Betrayed: Days of the Rogue (51 page)

“Come in and have a seat.” Rafe
mocked as he walked to his desk and sat on the edge.

“I knew you were going to offer so
I thought I’d save you the effort.” Reno grinned.

A smile tugged at the corner of
Rafe’s mouth. How Brandi put up with the man, he’d never know. “I
haven’t been sleeping much.” He turned the focus away from himself.
“How are you holding up?”

Damien’s defection had hit Reno
hard, probably even harder than when his partner had gone rogue.
But he seemed to be coming to terms with the fact, finally.

“I’m fine.” Reno shook his head. “I
still can’t believe Damien’s got himself entangled with the likes
of Deirdre. But, then again, I can’t begin to understand the hell
he’s been through. At least that’s what Brandi keeps telling me.”
He got to his feet and wandered over to the coffee maker. “I think
I’ve convinced the captain to back off on the idea of pressing for
Damien’s arrest and court martial. That’s something at least, and
maybe, one day, he’ll get his head on straight and leave the
group.”

“I thought you said once someone
joined up with Deirdre, there was no quitting.” Rafe watched as
Reno poured the remaining dregs of coffee into a cup. He took a
sip, made a face but then downed the rest of the cold liquid
anyway.

“There isn’t. At least that’s what
rumour says. Anyone who has left has died but then again, a lot of
them were so bent on self-destruction that it’s hard to attribute a
cause to their death. Were they assassinated or did they do
themselves in?” Reno shrugged one shoulder.

Rafe nodded. “It’s not uncommon for
prolonged conflict with one’s wolf to eventually lead to
self-destructive behaviour. Addictions, reckless behaviour, even
suicide are possible by-products.” He got to his feet and pulled a
book off the shelf and held it out to Reno.

“What that?”

“The last book I wrote. You might
find it helpful.” He set it on the chair Reno had been using. “What
I’ve found is that a wolf’s sense of justice—what it feels is right
and wrong—is set very early in life. For most wolves the purpose of
killing is usually for food or defence. Working as an
assassin—killing for money—would set up an inner conflict; man
against beast. It eats away at the relationship while the wolf
struggles to take control to stop the unacceptable activity.”

“So what do you think will happen
to Damien?”

“It depends if he continues on the
path he’s chosen.” Rafe knew it was cryptic answer but didn’t want
to raise false hopes; he’d been wrong before.

Reno grunted and was silent for a
moment, staring into his empty cup before crushing the Styrofoam
and tossing it in the garbage. He cleared his throat. “The reason I
stopped by was to let you know the investigators will be done with
the site today. The cause of the fire is suspicious but
undetermined and it appears your secretary, Annette, was overcome
by smoke.”

The loss of Annette was still
painful. “She was my first employee when I started the clinic.”

“So I’ve heard.” Reno paused and
then continued. “How well did you know her?”

Rafe thought about the woman. He
knew she took her coffee black, liked her desk organized, hated for
anyone to touch her files… Rubbing the back of his neck, he
frowned. Despite spending hours with Annette everyday, she’d never
really shared that much about herself. Strange how he hadn’t
noticed that before. “I know she lived alone and liked to visit
friends on the weekends. She didn’t say much about what she did
beyond that. I think they ate out a lot, went to shows...” His
voice trailed off and he shrugged.

“Hmm…” Reno reached for the coffee
pot again, realized it was empty and set it back down. “So I take
it you didn’t know she was seriously in debt.”

“In debt?” Rafe raised his
brows.

“Yeah. Her bank account was
overdrawn and all her credit cards were maxed out. Drugs, gambling,
expensive tastes…who knows? Strange thing is, there are occasional
large deposits.” Reno looked at him inquiringly. “Any idea
why?”

Rafe shook his head. “No. I wasn’t
in the habit of giving out bonuses if that’s what you’re
asking.”

“It was a long shot, but I thought
I’d ask.” Reno sat down idly turning Rafe’s book over in his hand.
“My best guess is she was dealing information. Brad Owen is looking
it over right now, but it appears the deposits coincide with some
of the Fae murders we’ve been tracking.”

A rock settled in the pit of Rafe’s
stomach. Annette had been his employee for years. He’d trusted her
implicitly. “But…” He stopped not knowing what to say.

“I think she was sharing
information about the rogues, helping the Anti-Fae set them up to
take the fall for the murders. You had information on file about
where the more dangerous rogues were located –those who, in your
professional opinion, were most likely to go over the edge.”

Rafe nodded and replied slowly.
“Lycan Link would ask me to do assessments on occasion based on
patterns of movement, reported behaviour and the rogues’
background. It was so everyone could be prepared to move quickly if
the need arose.”

“That was its intended purpose, but
it appears the Anti-Fae found another use for it.”

