after year. Not a lot of people with money to burn in Mud Lake.”
Vaughn offered me a weak smile. “Not looking necessarily at individual wealth,” she said, then looked at Stone as if daring him to take a potshot at her. “Think connections. Organization. The backing of a larger group as opposed to one person.”
“The Mafia?” I asked, swimming in the dark. I could see my brothers snorting over the idea of an Idaho Mafia.
“Who else is extremely organized, runs in packs, and has the financial wherewithal of a group to fund an operation like this?”
Ling Mai and I spoke at the same time. “Weres.”
“Or vamps,” Stone added, realizing exactly what Vaughn was saying.
“No.” I shook my head. “No, I killed a Were. Haven’t had any run-ins with vampires.” That I knew about, not that vamps easily fit in with human society, and living in an isolated small Idaho community meant I didn’t cross paths with many of them. And few went to prison. They didn’t do well in a closed society that required you to be awake in the daylight. So if they committed a crime, they made damned sure they weren’t caught.
“So we’re looking for a Were,” Stone repeated, nodding at Ling Mai.
“Except.” I raised my hand to halt the easy solution. “The Were I killed was a rogue. He wasn’t affiliated with any pack.”
“You know this for sure?” Stone demanded, like a child deprived of promised candy.
“My dad did some checking. He wanted to make sure we didn’t owe a blood payment to a Were clan.”
Vaughn gave me a raised eyebrow glance that silently interrogated.
I answered her, “My dad is a shaman shifter; he understands the protocol associated with many of the non-human species as well as the spirit world.”
“Must be handy,” Vaughn smiled, one that went all the way to her eyes to let me know it was sincere. “I wish my dad knew those kinds of things.”
It was Stone who broke the bonding moment. “So the Were was rogue, which meant no one watching his back. We’re back to square one.”
“Not quite.” I mulled over Vaughn’s comment, tasting the truth of her words. “My dad checked pack allegiance but he didn’t check for other connections.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Stone pushed.
I glanced at Ling Mai who’d kept her own counsel through the conversation. It was a wise woman who knew when to hold her tongue.
Vaughn leaned forward in her chair, waiting for my words.
What if I was wrong? We could spend time chasing down the wrong rabbit hole while someone had me in her si ghts.
But if I was right, no one else had to die needlessly.
My gaze tap-danced across the room, making sure we were all focused here before I took a deep breath. “Dad looked at clan allegiance, but he didn’t look at friends.” I paused before adding, “Or family.”
Vaughn whistled, catching on the fastest. “Of course. I don’t know enough about Weres, but aren’t their families the same as their packs?”
“Not always,” Stone mused aloud, forgetting for a minute to snap at Vaughn. “Many packs avoid family dynamics by selecting pack members from outside blood bonds.”
“But those bonds still exist,” I said, thinking of my brothers. I’d do anything for them, including dying. Shifters were different than Weres, but one thing they had in common, once aligned, either by blood or allegiance, the bond held.
I looked at Ling Mai. “So how do we find out who inside here might be connected to my dead Were?”
“We’ll start immediately digging deeper into all the recruit backgrounds,” Ling Mai said, glancing at Stone.
“And then what?” I asked.
“Then we remove the person or persons involved,” Stone said, his voice ice cold and deadly.
But that wasn’t enough. Not for me. Not after what had happened to Serena and Bitsi and Rolf. It felt like the world’s weight pressed against me, but I wasn’t waiting for some silent assassin to strike again.
Vaughn was already
Vaughn offered me a weak smile. “Not looking necessarily at individual wealth,” she said, then looked at Stone as if daring him to take a potshot at her. “Think connections. Organization. The backing of a larger group as opposed to one person.”
“The Mafia?” I asked, swimming in the dark. I could see my brothers snorting over the idea of an Idaho Mafia.
“Who else is extremely organized, runs in packs, and has the financial wherewithal of a group to fund an operation like this?”
Ling Mai and I spoke at the same time. “Weres.”
“Or vamps,” Stone added, realizing exactly what Vaughn was saying.
“No.” I shook my head. “No, I killed a Were. Haven’t had any run-ins with vampires.” That I knew about, not that vamps easily fit in with human society, and living in an isolated small Idaho community meant I didn’t cross paths with many of them. And few went to prison. They didn’t do well in a closed society that required you to be awake in the daylight. So if they committed a crime, they made damned sure they weren’t caught.
“So we’re looking for a Were,” Stone repeated, nodding at Ling Mai.
“Except.” I raised my hand to halt the easy solution. “The Were I killed was a rogue. He wasn’t affiliated with any pack.”
“You know this for sure?” Stone demanded, like a child deprived of promised candy.
“My dad did some checking. He wanted to make sure we didn’t owe a blood payment to a Were clan.”
Vaughn gave me a raised eyebrow glance that silently interrogated.
I answered her, “My dad is a shaman shifter; he understands the protocol associated with many of the non-human species as well as the spirit world.”
“Must be handy,” Vaughn smiled, one that went all the way to her eyes to let me know it was sincere. “I wish my dad knew those kinds of things.”
It was Stone who broke the bonding moment. “So the Were was rogue, which meant no one watching his back. We’re back to square one.”
“Not quite.” I mulled over Vaughn’s comment, tasting the truth of her words. “My dad checked pack allegiance but he didn’t check for other connections.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Stone pushed.
I glanced at Ling Mai who’d kept her own counsel through the conversation. It was a wise woman who knew when to hold her tongue.
Vaughn leaned forward in her chair, waiting for my words.
What if I was wrong? We could spend time chasing down the wrong rabbit hole while someone had me in her si ghts.
But if I was right, no one else had to die needlessly.
My gaze tap-danced across the room, making sure we were all focused here before I took a deep breath. “Dad looked at clan allegiance, but he didn’t look at friends.” I paused before adding, “Or family.”
Vaughn whistled, catching on the fastest. “Of course. I don’t know enough about Weres, but aren’t their families the same as their packs?”
“Not always,” Stone mused aloud, forgetting for a minute to snap at Vaughn. “Many packs avoid family dynamics by selecting pack members from outside blood bonds.”
“But those bonds still exist,” I said, thinking of my brothers. I’d do anything for them, including dying. Shifters were different than Weres, but one thing they had in common, once aligned, either by blood or allegiance, the bond held.
I looked at Ling Mai. “So how do we find out who inside here might be connected to my dead Were?”
“We’ll start immediately digging deeper into all the recruit backgrounds,” Ling Mai said, glancing at Stone.
“And then what?” I asked.
“Then we remove the person or persons involved,” Stone said, his voice ice cold and deadly.
But that wasn’t enough. Not for me. Not after what had happened to Serena and Bitsi and Rolf. It felt like the world’s weight pressed against me, but I wasn’t waiting for some silent assassin to strike again.
Vaughn was already
Similar Books
