Emily's Captive (A Lilly Town Shifter Novel Book 2) (5 page)

Paul, Emily, and Bill were all standing around
the dining room table, looking at a huge map of the
United States. Paul was marking every compound he
knew of.

He was still a little skeptical about Zeke
actually being Stacy’s abductor. It was possible
it was someone in the organization, maybe someone
who was pissed off at Emily or someone who was
trying to make an impression. There was no
guarantee this would even work though, and that
worried him. He had studied her, knew a lot about
her. He knew about Stacy and how Emily felt about
her. Emily would destroy everything in her path
until she had her sister back.

“So there’s one in the mountains here,” he
said, pointing to Washington State.
“Isn’t that where the shifters were kept? The
one we took down?” Bill asked.
“Yeah, but he might have re-built. That was
his family home,” Paul answered.
“Okay, where else?” Emily asked. She had been
rushing him ever since they’d pulled out the map.

“Here, about a hundred miles from the city,”
Paul said, pointing to Nevada. He looked at the
map, trying to remember where other compounds were.
It had been so long since he’d been to them, and
some he’d only seen on a map.

“Are there more?”

“Emily, calm down. Let the man think,” Bill
growled. Paul was guessing Bill was as annoyed as
he was.

“Fine,” Emily said with a huff.
“Can I get some water?” Paul asked her.
“Wha…? Sure,” she grumbled and walked out.
“You wanted her gone, didn’t you,” Bill said
with a smile.

“I just needed a moment to think,” Paul said,
taking another few dots and placing them on the
map.

“I figured.”

Paul thought of a few other places while Emily
was gone and marked them. It was amazing what you
could think of when someone wasn’t talking in your
ear. Emily walked back into the room with a bottle
of water and a frown.

“I remembered a few more places,” Paul said,
taking the water from her.
***

Emily was pissed. She knew she’d been sent on
an errand to get her out the room. Was it so bad
she wanted her sister back? She didn’t think it
was too much to ask. She wanted her back safe and
sound. She knew she was being a bitch about it,
but wouldn’t anyone?

She will admit that hearing Paul say he’d
thought of a few more places did help calm her.
The more they knew the better. But she knew she
would stay on edge until they found Stacy, and she
couldn’t help it. She was worried.

“Good! Now, which ones do you think are the
most likely?” she asked. She knew she was being
harsh, but she had to be. If she wasn’t, they
might drag their feet on the whole thing, and Stacy
could be stuck in that hell for even longer.

“The closer ones are the most obvious, but
knowing Zeke, he wouldn’t keep her there. My guess
is he’d keep her some place off the beaten path,
but that’s also where he liked to keep his
compounds. I would start a few states over and go
from there. And you have to keep in mind, that’s
if he’s still in charge. I shot him in the back.
Someone else might have taken the reins while he
healed, or he could be dead.”

“Okay. Well, let’s start with this and hope it
gets us somewhere. Which one should we hit first?”
Emily said, looking at the map. There were a lot
of dots on the map. She hadn’t realized the
Hunters were so big. She figured it was a group of
a few hundred men; this looked like an army.

“I’d start with West Virginia and see what we
find.”
“Okay, when do we go in?” she asked.
“We have to figure out a few things first, then
we’ll go in,” Bill said.
“Why?” Emily asked.

“Because we can’t go in there half-cocked. We
have to be prepared. We will get her, but I don’t
want to lose you in the process,” Bill said. He
looked over at Paul. “I want you to put a list
together and figure out which compounds you think
are the most likely. And I want you to do it
alone.”

“Sounds good. I should have it for you soon,”
Paul said with a smile.

Emily knew they were excluding her, and she
knew why. It was logical, but she wanted to be
involved in every step of the search.

Zeke’s voice was starting to go hoarse, but he
was still talking to the girl. He didn’t know why
he was telling her everything, but he felt he
needed to. He took a sip of water before
continuing.

“The military was the best thing that ever
happened to me. I learned discipline and control.
I had a lot of friends there and a lot of them
followed me here. I killed many people in Vietnam,
and that has helped me learn to cope with killing.
I don’t like killing people, but if it saves a
life, I’ll do it.” The girl didn’t react. He
thought she might show some kind of emotion when
she heard that. Most people did.

“I started doing what I do when I was in the
military, actually,” he went on. “They know
nothing about you, but there was a shifter in my
squad. He just went mad and killed everyone. I’m
not sure how I survived, honestly. He gutted me.
I guess I was just lucky. They all said I was
hallucinating, but I knew I wasn’t. They couldn’t
figure out how a lion got into our camp, but they
all said it was a freak accident. I saw him
change, though. I knew what he was.”

