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Taylee just stood helplessly. If she knew why, then she could have sorted out this whole damn mess.
As if realizing her anguish Clay added, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I know if you could remember, then you’d tell us—and I’m sure you had a good reason not to tell us about him in the first place.”
“But do you really think he’s capable of doing that?”
The strain showed in the lines around Clay’s mouth and eyes. He looked like he wanted very badly to tear apart the kitchen. However satisfying that might be for him, he’d refrain. He hadn’t found an outlet for his anger as good as the fighting ever was, but he had the woods. He had his bear. He had the clan. He could shift and be free here, unlike when he lived in the city. At that time, he’d had no way to be a part of anything more than his human form and the stress that caused, well, he’dneededthe cage for it.
“I don’t know. I think he’s desperate, but who knows what that means. No one risks coming out here to blackmail someone unless their back is up against the wall in the hardest of ways—and if he is a shifter himself, then doing something like that would put him at risk of getting discovered. I think he might be running from more than just us. He said he needed money. He didn’t get it. That means his own deadline has likely passed too. He’s probably lying low somewhere for more than one reason. If he thinks he’s hunting us, he’s also being hunted, and not by shifters. More like loan sharks, and they don’t play nice. They don’t give second chances.”
Taylee bit down on her lip to smother the gasp. It hurt her to think about that level of violence and pain. Someone had turned this man that she’d once possibly cared for into an animal. But underneath that, he was a person, and while he was still alive, she believed he wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t be redeemed.
Now probably wasn’t the right time to express that sentiment, or to tell Clay what she’d gone and talked to Clarence about.
She had to get her brother to give her an honest answer.
“You’re not going to go to Seattle, are you? You just want to do it. That’s all, right?”
His eyes were wild. He looked like he was ready to go into battle, but she stood up and walked over. She wasn’t afraid of her brother. She put a hand on his shoulder, feeling the muscles bunch under his t-shirt. He tried to angle away from her touch, but she wouldn’t let him do that. She grasped his wrist, holding on.
“Clay. You and Jem are not going to leave here, are you? Not for this. Not in secret. Please. Promise me.”
“Alright. I promise.” It sounded true enough. He wasn’t one to mess around with semantics. Not usually. He better not be doing it to her this time.
Her eyes strayed back to the laptop when she realized that’s exactly where Clay was looking. “But you’re going to keep looking for him.”
“Yes.”
“And if you find him? What then?”
“The only thing that’s saving him so far is that he’s probably a shifter too. Even if he’s a wolf, everyone is reluctant to take down one of our own kind.”
That no longer surprised her. They’d talked about wolf behavior. The guy could be something else completely. Who knew what was out there? Everyone had their secrets.
“Just promise me that you won’t go after him if you find him. That you’ll tell us. Me. Clarence. Kier. Someone and everyone. Please!”
“Taylee…”
“You can’t just beat the shit out of the guy. What’s that going to accomplish? And if you get your ass caged up and sent to a lab, that’s not going to help anyone. Think about Emma. Think about Jem. If you want a fight, there are clubs in Seattle, I’m sure. Join one. Kick someone’s ass that way, in the cage. If you’re looking for pain, then let them kick yours. I wouldn’t say these things, but I know you. I can see that you want this so fucking badly, and it’s not just for my sake.”
She’d shocked both of them with that. It wasn’t a memory. It was an observation, but there it was. Maybe it was just the honest instinct telling her what was true at the moment and her need to protect her brother that made her say it instead of tiptoeing around it.
“What do you want me to do, then? Just let him go free after he nearly wrecked the only thing we have worth anything? Our lives?”
“I don’t expect that. I just want you to tell me so that we can all decide what to do together.” She let go of her brother’s wrist. She didn’t need to be holding onto him to know if he was telling the truth. She didn’t even look at him. She studied the ground, giving him time.
“Yes. I’ll tell you.”
She kept a straight face at the lie she heard in his voice. “And mom’s drain? You’re going to come fix that?”
“Is it even really clogged?”
“Oh yes. I watched her pour bacon grease down it this morning and this afternoon she mashed the leftover pasta down.”
“Good lord.”
“She was anticipating tonight.” She looked back up. “You’ll let her down easily, won’t you? Lyric is so nice. She’s a good woman.”
“I’ll be gentle with her. You’re right. She’s kind. It’s not her fault I’m not interested in romance. I’ll probably never be.”
