Bear Claw (17 page)

Jamie had to give her credit. She had a pretty good idea of why he was there. If he’d known they would’ve been ordered down for security, he would have at least warned her.

Nodding slightly, he let her know as best as he could that everything was okay. She smiled again, but the amusement was gone, and he could tell she was worried.

She didn’t look back as the crowd passed. She began waving the sign over her head again as she got back into the protest.

He waited practically on the tip of his toes for someone to make a wrong move. He could see both supporters and the opposition surrounding him, but again, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

To his left, he spotted Cody strolling up the sidewalk. His buddy had been farther down and was navigating forward now that the crowd had passed his location.

Jamie waited until Cody was about ten feet away before stuffing his hands in his pockets and moving ahead. Cody would stand watch where Jamie had stood as the rest of the protesters marched.

The organization of all Coalition was well orchestrated and everything went smoothly as far as the agents were concerned. Once the group reached their destination, the Coalition agents would also have the help of the local police department.

Putting himself across the street, where Chris was waving at the crowd to move closer, Jamie once again prayed everything would go well.

Chapter Fourteen

With the protest march over, and after Jamie had checked in with the commander, he headed over to relieve Ray from his post. Ray had followed the group back to the warehouse on Market, so Jamie snuck into the same alley where he’d previously been.

“How’d it go on your end?” he asked, walking up to his man.

“No problems. They came right back over here once they were done. Smoked some pot outside and have been in there about half an hour.”

“Has Victor managed to break away at all?”

“Once so far. He ran to a convenience store about eight blocks south but came right back.”

Damn, Jamie wished he could have caught him. “Why don’t you take off and get some sleep? You’ll be on late night again. Christy will take over after me.”

“You got it, boss.” With a slight wave of his hand, Ray backed away and was gone.

Settling in a crouch against the empty building, Jamie prepared for a long wait.

He was both thankful for the uneventful day and concerned because it would have been the perfect moment to make a move.

If Zak was right and the group wanted to start a war between the humans and shifters then why hadn’t they hit the protest? He’d only been sitting there about ten minutes until Victor stepped out of the building alone.

Jamie stood slowly then slid his back against the brick.

Victor seemed to be looking around. Without seeing anyone, Jaime strolled down the block in the same direction that Ray had reported he’d taken.

Since he wouldn’t be able to follow on the same block without being seen, Jamie had to hurry back to Production and jog to catch up. He eyed the alleys as Victor passed each one.

He was sure that Victor was headed for the store. Victor crossed the street to the small rundown mini-mart, Jamie kept to the shadows.

Once Victor had entered, Jamie ran quickly to the side of the building so he could catch the boy on his way out.

The kid wasn’t inside long. The door opened, and Victor was once again out in the open. Since he didn’t know who else might be around, Jamie hadn’t wanted to approach him inside the store.

“Victor,” he called out softly as the kid started walking.

The young man jumped, looking in his direction. Jamie motioned him closer.

He saw Victor take a deep breath, obviously scenting him. Once he got a whiff, something akin to hope sprang into his eyes. “Jamie?”

Surprised, Jamie nodded.

Victor hurried over. Jamie grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the store window and anyone who might pass by.

“You’re Zak’s friend?”

“I am,” Jamie confirmed.

“He…he sent me out for cigarettes for him. He said you would be around and could get me out. Man, you’ve got to help me!” Victor said desperately.

“If you want to get away, I can arrange that.”

“Now, it has to be now. They want to send me on a mission tonight.”

“What mission?”

But Victor was too scared. He shook his head as his entire body trembled. Jamie smelled his fear.

“Okay, this is what we’re going to do. I’m parked a few blocks from here. We’re going to walk casually toward my vehicle. I’ll be by your side the entire time. So act natural.”

“I can’t go back that way. What if someone sees me?”

“I’ll stay with you. Now come on. The longer we wait the better chance someone will start looking for you.” Jamie led him away from the old store, making sure Victor was right behind him.

