Alpha Me Not (17 page)

He covered her hands with his, so thrilled she had finally trusted him with one of her secrets he couldn’t drag a word from his voice box. He kissed her fingertips and played for time.

“I’m ready to move on.” Kieran stood to their right, his face devoid of color and his eyes reddened.

As much as Joe wanted to pursue the tale of the death of Susie’s father, he sensed the grief cliff Kieran climbed would soon drag him over the precipice. Kieran radiated intense heat, and Joe picked up his barely contained rage.

“Susie didn’t remember anything new. I Googled the outcrop’s location and downloaded some aerial photographs. It’s straight up from here.” Joe pointed to a tall pine, which crested the peak of Hallelujah Mountain.

He and Kieran could’ve made it to the summit in minutes if they’d used their beast skills, but he didn’t want to spook Susie before she saw the rock. She needed to be calm and aware and open to Petey if the kid wanted to contact her again.

It went against everything the alpha in him yearned to do—protect her, cage her in his orbit—but Joe owed Kieran his vengeance and Petey peace. To do that, Susie had to listen to Petey’s message. Her aroma had changed the minute they’d stepped onto that damned bridge. The flintiness he smelled last evening had returned and the veins at her temples throbbed. But she had recovered quickly yesterday once the shock of the vision had worn off. Maybe a second vision wouldn’t be as potent and her reaction less powerful.

The incline steepened in dramatic fashion before they’d covered ninety yards. Glad for the conversational lag every time he checked Kieran’s grim features, Joe concentrated on the changing scents of Susie and the slope. Not until they reached the side path to the outcrop did he notice any difference.

Acid.

He’d smelled the same acridity on their run the night before.

Coincidence? Or a pattern? He filed the similarity for further perusal.

They traipsed along the narrow path in single file—Joe in the lead, Susie in the middle, and Kieran bringing up the rear. Nothing out of the extraordinary hit him. Birds warbled, small creatures sidled away from large ones, and the wind whistled through dense trees. Yet his hackles saluted and the back of the neck tingling had him rolling his shoulders.

Joe halted when the white-washed outcrop loomed in front of them.

Susie sucked in a deep breath, and the flint in her aroma surged.

He moved to her side. “What’s wrong?”

“I think she’s going to pass out.” Kieran stepped to Susie’s right and hovered, hands outstretched.

“No.” She grabbed Joe’s arm, and all the color drained from her face. “There’s a cave. Inside the rock. Under the rock, there are bodies, boys’ bodies. That’s what Petey meant.”

“A predator’s lair? Jesus. Are we dealing with a pedophile?” Kieran’s angular features had taken on a hawkish cast, grayed and sharp.

Bleak eyes met Joe’s. “I…take me home. Please.”

Susie swayed, and he caught her in his arms. Her eyelids fluttered and then shut. Fuck, she’d passed out.

“I’ve got to her out of here. Can you scent the change in her aroma?”

Kieran shook his head. “Sorry. I’ve been completely focused on Petey.”

“I smelled it yesterday after she saw Petey. I never expected the vision to deep-six her into another galaxy.” Joe checked Susie’s breathing, even but way too shallow. His anxiety went into warp speed.

“I can see that. I thought she was going to pass out on the bridge.”

“She may need medical attention this time. I’m outta here. Stay if you need to.”

“No, I’ve had enough too.” Kieran grabbed the bag.

Between Kieran and him, they got her back down the mountain in record time. Susie was almost comatose the whole journey in his arms. He and Kieran didn’t speak, neither wanting her to awake and become aware of the extraordinary speed they utilized.

When they reached the parked vehicles, Susie was still unconscious.

Kieran halted at his SUV. He raised a tear-streaked face and his fury, anguish, and pain came at Joe in waves of scalding heat.

“He’s mine.”

“I know.” Joe didn’t give a shit about the morality of the situation. Kieran needed to kill his son’s murderer, and that was that.

“I don’t know if I’ll live to regret it, but there’s no way this putrid fucker’s going on trial. You know what? I think I’m going to enjoy making his last moments as painful as Petey’s. Christ, it’s eating me up, Joe.” The tears flowed freely now. “He was just a little boy.”

Joe stood there helpless, wanting to comfort, not knowing how to. “We’ll find the fucker, and when we do, he’s all yours.”

