Secrets (7 page)

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The headlights from Casey's Prius shone into the dark, lighting his way through the forest on the winding road that led back to his parents' house. His parents' home had been home base for his colony for as long as he could remember. His father, Larry, kept things close to his vest and his mother, Camille, supported him. His mother was a human who carried a recessive gene for were-cat traits and his father was a pure, born from two pures. In his experience he'd found that pures expect to run things, including deeming a moggy's home unfit for colony concerns. But somehow his father had made it so.

His father had been a colony leader. He preferred to follow. He'd said it made life simpler for him. Casey thought of his father as quietly subversive, but his father would never agree to that description. How else could his life be explained? He didn't like to rock the boat, yet he'd married a human. The stories Casey's mother had told of the arguments about the marriage between his father and his grandfather made his father sound brave and strong and his grandfather ferocious. His parents' marriage had caused a split in the colony of the time. Some followed his father as the new leader and adopted his father's house as base, and some chose to go a separate way.

It was convenient that the meetings typically were held here, because he could see his parents and his colony cats in one visit. Efficient. Plus there was the added benefit of his mother's cooking. She often cooked a meal for them all and it was always delicious.

He parked and stood outside, taking in the comfortable sense of being at his haven. It had been the place he could escape to and be himself after days at school being human. Luckily for everyone involved, were-cat children didn't transition to full were-cat ability until eighteen years old, after high school graduation, so designated colony mentors could help them make the changes by keeping them at home. Casey chuckled, remembering his transition. It was a bit rough. Since each were-cat retains their human personality, in his case he resisted his mentor's attempts to “tame” him or advise him to stick close to home while his shimmering was random and out of control. He'd wanted to be free to be himself, lynx and all, and felt unnatural at pretending.

Things were different for him now. He carried a sense of being comfortable in his lynx skin and his human skin, so he didn't need to act out or have the security he'd grown up with here in this grand home.

Secluded among large oak trees, his parents' home was more than one hundred years old. It stood tall at four stories high and was lined with large windows inset into the brick. Without moving he could summon an image of the gardens in the back that his mother kept green and healthy. As a child he used to play around the tall hedges that enclosed the gardens of rose bushes and simpler flowers, including daisies, hydrangeas, and peonies. In the warm months it made a plush and inviting spot, but now, with fall in the air, it would be dying down for the cold months.

He lifted his nose to catch the scents of his home and got whiffs of a range of smells, familiar scents of his fellow colony cats: Asia Blue, Lara Monroe and her brother Asher, Elizabeth Sands—Tizzy for short—Conrad Pike, Quinn Arons, and Booker Chase. Booker's wife, Shaun, was human, and she rarely attended colony meetings.

Casey took the four steps up the stairs, through the front door, and into the entryway, then felt rather than saw his friend Tizzy barrel into him, her slim arms wrapping tightly around him.

“Hey, Casey!”

He hugged her hard. “Hi, Tizzy. You about knocked me over.”

She laughed heartily. “If I had wanted to knock you over you would now be sitting on the floor.” The young woman sparkled up at him, her brown eyes the warm color of cognac, pinning him. In her were-cat form she was a beige-white lynx with the ability to leap higher than any of the rest of them. In her human form she stood a mere five feet, two inches and had the energy of a spring. “You're late. We've been waiting for you to show up so we could eat dinner.”

“I know better than that. Since when do any of you have the grace to wait for me or anyone else?” He rubbed her head of cropped blond hair.

“Funny. We're not that wild.” Tizzy winked up at him.

Casey chuckled. “Yes you are. So, is everyone here?”

“Not everyone, but those who are are waiting in the den.”

In the den, Casey kissed his mother and hugged his dad. Conversations floated around the large room and bounced off the deep mahogany wood paneling. Groups of overstuffed upholstered chairs and a matching sofa made for comfortable seating in front of the large, limestone fireplace, now crackling with a small fire.