Stacy felt bad for what Zeke had gone through.
She had heard of some shifters going mad. They
couldn’t control their animal, and it just kind of
took over. It sounded like that might have
happened. Maybe the stress from the war had caused
it. She also knew you couldn’t blame an entire
race for what one person did. If that were true,
then she could say that, because Zeke had captured
her, she could go ahead and kill the human race.
That would never work, though. She’d be killed
before she got very far.

“I killed my first shifter a year later. It
had taken a while for me to track one down. I
didn’t know what I was looking for. Anyway, he was
in his wolf form and eating a rabbit. I wanted to
kill him before he decided to go after a human
next. He didn’t attack me. He just looked
confused. I felt really bad about killing him, but
I just kept thinking about that attack. I knew
they all had to die.”

She was getting disgusted. She didn’t know how
much more of this she could take. She didn’t want
to hear stories of him killing her kind. Was he
torturing her with horror stories just to get her
to react and attack him? Was he trying to scare
her? What was the point of all this? Stacy put
her head on her pillow and covered up. She hoped
he’d get the hint and leave her alone. He didn’t
seem to, so she closed her eyes and let his voice
lull her to sleep.

Bill had to get back to the bar. He wasn’t
looking forward to it, but he was the boss, so had
to be there. Mike was working and would have
covered for him, but he didn’t like him being there
too late: the man was getting ready to have a baby
and Lucy was being very demanding.

He had no idea such a sweet woman could turn
into a needy lunatic while pumped up on hormones.
She wasn’t really that bad, but Mike had to watch
her. She liked to do things she shouldn’t, like
lifting her box of new books and moving furniture.
She needed almost constant supervision just to make
sure she didn’t do anything stupid.

“Hey Bill,” Mike said when he walked into the
bar.
“Hey.”
“You look like shit.”
“I’ve been dealing with something,” he
grumbled, running his hand over his head.
“Need any help?”
“Nah, I think it’s under control.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind, let me
know.”
“Thanks,” Bill said, and got a rag to wipe down
the counters.

Bill was able to keep busy. Apparently half of
Lilly Town had had a bad day and needed to hang out
at the bar. It was good to help keep his mind off
of Stacy. Thankfully, it was getting close to
closing time.

Bill poured another beer when he smelled a
wonderful smell. Lexi was standing at the bar,
talking to Mike. He moved a little closer, wanting
to hear her voice.

“She’s doing fine. She sent me out a few times
for food and cooked up a storm, so be prepared for
food when you get home.”

“Great,” Mike groaned. He had been telling
Bill that Lucy had been cooking so much he’d had to
start handing it out because they didn’t have the
room for it. He was joking about getting a second
freezer just for her cooking.

“She went to bed about an hour ago and I needed
a drink after chasing her around and practically
force-feeding her,” Lexi said with a sigh.

“She was that bad?” he asked.
“Yeah! She spent the day either cooking or
writing. This new series she’s started has really

gotten her hooked. I’ve never seen her so bad.”
“Well, here’s a drink on me,” Mike said, and
poured her a shot.
“Thanks,” she said, and slammed it.

Mike walked away with a smile and Bill went
over to talk to her. “What’ll you have?” he asked
her.

“A getaway car?” she asked sarcastically.
“Sorry, can’t help you there, but I can get you
some alcohol,” he said with a smile.
“Gin Martini,” she said, and put her head on
the bar.
“On the house,” Bill said as he mixed her
drink. He walked over to Mike.
“I can’t believe she was that bad,” Mike said
to Bill.

“You didn’t tell me Lexi was still here.” He
thought she’d gone back after her visit the
previous week.

“Oh, she thought she’d stay and help out with
Lucy. I don’t think she realized how bad it was.
I don’t know what I would do without her,” Mike
said.

“How long is she staying?” Bill asked.

“A few weeks. Then she has to get back for her
job. Her mom’s going to take over to help with the
baby. Why?”
“Just wondering,” Bill said.

“Just ask her out already. I’m sure she’d say
yes,” Mike said.

“I don’t think she’s ready,” Bill said, and
walked away. He didn’t want to have that
conversation again. That, and he had too much
going on. He didn’t need Mike talking about Lexi
to add to his stress.

“Well, go talk to her at least. She liked you.
I can tell, and I think you’d feel better if you
did,” Mike went on. Bill nodded and walked over to
her.

“Hi again Bill,” she said with a smile.
“Hi. I just wanted to see how you were. Mike
said you’d been taking care of Lucy.”

