Twisted (Rogues Shifter Series Book 3) (9 page)

“I’m so sor
ry.” I interrupted him. “If there was anything that I could do to change what happened, I would. Liam made me feel what it was like for a fae to be bound in iron.” I shuddered at the memory and he looked at me thoughtfully. “ I didn’t know, but that’s not an excuse. The fact that they were locked up should have been reason enough for me to call someone.”

He shrugged. “You loved your father and did what he ordered you to do. If my father ordered me to imprison a shifter, I would. I cannot easily forgive what you did, but I will treat you with courtesy and not h
ostility while we're together in your sister’s home.” He nodded his head the way the fae do and stretched out his hand. “Thank you for breakfast, Bridgett. I’ll take your plate.”

I smiled shyly
when I handed it to him, feeling a thousand percent better than I had an hour ago. The phone rang.

“This is Bridgett.”

“Aaron here. I have a message for Garrett. It’s important.”

“Hold on one sec.” I grabbed a pencil and a pad of paper. “Ok
ay, go ahead.”

“We have a report from the North Forest Pack in a southeastern section of Washington state that there’s been some unusual activity
in the area. Two goblins were sighted by wolves out on patrol. There was also a report of a tall man with golden hair appearing behind a copse of spruce trees at a particularly powerful ley line crossroads. These are the exact coordinates.” He read them off to me and I copied them and then read them back.

“M
embers of the pack had been patrolling their territory when he was sighted. Their names are Johnny Mathews and Derek Geraldi .The pack leader is Craig Haldeman. A human body was found nearby. The young woman was completely drained of blood and several of her organs were missing. It’s obvious he’s dabbling in blood magic.”

“Blood magic?
Like the witch who took Garrett last month?”

“Yes, he kills to feed a spell or to enhance his power. It’s against all of our laws, even the fae
.” Farrell was standing quietly a few feet away. He’d heard everything. He nodded in agreement. Kennet was breaking the laws laid down by his own people.

“Is there anything else I should tell him?”

“Tell him I’m heading there with Catherine. We’ll help track the goblins and keep an eye out for Kennett. Franklin will continue to keep in communication with the other packs in the area.”

“I’ll get the
message to Garrett right away.“

“He’s resting now. “

“He can wake up to get messages and give orders. Then he crashes out again. Plus there’s Liam.”

“Seems like
he’s left things in good hands.“

“Thanks Aaron.”
I was pleased to hear the complement.

“Get to work.” He hung up. I dialed Garrett’s cell. He answered in two rings and didn’t even sound sleepy. I gav
e him all the information and heard him writing everything down as I spoke. I hung up after I’d finished so he could do what he needed to do.

Farrell had a glazed expression which turned clear again after a few seconds. “I communicated the message to Liam, Brina, Aedus and Lord Caelen.”

“Cool: a fae conference call.” I saw the corners of his mouth twitch but he quickly resumed a neutral expression. He was dressed in jeans and a button down shirt, not exactly fae apparel, but I supposed he wanted to fit in with the rest of us. His dark lavender eyes were sparkling with excitement. He might be enjoying the effort to capture Kennett.

“Were any of those f
ae prisoners your friends or your family?”

He almost turned away, but then changed his mind. “My lover.” There was real pain in his voice.

“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say.

“Her name is Ashlyn. She is the one who spoke for the group because she was there the longest. Yet
, she agreed that you should be spared.”

“I remember her. She looked like an angel.” I could see her standing there telling Jackie that
I wouldn’t have to die. She'd been pale and probably hungry, but she stood with such dignity and spoke with great generosity.
Shit
. I had to do something to make up for this mess. Maybe Kennett’s capture would give them all some peace. I thought of everything Jackie might be going through and shivered. I was determined to do whatever I could to get that creep.

Farrell only nodded and went back to the dishes. I went off to tell Rob and Sinc about the calls.

Chapter Fifteen

Garrett: 9:00 AM Wednesday

I’d gotten to them just before dawn, exhausted and relieved that I hadn’t had to dig myself a hole in the ground for the day. They’d prepared a comfortable place for me to rest in the basement of a large house on a remote road that branched off of a country lane.

Bridgett’s call came through at 9 AM. I took notes and then called Ethan, who was already out patrolling with Kyle, and told them to tell Angel what Aaron had learned. I gave them instructions to head to the coordinates and search for goblin activity and also keep an eye out for Kennett. I knew that Farrell would let the fae know, then I closed my eyes again.

I don’t usually dream, but today was an exception. I thought perhaps the interruption in my sleep was the cause, but soon learned differently.

There was a forest of redwoods and I was standing in a clearing. I heard an unfamiliar male voice. “A gift for you
, vampire. Pay attention.”

I smelled the sea and heard the bark of sea lions in the distance. Jackie’s scent was everywhere
, so I looked for her, calling out, “Jackie, I’m here.” She arrived in cheetah form. She licked my hand as I reached out to touch her and then watched her leap into a nearby tree. She climbed higher and higher, until the branches were very thin and barely able to support her weight.  I tried to climb after her, but the tree had become slippery and I couldn’t get a good grasp on the trunk.

Her cheetah certainly didn’t appear to be nervous about the height and had managed to crawl out to the end of a branch. When she reached the very tip she changed again into my Jackie, lovely and unhurt. She looked down at me and smiled then disappeared, only to instantly reappear beside me.

“I have an ally and there is hope.” She kissed my cheek and disappeared once more
.

When I woke around 3:00 o'clock I felt refreshed, and famished. The dream had given me a good feeling about the success of our search and I decided to talk to Liam about it. I stretched my shoulders, legs and back to see what damage I'd done. I’d never attempted running over such a great distance in such a short amount of time, but I didn’t seem weaker from the experience. I took a shower and made coffee.