Kieran scrubbed his cheeks. “I know I should take the high ground. Let the authorities handle it. I can’t. I couldn’t live with myself if for some fucking reason, some mishandled evidence or shit like that, he got off. Or even got a life sentence.”

“If you didn’t do it, I would. He can’t live. Not if there’s a thread of a chance he could do this again.” Joe met Kieran’s gaze. “Sorry we didn’t gain much from this, buddy. And sorry to cut it short. I know how much you must be hurting.”

“We did. I found a button in the nook of a tree branch. Not one of Petey’s.” Kieran pulled a folded tissue from his backpack. He carefully pried apart the soft paper to reveal a metal button.

“Wave it under my nose.” Joe lowered Susie a tad and took a deep breath. He shook his head. “Tree fungus. Not much else. Don’t even smell Petey. Could’ve been from the hunters you spotted earlier. Where did you find it?”

“Back at the crime site.” Kieran stared at the button. “I’d hoped…”

“You should have told me then. Maybe I could’ve scented something.”

“I could tell she doesn’t know about your wolf yet. Didn’t want to blow things for you.” Kieran repacked the button.

It killed Joe to see the anguish on Kieran’s face. He made an instant decision. “Will you watch her while I go back and examine the site?”

Joe popped open the pickup and settled Susie in the passenger seat. “If you turn on the engine and the air, she shouldn’t wake. And I’ll only be minutes at most.”

It went totally against Joe’s grain, but he left his mate in Kieran’s care and sprinted to the crime site. He’d covered the area when he’d found Petey before calling the cops and didn’t expect to find much. But near the base of the tree to which Petey’d been strapped, he found a patch of soggy, clumped pine needles that held the coppery taint of blood. No color marred the green spines, but his nose was never wrong. He inserted the needles into a hygiene bag and stuffed that into his jacket pocket.

He arrived at the parked vehicles to find Susie and Kieran conversing.

What the fuck?

“She woke the minute you left. Literally.” Kieran gave him a thumbs-up.

Roses stained Susie’s cheeks, but she didn’t utter a word. He went straight to her, cupped her cheek, and scrutinized every feature. Pupils normal, breathing even, and her skin had warmed to a regular temperature. “You okay?”

“It wasn’t so bad this time.” She squeezed his wrist. “I’m good.”

“What did you find?”

“You know me too well.” Joe dragged the bag from the pocket. “It’s not Petey’s. Not unless his scent changed while I was away.”

“I’ll have it analyzed.” Kieran accepted the plastic bag. “The funeral’s been moved up. The coroner finished with…with the body this morning. Everything’s set for tomorrow at three.”

Jesus
. “I’ll drive everyone. Susie will handle the guests. All you and Barb need to do is get through the day. That’s your only focus, buddy.” Joe couldn’t get out another word, not with the tears flowing freely down Kieran’s face. He grabbed him into a fierce hug. “Lean on me.”

Kieran smacked his back. “After. After. We get the bastard.”

“We will.” Reluctantly Joe released his grip on Kieran.

“Later.” Kieran spun around and marched to his SUV.

Joe waited until Kieran reversed the vehicle and was headed in the opposite direction. He checked on Susie before hopping into the driver’s seat.

He caught her jaw. “What happened up there?”

“I saw him again. Petey.” She swallowed. “I realized I never saw his eyes yesterday. I did up there. Just for a second. Not even a second. A flash. Did he have
very
green eyes?”

Fuck. She really was seeing Petey. “Kieran always teased Barb about the milkman because both of them have dark eyes. There isn’t a single ancestor on both sides who have light eyes. You have another headache, don’t you?” The small veins at her temples pulsed.

“Yes. It was really bad at the rock, but it’s receding now.” She knuckled the side of her head.

“Close your eyes and rest. Doze if you can. I’ll wake you when we get home.”

She fell asleep before they hit the highway.

Could there be a cave inside the rock? Maybe Tate could find the way in. Unlike Joe, Tate was a full wolf and could shift.

Susie’s brother’s sudden appearance could be useful. With Gray staying in the house, he and Tate could roam the woods tonight and go over every inch of ground. Gray could watch over Susie.

Tate’s return stateside had been both unexpected and provident. He’d told Susie a small white one on the drive up. Tate had caught Gray trying to break into the house. Gray
had
mistaken Tate for Joe, though, and there had been a rumble.

Why was Tate back in the country?

