Breaking Out (25 page)

“Whatever. Now, step aside because my buddies
and I are going to take the female to our alpha. We have
orders.”

“Ms. Turner is not going to be happy with you
when the WPC gets involved in her business because you’ve kidnapped
another kelpie. She’s already been reamed for the first one, the
prisoner you had no right to hold.”

“He killed two of our pack.”

“You know that’s a lie. I know that’s a lie.
The WPC knows it’s a lie.”

“I’m not lying. They were chopped to
pieces.”

“That’s true, but they weren’t members of
your pack and they weren’t killed by the male you held
prisoner.”

“I think we’ll be taking both of you with
us.” They took another step forward so I chose that moment to drop
my disguise, halting them in their tracks so fast, two of them
stumbled.

If I could get Ivy out of here without
resorting to violence or messing with their heads, I would, but I
also had to make sure these three weren’t going to spill the beans
about us thinking the pack might be involved. I was positive the
Catalina alpha had been complicit in two murders, so this was a
situation that needed handling by the WPC.

“Who killed those wolves?” I asked, allowing
my skin to glow just a tiny bit and my voice to lower the way Fin’s
did when he was throwing off power.

“Holy crap. What are you?” All three of them
were backing up, but I didn’t want them running off to report just
yet.

“Stay where you are.” The sound of my voice,
the resonance, froze them in place without me going into their
minds. I’d seen Fin do it but…
Huh.
That skill could come in
handy. “Who killed the wolves?”

“S…some guys the alpha’s mate hired.”

“Ms. Turner hired humans?”

“No, a few wolves from out of town—hit
men.”

“She’s hired them before.” Another wolf
said.

“From what pack?”

“They don’t belong to a pack.”

“Loups?”

“Yeah.”

How’d they get the chela?” Only blank looks.
“The weapon. The big claw.”

“From one of her people.” He pointed at
Ivy.

“Did any of you have anything to do with the
murders?”

“None of us. We’re not high enough up the
chain.”

“You should thank the stars that’s the case.
Did you really have orders from your alpha to bring in the
girl?”

“No. We were just gonna…take her somewhere,
have some fun and leave her. We wouldn’t have hurt her. She wanted
it.”

Another lie. They would have killed her. “If
you want to keep your skins, you’ll stay in town tonight. I’m
calling the WPC and they’ll be hitting Catalina with a squad.
You’ll be questioned, and if you’re clean, you’ll be placed in
another pack. Don’t think about calling your alpha or anyone else
on Catalina. I’ll know if you do.”

I stepped closer. Their heartbeats picked up
speed. “And if I ever hear that any of you has hurt a female of any
species, I’ll come after you.”

Without turning back or taking my eyes off
the wolves, I held out my hand to Ivy. Her light touch calmed my
own racing heart. I led her back to the street and home again.

“Jay, Rylen.” I shouted after opening the
door.

“Whoa. I almost don’t recognize you, it’s
been so long.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Look in the mirror.”

In the heat of the moment I’d dropped the
redheaded guy for the real me and then forgot to change back. No
wonder they were so freaked out. My redhead was only around 5’10”.
I grew almost a foot right before their eyes.

“So this is the real you, huh?” Ivy
asked.

“Yep.”

“Well, now you really look like a fae
lord.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Is your mom a brunette?” She touched my
hair. It was pretty long.

“Blonde.”

“Short?”

“No, 5’9” or so.”

“Then you look like her.”

“I wish.”

“He does, don’t listen to him.’ Jay had come
into the bathroom too. Now three of us were squeezed into this
small room.

“The shrimp is suffocating.” Jay picked her
up and sat her on the counter. “What were you thinking, Ivy?”

“Your boss and I already had that
conversation.”

“You’re staying in the house until…”

“That part too.”

“When you’re trained…”

“Ditto.” They were both laughing.

“Well, he better not have told you this.” And
Jay kissed her.

“I’m outta here.” I squeezed out the door,
almost bumping into Rylen.

“I did not realize that the toilet room was
also used for meetings.”

“Bathroom.”

His eyes doubled in size when he got a good
look at me. “Lord.” He knelt.

