Hunted (22 page)

"What is it?" I asked finally.

"My friend emailed me the copies of the reports surrounding your parents' deaths." His expression hardened and anger flared in his eyes. My heart beat faster and I reached up for Matt's hand. It was obvious Danny didn't like what he'd seen and that worried me.

"And?"

"Let me start by saying I haven't had a chance to study the reports as closely as I'd like, but I've seen enough to be confident that neither your mother nor your father committed suicide."

His words hit me like a blow. I'd spent years convinced there was more to their deaths than we'd been told. Over the last few days, I'd even allowed myself to admit what I'd suspected all along: that Jennings had something to do with what happened. But to hear Danny actually confirm my suspicion that they hadn't killed themselves, that they hadn't abandoned me, was almost too much to take in.

All those years I'd wondered in the back of my mind what I had done. I'd been angry they'd killed themselves and left me alone. I felt betrayed they’d left me at the mercy of a bastard like Jennings. Now I knew they hadn't. No longer did I have to wonder if our happy home had been nothing but a lie. It hadn't been. They’d been taken from me and I had a pretty damned good idea by whom.

Tears stung my eyes and I scrambled to my feet. Before I could move away, Matt's arms went around me and he pulled me onto his lap. He held me, comforting me as I cried. Sobs wracked me as all the emotion and all the fear surfaced. Then my grandmother was there, demanding to know what happened. I was vaguely aware of Danny telling her what he had said. She didn't say anything, not at first. Instead, she wrapped her arms around me, not trying to take me from Matt's embrace, but adding her comfort to his.

"God. Oh God." I scrubbed my hands against my cheeks, wiping away my tears. "You're sure?"

"Positive," Danny said. "It's clear from the initial reports that the detectives weren't comfortable with the suicide ruling. The only reason they listed it as a possibility in their initial report is that a 'close family friend' told them your father had been diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of cancer. This 'friend' said your parents came to him and discussed how they didn't want your father to suffer and how they didn't want to be separated by death. Even though things didn't quite add up, there was also nothing jumping out at them to contradict what Jennings said. So, barring anything to the contrary coming out in the autopsies, the suicide ruling would be entered."

I stared at Danny in disbelief. What did he mean they’d accepted the suicide explanation just because Jennings said my parents told him that’s what they were going to do?

No, it didn’t make sense. My parents wouldn’t have kept something as serious as Daddy having cancer from me. They’d have told me. That he had been sick, possibly dying made no more sense than their committing suicide had. Damn, had the world gone mad or was it just me?

“Finn, there’s more.”

I breathed deeply, searching for calm. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.

“Your father wasn’t sick. The coroner found no evidence of cancer or any other illness when he did the autopsies. Both died by gunshot wounds to the head.”

I closed my eyes and instantly regretted it as the memory of walking into their bedroom after school that horrible afternoon and finding them. They lay on their bed. At first I thought they’d been taking a nap. Then I’d scented the blood. A scream tore from me as I saw it pooling on the bed and floor. Somehow I’d made my way downstairs and had called Aunt Jane. Then I’d run outside and waited, praying it had all been a bad dream.

“What about gunshot residue?” Matt asked.

“Traces were found, but not what you’d expect from self-inflicted wounds. The coroner made a point of noting there was no stippling around the wounds. He also speculated that the bodies had been posed after they’d been shot.”

“Then why the hell wasn’t the cause of death changed?” I demanded. I’d have surged to my feet if Matt hadn’t kept firm hold of me.

“That’s a damned good question.” There was a bite to Grandma’s voice, an underlying current of anger I’d never heard before. My jaguar stirred, restless and worried. Not that I blamed her. I knew how close I was to shifting and had a pretty good idea Grandma was as well. Angry as we were, there was no telling the damage we’d do if we let our animals out.

“It was months before the coroner’s findings were in. By then, the case was cold. The detectives did try to talk to Finn--who had already run away--and Jennings who continued to stick to his story they’d killed themselves. Since there’d been no evidence of a third person being involved, the best the cops could do was list the cause of death for both your parents as gunshot wounds, origin unknown.”

