Body Thief (20 page)

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Authors: C.J. Barry

BOOK: Body Thief
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“You’re right,” he said.
Cam’s eyes widened as she turned to him. “Seriously?”
He said, “They’re going to blame Shifters for all the attacks. And we can’t convince anyone otherwise.”
“No. No, he can’t,” Cam said, shaking her head slowly.
“He can and he will,” he said. “He won’t wait for us to find the Shifters responsible. He’ll cut us off.”
“But we did what we agreed to,” she said.
“We didn’t find them,” he replied. By the look of fear in her eyes, he knew she understood what that meant. Who knew what would happen to her and her father?
He added, “
Unless
we find the Shifters responsible for the Shifter attacks, and clear them of the copycat attacks.”
Cam shook her head, concern on her face. “Whoa, I’m with you up to the whole clearing part. What if you’re wrong?”
He eyed her. “What happened to the woman who wanted to save the Shifters?”
“She met Harding,” Cam said bitterly. “That’s not on my docket, and if Harding finds out—” She stopped and gave a sigh. “I hate myself for saying that. Isn’t there anyone else who can clear the Shifters?”
He shook his head. “No one else.”
She put her hands on her hips. “We’re the only ones who give a damn? Really?”
“Really,” he said, and he was pretty sure about that.
She shook her head. “If we can find them and if we can clear them, they’ll still be blamed for the attacks that
are
on our list. So what’s the difference?”
“The difference is that you and I will finish this mission and get what we want,” he said.
They stared at each other for a long moment, both understanding the situation. Griffin could see Cam weighing her options, placing her bets. But he knew she’d always bet on her father.
“Harding isn’t going to like you after this,” she noted.
He grinned. “He doesn’t like me now. You in?”
She sighed. “Let’s find them.”
Griffin felt a strange wave of relief. He wasn’t thinking about his future. Right now, he just wanted to get through this mess. Then he’d figure what he’d do after they surprised Harding with the Shifters.
“They’re underground. They have to be,” he said as they started walking back to the car. “They’re pros. They wouldn’t be sloppy enough for XCEL to find them.”
Cam made a face. “I hate the underground more than bluffing.”
She didn’t want to go underground, and he couldn’t blame her. The tunnels and infrastructure under New York City had become a haven for Shifters. They’d pretty much cleared out the homeless and squatters. Worse than that, they fought for turf like gangs. Only a lot scarier. Even the gangs didn’t go down there anymore.
“So do I.” Griffin pulled out his phone and called Ernest. He picked up on the first ring.
“Make it quick, I’m alone,” Ernest answered, his voice hushed and strained. Griffin felt a pang of guilt for Ernest’s anxiety.
They turned down the street his car was parked on. “We need to go underground. Send me everything you got on that.”
“Will do.”
“And I need to talk to an informant who’s in touch with the underground. You got anyone?”
“I’ll see who I can find,” Ernest said, a little too abruptly.
“As soon as possible. Cam here is getting bored. She hasn’t killed anyone all day.”
He caught her grinning. “And if you feel thirsty later tonight, you know where to find us.”
“Right.” And Ernest hung up quickly.
Cam was watching him intently as he disconnected the call. “Trouble?”
Griffin pocketed the phone. “Is there anything else?”
She was quiet for a millisecond. “You really think that Ernest can hook us up underground? It’s a big, bad world under this city.”
“No problem,” he said, lying through his teeth. He wasn’t looking forward to creeping through the city’s underbelly, but if that’s what it took, that’s exactly what he’d do. Somewhere along the line, this had turned into a battle, and Harding was the enemy. Griffin would like nothing better than to beat him at his own game.
CHAPTER TWELVE
 
