The Finding (47 page)

He kissed her
gently. “I understand and when we finally make love, I want both
you and your wolf to be in full agreement. How about I just help
you relax a bit?”

Relaxing
sounded good. Her muscles were as tight as proverbial fiddle
strings. “Okay.”

“And whenever
you want me to stop you just say so, all right?”

She nodded and
he eased the pillows out from under her head.

“On your
stomach.” When she complied he knelt knelt astride her, gathering
her hair up and moving it out of the way. Then he settled himself
lightly on top of her rear end and began to massage her
shoulders.

“Mmm... That
feels so good.” She groaned into the mattress as his fingers worked
their magic on her back.

“See?” He
leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “I
can
make you
whimper again.”

Cassie giggled.
“That’s not a whimper.”

“Sorry. I stand
corrected. I can make you moan in delight.”

She laughed
again. “Okay, I guess you’re right.”

“Good, just
remember that and keep saying it to yourself. Bryan is always
right.”

“I didn’t say
‘always,’ she protested.

“I’m sure you
meant to.” He answered cockily, then leaned forward to quickly kiss
her cheek before sitting up again.

In silence, he
worked on her neck, her shoulders, down the middle of her back;
rubbing and pressing. His hands moved sideways, the tips of his
fingers barely brushing against the sides of her breasts. She bit
back a moan, not wanting him to know exactly how arousing she found
this to be. What would it be like to have his hands actually
cupping her breasts? His thumbs playing over the tips? His hot
mouth suckling...

“Cassie...”
Bryan’s voice sounded deeper and she became aware of the fact that
a certain part of his anatomy was waking up, pressing into her
backside from his perch on top of her.

She cleared her
throat, anxious to return to neutral ground. With faked casualness,
she began to ask him questions about his life. “So, besides bossing
people around, what exactly does a Beta do?”

He was silent
for a moment, his hands still, possibly wondering what she was
thinking. Then he started the massage again, his voice a normal
tone as he began to explain his duties, then moved on to life in
the pack, the townsfolk in Stump River...

She fell asleep
under the rhythmic movement of his hands and the soothing sound of
his voice.

Chapter
21

The next
morning Marla drove to work feeling tired and irritable. Her dreams
had been troubled, her wolf dragging her from scene to scene as she
revisited her life. Strange how she’d forgotten how happy she’d
been as a young pup. It was only as she had become older and begun
to sense subtle undercurrents that her discontent had begun. She
hadn’t thought about it in years, mind you. The arguing; how her
mother—a half-breed—never felt totally accepted, how her father
sneered at her.

Marla
remembered how scared she’d been the first time she’d had to
transform. What if she were more like her mother than her father?
What if she had difficulty changing? Thankfully she hadn’t and her
father had begun to plan great things for her. He wanted her to
mate an Alpha, or at least a Beta; to regain some status for his
family. Status lost due to her mother.

She hadn’t
understood why it mattered that she was only three-quarters
werewolf, but her father had drummed it into her head to keep it a
secret. Just as he had kept her mother away from the pack as much
as possible. Her father had been a proud man and bitter that a
youthful folly had left him saddled with a half-breed mate.

Of course, her
father’s plans weren’t hers. She had her own dreams. Dreams that
didn’t include living in a pokey town in the middle of nowhere,
being mated, or spending part of her life as wolf. Of course, the
stupid animal inside her didn’t agree; it was loyal to the pack, to
their Alpha. The creature rejected her desire for worldly status,
her need to leave pack life and set out on her own. That was when
the struggle inside of her had begun; the constant conversations in
her head, the battle of wills. For years now, she’d been fighting
to maintain supremacy over the wolf, but lately... She shook her
head and tightened her jaw. No. It wasn’t true. She was still in
charge, no matter what the creature might say.

She was more
human than wolf, but the animal wouldn’t listen. It chastised her
for her actions, blaming her for the steps she’d been forced to
take in life. Well, she didn’t care. If people were in her way,
they had to be dealt with, by whatever means necessary. It was as
simple as that. The wolf could do and say whatever it wanted, but
it couldn’t force her to listen.

