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“Hello, babe,” she said. “Any updates?”
“Not yet. We are looking, and the wolf senses are scoping things out,” he answered. “We’ll get this guy.”
“How do you know my stalker is a male?” she asked. “Plenty of movies depict women as being the whacked-out rabbit boilers.”
“I don’t know. In my mind, it is very hard to conceptualize a woman using a child to terrorize another. I hate to say it, but a man is more likely to do that. A disturbed man. Tell me you are cuddled up and reading or watching something enjoyable,” he added.
“I can’t tell you that because it would be fiction,” she answered. “I am neck deep into keeping busy, which is going to help keep me from losing my mind over this. Who knew that party prepping would be such a good way to get rid of an abundance of rage.”
“Busy with what?” he asked. “I know you are always busy, that you do a lot. I am just curious.”
“Candles, drapes, decorations, chair, and table arrangements for tomorrow night,” she told him.
“You are going to spoil everybody,” he told her. She heard the sincerity in his voice. She also heard empathy that the beautiful festival day she’d been having was ripped out from under her feet.
“I’ll call you when I’m on my way back,” he said before hanging up.
Taryn continued to busy herself with decorations for the next evening’s party along with her sisters, who had offered to help.
They also had servants helping. Enforcers were on her like fleas on a dog, around every corner and practically in every drawer and cupboard. The chef and kitchen staff were also helpful, and no one spoke a word about the night when Declan had tried to cook for Taryn.
Declan texted to let her know the men were on their way back. He did not say more than that. The timing was perfect because Taryn, along with a servant, was finishing up the candle arrangements.
“Are these candles from your apothecary?” the servant asked.
“Yes, they are,” Taryn answered.
“I like the color combination of pink and gold,” the servant added.
“Pink is the color of love, tenderness, romance, innocence, and the receptivity of the sacred feminine. Gold is the color of the veneration of the divine in all things.”
Before Taryn could say more, the men arrived. She retreated to her private chambers, where Declan would find her and update her. She wanted to speak in private because she didn’t really want to burst into angry, enraged tears in front of the men.
Again, the memory of the innocent face of that child came to mind. She worried that the atrocity of someone using a child to terrorize her would burn forever, leaving her with a scar that would never heal.
“Sit and let me tell you what we think. I want to sit beside you,” Declan told her. “But first, I want a big hug,” he added.
She hugged him. Even though her arms felt like noodles, she didn’t think she would ever let go. His strong, warm body absorbed her wrath as if Declan was an antidote to her poisonous anger. Declan’s eyes said he was so sorry that a child had been used as a weapon to steal a day of beauty and love from her. She could also see the wolf in there, waiting with bated breath for revenge.
“We’ll find him,” Declan said. “I know we’re close.”
“Did you get any leads?”
“A few leads at the festival. I have delegated my beta and a couple others to vet the leads.”
“What about the child, Declan?” she asked. “I need to know what happened with the child.”
“The first thing I did was assign enforcers to the child and their family. The second thing I did was reassure the parents that the criminal who used their child would be dealt with. And the third thing I did was have a long discussion with the boy and his parents and then just the boy and myself.”
“What does the child remember? What did they say?”
“The man that asked him to drop off the note, based on how the child described him, looks exactly like eighty percent of the men at the music festival. He could’ve been me.”
“I see. What does the wolf say?”
“The wolf says the young boy did not know the man. The young boy did what an adult asked of him because he had been taught to respect elders. The boy’s memory of that man is a blend of every man he saw at the festival.”
Declan’s phone vibrated. He looked down and saw the number. “Excuse me a moment, love,” he said. Declan took the call. He listened for a moment and then put the phone away.