He’d signed on for a long-term undercover mission in an undisclosed location with such a high-risk stake he’d left his will in Joe’s safe. What had Tate and Gray thought of the other prominent item in the safe? The thick, plain gold wedding band had belonged to Gran-gran. He’d kept it in the bank vault until yesterday. It would be perfect on Susie’s finger but probably needed sizing.

Grinning, he studied said finger. Long, shapely, and graceful like the rest of the woman. If her brother had half Susie’s smarts and a tad of her reasonableness, then he’d gain an important ally today.

Tate’s black truck and a white sports car were parked in the driveway. Susie didn’t flicker an eyelid when he bundled her out of the seat and into his arms. Tate opened the door just as Joe cleared the last step onto the porch.

Behind Tate stood a tall, lean male.

Joe nodded at both men. He mouthed,
Be right back.

He settled Susie in the middle of the mattress, took off her sneakers, and covered her with a light blanket. A deep satisfaction cloaked him, and he couldn’t resist staring at her and smiling. His mate in his bed.

The way things should and would be.

He shrugged off his coat on the way to the kitchen.

Gray and Tate stopped talking when Joe walked into the room and slung his jacket over the back of a chair.

“Is Susie okay?”

Gray White didn’t seem like a man who minced words, but neither did he appear amicable. He leaned against the counter, arms folded, one ankle propped over the other. The Native American heritage hinted at by Susie’s high cheekbones and olive skin was pronounced in her brother.

“She’s exhausted, but other than that—fine. Is that coffee fresh?” Joe asked Tate, who nursed a mug and sat on the bench behind the table, one leg bent, the other hidden by the table.

“Brewed minutes ago.” Tate sported a swollen right eye.

Joe gave Gray a second glance. Aside from a cut at the corner of his mouth, he appeared unscathed by the fight that had taken place earlier.

“You’ve stamped your scent on my sister.” Gray straightened.

“You told him?” Joe asked Tate.

“Don’t blame Tate. I knew he was a wolf after the first punch, and I knew about you the minute you stepped through the doorway. No wolf could miss your markings.” Gray yanked a chair from the table, spun it around, and sat, legs straddling the back.

“Gray’s a white wolf. Can’t shift.” Tate balanced his worn black Stetson on his knee.

“Managed to get the jump on you, even so. Don’t see him wearing a shiner.” Joe grabbed a mug from the tree holder and poured a cup of coffee.

Gray snickered and quirked a brow.

Tate rolled his eyes. “That was Zaara’s work, not his.”

“Zaara?”

“The kid decided to help Gray and came over to tell him where the spare key’s kept. Long story. Hurt her more than me. She cried. I promised to take her for ice cream.”

“You might as well own up. Zaara doesn’t seem like the type who’ll keep a secret.” Gray jutted his chin at the back door.

Only then did Joe see the crutches leaning on the door. “What happened?”

“Broke my fibula. Had to opt out of the mission.” Tate lifted a shoulder. “Propped the crutches to tackle Gray. Zaara ran between us. I twisted to get out of her way. Overcompensated for the cast and the handle got my eye.”

“
You
broke a bone? How?”

“Got caught in a foot trap. It’s already healed, but you know I couldn’t tell
that
to Monty. He shipped me stateside pronto. Came back yesterday. Haven’t had time to saw off the cast yet.”

Monty, their squad leader, didn’t know of either man’s wolf heritage.

“Are we done with the chitchat?” Gray stretched his arms high. “I can only stay a week at most, and I want Susie settled by the time I leave.”

“She doesn’t know I’m part wolf.”

Gray blinked. “How could she not know? Alpha’s written all over you.”

Joe frowned. “Why would she even suspect me of being a wolf?”

“She suspects
every
man of being a wolf. It’s like a test or something. That’s what my sister Melanie says anyway.”

Joe finished his coffee. “It seems the fact that I’m somewhat of an expert ballroom dancer’s thrown her off. Apparently, in Susie’s eyes alpha men and ballroom dancing don’t mix. I couldn’t tell she has wolf heritage, although I did suspect she knew more about wolves than a normal female.”

“Joe and I were both raised by humans. We learned what we know of wolf lore through trial and error. If he hadn’t caught me shifting, we certainly wouldn’t have trusted the truth to one another. Neither of us has spent much time with female wolves.” Tate dusted a miniscule speck from his hat but kept his attention fixed on Gray.