Torn From the Shadows (20 page)

Willow pressed her elbows against the tabletop and leaned forward. “So your father can also become a dog?”

“Yeah. My dad’s Australian with Irish ancestry—which is where I get the pooka gene from—and my mother’s Japanese.” He paused for a moment. “I don’t think he told her what I would become until my first change, but she accepted me for what I am.”

“Wow, you’re Japanese? Too bad your mother didn’t give you a cool anime name.”

“Oh, she did,” he said, rolling his eyes. “My full name is Michael Takumi Dunn.”

“That is
so
cool.” Willow was beaming with excitement.

“Pookas can shift whenever they need to, usually to enjoy their surroundings and let their animal explore. But more often they shift when they feel threatened.” Papan turned to Michael. “So what are you running from?”

“I don’t get scared easy, but I was taken. My parents probably think I ran away but I didn’t.” He looked down at his hands, trying to shield his unshed tears.

“They’re not sure whether you did or not,” Papan said. “But it did cross their minds because you’ve done it before, right?”

Michael looked up, staring at the wolf. “I didn’t mean to, the animal just likes to get out sometimes. My father told me to push the sensations away, that we could run once a month, but that’s not enough for me. I didn’t run this time, though.”

“Papan, what do you know about this?” I asked, because he’d answered Michael’s concern about his parents as if he had firsthand knowledge.

“Remember the meeting I had the other day for a new case?”

“Yeah.”

“The reason the meeting went for so long is because I wasn’t taking on one client, it was a group of parents.” He stared at Michael and leaned back in his chair.

“Okay,” I said, waiting for him to continue.

“This group consists of a bunch of parents who are concerned about their missing pooka children.” Papan took a quick sip of coffee and held onto the mug. “Twenty kids, ranging from the age of seven to seventeen, have disappeared during the last three months. Some didn’t come back from school, or didn’t return from a friend’s place. There were no witnesses, they vanished without a trace.”

“My parents are with this group?” Michael asked. “That’s how you know.”

Papan nodded. “They’re worried sick about you.”

“What do you think happened to these kids?” Willow looked sad, concerned.

“I’ve been hired to figure out what happened, and hopefully find the kids.” Papan polished off his coffee and dumped the mug on the table. “Michael, tell us what happened.”

“A man and a woman cornered me in the park while I was chasing birds and drinking from the pond. The woman had a tennis ball. When I’m pooka, tennis balls are my weakness, so when she threw it into the bushes I couldn’t help but give chase. I didn’t see the man hiding—not until he injected me with something.” He looked away, at the kitchen window. “When I woke up, I was inside a cage in some dingy room.”

“Were there others kids there?”

He met Papan’s gaze. “There were heaps of cages and most of them were filled with kids. Whenever someone changed back to human, the man would return to poke them with a syringe. I don’t know what was in it, but it was some nasty black stuff.” He shivered. “Whatever it was kept us stuck in our animal forms.”

“What did they want with you?”

“I don’t know. Most of us were kept in cages, though I did notice some kids were taken and never came back.”

“So whoever is doing this knows the difference between animal, shifter, and pooka,” I said.

“How did you get away?” Willow whispered, and I could see her watery eyes. She could probably relate to Michael a lot more than he realized.

“One night when the woman came to take me away, I bit her and ran.” His eyes were as watery as Willow’s. “I wanted to help the others, to set them loose so we could all get out together, but I couldn’t unlock any cages with my paws. So I ran and didn’t look back.” Tears slid down his cheeks. “I made sure to sniff as much as I could along the way. I wanted to shift back to human so I could call the cops or my parents, but I just couldn’t change. No matter what I did, I stayed a dog and when I spotted you”—he looked at Willow—“and you paid attention to me, I thought maybe I could find a place to stay for a while. Until the drugs wore off…”

“We’ll help you,” Willow said, reaching across the tabletop to take his hand. “Won’t we, Sierra and Jason?”

