Jordan Summers - [Dead World 01] (40 page)

Morgan took a deep breath and
let it out slowly. "I
told her the truth. The whole truth," he said quietly.

Jim's eyes bugged. "Why
would you do something
crazy like that? She's a tactical team member." He
glanced at the door.

"Don't you think I know
that?" He shook his head in disgust. "She left me no choice. She was
going to
get IPTT to
issue a warrant for Kane's arrest."

"What?" Jim leaned
forward as if he hadn't heard
Morgan correctly. "That doesn't make any sense. Did
she tell you why?"

Morgan snorted. "Yeah, she
told me why. Gina suspects him of killing those women and Jesse. Can you
believe that? Have you ever heard of anything so
ridiculous?" he asked, shaking his head.
"Kane's a
doctor
for goodness sake. He saves lives—not takes
them."

Jim sat back in silence, his
expression completely
transparent.
Even if it wasn't, Morgan could smell the change in his body chemistry. The
sour stench spoiled
the
aroma of the coffee. "Jim? Don't tell me that you
believe her."

"I hate to admit it, but
she might be onto some-
thing," he
said.

"Not you, too. This is Kane
we're talking about."
The pain of betrayal nipped at Morgan's insides, threat
ening to rip him asunder. He
tensed. Kane and Gina
each
held a half of his heart. Both had the power to de
stroy him in their hands. He
tipped his cup and drank, swallowing with an audible gulp. Liquid burned his
throat, but he welcomed the pain.

"Something's been bothering
me about Jesse's
death.
I mentioned it before, but I have no proof,"
Jim said, turning the mug in his
hands and swirling
the contents.

Morgan's breath hissed.
"Tell me," he demanded.

"Remember how I said that
her throat was injured, but I could find no mention of any medical treatment
that could account for the injury?"

Morgan nodded, unable to trust
his voice. He wanted to leave, just walk out of here, before Jim
said another word. He'd
experienced the sensation of being ripped apart every time his body went
through the change, but this was worse. This wound wouldn't
heal, wouldn't leave him elated.
He'd be left with it and his heartache over Gina for the rest of his life.

"I discovered bruising near
the carotid artery."

"So?"

"You don't get that unless something presses down
or squeezes in. That also explains the petechial hemorrhaging in her
eyes."

Blood roared in Morgan's ears. Please let it be anyone
else but Kane. "What exactly are you saying?"

Jim removed his glasses and wiped them before placing
them back on his face. His fingers trembled as he picked up a few errant
folders and stacked them. "I'm saying that if there hadn't been witnesses.
I'd swear Jesse had been strangled to death."
"

Why would Kane do such a
thing?" Morgan asked.

"We don't know that it is Kane ..." Jim
said. "But..."

"He was the only one in the room when the nurses
came rushing in. No one else had easy access." Morgan stood, unable to
keep his frustration contained. "He of all people knows it's an automatic
death sen
tence, according to pack law.
What was he thinking?"

"I wish I knew." Jim's gaze dropped and his
expression grew bewildered. "But unfortunately, that's a question only
Kane can answer."

Red
collapsed on her rest pad.
She'd swung by headquarter to get another pistol
before heading home. It was already late afternoon, so she didn't plan to sleep
much longer—just enough to ensure that she didn't wreck her car on the
three-hour trip back to Nuria.

Her thoughts went automatically to Morgan when she
closed her eyes. She could still see the pain and disappointment in his amber
gaze as she shunned him. Red wasn't proud of her behavior, but what had he
expected after throwing all that at her? She'd thought it was bad enough
watching him shift, but
when he claimed she
was like him, her world tilted—
and had yet to return to normal.

At first she'd been angry with
her grandfather when he'd admitted the truth. Always practical, she was over
that now, but the hurt remained. She'd spent her childhood and young adult
life feeling like an outsider and
never
knowing why. All it would've taken was one word, one short conversation to
change all that. She still wouldn't have fit in on the tactical team, but at
least Red would've known why and that would have been enough.

The truth was out now. She just didn't know who else,
besides Morgan and most of Nuria, knew about her secret, but she couldn't
remain on the team. She was no longer safe. Red sat up and looked around her
small sleep space. She realized with perfect clarity as she stared at her food
dispenser that she wouldn't be returning here.

Red got out of bed and began to
pack what few be
longings she owned.
She'd shower to wake up. She knew if she left within the hour she should reach
Nuria by sunset.

Morgan spent the morning poring over the files of
Renee Forrester,
Lisa Solomon, and Moira
Collins. It
had been difficult to keep
his thoughts off Gina, but
he'd managed ...
sort of. She had been right about the victims' connection to the elder care
center. The facil
ity was the only thing connecting the three women.

The "Little Red Riding Hood" fairy tale ran
through his head. It was ironic if Kane had picked that particular story from
their childhood to follow, seeing as how the Big Bad Wolf died in the end.

Morgan smashed the disconnect button and the screen
dimmed. He'd stalled long enough and needed to go find his cousin. He wasn't
looking for
ward to the upcoming
conversation. No matter which way it went, the talk would forever change their
rela
tionship.

The same as it had with Gina, when he'd revealed the
truth.

He pushed his chair back and stood. The coffee
hadn't helped much. Morgan still felt tired and
shaky. He glanced at his watch. Kane should be starting his shift soon. Perhaps
if he hurried Morgan could catch
him before he went in.

