Abandoned (16 page)

“The reality is that someone working high up for The Council is a mole. Even though we whittled down communication to just myself, Jerard, Steven Wightman—another of the elders—and my assistant, Alex Marshall, somehow information still filtered to the Romulus months ago. Of course many more shifters are involved now, but something is still not right.”

“What the hell is the Romulus?” Daniel asked. “Never heard of it.”

“Right.” Evan nodded. “When we seized the twelve women, we also managed to snag three of their guards. They’ve been in questioning in Seattle in an undisclosed location since then. To be honest, the amount of information they have provided is paltry and disappointing. I truly don’t believe they know much. However, we have learned the organization heading up this drug trial calls itself the Romulus.”

“Drug trial? Is that what you think this is?”

Evan nodded. “Yes. All of the women were given a strange combination of rohypnol and scopolamine. However, the dosages weren’t the same, nor were the methods. Some were injected. Some were given pills. Others didn’t even know they had been drugged at all. Theirs must have been stirred into their food.

“According to the women, Allison is the only one who recalls being taken to another location for testing of some sort.”

Daniel nodded. That much he’d known. “So these men, how is it possible they can’t tell you anything?”

Evan shook his head. “I think the hierarchy of the group is very tight. The men on the bottom don’t seem to know anything happening above them. They get phone calls from mysterious members of the Romulus giving them instructions without knowing who they’re talking to.”

“What the hell is the incentive?”

“Money. And promises of mates. The Romulus must be quite wealthy. They bank roll these guys. They’re all rogue shifters who were on their own, lured in with the promise of a mate. That’s what had happened to my mate, in fact. The asshole who took Ashley insisted he was her mate.”

“God.” Daniel swallowed. “But that’s not what happened to Allison. What the fuck?”

“I know. It’s very strange. The man guarding her wasn’t the same man who took her
,
and he never insinuated she was mated to him or anyone else. And that leads me to the reason I’m talking to you now. I’m particularly concerned about Allison. And even more so after what happened in the night. It’s like they targeted her specifically. I’m afraid she means something more to them than the others.”

“Why? She seems to be in a better position than any of the others you rescued.”

“Yeah. That’s what worries me, to be honest. She served another purpose for the Romulus. And we fucked with whatever that was.”

“How do you suppose these Romulus assholes found her here?” Daniel stiffened.

“I have no idea. But I think we need to be diligent. They might not be satisfied with last night’s results. Especially when their men don’t report back. I’m not sure what kind of manpower they might have to retaliate.”

“Shit.”

Evan continued. “After questioning the three men in custody, we’ve determined her case assuredly doesn’t match any other. No idea why, but if they fear she knows anything or they weren’t done with her
,
they may not give up.”

“Fuck.” Daniel turned to lean on the fence. “Do you suppose they’ll return?”

“I don’t presume anything with regard to these assholes. No matter how tightly we’ve operated, they’ve thwarted every effort. The fact that we managed to stay one step ahead of the Romulus and rescue those women is a miracle.”

“What do you think we should do?”

“For now, sit tight and be diligent. I don’t trust the safety of any of the women. I’m going to meet with your parents in a few hours and beg asylum here.” He chuckled wryly. “I know it isn’t what your family had in mind when you let me come here, but the stakes are higher than anticipated
,
and a safe refuge is what we need for everyone involved. I’m hoping to stay a while, if it’s okay with your parents, and conduct my investigation from here. I’d rather be close.”

“Of course. I’m certain you will have the full support of my family. We always assumed the women would stay for an extended time period anyway, for counseling. The ranch has made no other guest reservations for several weeks still.” He wished Steven Wightman and Alex Marshall had stayed also
,
in light of this information. But both men had only been there for a few hours. They had more pressing matters to deal with from their headquarters in Seattle.

“Thank you. Your cooperation is appreciated, and your hospitality. The families of the women will all leave within the next few days. I’d like to move the women to the dorm building so members of NAR can provide the best protection against whatever we may face.”