They jogged across the street. Instead of taking Market, they stayed on Production. By the energy coming off Victor, Jamie sensed that the kid was close to running.

“Walk naturally. If someone should spot us, don’t draw attention to us. There’s no one around so we should be okay.”

Victor bobbed his head up and down. Jamie knew he needed to get the Victor to safety quickly or the kid would freak out. Getting close enough to see his truck, Jamie clenched his hands, trying to hold in his own anxiety. He had to keep Victor calm.

He couldn’t use his key fob where the small chirp might be heard, so Jamie unlocked the passenger side first and made sure Victor was inside before racing around to the driver’s door.

Climbing up, Jamie wasted no time sliding the key into the ignition then putting the vehicle in reverse.

Victor bounced his leg anxiously. Concentrating on getting them away, Jaime realized that the farther he drove, the more Victor seemed to become restless.

“Hey, relax,” Jamie told him. “That was the hard part.”

“They’re going to find me. They are. I’m going to end up like that Sean kid.”

“You know what happened to Sean?”

“Yeah, they wanted him to attack some human girls in his shifted state. Wanted to draw attention to a bear attack. Sean wouldn’t do it so they killed him.”

“He’s not dead yet,” Jamie informed him. “He’s in a coma but Sean stands a good chance of waking up.”

“Really?” Victor sounded relieved. “He was a really nice guy. He didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

“I’m glad he didn’t.”

“Where are you taking me?”

That was a good question. Jamie was heading into the Coalition, but what was he going to do with Victor after that? The kid couldn’t go back to his room on campus.

“I’m taking you into the Coalition right now. We’ll figure everything else out.”

“Thanks. Thanks, man. Zak said you’d get me out.”

“I’m glad you trusted him.”

“He’s pretty scary but once we were alone he said if I didn’t want to be there he could help. At first, I thought it was a trap. I mean, he’s all gung-ho and into that stuff. But he said no one should be forced.”

So Zak’s cover was still in good shape. That was a relief. “Did you tell anyone?”

“No way, they would have killed me.”

“Right. Okay, we’ll be at the office soon. We’re going to need your help to stop them. It’s not going to be fun. I won’t lie to you.”

“This isn’t what I signed up for. I thought it was a group of shifters to support one another. It wasn’t until I left college that I found out what they were really about. Boy, am I stupid or what?”

“Nah, it could have happened to anyone. How long did they try to get you in prior to you going with them?”

“Three months. I went to like six meetings and it seemed so cool.”

“Why did you have to leave school?”

“They said it wasn’t safe. That the humans were going to round up all the shifters and put them in camps. I was scared.”

Jamie could imagine how the young man had been truly afraid. Whoever was in charge knew what they were doing, using scare tactics on the young and impressionable.

Pulling into the parking garage of the Coalition, Jamie knew he would need additional assistance. He had one of the smallest teams at only four members, and with his people taking shifts watching for Victor, Ray and Christy were out. That left him only one member available.

After he’d parked, he pulled out his phone and texted Cody. Hopefully he and his men were back and would be able to lend a hand.

“Come on. Let’s get you a cold drink.”

“That’d be good. Thanks.”

“Sure thing.”

Jamie jumped out of his truck and waited for Victor. He wasn’t worried about the kid now that he had him away from the industrial district but it paid to be vigilant.

At the front entrance, Jamie saw the young man’s eyes widen. Since he’d had the same reaction the first time he’d seen the impressive structure, he chuckled, slapping Victor on the back. “Let’s go.”

They took the elevator to the conference floor where Jamie suspected Victor would be more comfortable. Once the doors opened, he found Cody and Ryder Evans waiting for them.

“Cody. Ryder.” Jamie shook their hands. “This is Victor Douglas.”

“How you doing, man?” Ryder stepped up to Victor and clamped his hand on his shoulder. Ryder’s easy way with victims and witnesses was one of his best attributes.

“I’m okay, I think, I mean…”

“Hey, it’s okay. Let’s go take a seat and let you catch your breath. You want a Coke or something.”

