Blown Away (Rogues Shifter Series Book 4) (12 page)

“Gabriel?” Sinc was shocked again.

Sasha nodded. “Even I could tell he was lying. He’s not really good at it. He was telling the truth when he said he didn’t have anything to do with the disappearances but he lied when he said that he had no idea who took the boys. So he knows plenty, he’s just not talking.”

Liam spoke up next. “There were three who were untruthful in our room. A single female, Clarissa Bernard and a mated couple, Donna Gwynne and her mate, Eric Gwynne. They know who took the boys, but they don't know where they are.” He looked at Garrett. “I could easily go into their heads to get answers, but I wanted to speak to you first.”

Garrett held up his hand. “Let's hold off until after the meeting tomorrow. We still need to interview Karl, both of Sinc’s parents, and Quentin. These are some of the main players and just getting them to agree to be interviewed could be a problem. I think it’s important to get the whole picture so we don’t put the boys or ourselves in danger. One more day shouldn't matter.”

Liam nodded. “The parents of the missing boys are innocent of their kidnappings. I had all three sets in my room and they know nothing. They are all in great distress. Heinrich’s presence in the room encouraged honesty.” The huge vampire who was sprawled on the couch and the slightly built fae grinned at each other like old friends.

Garrett looked relieved. We wouldn’t have wanted to find out that any of the boy’s parents were involved.

He spoke slowly, working it out in his head. “I think that Gabriel and Katrina are so used to dealing only with their pack, a pack
that treats the alpha and his family as supreme rulers, that they haven’t developed the techniques to deal with us. They don't seem to know what other supernaturals are capable of discerning during an interview process. Frankly, it shows a marked lack of good judgment and a good deal of ignorance regarding the abilities of other races."

Sinc sighed. “They’ve always underestimated their pack. Why wouldn’t they behave the same way with us?
They're isolationists, cutting themselves off from the rest of the world.”

Garrett stood, the other vamps following his lead. The coming dawn was mak
ing them antsy. “I want you to get some sleep. Brina and Kaera will transport us back home then return. Liam and Ethan will take the first watch while everyone else rests. You’ll switch off according to the schedule. If I’m not here, I expect you all to cooperate with Sinc, who I’ve put in charge of the investigation, and Liam who’s in charge of security. Eat and sleep! I don’t want to come back each evening to find you exhausted and starving like I did when we were searching for Jackie.”

After a hug and a kiss from me, Garrett disappeared
, followed by the others. I said goodnight to the remaining team and crawled into bed, too tired to stay up for even one more minute.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next afternoon was spent re-watching the recorded interviews of the weres who’d lied to us, gathering more evidence from the scenes of the disappearances and then analyzing the crime scene data. Those
last activities were not my specialty so I decided to take a little walk and thought that Brina would be the ideal person to accompany me through the neighborhood. First, I had to ask her for a favor, however.

She w
as alone in the kitchen, finishing her lunch. I sat across from her at the polished oak table. “Brina, I was wondering if you’d like to take a little walk? I thought that maybe I’d pay my respects to Katrina. You know, sniff around the witch a little and see what I come up with. I don’t like sitting back and twiddling my thumbs.”

“Yes, of course I’ll accompany you.
How does one twiddle thumbs?”

"It's just an expression that means wasting time." I showed her the gesture.

She laughed. "I agree. I also do not like to twiddle."

I grinned and whispered. "
I was thinking that maybe you could use your special talent today.”

Her amethyst ey
es sparkled as she grinned back. “And who would you really like to accompany you on your walk?”

“I think maybe—
Ethan.”

“I see. S
omeone young, non-threatening and charming.”

“Exactly. People open up around him. Can you pull it off?”

She shrugged. “I’ve spent enough time with him. And none of the wolves know him at all. But perhaps if they see you out walking without a guard, you will be in more danger?”

“And if I am, I think ‘Ethan’ and I can handle whatever comes up, don’t you?”

“I do. Still I don’t believe that Garrett will approve and I should mention it to Liam.”

“We’ll tell Liam that we’re going for a walk. It’s not really a lie. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“I believe the expression is ‘you’re the boss’.” We smiled and headed off to tell Liam, who didn’t even bat an eyelash, since he thought that Brina would be walking around looking like Brina and therefore looking dangerous and protective.

A
fter checking to make sure no one was watching, Brina magically transitioned to become Ethan. I had to keep myself from gasping when I saw how incredibly perfect the doppelganger was, from his dark wavy hair with stray bits hanging over his forehead, to his dreamy golden brown eyes, to his broad shoulders and muscular body—this was Ethan. She’d even dressed him exactly as he was dressed when I saw him last.

As we walked down the steps of the house and then turned right at the sidewalk, Brina asked in Ethan’s voice, “Do I meet with your approval?”

“That’s some cool gift, Br..Ethan. You even smell like him.”

“We are surrounded by werewolves with excellent senses. They would know right away if I did not smell like a shifter.”

“Yeah, but you even have his eucalyptus scent.” She shrugged, confident in her abilities.
“So I guess you have some cool stories to tell. When did you first change?”

“I discovered the ability around the age of 12, but I waited until I was 15 before I ever used it. I didn’t want to waste it on something frivolous.”

“And what did you decide was important enough?”

“I had a serious rival for a young male's attentions, so right before the main evening of the Midsummer Ceremony, I knocked her out, tied her up and changed myself to look like her. She and I lost our virginity that night.”
Grinning impishly, she started to laugh and I couldn’t resist joining in.

“I used to change into a young male fae s
o that I could spar with the males. They’d train the females but they didn’t let us practice with any of the males. They found me out when I got hurt so badly that I passed out and changed back to myself. It was extremely embarrassing to be found out in such an undignified way.

