Indirect Lines: Halle Shifters, Book 5 (12 page)

Chapter Twenty

“Are you sure you can get in there?” Casey Lee had his back to a wall as Barney picked the lock to the one area even Hunters were banned from.

“Trust me.” The lock gave way, and Barney grinned. “I’m an expert.” He’d already disabled the alarms and the motion sensors. Cutting the power wasn’t an option. A generator would automatically kick in and alert everyone still in the area. He’d triple-checked for any back-up alarms, but hadn’t been able to find any. Picking the lock to the back door had been the final thing needed to get inside.

“Derrick is with Carl?” He needed to make certain Carl was still being protected, as well as Darien. Darien had agreed to move in with Carl and his mate until all of this blew over, giving Casey Lee and Derrick fewer places to protect and patrol.

“Yup. He’s still pissed he lost rock-paper-scissors.” Casey Lee chuckled. “He always picks rock-rock-paper.”

Barney carefully pushed the door open. “Got it.” He tuned to Casey Lee. “Keep an eye out for me. Find a good perch, stay out of sight, and if things start to look bad you get your ass out of here. I have a legal reason to be doing this. You don’t.” If necessary, Barney would pull the Leo card and let Sebastian Lowe save his ass. He wouldn’t sit in shifter jail while the Senate went after his mate.

“I think I can get up to a good spot where I can see the building.” Casey Lee hefted a pair of binoculars. “I wanted to take my sniper rifle but Derrick talked me out of it.”

“We’re not here to kill, we’re here to gather intel.” Barney pushed Casey Lee’s shoulder. “Get in place, and remember the plan.”

“Right. You get the supposed hit list of white shifters, I keep watch on your furry ass.” Casey Lee saluted and ran off, his scent disappearing. He was using his Fox powers to hide his trail. Only Barney’s scent would remain in the area.

“Good boy,” Barney whispered. He snuck into the building and lit the small flashlight he’d brought with him. His night sight was the same whether he was using his human eyes or his Bear’s, so the flashlight was necessary in the dark building.

There was not a sound as Barney began walking through the room. The information desk was in front of him, a place where Senators went to find the materials they needed, whether it was paperwork or microfiche. There was library shelving everywhere, desks with computers and microfiche readers, and a small area with vending machines for when the Senators needed to take a break from researching the laws of the shifter world. Barney wasn’t certain what all was contained in the room, but this wasn’t the area he was looking for.

No. According to what Casey Lee and Derrick were able to discover, there was another part to the building, the basement. It was there the oldest records were kept, and it was there he’d find the lists of shifters who’d lost their lives. If Casey Lee and Derrick were right, not only would he find the death records, he’d find a list of special deaths, hidden away from the normal everyday records. It would take some time to find them, so he ignored everything on this floor in favor of making his way to the basement.

He eventually found the stairs hidden away at the back of the stacks. It wasn’t a secret entrance, but it was tucked into an alcove away from the rest of the room. He checked the knob, not surprised to find it locked.

Out came his lock picks, and in seconds he was on his way down. It was even darker down here, without the windows allowing the moonlight in. Once down, the layout of the room was similar to the one upstairs, but without the information desk.

This couldn’t be where the list was kept. It was too open, too obvious. No, it had to be somewhere else, where only the Senators involved could access it.

He searched the room, looking for hidden rooms or floor safes, but after two hours his search was fruitless. He stood in the middle of the room, scanning the shelves with his flashlight, ready to curse up a storm. This couldn’t have been for nothing, damn it. It had to be here. Casey Lee had assured him that his source was certain the list was here, safe behind locked doors.

Wait. Behind locked doors? Did that mean that one of the small offices in the room might have the list? Could it be that simple?

He began going around to the small offices he’d ignored earlier, finding all of them unlocked. Just in case he searched each, checking the desks for false bottoms, looking in filing cabinets and tapping the floor for any hollow areas where documents could be hidden.

Nothing. He was boned, and not in the good way.

If the documents weren’t here, they must be somewhere nearby. There had to be a place where no one would think to look, where they’d…

He blinked as his flashlight roamed across…

No. That couldn’t be it. But it was the only place he hadn’t checked.

