A Shift in the Air (15 page)

“
Fergus Tharp?” Cade
asked.

“
Yeah, that’s the bloke.
Farren said he used to be trouble, but vanished a decade ago. Came
back to town last week and started hurtin’ folks. Most of the
elementals around rabbited after that. We’re scared. No one’s
willin’ to leave the house in case she comes back or calls, but
she’s not answering her mobile, and we rang the Garda, but they’re
all too busy with the feckin’ mess at the cliffs to handle a
missin’ person case now.”

Cade rubbed the back of his neck. “I
don’t suppose you could find a phone number for Fergus?”

“
No, sir. Farren keeps her
informants a secret. Truth be told, we know little of her work.
Ewan wants to go after them, but the rest of us…”

“
Tierney, leave Fergus to
us. Your concern is your alpha.”

“
Beggin’ your pardon, sir,
but ye’re in Seattle. How are ya goin’ to stop the arse from
there?”

“
We’re not. We’re going to
come to Ireland. Make sure one of your pack stays by that phone.
I’ll be in touch.”

***

Cade stood in the front of the pack’s
cavernous living room with Mara at his side. The other wolves took
stations on sofas, chairs, or the floor. The glares they shot
towards Caitlin had her hiding behind Liam’s bulk. Every single one
of them probably wanted to tear her apart for her role in
Katerina’s attacks.

All eyes turned to Cade when he spoke.
“Farren Denair went missing yesterday morning. We’re pretty sure—at
least Caitlin is—that the earth elemental after her years ago had
something to do with Farren’s disappearance.”

“
And you believe her?”
Peter spat, glowering at Caitlin. “Bella would say
anything—“

“
Enough!” Liam banged his
fist against the wall, rattling a framed photo of Livie and her
daughter. “
Caitlin
isn’t Bella.”

“
Stop,” Caitlin said, not
proud of the squeak in her voice. “I hurt all of you. I don’t
expect you to forgive me or even understand why I went along with
Katerina’s plan. But—“

“
You could have killed all
of us.” Peter surged forward, grabbed Caitlin’s arm, and shook
her.

“
Get your fuckin’ hands off
of her!” Liam’s punch caught Peter in the gut and almost took
Caitlin down with him as Peter fell to his knees.

“
Enough!” Cade’s roar
stilled the fight, and he grabbed Peter by his shirt and pulled him
up. “Caitlin’s apologized to me and Mara. Katerina had her under
some sort of charm, and while that doesn’t completely excuse her
actions, we’re both willing to forgive her. I’m not asking you to
do the same. Not after what you went through,” he said, looking
first at Livie, then Peter. Livie’s left arm hung awkwardly at her
side, and her blond hair fell over her scarred left eye and cheek.
Peter’s neck bore the same twisted red ropes of scar tissue, and as
he slunk back to his place against the far wall, he limped
noticeably. “I
am
asking you to treat her with some respect.”

“
Sorry,” Peter
grumbled.

“
Anyone else want to go at
her? If so, leave. Now. We don’t have time for this bullshit.
Farren’s missing, Fergus killed more than a dozen innocent people
yesterday, and Caitlin’s convinced he won’t stop.” Cade avoided
mentioning Caitlin’s fears about Mara’s elements, but outlined how
Fergus stole Caitlin’s air and the resulting insanity. “We have two
problems: figuring out how Caitlin can take back her element and
stopping Fergus. Mara and I are going to Oregon. The elemental
elders there might be able to help us. Caitlin and Liam are going
to Ireland.”

“
Uh, look. Don’t get me
wrong. I want her out of this house. I don’t give a shit if Fergus
kills her. But why is she going to the one place she probably can’t
get away from him?” Livie bounced the fussy baby in her
arms.

“
Because I can’t have more
blood on my hands,” Caitlin said quietly. “Air elementals can work
location charms. If I go to Ireland, I might be able to find
Farren. And if Fergus knows I’m close, he’ll come after me
directly.”

“
Liam, this is insane,” a
tall, older werewolf—Ollie?—said. “You’re going to get yourself
killed.”

