Desperate Measures (12 page)

shoe on the carpet and her fingers twitched. She wanted to move. The nervous energy almost

boiled around her. He hid a smile. As much as it pleased him to have an effect on her, he didn‟t

want to infuriate her so much that she stormed out of the room. He did need her help and he

didn‟t want to have to force her to do it.

“Oh, it‟s not only the fact that by the time I found out everything you‟d done I felt like a

huge fool. You used one of my packmate‟s identities to get your friend off that planet. She

wasn‟t part of the little games between us. You owe me for that alone.” He narrowed his eyes on

her. She should know the type of scrutiny she could have brought on the real person behind that

identity.

“Why in hell would you believe that? We used it once and then destroyed our copy of it.

No harm done.” She shook her head and looked as if she couldn‟t believe he was even trying to

tell her she owed him for that.

“No harm. The woman you took off that planet using that identity was running from

someone. I suspect she‟s the shifter we went there to find. The people hunting her knew what she

looked like. If they had found her image and managed to connect her to the identity you used,

that would have led them to us.” He felt anger rise even thinking about it.

“Obviously, since you said could have, nothing did happen. They didn‟t track the identity

back to you. They still don‟t know how she escaped and your packmate is safe.” She folded her

arms across her chest and didn‟t look impressed.

“Do you think I take the safety of my pack so lightly? Those people were hunting that

woman. She was in danger enough to go into hiding and that you needed to risk everything to get

to her. You could have easily brought that danger to my people. You
owe
me.” He put his hands on the table and leaned forward.

She exhaled heavily. “Let‟s put that aside for now. Tell me exactly what happened to the

woman from your pack and why you‟re here. More specifically, who sent you here?”

“An official on Deveae gave me the name of your agency. I‟m here to see if there‟s a way

to get Tricia back. She was at a club with a few other people from the crew. At one point during

the night, someone noticed that she‟d gone missing. The club was searched and we know she

didn‟t disappear on her own. The next day, we learned of the problems on that planet.” He let the

subject change go without comment. Pushing her any more wouldn‟t get him what he needed.

“They probably asked you all the standard questions like are you sure that she didn‟t go

off with some man for a few days of fun, right?” She tilted her head.

“Yes, and I told them that she wouldn‟t have done something like that without letting

someone know.” He nodded.

Her eyebrows lifted. “So why did you come here? Surely just having the officials

searching for her would satisfy your obligation to your pack.”

He tried not to get angry over that bluntly said statement. The woman obviously didn‟t

know much about a pack, but it still made him furious. “I came here because I‟m going to get her

back one way or the other. Are you going to help us?”

She grimaced and he could tell that she was torn. “I‟ll help—”

“We‟ll help.” The woman he‟d seen in the outer office stood in the doorway.

“As I was saying, if you agree to a few a conditions, we‟ll help.” Raine shot a significant

look at the other woman.

“What conditions?” He wasn‟t going to quibble about them, but he did want to know

what was important to her. It might give him an idea of what to start looking at to discover her

secrets.

“You won‟t interfere when we leave after we find your packmate. This is a job to us and

you will be paying us regardless of how you think we owe you. And while we‟re with you, you

won‟t try to discover what we are. No searching our bags and other such sneaky maneuvers.”

“If it‟s not because you owe me, why are you helping?” That did make him curious. He

would have thought he‟d have to do more to convince her.

“I‟ve seen women and men who come out of that type of kidnapping. They‟re not found

until a couple of years later by the authorities on planet. Even if they get sent to a person who

isn‟t a sadistic bastard, they‟re never the same. No one should have to go through that.” She bit

her lip and he saw something flash across her eyes. It looked like pain.

“It happened to someone close to you, didn‟t it?” He leaned forward. Now her agreement

made sense. She had a personal reason and a desire to protect others from what she‟d seen

happen.

She nodded. “A friend. She wasn‟t one of the lucky ones. She closed off from everything

after that. We couldn‟t get through to her.”

“How is she? Is she still alive?” He almost held his breath. The fear for Tricia rose again

as his mind played out horrific scenes.

“She‟s alive, but she left the area and won‟t answer any contact from us. She changed

everything in her life and hasn‟t looked back. I know that‟s how she‟s coping, but I wish we

could have helped her more.” Raine bit her lip.

“I‟ll agree to your conditions. Hopefully by the time you find her, you‟ll have learned to

trust me a little more.” He paused and then because he just had to know he asked, “Why would

you think that I wouldn‟t do anything I had to do to get back a member of my pack?”

“Packs don‟t tend to be reliable in tough times in my experience.” She shrugged.

“Maybe you‟ll see that your experience isn‟t necessarily the truth while you‟re with us.”

He smiled and let his eyes linger on her face.

He knew she was a shifter, but he still didn‟t know what type, although he had his

suspicions. His persistent attraction to her for one thing. It wasn‟t just lust. The pull to get close to her was as strong as it had been the first time he‟d seen her. The promise would prevent him

from going through her things and trying to discover exactly what species she was, but he could

observe and hopefully discover a few clues through that.

With any luck, while she was with him she‟d see that pack life wasn‟t bad. He had no

idea what experience she‟d gone through, but it had obviously given her the impression that a

pack would disappear if there was any sign of trouble. He‟d have to see if he could get her to talk

about that. He definitely wasn‟t keeping his distance from her while she was helping them. He

wanted her to trust him and to see him as more than an enemy or a threat. That couldn‟t be

accomplished from a distance.

“Where are you docked? We‟ll need to get our bags and meet you there.” Raine looked

over at him.

