Electric Storm (34 page)

Blood coated the driver’s seat. Glass glittered like diamonds under the light. She’d managed to maneuver the car to take the brunt of the impact. Taggert should’ve been able to walk away. Why the hell didn’t he run when he had the chance?

The envelope crumpled in her grip, and she retreated to the study. He had to be alive, or she’d never forgive herself.

Instead of going to the desk, she sat in front of the coffee table and spilled the contents over the surface. Missing person’s reports. Police reports. Hospital reports. Newspaper clippings. All within a fifty mile radius. There had to be forty people here. How could so many go missing and no one notice?

And none of them had ever returned. She wouldn’t allow Taggert to be one of the statistics.

 
Chapter Twenty-six

LATE AFTERNOON

V
oices roused her from the dreams that stalked her. Dreams that evaporated without a memory, yet left a lingering unease that stuck with her after she woke. Even with her eyes closed, light slashed through the bay windows with blinding force.

She probed her wounds with her mind. Healed except for the deep tissue bruises that dotted her body like a checkerboard. They hurt like a bitch, but she was functional.

She reached for her core to test her strength only to find the energy dangerously close to empty, every lick of it tied up in healing. Gold flared around the edges of the lockbox holding Randolph’s power.

Like roots, bits broke through and wrapped around the cage, grafting to her flesh, and spilling darkness through her system. She carefully peeled off one tentacle and shoved it back into the vault with the rest. It surrendered readily, but took its pound of flesh with it. A ribbon of darkness remained behind like a scar, leaving a behind a lash of pain. Only half a dozen more to go.

The process only took seconds but left her exhausted. Though secure for now, the box left a hollow pit where it burned and sputtered in her gut. She had to find a way to rid her system of the power before it spread further. That meant using it. And she couldn’t use it until she got Taggert back for fear that it would put her out of commission. Too bad there were no antibiotics to take for something like that.

She opened her eyes to see the files were gone. In their place, she spied yesterday’s paper tucked under a plate of sandwiches. London must have put it there for her to see. The headlines screamed at her:
Dissent on the Police Force; Killer Gets Away While They Argue.

“Where did she get this file?” She recognized Dominic’s commanding voice, saw him standing behind the desk, palms flat as he leaned over and scanned the papers scattered across the surface.

“The guy at the club.” Jackson rubbed the back of his head as if recalling the name hurt, which wouldn’t surprise her. Deep lines dug grooves into his face, his thick brown hair stood on end in clumps, and his clothes were wrinkled as if he’d slept in them. He looked like shit. “Randolph something. I don’t think he was a shifter, but there was something about him that warned everyone to keep their distance.”

London slowly stood, his posture ramrod straight, his thick brows drawing down into a straight line. “Randolph?”

A deep chill settled in her bones at the mention of his name. She refused to allow any of her people near that man. She gingerly sat, her body struggling to remember how lungs should work.

“If he’s after her, he’ll be more trouble than we can handle.” The rumble of London’s words caused Dominic to shift his attention away from the scattered reports, but it was the flash of unrestrained fear she glimpsed in London that grabbed Raven by the throat. Even in the labs, nothing penetrated the thick shields he had erected. Until now.

“What do you know?” The vicious growl of Dominic’s words jerked Raven’s head up. The deep-seated rage that hovered in his voice brought home why he was the leader of the group. “Who’s Randolph?”

Though he directed the question at the others, Raven answered, knowing that there was no way to explain it away. “He’s the fabled killer from the labs rumored to have hunted down our own kind for sport and bring them in for testing.”

“Damn it, Raven, you just can’t do things the easy way, can you?” He ran a hand through his thick hair, his resigned expression making him look older than he had a few minutes ago.

“He was after bigger fish than me.” She cut Dominic off when he would’ve said more. Randolph wouldn’t be pleased that others were aware of his existence. The less everyone knew, the safer they’d be.

“But now he knows about you.”

Score one point for London.

She met his hard stare with one of her own. “He already knew about me because of my claim on Durant. He came to the club to assess and possibly kill me if I happened to be a big enough threat.”

She resisted the urge to rub the ache in her ribs that she got by just talking. She couldn’t let them know how weak she remained, or they’d lock her up and prevent her from doing what needed to be done.

“You’re still alive.” London scanned her body from head to toe, looking at her like she was a ghost. His total disbelief made her want to pat herself down to make sure that she was solid. “Randolph never fails a mission.”

“He was informed that I was a threat. I explained otherwise.” She nodded to the papers. “He gave me those when I told him I was hunting the real killers.”

Jackson neared and she hastily stood before he could get close. Though she ached for his touch, she was afraid of what it would do to both of them.

“I gave him something else to focus on other than me.” Raven sat in the chair across from the desk, not only to see those papers but prevent herself from sprawling on the floor.

Jackson refused to retreat, but refrained from touching her. Without a word, he handed her a sandwich. She eyed the food, then ate without tasting, more out of need than any hunger. Her mind churned as she methodically chewed. There had to be a way to save Taggert without risking anyone else. 

“Maybe you’d better explain what the hell you stepped into on this case.” Dominic sat at the desk, his voice a command, not a request.

