Uncontrollable (The Nature of Grace, Book 2) (29 page)

Agent Sweeney pauses. “I don’t know for sure he’s trying to. I just know he’s acting strange. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Watch your back and stay inside.”

I swallow hard. “Okay. See you soon. Oh, and hurry.”

Mo hangs up the phone, and I stare out the window, taking it all in. Porter must have killed those wolves. He must have been tracking them and getting to them before we did. Seth found out, and Porter killed him. But why? Because of his wife’s attack twenty years ago? And where do the bandanas come in? Are Porter and Al working together?

Wyn snaps at Mo behind me. “So what now? We just hang out here? Like monkeys in a tree?” His voice is strong and forceful. Sharp. Cutting.

Mo answers calmly, not feeding into Wyn’s attitude. “What would you have me do?”

Wyn peers out the window. “Maybe we should check it out.”

I snap out of my daze and spin around. My voice is the loud one this time. “
That
has to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Yeah, let’s tromp outside in the dark when we think Porter might be out there.”

Mo massages his temples. “Or Al. We can’t rule him out yet.”

Wyn narrows his eyes. “I don’t hear any brilliant ideas coming from you.”

Mo studies Wyn’s face. “Maybe he’s right.”

I sit up. “What? No! We do like Agent Sweeney said and wait.”

“For what?” Wyn says. “For all we know it’s a power outage. Happens all the time. Suddenly, it’s a conspiracy?”

“Wyn, remember the cave?”

He looks sad and mumbles. “I’ll never forget it.”

I smack his arm. “Stop. I mean the person walking outside.”

He shrugs. “We don’t know who that was. Could have been a rescuer. A hiker. Could have been Porter for all we know.”

I nod once, thinking of the bandana. “Maybe. But it was someone who was intent on being quiet. Until we know for sure who is out there or that it’s nothing, we stay inside.”

I grip Mo’s arm. “Right?”

His face wrinkles, and he makes a noise. “Cor blimey. How can I resist that beautiful face?”

He kisses my hand as Wyn turns away.

Mo stops when he notices Wyn in the corner, avoiding looking. “Listen, I’m just going to check the rest of the house. Upstairs and downstairs to make sure we’re as snug as bugs in rugs.”

“So you’re not going outside?”

Mo smiles and runs his finger down my cheek. “Not if you tell me not to. I’ve put you through enough.”

I hug him and look at Wyn over his shoulder.

Wyn rolls his eyes. “I feel like I’m listening to one of those bad soap operas my mom records.”

I do what every mature girl does. I stick out my tongue.

Wyn mumbles, “Oh, that’s mature.”

Mo hovers in for a kiss. He stops himself. “We need some candles and flashlights.”

I stand, needing something to do before I go nuts. “I’ll do that. They must be around here somewhere.”

Wyn leans against the chair. “I’ll stay with you.”

Mo appears reluctant this time, like he doesn’t want to leave me with Wyn.

I lean over and peck Mo on the lips for reassurance. “It’s okay. Go. I can handle him.” I tilt my head toward Wyn and smile.

“I know you can.” Mo kisses my nose and leaves the room without so much as another glance at his rival.

Once he’s gone, I put my hands on my hips. “You’re not making this easy.”

Wyn stands and sifts through a drawer. “Not my job, and certainly not in the agreement.”

“Yeah, but do you have to make us all miserable?”

He just shrugs. “Why should I let the Brit take over? They tried that in the past, and it didn’t work. Why should I surrender now? My forefathers died for me.”

I walk around the room, looking for candles. “Oh, please. You don’t give a rat’s butt about your
forefathers
.” I sit down at Reynolds’ desk and start looking through drawers. “You know you’re being completely childish and unfair, right?”

Wyn grabs a candle off the bookshelf and mumbles. “Life isn’t fair. Trust me, I know.”

I sit back in the chair and sigh. Wyn is starting to get on my nerves. Big time. Being hurt is one thing, whining about it is a whole other. And it’s so not attractive on him. “Can we play this drama out later? For now, we need to work together. Something serious could be going on, but you’re too busy pouting to help.”

