Twisted (Rogues Shifter Series Book 3) (28 page)

Garrett spoke. “The last case involves vampires and is a personal challenge to me and my nest.
In the last century, Eleanor owned homes in two locations, Carmel and Lake Tahoe. An outside nest has moved into the Lake Tahoe area and bought the house next to Eleanor’s. The one in charge is a male named Nathaniel, approximately 200 years old. I’ve had dealings with him several times before. His home base is Reno, Nevada. As far as I know, the nest consists of four other males and three females.

"
They’ve issued a challenge. They want me to sell Eleanor’s lakeside villa and stay out of
their
territory.“ Garrett looked at Sasha, Heinrich and William and they all smiled back. “This could be fun, but I won’t involve any of the rest of the team. This is personal. Take a break and then we’ll make some plans regarding the Los Altos pack.

He looked at me, smiled a crooked smile and then walked out onto the patio, knowing that I was going to follow him.
I sent
, “You’d better not be grouping me with the not getting involved crowd.”
My eyes were boring a hole into the back of his head.

“Y
ou just got home and you need time to recover. You’ve only just begun to talk about...”

“Don’t even think about me not coming
. This isn't up for discussion. I’m coming with you. Juicy cases, remember?”
I’d stuck out my chin in defiance, but when I saw his concern, I relaxed and smiled at him.
“I'm fine now. I don’t need to talk to anyone. I want to forget it.”

“My love, I won't bend on this point. I'm going to find you a therapist who deals with cases like yours.
”

“
Cases like mine? There are no cases like mine." I was shocked by the anger in my voice, so I forced myself to bring down the volume. "Garrett, please, not now. Please. Just tell me I can come with you on these missions.”

“Yes of course you can come."
He motioned for me to sit next to him on the edge of the fountain.

Relief made me smile. I wouldn't be left behind while he went off with the team.
“Don't forget how I kicked Antoine’s butt.”
I moved closer, hoping he wasn't angry, craving his touch.

“Oui, ma petit
Joan d'Arc. I will never forget.”
He stroked my face, smiling, but concerned.

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, Monsieur,”
I buried my face in the hollow beneath his shoulder, forcing him to wrap his arm around my back. I grabbed his hand and pulled his arm even tighter, then tucked myself as close as I could. Hoping that he wasn't picking up on my needy behavior, I concentrated on acting more flirty. "I can't wait..."

"
Pour quoi?”For what? Garrett asked.

“Later
, when we're alone.”

“Ah,
oui, plus tard.”
He leaned into my neck and whispered,  "I think I should go back inside, before my fangs make an appearance.”

“Plus tard, monsieur.”

He laughed and I followed him, enjoying the view.

Chapter Fifty-three

Garrett: 11:00 PM Sunday

I was glad to see that Aaron and Ralph had arrived on time. Ralph greeted me and Jackie warmly, but Aaron picked her up and spun her around, planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"Jackie, you scared the shit out of us. Don't go running off again without permission." She
giggled and punched him on the arm, but he stopped smiling and snatched her hand, looking her in the eye. "Are you alright?"

She nodded her head and smiled, but her eyes weren't on board. "Yes. I'm fine now. Thanks for helping with the search."

Aaron glanced my way when she wasn't looking, definitely having sensed the same thing I had. Her reassuring words and her plastic smiles weren't hiding her pain from the rest of us. I sighed silently, resolved to getting through this meeting and then trying to convince my lovely angel that I should make some calls to get her a therapist. I'd give anything to have those skills, but I was too close to help her objectively.

I
invited them to sit down and eat something, and of course they did. Sasha and Heinrich only wanted to talk about the house and all the great ideas they had, like a weapons room and a communications room with the most high tech equipment and of course a pool and a hot tub—on and on. When Heinrich mentioned a helicopter landing pad on the roof, I just about choked.

“Gentlemen, we are keeping a very low profile in Crescent City. Helicopters coming and going at all hours do not fit into that scheme.”

“Fine. How about a tennis court on the roof?”

“What’s wrong with one in the backyard?”

“We’re going to have a soccer field back there.”

“Oh, and where are you going to get players?” I had to admire their creativity.

“Four vampires is enough: You can be on William’s team.” Rick grinned at me wryly. They figured I’d never win with him on my team.

“Not inviting the shifters to play?” Ethan was standing there looking curiously over Heinrich’s shoulder at the plans.

“I don’t think you or Sinc or Kyle could keep up with us.” Heinrich laughed.

“If we’re talking vamp speed, probably not, but Kyle’s a great player, and I’m a
pretty fair goalie. Sinc is fast and competitive and then of course,
we
have Jackie.” He grinned.

“You’re on
, cougar.” Heinrich turned to Sasha and a look that said "suckers" passed between them.

“I’ll watch.” Sinc was standing next to Ethan listening to the conversation. “Rob’s much better than me, and when he’s not around, maybe Bridgett can play, if she’s in town.” Heinrich snorted. “She’s a cheetah
, so give her a chance.”

“
When the field is ready, we’ll have a little game.” Sasha’s eyes glinted with excitement as he stared at Ethan, probably fantasizing about giving him a few bruises or broken bones.

“Sounds perfect
.” Ethan met Sasha’s gaze without flinching, anxious to deliver a few injuries himself.

“So what are the chances we can get you to wear one of those short cheerleader outfits?” Heinrich was eyeing Sinc appreciatively.

She narrowed her eyes and snapped, “About as good as you getting a tan.” She turned around and walked out onto the patio. As she left, Heinrich shouted, “There are spray-on tans.” Ethan was clenching his fists again.

I noticed Jackie follow her outside
just before Aaron grabbed me in a head lock. “Thanks for the food, Cuz.” He let me go before I had to hurt him. “So what do you think of the plans?”