“Did you go to see your parents?” I asked.

He nodded and took a while to answer. “I didn’t want them to see me like some helpless animal, so I didn’t approach.”

“Before I contact your parents, I need you to take me to the other kids,” Papan said. “But there’s no reason why
you
can’t call them if you want. I’m sure they’d appreciate knowing you’re okay.”

Michael looked at him. “I’ll help you and
then
I’ll go home. I want the other kids to be safe too, so it’s best if I don’t give my parents false hope yet.”

“No. You can’t make him go back there.” Willow shook her head defiantly. “What if those creeps see him and try to take him again?”
 

“There’s no other way.” Papan’s eyes were filled with rage. “I need to get all those innocent kids out of there, and make sure these assholes are caught.”

Michael squeezed Willow’s hand. “It’s okay, I can do this. I have to do this.”

“Do you want me to call Gareth?” I asked.

“Not yet. First I need to scope out the area.” Papan turned to look at Michael. “I don’t expect you to guide me to their front door, I just need you to point out the house and I’ll take care of the rest.”

The pooka boy nodded.

“You can’t do this alone,” I said. “I’ll go with you.”

“There’s no way you’re getting involved in this. Not when there are so many people already trying to get their hands on you. I’m not going to add a couple of animal traffickers to the list.”

“Is that what you think is going on?”

He shrugged. “Fox, I have no idea what’s going on. But I do know that if these kids are being taken and drugged to be kept in their animal forms, these people must have a use for them. And I intend to stop whatever it is they’re doing.”

“But you’re a wolf. Can’t they do the same to you?”

“They won’t see me coming.”

I sighed because just like the conversation we’d had earlier, there was no way to talk him out of this. “Fine, but as soon as you get there you have to call Gareth.”

“I don’t think the police should be involved yet,” Papan said. “How can we explain this situation to them? It’ll look like we’re saving animals, not children.”

“Okay then, I’ll just call Gareth. He can arrest them and you can get the kids out—”

“I’ll deal with this my way.” The shine in his eyes was defiant. After his altercation with Gareth, it looked like he wanted to keep his distance. “Michael, are you ready to head out?”

“What, you’re going now?” Willow stood, Michael’s hand slipping from hers. “You can’t expect him to deal with this right now. He needs to rest.”

“Willow, calm down,” I said.

“I want to help!”

“You can’t.” I tried to talk some sense into her. “This is too dangerous for—”

“Fine!” She stormed off, disappeared downstairs and slammed her bedroom door.

Michael looked from me to Papan, uncertain. After all, he didn’t know any of us. We’d just met.

“Don’t worry about Willow, she’ll be okay.” At least, I hoped she would be. “Why don’t you go and talk to her, to make sure?”

He looked appreciative and left the kitchen.

“Shit like this shouldn’t happen on Sunday morning,” I whispered.
Or ever.

Chapter Nine

I held onto him so tightly, Papan actually grunted under the pressure. Why did this feel like goodbye?

“I’m going to miss you so much,” I whispered against his chest. The constant drumming of his heart against my cheek made everything worse, too real. This didn’t feel the same as him going back to his place—it was totally different.

“I’ll be back before you know it, and I’ll keep in touch.” His hands were wrapped securely around my waist, cocooning me. “You have no idea how much I’ll miss you.”

“I think I do.” I groaned. “Do you have to leave so early?” It was only eleven, which I considered early on a Sunday morning.

He kissed the top of my head. “The sooner we sort this out, the sooner I get back.”

I tilted my head enough to meet his gaze and found myself drawn into a soft but passionate kiss. It felt good, but something about it seemed so final.

“Are you sure you don’t want to give me the address?” I’d asked him the same question several times since our conversation with the pooka ended a few hours ago. He claimed it was too dangerous for me to know the pack’s location. So Oren had been right—wolves didn’t appreciate outsiders knowing their business and Papan was sticking to their rules.

