Cold Blood (32 page)

“
Tara, would you mind fixing me some tea?”

“
Sure,” I said, getting up and heading for the mini kitchen counter. There were mugs sitting out, upside down, on the faux granite countertop and packets of tea and instant coffee in bins along the wall.

It dawned on me that if Vera had asked this of me when we’d first arrived at the room, I would’ve refused. Now, I felt like it was the least I could do. I knew my view of her had changed, and it had nothing to do with sympathy. I saw her as real, approachable, and possibly, someone I could trust.

Chapter Twenty Nine

Kane and Cord came in first. Kane’s hands were dirty, and he went straight to the sink and began scrubbing, so I was pretty sure there was more than dirt on them. Cord took a seat in one of the rolling chairs at the conference table and drummed her fingers on the wooden tabletop. She looked impatient to be moving again.

“
Any evidence of where the breach occurred?” Vera asked.

“
Hard to say for sure until it’s light out. Looks like the southwest corner, though, off the main road. No vehicle in sight, so we’re wondering if he had help, after all. Jackson and Hekler are going to ride out a ways and see if they find anything.” Kane finished scrubbing and dried his hands with a paper towel. When he was done, he came over and sat next to Vera, looking her over like he expected an injury in his absence. “How are you feeling?”

“
Responsible,” she said. “But otherwise, fine.”

“
Did you call Whitfield?” he asked.

“
Here.” Headmaster Whitfield stood in the doorway, taking up every inch of open space between the frames. He wore a rumpled suit and his hair had some serious bed head going on, but he looked wide awake and ready for the crisis. “Someone please tell me why I’m up,” he said, walking to the counter and pulling out a mug and the makings for tea.

Kane filled him in on what had happened, and I saw him glance my way a few times, like he didn’t get why I was here, but he let it go.

Alex came in while Kane discussed the patrol efforts. Alex had a water bottle in one hand and a packet of a single serving Aspirin in the other. He set his water on the table, tore into the packet, and knocked the pills back in a single motion. He didn’t even seem to need the water chaser. I got up and went to him.

“
So, nothing?” I whispered.

“
Possible trail to the main road. Couple of the guys went to check it out, but it looks like he was alone.”

“
What do you think he was doing?” I asked.

Alex eyed me, his expression grim, and it wasn’t hard to see what he was thinking; probably because I’d been thinking it, too.

“
You think it was Miles?” I asked.

“
I think it’s time we clued everyone in on the details,” he said.

“
They already know,” said Cord.

We both looked over to where she was twirling absently in her chair.

“
You told them?” I asked.

“
Well, how else was I supposed to get them to let me shack up with you?” she shot back.

“
It makes it easier, to not have to explain it,” Alex said. He sounded as irritated as I was, though, and he was glaring at Cord like he wanted to knock her out of her chair.

I wasn’t ready to let it go. “But that means… They know I wasn’t lying about the first breach, then.”

“
Correct,” said Kane, coming up behind me.

“
And I still got in trouble,” I finished, making sure to avert my eyes from his face. It was a little difficult to stand up to him when he stood this close. His size was intimidating enough without the scar.

“
Did you?” His eyebrow shot up; just one and it made the scar elongate.

I turned towards the door as a couple more kids entered the room. They took seats at the conference table and sipped from bottled water. One was a tall, lanky guy with freckles. I’d seen him patrolling out by the gate near the main road on my runs with Alex; one of the few areas that got patrolled in daylight. The other was a girl that was butch enough to pass for a boy – or a high school gym teacher. She was grinding her teeth and staring at me.

I looked away, and caught sight of a familiar figure entering the room. Professor Flaherty was dressed in all black and even though it was casual, it contrasted starkly with her bright red hair, and made her look like she’d just come from a Cat woman try-out. Even her movements were fluid and almost feline. She smiled at me and then went to the kitchen counter and took a mug.

“
All right, everybody take a seat,” Kane said.

