Rescued (6 page)

Chapter 10

June leaned close to Rose. “Don’t be too hard on him. Logan is still overprotective when it comes to me. They really can’t help it. It’s an alpha male’s nature.”

Marty took a couple of steps back toward her. As he approached, his eyes lit up. Yep, the light bulb just came on. His face took on a hint of color. “Uh oh. Rose. What I meant was, uh, if you’d
like
to come with me to the basketball courts, then we could go check for Wendy afterward—together. If you like.” A knowing smile followed his explanation.

Test number one of their agreement to allow their lives to meld together. She grasped his shoulders lightly with both hands, and made direct eye contact. Trying to contain her initial thought of ripping into him about being more than capable of taking care of herself, she considered June’s advice.

This was her attempt at their mate situation compromise. “Marty, it would be best if I try to locate and make contact with Wendy on my own. She’s more likely to talk one on one than to a group of people grilling her for information. I have my phone. I have you on speed dial. When I find her, if she threatens me in any way, I’ll call you, ‘kay?” She raised her eyebrows in question.

Marty eased out a breath, and brushed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Please be safe.”

“I will. And I promise
not
to go on the big slide without you to catch me when I come down,” she teased through a sweet expression.

Marty never cracked a smile or took his eyes off her. His brows knit together as if in serious thought. “I will always be there to catch you if you fall.” He took her face between his hands, leaned down, and brushed their lips together as he inhaled.

Rose blinked. She fixed her stare on Marty’s back as he walked away from her. His astounding declaration still rang in her ears and pulsed in her heart.

She glanced back at June. The Were with more mate experience than she, winked and flipped a double thumbs-up. Round one of the battle of learning how to be a good mate had gone down well. Compromise and understanding was best. Not always easy, but best.

She took a deep cleansing breath, nodded toward Logan and June, and unfolded the copy of Wendy’s picture printed from the security video back at the bus station for confirmation. “Bingo,” she said as she spotted the girl laughing and talking with her roommates at The Designer Hut, a booth selling handbags, wallets, and such.

She shook off the mate fog for now, put one foot in front of the other, and eased up beside the group. Thumbing through a display of cell phone cases, she kept her eyes and ears open, tuned in on the girl’s conversation. They chatted about their favorite bags and made their selections. As Wendy took the receipt for her purchases and turned to catch up with her friends, Rose caught her attention. “This cell phone case would match your new bag perfectly.”

“It is nice but I don’t have a cell phone yet. I have to start my new job and be able to pay the monthly fees before I can get one. But it won’t be long now,” Wendy sounded excited at the prospect of earning her own way.

“Really, a new job? When do you start? I haven’t been able to find anything since I moved here.” Rose pushed for info.

“Oh, it’s not here. I’m moving next week and I have a job lined up at my new place.” Pride beamed across her face and in the excited sparkle in her eyes.

“You’re leaving. That’s too bad. I was hoping we could hang out. I haven’t made many friends here. Not really a people person I guess.” She shrugged and directed her gaze toward her feet. She hoped the
poor little lonely girl with
no friends
act would work.

“Wendy, we’re going to get ice cream. Are you coming?” one of the other girls from her group called.

“Coming,” she answered to her friends. She paused after a couple of steps and turned back to Rose. “Why don’t you come with us for ice cream? We could hang out. At least for a while.”

Rose smiled, sweet yet timid and clinched her hand, hidden by her side, in a mini fist pump. On the inside, she grinned and shouted, “Yes!” The group accepted her. She contained her excitement. “I’d love too. Thanks.” They strolled over to catch up with Wendy’s friends.

“Rose, this is Penelope, Abby, and Roxie. Girls, this is Rose. She’s gonna hang out with us.” Wendy made the quick introductions as they walked toward the ice cream booth.

“So, you guys are all roommates?” Rose wanted to keep the focus on the girl’s situation so she’d be able to pick up on any hint they may give of what the future held for them.

“It’s only temporary. We’ll all be together for another month or so until we get our new places,” Penelope answered.

“But I thought you were leaving next week. Does this mean you’ll be staying here longer? That would be great. We’d be able to spend more time together.” Rose directed her comments to Wendy.