Caitlin wanted to agree—hell, she’d
raised the same objection a dozen times as the four of them
planned, but Liam refused to let her go alone. He wouldn’t lose
her, he’d said, wouldn’t let her risk her life without him. Cade
stepped in now, as he had then.

“
If we don’t do something,
Fergus could murder hundreds. Thousands. This is the best option
right now. So unless anyone else has a brilliant idea that doesn’t
involve sending Caitlin to her death alone, shut up and
listen.”

***

“
I need a few minutes with
them, luv.” Liam led her up a set of stairs at the back of the
house and opened a door to a small living area with a television, a
futon, and a messy workbench. “Make yourself at home.” He gestured
towards a small bedroom. “Ye’re exhausted. We’ll catch a few hours
here before we get your bag.”

The idea of staying in a house where
everyone wanted her gone didn’t sit well. “I should go
home.”

“
Please stay. I’ll take ya
if ya insist, but,” he cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb over
her lips, “I want ya in my bed.”

The rough edge to his voice sent a
shiver down her spine. With her hands on his broad shoulders, she
rose up on her toes and kissed him. Hours of worry poured into that
single kiss, and he caged her against his firm length until she
pulled away to catch her breath. “Hurry back,” she
whispered.

He shut the door behind him, and she
explored the space, needing to know more about the man who’d sworn
to protect her. A case against one wall housed two-dozen models:
some cars and planes, but mostly boats. They carried the faded
paint of age, and she wondered if they’d survived from his
childhood. The intricate details mesmerized her. How did such a
strong man maintain the delicate touch required to stencil designs
on a ship the size of her hand?

Moving on, she raked a gaze over his
workbench. The scent of new leather lingered, and she lifted a
delicate braid of brown, red, and black. A flat square bore an
embossed Celtic design, and she ran her fingers over the
indentations.

Everything she learned about Liam
brought her closer to loving him. A stack of contracts and receipts
toppled over as a bit of her element stirred, and she quickly piled
them back on a small filing cabinet next to a photo of Cade, Mara,
and Liam together next to a lake. She’d seen a variation of the
picture in Mara’s home, and she knew now Cade and Mara had married
a month ago.

His bed beckoned her. Shit, she
couldn’t remember ever being this tired. Fergus’s hold on her
burned—a low simmering flame that never died. She rubbed at the
spot between her breasts where she’d always envisioned her element
living, for the pain concentrated there whenever Fergus called to
her.

Shedding her shoes, pants, and
sweater, Caitlin burrowed under the blankets, waiting for Liam to
return. She couldn’t count on another chance to sleep in his arms,
in his bed. Either she’d die by Fergus’s hand, or he
would.

Chapter Twelve

He didn’t want the dream to end.
Caitlin slept in his arms, her sweet scent filling his nose and her
silky locks spilling over his chest. Arousal stirred his cock. The
mirage of her hand splayed over his pectoral muscle, and her
fingers brushing his tattoo brought a smile to his face. Sunlight
splashed over her shoulder and haloed her body in an ethereal
glow.

A tiny whimper escaped her
lips and shattered the languid silence.
Shite
. Not a dream. Caitlin lived, and
when he’d come to bed the previous night—morning—she’d curled her
body to his, finding his mouth with a searing kiss. The coupling
barely sated his desire; the mating call strengthened with each
minute they spent together. Soon, his wolf would try to claw his
way free, desperate to claim Caitlin as his own, and Liam feared he
wouldn’t be strong enough to control the beast inside. He’d spent
hours with his pack the previous night, begging for their
assistance. In the end, Cade had to order Peter to join Liam and
Caitlin in Ireland. “Do this, and I’ll release you. Consider it
your last duty to your family,” Cade said, and Peter reluctantly
agreed. Despite his injuries, he was a fierce fighter, and he’d
explored Ireland on his own quite a bit in the months the pack hid
from Katerina.

Liam glanced over at the clock.
“Caitlin?” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “We’ve slept
half the morning away, luv.”

“
I wish we had more time.”
Caitlin blinked up at him, her eyes bleary with exhaustion. “I love
this bed. Are you sure we have to get up?”