“I’m nobody’s lord. I’m Charlie—your boss, if
you want to stick around, but only if you call me Charlie.”

“I do indeed wish to stay.”

“Fine. I’m calling my uncle again.” The poor
guy just got off a plane, now he was going to have to get back on
another. Maybe he’d luck out and they’d send another representative
and let him rest. “Rylen, you call your dad and tell him to check
out Tellek as a possible chela thief, but don’t let Tellek know
he’s being investigated. Have someone search his room when they
know he’s going to be out for a while.”

“Yes, lord.”

“Rylen…”

“Yes, boss.” Rylen walked toward the
office.

“Jay,” I called out.

Jay poked his head out of the bathroom door.
“Nothing’s going on. We’re talking.”

“Uh huh. You need to be working. Call the San
Gabrielle Mountain pack and tell them we may have found their two
wolves. Be gentle, but be honest. Someone will have to come to
identify the bodies.”

“What about me?” Ivy asked.

“Call Tellek. Tell him you want to meet him
on land. You have something important to discuss with him.”

“What? He’s the last…”

“Do it. Arrange a meeting for early tomorrow
morning. Just after dawn would be good.”

“Okay, boss.”

“You learned the magic words. Good.”

She mumbled something under her breath, which
I ignored. Jay and Rylen finished their assignments while I was
still on the phone with Aaron. “Hold on a sec., Uncle Aaron.”

“Could you cook something, Jay? I think we’re
going to have guests tonight.”

“There’s no more room.”

“There’s plenty of room.”

“This is feeling more and more like a mob
operation.” He headed off to the kitchen. “C’mon Rylen. It’s time
to teach you to make Lasagna.”

“I would be pleased to learn such a
thing.”

Jay shouted so we’d all hear, “Hope you all
like garlic, ‘cause I’m dosing it up heavy.”

Jay liked to cook, so I knew Rylen was in
good hands. Ivy was looking a little pale, however. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Tellek will meet us at 6 am on the
usual dock. He won’t come alone.”

“Neither will I.” I took her hand, shooting
her a little touch of healing energy. “The wolves freak you
out?”

“Me, nah.” I arched an eyebrow. “Well,
yeah.”

“You were brave. You did good.”

She smiled full out. “Thanks.” I bet people
didn’t tell her that too often.

“Go help Jay.”

“You sure?”

“You can make a salad, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Just stay away from the stove.” I got back
on the phone. “Sorry. I had to get the troupes organized.”

“Hi Charlie, this is Kathy. Aaron left
already. He’s bringing Franklin and another WPC rep.”

“Cool.”

“You’ll see him soon. Night.”

“Good night. Say hi to Sammy.”

“I will.”

“Jay we have three wolves coming, so make
sure there’s leftovers. They probably won’t get here for a few
hours.”

“Okay.”

I sprawled on one of the large new couches
that had been delivered this morning, compliments of Aaron.
According to him, our very empty place had looked like one of those
refugee shelters filled with desperate people sitting on the floor.
The couches were both pullouts, which got Jay and Rylen a better
night’s sleep. The smaller couch had been moved to the office,
where the delivery guys had assembled a desk and an office chair.
There were boxes everywhere, waiting to be unpacked, filled with
more blankets and sheets, cookware, glasses and plates and any
other household necessity you could think of.

My two male companions had continued to
insist that Ivy take one bedroom and I take the other, and I only
argued for a minute or two. To be honest, I was grateful to have a
place for some alone time at the end of the day.

The main meeting place would be the kitchen,
now furnished with a good-sized oak table and eight chairs. Back
home in Crescent City the kitchen was always the heart of the
house, a place to eat, but also to plan and debate and sometimes
argue. Mostly laugh.

Jay was in heaven with all his new high-end
cookware and appliances. Sometimes I think he liked working around
a stove more than in front of his laptop or in his dad’s lab. From
my place on the couch I could hear them all chatting and laughing,
chopping and banging pots and pans. It was the best sound ever, one
that brought back good memories. Feeling more relaxed than I had in
days I closed my eyes and thought about what had gone down with the
wolves.