Barney pushed open the door to the men’s room. He checked each urinal, flushing them, wiggling them to see if they moved. Nothing. The sinks hid nothing from him, and the soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers all acted normal. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Each stall had a toilet, but none of them had a tank he could inspect. There was nothing under the seats, or under the toilets themselves.

“They really need to clean in here more often,” he muttered as he inspected the last stall. When he was done he leaned against the tile wall, utterly exhausted. “One last place to check.”

He strode out of the men’s room and into the women’s.

Here there were no urinals, but more stalls to check. Again, there were no surprises around the sinks or dispensers, so he began to check the stalls.

In the last stall, the handicapped one, he found what he’d been searching for. One tile, when wiggled, slid aside to reveal a button. Barney pressed the button and stepped back as a three-foot-wide portion of the tile wall silently slid back and to the side.

A secret entrance, just as he’d thought.

It had been so cleverly hidden that unless you knew what to look for you’d never see the slight crack in the “grout”. Curious, he turned slightly and flushed the toilet.

Yup. It was a working stall. That meant that whoever used the room had to go in and out at night or risk being seen. Either that or so few people used it that there was no risk whatsoever.

He strode into the room, wondering what he’d find.

There was a single desk, a small filing cabinet, a bookcase and printer. A state of the art computer sat on the desk. He strode around the desk, hoping to see something that would indicate who used this room, but it was almost sterile in its lack of personal touches. There was nothing that would show who’d been there.

Barney grabbed the Scotch tape dispenser and some index cards. He might not be able to find out who used the room from pictures, but sure as hell there’d be fingerprints on almost everything. He began using the tape to try and lift prints, attaching the tape to an index card when he found one. He noted on the card where it had been found and the date and time.

He managed to lift about four partial prints before he realized he was running out of time. He needed to be out of here before whoever used the room discovered him hiding down here. The last thing he wanted was for the Senators to realize the archive building had been broken into. It would put the Leo in a very bad position, pitting him against the Senators before he had proof that some of them were conspiring against the shifter world.

He began to dig through the rest of the desk, finding orders with Vaughn’s signature on them. Vaughn was the Hunter liaison, and had been missing for weeks, but there was an order with his signature from days ago, ordering Casey Lee and Derrick back to the Senate for questioning by the Lion Senator, Holmes. There were other orders for other mercenaries, orders that made Barney’s blood run cold.

Other shifters were being hunted, killed in cold blood, without explanation. Just orders to do as told and not question. Whoever had set this up was a rat bastard of the first order, and Barney was going to kill the son of a bitch when he caught him.

He finished going through the desk and went to the filing cabinet, checking out the first drawer marked A-B. In the drawer he found names. Lots of names. Wren Bunsun was listed, with a special mark next to her name shaped like a star. Artemis Smith, Jamie Howard, and Chloe Williams-Woods all had the same mark, but it had been changed, almost erased. Ryan Williams, Keith Allen, Tiffany Allen and Heather Allen…

Fuck. A. Motherfucking. Duck.

Heather’s name was on the list, and she had the goddamn star next to her name.

His hands shook with rage. His mate’s name was listed amongst those who were targeted by the Senate. Could her attack at the age of ten have been an attempt to kill her rather than rape her? How far back did this go? And why those of mixed blood?

He had to focus. Heather would want that. He needed to figure this fucking puzzle out before he let his Bear loose on the entire Senate and simply removed the threat by force. Heather might not want that, but at least her little Hobbit ass would be as safe as he could make it. He’d sacrifice almost anything to make sure she was never hurt again.

Julian’s entire tribe of Kermode was also listed, as were those few Polars who still lived, but their stars had been erased just like Chloe’s.

He rifled through, noting the number of names with
.d
next to them. Deceased shifters? All of them had the star, and all of them were of mixed lineage. Almost all of them were children or teens. All of their deaths were listed as “accidental”.

There was nothing accidental about any of them. They’d been systematically destroyed for years, and from what he could see it had been going on for longer than Barney had been alive. Some of the records dated back to the Revolutionary era, when America was fighting for independence from the British.