“You and the group leave by the end of the week. I’ve been trying to keep you out of my cases for this reason. Leave it be.”

“Like hell.” The vehemence in his statement took her aback. He ensured everyone’s safety in the group, evaluated the risks and decided what cases to take. His actions now didn’t make sense. She wasn’t one of his, not really.

“Don’t be foolish.”

A vein throbbed along his neck. “It was your decision to bring him into the pack. We don’t leave one of our own behind.”

“I recognize some of these shifters.” Dina’s soft voice broke through the argument, and Dominic’s confusing comment about pack.

“What?”

Dina didn’t lift her attention from the pictures. “Three of them were part of my Recovery Group.”

Her words confused Raven more. “What group?”

Raven had pulled people out of the rubble when the labs were destroyed, doubling back to ensure that the guards wouldn’t be able to track them, but she didn’t recall any such recovery group after everyone scattered.

Dina’s normally soft, doe eyes were hard when she glanced up. “Some of the shifters released from the labs weren’t ready to be set free into society. I created a group to help them adjust to civilization.”

Hurt flickered through Raven at being excluded. After she’d destroyed the lab, she’d suffered severe burnout, her powers flickering on and off unchecked. Afraid that she’d actually hurt people if she lingered, she’d put all her concentration into pulling out every bit of technology from in the labs. People needed that money and those files to help make a clean break. 

She hadn’t even realized they needed her help. Though she wasn’t a true shifter, she was desperately jealous of the pack Dina had created.

Dina shook her head as if to deny her thoughts. “You had other things on your mind. You did enough by rescuing us all. I saw the toll it had on you.” She touched the papers on the desk. “You brought us together, you made us a pack. These people didn’t have anyone. Some of them were born behind those bars. They didn’t know how to handle outside people or wide open spaces. I created a network where they could rely on each other to survive.”

One word slammed into her mind.

Pack.

They considered her pack.

After years of always being on the fringes, afraid to get too close, hearing that they considered her one of them sent turmoil swirling.

“And as pack, we don’t leave anyone behind.” Dominic nodded to the desk. “Explain what this means. Something flickered in your eyes when you viewed the pictures.”

Air in the room became thin. She couldn’t allow them to stay. She couldn’t allow anyone to hurt them. Without them, she had nothing.

Jackson’s palm covered her shoulder. She jumped, tried to jerk away, only to have his grip tighten.

“Breathe.” The word was soft enough only she heard it. Fresh air filled her lungs. It smelled of Jackson and wolf.

The phone rang, but no one moved, waiting for her to spill what she knew. The answering machine picked up.

A man nervously cleared his throat. “Uhm, Raven? I know you’re not on the case anymore, but there’s another body delivered this morning that you need to see.” The man cleared his throat again. “This is Ross.” The call cut off abruptly.

Raven ignored their stares as she rose.

“This isn’t over.” Dominic sounded resigned, but didn’t object to her leaving.

Jackson ghosted her movements. When they reached her room, he shut the door carefully and advanced on her. She resisted the urge to back up.

“You have a plan.” There was no question in his oh-too-casual voice. He crossed his arms over the large expanse of his chest.

She had to admit he was impressive...er...imposing. Neither meant he would get his way. “Working on one. Why don’t you take the shower first?”

His smile was all teeth. “I think not.”

Raven resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I believe I can manage to find the morgue by myself.”

Jackson grunted.

“You heard Ross’ call. It’s not like I’m trying to sneak out.”

“Fine.”

His easy acceptance threw her. She never expected him to relent, and it left her off-kilter. The bastard was up to something. She narrowed her eyes, wishing she’d listened to Dominic when he said shifters were tricky bastards. “Fine?”

“Promise to come right back.”

She pursed her lips, but didn’t answer.

“Promise or I’ll follow you.” It was a threat. He crowded near, his wolf so close to the surface that it splashed over her in waves. Delicious heat radiated from him. Inviting her to touch. She curled her hands into fists, unable to back away from the temptation. It was all she could do to remain still.

“I promise.” She agreed more in hopes that he’d back away and give her room to breathe. Lord knew she didn’t have enough strength to walk away from him and the need building inside her.

Only he didn’t move.

“Jackson?”

He dropped his arms and stepped closer. Part of her mind went fuzzy, and it took her precious seconds to remember he wasn’t hers. 

But she could change that.

“Will you let me try to see if I can call your animal?” His face turned to granite, the heat doused, his reluctance clear. She just didn’t know if it was because of her or a fear that no matter what she tried, she wouldn’t be able to fix him.

At the back of her mind was hope. If she could pull his wolf forward, the death sentence hanging over his head would vanish, giving him choices again. But would he choose her or loyalty to his pack?

For wolf shifters, pack was everything.

“Do you trust me?” His whiskey brown eyes darkened, and she thought he wouldn’t answer. She counted off the ticking second, her heart speeding as she waited, her palms growing sweaty.

“Yes.”

She swallowed hard at his answer, then removed her gloves, noticing how little they helped anymore. He watched the action so intently, you’d think she just stripped to her underwear. She nodded behind him. “Sit on the bed.”