“Yeah, she’s exhausting. I love her, but I
don’t think I’m going to be helping a pregnant Lucy
after this baby.”

“That bad, huh?”

“She needs a bib for one. She ends up with so
much food over her. And I don’t know how she eats
so much. In one day, she’s eaten a whole pizza, a
roast, like the entire drawer of veggies, two boxes
of cereal, and four bags of chips. I know she’s
eating for herself and the baby, but I don’t think
normal pregnant women eat that much. The
surprising thing is she’s still thin, well, other
than the baby belly.”

“Well, pregnant women eat a lot and the baby is
taking a lot from her. Maybe she just has a hungry
little guy in there,” he said with a small laugh.

He wanted to tell her why Lucy was eating so
much, and to tell her everything else. He would
give anything to have someone to talk to, but he
knew he couldn’t do that. He actually thought Mike
and Lucy would have told her, but it wasn’t his
business. That would explain a lot of what Lucy
was going through. When a woman is pregnant with a
shifter baby, they always have to eat more and have
more mood swings.

“How long are you staying?” he asked.

“Not too much longer. I have to get back to
Lucy,” she said with a small smile. He could tell
she was tired.

“I meant, how long are you staying in Lilly
Town?” he asked.

“Oh,” she laughed. “Maybe another two weeks.
I have an audition for a movie. I have to get back
for it.”

“Wow!” Bill said in surprise. Well, one sister
was a writer – why shouldn’t the other be an
actress?

“Yeah, I didn’t plan on doing it, but a friend
of mine talked me into it.”
“Well, good luck,” Bill said, and turned to
leave.
“A… are you busy? I mean, can you sit for a
few minutes?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said. He was surprised she asked.
Mike said she liked him, but he hadn’t really
believed him.
***

Lexi didn’t know what she was going to say when
Bill sat down in the chair next to her. She
honestly didn’t think he’d actually sit. She
didn’t think he even liked her. He barely said
anything to her, and even when he did, he was
pretty much grunting. But for some reason, tonight
he wanted to talk to her, so she wasn’t going to
complain.

“So, what movie are you auditioning for?” he
asked.

“An action movie. I don’t think I’ll get it,
but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try,” she said
with a shrug.

Lexi never thought she was very good at acting.
She preferred talking to people and getting to know
them, not being chased by a bunch of fans. What
she really wanted to do was own a club or
something. Something where she could meet new
people every night, talk to them, and have fun.
She loved doing that.

“I think you’ll get it. You’re beautiful, and
from what I can tell, an amazing person. You’d be
great,” he said with a smile.

Lexi wished he’d do that more often. It made
him look a little less dangerous. He wasn’t the
normal guy she was attracted to. She liked the
clean cut guys with the perfectly gelled hair and
clean shaven face. Bill was rough around the edges
and bald with a lot of tattoos. One of them looked
new.

“Did you get a new tattoo?” she asked.

“Huh?” he said, looking down. “Oh, yeah.” He
pulled his sleeve down so she couldn’t see it any
more. She had seen only part of the flower. It
wasn’t something she would expect to find on
someone like Bill, but she didn’t understand why he
was hiding it. They sat there silent for a minute.
She didn’t know what to say to him.

“How do you like the town?” he asked.

“It’s not bad. Not my type of place, though.
It’s too quiet. I like the noise and busyness of
New York.”

“The quiet’s not so bad. I used to live in DC
and I loved being there, but after I got used to
the quiet, I realized that Lilly Town really was a
nice place. I still go to DC occasionally, but
something about a small town and knowing everyone
is comforting.”

“I never thought of it that way,” she said with
a smile. Maybe she could come to love it here, if
she decided on moving. Maybe if things didn’t work
out with the movie, she’d move here and be a livein nanny for Lucy. No, she might not be able to
handle Lucy. It was hard enough while she was
pregnant. She couldn’t imagine being there with a
baby screaming and Lucy trying to juggle five
things at once.

“I’m glad I could open your eyes. Lucy would
love to have you here. I think Mike would too. I
love Lucy, but I hear things from Mike and well, I
just don’t know how he does it.”

“What’s she done?” she asked.

“She flooded the bathroom when she turned on
the water to take a bath because she was writing
something down for a story. She didn’t realize
until it was almost dripping on her.”

“Wow!” Lexi laughed. “That does sound like
something she’d do.”
“It’s a good thing she makes good money. It
cost a lot of money to repair.”
“I can imagine.”

“Mike flipped out when, a week after they found
out she was pregnant, she skipped two meals. Well,
replaced them with Skittles. He literally forced
her to sit down and eat. He over reacted a little
on that one, though.”