“That’s bullshit! Jennings had to have had something to do with it.”

“I agree, Finn. Either he did it himself or he knows who did and is protecting them. The problem is we don’t have any proof. Not yet at any rate. But you have to accept the fact we may never know exactly what happened that day.”

“I’ll be damned if I accept it, Danny.” I pushed out of Matt’s comforting embrace. I couldn’t just sit there. “That son of a bitch killed my parents. It doesn’t matter if he did it himself or had someone else do it for him. He’s responsible and he will pay for it.”

“He will,” both Matt and my grandmother said.

“Finn, if he shows up this weekend, he’s going to pay for that and for what he’s done to you. I promise you that as your mate and as clan leader. But you have to promise you aren’t going to do anything foolish. You have to trust me, trust us to handle this.”

“This is my fight,” I growled.

“No, Finn, it’s our fight,” my grandmother said firmly. “And one we need to prepare for.”

My lips pulled back, baring my teeth. My cat was so close to the surface I could feel the fur trying to spring from my pores. This was the closet to losing control that I’d been in years and I didn’t care. No one, not Matt, not my grandmother, no one was going to deal with Jennings but me. He’d taken my life from me. Worse, he’d taken my parents from me. I’d see him dead, slowly and painfully, by my hand and to hell with the consequences.

“Finn!” Matt’s voice brooked no arguments and I felt his power as alpha roll over me.

“All right!” I snapped.

“Finn.” Now he stood and moved to me. He was wise enough not to touch me. Angry as I was, I’d probably have struck out at him. Oh, I’d have regretted it later, but just then anyone was fair game, especially if they tried to keep me from getting satisfaction from Jennings. “Sweetheart, I promise if we find proof he was responsible for your parents’ deaths, you get to deal with him. Right now, however, we have to focus on what we do know, what we do have to use against him.

“But don’t think for a moment we won’t bring this up with the other clan leaders. This is yet another example of why we have to work together. It’s clear Jennings is a danger to us and has to be dealt with.”

I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath, holding it before exhaling. He was right, but that didn’t make it any easier. I wanted Jennings’ blood for so many different reasons.

“All right,” I repeated more softly. “Are you okay?” I looked at my grandmother, worried by the anger still reflected in her eyes.

“I want his blood just as much as you do, child.” Now she closed her eyes and breathed deeply much as I had a few moments before. “Matt, I recommend we spend the time between now and the meeting of the clan leaders preparing what we’re going to say.”

“Agreed.” He held his hands out to me, waiting. It was up to me to make the first move. Some of my anger receded. Thank God he was so different from Jennings. When I put my hands in his, he drew me close. “Sharon, you’re either to stay here or with Danny. I’m not risking Jennings or one of his people making a grab for you. This isn’t open to debate.”

For a moment, it looked like she’d argue. Then she cast a quick look at Danny before smiling. “Since you seem to approve of the two of us, I’ll go with him and I’ll be good.”

“I’ll take good care of her, Matt.”

“I know you will, Danny.”

Heaven help him if he didn’t.

“Irene, I hope you’ll stay here, at least until Adam gets back in town,” Matt continued.

“Of course.” She smiled as she moved to stand before us. Then she reached out, taking one of my hands and one of Matt’s in her own. “I want to get to know my granddaughter better and we need to prepare for the weekend.”

And that probably meant more “lessons” with her. I groaned inwardly. She’d already proven herself to be a hard taskmaster.

*     *     *

“Finn, are you all right?”

Matt stood in the doorway to the bedroom, his expression concerned. In the time since Danny and Sharon left the house, we’d been talking with my grandmother. Neither she nor I had tried to mask our anger or our pain. To finally, after all this time, have our suspicions that there was more to my parents’ deaths than we’d been told confirmed should have been vindication. But it wasn’t. All it had done was brought back the pain and fear I’d felt when I’d walked into my parents’ bedroom and found them. Then Jennings had tried taken over the clan, claiming me as his mate and trying to rape me when I refused. He’d taken my family and my life from me. The years on the run were years I’d never get back.