“Fine.” Wyn picks up a picture and looks at it. “But this whole thing doesn’t make sense. Why would Porter go all nutso like this?”

He shows me the press photo of Agent Sweeney, Porter, and Reynolds. Reynolds is holding a conservation award.

“Nice.” I keep sifting through the desk for matches. No point in telling him about Porter’s wife. I need to keep Wyn focused. “Maybe he’s mad at the university. They did accuse him of some awful things.”

He squints his eyes. “Maybe.”

“Sucks that Katie will be affected. I think she was really hoping to make a difference.”

I lean in and stare at the certificate on the wall claiming she is quite the pistol-shooter. The only way I can even tell is because the moonlight is streaming in through the window.

“I never would have expected her to be some kind of marksman,” I say. “She seems so—”

“Sexy.” Wyn interjects.

I look at him, shocked. “I was going to say feminine.” I sift through papers looking for matches.

“Like you would know.” He chuckles under his breath at his own joke.

I throw a crumpled up paper at his head. “Oh, thanks. You really are going to make me pay, huh?”

He winks. “I’ll milk it for as long as I can.”

I slide my hand into a drawer. “And if you know me so well, you know that won’t be much longer.” I touch a cold handle. “Bingo.”

I pull out a flashlight, but along with it comes a stack of papers. They fall out and spread across the ground. “Oh crap.” I gather up all the papers. It looks like Katie’s collecting articles and documents on Cardinal, Inc. “Ha. Looks like Katie’s next victim is Mandy Smith.”

Wyn calls out from across the room. “Who’s that?”

“CEO of Cardinal, Inc. Evidently they own eBuild. The company that’s trying to build up here. Serves them right. Let them rape some other town.”

“It’s not like this one is doing so hot. We could probably use some tourism and development.”

Thinking of our poor, sinking town economy, I stack the papers neatly back in the drawer alongside Katie’s loan documents for the cabin. My eyes find the price tag.

“Hey, you don’t even want to know how much this cabin is.”

He darts over. “Tell me.” He grabs the documents and whistles as I look over his shoulder. “Whoa. If I had that kind of money, I sure would not be working as a conservationist, I tell you that.”

“Maybe she wants to make a difference. Maybe she’s not about money.”

He shrugs. “Maybe.”

I can’t help but scan all the information before looking away, feeling guilty for snooping.

I snatch the papers. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“You started it.” He heads over to the fireplace and lights the few candles he’s found. The room lights up with a dim glow. “Wish my forefathers left me enough jack for a place like this.”

I put the papers back in the folder and hit him over the head with it. “Would you stop with the ancestor talk? It’s getting old.”

I take out the flashlight and look at my watch. “Mo should have been back by now.”

Survival Skill #28

When faced with an uncertain situation, listen to your gut. Often your unconscious brain will detect something before you are consciously aware of it
.

I
swing my flashlight toward the hallway. “Wonder what’s taking Mo so long.”

Wyn mumbles. “Who cares?”

I ignore him and walk to the doorway, calling softly, “Mo?”

No answer.

I stand in the hallway and look around. I have no clue what is where in here, since I’ve only been hanging out in the den since I got here.

“You think he’s okay?”

Wyn scuffles behind me, placing candles around the room. “Well, I know he’s not
dead
.”

“Ha-ha.” I move down the hallway. “Maybe I should look for him.”

Wyn comes to the den entrance and hangs from the door molding. “He’s probably upstairs. This place is a mansion.”

I open the door to the basement and whisper, “Mo?”

When I don’t get an answer, I walk down a few steps. Wyn is at my side in a heartbeat. “He told us to stay here.”

I take another step and hold the flashlight out in front of me. “Last time he told me that, I never saw him again. Well, alive anyway. Until now, I mean.”

Wyn shakes his head. “Geez, this whole situation is so messed up. How do you find this kind of stuff to get into? You’re just a simple girl from a simple town.”

“It’s complicated.” I take another step. “You coming?”