White shifters had to come from those of mixed blood, from indirect lines. It was the only explanation that made any sense whatsoever. From the lost Arctic Foxes, to the almost extinct Polars and the Kermode Bears, there must have been far more white shifters before this purge began. Why did the Senate want them dead so badly?

It had to be the connection the white shifters had with the spirit world, but why would the Senate want that connection cut off? Had the spirits said or done something that the Senate didn’t approve of, and so they wanted to cut off the shifter world’s communication with them?

Or was there something more sinister going on? In the drawer he found the list of Lowes who’d ruled the American shifters since 1776.

Each Leo had an erased star, just like Chloe. Was it because they were confirmed white shifters? Was that what the erased star meant?

None of the Leos had been killed the way the other white shifters had been. They’d all lived normal, happy lives. The direct line of the Lowe family had wound up diverging a few times as the Leo wound up being born by a sibling or a cousin, but they always carried the name Lowe.

Was it because killing a Lowe would be too obvi—

Pain, the scent of blood, and darkness.

Chapter Twenty-One

Heather stared at the plane ticket that had been sent to her email address early that morning. The return address was Barney’s. The plane tickets were for her and Artemis to fly to Flagstaff, Arizona, on the noon flight.

Something wasn’t right. Hadn’t he told her to stay in Halle? So why was he sending her plane tickets? And why hadn’t he called to let her know he was sending them?

She tried calling his cell for answers, but it went straight to voicemail. She left a message telling him that she was on her and way to call back.

“Artemis?” She called the Tiger over to take a look. “What do you think?”

He leaned over her shoulder and pointed at the truncated address. “Expand that.” She did as told, and Artemis cocked his head. “That’s definitely his email address. Did you call him?”

“Yup. Went straight to voicemail.” He was right, that was definitely Barney’s email address. “You think someone else could have mailed this out?”

“A hacker? It’s possible.” Artemis studied the tickets. “They look legit, though. Want to check the airline?”

She did, and their flight was definitely legitimate. Someone had bought them tickets. “Are your freaky Tiger powers giving you any heebee-jeebies?”

He stared at her like she’d just grown a second head. “My what, now?”

She huffed out a breath. Getting responses from him was harder than getting them from… Oh, that was a good idea. “Should I call Julian?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Sorry, but my Tiger senses aren’t tingling.” Artemis yawned. “If we’re leaving, we should go soon.” He tilted his head, a flash of silver crossing his irises. “What are
your
senses telling you?”

She stood. “That something’s gone wrong, and this is some sort of trap.”

He nodded approvingly. “And?”

The thought of leaving Barney to the mercy of whoever had hacked his email and sent her those tickets was unbearable. “I think we’re heading to Arizona. But first, we have to take care of something.”

The tickets were for the noon plane, so they didn’t have a lot of time. She raced to pack a bag. While packing she called Chloe. “I’m headed to Sedona.”

“Barney?”

“The email address the tickets came from was his, but no phone call, no nothing. Just the tickets.”

“Trap.” Chloe wasn’t using a lot of words.

“Are you all right?” If Chloe wasn’t using a lot of words, she was worried about something.

Chloe sighed. “I’m fine. At work. Cleaning a Chinese Crested’s ears.”

“Anything Fox thinks I need to know?” Heather slammed some T-shirts and jeans into her overnight bag and began to pack her makeup.

“Not right now. Just be careful, and make sure your bomb knows you’re going.”

“Will do.” Bomb? Could she mean mom? “Keep an ear out for the cavalry charge.”

Chloe giggled. “I’ll come running if it sounds.”

Heather hung up and headed into her bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion. She carried them back to her bed where she carefully packed them in her bag.

“Heather?” Mom stuck her head in Heather’s room, eyeing her curiously. “What are you doing?”

“Barney sent me plane tickets to Flagstaff. I think we get a rental car from there and drive to Sedona.” She wasn’t going to tell her mother about her concerns. It was best to let her think everything was all right.

Mom crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. “You’re not going alone, young lady.”

Heather winced at her mother’s tone. “No, Artemis is going too.”