As she arrived
at the building that housed Aldrich’s penthouse, she lowered the
car window and pulled out her security card to open the entrance of
the underground parking garage. The usual smells of exhaust and oil
greeted her, but another scent lingered too. Carefully, she sniffed
again.

Her wolf rose
to alert as the scent of other werewolves reached her nostrils. She
stiffened and scanned the area, but could see no one about. Another
sniff and the scent was gone. Had the wind shifted directions? Of
perhaps the creature inside her was just playing games with her
again. It was so recalcitrant lately; she wouldn’t put it past the
beast. Irritation marred her face as she examined the quiet street
one more time, then put the car back in gear and drove inside.
There was nothing about; it was just her over-tired mind playing
tricks on her.

Parking her
car, she went in search of Jeffries. Aldrich had a private area
cordoned off in the underground lot for his own use. It included a
small room where Jeffries kept his tools, completed maintenance
logs, and bided his time when he wasn’t needed. Marla walked over
to the room, the clicking of her heels creating an uneven staccato
on the cement floor and echoing throughout the cavernous space of
the parking garage. She rubbed her side; it was aching from the
dampness this morning, making her limp more pronounced and further
deepening her dark mood.

As she
approached Jeffries’ room, her acute hearing picked up faint sounds
from outside; the outdoor traffic, the whir of exhaust fans that
kept the air in the underground space breathable. A scratching
sound caught her attention as well and she cocked her head, giving
a satisfied smile when she identified it.

Jeffries was
addicted to the various word and number puzzles that came in the
daily paper. As she approached the room where he worked, the sound
became louder until she stood in the doorway and watched him
scribbling away on a bit of paper, obviously trying to figure out
an answer.

“Jeffries?”

He gave a start
and looked up, a welcoming smile spreading across his face. “Marla?
You usually don’t come down here this time of day.” Setting the
paper aside, he stood up and walked to where she leaned against the
door frame. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a
kiss. “Why are you here?”

She studied his
face. So handsome. It was a shame he’d likely be blamed for the
accident. Oh well, it couldn’t be helped. “I was just wondering if
everything was in place for our little joke today.”

The smile left
the man’s face. “Yeah, but I still don’t think it’s a good
idea.”

“Relax. Nothing
will go wrong. We’ll get together this afternoon in the sauna and
I’ll tell you all about it.”

Jeffries opened
his mouth as if to protest, then shut it and nodded. She rewarded
him with a warm, wet kiss. As he wrapped his arms around her and
pulled her close, an unexpected a growl rumbled in her chest.

Embarrassed,
Marla pushed him away and tried to cover up the sound with
coughing. Inwardly, she frowned. What was going on? Her wolf had no
business judging her taste in men.

“Are you
getting sick, Marla? That’s a nasty sounding cough.” Jeffries
peered at her, concern etched on his face.

“Perhaps. Don’t
fuss. I’ll be fine. I’ll just head upstairs and get something warm
to drink. Give me a call when you have the elevator ready.”

“All right. But
remember what I told you. Once the elevator’s been disabled, you’re
stuck up there for the next few hours until someone comes to fix
it.

“Why can’t you
fix it yourself?” She queried.

“I can’t do it
myself or it would implicate me in the prank. If Mr. Aldrich finds
out, I could be out of a job.”

“Of course, how
silly of me not to think of that.” She patted his cheek and he
caught her hand and nipped playfully at her fingers. “See you
later, Jeffries.”

As she walked
to the elevator, she decided she’d miss the man.

*****

Bryan held onto
one of Kane’s arms and Ryne gripped the other. The man had quit
straining against them, but they weren’t taking any chances. When
Marla had driven up to entrance of the parking garage, Kane had
been all for taking her right there. It had required some fast
talking and physical restraint to hold the man back.

“If you attack
her out in the open, people will see. And undoubtedly there’s a
security camera mounted by the garage door.” Bryan explained.

Kane growled
and tried to pull his arms free again. “Let me go. I won’t do
anything stupid. It was just the sight of her after all these
years. I flashed back to how she’d tried to kill Elise...” He
continued to growl, but his body relaxed.

