“I’m really impressed, Jackson. Who taught you to swear so much? It must have been the crash. It rattled something loose in your head.”
“Maybe,” I replied, hunting down a laptop bag from Gerald’s closet. “I’m stealing this laptop, since you lied to me about having one set up for me. Also, maybe not. It could be that I just don’t give a damn right now.”
“I’ll file it as temporary insanity. I’ll just be quiet now.”
“That’s a fantastic idea.” I hid my grin by leaning over the laptop as I packed it away. When I stood, I settled the strap over my shoulder. Tomorrow, I’d make a little more effort to be properly polite, once I felt like I was making progress doing something important. With Lyle working the case, I could focus all of my attention on figuring out how I could help find Evelyn and the others, even if it meant ditching Gerald to do it.
He’d understand. He would do the same if it were Maggie out in the wilds.
Chapter Seventeen
The lights were on when we reached Gerald’s house. Six cars were parked in his driveway, leaving just enough room for him to squeeze into his garage, which was filled save for his spot.
“Are you having a party?” I asked, heading to the still-opened door to gawk at the Porsche, which looked brand new. Before I could go admire it, Gerald caught my elbow and pulled me towards the house.
“Leave the pretty car alone,” he chided.
Freeing myself from his grasp, I ran my hands through my hair, wondering where I was going to find the energy to deal with a bunch of people. “Answer the question, Gerald.”
“No, I’m not having a party. I opened up a hotel in my house,” he replied. “And anyway, you know how rowdy us Canadians can get. We’re real party animals.” Gerald headed up the stairs to the kitchen hallway, pausing at the top to stare down at me. “If it were a party, dear old friend, there’d be music and cops.”
I arched a brow at him. “Next time you have a party, you better invite me.”
“Sure, you can play the bartender.”
“Maggie must love your parties.”
“She’s the one who throws them.”
Shaking my head at the thought of little Maggie staging an affair so noisy that the cops were called to restore order, I followed Gerald into the house. “I’m telling her that you implied she’s a party animal.”
Gerald whispered, “She is.” After kicking off his shoes, he tiptoed into the kitchen. “Quietest party ever.”
“Why are we whispering?”
“I thought that was obvious. We don’t want to wake anyone up.”
“Is that a risk? You have like twenty guest bedrooms upstairs on the other end of the house.”
“Four,” he corrected.
“Fine, four.”
“Basic math, Jackson. I’ll forgive you since you’re on so many medications. There are six cars in the driveway, two extra in the garage. There are probably bodies on the couch.”
“You really did start a hotel.”
“It seemed necessary after a certain jerk crashed his plane in the bush.”
I leaned against the island, glowering at him. “Not my fault. I wasn’t piloting and it wasn’t my plane.”
Gerald sighed. “I know. It wasn’t his fault, either. This doesn’t go beyond you and me, but the news on the wire is that the plane was sabotaged. That was one of the calls I took when we were at the hospital. How was the plane sabotaged? I haven’t been told, just that it was something dealing with the fuel tanks. The black box was intact and showed that the fuel levels dropped dramatically, which killed the engine. From what the investigators have told me, you got lucky. With so much as a single fuck up on Richard’s part, even the Fenerec might have been killed in the crash. That he happened to be able to ditch the plane in a lake was only the first bit of luck. He did everything right, which is why you’re alive to talk about it.”
Rubbing my temples didn’t drive away my headache nor did it make it any easier for me to accept what Gerald was telling me. “You’re seriously telling me someone sabotaged the plane.”
“Yes, sir, I am.”
“Any idea who or why?”
“There’s nothing official, not yet. I have a guess, and you’re not going to like it.”
“Hit me with it, Gerald. What do you suspect?”
“I think your dress-up-like-your-brother scheme worked a little too well and someone tried to get rid of him permanently. With the mess in Oconee, plus the fact that there’s still folks in your network who think you bit the bullet, it’s entirely possible someone wanted a little good old fashioned revenge and got the wrong Anderson.”
Annoyed at the thought of having been caught up in my brother’s problems and enraged at the idea that someone was trying to kill him, I grabbed my hair and pulled on it. “I have never wanted to kill so many people in my life as I have this week.”
“Got to find out who did it first.”
“Is this one going through the court system?” I demanded.
“Unfortunately. It’s for Richard’s sake as well, since the plane did crash. He needs cleared so he can retain his piloting license.”