A
fter that, the Elders gave in and allowed us to spar together. Most females do not, but my sister and I and a handful of others enjoy it very much. Some of the males will not fight us. They are—what do you call them—pussies?” I grinned and nodded. “I like that expression. The males who do spar with us—well, let us just say that I am popular with the best warriors. And we do not always fight.”
Brina/Ethan winked at me.

We found ourselves
standing in front of Katrina and Quentin’s large home so I rang the bell and we waited. Jake answered. “Oh, hi Jackie.  Did you need anything at the house? Is the phone not working?”

That last was a snippy remark that I didn’t appreciate. “Everything is fine. I wondered if Katrina was here.”

“Yes, I’m here.” She walked up behind Jake and he moved aside.”Why don’t you and your shifter companion come inside?” Katrina was tall and slender with long thick auburn hair and piercing gray eyes. She moved gracefully to the side and indicated that we should sit with her in the comfy room we’d all waited in the night before the meeting. Br/E and I sat together on leather couch and Katrina sat in an armchair facing us. Jake stood off to the side, quiet but alert. “Would you like anything to eat or drink?”

“No thank you, Katrina." I introduced Br/E as Ethan and they smiled at each other. "I just had a few more questions if that would be alright.”

Katrina was staring at Br/E who was staring right back at her, not flustered in the least. I was picking up on the fact that Katrina the witch might be able to tell that Br/E was not a shifter. Still I wasn’t sure, so I asked cautiously, "I was wondering if you could clarify a few points?"

She ignored my question and asked Br/E
one of her own. “Ethan, Jackie’s reputation precedes her, but I don’t know much about you. Were you born in Crescent City? What kind of a shifter are you?”

Br/E smiled while I sent to her, hoping that she wouldn’t be angry that I was barging into her head without permission:
Sacramento –-cougar.
I was relieved to see Br/E smiling a little wider.

“I’m a cougar,
born and bred in Sacramento. Couldn't you tell? Most wolves can tell that I'm a cougar shifter.” Br/E was as relaxed as could be as I watched Katrina’s eyes narrow in annoyance.

“Did you go to college, Ethan?”

I sent
“No- taking classes this fall at Crescent City Community College.”

“I've
never had the chance, but I’m thinking of taking some classes at the local community college. How about you? Did you go to college?” Br/E was totally enjoying this game between herself and the alpha’s mate.

“The women in our pack don’t usually go to college.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate. Did you know that Sinc has her masters in forensic science?” Br/E was really starting to piss off Katrina. She decided to turn her attention back to me.

“What question did you want to ask me Jackie?” She gave me a cold smile and I knew beyond any doubt that Katrina was deeply involved in this mess. I gave Jake a pointed look and then glanced back at her, asking silently if she really wanted me to discuss this in front of him. She turned around. “Jake, could you get me a cup of coffee? An
d try to find Gabriel for me.” He looked at her, unsure as to whether she’d be safe with us.”I’ll be fine, Jake.” He nodded and left.

She faced me again so I continued.
“Does the pack know?” I asked. I didn’t need to go into any detail. She knew what I was asking. Still, she decided to play dumb.

“Know...?

"Come on Katrina. Even Sasha smelled the magic on you, and he can't read auras."

Her expression changed from neutral to dangerous in a heartbeat. I felt the wolf inside of her stir, causing B
r/E to move forward on the couch, making it easier for her to get to her feet in a hurry. "Only my immediate family knows. Do you intend to tell the rest?”

“Are you going to tell me why you lied at the interview? You know where the boys are. Where are they?”

“I don’t know.”

“I believe that you do, Katrina. Are they dead? Is that why you won’t say? Are you protecting someone?”

She leaned forward, her pitch dropping to a growl. “You’re on
our
territory. If the alpha’s mate says she doesn’t know anything, then you should believe her, or else you should watch your back.” Her eyes had narrowed in anger, but her hands were trembling with tension and maybe fear.

S
he’d pretty much made a blatant threat, but I didn't see her as the kidnapper. I turned to look at Br/E whose eyes were focused on Katrina, ready to take instant action if necessary. I wanted to avoid a confrontation so I tried to diffuse the tense atmosphere. “I don’t think you mean to threaten us. We just want the boys to get back home.”

“Don’t you think I want that even more than you do?” She spoke sharply, but there was a ring of truth in her words "I've known them since they were babies."

Brina sent to me,
"She truly wants them safe."

Gabriel
quickly walked into the room, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “We can’t help you. We don’t know anything.”

“You both
continue to lie to us. Why?”

His eyes widened in surprise but he recovered quickly. “We didn’t take those boys.”

“I believe you, but you know who did and where they are and even why they were taken.”

“You’re wrong, Mrs. Cuvier. They don’t know anything.” Another young man had entered the room, causing our heads to w
hip around at the first whiff. He was as tall as his father, with the same build, but he had his mother’s auburn hair and grey eyes. He reeked of a scent we didn’t expect to find here on the Los Altos packlands.
Sorcerer
. I pulled on the lines and looked at his aura. Dense chords of magic twined around him as he stood confidently in the doorway, an unpleasant smirk on his face. Judging from the energy he’d pulled up, he was twice as powerful as his alpha father. Br/E rose slowly and stood beside me, ready to protect me in case of an attack.

“This is my brother, Karl. Karl this is Jacqueline Cuvier and Ethan Hamilton." Karl directed a pointed look at his brother. "I’m taking my mother upstairs to rest. We’ll see you at the meeting tonight.” They both left hurriedly as I nodded then returned my attention to Karl who presented a more immediate threat.