“Yeah, about that, Allison isn’t aware of the fact that I enlisted last year. I’d appreciate it if you’d not mention that detail until I’ve had a chance to speak to her. She isn’t going to like my involvement.”

Evan nodded. “Of course.”

Steven Wightman stood at the front window of his secluded home sipping his coffee and staring out at the rain. It wasn’t different from many other days in Seattle, but his hackles were up this morning. Sundays were usually quiet days for Steven. Sundays were the only day he didn’t go in to The Head Council offices to perform some duty as one of the five head elders.

But times were changing, just like the weather. He closed his eyes and thought about everything that had transpired in the last year. After hundreds of years living in peace, the existence of shifters was threatened. He didn’t know yet who posed the threat, but he was certain turmoil was coming, racing toward him like a steam engine.

Few humans had ever been privy to the secrets of their shifter friends and neighbors. Now, Steven felt he couldn’t even trust his closest friends. Someone he worked with every single day—someone he ate lunch with, shared drinks with, exchanged stories with—one of those someones had betrayed the shifter community and put them all at risk. He feared that someone was another member of The Head Council.

Ralph Jerard was out. No way could he believe that for a minute. That left Melvin Cunningham, Earl Johnson, and Lucas Sheffield. And it chilled him to the bone to consider any of those possibilities. It had put a strain on their collective relationships with each other knowing what Steven knew and keeping it to himself.

There were no more Sundays for Steven. Every day was another day he had to tackle this problem head on. It was early still. In another hour he would leave the house to meet with the head elder, Ralph Jerard. The man was older, but he was wise, and Steven trusted him with his life.

Of all the possible shifters he knew, Ralph wasn’t a suspect in his mind. For any of the other employees of The Head Council, all bets were off. Every other shifter was a suspect.

And the problems they were facing seemed to be piling up incrementally each day. If they couldn’t find the leader of the mysterious Romulus soon and put an end to its pyramid of followers, there would be no way to keep the existence of shifters from the rest of humanity much longer.

Eventually war would break out among the shifter community. A war Steven never expected to see in his lifetime.

A faint whine met Steven’s ears. He opened his eyes wide and squeezed his coffee mug tighter. As a shifter, his sense of hearing was better than the average human. The whine could be anything. It may not even be close.

He peered outside. The rain came down harder, beating against the picture window of his living room. Even with his increased eyesight, he could see nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, he couldn’t see much past the porch between the dense storm and the water running off the roof to form a sheet of clear liquid that cascaded like a waterfall over the rain gutter and onto the railing. He needed to clear the gutter out again. It had been a year. Hell, he needed to pay someone younger and spryer to do it. He was getting too old for that kind of work.

The whining happened again
,
and he tipped his head to one side as though making his ear more available to the noise.

It came from behind him. The backyard. Steven set his coffee down on the end table and turned toward the kitchen. Just as he stepped from the carpet to the tile, his senses went on full alert. The whine switched to a scratching noise. Someone was at the back door. Not just someone. A shifter, in wolf form. Now he could smell the distinct scent of his species.

Steven froze for a moment, staring at the back door, wondering—hoping—his imagination was getting away from him. He’d lived alone and had for many years, ever since his mate had passed away too young.

Thankful no one else was in the house with him, he inched closer to the door. It wasn’t common for shifters to paw at a fellow wolf’s door in their natural form. Unheard of. First of all, even though Steven’s home was blocked from the view of neighbors, this was still a community. No one shifted this close to homes. It wasn’t safe. But more importantly, why on earth would anyone come calling in wolf form?

Steven set his hand on the knob and took a deep breath. When he opened the door, he kept his gaze low, knowing a wolf would be there to meet his gaze.

What he found startled him. The dripping wet muddy creature crouching on the small back porch was pitiful. He was male, and large, but he kept his head low, his jaw almost touching the ground in a stance of submission.

Steven furrowed his brow and opened the door wider. If the wolf meant to harm him, there was nothing Steven could do to prevent it. “Come inside. Are you injured?”