Morgan rushed out of his office, surprising his assistant.
"Sorry about that, Maggie," he said, striding past. "I'm heading
over to the emergency care center; if Kane calls, tell him I'm looking for
him."

"Okay," she said, then looked askance at his
wardrobe. "Aren't those the same clothes you had on yesterday,
Sheriff?"

He smiled and kept going. Nothing got past Maggie.
"I'll be back later."

Morgan arrived at the emergency
care center as the
morning
crew was leaving for the day. He scanned the
lot for Kane's car, but didn't spot it.

Maybe he'd parked in the back. Morgan knew sometimes
he did that to avoid the small ten-car traffic snarl that occurred at this
time of day.

He shut down his engine and
stepped out of the car.
He continued to survey the faces, hoping to catch Kane
entering, but had no luck. Resolved. Morgan passed
through the doors of the care center and strode to the nearest nurse's station.
The on-duty nurse glanced up as he stopped before the small counter that
corralled
the area.

"May I help you, Sheriff?" Nurse Alison
asked, giving him a quick smile.

"I'm looking for Kane. Have you seen him?"

She turned to the compunit in
front of her and typed
in a code. A screen showing employee schedules and
check-ins popped up. She scanned the list until she
reached Kane's name. "Hmm ... that's strange."

Morgan leaned over the counter
to get an even bet
ter look. "What
is?"

"According to the schedule, he should be on duty
right now, but he hasn't signed in." She doubled-clicked his name and
Kane's personal work screen appeared. "That's really weird."

"What?" Morgan asked, trying to figure out
what she was talking about.

Alison turned to him. "He's never missed a day
before. Not in all the years he's worked here."

Concern lanced Morgan. Where was
Kane? Was he
ill?
Had something happened to him? He refused to believe he was hiding. Why
would he? He didn't even
know that Morgan suspected anything was wrong.

Alison started to hit a button
that would take her to
the previous
screen.

"Wait," Morgan said,
stopping her an inch above the
keypad. "Could you look up one more thing for me?"

She shrugged. "Sure thing."

"On the night that Jesse Lindley died, was Kane
scheduled for duty?" Morgan asked, sending up a silent prayer that he had
been.

Alison pursed her lips and tapped a button that moved
the screen up. "Hmm ... No, it doesn't look
like it. I guess we were lucky that he just happened to
be around, instead of the part-timer assigned
that night.
It may not have helped
Jesse in the end, but at least
Kane's
medical expertise gave her a fighting chance."

"Yeah, lucky," Morgan said, thinking it was
anything but.

Why had Kane been here? Had he been looking in on
Jesse at the time? What were the odds? Not good, he thought. Not good at all.

"Thank you for your help,
Alison. If Kane happens
to wander in,
have him contact me."

"Right away, Sheriff."

Morgan went back to his office to make sure that Kane
hadn't turned up. He half expected to have the tactical team waiting for him
when he arrived. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed that they
hadn't been. At least then, he would've gotten to see Gina.

He knew he was being pathetic, but Morgan couldn't
help it. He missed his mate and wondered, not for the first time, if he'd ever
get to see her again. Morgan shook his head. It didn't bear thinking about. He
needed to find his cousin and fast. He tried contacting Kane at home, but no
one answered.

After two hours with no success, Morgan gave up and
decided to drive out to Kane's home. It took an hour to reach the spread.
Morgan stared in dismay at
the broken
windows and splintered door. Kane's house had been destroyed. His hand moved
automatically to
his weapon as he
exited the car and approached the en
trance.

Morgan inhaled, but didn't scent anyone nearby. He
half expected to find Kane's remains as he kicked in what was left of the door
and entered. Glass crunched under his boots as he made a sweep of the home.
There was no sign of Kane or of any blood for that matter.

He righted a toppled chair and sat down, staring at
the mess around him. The only scent he could detect was Kane's, which didn't
make any sense. Why would
Kane destroy his
own home? Why would Kane do any
of this? He'd have to be out of his
mind.

Morgan dropped his face into his hands and took a deep
breath. He had no idea how long he'd sat in Kane's home until he looked up and
noticed that the
sun was about to set. The
full moon would be up soon.
The effects weren't like what folklore
described. It wouldn't have half the town turning furry and howling. That
wouldn't have helped much during some of the harder battles in the war. Yet the
moon's effects weren't exactly harmless, since it did increase desire, the
speed at which a wolf could shift, and made them stronger.

With a full moon, a person could be dead in ten
seconds as opposed to thirty.

Morgan felt the moon's pull in his blood and growled
as his skin began to itch. He pulled himself out of the seat and walked toward
the door. He glanced one last time over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't
missed anything. Nothing had changed.
Morgan
still
needed to find Kane and with
his house
destroyed, he had no idea
where to look.

He took a back road from the
north into town, pass
ing
the remnants of a dead forest. His gaze wandered the tree line, absently
staring at the branches. He was
still a good thirty minutes away from town when he
spotted a vehicle lying in a
ditch by the road.

Morgan slowed as he approached.
The car came
into
view, giving him a clear shot at the identification
code in the rear window. He
swallowed hard as he
recognized
the number. It was Kane's vehicle. Mor
gan stopped behind the car and got out slowly. He
glanced around, but didn't see
anyone. He pulled his
weapon and
approached with caution.