I swallowed back my desire to curse. “So I can’t shoot them?”
“Sorry, Jackson.”
“That’s insane. So after all of this, he’s going to have to fight to keep his license?” I couldn’t keep my disbelief out of my voice. With my worries about the three Fenerec still loose in the wilds, adding the stress of how to break the news to Richard was enough to make me want to scream and throw something. Instead, I drew a deep breath. “I could use some whiskey right now.”
“Relax, Jackson. He’s pretty much cleared now. He won’t even have to show up for a review, not once the investigators are done. He crashed the plane without damaging property and everyone on board survived. It’s cut and dry for him. With proof of sabotage, he won’t have any problems at all. Leave the investigative work to me. I’ll make sure it’s nothing more than a minor inconvenience at best. It’s time for you to have your evening dose of medicine. We both could use some sleep, seeing that everyone else seems to already be down for the night.”
“Sounds good.” While I disliked taking so many medications, I obediently tossed back all ten of the capsules. “Are you sure the doctors aren’t trying to kill me with these?”
“I’m pretty sure. Give them ten minutes and you’ll be feeling fine.”
“Look at me,” I complained, pushing away from the island to follow him upstairs. “I got my very own drug dealer and everything. I’m moving up in the world.”
The girls had deemed the guest bedroom closest to them as mine. Ruth’s floppy-eared bunny was sitting outside of the door with a pink ribbon tied to its neck. Gerald bent over to pick it up, chuckling softly. Handing it to me, he opened the door. “Looks like Sir Rufus Fuzzybottom is staying with you tonight. It’s a rule. I have him at least twice a week. I recommend you wake up before Maggie, else there will be photographic evidence. And should Ruth wake up before you, and you are not clutching Sir Rufus Fuzzybottom, there will be the wrath of a young child to pay.”
Tucking the bunny under my arm, I joined him in soft laughter. “Your warning is noted.”
I made it half a step into the bedroom before I noticed the little red wolf curled up on the pillow, one of her front paws wrapped in a white bandage. The tip of her tail covered her nose, the long hairs rustling with her breath. Evelyn clashed with the pink bedding, more evidence that the girls had been responsible for the decoration choices in the room.
“Oh, she’s pretty, just like a fox,” Gerald whispered, giving my back a companionable slap. “If she’s anywhere near as gorgeous as a human, you are one lucky man.”
For a long moment, all I could do was stare, terrified that if I moved or looked away she would disappear. I swallowed back the lump in my throat. “She is. I am. Who found her? When? How—”
“Settle down, Jackson. It’ll keep until the morning. I’m too tired to explain everything, not that I know everything, and I thought it’d be a nice surprise for you to see her for yourself. Go curl up with your lady and get some sleep. I’ll fill you in tomorrow. Richard and Vicky are also somewhere in the house, or so I’ve been told. Richard broke his arm, but it isn’t serious.”
I looked at Ruth’s rabbit, unsettled by the thought that Gerald might not be comfortable with so many Fenerec so close to his children. “Are you okay with this?”
“Okay with what?”
“So many Fenerec in your house.”
He grinned at me. “Are you serious? They’re guests. If anything, I feel more secure than normal. Fenerec guard dens to the death. My girls couldn’t be safer, not with all of their protective instincts riled up. I pity any idiot who tries to do something stupid under this roof. Do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut. You have that baffled, trying to figure out how to thank me expression on your face. I didn’t do anything. Thank Nicole and Amber in the morning. They’re the magic workers. I’ll tell you this much, though: Evelyn was beelining her way in this direction, probably trying to get to you. That should make you feel a little better about things.”
After giving me a shove into the bedroom, he closed the door, leaving me to stare at Evelyn.
Throughout our whispered conversation, she hadn’t moved at all, her breaths slow and even. I slid my feet across the floor in my effort to keep quiet, kneeling on the carpet beside the bed, resting my elbows on the mattress. She didn’t stir as I worked my fingers into her fur. Someone had shaved her throat, and pale lines marked where she’d been cut. The injuries were mostly gone, although I could see discolorations in her fur where she had bled.
I stroked my hand down the curve of her back, blinking away the burn in my eyes. While there was plenty of room for both of us on the bed, I couldn’t bring myself to disturb her. I remained where I was, touching her to reassure myself that she was real, safe, and next to me.