Lara, the pure cat who had called the meeting, stood from her spot across the room. “Dinner will be ready soon, so shall we begin the meeting?” Lara was a sweet bobcat and a skillful vet with powers to heal.

A roomful of nods and grunts answered her, and Lara began.

She scanned the room for attention and shoved a shoulder-length twist of her dark hair behind one ear. Her dark, nut-brown eyes glistened in the light of the fire. “We have just one item to discuss, but it's of great concern. At my vet office I've been getting calls from worried cat owners whose indoor-outdoor cats have disappeared. These are healthy cats who are regular patients in my clinic.” She cleared her throat and glanced around again.

“How many?” Asia Blue, a sassy moggy with hazel eyes that sparked confidence pursed her lips. Her telepathic powers with other animals offered great insights into many issues, but it also gave her a direct link to an animal's frantic or desperate moments. She had honed the skill of maintaining calm within her own boundaries.

“I've heard from four owners. It's been happening for about two weeks.” Lara sighed and her shoulders slumped. “Look, I know outdoor cats run into trouble all the time. Their lives are at risk when they run around outside. But these cats have homes where they have established patterns of always returning to. I'm concerned something foul is going on.”

Asher Monroe, also a pure and also a bobcat—as well as Lara's brother—sat up straight on the couch. “Have any returned since they went missing? Are there any particular locations we're talking about from which these cats have disappeared? If there is a pattern, that would be something to investigate.”

Quinn Arons, a moggy and a lynx, stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “Yeah, that would be a place to start. Some of us could track.”

Lara nodded. “I haven't found a pattern, but I know the locations of where each cat resides. I'll email you each the home territories for the missing cats. Those who can track can let the colony know where and when. We don't all need to track together, but the sooner we get results the better. Put this on the top of your to-do lists.” She dropped her gaze to the floor. It didn't take a telepath to pick up the severity of emotions in the room, and Lara's concern was palpable. “This is urgent. We all know the cruelty that humans can inflict. I don't want this disappearing act to go on. I'll email Conrad and Booker to get them up to speed. Thanks, guys.”

Asher leaped to his feet. “Does that mean it's dinner time?” He laughed heartily and grabbed Asia around the waist. “I think this cat could use a bit more meat on her bones.”

Strong and lithe, Asia smoothly slipped out of his hold and beat him to the dining room, Asher steps behind.

Casey smiled to himself. Even in their human form, Casey saw his colony cats in their were-cat forms. Their temperaments were such an integral part of them, no matter what form they were in.

As Lara stepped up beside him, he sobered up. Her expression was still somber, so he waited in place while the others gathered around the table and helped themselves to dinner. “There's more, isn't there.”

Lara chewed on her bottom lip and stared into his face, searching. “I know what you've been doing at night. You've been shimmering and watching Michelle.”

He nodded, knowing there was more coming.

“If the others found out you're putting us all in such jeopardy, your authority may be questioned. You may even be ousted. This is serious, Casey.”

He rubbed his thumb against the stubble on his chin. “Serious how? I'm careful. Why do people keep suggesting I'm not serious about serious stuff?”

A whisper of a growl rumbled in Lara's throat. “We all take chances when we shimmer into our cat form. But you engaged Michelle as a lynx. She may try to find out more about this phantom lynx that is not afraid of humans. She's already asked me what I know about lynxes.”

Casey shook his head, annoyed. “I am well aware of the colony's need for secrecy. Just as everyone was aware when my parents married and when Booker married Shaun. I know the rules. I don't believe the colony has anything to fear from Michelle. I don't like you reprimanding me like I'm a new shifter.”

“I know you—”

“You know as well as I do that Michelle needs protection and someone with my heightened strength, agility, and sight can make sure she's safe.” The annoyance began blistering into outright anger.

Lara slanted her eyes at him. “And someone like you who cares personally about Michelle may let those feelings sway your good judgment. Your responsibility is to the colony, especially as its leader.”

