Wolf’s Princess (38 page)

When any of the wolves growled it could be frightening, but when Shadow growled it was terrifying. The captain’s gaze shot to Shadow, but he didn’t break his military stance.

“The men who attacked Ms. Worth were not members of the City Guard,” the captain continued. “My men did manage to question one of them. It seems they were hired by a private citizen to cause trouble. I don’t believe this was the only group of men who were hired. More of your people might be in danger.”

Sky snapped upright. “Neil, I want men sent out to escort each of our ladies back to the house.” He looked at his brother and cousins. “I don’t have enough people here to be able to do that and guard the house. Will you help?”

Chairs scraped as they all stood up, ready to go at once.

“Thank you.” Sky’s voice held a note of relief. “Neil, will you coordinate and assign the escorts?”

Neil and the men from the Pack filed out. The captain looked at Sky with a strained, sober face.

“It’s already starting,” the captain said. “A fire was set in the southwest quadrant late last night. It spread to the residential neighborhoods. There have been twelve confirmed deaths and dozens of injuries.”

Sara paused in the act of taping gauze to Jocelyn’s forehead. “Oh, no. The hospital will be crowded with that.”

“That’s the area where most of the dissent is focused,” Sky said slowly, propping one hip on the table again. “That wasn’t an accident.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Erikson agreed grimly. “I spoke with some of the men there and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more bloodshed before nightfall.”

Sara put her medical supplies into the bag on the floor by her chair. “I’ll be needed at the hospital.” She looked across the table at Stone. “Will you walk me there?”

“No.” There was flat finality in his voice.

“Stone,” she began.

“No. And I’m not talking about it here. We can discuss it later if you want to. Besides, Odell still needs you.”

Rose wondered if Sara heard the refusal beneath his reasonable tone. If so, the other woman didn’t argue.

During this short exchange, the captain had shifted his attention to Rye. He looked like he was trying to suppress some strong emotion. “Where have you been, man?”

Rye leaned back in his chair so it teetered on two legs, arms folded over his chest. “Out West. Trying to make a living.”

“God, I’m glad you’re here. You picked the perfect time to come back.”

Rye’s chair thudded back onto all four legs. “No. No way. I’m out of here the first chance I get.”

Erikson abandoned his military pose to stride down the table and grab Rye’s plaid collar. “We need you. We’ve never needed you more than we need you right now. Don’t leave us.”

The trader disengaged his collar with a jerk. “And what do you think I can do for you?” Rye’s low chuckle was bleak rather than amused. “I’ve been gone for almost fifteen years. I don’t know Omaha anymore, and Omaha doesn’t know me. I’ve got a business out West to get back to. There are men out there who depend on me for their jobs.”

The captain shot back, “There are people here whose lives depend on you. You can make a difference in Omaha.”

“No.” Rye tightened his arms over his chest. “No, it’s nothing to do with me.”

Sky glanced over at Sara. “You saw Odell this morning. How is she? Is she up for some visitors?”

Sara didn’t blink at this abrupt topic change or ask how he knew she’d been out to check on Odell. “She’s doing better. A short visit would be okay.”

“Good.” Sky nodded at Paint and Stone. “Let’s introduce Mr. Thomas to Miss Graham.”

Rye took one look at the men flanking him and stood up without their urging. Sara led them all out back to the women’s dorm, Rose bringing up the rear. She stayed out in the hall but by craning her neck she was able to see everything inside the room. Snow sat in a chair on the right side of Odell’s bed, and Katelyn stood on the left. Katelyn’s head rose sharply when she noticed the men crowding into the room. Wild terror showed plainly on her face, but when Paint pushed his way to her side she relaxed. Snow stood up, placing himself protectively between his mate and the visitors. When Sky told him to step aside, Snow appeared to debate with himself for a moment before crouching beside the bed and taking Odell’s hand.

Rose didn’t need to have a wolf’s sense of smell to identify Odell’s fear. The girl’s face was still hideously swollen, and blotches of purple black bruises masked her face. Only one of her eyes opened enough for her to see them, but the white of her eye was nearly solidly red.