There were addresses left for me
on the kitchen table, of several young women who lived nearby, so I went to the closest house. Cyndi was a leopard who worked as a waitress and said she liked to play the piano. I’d send her something appropriate after I got back and had time to mull it over. I never sent money. This arrangement was a little awkward because I didn’t know these women and they didn’t know me. Still it was a lot better than searching for someone appropriate at a local vamp bar and being seen in the area. Taking energy from an unwilling donor was never my first choice, but if it was a matter of survival, I would do what I had to do and feel guilty later, making sure never to do them serious harm.

I re
turned to the house and waited for Liam, Brina and Aedus who were following up another lead.

They arrived thirty minutes later
followed by Ethan and Kyle, who’d been whisked back and forth through the lines by the others.

“Hey the gang’s all here.” Kyle looked exhausted as he sunk down into the cushions of the couch. Apparently we were all staying in the one house which worked out best for me as long as we were discreet. Attracting curious neighbors was never a good idea.

I looked closely at my team. “Have you and Ethan been sleeping and eating enough?”

“Sure.” Ethan croaked out. He looked even worse than Kyle.

“How about the three of you?”  I looked at the three fae who’d scattered around the room in various chairs.

“I think I ate yesterday.” Aedus answered with a weak grin.

“Is there any food in the freezer? The refrigerator was empty.” I turned to look at Liam.

He answered w
ith a sigh. “Not really. We do have dog food for Samson. Angel and Samson are out together scouting around. Angel always seems to get enough to eat and plenty of sleep.”

Kyle snorted. “Yeah he’s a real team player.”

“I’ll be back in twenty minutes with food. ” My vamp speed came in handy once again as I hit the local supermarket then scrubbed some memories on the way out. I was back in the house in fifteen minutes and had eggs, bacon and hash browned potatoes dished out on their plates in another fifteen. I watched them gobble down the food and thought about how fortunate I was to have people like this in my life.

I
ran my hand distractedly through my hair. Jackie would always laugh and tell me that I looked like a soap star in the middle of some overly dramatic scene when I did that. I could see her face so clearly: her green eyes shining with laughter, her lovely mouth turned up in a grin, her thick blonde hair falling into her eyes when she teased me.

I
stood suddenly and walked outside, taking in a few deep breaths to steady myself, then lowered my body onto a wooden bench that faced the woods. Liam sat down next to me as I wiped away the wetness on my face with my sleeve. He put his hand on my shoulder and I lifted my eyes to meet his. “She’s alive and we’re going to find her. I swear this to you Garrett.”

“I believe that. It's just...she's been through so much in her short life. And I promised her that he'd never... I
promised
her...”

I wiped away another tear.
“Fuck.  Some powerful warrior.” I wasn’t helping her with my bout of self pity so I took another deep breath and strengthened my resolve. We would find her. She wasn’t dead. She--wasn’t--dead.  Anything else we could get through together.

“Close your eyes, Garrett.” I did what he said and felt e
nergy moving through my body, calming me: Liam's version of healing. I visualized myself on Jackie’s cliff, the two of us smiling together, her arms wrapped tightly around my waist. I tried to freeze-frame the picture in my mind, holding her like that forever. The sun beat against my face and the salty spray of the magical sea stretched out below.

I heard Liam’s voice. “You'll
get her back and have many lifetimes together. But when the time comes for you to pass on, you'll find each other here. This place is the heart of you both. Search for her here. Then you’ll be together for all time.”

I opened my eyes, feeling much more relaxed.
Liam’s violet eyes were sad when he spoke. “You know that I love her. But her heart belongs only to you, as it was meant to be. I'm grateful to have you as friends and I want you to know that I'll protect you with my life. It is an honor to do so.

"I walk a line between f
ae and human that I sometimes feel unable to manage. Your friendship and Jackie’s friendship makes it possible for me.” A stray tear traveled slowly down Liam’s face. After a second, we both broke out in laughter. Two powerful warriors crying in the backyard. If Sash or Rick had been around they’d never let us live it down.

“Thank you Liam. You’re my brother, in every way that matters.” We sat there silently for a time.

Chapter Sixteen

Jackie: 9:45 AM Wednesday

Isaiah had insisted that I sleep before we began our negotiations. He said that it was very important for me to have a clear head. When I woke up, he was there with
a hot breakfast, which I took my time eating. I’d had a dream about Garrett which had given me some extra motivation to get through this ordeal.

T
he serious nature of what I’d be working on over the next hours did not escape me.  If I could learn to travel through the lines and get through the wall that blocked the magic, I'd be able to go home. If Isaiah out-maneuvered me with the terms of the agreement, and I couldn’t live up to my part of the bargain, I might end up as a pole dancer in the Demon Realm for the next century. I winced and took another bite.

He was watching me carefully, judging my mood,
probably calculating my ability to learn the difficult lessons he had to teach me, assessing the strength of my mind and body and the depth of my determination to escape.  We hadn’t spoken a word, and wouldn’t until I’d finished my meal.

I was watching him too. His eyes were a simple brown, but I could see the intensity of his gaze and imagined those demonic wheels turning behind it. There was tension in his shoulders giving away how mu
ch he wanted this to work. He desired his freedom as much as I wanted mine, so I decided I would trust him, but always stay alert. I pushed my plate away.

“Jacqueline Crawford, we will begin now.” He smiled at me and I answered
him with one of my own. “We’ll discuss each point as it is presented by me.” A chalkboard appeared on the wall and he wrote with blinding speed as he spoke, posing like an actor on a stage.