He chuckled, pulled the blankets up
around her shoulders, and cocooned them against the unknown looming
on the horizon. “We’ve a few minutes yet. Do ya want
coffee?”

“
I do, but I don’t want to
let you go.” She wriggled until her forehead touched his. “Please
reconsider.”

Liam linked their fingers under the
sheets and brought their joined hands to his heart. “I won’t. I’m
not letting you face him alone.”

“
He’ll kill you,” she
whispered.

“
Let him try.”

Her eyes sparkled with tears, so
beautiful but so sad. “He’s destroyed everything I’ve ever loved.
My mum, my home, even my element. Every time I call on my air, I
feel the absence of what he took from me. If he takes you
too…”

“
We’re goin’ to find
Farren, and then we’ll have help. Her pack, Peter—“

“
What?” Caitlin pushed up,
the sheet falling away from her breasts. Her hair tumbled down over
slim shoulders, and her wide eyes glowed with silver shards of ice.
A breeze swirled around them, bringing her comforting, sweet scent
to his nose. “He hates me. And he should.”

“
We need him. He knows
Ireland almost as well as I do. Explored the whole of the western
lands when we lived there. If anyone can help us find
Farren…”

At the mention of the alpha wolf,
Caitlin captured her lower lip between her teeth and scrambled from
the bed. Before Liam could extricate himself from the sheets, she’d
pulled on her bra and panties and reached for her jeans.

“
What’s wrong?” He stilled
her movements and drew her against him. Stiff in his arms, she
shook her head. “Caitlin, talk to me.”

As he slid his hand up her back to
thread fingers into her hair, she melted. “You talk about her like
you love her.”

The laughter exploded before he could
stop himself, and she jerked away, glaring at him. “Oh, luv, are ya
jealous?”

She snatched her socks off the
hardwood floor.

“
Caitlin, look at me.” He
waited for her to lift her gaze and reached out to cup her cheek
when she held her breath. “I’d no sooner bed Farren than Peter. She
and I have a history. Her father led a pack outside of Dublin—my da
joined before he mated with my mum, and I spent my childhood
runnin’ around the countryside with Farren and her beta, Colin.
Thick as thieves, our folks said. And about as much trouble. She’s
like a sister to me.”

“
Oh.”

“
We’re new, luv. Old and
new, I suppose. But ya feel somethin’ with me, yeah?”

“
I want to love you. If I’m
ever free…from Fergus…I think I’d love you.” Her voice cracked. She
turned away, her shoulders hiking up to her ears, and a shudder
rocked her slim frame.

Liam slid his arms around her waist
and dipped his head to nuzzle her neck. “I love ya, Caitlin. Last
night, seein’ ya face the pack, the fire in your eyes when ya tried
to convince me to let ya go alone to Ireland…ya have such strength
now. Ya have no idea how sexy that is. We’re goin’ to stop the
arse, and when ye’re free, I hope ya feel the same pull to mate as
I do.”

“
I can’t walk away,” she
whispered, turning in his arms to lay her head against his
shoulder. Light kisses feathered over his tattoo. “I want to
protect you. I want to charm you and make you forget all about me,
just to keep you safe. But I can’t imagine my life without you
anymore. I’m not sure I ever could.”

They stayed locked together, neither
willing to leave the refuge they’d found in each other, until the
knock at the door drove them apart.

“
Liam?” Peter’s deep voice
carried through the thick wood. Liam tugged on his jeans and then
hurried to the door.

“
What is it?”

Worry tightened Peter’s face, bags
under his eyes weighing down his cheeks. “Cade called. They’re
almost to the elemental camp, but Tierney texted him a few minutes
ago. Another one of Farren’s pack disappeared.”

“
Fuck. Who?”

“
Brian Duffy. The youngest.
He went out to run this morning, or—fuck, I can’t keep the time
zones straight—six hours ago? He never came back. The rest of them
are too scared to leave the house.”

“
Three of them left, then.
Tierney, Abagail, and Ewan, yeah?”