Bryan and Ryne
exchanged looks, silently agreeing to let Kane go. Once free of
their restraint, the man shoved his hands through his hair and
began pacing back and forth in the small alleyway where they
hid.

“It’s a good
thing you managed to convince Elise to stay back with Mel and keep
her company.” Ryne quipped. “She’d have your hide for the fool
stunt you almost pulled.”

“I know. I
know. You don’t have to rub it in. But once I get my hands on
Marla...” Kane paused and exhaled slowly. “I hope I can restrain
myself until we get her to the High Council.”

“High Council?”
Cassie queried. Bryan glanced over to where she stood huddled by
the wall. It was a miserably cold morning, even for early spring in
Chicago. The wind was whipping down the alley, stirring up dirt and
debris. Being used to Las Vegas temperatures for the past three
years, Cassie likely found this a shocking change.

She brushed a
few stray hairs from her face and Bryan watched the motion of her
hands, noting their jerky movement, the faint lines of tension on
her face. He could sense her worry over the plan they were about to
undertake and knew she was trying to distract herself. “High
Council is where a werewolf who has committed crimes against a pack
is judged. It’s our version of going to court except there are no
lawyers.” He explained.

“Oh. I...I
thought you were just going to...er...deal with her yourselves.”
She shrugged and gave a nervous half smile.

“That’s always
an option, especially since she’s guilty of crimes against an
Alpha, but High Council is better. It’s more objective and prevents
other wolves—family members of the accused for example—from
claiming bias or saying we were acting as vigilantes.”

Cassie nodded
and shoved her hands in her coat pockets, her shoulders hunching
against the cold. Bryan moved closer to her and slipped an arm
around her shoulder, sharing his body heat. Almost automatically
she relaxed against him, a contented sigh escaping her lips.

Ryne noticed
the move. Bryan saw how his eyes narrowed and assessed them, but
the Alpha said nothing about it, instead focussing on business.
“So, when are we going start this operation?”

“I would
imagine Marla’s upstairs by now, so I suppose anytime Cassie’s
ready...” Kane looked at Cassie and she straightened, nodding.

“I’ll try to
teleport into the parking garage and open the door from the inside
so you guys can get in. Then I’ll teleport upstairs to the room
Kellen is in, shut off the security, send a message to Daniel to
start purging Aldrich’s computer and then I’ll hide until you
arrive.” She checked off the steps of the plan they’d devised.

“I still don’t
like her teleporting into the parking garage.” Bryan frowned, a
lead weighted ball of worry building in his stomach. “She’s never
seen inside so she doesn’t really know where to aim for.”

“A parking
garage is a parking garage.” Cassie huffed, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, but you
don’t know where the ramps are or the cement pillars. What if you
teleport into one? Or suddenly appear in front of a surveillance
camera?”

Cassie bit her
lip and shrugged. “I guess we’ll just have to hope for the
best.”

Both Kane and
Ryne frowned, neither liking the idea. Bryan started pacing back
and forth, shooting considering glances across the street at the
entrance to the underground parking garage. He examined the area on
either side of the metal door and then looked at the position of
the security camera. “Okay, what about this? If I change into my
wolf form, I can hide in the bushes that are just beside the
entrance. When the next car goes in, I can sneak in beside it. Once
I’m in, I’ll change back, disable the surveillance cameras, and
then open the door for you.”

Ryne nodded
slowly. “It might work, but I’ll do it.”

Bryan shook his
head. “No. If Aldrich is watching the security cameras, you and
Kane are too recognizable. I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten that it was
a black wolf that attacked him. My light brown fur lets me pass
myself off as a dog much more easily. Besides, he’s never seen me
as a wolf. Neither has Marla.”

Kane concurred.
“He’s right. Okay, we’ll wait here with Cassie. Once you’re inside,
she’ll teleport directly upstairs to the room Anderson is being
held in. While we make our way to the elevator, she can be
disarming the security so we can sneak upstairs undetected.”