He stood right behind me and I scurried forward, sliding into an empty rolling chair, across from Cord and the future-gym teacher girl. Everyone else fell quiet. Professor Flaherty was last to sit, with a steaming mug of tea. She slid in next to the freckled boy and sipped at her drink, while watching Kane over the brim.

“
Everybody knows why we’re here,” Kane began. “There was a breach tonight. Single Were went after Alex and got taken down.” There was a definite note of pride in his voice at the mention of how Alex had handled things.

“
By a screwdriver, no less,” said the freckled boy with a grin aimed at Alex.

“
Carver, congratulations are being saved for the end,” said Kane, but his lips curved at the edges, too.

The boy –Carver – nodded, but he was still grinning at Alex.

“
We did a perimeter sweep and came up empty. There’s a possible trail to the main road that we’ll confirm when it’s light out. No vehicle. Looks like the guy came on foot,” Kane said.

“
Any ID on him?” Whitfield asked.

“
No. We’ll contact the local pack leaders tomorrow, via Vera’s people, and see if anyone’s missing,” Kane said. “In the meantime, we need to talk about the wards.” Kane hesitated like he didn’t want to bring it up, but we all knew he didn’t have a choice.

I glanced at Vera. She sat expressionless, all business; the usual Vera. She nodded at Kane and rose to address the group.

“
Some of you have heard, and some of you have been kept unaware. I am not well and my illness has begun to affect my ability to feel a breach. It doesn’t mean the wards aren’t effective. It means my body’s alert system isn’t working like it should. In light of the recent attacks on our fellow students and alumni, I feel it’s in the best interest of the school that I step down as head of security and let someone else take over.” Vera finished and took her seat again.

Everyone looked back at Kane, but he was watching Vera and didn’t say anything right away. Finally, he cleared his throat and nodded.

“
We’ll start searching for someone tomorrow. In the meantime, Betty, you can fill in.” Kane nodded at the butch girl across from me.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “But sir, I’m not capable of the level of security that Vera is.”

“
You’ll do fine,” he said, cutting her off. “I’ve seen what you can do and it’s perfectly acceptable for our needs. Go ahead and get started. It’ll take you awhile to link the entire grounds. Carver, go with her. Assemble the others and have them patrol double time until we’re secure again.”

“
Yes, sir,” they said, in unison.

They pushed back from their chairs and left the room, single file.

“
All right,” said Kane when they were gone. “The usual suspects will need to be hunted down.”

“
What does he mean by ‘usual’?” I whispered to Alex.

Alex shook his head and Kane went on, watching me now.

“
There are a couple of new possibilities to consider,” he said. “One, we’ve got a nasty pack of Weres with a taste for alumni tearing things up. School grounds could be next for them.” He paused, letting the possibility hang, and his gaze returned to me and sharpened. “The second is Miles De’Luca. Son of Leonard De’Luca. Twice as crazy and twice as capable of destruction due to his ah, DNA structure. Add to that an unhealthy infatuation with our girl Tara here and we’ve got a serious problem.”

Everyone in the room looked at me. I could feel myself going red at the mention of Miles’ “unhealthy infatuation.” Was that worse than “stalker?” Because I was pretty sure “unhealthy” didn’t even begin to cover it. No one looked all that surprised by the information Kane provided, though, which was pretty good evidence that everyone had been informed like Cord claimed. Even Professor Flaherty nodded calmly, like she’d heard it all before.

“
Do we think this is the De’Luca boy then?” Professor Flaherty asked.

Alex opened his mouth, probably to tell her “yes,” but Kane cut him off.

“
We think there are multiple possibilities,” Kane said. “We can’t discount the Were pack as we’ve yet to identify them.”

Alex stayed quiet. He shifted in his chair and it squeaked.

“
Um, have you considered the Were pack and Miles are working together?” I asked.

No one said anything right away. They all looked at each other.

“
It’s a possibility,” Kane said finally. “Either way, we’ll get people out into the field to see what we can learn. Our contacts in the area are reliable enough, and we should be able to find out more about both groups within the next twenty four hours. In the meantime, Tara, you and Cord stick together.”

