Betrayed: Days of the Rogue (11 page)

“I don’t know. But no one is above
suspicion. And a rogue died at his clinic recently. It could mean
something…or not.” Reno took another bite of food. “Just before
that, rumour had it he was making noises, wanting increased funding
for more research or some such thing. If he needs money, who knows
what he might do?”

Brandi frowned. “Then why ask him
to help you out with Damien?”

“He called me. Told me he suspected
Damien was in the area.” Reno shrugged. “What was I going to say?
‘Stay away, I’m not sure I can trust you.’ That would have gone
over real well.”

“I hate this.” Brandi stared at the
fry she was dipping in ketchup, stirring it around in the red
sauce. “I hate not being able to trust anyone. I thought when you
caught Al Zimmerman that we’d be done with this.”

“Al was only the tip of the
iceberg.” Brad closed his book and began to pack up the remnants of
his lunch.

Reno nodded. “Investigating
Zimmerman is what brought this latest problem to light. Good thing
you decided to do a deep security scan of the system. If you hadn’t
noticed the correlation between the rogues and the Fae, who knows
if we would ever have noticed it.”

“I’m still amazed that you even
made the connection.” Brandi darted a glance at Brad. “It wasn’t
until I actually saw the printouts side by side that I believed
it.”

“I always said that damned
photographic memory could be put to better use than playing poker
and remembering the stats of females you meet at the bar.” Reno
laughed softly.

“Hey, I’m more than a pretty face
and a great body.” Brad grinned before sobering again. He flipped a
page in his book. “I’m still analyzing the pattern of who is
accessing the Lycan Link data bank. Each person who signs in to a
file leaves an electronic signature. The trick is trying to compare
all the registered accesses and see if any were made by someone who
shouldn’t be there. So far, every Lycan who’s looked at the data
would have had a legitimate reason to do so in association with
their job. As far as I can tell, no one has breached the
system.”

Brandi scowled. “Which confirms our
suspicions that it’s corruption right inside Lycan Link, not some
random hacker.”

“No single department would have a
reason to access the list of rogues
and
the list of Fae.”
Brad pointed out. “There’s no overlap of responsibilities between
those two areas. And there’s no one person who’s tried to access
both lists.”

“So there’s a group of
indeterminate size working in more than one department and pooling
their resources to carry this out.” Reno reached over and tucked a
strand of Brandi’s hair behind her ear. “I just wish we could
figure out how they’re doing it.”

“Maybe there’s something about
being a rogue—some ancient, instinctive memory—that’s kicking in.
While the legend of how the Fae-Lycan schism began can’t really be
taken as fact, there has to be some grain of truth that the stories
were built on.” Brad speculated as he slowly got to his feet.
“That’s the defence they’ll use if this ever goes before High
Council.”

“That’s a bunch of crap and you
know it.” Reno snorted. “Someone is orchestrating this.
Manipulating circumstances to hide their own agenda. You won’t
convince me otherwise without a damned lot of proof.”

“Don’t go rabid on me, Reno. I’m
just tossing out ideas. I’ll keep looking and let you know as soon
as I find anything.”

“Sorry. You know I’m not good at
waiting.” Reno grunted, staring off into the distance as if he had
no interest in the man. “Keep us posted. Once we have proof, we can
make our move.”

“Will do.” Brad sauntered off,
dropping the remains of his lunch in a nearby garbage pail.

Brandi set down her now soggy
French fry. “What do you think about Damien?”

“I’m thinking the captain picked a
hell of a time to leave me in charge.” Reno growled. “I told Rafe I
wanted to fly out there, but couldn’t because I have meetings and
paperwork coming out my ass.”

“Really? Out of your ass? I’ll have
to check that very carefully when we get home tonight.” Brandi
leaned back and snuck at look at his rear end, her eyes wide. Reno
couldn’t keep the grin off his face. God, he loved her.

“I can’t wait.” He waggled his
eyebrows.

Brandi giggled and he took the
opportunity to steal a kiss, grabbing a handful of her fries while
she was distracted.

Between bites, he inquired about
her own progress. “How are things going with the Affiliation
Office?”

