It was more like a four hour ride, but they'd make it in three—or at least he would make it in three. “Don't get caught.” He hung the phone up, slipped it in his pocket. “Looks like you're not going to have lot of time to argue about anything. We need to go. Now.”

<#<#<#<#<#

They were screwed. Houdini realized it shortly after they got there. Mason, always prepared like a boy scout, had taken pictures and uploaded them to his tablet. The woods weren't even clear, there were mines around the perimeter.

“At least thirty armed men that we can see. Civilians.” Houdini looked through the binoculars with disgust. It seemed that The Hunts were really a family affair for some. “Fucking families. Like this is a picnic or something.”

“I imagine for them, it is.” Lina handed over the binoculars to Shepard.

“We need to focus on the trucks. If we can get past the guard teams, get them started and drive them out of here we'll save a lot of people.”

“That's not going to be enough.” Shepard spoke. “Once we take out the teams and take the trucks, they'll know that something is wrong. At that point they could either fish or cut bait. They decide to fish, and then we're in the middle of an all-out war.”