“We’ll be leaving Memphis next week but we’ll still be together at the training facility until our apartments are ready,” Wendy answered.

“Sounds exciting. What are y’all training to be?” Rose had to get this information. She had plans to make.

“Different jobs. Penny is a musician. Roxie’s got an amazing voice and I am going to be an actress.” Wendy scraped the last of the hot fudge from the bottom on her sundae dish and licked the spoon clean. “We’re just starting out of course.”

“So, it’s a school of the arts? That’s sounds wonderful.”
Wonderful, but a bit too good to be true and Daddy always said, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

“We’re pretty excited. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” Penelope added. “What do you do?”

“I go to school but I haven’t decided exactly what I want to do. I’d like to get into a field where I can help kids in trouble.” Rose ran the tip of her tongue around the base of her cone to give the girls a chance to ask for help if they felt the need. “So where is this training facility?”

“Santa Fe.” The girls all squealed with excitement. “We’ll all have our classes at the facility but there’ll be plenty of time for auditions up in Vegas.” They squealed in unison again.

“Wendy, we’re going to look around at the other booths, you coming? We only have two hours left.” Penelope gathered her bags and dropped her napkin in the garbage can as she passed by.

“Coming,” she called to her friends. “Do you want to walk around with us? We have an appointment this afternoon so we have to leave the park in a couple of hours.”

“Let’s get going then.” They bought it. She was in. Eyes and ears open, she could assess any doubts the girls expressed about their destination. Careful not to overplay the shy college student role, it was time to establish some kind of relationship with Wendy and learn as much as possible about the people who promised her a job and a new place to live.

This training facility in Santa Fe piqued her interest. Wendy’s description painted it as a boarding school equipped to house the group of teens and train in areas of theater, voice, and music. Did such a place really exist or was it part of the lure? This was the first real break she’d had in this case.

The girls stopped at every booth and made several additional purchases along the way. Rose joined in and picked up a couple of items she really didn’t need but went along to keep her cover as an ordinary college student. Except for the lavender-scented body wash and bath set—she had definite plans for that already.

They went full circle around the park, had ice cream, funnel cakes, and corn dogs before they arrived at the picnic area near the parking lot. Two women chatting at a table smiled and waved as the group of girls approached.

Rose paused. “I guess you have to go now. It was great spending time with you. I wish we could see each other again before you leave town.”

“Why don’t you come over for supper tonight? We’re grilling hotdogs outside then popcorn and a movie.”

“Your folks wouldn’t mind?” Rose’s pulse quickened and she jumped at the chance to get inside the house. This was a giant step forward. Once inside, she could get a better idea of what was really happening.

“Oh, they’re not my folks, they’re my sponsors. My folks died when I was young and I was placed in foster care until, well, until I couldn’t stand it any longer and took off.” Wendy paused and looked down. “I stopped in the bus station at home to sit and think. That’s when I met Vinny. He told me about the program and even paid my way here. He was so nice, Rose. He didn’t expect anything in return either, you know?” She wrinkled her nose at the connotation of that thought. “My sponsors are the best. They really care about us and teach us the importance of caring about others. We’re donating blood this afternoon to help those in need.”

The mention of Vinny’s name confirmed his involvement in this masquerade. It didn’t seem as if the kids were being mistreated or held against their will. Still, something just didn’t add up. Something nagged at Rose and pushed her to ask more questions, to find out more details about these sponsors and this training facility out west.

Was it legit?

Chapter 11

“I see you made a new friend,” one of the women said. “That’s wonderful. I told you it would happen.” She brushed the girl’s hair back and patted her shoulder in a caring, motherly manner.

“This is Rose. We met this morning.” Wendy began the introductions.

“It’s nice to meet you, Rose. I’m Mabel and this is Susan.”

“Hey.” Rose nodded then shied away, sending an innocent, inexperienced impression.

“I invited Rose to supper and movie night tonight. That’s cool, right?” Wendy asked the women.

“Of course it is Wendy. Your friends are always welcome. But, I’m afraid we need to run right now. You gave her the address, right?” Mabel asked.