He wasn‟t letting her out of his sight. It wasn‟t that he didn‟t trust her word, but this was

too important to let some accident take away the chance to find Tricia before she was

traumatized too much. “I‟ll go with you.”

“That won‟t be necessary. The others are bringing our bags and theirs.” The other woman

stood in the doorway. He hadn‟t even known she‟d left the room, but then again he had been

focused on Raine. It was always like that when he was near her. His attention centered and

locked if he didn‟t have her in his arms.

“Theirs. No, there‟s no need for all of us to go. Someone should stay here and take care

of the office.” Raine shook her head quickly from side to side.

“You know it will be fine. If anyone‟s need is that urgent they can contact us through the

message service. Besides if you‟re going back into his den to help him get his packmate back,

you‟re not going alone.” The woman folded her arms across her chest and even Connal could tell

that she wasn‟t going to back down on this.

“We don‟t all need to go. We already know how to begin tracking down who has her.”

Raine shot a hard look at her friend.

“I‟m not changing my mind and neither will they. The mission might be a little routine,

but who you‟re with certainly isn‟t so you‟re going to have backup.” She smiled as she said it,

but the suspicious look in the woman‟s eyes told Connal that he‟d have a hard time convincing

her that he was going to keep his word.

Raine looked like she was going to argue but shook her head. “You‟re insane. You‟re all

insane. Really, I‟ll be okay on my own.”

“I believe I said something like that, if not those exact words, not too long ago.” The

woman smiled. “We‟re still going with you. You‟ll need some help.”

Raine exhaled heavily. “Well, let‟s get a few more details and what you know before the

others get here.”

“Basically what I already told you. She was taken from a club.” He didn‟t know what

more she could want to know.

“No, I already know about her. Do you know if any others went missing like that in the

days before she was taken and since? Do you know what they looked like? Where they were

taken? If there was any sign of violence? Things like that can help us in our search.” Raine‟s

fingers ran through her hair. She wasn‟t happy, but she‟d apparently decided not to argue.

“I don‟t know any of that. I know that there was no obvious sign of violence with Tricia,

but nothing else.” He wished he‟d known the kind of information they‟d need before he arrived.

“When you can, contact your people and get them on that. And tell them about the

conditions. We don‟t want any unfortunate mistakes.” She gave him a level look.

He nodded. It wasn‟t necessary for her to tell him that. He‟d been prepared to tell his

crew about the conditions. He‟d deal with her honorably and not use the opportunity to learn

what he could.

Her eyes held his for a moment, but then she apparently decided he was telling the truth.

It didn‟t take long for the others to arrive. They carried bags, looked at him as if he was very

dangerous and they expected him to jump at them. That did give him a little satisfaction, but he

tried to hide the smile. He didn‟t want five women angry with him at the same time. They‟d be

sharing a shuttle and it could be a long ride if they were all angry.

“I know three of you, but two of you I don‟t have even a fake name to call you.” He

looked at each of the women.

“Our first names were correct. You can call them Krissa and Deanne.” Raine gestured to

first the blonde and then to the black-haired woman.

He noticed Raine step to the side and pull the blonde woman, Krissa, with her.

“You don‟t have to do this.” Raine‟s quiet whisper just reached him.

“We‟re going to watch your back. You know that we hate those people as much as you

do. If you‟re going to take another swipe at them, we‟re going to help.” Krissa‟s voice was firm.

Connal looked at all of the women. They were loyal and protective of each other. Raine

might not trust packs, but she‟d formed one even if it was all female and relatively small. He

didn‟t say anything about it though. It would send her into a rage and they needed to get going

now that everyone had a bag.

Raine wondered if she‟d stepped into some kind of nightmare. Everything felt a little

unreal, although she knew that it was too damn real. It had been a surprise to see him standing in

the lobby of their office. The horrible, fear-inducing kind of surprise that sent a streak of

adrenaline pumping through her body. She hadn‟t known if she should jump at him and try to

take him out quickly or run back into the office and barricade the door so they‟d have time to

escape. Before her numbed mind could make a decision, he‟d said that he wasn‟t here for them.

They were just getting back to their real lives. They‟d all taken a long trip to pull any

searches away from their home planet if anyone had traced them that far. It was like something

had led him straight to her, even though she knew it was mere coincidence. She felt a little out of

her element and she didn‟t like it one bit.

She‟d been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she‟d barely noticed getting on the shuttle.

No one had been too chatty. She could only remember Connal speaking once or twice. After that,

he‟d lapsed into silence. It wasn‟t even Connal‟s reappearance that was occupying her thoughts,

although she knew it would eventually. It was the thought of the slave trade on Deveae. She

could still remember Lori when they‟d first found her. Gone was the vibrant, exuberant woman

who barely could sit still and whose brilliance was only outshone by her enjoyment of life.

They‟d discovered her in a locked room sitting on a metal chair staring at a wall. She

hadn‟t moved when they‟d burst into the cell. Naked, scarred and bruised, she hadn‟t even

acknowledged them when they‟d moved in front of her. The bastard had broken her spirit. She

hadn‟t said a word when they‟d spoken to her and they‟d had to pull her out of that chair. She‟d

been so afraid that her “master” was testing her again. After they‟d gotten her home, she‟d

suffered severe panic attacks and anxiety. In the end, she‟d told them that because they were

there in that room and had rescued her, she associated them with that time. Looking at them was

a reminder that she couldn‟t face.

They‟d vowed to do whatever they could to help others avoid that when they found Lori.

That desire had only been strengthened by what had happened afterward. They‟d taken almost

any case concerning kidnappings on Deveae, even if the client couldn‟t afford to pay them. It had

become a personal cause for them.

She knew the kind of people who used that service and none of them were nice. Any