Sitting on the floor, she leaned her back against the wall, keeping one hand on Kellen’s shoulder, just in case he could sense her presence. She leaned her head back as well, and then began contemplating what might happen in the next few weeks, if she managed to survive today. Originally she’d planned on rescuing Kellen and then disappearing, but now she wasn’t so sure. Did she really want to leave Bryan behind and never see him again?
The wolf inside her whined at the very idea and for once she was in agreement with the animal. Strange, but it was sort of nice to be on the same wavelength for a change. Tentatively, she connected to the creature, allowing its emotions to flow and mingle with her own as she thought about Bryan.
Her breath caught in her throat at the depth of feeling the creature had for Bryan’s wolf. The poor thing was devastated by the thought of being separated from its mate. Cassie felt a tear prick her eye as the animal’s emotions became clearer to her. Sorrow, despair, frustration...
For years her wolf had felt rejected and alone, rather like a puppy that just wanted its owner to notice and give approval. The silly thing was thumping its tail with joy over the fact that she was now actually giving it the time of day. A smile spread over her face at the excitement she felt growing within her, a sense of unity as if a missing part had suddenly been found.
A soft laugh escaped her. The wolf wanted out to play. In her mind’s eye, she could see it with its front end down and its rear end up, tongue lolling out of the corner of its mouth as it quivered in anticipation of being set free for a good romp. Cassie felt a faint thrill herself at the idea. She hadn’t played or had any real fun in ages. Perhaps, when this was all over, they could find a park somewhere and...
The sound of the door handle turning caught her attention and both she, and the wolf within, stiffened, alert to the possible approach of danger. It could be Bryan here to rescue her... Cassie bit her lip and sniffed, trying to search the air for a familiar scent. She wasn’t too good at this yet, but it didn’t appear that Bryan was anywhere nearby; she was sure she’d be able to detect him if he was. She shifted her feet under her so that she was crouched, ready to move.
Whoever was trying to get in, pushed at the door, then murmured something in an angry tone. There was a pause and then a loud bang as something—possibly a shoulder?—hit the door. The wooden panel reverberated, but held strong. Another strike and then a splintering sound filled the room.
Cassie leapt to her feet and started to back up, her heart pounding, her eyes fixed on the door. What should she do? Leave Kellen and save herself? She shook her head; there was no way she could do that, but what other course of action did she have? Quickly she scanned the room, but it was bare of anything that even vaguely resembled a weapon. Whoever was responsible for holding Kellen here knew what they were doing.
Another hit shook the door and the frame pulled free. Beefy finger tips appeared around the edge, gripped the wood and then the door was moved out of the way to admit Hugh and a middle aged man who looked vaguely familiar.
Hugh stepped to the side and the man came forward. Cassie bit back a gasp of surprise. It was Mr. Aldrich, her uncle’s lawyer! Bryan had been right; Ryne hadn’t killed him. She eyed the silk scarf tied around his throat and thought back to the gaping wound she’d seen there three years earlier. What scars might that bit of cloth be hiding?
“Ah, Miss Cassandra. How nice to finally meet face to face, though I must admit your presence here is a trifle puzzling.” Aldrich looked curiously around the room then back down the hallway. “Hugh, go find Swanson and see if you can figure out how she managed to breach my security.”
Hugh left without a sound. Mr. Aldrich put his hands behind his back, rocking slightly on his heels as he looked her up and down. “I must say, you haven’t changed much over the years. Of course, I only know you through a picture we found at the Estate. It was strange that your uncle never introduced us despite all the occasions that I was at the house.” He cocked his head. “Any idea why Mr. Greyson was so cautious about revealing your existence?”
Cassie shook her head, unsure where the conversation was leading.
“I’ve theorized over the fact. Would you mind if I share my musings?” He quirked an eyebrow, but when she didn’t respond, he continued. “I think it’s because he was hiding you from the world”
“Perhaps.” She shrugged and forced herself to leave her hands still at her side rather than twisting them nervously.