“It’s safer if I don’t.” He pulled out of the hug, holding me at arm’s length. “I’m going to solve my latest case, rescue those innocent kids and sort out this Pack mess in one clean sweep.” He leaned closer to my ear. “And I’ll be back to enjoy your company before you get a chance to miss me. You’ll see.”

Something inside me twisted. From my experience, things rarely went according to plan and I couldn’t help but expect the worst. The uneasy, cold sensation in the pit of my stomach didn’t help.

“Just get back quickly, okay?” I squeezed his fingers before they slipped from mine. “I love you.” Now that the sentiment was in the open, it was easy to get the words out.

“Love you too, Foxy Lady,” he said with a wink and slapped my ass. “Did you wear these old clothes to make it easier for me to leave you?”

He was referring to my ancient stretchy jeans and faded sweatshirt. “You bet! Nothing says don’t miss me like ratty clothes.”

Papan said, “It didn’t work.”

Warmth spread through my lower abdomen. I really wished he wasn’t going anywhere. “I’m wearing these because I’m meeting Lavie for a little sewer-demon hunting later on.”

“Ah, that explains it.” He straightened, touched my cheek and stepped closer to the van. “Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m away.”

“I promise not to look for any,” I said, with my fingers crossed behind my back. I had a few other things I wanted to do with Lavie’s help.

“Yeah, that’s the problem. You don’t
need
to look for it.” Papan shook his head and waved at the teenagers, trying to get their attention. “Michael, let’s go.”

Michael was chatting with Willow by the front door, and neither knew that in the back of the minivan—Papan had ducked out and borrowed it from his demon friend again—was the unconscious Vixen. The less they knew the better.

The former werewolf-hunter-turned-canine refused to answer any of the questions I threw her way. She’d laughed and tried to taunt me, while screaming to be let out of the holding circle. In the end, I’d had to dope her up again—this time with a stronger dosage.

I still had no idea why she’d shot and killed Henry, or how long she’d been shifting.

Papan might actually be saving her life by taking her away, because she was eating at my nerves and sooner or later I would probably put her down.

“Michael!” Papan called, shaking his head.

The two teens waved at each other and Michael headed in our direction. His movements still held a certain amount of rigidity but weren’t as stiff as before. At least he was talking just fine now. Willow didn’t look too happy about him going back to the place that had scared the hell out of him.

“You know the plan, right?” Papan asked before either of them jumped into the van.

“Yeah, yeah. I point out the house and get back here before anyone sees me,” Michael said, annoyed. “I don’t understand why I can’t help you.”

I looked up at the front door, but Willow wasn’t there. Guess she didn’t like long goodbyes and had gone back to her room. I expected her to mope after this.

“It’s too dangerous,” Papan snapped.

“More dangerous than what I’ve already been through? I doubt it.”

“Look, Michael, I called your parents earlier and although I didn’t tell them I’d found you yet, I did say I had a lead. They were very excited. The last thing I want to do is disappoint them by losing you again.”

“Okay, fine.” He grunted something else under his breath and jumped into the passenger seat.

Papan dug his hands into my hair and pulled me in for a severe but breathless kiss. He pulled away as quickly as he’d drawn me in. I barely caught my footing and could only watch as he jumped into the driver’s seat and started the van.

“Be good,” he called out the window.

“You too,” I whispered.

“Stay away from the cop.”

I nodded.

“And stay away from that phantom.”

I waved and watched as Papan backed the van out of the driveway, leaving me feeling more alone than ever.

As I turned back toward the house, a shiver raced down my spine—like a bad premonition—but I shrugged it away. I had my own plans for today, consisting of as many things as I could jam into it so I wouldn’t dwell on Papan. The last thing I wanted to do was think about all the things that could go wrong. The plan was for Willow to stay inside the house and wait for Michael to return, then she would call me and I’d know everything had gone according to plan.