“Water—if you have a cold water that’d be great.”

“Coming right up.”

Jamie let Ryder take Victor inside the small room. He hung back with Cody.

“How’d you get him?” Cody asked.

“Zak.”

They both chuckled. It was really all that needed to be said. Zak was magic. He could slide in and out of places and make things happen like no one else could.

“He sent the kid to get him cigarettes, telling him I was close by. I followed him to the store and got my chance. He was desperate to come with me. Said they were going to send him on a mission tonight.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I was hoping you guys could help.”

“Sure,” Cody easily agreed. “We got your back.”

“Thanks, man.” Jamie slapped Cody’s shoulder and strode into the comfortable space they used for visitors.

Victor sat in one of the large chairs. He had a bottle of water cradled between his hands while he looked down at his lap. Jamie’s heart went out to him. So young to have made such a mistake when all he’d really wanted was acceptance.

“How’re you holding up?” Jamie crouched in front of him.

“Okay, I can’t believe I’m finally out, you know. I keep waiting for one of them to walk up behind me, laughing.”

“You’re safe here. We’re not going to let anyone get to you.”

Victor snorted. “I know that in my head. It’s the rest of me that hasn’t gotten the message. I can’t stop shaking.”

“You’ll calm down. Give it time.”

“Did I thank you for saving me?”

“You did and you’re welcome.”

The small amount of normal conversation had Victor relaxing whether he realized it or not. His hands had stopped trembling and the color had returned to his face.

“You said that they wanted you to perform a mission tonight. Do you know what it was?”

“Yeah, yeah. They wanted me to break into someone’s house.”

“Do you know the address?”

“No.”

Damn, that would have been helpful. Jamie glanced over his shoulder as he sensed someone coming up behind him.

Ryder approached holding two coffee mugs. Jamie stood and accepted one of the cups. Moving to sit beside Victor in one of the other chairs, he blew on the liquid.

“I know his name, though.”

“What?”

“The guy’s place that I was supposed to break into. I know his name. Drew Bridges. He’s one of the organizers of the opposition to the shifter registration. He has a list that they want.”

“He was the speaker at the meeting the other night,” Cody reminded him.

“We need to get to him without anyone realizing it,” Jamie said.

“I’m on it.”

Cody and Ryder left the room quickly.

Jamie grinned over at Victor. “You hungry?”

* * * *

Brandy hadn’t been surprised to hear her cell phone had started ringing during the protest. Instead of dealing with all the drama, she’d turned her phone off. She’d accepted a lunch invitation with Chris and Drew and had had a good time with them.

She still hadn’t turned on her phone, so she had no warning when she pulled into her drive and two vehicles followed right behind, blocking her in.

She could ram both the expensive cars. She giggled as that thought passed through her mind. In the end, though, she knew it wouldn’t be worth it.

As she turned off the engine, someone yanked open her door. William leaned down, his face red with anger.

“Hello, brother,” she said coolly.

He tried pulling her out, but she was still buckled in.

“Will! Will! Let me handle this.”

Once the seatbelt had released, her brother stepped back. Colby immediately took his place.

“I have to give you credit, Brandy. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

She shrugged.

“Would you please get out of the car before your brother has a stroke or strangles you with your seatbelt?”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” She pushed him away. After grabbing her bag from the passenger floorboard, she exited the vehicle then closed the door lightly.

“So what do I owe for this honor? I mean, to come all the way out here, uninvited to my house? It must be something special.”

“I warned you,” William shouted.

“Hey!” Colby grabbed her brother’s arm. “Let’s take this somewhere private. We don’t want her neighbors to call the cops.”

“Fine.” William pushed away from Colby then stomped up the walkway.

“Sure, come on in,” Brandy muttered.

“You might as well let him yell at you and get it out of his system,” Colby told her.

“Why aren’t you yelling?”

Colby grinned. “I have to admit that you impressed me. I really thought you’d give in to your family. I respect that.”