Pursing his lips, Mr. Aldrich shook his head. “But it doesn’t quite fit. I know the rich do take extreme precautions with their children, but Mr. Greyson seemed to go above and beyond. I think there was an added reason, don’t you?”
Cassie swallowed nervously. There was something about the man that gave her the creeps. His eyes were too cold, his voice too smooth. She took a half step backwards.
“Still not talking? Well, I’ll tell you my theory. Greyson hid you because you’re a werewolf.”
Her eyes flared wide, despite her wishes and Aldrich chuckled.
“You’re surprised that I know? You shouldn’t be. I was there that night. I heard him tell the other werewolf about you just before I was attacked.”
“I...I thought you’d died that night.” Why she felt compelled to share that tidbit of information she didn’t know.
“I almost did.” He reached up and loosened the scarf around his neck, then undid his collar and pulled his shirt open. Some type of breathing tube came into view, but that wasn’t what drew the gasp from her lips. It was the appearance of the skin around it; horribly disfigured with scars from numerous stitches crisscrossing his jaw and disappearing down towards his chest.
“I...I’m sorry.” The words passed through her numb lips. She knew Ryne had attacked him, but the fact that Aldrich had lived had somehow lessened the event in her mind. Now it all came rushing back to her; the growling, the blood, Aldrich’s screams as long sharp teeth ripped at his flesh. The damage inflicted had been severe. She grimaced as the reality of how of fierce a werewolf could be came into shocking clarity once again. When she was around Bryan, she forgot that. Frowning she considered the point...
Aldrich inclined his head. “Thank you. If it wasn’t for Franklin—”
“Franklin was there?” She looked up in surprise, his words jolting her from her dark thoughts.
Aldrich narrowed his eyes and seemed to be studying her for a moment before he replied. “Why, yes. Yes he was. He came looking for your uncle. Unfortunately, it was too late for Mr. Greyson, but Franklin summoned help and saved me. I’m very grateful to the man and tell him so whenever I see him.”
“He’s still alive? Do you see him often?” Cassie took a half step forward, eager for news about the man who had been more of a family member to her than a servant.
“Yes. And the cook—Mrs. Teasdale, I believe—is still there as well. They’ll be delighted to have you back home to fuss over.”
For a moment, Cassie forgot everything else that was going on as memories of the two servants flooded her mind; making Christmas cookies in the vast Estate kitchen, finding Easter eggs with Franklin at her side holding the basket, birthday parties where they’d all worn silly hats, picnics at the beach... She blinked, tears threatening at the thought of seeing Franklin and Cook again. They were still alive! She could picture them moving about the house, cooking and fussing...
“I’ll take you to them right now if you want.” Aldrich smiled at her and extended his hand. “My secretary, Miss Matthews, will summon my chauffeur and we can be on our way in a matter of minutes.”
Chapter 23
Mel and Elise peered out of the taxi window at the high rise across the street. It was an impressive structure, rising some forty floors, rivalled by few other buildings in the area.
“Wow! Aldrich has really moved up in the world.” Mel said as she fished some money out of her purse and handed it to the driver. “His law office was impressive, but this place is amazing. It must have cost him
a fortune.”
“Are you sure we should do this?” Elise bit her lip and looked at her, a worried frown marring her brow.
“Yes, we most definitely should do this. We’re not sitting at the motel twiddling our thumbs. Our men are up there and they might need us.” She nudged Elise to get her to open the door and climb out. Mel followed and the taxi drove off, leaving them on the busy sidewalk.
Elise looked around at all the people hurrying up and down the sidewalk. She was jostled to one side by an impatient businessman who was talking on his cell phone and obviously not watching where he was heading. “Where is everyone going in such a hurry?”
Mel grabbed her arm and pulled her to stand by a mailbox. It offered some semblance of safety as the crowds parted to walk around it. “To work, to appointments, who knows? Chicago is a lot different than Smythston or Stump River.”
“You can say that again. I’m not used to so many people in one place.” She swivelled her head around once more to stare at the crowd. “So, should we just stay here and wait for the men to appear? Or try to find someplace to hide? We’ll be kind of conspicuous if we stay by this mailbox very long.”