“Looks great.“
We went over all the safety features with Ralph, then discussed some upgrades I wanted to make on the main house. “How’s Catherine and the pup? Aaron and Catherine had adopted a baby boy a week ago. Were females couldn’t carry a child because of the forced transition to wolf every month.

“Right now she’s exhausted and cranky and Sammy is healthy and happy. When are you two going to start a family? It would be great for our kids to grow up together like we did.”

“You know I can’t have a kid, Aaron. Plus, Jackie’s only seventeen and has made it very clear that she doesn’t want to be a mom.”

“She’ll change her mind. If you don’t want to adopt, all you need to do is ge
t your cheetah  nephew to donate some sperm and then you’d have your own little Cuvier cheetah. Nothing to it.”

“I haven’t spoken t
o my sister's family in one hundred years. They’ve written me off.”

“They don’t know you. Show up with Jackie in tow and they’ll fall in love with her and learn to tolerate you.” I barked out a laugh. “When they see what you’ve done with your life, they’ll forget all the other shit that went down. That was all about Eleanor anyway.” I looked at him doubtfully. “Cathy and I’ll come too
, with the baby. I’ll set it all up. A family reunion. Come on.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Think about what?” Jackie was back inside with her hand on my shoulder.

"That maybe you should keep away from the kitchen now that you have Liam
and
Bridgett to cook." She giggled and whacked him again. Seeing them laugh reminded me of times I’d had with Aaron growing up. He was a wild spirit, sometimes getting into terrible trouble. I was the cool headed boring cousin, but also the one he called when he needed to be bailed out or rescued from whatever situation he "couldn’t help" getting involved in. When the tables were turned, and I was forced into Eleanor’s nest, he became my most faithful ally, the only member of my remaining family to support me.

“I want him to pay a visit to his sister’s family. He hasn’t seen any of them for
over a century, and that’s not an exaggeration. They’re mostly out in Louisiana.”

She squeezed my arm affectionately and I kissed her cheek.“We’ll talk about it later, I promise.
Right now I have more work to do.”
I rounded up the shifters having already sent out a mental message to my nest to gather back at the table. I asked Sinc what she could tell us about her old pack, and although it was hard for her, she gave us quite a lot of useful information.

Quentin was the Alpha pack leader and Katrina was his mate, the Alpha female. They ruled with a firm hand and the pack prospered
financially under their leadership. Everyone knew their place and what was expected of them.  Adopted children were raised to become members of the pack. If they chose not to be bitten at eighteen, then they left and kept their mouths shut about the pack, never to contact anyone there again. The pack provided them with start up money and a decent place to live but that was it.

Becau
se Sinc was a shapeshifter, they’d entrusted her to Rob, never making contact again. The others who'd left were humans, going back into a human world which was unaware of the existence of supernaturals. The pack wanted it kept that way, so they kept a close eye on anyone who left.

Aaron found it odd that according to Sinc, only about fifty percent of the pack's adopted children chose to join as adults. He’d never had an eighteen year old
refuse to be bitten.

Sinc’s father, Jake, was the pack leader’s second. He was the en
forcer, the toughest badass wolf of the bunch, completely loyal to his alpha.  As tough as he was, he’d treated Sinc and her mom with great gentleness and affection.  When she’d shifted unexpectedly, he’d petitioned his alpha to allow her to stay in the pack. He felt that she could still be useful, since shifters are much better at stealth and reconnaissance, and Sinc in particular excelled in those areas. Also she was extremely tech savvy and bright, which could be used to their advantage as well. Quentin said no and that was the end of the discussion. There was no debating an issue in the Los Altos pack. She was gone and on the island with Rob and Kyle the next day. Jake sent her money every month and paid for her house and her car, but was never allowed to contact her.

As Sinc told us these things her face remained calm and her voice steady
, yet we could see what it cost her.  She’d been fifteen years old, happy and excited to turn wolf at sixteen with the rest of her friends. As a shifter she wasn’t good enough to remain a member of her pack, so she’d been kicked out, abandoned emotionally, if not financially. After her training on the island, Rob had kept her at his house along with Kyle until he felt they were ready to leave. She’d moved into the house provided by her parents, went to college, ending up with a masters in forensic science, working along with Kyle on cases that Garrett brought to them.

The three teens
who’d currently gone missing were human kids being raised by weres, all of them supposedly looking forward to the day they'd be old enough to undergo the painful process of becoming a werewolf and a full-fledged member of the Los Altos pack. They were twelve, thirteen and fifteen years old and were all boys.

Sinc gave us a full description of the pack lands and th
e surrounding towns. I was reminded once again of how extraordinary her mind is, as she remembered minute details most of us would have forgotten long ago. When we finished discussing the case and I dismissed the others, I took Kyle and Sinc into my office for a long overdue talk, asking Rob to join us as well.

I sat at my desk and they sat in the two chairs facing me, while Rob stood leaning against the window sill. I waited for them to start. I find that waiting quietly throws people off guard, making them blurt out things they might not have said otherwise when they’re made uncomfortable by the silence. So I waited and looked from one to the other.

Kyle shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Garrett, you know we can handle ourselves on an assignment.”  I waited, my full attention on him, and smiled inwardly as he turned to Sinc. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m really pissed off about Ethan, but I had no right to say what I said. I knew it would piss you off and I really wanted to—well, I guess I did want to punch you for hurting him. But I know it’s none of my business, so I apologize.”

Si
nc looked at Kyle, who was surprised to see a tear running down her cheek. “You know me as well as anyone does. You know I would have hurt him a lot worse later on. It’s okay if you want to punch me. I deserve it. I’m glad that Ethan has you and Jackie to help him out right now.” She wiped away another one.