AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t be shy about using the emergency beacon,” said Hutch. “I don’t want to lose you.”
She smiled. “Martyr has never been my style.”
“I hate to break this up, but Nora, you need to get on your way. I trust everyone here, but I don’t want you spotted.”
“I’ll go out the way I came in and shift back. I’ve memorized the map, and I’ll leave it with Hutch, just in case you need it.”
“Good thinking, sweetheart.” Hutch pulled her in for a kiss. “I love you, but Colby’s right, you need to be on your way.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as I arrive.”
* * *
NORA
Nora tossed the package over the railing and onto the lawn and then climbed down the trellis until she reached the ground. Moving back behind the boulder, she shifted, picked up the bundle and galloped in the direction of the safe house. The map led her up above Mystic River and then south along Kodiak Island’s western coastline.
Just before sunrise, she came upon a rustic shack. Calling it that was being kind. It looked as if it had been there for a very long time. She moved around the perimeter of the shack’s clearing, checking for any signs of entrapment. Finding none, she approached from the rear of the cabin, shifted, and managed to get the door open just enough to get through. Once inside, she saw why the windows were mostly boarded up.
It might be lacking in natural light, but that was about all it lacked. The safe house was well furnished, almost luxuriously. There was a generator with a push-button start that gave her heat and electricity. She was certain the fireplace worked, but it would give off smoke, which would give the location away, thereby defeating the purpose of a secret safe house.
There was a working stove and fridge. It was mainly just one big room but had an enormous bed in one corner. The only room that wasn’t fully open to the rest of the place was the spa-like bath. Whoever had decked this out had wanted guests staying here to be comfortable. Opening the fridge, Nora found it to be stocked and ready to go. She tried the taps and found running water. A tankless water heater was tucked inside a well-stocked pantry.
There was a communications center with a computer, dual monitors, and a desk. She wasn’t sure how, but when she fired the computer up, she could see she had access to the internet.
She moved toward the bed, tossing down the bundle and putting things away. She turned back the bedcovers to find soft, flannel sheets in soothing colors. Someone had paid close attention to the comfort of anyone staying in the safe house.
Feeling the hair stand up on the back of her neck, she turned to see the front door being unlocked and someone pushing his way in. Only the hand that wrapped around the door wasn’t male. It was most definitely female, and Nora recognized the nail color. Everything fell into place, and she knew that both Hutch and Colby had been wrong about the mole.
Nora checked the Glock. It was loaded. She brought it up to bear and it was the first thing the mole saw as she stepped inside.
CHAPTER15
NORA
“It’s you,” said Nora in a shocked voice.
The last person she ever would have suspected stared back at her. Nora thought that Hutch’s assessment of those most likely to be the mole for the League had been on point. Will was a marten, and like Hutch, she didn’t trust weasels. Additionally, he was the bartender at The Workshop, which put him in a good position to overhear and pass information along. Morty, the moose-shifter, seemed dull, but that could be a feint. He traveled extensively in and around Kodiak Island with no one really knowing where he was or what he was doing. Ellis Wells had seemed like the long shot in the group. Nora might have been surprised had it been the alpha to the pack at Wolf Run, but not nearly as shocked as she was to see Trudy Edwards staring back at her.
“Your grasp of the obvious is second to none,” said Trudy. “It’s a good thing you finally decided to do your job. I was worried about what might happen if you didn’t. The Master was none too pleased with you.”
“He’ll get over it. Why? I have to tell you that you might be the last person I suspected. I’d have been quicker to believe it was Hamish.”
A look of pain crossed her face. “Hamish,” she said with a sigh. “Dear, sweet Hamish. How could you ever suspect Hamish of anything untoward or disloyal? He’d sooner fall on his sword than betray those he cares about.”
“But why?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.” Nora realized if she was going to pull off this double agent stunt, she needed Trudy to believe. “How am I supposed to trust you if I don’t understand why you would work against those you seem to care about?”
“Sometimes you have to make difficult choices—whether to remain loyal to those of your blood or those who you have made your family. You, more than anyone, should understand that.”
“I do understand that, but I don’t understand you.”
Trudy shook her head. “Like you, I didn’t have a choice.”
“I was a child, an orphan, and my social worker basically sold me to the Master. What’s your excuse?”