T
he baking chicken smelled wonderful, and Cam found herself watching Mercer’s sure movements in the kitchen as he checked dinner. He’d make someone a good husband someday. Not her, but someone.
“I can’t believe you don’t know how to cook,” Mercer said. “What did you eat?”
“Restaurant food, takeout, pizza,” she rattled off.
“Every meal?”
“Every meal,” she said.
“No wonder you had to cheat casinos,” he murmured.
She glared at his back. “So what happened between you and your ex-wife?”
Mercer closed the oven door. “Jesus, Cam. Can you be any more direct?”
“No,” she said, leaning on the cool island countertop. “I find that direct works for me.”
He gave a short laugh and shook his head. She liked when he laughed. It wasn’t often, but it was genuine. He didn’t lie to her. He might not tell her everything, but he wouldn’t lie.
“So she cheated on you?” Cam asked.
Mercer hesitated as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the stove. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Because
you
aren’t the cheating kind,” she said.
He seemed surprised by her insight. “Thank you.”
Cam smiled. “So?”
Mercer was silent for a moment and then opened the booze cupboard above his head. He pulled out a bottle of scotch and set it on the island between them.
“She couldn’t trust me afterward.”
“After?” Cam blinked and then realized what he was talking about. “The partner who replaced you. What did he do to her?”
Mercer put ice into two rocks glasses. “I think you know.”
“Fuck,” Cam said, the realization dawning on her.
“Precisely.” Mercer set the glasses on the island and poured scotch into both.
She felt for him, despite being on different sides of an insurmountable gap. No wonder he was angry. Finances was one thing, but family. Family was sacred ground. “I’m sorry. I really am.”
He nodded and took a big swig of his drink.
She leaned forward. “You loved her.”
He stared into his glass. “I tried. She was safe, normal, not part of XCEL. I could come home and forget everything that happened at work. My partner broke that peace. It could never be the same again.”
“Where is she now?” Cam asked.
He shook his head. “I have no idea.” Then he raised eyes filled with anger and pain. “Happy you asked that one?”
“No,” she said, honestly. “I’m not. I ask a lot of questions, and I expect that I won’t always like the answers. But at least I ask them.”
Ice cubes clinked in his glass for a minute. “What about you? Any ex-husbands still alive?”
She smiled. He’d asked her a question. “No, just lots of ex-lovers.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Lots?”
Cam heard the printer in the living room finally stop spewing pages courtesy of Ernest’s hard work and got up to gather them. “You want details?”
“No, I definitely do not,” he answered.
She picked up the stack of pages and brought them back to the counter. Ernest had included a private note, and she slowed as she read it. “Good, because I think we have a bigger issue.”
She sat on the stool and pushed Ernest’s note to Mercer. He scanned it quickly and frowned. “I was afraid of this.”
Her sentiments exactly. This was the last set of information he’d be able to send them without prying eyes. Everything he sent after this had to be approved first—by Harding.
“It’s almost like they don’t trust us,” she said.
Mercer nodded, looking disgusted. “Almost.”
He pulled up the stool on the same side of the island as hers and sorted through the rest of what Ernest had sent. There were two customer lists—one for the Shifter-targeted sites and one for the copycat sites. Griffin took a few minutes to scan each of them before passing the lists to Cam. Then he shuffled through the last set of pages. They were sections of maps. He cleared the island and started laying out the underground tunnel schematics covering different sections of the city. When he was done, he had three complete maps.
Cam moved next to him, derailing his concentration. Her hair was swept up in a messy ponytail, and she smelled good. Better than dinner.
“The tunnel systems,” she observed.
“He sent us three sections. These are our best bets,” Griffin added.
She pointed to the areas circled in red. “What are these?”
“Access points.”
Ernest had given them places to start based on his analysis. That kid was good. Griffin only hoped they hadn’t done any damage to his job or career to get this.
“So again, the question comes up,” Cam said, crossing her arms. “How do we do this? Because if you think I’m your magic ticket to Shifter territory, you are sorely mistaken.”
Excellent question, and one he’d been pondering for a while. Shifters were naturally nocturnal, so daytime was the best time to sneak around. As if it was that easy. Going underground, into their territory. Asking a lot of questions. That would be anything but easy.
“I figure if we go in there fully armed and ready to kick ass, there’s probably a five percent chance of success,” he offered.
Cam cocked her head. “I like that one.”
“You would,” Griffin said. “Or we keep a low profile, use our informants, become part of the community—”
She shook her head. “We don’t have that kind of time. Next.”
“There’s one more. But you aren’t going to like it.”
Cam tensed up. “Tell me.”
He shouldn’t have even mentioned it. Now he had no choice but to tell her because she wouldn’t give him peace until he did. He sighed. “They know you. They know who you are.”
“Yes,” she said warily.
“What if we went looking for them to get answers? On their terms. What if we join them?”
He caught her wincing. It was only for a split second, but he saw it. She was remembering the captured Shifter, his accusations against her. Without thinking, he amended, “Forget it. We’ll figure out something. I’ll connect with a few of XCEL’s informants, and we’ll go from there.”
The oven timer rang, and Griffin went into the kitchen to get the dinner out. He took out a couple plates and served up roasted chicken and baked potatoes, which represented the full extent of his culinary expertise. He turned around to set the plates on the island to find Cam standing in the middle of the living room alone, staring out the window.
“Something wrong?” he asked, and set the plates down.
She didn’t answer immediately, and when she did, her voice was thick. “You’re right. We should use their knowledge of me to our advantage.”
“It was a bad idea. We’re not doing that, Cam.”
She turned to look at him, and in her eyes was fear. Real fear. The kind that keeps you awake at night. “I have to. I have to save my father. If I don’t get him out of there, if I don’t find my brother, he’ll die.”
It took him a moment to absorb what she was saying. Griffin made his way over to face her. “I don’t understand. I thought he was just old.”
She closed her eyes and tears slid down her face. “He has a Shifter disease that is slowly eating him away. Sort of like cancer in humans.”
Shit. And that explained a whole lot about why Cam was here. “What does he need?” Griffin asked. “How do we treat him?”
Cam smiled a little. “You can’t help him. The only treatment is a blood transfusion from several close family members. I’m hoping if I can find Thaniel, the two of us will be enough to save him.” More tears fell, and she gave a shudder. “But I don’t know for sure. It may already be too late.”
And then Griffin felt a stab of guilt. He hadn’t done a thing about finding Thaniel, hadn’t even told anyone about it. Hell. How was he to know that she needed her brother to save her father’s life? And how was he going to tell her that he’d lied?
His thoughts raced. Her father was still alive, so a few more days wouldn’t matter. As soon as this was over, he’d find Thaniel himself. He’d make sure of it.
Then her eyes met his. “He’s all I have left.”
How many times had he said that? After he’d lost his wife, his home, his life. The important things. The things that hurt. Irreplaceable things. He’d seen her fight like a warrior, taking down XCEL agents with ease. But this, this crushed her. Against all better judgment, he reached out and wiped away a tear with the back of his finger. It was warm and real.

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