Her mother stared at her for a moment. “All right. Call me when you get there, and then every night after, or I’m coming to bring you home.”

“Mom—”

Stacey Allen’s expression turned stern. “Don’t argue with me, or I’ll bring the entire clan.”

Hell. She would, too. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You don’t want to see what will happen if I’m forced to call them all.”

No, Heather did not. Her mother was a scary woman when she thought her kits were in danger. “Yes, ma’am.”

Mom nodded firmly, seemingly satisfied. “Good.” She smiled sweetly. “Don’t forget your toothbrush and extra underwear.”

“Already packed.” She looked around the room as her mother stomped down the stairs. Was she forgetting anything? She didn’t think so, and she didn’t have time to check.

Heather ran down the stairs, her bag packed, only to find her mother giving Artemis a lecture. “If I find one single hair on my daughter’s head out of place I’ll rip out your whiskers one by one.”

Artemis backed up a step. “Yes, ma’am.”

“And you too. You’re protecting my daughter, and I don’t take that lightly. I expect you to come back in one piece, understood?”

He nodded warily. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Now give me a kiss and get out of here.” Mom tapped her cheek and waited expectantly.

Heather was nearly dying of laughter by the time Artemis gingerly gave the expected kiss. “Good boy.” Her mother patted his cheek. “I’ll make the meatloaf you like when you get back.”

Artemis looked flummoxed. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re welcome.” Mom turned to Heather. “Give me a hug, sweetie.”

Heather hugged her mom tight. “I’ll see you soon, okay? We have to go house hunting, remember?”

Her mother hugged her back just as tightly. “I remember.”

“I’ll call when I get there, okay?” Heather pulled back. “The safe word is…?”

Her mother smiled. “Bunny.”

Heather laughed. “Got it.” She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and waved to Artemis. “Let’s get this party started.”

Once in the car, Artemis asked the question she’d been waiting for. “Safe word?”

“When we were kids, when we went out we always had a safe word. If something was wrong and we couldn’t say what it was we would say the safe word and the whole clan would come running to the rescue. But it only works if we have access to a phone.”

He nodded. “Makes sense, I suppose.”

“It was also for if anyone tried to tell us that our parents sent them to pick us up. If they didn’t know the safe word, we were supposed to kick them in the nuts and run.”

“Try the side of the knee as hard as you can. A guy can absorb nut pain if his adrenaline is high enough. Take out his knee and he isn’t going anywhere.”

“Thanks, Artie.” She giggled at his glare. “I’ll remember that.”

He grunted and drove off, taking them straight to the airport.

Once they were in the air, she turned to Artemis and asked the question that had been bothering her since she received the email. “If these tickets really do turn out to have been sent by one of Barney’s enemies, what should we do when we arrive?”

Artemis shot her a toothy grin, his eyes turning silver. “You leave it to me. We need to do this, though, so don’t worry your pretty red head over it.”

Okay. Well. “So my job is to hide while you play?”

“Damn straight. You get hurt on my watch and Barney will rip my balls off, and your mom will rip out my whiskers.” He sighed sadly. “Also, she won’t make that meatloaf anymore, or comb my fur when I’m itchy.”

It sounded like her mother had pretty much adopted poor Artemis. She wondered what his mother would think of that.

“So relax, I’ve got you covered. Read or something.” He put his head back and promptly fell asleep for the rest of the flight.

Read or something, huh? She pulled out her tablet PC and began researching Sedona. It was a small city in the northeastern region of Arizona, known for its red rock hills and history of Hollywood movies.

It was a little over a seven-hour flight from Philadelphia to Flagstaff, and Artemis napped the entire way. The only time he woke was when they had to switch planes in Phoenix. Heather was far too nervous to sleep, so she read instead, trying to learn as much as she could about Sedona, the Leo and the Senate.

She tried emailing Barney back, but she’d received no reply by the time they landed. Artemis kept her behind him as they disembarked, making sure no one got too close to her. Since they’d only packed overnight bags they didn’t need to head to baggage claim, so Artemis led her toward the area where he could rent a car. They didn’t know where Barney’s hotel was, but since she planned on calling him again while Artemis took care of the car that shouldn’t be an issue.