Wendy jotted down the address on the back of a receipt and said her goodbyes as she joined her group at the SUV. “See you at six,” she called waiving from the window.

“Sweet,” Rose said under her breath. She eased her cell phone from her pocket, sent a quick text to locate her companions, and made her way to Marty’s truck.

June and Logan were cuddled together on a park bench nearby like a couple of newlyweds.
Geez, y’all get a room
. That thought dumped a ton of memories on her—the room she shared with Marty last night . . . the same room they would occupy tonight after she completed her mission at the house.

“Hey you two. Y’all heard from Marty?” Rose surveyed the area. No visible sign of him. She inhaled, filling her lungs with the air around her but the faint scent indicated he hadn’t been near in some time.

“He’s on his way. He was shooting baskets with the boys from the house, but they had to leave. He said he had some good news for us. I think we’re past due.” Logan adjusted his position, stretched his arms over his head, and yawned.

“Then I’ll go ahead and tell y’all my good news. I’ve been invited to the house for supper and movie night tonight. I’ll get to sniff around and learn more about what’s going on inside.” With a pleased grin, Rose held her hand up and smacked a high-five with June, excited to catch a break in her case. “Did your guys follow the SUV with the girls? They said they were going to give blood as a way to help those in need. I’d like to know where to be exact.”

“Oh yeah. Oscar has orders to stay close and report in every hour. Giving blood, huh? Why not volunteer at a hospital or nursing home? Help with an after-school program or something.” Logan scratched his chin. He had a good point about the significance of the
kind
of community service work the kids were doing.

“Maybe there’s a blood drive nearby and they thought it would be a good idea,” June offered.

“These blood donations have me baffled. Let’s see what he has.” Logan nodded toward Marty, approaching the group with a satisfied expression spread across his face.

“Hey, y’all, I’ve got great news. I’ve been invited to supper with the guys at the house tonight.” Marty beamed with excitement over this opportunity.

Rose stood with her mouth open a bit as she glanced from Marty to June and Logan and back again.

“What? Don’t you think that’s good news?” Marty asked, extending both hands.

She feathered her ponytail with her fingers. “No, no, that’s great. Me too. I was invited, too.” She wrinkled her nose wondering how they should handle this.

“Then we can go together,” Marty said.

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Did you tell them about me? That you know me? Because I said, I’m a loner with not many friends. We can’t go together or let on we know each other. Maybe one of us should bow out.” Rose shook her head, afraid the adults would suspect they were working together. “If they get the least bit spooked, they might grab the kids and run in the middle of the night.”

June agreed with Rose. “She’s right, you can’t let on you know each other. That would blow her cover for sure. One of you
could
back out but, two cougars inside can gather twice the information. I think it would be advantageous for you both to go. Rose, you can borrow my VW bug. She’s old but dependable. I’ve kept her around since college. I can’t stand the thought of parting with her.”

Rose paused. June made a good point. “Thanks June. You’re right. A little teamwork gathering info will be a benefit. We can make this work. Marty made a connection the same as me. If the girls don’t have doubts about their situation, maybe the boys do. It’s settled. We both go.” Determined to get some answers, they’d have to be careful not to appear familiar with each other.

Logan’s phone rang. He retrieved it from the pouch clipped to his belt and held up his other hand to signal the group to wait. “Oscar. Whacha got? That’s what we’re gonna find out. Rose and Marty made contact with the kids and are going to a get together at the house tonight. Right now, I’d like to get an idea of what kind of place this clinic is. Can you get someone inside to check it out? I want to have all the information so we can to piece this puzzle together.” He paused. “Good, keep me posted.”

He ended the call and relayed the info. “The team tracked the kids to a clinic on North Avenue. Six kids and four adults entered. The kids came out with big smiles on their faces and appeared to be happy about whatever went on inside. All of them had cotton balls taped to their arms so they must have given blood like they said. According to Oscar, everything looked normal. Too freakin’ normal.”

“The question is, why would they herd a bunch of kids into a clinic to give blood and how’d they convince them to do it?” Marty searched for answers.

