Riding on Whispers (the Wolfegang series Book 3) (2 page)

“Hey! What are you doing?” I demanded, rolling down the window.

He leaned in, his voice tight and rushed. “I’m going to get Wolfe. Celeste, protect Kat until we can get on the ship and off this bloody planet.” He closed the window.

“Hey! We can’t leave yet. What about finding Kris?” I hit the side of the taxi in frustration as Ricky walked away, not listening to me.

The note Kris left me back at the hospital was vague at best, but this planet was the last chance I had to figure out his stupid clue. If he wasn’t here, or we didn’t find something connected to him, I was screwed. It would be worse if I didn’t even have the chance to look.

Ricky was probably exaggerating about the danger we were in. It couldn’t be that bad. The taxi peeled off, leaving the coliseum and the seething crowd behind.

I immediately turned on Celeste. “What about Kris? I’ve got to look for him. I have to find something before we go, or all of this was a complete waste.”

“You’re bleeding,” she said calmly. “You don’t know what you are talking about. Humans are like that after they lose blood.” She shoved a rag against my head, attempting to stop the blood.

“What – you aren’t like that?” I demanded, snatching the cloth from her hand. I didn’t feel like being coddled.

“No, I am not,” Celeste answered my rhetorical question. “Blood is unimportant to my mental functions.”

We arrived at our hotel, and she gave the cabbie the credits due. Then she took me by my arm and pulled me out of the cab.

We stepped into the hotel, and stopped as we saw the mass of people waiting in the lobby. There were cameras and reporters, as well as people clamoring to get a look. Celeste pulled me to the side and up a service stairway. Six flights was a long ways, but it was better than using the lift, which would show them where we were headed.

As soon as we got to our room, she slammed the door shut behind us and locked it. “Start packing,” she said. “We need to be ready to leave as soon as Ricky gets here with the captain.”

“No.” I wrenched my arm out of her grasp and glared at her. “We’re not leaving until I find a clue, another note, something. This is the only chance I have. If we leave here without finding something, I might never see my brother again. The captain promised he would help me find him.”

Celeste wasn’t listening. She was moving around the rooms, and packing. “You can talk to the captain about it when he gets here. Get cleaned up.” She threw me a first-aid kit from the bathroom and continued her work.

I glowered at her and plopped onto my bed, dabbing at the worst of my injuries. The rag stung the exposed meat at my temple. I had to get the bleeding to stop before I could argue with Wolfe.

Afraid of what he would say when he got back; I wondered how he would react. How angry would he be? I wasn’t sure what kind of a reaction to expect from him in this situation.

The medicine hurt. Celeste was flitting around the room, graceful as a ballerina as she packed. She wasn’t treating me any better than before the race, but she wasn’t making nasty comments all the time either. I guessed that was an improvement.

Wolfe burst through our door with Ricky hot on his heels. “What were you thinking?!”

Well, that answered that question.

“You could have died out there! You almost did!” He was pacing around like a caged lion, running his hands through his hair over and over until it stood straight up. I almost laughed, but instead, I bit my tongue. Not the right time or place.

“I’m sorry,” I ventured. “But I didn’t know what else to do. I had to take the chance. It was the only way.” My tone implored the logical side of him to see reason.

Wolfe sighed and stopped pacing. He sat down on the edge of my bed. “Yes, you seem to be very familiar with racing. Where did you learn to drive like that?”

Ricky pointedly looked everywhere else but at me. Celeste, on the other hand, watched me sharply with her peripheral.

I fidgeted a little. “My brother taught me. He was really into stuff like that,” I answered.

“Well, here are the winnings, thanks to you.” Wolfe dumped bags of credits on the floor.

I pulled my feet back as they splayed out over the floor. “Jeez.” My mouth was hanging open. That was a lot of money.

“I know. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. You have a lot of admirers out there, but you also have a lot more people who want you dead for what you did. Get packed. We’re leaving in five.” Wolfe stood up and started helping Celeste.

Ricky came over and helped me with the last of my cuts. “So you aren’t banishing me or whatever?” I asked after the captain.

He looked over his shoulder. “No, but next time you disobey orders, I might.” I thought I saw a smile tug at his lips, but I couldn’t be sure.

“I’ll remember that,” I said under my breath.

Ricky finished bandaging my wounds and I got up to stretch. The dried sweat was grossing me out. I was going to take a shower and come up with a convincing argument to stay. Wolfe couldn’t have forgotten his promise, could he?

The door to the hotel room blasted open. Whirling towards the noise, I reached for the gun that was usually on my hip, but wasn’t there. My eyes flicked to the nightstand where it lay harmlessly, too far for me to grab.

Three giant men wearing suits walked into the room carrying machine guns. I didn’t think I’d ever seen anyone that large before in real life. They were all over six feet tall and at least three hundred pounds each, with broad shoulders, thick meaty arms, and no necks.

Wolfe stood in front of them with his arms crossed over his chest and stared them down. It was normally an intimidating pose, but these men made him look small in comparison.

They made me nervous. Maybe there was some merit to Ricky’s suffocating concern.

“Hello Miss Wolfe,” the man in the middle greeted me. His voice was so deep and gravelly that the walls practically shook at his words. “My name is Arsenio.”

Wolfe gave me an odd look. It was very weird for me to be addressed with his name, with him standing there and all.

“Hi,” I said meekly, waving.