I hadn’t messed with their minds, and I
hadn’t used any violence. That alone made me proud of how I’d
handled the situation, and I figured Garrett would’ve been proud of
me too. Kennet would’ve killed them on the spot and walked away
without regret. I wasn’t like him, at least not today.

But the fear was still there, an icy spear in
my gut. If I was angry enough, if I lost control, if I let my guard
down, I could destroy lives. I rubbed my scar, remembering some of
the talks I’d had with Isaiah about abusing power. He’d said I had
to trust myself, accept that I had the magic to destroy on a large
scale, but to know I would make the right choices. I’d been raised
to understand the value of life, all life, not just supernatural.
He was sure no matter what the circumstances, I’d be strong enough
to stay in control.

Let that be true.

IVY

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Charlie was
sleeping on the couch when Aaron and his escort arrived.

Aaron covered him with a blanket like he was
his dad or something. It made me think of my dad, now working as a
servant to pay off our debt. “He looks beat. We’ll let him sleep.
What’s cooking?”

“Italian sausage, garlic bread and my world
famous lasagna.” Jay beamed with pride.

“Is it as good as Kyle’s?”

“Better.”

“We’ll have to see about that.”

Aaron had arrived via the lines with a female
fae. Rylen and I introduced ourselves but this fae wasn’t anything
like Charlie. She watched Rylen and me like we were aliens,
untrustworthy. And she was so tall for a female—I hated the way she
looked down at me. She was dressed in a thick tunic, skinny pants,
and high leather boots that looked like she could kick the crap out
of you. Of course, she wouldn’t need to ‘cause she also carried a
sword like she was going off to fight the Vikings or something.

She’d seen me looking at her sword. She
pulled it out, the sound of the metal scraping against the scabbard
was creepy. I wondered how many people she’d killed with it.

“Would you like to see it up close? It is
extremely sharp.” I was completely tongue-tied. She laughed,
whipping it around a few times, then slipping it back in its
scabbard—where it should stay.

I decided that I could eat later and that now
was a very good time to take Samson for a walk.

It was chilly by the water, but I never
minded and neither did Samson. Because of the cooler temperatures,
the beach was almost deserted: the couple of lifeguards I saw were
wearing jackets and not busy saving lives like they usually
were.

Humans could be careless around the ocean,
not aware of the strength of the tides or the dangerous creatures
just off shore. There were unseelie other than kelpies, who liked
to catch humans unaware, stealing their strength then watching as
they drowned. Often the lifeguard would see them struggling and
save them, but sometimes they got there too late.

I sat down on a large piece of driftwood, a
tree limb that had fallen into the sea and then been washed up onto
the shore. I threw a stick and Samson chased it, his tongue hanging
out. He was such a clown at times like this, but when he was in
protect and defend mode, he was nobody’s clown.

The wind had picked up so I pulled up my
hood. I should go back. I mean, she hadn’t threatened me or
anything. She was just…beautiful and tall and powerful and skilled
and beautiful and Jay had hugged her, like they were old friends.
Which they might have been, only he hadn’t ever mentioned the
bi…the fae. I’d already forgotten her name—on purpose.

I took off my shoes and socks and dug my toes
into the sand. I wanted to stay here, in this realm, forever, but
my dad and my sisters needed me. I’d have to go back. But not
tonight. Tonight I’d go back and eat Jay’s famous lasagna and joke
around with everyone and all would be good. I stood up to call
Samson back. He was way down the beach chasing seagulls.

That’s the last thing I remembered for
awhile.

I woke up, naked and freezing in this
pitch-dark room. I only knew it was a room because I crawled along
the floor to feel all the walls. There were four. Maybe there was a
door, only I couldn’t find one. I screamed for help, I cried, I did
jumping jacks to stay warm, I cried again, more jumping jacks. I
was hungry and so thirsty, but no one came. I had no idea how long
I’d been there, all I knew was that if I didn’t get some water
soon, I’d pass out. Kelpies weren’t built like humans. We needed a
quart of water at least three times a day to survive.

I started to shiver more violently from the
cold; only I couldn’t find the strength for any more jumps.