“Sounds like it,” she said with a smile.

“She also got in big trouble when she couldn’t
reach something, so climbed on a chair. She fell
off and broke a toe, so I had to stitch up her
foot. That’s when Mike decided she needed a
babysitter.”

Lexi laughed. “Yeah, that’s our Lucy. I guess
that’s why Mike called me a few weeks ago and asked
me to come out. Who did he end up getting?”

“He talked his mom into it. She decided to
work on the book they’d talked about doing
together.”

“Good. Then at least she didn’t feel like she
was being watched. I’m glad,” Lexi said with a
smile.

“I want you to know that if you ever need
anything, you can call me. I know Lucy and Mike
are going to be busy with the baby, but I’m here.”

“Okay, thanks,” she said. She thought maybe he
was being a little too intense, and she didn’t
really plan on taking him up on that offer, but it
was nice to know she had someone she could turn to.

“Well, I need to get back. Don’t be a
stranger,” he said with a smile and stood up.

“I won’t, and thanks.” Lexi was amazed. They
had actually had a conversation. A real one, with
no grunting involved. She wanted to have another
one with him and soon. Maybe she was going to have
to come back soon and visit.

***

Paul stood at the dining room table with the
map spread out in front of him. He was trying to
think of the most likely places Stacy would be
kept. It was hard because things in the
organization changed so much. For all he knew,
half of these compounds had been abandoned and
replaced with new ones. It wasn’t likely,
considering Zeke’s injury, but it was still
possible.

“How’s it going?” Emily asked as she walked
in.
“Weren’t you supposed to not be here while I
did this?” he asked.

“I just thought I’d bring you some coffee. You
seem to like it a lot,” she said with a smile. He
knew she was a little upset about Carrie. He
couldn’t figure out why, but he wasn’t going to
question it.

“I do like coffee. If I could, I’d drink it
all the time,” he replied.
“Well, it’s a good thing I’m a caffeine addict
then, because there’s always some in the kitchen.”

He watched Emily walk over to his list and
study it. He wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like they
could go immediately. They had to figure out a
plan and get a team in. Then they could go in on
their horses and save the day. “Thanks,” he said,
and took a sip. “Perfect.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll let you get back to work.
Let me know if you need anything,” she said with a
kind smile and left. She must be up to something.
That woman never gave a sweet smile. She was
probably buttering him up so he’d finish faster.
For all he knew, she’d put some extra stuff in the
coffee to make sure he worked faster.
***

Richard watched as the girl sat on her cot, her
body facing away from Zeke. However, he could tell
she’d started listening to the old man ramble on.
He had no idea why, but maybe she was just bored.
It had to stop, though. He didn’t want Zeke
getting attached. If he couldn’t break her, she
would die. He was starting to regret showing her
to Zeke.

***

Stacy sat on her cot and listened to Zeke. She
was starting to like listening to him talk. In all
the unknown and craziness, he was comforting.

“I’ve never had a relationship. I don’t know
why, but it never happened. I guess I was too busy
or didn’t find anyone I wanted to be with. Well, I
shouldn’t say that; there was a girl when I was
young. I was madly in love with her, but was too
afraid to talk to her. I think she’s married now,
has kids, and even grandkids. After her, I just
didn’t see the point. I wasn’t exactly the best
choice out there.”

Stacy wondered if he really was that bad of a
guy or whether he was just reacting to the attack
on him. He had a reason to hate shifters. He was
being a little extreme about it, but he wasn’t just
killing for the sake of killing. He thought he was
protecting people.

“After her, I just never met anyone. I didn’t
want to. I just concentrated on my work. I didn’t
want to have anyone who could be used against me.
That’s what happens when you love someone, they are
used against you. That’s why I didn’t want anyone
that special to me.”

She wasn’t ready to talk to him, but she
wondered if she could convince him shifters weren’t
all bad. Maybe soon she’d get the courage to talk
to him. She just hoped this wasn’t all a ploy to
get information from her. She’d wait just a little
longer to see what happened.

“I had a friend once. He betrayed me. I
trusted him and he switched sides. He was my
second-in-command and he decided he didn’t trust me
anymore, so he sided with the shifters. The ones
who kill people.”

She wanted to tell him that he was wrong, but
she wouldn’t talk to him. She wouldn’t allow
herself to get caught up in that. Instead, she
just stayed where she was, facing the wall and
trying her best to ignore him. She hoped he would
go soon. She didn’t like him being there. Not
while he was talking about shifters being the
enemy.