Casey took his turn to rumble a low growl, a warning to Lara that she was overstepping. “I appreciate your input, Lara, but I am doing what is right. There are factors to consider that you're not aware of. That's where you must trust your leader or advocate for a new one.”

Lara bent her head. “No, I think you're the best leader we could have. I'm just concerned, and if I am, soon others will be, too. I don't want trouble in the colony.” She dropped her hands onto her hips. “I care about Michelle, too. You know that.”

Casey flashed her a smile, signifying the topic was closed. “Let's get in there before they've eaten all the food. Then later maybe a good run would ground your anxiety.”

Lara dropped her head onto his shoulder, then looked up with nervous eyes. “That would do me good.”

A colony run suggestion fell flat at the dinner table. Other commitments took priority, so at the door, Casey, the last one remaining, told his parents good night and stepped into the quiet of the forest that surrounded his parents' home.

Temptation to run alone pulled at him. The keen senses of sight, scent, hearing, and touch reached out for the richness of the forest, just a shimmer away.

Not tonight. Tonight he would use those keen senses to enter the world of one William Carter with one purpose in mind. To expose his motives for going after Michelle's property.

On his drive to William Carter Enterprises' administrative campus, Casey's thoughts entertained the idea that maybe Lara had a point. It was important to keep the presence of his colony secret. Lynxes were not native inhabitants of the Midwest. Other colonies lived in other parts of the United States and in Europe. Casey's colony had little contact with them, but Lara managed a database of other were-cats and a history of his colony.

But his colony of were-cats lived wherever they chose. There were no boundaries and they could survive in any setting habitable for humans. Still, humans' reactions to sightings of wild animals, native or not, leaned toward securing their own habitat. Elimination of the threat. So he and his colony cats lived as were-cats in secrecy. He had no problem with that. It was the way things stood.

When it came to Michelle, everything got scrambled. Keeping parts of him secret came at a price. Loneliness, deep and heavy, colored his every day. It was a price paid by all part-human, part-nonhuman beings, especially for those living in an urban environment among humans.

He parked under a large tree down the street from the William Carter, Enterprises campus and turned off the car. He sat in the dark, desperation warring with detachment.

When she'd broken off with him, the loneliness didn't simply return, it nearly took him over. It shouted in his head, brutal thoughts of getting what he deserved for letting her get close. It tainted his dreams with endless dark hunts searching for her in nameless and unfamiliar forests.

Casey shrugged off the clamor of loneliness, and focused his vision on the building down the street. It was his prey tonight.

He put on his mask, made sure his bulletproof vest was on securely, and checked his gear one more time, then slipped out of the car and crouched low to the ground, moving slowly, one cautious step at a time until he reached an employee entrance.

He eyed the keypad for a quick second, then did his magic and hooked up a tool that cracked passcodes. Inside, he didn't expect much more in the way of obstacles. Hundreds of people worked in the building and went in and out this door and others like it every day. It didn't call for lasers and such.

Security guards were expected, though, and he kept his senses aware for one's approach. He didn't need night vision glasses. His vision was made for darkness. Lynxes were nocturnal by nature and hunted prey in the dark.

Moving swiftly, Casey bounded down the stairs to the records room. He'd done his homework and knew his way around. His eyes peered through the walls of the room, checking for workers or guards. Lines of computers stretched across the large room.
Destination one
.

He made short work of the locked door. Tonight, his former cat burglar skills resurrected with ease. Something like riding a bicycle?

It didn't matter which computer he hacked, so he just picked one and sat down to get to work. Hacking was not his strong suit, but he could manage with the help of his electronic tools.

“In. Good girl.” The mask he wore muffled his whispered words. Flipping through folders and subfolders led Casey on a chase. He checked his cellphone for the time, urgency pushing his breathing. Too much was at stake to blow this opportunity. Time passed so quickly and there were so many places to look.