“Nelson is on the inside rollin’ up his sleeve as we speak. He’ll be able to give us the details from the inside going through the donation process like the kids did. I’m just as curious to find out if the clinic is on the up and up.”

Nelson was one of the human members of Logan’s team and wouldn’t attract any attention when some nerdy lab tech tested his blood. A Were’s blood on the other hand, would send up a huge red flag since they carried an extraordinary amount of red blood cells. The two-natured carried more than twice the amount as humans to accommodate the need for additional oxygen when the body made the transformation from human to Were form and back to human again.

“So what now? You’ve got surveillance under control. We don’t have to leave for the house until five or so. What else can we do for the rest of the day? I’m too pumped about the possibility of finding the key to this mystery to sit around doing nothing for hours.” Rose bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet, eager to get on with the next part of this investigation and get to the bottom of this move the girls mentioned.

“I have paper work to do back at the office but I’ll call you if I get anything significant from Oscar,” Logan said.

“And even crime fighters need clean clothes, so I’m off to do laundry,” June joked. “Why don’t you two stay here and enjoy the festival. When’s the last time you two relaxed? Really relaxed?”

Rose’s mind flashed immediately to the shower in the room she and Marty shared. Every ounce of tension had drained from her body as Marty moved the sponge in tiny circles over her back this morning. She closed her eyes and drifted to a peaceful place free of evil. She could use more moments like that but did she dare allow herself to indulge again? She should stay alert.

“Why not?” Marty shrugged his shoulder. “I only saw the basketball courts this morning. Why don’t you show me the rest of the festival? I’ll even buy you lunch.”

“I already ate but I am thirsty and I guess a couple of hours down time would be okay.”

Logan and June left to complete their own tasks. Rose and Marty admired the art on display by local artists and stopped to listen to the music from the bands stationed around the park.

Rose sipped iced tea while she watched Marty consume two double bacon cheeseburgers, a large order of home-style fries, and a funnel cake. “Closet junk food junkie, are we?” She puffed out her cheeks and crossed her eyes.

Marty laughed. “You know this is not my food of choice but I did work up an appetite on the courts this morning.” He wiped his mouth and reached for another fry.

“You do remember we’re having hotdogs for supper, right?” Rose asked. Too much junk food didn’t exactly sit right with Weres. Their dietary needs were simpler, being carnivores at heart.

“Right. Well, how ‘bout we go on a little midnight hunt and nab some normal food?” He smiled and waggled a fry dipped in ketchup in front of her.

“A run sounds good. Let’s hope we have something to celebrate by then.” She moved the straw around in her cup, pushing the ice in circles as her thoughts slipped back to those kids and Lord knows how many others who had no idea what they had let themselves to get into.

After they allowed time for Marty’s food to settle, they continued on their way until Rose spotted the lake. “Hey, wanna go sit by the water for a while? We could stretch out on the grass and rest there.”

“I could use a little nap.” Marty slipped his arm around her waist and moved toward a shady spot near the water’s edge.

A family of five walked past them toward the lake and spread a quilt on the ground. Three spunky, rambunctious boys, none of them older than six ran around the quilt playing a game of tag. Rose stared as all possibility of their quiet naptime by the lake faded from reality.

“We could try to find a quieter spot, or we could go back to the room and rest.” Marty sported one of those high anticipation expressions.

Rose’s smile was her sign of acceptance. With his hand in the small of her back, he guided her toward the truck.

Marty swiped his key card and opened the door to their room. What with their late night run then accepting the fact they were indeed mates, neither cougar slept much last night. He welcomed a nap at this point, but as soon as they entered the room, Rose slipped her shirt over her head, and stepped behind the bathroom door. Any thought he’d had of a nap went right out the window. He stood and stared at the door.

His mind envisioned Rose’s dainty hands reaching behind her back to unsnap her bra, allowing it to fall to the floor. He reached for the buttons of his shirt and pictured her sliding her jeans down over her hips, stepping out of them to stand in her panties while she brushed her teeth. The sound of water running broke the trance holding him. He covered the distance to the bathroom and tapped on the door, determined to convince her to share the shower.