“The protocols we’re setting up to
form liaisons with the various shifter species are still a sticking
point. The bears are fairly easy to deal with but the were panthers
are proving difficult.”

“Damned cats, what did you expect?”
He grumbled at the mention of the species and Brandi gave him a
playful jab with her elbow.

“Reno, you know full well you
actually liked Malik.” She referred to a case he’d had almost a
year ago dealing with the were panthers’ monarch.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say
liked.
”

“Well, respected then.”

He scowled and she rolled her eyes
but let the topic drop.

“Actually, it’s the non-shifters,
like the Fae, that are the hardest to deal with. The envoy the Fae
Queen sent is very disorganized and distrustful, though who can
blame her with the recent deaths.” She compressed her lips and
shook her head. “Who would have thought that their queen wanting to
unite her people, and preserve their heritage, would actually
contribute to their own destruction?”

“The deaths were happening even
before she asked Lycan Link for help. It just wasn’t as well
documented.”

“But since known Fae have been
added to the Lycan Link data base the number of deaths have climbed
sharply.”

“Some might say it’s their own
damned fault for not keeping better track of their people. If they
hadn’t had to turn to us for help, this wouldn’t have
happened.”

“Reno!” Brandi stared at him, mouth
ajar as if she couldn’t believe what she’d heard. He put his hands
up in mock surrender.

“I didn’t say I believed it, just
that some Lycans might follow that train of thought.” He listed off
the Fae’s failings on his fingers. “The Fae have been scattered and
disorganized for years. Their monarch, herself, admits they could
be nearing the brink of extinction since there are so few pure Fae
left. Half the mixed-Fae don’t even know they are Fae, let alone
know they have a queen or a heritage. They lack almost any form of
infrastructure and balk at our attempts to help them establish one.
They have only a partial listing of their members and it’s filled
with inaccuracies—”

“That still doesn’t mean they
deserve to be wiped off the face of the earth.”

“I agree, but old prejudices run
deep. Purist-type thinking isn’t confined to hatred of Lycans who
are half human. Some can’t accept the idea of non-humans that don’t
fall into the shifter category or—”

“Or Fae-Lycan matings.” Brandi
sighed heavily and leaned her head against Reno’s shoulder. “Why
can’t everyone get along and see the value of all life? Every
living creature is a miracle in its own right, after all.”

Reno gave her a one-armed hug. “I
know, Babe. I know. Let’s hope this hair-brained scheme we’ve
concocted works.”

“And the collateral damage isn’t
too high”

Chapter 7

Eve peered out the window and
nibbled on her thumbnail, caught herself and shoved her hand into
her pocket out of harm’s way. She really wanted—make that
needed
—to go outside.

It wasn’t that she minded being
inside; a day or two wasn’t too much of a trial. In fact, given the
uneasy ‘being-watched’ feeling that had plagued her much of
yesterday, staying in the cabin had seemed preferable. However, a
good night’s rest had erased what was, no doubt, paranoia on her
part and going outside felt less daunting than it had the previous
day.

She’d spent much of the yesterday
working on preliminary sketches for a series of paintings; a stand
of pine trees, set against varying skies from sunrises and sunsets
to storms and the Northern Lights. An art gallery had been making
noises about featuring her in an exhibit and if that actually
happened, she’d need to have several more pieces prepared.

The particular group of trees she
was hoping to feature were surrounded by an interesting swirl of
mist at the moment. However, they were to the side of the cabin and
she couldn’t get a clear view of them from the front window without
craning her neck at an awkward angle. If it wasn’t for that darned
wolf, she’d sit right outside and have an uninterrupted view, but
she’d told Rafe she wouldn’t go wandering around.

However… The porch was still part
of the cabin, right? Technically she wouldn’t be breaking her word.
For one final moment, she pondered the wisdom of what she was about
to do then decided to go for it. Art waited for no man…er…wolf!

After pulling on a heavy sweater to
ward off the dampness, she grabbed her sketch pad and headed
towards the door, bringing Rafe’s gun along just in case. Feeling
pleased that she’d taken the necessary precautions, she arranged an
old wooden chair so she could see the trees at a proper angle, set
the gun at her feet and went to work.