“Do I have a freakin’ choice?” Wyn follows next to me. “Just remember if I die, I’m going to come back, too. But instead of a dead lover-boy, I’m gonna haunt your skinny butt.”

“You already do.” I take a step, and he squeezes next to me. “Can you not follow?”

“Why can’t you follow?”

We make our way down the stairs at the same time, our shoulders pressing into each other. I try to flip on the light without even thinking. The click echoes in the dark, reminding me the power is still out. My flashlight starts to dim. “Gah! Figures. Murphy’s Law.”

I hit the tube against my hand, trying to knock some light back into. It beams bright and then flickers out.

Wyn whispers, “Great. Now we gotta climb back up in the dark.”

“Just give me a second,” I whisper and slap the flashlight against my thigh. It pops on and shines right into a face.

I scream and drop the light.

Wyn screams next to me, and I hear him thump down the steps as he falls.

Mo calls out in the dark, “Crumbs. You guys scared the bejesus out of me.”

I bend over and pick up the fading flashlight. “Me? What about you? Why didn’t you answer?" I shine the light around, looking for Wyn. He’s lying a few steps down. “Wyn? Are you okay?”

He curses at my feet. “I think I hurt my leg.”

I shine the light on him and go to inspect it closer. “It’s just a sprain.”

He frowns. “Just a sprain? Guess I have to
die
and resurrect to get any attention around here.”

“Oh stop being a baby.” I scowl up at Mo. “Why didn’t you say anything? You had me worried.”

His face shows concern. “I didn’t mean to, I was trying to be quiet.”

Without saying anything, he grabs Wyn’s arm and swings it around his neck. I can’t help but smile, knowing how much Wyn hates that Mo is carrying him up the stairs. At the top, we sneak back into the living room and turn off the flashlights. Wyn grunts as Mo lays him on the couch.

Then Mo lowers his voice. “There’s definitely someone out there.”

My hands are still trembling. “Do you know who it is?”

“No, but my Jeep’s tires were flat, and I saw fresh footsteps around the cabin.”

Wyn rubs his leg. “Maybe they were mine.”

I think for a second and put my hands on my hips, frowning at Mo. “Wait. You went outside?”

Mo wrinkles his face. “Yes.”

I hit him. “Why in the world would you do that? You could’ve been hurt.”

He pulls a gun out of the back of his pants. “I wanted to be sure I could protect you.”

Wyn groans. “You left your gun in the car too? This is like something out of a bad movie.”

Mo’s jaw flexes. I can tell he’s getting frustrated with Wyn’s jabs and constant comments, but before he can say anything, I face Wyn.

“Shut up. We need to work together, and the peanut gallery is not helping.”

Wyn mumbles. “Just saying it wasn’t smart.”

Mo cracks under the pressure. “Look, I know it was daft of me, but I solved the problem. So on your bike.”

Wyn laughs. “On your
bike
? Oh, gee, you got me there.” He looks at me. “And you think that’s sexy?”

“I’m not doing this with you. You can either help us, or shut up about it.” I bite my lip. “I don’t think you realize what’s going on here.”

“Yeah. I do. Porter is whacked and Sweeney is about to arrest him.”

Mo puts his gun on the side table. “Only we don’t know if it’s Porter at all.”

I gasp and my legs collapse beneath me as the obvious hits me. “Oh, God. It’s Al.” I start rubbing my hands together. “He’s going to kill me. I know it.”

“Way to go, knight in shining armor,” Wyn says. “Send the damsel in distress into complete hysteria.”

Mo kneels down next to me. “I’m sorry. I was just being honest.”

Wyn mumbles. “There’s a first.” He points to the front window. “You sure this place is locked up tight?” When Mo nods, he reassures me. “There’s no way Al is getting in here.”

I hug my knees and start to rock. “If he can find a way out of the ropes I knotted, he can get in here. Easily.”

Wyn’s eyes narrow. “Yeah, come to think of it. How did he get out of that?” He stares right at Mo.

Mo looks surprised. “Don’t look at me. I wasn’t even near him. Sweeney got me the hell out of those woods before anyone could see me.”