Then Arsenio stepped forward and around the captain until he was toe-to-toe with me. Wolfe moved to my side, warm and protective. It eased my sudden chill.

“Well done on your victory. The prize, as you know, is one-hundred-thousand credits. Now, as part of our local tax, we’ll need fifty percent of your winnings.”

“Excuse me?” I asked in disbelief. How ludicrous. I tried to clarify exactly what he meant. “Like an income tax?”

“Something like that.” They all slid the bolts back on their guns in unison.

“Am I being shaken down by the mafia?” I almost laughed. I thought that only happened in the movies.

“We like to refer to ourselves as the Family.”

“I think we should do as he says,” Ricky suggested. He sounded sure, but cautious. The alarm he’d shown earlier was gone.

The captain glanced over at Ricky and nodded. Wolfe tossed the second bag to the thugs. We watched as they counted it out. Satisfied, they exited our hotel room. The last one paused at the door and stared at me.

I really wanted to fidget under his gaze, but I resisted and held still.

“I’m Imre,” he said. “I’ll find you later. I have a private message for you.” And then he was gone.

“That was bizarre.” That was it? No violence or bodily harm? Those men were terrifying, but they were straight to the point and businesslike.

“We need to get out of here.” Wolfe grabbed my bag, the rest of the money and walked out of there.

We’d already taken care of the Family when Wolfe just handed over the money like it was no big deal. What could Ricky and Wolfe possibly be worried about now?

Why didn’t they fight the Family? Was there something I missed? And what could Imre possibly want with me? I stood there, thinking. Everyone else bustled around, packing while I did nothing. I had to be missing something.

“Is Wolfe mad?” I asked Ricky.

“No, but he doesn’t like when he’s not in control. I’ll get Celeste, and you make sure you get the rest of your things.”

I put on a sweater and grabbed my new swords, knives, and my pulse pistol. I buckled the pistol on my hip and threw the rest in the bag. I followed the others out the door, my shower forgotten.

When I made it downstairs, the crowd was gone, and the captain had already checked us out of the hotel. I started panicking. Things were moving too fast. I needed to stay. I needed to find that giant and hear the message he had for me. It might be from Kris. I would risk any danger Imre might pose for the possibility of finding my twin.

The others were already down the street, and I ran to catch up. They headed straight for the ship at the docks.

I tugged the hood of my sweater over my head to hide my face. I didn’t want to be recognized. I needed to pass through the streets like I was invisible. I glanced back at the hotel. I needed to find that man.

Ricky and Celeste reached the ship, and Wolfe followed them up the ramp into the cargo bay.

“Chase!” I called out.

He stopped at the doors. He seemed stunned that I called him by his first name. I would take what little time I could get.

I ran up to him, and grabbed him by his arms so he would really look at me. My touch shocked him. His mouth hung open as he stared at me. I normally avoided physical contact at all costs, but I was desperate for more time. “Wolfe, please. I need to stay, just for a little while longer. My brother might be here. If he’s not, there might be a clue or something to lead me to him.” My eyes bore into his, pleading. “You promised.”

Wolfe looked torn. I knew he didn’t think it was safe. I knew he was still upset about that day’s events, but he needed to know I didn’t care how much danger there might be. Finding my brother was the reason I was on his ship in the first place.

“Katerina,” he began. His voice was tired, and his face told me how much he didn’t want to allow this. “I don’t think that’s the best idea.”

“Please.” My hands dropped from his arms. “Just one day, that’s all I need.”

Wolfe rubbed at his face and looked around. The docks were empty, everyone still at the coliseum. “You don’t understand,” he said. “You are the one they want, not any of us.”

I could tell his resolve was cracking. He knew he’d promised, and from what I could tell, he was an honorable man. It had to be eating at him. “I’ll be careful,” I said. “I promise. I’ll keep my comms on me at all times so you know where I am, and I can contact you if anything happens.”

Wolfe gave me a look, and I knew I’d won. He didn’t like it, but he was going to let me stay. “Just one day,” he said. His voice was stern. “That’s all.”

A grin broke out across my face, and I gave him a quick hug. It was my first voluntary act of touch; progress for me. “Thank you so much,” I said. “You have no idea what this means.”

It meant the world.

Wolfe smiled. It was a tired and world-weary smile, but I took it nonetheless. “Go put your things away and meet me in my office. I want to know what the plan is.”

We walked into the ship through the cargo hold. I didn’t see Celeste or Ricky anywhere.

“No problem,” I said. “I’ll be right there.”

Wolfe looked around at our cargo. “I might as well get Celeste and Ricky to buy supplies while we’re here. No one will be looking for them.” He turned to me. “I will see you in ten minutes Kat.”

I nodded. “I understand, Captain.”

I waited outside Wolfe’s office door, my things already put away. I could hear voices on the other side. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t feel like interrupting them.

“Celeste,” I heard Wolfe say. His voice was unmistakable. “Here is the list of parts and munitions we need to stock up on. Ricky, this is the list of foodstuffs. I’m sure you know if we need any medical items.”

There were sounds like someone moving around, and then I heard Celeste’s voice.

“I do not believe letting the human girl run around the planet on her own is a good idea,” she said.

“That almost sounds like concern,” Ricky said. I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

“If you want her killed, that is not my business,” Celeste said. “I just want it known that I am not responsible if anything happens. I was against it from the beginning.”