For almost an hour she sketched
non-stop, her pencil flying across the pages as she drew the trees,
the grass at their base, an old stump, the fog that rolled off the
mountains in the distance. Slowly, the sun broke through the
clouds, its beams penetrating the misty whiteness and creating
interesting lighting effects. A faint breeze began to blow,
stirring strands of her hair, but she merely tucked the persistent
stray locks behind her ear not wanting to stop to look for a
hairclip. The fog would be gone soon.

She squinted, wishing she could see
the tree up close. Something wasn’t quite right. Her gaze flicked
between her page and the actual tree, puzzling over what was wrong.
It would only take a few minutes to walk over there and get a close
up look at the texture…

No, her common sense dictated she
not take such a chance.

Giving a shrug, she decided she’d
done enough for one day and closed her sketchpad. She stretched,
pleased with her work and happy to have been outside. The gentle
underlying pulse of nature filled her with a sense of well-being,
as if she were somehow tapping into an unseen energy source and
being revitalized by it. It made her wonder how she’d ever survived
living in the city.

She took one more deep breath,
enjoying the feel of the cool moist air filling her lungs and then
reluctantly began to stand. Yet, even as she started to move, a
slight noise drew her attention and, looking to the side, she saw
the wolf emerging from the mist.

Large. Lean. Black as sin with
piercing silvery eyes. Her breath caught in her throat.

It stopped barely ten metres away
and sat down, its head cocked to the side, as if it was trying to
figure out what she was doing. A family pet might sit in just such
a pose, but there was no denying this wasn’t a pet.

Oh hell! Her heart started to
pound, her skin turned icy cold. Waves of fear washed over her and
the fine hairs on her arm stood at attention. She swallowed hard
and tried to stay calm even though every instinct was urging her to
flee. From somewhere in the back of her mind she dredged up a bit
of knowledge that running would make the creature see her as prey
and inspire it to give chase.

Ever so slowly, she lowered herself
into the chair and set down her drawing supplies. With shaking
hands, she reached for the gun that lay at her feet, all the while
keeping her eyes fixed on the wolf.

She felt around with her fingers
for what seemed like ages before finally making contact with the
cool metal of the barrel. Inch by inch, she pulled the weapon up
from its resting place on the floor until it was in her arms.

The wolf narrowed it eyes but
didn’t move.

Curling her fingers around the
trigger, she thought of all the times she’d gone skeet shooting
with a former boyfriend; he’d turned out to be dead boring, but at
least she’d learned a useful skill while dating him. Now, if she
could only get up the nerve to actually shoot at a living
target.

The idea made her stomach turn.
Perhaps she could make it inside before the animal bounded across
the distance? Damn, why had she been so careless? Here she was
congratulating herself for not walking over to the trees, when in
fact a wolf was within striking distance!

Eve licked her lips and swallowed
with difficulty, all the moisture having left her mouth. “Hey
there, Wolf. How you doing?” Her tone was soft and low, trying to
reassure the creature that she wasn’t a threat.

Its ears twitched in response and
she hoped that was a good sign. At least it hadn’t leapt up and
attacked at the sound of her voice. She decided to try again.

“Nice day, isn’t it? I was just
enjoying the view. What about you?”

She winced at the inane question.
It was watching her and hopefully not sizing her up as potential
dinner material!

The wolf opened its mouth, its
tongue lolling in and out in what resembled a silly grin. Grinning
was good. Taking it as a positive sign, she slowly stood up. “I’m
heading inside now…” As she rose to her feet, the animal whined and
stood up as well. Eve froze, her heart pounding so hard it was all
she could hear for a moment.

“Are you getting ready to attack
me, Wolf, or just being polite? A gentleman stands when a lady
enters or exits a room…” Oh God, she was babbling now.

The wolf sat down again and Eve
actually felt dizzy with relief, clutching the back of the chair to
steady herself.

“So, you’re not planning on
attacking me. That’s nice of you, real nice.”