The wolf crawled into the kitchen, dripping water all over the floor. He was filthy and tired, but Steven didn’t see evidence of blood or a broken bone.

Steven crouched down in front of the wolf and breathed deeply. Shit. He was related. Steven had no idea who this was, but his scent indicated he was a relative.

“Can you shift?” Steven stood. “Hang on a second. I’ll get you a towel.” He left the tired
,
matted ball of fur in the kitchen and headed for the bathroom. When he returned thirty seconds later, a man sat in the location he’d left the wolf. Not surprising.

Steven handed him the towel
,
and the lanky
,
exhausted man stood on wobbly legs to dry himself. “Sorry about the water,” he muttered as he wrapped the terry cloth around his waist.

“Who are you?” Steven stepped toward the coffee pot and poured his unexpected guest a steaming mug.

“My name is J.T. My father is your brother Johnathan.”

Steven handed J.T. the coffee. “Johnathan? I haven’t seen him in over thirty years.”

“I know.” J.T. ducked his head and took a sip. “Thank you so much. I was chilled to the bone out there.”

“Come.” Steven motioned behind him with a nod. “I’ll get you some clothes. You can shower and clean up and then tell me what you’re doing here.”

J.T. followed and Steven eyed him from top to bottom. He was taller than Steven and skinnier. Which was saying something because Steven was a tall
,
slender man himself. Nevertheless he grabbed a pair of sweats and a T-shirt from his bedroom and handed them to J.T. as the man entered the bathroom and flipped on the shower.

“I’ll wait for you in the living room.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Steven paced. What the hell was his brother’s son doing at his home out of the blue? Johnathan had run away from home at eighteen and never returned. Steven’s poor parents died a few years ago, never knowing what had happened to their oldest son. He’d been a free spirit and had been in many screaming matches with their mother and father. And now
,
over thirty years later, a man shows up claiming to be his son?

It wasn’t as though Steven could deny their relation. J.T. could pass for Steven’s own son. He imagined once the boy cleaned up and shaved, they’d look very similar. Not to mention the obvious scent declaring them to be relatives.

Steven startled from his thoughts when J.T. emerged quietly and took a seat on the couch. “I know it must be a shock to see me after all these years. You probably didn’t even know I existed.”

Steven shook his head. “Not a clue. Johnathan?”

“He and my mother died several years ago. I’ve been on my own since then. Rogue I guess you would call it. Well, my parents were rogue also. They didn’t want to have anything to do with wolf politics or maintain relationships with anyone they’d known.” J.T. balled his hands into fists.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-five. I was seventeen when they died.” He glanced down at his fists in his lap. “They were shot. Killed.”

“God. I’m sorry. That must have been terrible. Do you know why?”

J.T. shook his head. “Not really. But a few days after they were left for dead in front of our house, three men came to see me.”

Steven lifted his eyebrows. Somehow he knew the rest of this story was important. The look on J.T.’s face alone told him he should take a seat and listen carefully. He sat in the armchair facing J.T. “Go on.”

“We lived out in the wilderness in Minnesota. No one around for miles. My father built our cabin himself
,
and we lived a very simple life. Occasionally we went to scavenge for supplies in nearby towns. Without accompanying my father on some of those missions as I grew older, I would be completely ignorant to the rest of the world.

“After my parents were killed
,
these men who arrived were very sympathetic. I thought they had my best interest at heart when they took me in and gave me a place to live, clean clothes, food… For a while they acted like perfect hosts. And then they started asking me to do things that were very odd.”

“Like what?” Steven inhaled sharply, wishing he hadn’t interrupted.

“Like spy on people and shifters. They would take me to various towns and ask me to gather information. It was strange, but I was alone and didn’t have many other choices. At least I didn’t think I did. I’ve been with them for seven years. Was, anyway…”

Steven held his tongue as J.T. paused and fiddled with his sweats, picking at imaginary lint and then wiping his palms on his thighs. “I’m not formally educated. My mother taught me at home. But she did a good job in my opinion. She didn’t want me to be uneducated. However
,
I learned a lot more about the world quickly living with the Romulus.”