“Take a good look, Thomas.” Sky’s voice was soft, almost casual to someone who didn’t know him. Rose knew him. Odell’s fear sharpened his fury to a razor’s edge. “This is Odell Graham. Her family doesn’t have much money, but they scrimped and saved to pay the Single Status Tariff when she turned eighteen. But they couldn’t pay it again when she turned nineteen so she was forced to go to work in a house. According to the law your father created, every woman between the ages of eighteen and forty must pay a tax. She has to pay to remain single. Or she has to pay to be married. If she can’t afford either of those, she has to become a whore.” Sky’s voice took on a rough edge. “We usually call them businesswomen because that sounds less degrading, but let’s call it what it is. Thirty-five percent of what she earns goes to the city. Actually, it goes directly to the mayor, and he shares some of it with his friends.”

Rye jerked his gaze from Odell to Sky. “What happened to her? Did one of her customers beat her up?”

Snow growled, his upper lip rising in a snarl. “One of her rapists, you mean?”

Sky flattened his hand in a gesture to calm Snow. “A few days ago, Odell ran away from her place of employment.” Bitter sarcasm marked the last words. “Her father and her brothers tried to protect her. They tried to keep her home with them, but she was dragged back. Do you want me to tell you how she was punished? Do you want to know how many men raped her and beat her?”

Rye held up his hands in surrender. “No. Just tell me they’re in jail.”

Dean Erikson spoke for the first time. “They’re not in jail. Your father doesn’t punish his friends. As long as the woman’s employer doesn’t file a complaint, it’s not considered a crime.”

Rye Thomas closed his eyes and drew a long breath before he opened them and looked at Sky. “You didn’t file a complaint?”

“She doesn’t work for me. I paid all the gold I could scrape together to bribe Gabe to let her come here when I heard what happened to her. Then last night Mayor McGrath ordered me to return her.”

Snow didn’t speak, but his glare said Odell wasn’t going anywhere. Rye’s Adam’s apple went up and down his long throat when he swallowed. “And you think I can stop that? How? You think my father will just step aside because I ask him to? He’ll kill me just as fast as he’d kill you. He’s got that damned Guard eating out of his hand, obeying him like trained dogs.” He flung a hand out at Dean’s uniform. “If they knew you were here plotting like this, they would kill you.”

“Maybe,” Captain Erikson said evenly. “But in the last fifteen years some of the old Guards have retired, and a lot of the ones who are still in uniform have daughters or nieces who are old enough now to be subject to the law. That changes things for them.”

Rye’s mouth twisted in a sneer. “I bet.”

“And my generation doesn’t like everything they see happening in Omaha. They remember you, Ryan. They remember how you tried to stop things in the beginning. Give them a reason, show that you’re willing to change things, and they will follow you.” The captain put an urgent hand on Rye’s arm. “The regular people of Omaha, the ones who don’t want to see their daughters and their sisters forced into a career they don’t want, outnumber the wealthy ten to one. More than a third of the City Guard will back you if you asked; more will follow when they see how many of the people will support you. There are plenty like Miss Graham’s family who are already going to fight, whether you’re with us or not. But without a leader that everyone can support, victory will be useless, because once we get rid of the mayor and the City Council we’ll turn on each other. Ryan, you can change that.”

Rye closed his eyes again, his lips a thin white line. He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know.” When he opened his eyes, he blinked quickly to control the tears Rose could see welling up. “I have to think about this. I can’t decide this in five minutes. Give me time to think about it.”

“Then think about it.” Sky nudged him toward the door. “But don’t take too long. All hell is going to break loose any minute.”

Everyone left the room. Rose cast a glance behind her to see Sara lay her fingers over Odell’s wrist to take her pulse, and Snow holding her other hand.

“You’re safe,” she heard him murmur. “I’ll make sure you’re okay. Don’t be scared.”

Katelyn followed her out and closed the door. She gripped Rose’s arm. “What is happening?”

Rose waited until they were past the steps of the dorm where Stone had taken up his guard post. She nodded at Paint and Rye, who were going to the men’s dorm where Rye would presumably think about what to do. “It’s starting. This morning Jocelyn was attacked on her way back here. Captain Erikson came to warn Sky that some people were targeting his employees.”

With his long legs, Paint had easily caught up with them. He put an arm around Katelyn’s shoulders. “So you,” he tapped a finger on her chin, “don’t leave the house for any reason.”

“I sleep in the dorm outside the house,” she pointed out.

