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When I’d tried to kiss her, she’d turned away.
And even in her sleep, my mate couldn’t stand my touch.
* * *
“We’re at a loss.”
Special Agent Regina Cordova sat at the lodge’s large dining room table, her hand curled around a cup of coffee, and a deep trench between her brows. She’d arrived with the sunrise, coming in straight off a night shift staking out the Du Pont pack’s estate in Vermont. Her silver hair was tied back in a severe bun, and the stains on her white shirt told me this was far from the first cup of coffee she’d had in the last few hours.
“But you’re the FBI,” Felicity pointed out. “You’ve caught thousands of criminals. That’s your job.”
“And yet, D.B. Cooper still got away. And the Lindbergh baby…” Her voice trailed off. Not exactly a story I appreciated being reminded of at that moment. “All I’m saying is that we need to be realistic. These cases are delicate, complex things even in the best of cases, and that’s before you add shifters into the mix.” She gave me a wary look, like I was personally responsible for complicating things more. “I want to be transparent with you both. The tip line we set up has been ringing off the hook—”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” Felicity interjected.
“—but not with anything valuable,” Cordova finished. “Hundreds of people are spotting hundreds of blonde women with babies every day. We’ve got police across the country responding to each report, and we still haven’t found her. Frankly, we’re running out of leads. Stakeouts, wiretapping, search warrants—sometimes they work.” She shook her head, looking more exhausted by the minute. “Sometimes they don’t.”
“Have you reached out to Doris Houghton yet?” I asked. “She’s Melony’s grandmother. Doesn’t live far from here.”
“I have,” Cordova confirmed. “Waste of time. I sent two of my guys over to her place on the day of the abduction. Melony wasn’t there. Doris didn’t know where she was. Said she hadn’t seen her in months. Another dead end.”
“You think she’s telling the truth?” Felicity asked.
“I think so, yeah. Though, it’s hard to say for sure.” Cordova shrugged. “You’re welcome to try yourself. I know you shifters are happier to cooperate with each other than the authorities. Maybe you’ll succeed where we’ve failed.” She lifted her coffee mug to her lips and drank deeply. It was empty when she put it down. “Thanks for the coffee. If I learn anything more, I’ll be in touch.”
Felicity and I walked her out and stood on the front porch as we watched her walk away.
“Do you think she’s right?” Felicity asked.
I pulled my phone from my pocket. “Only one way to find out.”
I made the call. Seven rings, then voicemail. I made the call again.
I made that same call sixteen times before I gave up. Doris Houghton knew my number. She must’ve known I’d be calling, but she wasn’t answering, and somehow I doubted she’d just fallen and couldn’t get up.
“Dylan and Kingston are getting back today,” I announced, pulling up Connell Huxley’s contact instead. “When they get here, I want the pack elders here, too.”
Felicity visibly perked up. “You have a plan?”
I dialed Connell’s number. “I just might.”
* * *
The drill whirred in my hand, shooting satisfying vibrations through my work glove up my arm as I set the last screw in place. The sweat forming at the back of my neck from the kiss of the morning sunlight cooled my skin as a breeze swept in. Beneath my boots, the plywood ramp was sturdy and strong.
Sturdy and strong was something we sorely needed right now.
Rylan and Ryder’s absence still hung the heaviest over my heart. But when it rained, my God, how it fucking poured.
Kingston would be back today. So would Dylan. I was worried about them both.
The amputation had decimated Kingston. So had his guilt over the boys.I should’ve lost more than my leg that day.Those words still haunted me. If he was ever going to walk again, he needed to start taking his meds and going to PT. And before that, he would have to learn to accept help. To forgive himself. To accept that this wasn’t his fault.
After so many months of managing the pack without me, Dylan probably needed a vacation more than anything, but I couldn’t give him one now. He never should have been put in the position of leading the pack on his own, and I’d need him more than ever as soon as he was home. Keeping the reporters away meant keeping a low profile, which meant Felicity and I couldn’t chance going into town. I needed a lieutenant. A second-in-command. Whether he’d take the job or not? All I could do was hope.
Out in Boston, Macy and Leo were hunkered down with my newborn niece. Harper had been born earlier that morning, weighing eight pounds and six ounces, with a full head of blonde hair and a tooth already coming in. It had been a long labor, and a hard one, Macy had admitted in an exhausted voice over the phone. She would need time to recover, and even though she’d assured me that Leo’s pack was taking good care of her, it killed me that we couldn’t be there with them.
Finally, I thought of Ma and Dad. Ma was still in a coma back in Portersmith. Until she came to, Dad would remain a husk of his former self. And even if she came to, she’d still be cut off from their mating bond. Still cursed. Could the pack ever accept her again after all she’d done? Could Felicity?