“Ms. Allen?” A deep voice called her name. She turned to find a tall, dark-haired man with pale, jade-green eyes standing there. He wore a charcoal-gray business suit with a white button-down shirt and a green tie.

He smelled of Lion.

She exchanged a quick glance with Artemis, who shrugged. “I’m Heather Allen.”

The man smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m Ian Holmes, and I’ve come to pick you up.” He nodded to Artemis. “And Mr. Smith as well.”

“I see.” She tried to remain calm, but this was exactly what she’d been afraid of. “You don’t mind if we take our own car, do you?”

Mr. Holmes gestured, and two Lions, also in dark suits and green ties, stepped up from behind him. “I’m afraid that won’t be necessary, Ms. Allen. I assure you, however, that you’re perfectly safe with me.”

“Did Barney send you?” If he couldn’t come himself it would make sense he’d send someone, but there was something about Ian Holmes that had her stepping slightly closer to Artemis.

“I’m afraid not, Ms. Allen.” For just a moment, a flash of real concern showed on his face before it disappeared behind a façade of disinterest.

Artemis shrugged. “Good enough for me.” He sauntered up to the Lion and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Was he insane? He had to be. He was just accepting this.

But when he glanced back at her, Heather could see a flash of silver in his gaze. He winked and shook Mr. Holmes’s hand.

Mr. Holmes’s brows rose in surprise. “And you as well, Mr. Smith.” He shook Heather’s hand next. “If you and Ms. Allen will follow me.” He gestured toward the doors, where Heather saw a black SUV at the curb. “We have little time to talk before we reach our destination.”

“All right.” Heather kept Artemis between her and the men. She didn’t trust them, not even a little. But that glint of silver in Artemis’s eyes…

He must have something up his sleeve, so she’d follow and see where he led.

Artemis stopped her just as one of the men opened the back door. “You go first.”

She nodded and hopped into the car, Artemis following right behind her. This put her at the other door as one of the men settled next to Artemis. One of the men took their bags and put them in the back of the SUV. Holmes got into the front passenger seat while the other two men flanked him, one driving, the other staring out the window intently.

Once the car started moving, Artemis poked Holmes on the shoulder. “Can I ask a question?”

Holmes waved his hand. “Please do, Mr. Smith.”

Artemis blinked in that cat-like way of his, as if he was debating whether or not to be fascinated or bored by the whole situation. “Why is the Lion Senator picking us up at the airport?”

Heather blinked. This man was a Senator? Fuck. The pile of shit she’d landed in was higher than she’d thought.

“Hm. That would be because of Ms. Allen.” Holmes turned to stare at her. “I believe you, or one of your family members, may be the key to finding out what is happening to the white shifters.”

She took a deep breath, suddenly scared out of her wits. “Are you one of the Senators who’s hunting them?”

“Not at all, Ms. Allen.” He put his hand over his heart. “I’m one of the Senators trying to save them.”

“How do we know we can trust you?” Heather ignored his soft chuckle. “This is my family on the line, Mr. Holmes.”

“There is more than just your family at stake, Ms. Allen.” He waved toward Artemis. “Mr. Smith, for instance, is endangered as well.”

“How did you find out about them?” Heather watched where they were going. She might not know Sedona, but she wanted to be able to trace her route back to the airport if she had to run for it.

“I’d imagine the same way you did.” Holmes turned back toward the front. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to text someone.”

That really didn’t work for her. “But—”

“I believe all of your questions will be answered shortly, Ms. Allen. For now, please enjoy the view. Sedona is quite lovely this time of year.”

“Mr. Holmes—”

The man beside Artemis held up his hand. “I’m sorry, Ms. Allen. Senator Holmes is busy. Please hold all questions until we arrive at our destination.”

Heather began to softly sing the most annoying song she could think of.

Artemis winced. One of the bodyguards groaned, and the Lion Senator’s left eye began to twitch.

The bodyguard who’d asked her to be quiet was the only one who laughed. “What does the Fox say, indeed.”

“Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho!”