Now, with Grandma retired for the night, I knew Matt and I needed to talk. But I didn’t have the words to explain what I felt. My emotions were still in turmoil. One moment I felt relieved, almost vindicated, to know my parents hadn’t killed themselves. The next I was almost blind with the need for vengeance. Then came the pain of their deaths, washing over me just as strongly as it had so long ago. This was one rollercoaster I wished I could get off of.

Matt stayed where he was, waiting for me to say something. I realized then he’d done basically the same thing all evening. Except for that one time when he’d let his alpha side come to the surface--and I knew that was to remind me I wasn’t alone and didn’t need to do anything foolish--he’d not put any pressure on me. He’d been there for support, but he hadn’t taken advantage. Nor would he.

“I don’t know.” That was the honest truth. “I’d always believed there was more to what happened than I knew. In the back of my mind, I’d known my parents hadn’t killed themselves. But there was part of me that wondered what I’d done--or not done--that caused them to do it and leave me behind. Then came the mess with Jennings and I had to run before I had any of the answers I so badly needed.

“Now I find myself wondering if the truth would have come out if I’d stayed in California instead of running away. Maybe if I’d stood up to Jennings and had told the clan what he’d tried to do me, the investigation wouldn’t have been dropped. Did I let their killer get away because I was too weak to stay?”

Tears ran down my cheeks. There, I’d said it. Had I betrayed my parents and all they stood for by not staying and pushing for the truth? How was I supposed to live with that?

“Finn, no!” He crossed the room and enfolded me in his arms, holding me close. “The last thing your parents would have wanted was for you to stay and become Jennings’ next victim. You know that, just as you know they loved you.” He gently wiped away my tears. “You can’t blame yourself for what happened. Remember, your aunt and uncle told you to run because they were that worried about you. When you ran into your grandmother that time, she told you the same thing. You did what you had to do. You stayed safe, exactly what your parents would have wanted.”

“I don’t know, Matt.”

“I do.” He rubbed his thumb against my cheek, soft and reassuring. “I’m not going to tell you to let it go. You couldn’t and I wouldn’t ask you to. But I do promise that I will make sure Jennings pays for what he’s done to you and to your family.”

“You certainly got more than you bargained for when you stopped to help me in that parking garage.” Somehow, I managed a slight smile.

“I did. I found a woman I admire and respect a great deal even if we’ve only known one another a short time. I also found my mate, an alpha who is my equal. We’re both proud and stubborn and that will cause us to butt heads from time to time. But that will just make life interesting.”

“You are a strange, strange man.” I couldn’t help it. I laughed, the first time I’d done so in what seemed like forever.

“Of course I am.” He grinned and gave my shoulders a squeeze, releasing me quickly as I gasped slightly. We’d both forgotten the new tattoo and the pressure of his embrace brought it all home again. “Sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“No. But that did remind me I need to put some more ointment on the tattoo. Otherwise, CJ will have my head.” I grabbed the hem of my tank top and pulled it over my head. My cheeks heated as Matt grinned down at me.

“So, do I finally get to see the new ink?” he asked as I walked into the bathroom to get the tube of ointment CJ had given me.

“Only if you help apply this.” I tossed the tube to him and grinned as his left hand reached out to snatch up the ointment before it hit the floor.

A few moments later, I lay face down on the mattress, much as I had while CJ worked. Matt carefully exposed the tattoo. For a moment, he didn’t say anything. I waited, not quite holding my breath. Suddenly, it was very important to know what he thought. Then a shiver went through me as his finger lightly traced just outside the edges of the tattoo. His soft whistle followed.

“Finn, it’s gorgeous,” he said as he rested his palm on the small of my back. “I’m not sure I recognize all the symbolism but that doesn’t matter. It really is wonderful and I love how it blends so well into what you already had.”

I relaxed some to know he approved. That was important since I had designed it to tie into the pride and clan markings. But now was the time to explain what I’d had CJ do.

“The bear and coyote not only have meaning to the Cherokee but they are also animals some of my ancestors shifted into. The background represents the Oklahoma clan and my own ancestry. The eagle is there as protection. This, along with what I designed for the pride and clan markings, represents who I am.”