“There will be a guard out here at all times.”

Rose was used to the overprotective wolves, but Katelyn huffed. Rose lengthened her stride to pull ahead of them to give them a little privacy. She found Sky in the dining room, shaking hands with Captain Erikson.

“I’ll do my best,” the captain said, evidently in response to something Sky said. He gave her a crisp nod and left.

Rose examined Sky’s face for any hint of what he was feeling. Nothing obvious showed on his face, but he had to be worried. “What are you going to do now?” she asked.

“The first thing is eat breakfast.”

Rose surveyed the congealed eggs on the buffet with a sigh. Cold eggs and bacon weren’t her favorite, but she wasn’t about to ask Kim to make more. “Right.”

After filling their plates, they sat in their usual chairs at the table. She wondered where everyone was, but this was the first moment they’d had alone since they’d left their room this morning, so she didn’t ask. “Do you think the mayor will send somebody to take Odell away?’

He swallowed eggs. “Probably. We’ll have to stall them. Say Odell is too injured to be moved right now. I want all my people safe in the house before any more trouble starts.”

The eggs aren’t that bad
, Rose decided, taking another bite. “You know what I want?”

He raised a brow. “What?”

“A long, steamy shower. With you.”

His smile narrowed, his blue eyes gleaming between thick black lashes. “Did you feel deprived this morning?”

Desire woke in her. “Well, I guess I can’t call myself deprived, exactly.”

He put his fork down to curl his hand around her nape and tug her forward for a kiss. “I’d just hate to think you were deprived, princess.”

The heat in his eyes vanished as he dropped his hand from her neck and turned his head toward the door. His eyes narrowed again, but not in a smile.

“Uh-oh,” Rose said.

After a minute, she heard a murmur of voices from the foyer and then the sounds of steps coming their way. It was Cayla and Zoe, followed by Snake and one of Sky’s regular guards. Zoe simpered at Snake, who didn’t even seem to notice. There was a hint of worry on his face. Cayla wore more than a hint of worry. She ran across the room and grabbed Sky’s arms.

“Sky, something horrible has happened. Your brother was arrested by the City Guard for not having his travel permit with him.”

Sky looked at her, a stricken expression on his face. “Dammit, he shouldn’t have left the house. He’s so distinctive.”

“He and Wilson came to my house to walk me back to the Limit,” Cayla went on, “but we were stopped by a patrol and when they asked to see your brother’s papers, he didn’t have them.”

Sky grasped her wrists. “Are you sure they were the city guard and not just wearing uniforms that look like the City Guard?”

Cayla looked confused. “No, it was Lieutenant Rogers. He’s my first appointment tonight.”

“All appointments are canceled for the foreseeable future.” He looked over at Zoe. “Poor Zoe came down with the measles. The Limit will be closed due to quarantine.”

Ms. Mary entered the dining room behind Zoe and slipped an arm around her waist. “Oh, you poor thing,” she said. “Let’s get you to bed and send for the doctor.”

Rose blinked at the elderly lady. Was she playing along, or did she really believe Zoe had measles? Sky held up a hand to cut off whatever Zoe was about to say. “We’ll hold off on sending for the doctor until everyone is back. I want everyone here, safe and sound, before we lock down.”

“What about Shadow?” Snake demanded. “They said he was being taken to the city cells. Where’s that? We have to go get him.”

Sky raked his hand through his hair. “Dammit, this is a lousy time for him to be arrested.” He looked at Ms. Mary. “Where’s Joe?”

“I’m not sure,” she said, her feathery silver brows pulling together in a frown. “I haven’t seen him yet today.” She glanced at her wrist to check the time. “And it’s nearly eleven o’clock. He doesn’t usually sleep this late. I’ll go check on him. Maybe he has the imaginary measles and gave them to poor Zoe.”

Rose heard the front door open again and then close, and then several more people came into the room. Taye and Tracker were there with Savedra, Rita, and Camille, and Sand hovered just inside the door.

Tracker looked around, as cold and deliberate as a glacier. “What’s wrong?”

Trust him with his superior sense of smell to scent the agitation in the air. Sky clenched one fist. “My big brother’s been arrested. Did any of you have any trouble?”

“No,” Taye said. “What did Shadow do to be arrested?”

Rose muttered, “He was breathing.”