~~*~~
I couldn’t sleep.
With Evelyn hurt, I didn’t want to close my eyes. If she needed me, I wanted to be awake. My restlessness drove me to pacing like a caged animal, Ruth’s Sir Rufus Fuzzybottom held under my arm. I don’t know why I carried it, but there was something calming about holding the rabbit. Finally, I set it beside Evelyn on the pillow, hoping it would give her pleasant dreams.
I dared to sit on the edge of the bed, once again digging my fingers into Evelyn’s fur to reassure myself she wasn’t a drug-induced hallucination.
A knock at the door startled me to my feet. Hurrying so the noise wouldn’t disturb Evelyn, I yanked the door open.
Amber wrung her hands in front of her. “Nicole needs your help with Richard.”
Slipping outside of the room, I closed the door behind me so we wouldn’t wake Evelyn. “What’s wrong?”
She wrinkled her nose, and with a shake of her head, she replied, “He’s a stupid stubborn mule of a man who won’t believe us when we tell him you’re fine. He broke his arm, and he’s too jumpy to let anyone look at it, not even Nicole. He’s convinced he needs to be out looking for you. What a ridiculous man. Once he confirms you’re fine, he’ll quiet down.”
I winced. “I’m sorry.”
With a puzzled look on her face, she took hold of my elbow and nudged me in the direction of the staircase to the first floor. “For what? How dare you, not being a Fenerec and lacking relative invulnerability. Give me a break, Jackson. It isn’t your fault that he’s a pig-headed Alpha. He shouldn’t even be a human, but no, he had to go try to be heroic earlier. Did Gerald tell you what happened?”
“No, he didn’t. He said it could wait until morning.”
“You were in there probably in a panic wondering what was going on and how you were supposed to protect your little lady. Typical,” she muttered. Halting at the door leading to the basement, she drew a deep breath. “Okay, here’s the short version. Richard brought Evelyn and Vicky into the pack because Evelyn was freaking out. They were convinced you were either dead or dying; they couldn’t tell because there were so many smells and a lot of blood. They couldn’t reach you, and the only way Richard knew to help you in the slim chance you weren’t already dead was to go get help. Bringing them into the pack allowed him force Evelyn away from the plane.”
I groaned, leaning against the wall. “This sounds like a disaster in the making. If Richard doesn’t kill me, Evelyn will.”
“Hardly. It gets better. From what he’s told us, about twelve hours after he herded the ladies towards civilization, Evelyn broke free of his control, turned tail, and started running. Richard and Vicky were hard-pressed to keep up, especially with him hobbling on three legs. Vicky ended up in several skirmishes with Evelyn to slow her down enough to keep Richard from falling behind.”
“Great, they’re fighting on top of it?”
“If you think that’s bad, it gets even worse.”
I covered my face with my hands. “Go on.”
“Evelyn tried to cross the 417 at rush hour. She caused a pileup, got smacked by a car, and ended up knocked out cold. At this point, Richard panics and does the absolute worst thing possible.” When Amber didn’t continue speaking, I started making guesses.
None of them comforted me.
“He changed into a human, didn’t he.”
“He sure did. You’d think Canadians had never seen a hot, naked man before.”
I couldn’t help it, I started laughing at the mental image of a naked Richard, two wolves, and a multi-car pile up on the highway. “On the highway with a pair of wolves? Please tell me it doesn’t get worse.”
“Oh, it gets worse.”
“And this is the short version? Go on. How could this possibly get worse?”
“They arrest him for indecent exposure and being on the highway as a pedestrian. They also nailed him for the possession of two exotic animals. As if that wasn’t enough, he got charged with threatening a police officer. From my understanding, he told them if they even thought of hurting his wolves, he was going to rip their spines out of their assholes.”
I winced. “Ouch.”
“That’s the short version. So, he was released, is now frantic with worry, and I have no idea how he’s going to react when he sees you—or if he’ll mistake you for your brother. He’s not exactly coherent. Nicole told me to tell you that if he tries something stupid, she’ll zap him and put him in his place, but she really thinks it’s better to let him have his way. She thinks he’ll do what he did to Vicky and Evelyn, which involved him getting all close and personal to make certain they were okay. Alpha Fenerec can be stubborn and possessive, especially when they or a member of the pack is injured. You qualify. As a final warning, Nicole said you’re pretty stubborn yourself. Let the Wookie win.”