“True.” Mel glanced around and then grinned. “Ah-ha! I thought I remembered one being in this neighbourhood.”
“One what?”
“A coffee shop! It’s my favourite chain. We’ll sit there and keep an eye on what’s happening over here. If the boys need us, we’re close at hand.”
Elise winced. “Kane will be furious if he finds out I’m here.”
“And Ryne will be royally pissed off, too.” Mel giggled.
“You like making him angry?”
“Well...not exactly. But the making up part is well worth it.” She winked and grinned.
Elise stifled a laugh, her eyes dancing merrily. “Sounds like fun.” She sighed quietly and sobered. “Kane and I don’t have too many disagreements. Lately, it’s usually me trying to cajole him out of a mood, when pack business gets too intense.”
“Our pack’s still small, so that hasn’t happened yet, thank heaven.”
“Lucky you.” Elise sounded a bit wistful and Mel looked at her carefully.
“Trouble in paradise?”
Elise shrugged. “Not really. It’s like I said at dinner the other night. Kane has a lot of demands on his time. He tries to make sure we have time together, but it’s not always possible. And when he’s free, I’m often busy with the kids. It’s different now that we have a family.”
Mel made a noncommittal sound and rubbed her swollen belly, wondering how parenthood might change her relationship with Ryne. She hadn’t thought much about it, still caught up with her other recent discovery. “You know, we’ve been here a whole day and I haven’t even met Kane yet...” Mel let her voice trail off and bit her lip. Could it be that Kane was purposely avoiding her? Did he somehow sense that she was—? She gave her head an imperceptible shake. No, that couldn’t be it, could it...?
Elise let out a yelp, then glared over her shoulder at a passerby who had managed to hit her with his briefcase.
“Come on; let’s find a safer place to talk.’ Mel grabbed her arm and led her towards the coffee shop. Just the thought of caffeine had her almost floating down the sidewalk.
“You know you can’t have any, right?” Elise cautioned as they entered.
Mel pouted and sighed. “Yeah, but at least I can smell it. Ryne’s been a regular beast about guarding my caffeine intake. He hardly allows the rest of the pack to make coffee, thinking I’ll break down. Poor dears are limited to one pot in the morning and after that it’s uptown to Ruth’s. That’s the diner in Stump River where everyone gathers during the day.”
Elise looked intrigued. “I’d like to visit that place some day. It sounds interesting.”
“Well, ‘interesting’ isn’t exactly the word I’d use. More like ‘quirky,’ I think.”
“Quirky can be good.” Elise stood in line and scanned the offerings that were listed on the overhead menu. Unexpectedly, she grabbed Mel’s arm. “Hey! Look at that. They have a decaffeinated coffee. You could probably drink that.”
Mel looked at the sign and then read the explanation underneath. “No caffeine, all natural... Woohoo, that’s new since I was last here! I’ve hit pay dirt.” She slung an arm around Elise’s shoulders and gave her a hug. “If the guys don’t need us, how about we spend the rest of the day here, bonding as sisters-in-law?”
*****
Cassie stared at Aldrich’s outstretched hand, half-tempted by the idea of seeing Franklin and Cook again. Then the image of a gun in that same hand superimposed itself; a gun that had killed her uncle. But that had been an accident, of course...hadn’t it? She furrowed her brow trying to recall the events of that night clearly without clouding effects of emotion.
Mr. Aldrich had been aiming at the werewolf. It was an act of self-defence. The wolf had been going to attack him... Her own wolf growled at the memory of what had happened and Cassie pressed a hand to her forehead, confused by the flood of memories and conflicting view points. Who to believe? Who to trust? Her uncle had been a clever man and he must have trusted Mr. Aldrich, yet Bryan didn’t...
The sound of pounding feet drew her attention. Hugh was running down the hallway. Mr. Aldrich heard him as well and spun around.
“The whole security system’s been turned off and Swanson is out like a light on the floor. The elevator’s out of commission too.” The big man panted out the message, obviously unused to moving so quickly.