Cord and I wore mirrored grimaces.

“
Vera, you can assist Betty with the new wards, yes?”

Vera nodded. “Of course.”

“
Alex, how’s the bump?” Kane asked.

“
I’ve had worse,” he said.

“
Your eyes are glassy. Get a good night’s sleep, and check in with me tomorrow. I can use you for extra patrols.”

“
I’ve got training with Tara,” Alex said.

“
Cancelled,” Kane shot back, shaking his head. “I need you in the field.” Kane turned back to Cord. “Cord, here’s an earpiece. We’re on frequency six unless there’s an emergency. Then it’s frequency one.”

He tossed her an ear band that looked identical to the ones Cambria and I had used the night I’d left for town. Seemed like forever ago, when really, it had been only a day. Cord took the earpiece and strapped it on looking less than thrilled.

“
Anna, you and I can make a patrol schedule that doubles things up. We’ll split shifts. That work for you?” Kane asked.

Professor Flaherty nodded, her red hair bouncing where it had come loose from its bun. “Sounds good,” she said.

“
Anything else?” Kane asked. No one spoke. “Dismissed.”

Cord stalked out first and disappeared into the hall. Alex followed behind me. Vera was still talking to Kane and Professor Flaherty had taken a seat closer to the front, to work on the patrol schedule, no doubt. Headmaster Whitfield looked around, like he was uncertain whether he was still needed here or not. I heard Vera telling him to get some sleep and they’d call him if they needed anything.

“
I can’t believe this.” Cord pushed off from the wall when she saw me and put a hand on her hip, blocking my path. “I leave you for five minutes and not only do you run off, but you manage to stumble upon the only dead body within miles. How am I supposed to keep an eye on you?”

“
I’m confused,” I said. “Are you mad because I ran off without you or that I found a dead body and you didn’t?”

She glared at me and then huffed out a breath. A high pitched beeping sound cut off whatever nasty response she’d been trying to come up with, and I looked around, panicking, for the source of the sound.

“
I think that’s your phone,” Alex said.

I grabbed it out of my pocket and stared at it like it was a foreign object. I wasn’t used to it ringing anymore. The number that came up wasn’t one I recognized but I needed to get it to shut up. I flipped it open.

“
Hello?”

“
Tara, did you get my message?”

“
Miles?” A shot of adrenaline instantly pumped itself into my blood stream, and I couldn’t catch my breath. Cord and Alex fell silent and stared at me like they were straining to hear Miles through the phone. “What do you want?”

“
I sent a messenger to tell you the answer to that. Did he not reach you?” Miles’ voice held the usual calm and crazy, but I put his meaning together.

“
That Werewolf that attacked Alex. That was your guy.” It wasn’t a question but Miles answered anyway.

“
Yes. A special message for your new boyfriend and then a message for you. It’s time we were together. The project is complete.”

I stared at Alex in horror. “You tried to kill him? But he’s not –
what project
?” I couldn’t keep up with everything Miles said. And the fact that he only alluded to the violence he caused didn’t help in knowing where to start a conversation with him.

“
You’ll see. Now where is my messenger? I need him.” Miles was growing impatient; I could hear it in his voice. It irritated my temper.

“
Your messenger boy’s dead,” I snapped. “I’d take it as an omen and surrender now. Where are you?”

“
Dead? You can’t seriously tell me that little Hunter-in-training managed to take down my newest pet?”

Miles was a combination of disbelief and anger, and my temper wanted to push him. “Believe it. With a screwdriver, of all things. I hear Werewolves are seriously susceptible to metal. You should look into it.”

“
Watch your tone with me, girl,” Miles snapped. I could hear the anger in his voice now, and I was glad to have finally caused him to lose his control, no matter the consequences. “I’m tired of waiting. You
will
join me.”

“
Not if the human race depended on it, or any race for that matter.”

Miles’ voice went quieter but there was more violence in it. He reminded me of a coiled snake. “I’ve been far too patient with you. I will have you, though, one way or another. Mark my words. You will come to me, in the end.”