“Really?” Mr. Aldrich half turned and stared at her over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed. “You’ve been a busy girl, Cassandra. I can see that you’d tamper with security; how else would you get in. But why did you disable the elevator?”
“I...I didn’t.” Cassie was shocked by the news. If the elevator wasn’t working, how would Bryan ever get up here? And what had happened to Mr Aldrich’s pleasant tone of voice? She tightened her jaw, glad she hadn’t trusted him just moments before. Apparently Bryan and his friends had been right. The lawyer wasn’t what he tried to make himself out to be.
Mr Aldrich compressed his lips. “Never mind. I’ll figure out your motive later.” He jerked his head towards Hugh. “Bring her along. I’ll have to reset the security myself since no one else knows the code.” With that, he headed down the hall. Hugh grabbed Cassie’s arm, dragging her along behind.
She stumbled after him, the feel of his thick, warm fingers pressing against her skin making her shudder. At least no one had seemed to remember Kellen was unconscious on the floor so he’d be safe for the moment. After that... Well, she didn’t have the slightest idea how she’d save him or herself with no backup.
Hugh pushed her into the security room, then placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, no doubt as a warning not to try anything. When she attempted to inch away, he dug his fingers into her neck, causing her to freeze in place. The man was big enough to snap her neck without the slightest bit of effort and she strongly suspected he’d enjoy doing it, too. Resigned for the moment, she focussed on Mr Aldrich who was already bent over the computer keyboard. He typed something and a red light started to flash in the corner of the room.
“What’s that?” Hugh stared at the array of blinking lights in surprise.
“Someone’s been tiptoeing through my computer system as well as security. Know a hacker, do you, Cassandra?” Mr Aldrich looked at her suspiciously.
She said nothing, hoping Daniel had a way to prevent the man from following a trail that led back to his IP address. They didn’t need Mr Aldrich discovering the pack’s location. She had a bad feeling that he wasn’t the type of person you wanted showing up unexpectedly on your doorstep.
On the floor, the man she’d knocked out earlier groaned. Aldrich nudged him with his foot. “Get up Swanson. With your training and background, I expected better from you. Explain to me how this little chit of girl took you out.”
Swanson slowly got to his feet, rubbing the back of
his head and then giving it a shake as if trying to clear his mind. He held on to the side of the desk, frowning and swaying slightly. “Damned if I know. I was viewing security tapes when—”
Cassie couldn’t help the snort that escaped her lips and Aldrich shot a look at her. “Something to say, Cassandra?”
She hesitated then shrugged. Creating dissent amongst the enemy was supposed to be a good strategy. “He was watching a porno flick and didn’t even notice me coming up behind him.”
“Really?” Aldrich swung his gaze back to Swanson. “We’ll be having a talk, Swanson, once I’ve dealt with Miss Greyson.”
Swanson paled and opened his mouth, but Hugh interrupted.
“Mr Aldrich, look at this!” Hugh pointed to one of several screens that apparently broadcast the views from the security cameras. Cassie bit back a gasp. It showed Bryan, Kane, and Ryne running up a set of stairs. “Someone’s coming up the interior fire escape route.”
By the time Aldrich had moved closer to the small screen, they were gone. He flipped a switch and another camera took over, catching the men as they rounded another flight. Aldrich studied the image for a moment and then swore. “Damn! It’s him.”
“Who?” Hugh frowned.
“Never mind,” Mr Aldrich touched the scarf around his neck, looking decidedly nervous. “Hugh and Swanson, I need you to slow down our unexpected company.”
Swanson made to move, but Hugh didn’t budge. Instead he pressed Mr Aldrich for more information. “I don’t go head to head with three men unless I know something about them.”
“They’re here to take Cassandra.”
“Really? And why is that?” Hugh flicked his gaze at Mr Aldrich and then focussed back on Cassie, turning her so he could see her face.
Cassie bit her lip, wishing she could say they were her pack, but she remembered the Keeping and held back. Damn, she thought to herself, I’m barely a werewolf and I’m already thinking about the rules. “They’re my friends. I’m going to give them a cut of my inheritance.”