Rafe began to pace the room, a
feeling of betrayal washing over him. He’d trusted Annette, thought
they were working together to improve the plight of the rogue.
“Hell, I’ve been helping to frame the very rogues I’d pledged to
help. And assisting the Anti-Fae in killing my people!” Pausing by
the wall, he slammed his fist into the surface. The wall cracked
and pain swept up his arm but it helped take his mind off his inner
turmoil.

“Punching the wall helps,” Reno
nodded wisely. “I’ve done it a time or two, myself.”

Rafe cast him a scathing stare and
cradled his now throbbing hand. “I must be an idiot not to have
seen this.”

“Not necessarily. She presented the
perfect image of an efficient employee, kept a low profile, and was
helpful but unobtrusive. No one would have suspected her. You know
she might have even been selling information to more than one
group. At times, it looks like there are double deposits.”

“Is it possible…” Rafe paused, not
wanting to voice what he was thinking but knowing that he had to.
He cleared his throat and began again. “Could one of the groups she
was working for have discovered she was working for someone else
and killed her, then used the fire to cover up the fact?”

“Perhaps. Or she was trying to
destroy evidence by setting a fire and was overcome by smoke before
she got out.” Reno shrugged. “As I said, the cause of the fire is
undetermined but in my mind it’s highly suspicious.”

Rafe swore softly.

“It wasn’t just your clinic, you
know. They’d infiltrated Rogue Retrieval as well. Adrian Somerset
had assassins working right under his nose, submitting doctored
reports, and he was never even aware of it.”

“I always knew Somerset was an
idiot.” Rafe shook his head and gave a wry laugh. “Being in the
same group as him isn’t comforting.”

“Don’t kick yourself too hard. None
of us saw it. Hell, even forensics seems to be involved, providing
falsified autopsies on dead rogues.” Reno rose to his feet. “We’re
all at fault for being too damned smug, thinking that with Lycan
Link we’d created a perfect organization filled with like-minded
werewolves.”

“I guess any organization is open
to corruption.”

Reno nodded and reached for the
door, then paused. “Oh, Brandi wanted me to ask you if you were
done being a dumb ass and were going to collect Eve any time
soon.”

The non-sequitur had Rafe blinking.
“I beg your pardon?”

“She also said something about
nobility leaving your bed fucking cold at night.” He winked. “I
might have rephrased that a bit but the meaning is the same.”

“Yes, well nobility has nothing to
do with it. After enduring a wolf attack, the last thing Eve would
want to do would be cozying up to a werewolf in bed.”

Reno snorted. “I suppose if she’s
that frail and fragile it’s best you forget about her.”

Rafe disagreed. “Eve isn’t frail.
She looks tiny but actually she’s quite fit.”

“Well, she obviously can’t deal
with new situations.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Rafe
frowned. “For a city girl, she adapted to living in an isolated
cabin quite well.”

“Stress then. It’s too much for
her.”

“No.” Rafe was starting to lose his
patience with Reno. What gave him the right to put Eve down like
that? “Look at how she freed herself from Grant. She could have
given up or had hysterics, but instead she found a way to drug him
and—”

“Exactly.” Reno gave him a hard
stare and left.

Standing in the middle of the room,
Rafe wondered how Reno had managed to turn the tables on him.

He ran his hand through his hair.
Yeah, Eve wasn’t fragile. She was resourceful and adaptable. But
how to tell her he was a Lycan? Could she get over her
well-deserved fear of wolves? And what about the fact that they
were both empathic? Would that cause a problem? Or was he creating
reasons to justify his own concerns?

Sitting back down at his desk, he
stared at the neatly outlined budget displayed on the screen. This
was the reality of his life. He had no business thinking about Eve.
People were depending on him, whether he liked it or not. His hand
hovered on the mouse and then he flipped to a web browser. Just out
of curiosity he wondered if there were any seats available on
flights to Calgary. Not that he was necessarily going to book one
and visit Eve, but…

Chapter 54

Eve sat in her rental car staring
at Rafe’s home. It was a dark, red brick building, two stories with
black shutters and neat shrubs. Not overly posh, considering he was
doctor, but definitely upper middle-class. It suited him though,
sort of strong and reserved. The rest of the neighbourhood had
similar homes that spoke of quiet stability.

It was all very normal looking and
not at all what she’d expected. Didn’t werewolves live in packs?
And if so, then where were the others? Somehow she’d
envisioned…well, not a cave but maybe a large commune?

Did other werewolves live in the
houses that lined the street? And if they did, what happened when
it was a full moon? Did they have block parties to celebrate and
shift into wolves at the stroke of midnight? She tried to imagine
being part of such a group; the only human while furry, four-legged
creatures swirled about her.

She shivered at the idea of being
surrounded by wolves, the memory of the three beasts fighting still
as vivid as ever. Their growls and snarls had filled the air, bits
of gravel and dirt flying about as their claws had dug into the
soil. Slashing teeth, blood dripping from ripped flesh… Her vision
blurred and she forced herself to breath calmly and slowly,
fighting off the faintness that had threatened to overtake her.

Don’t concentrate on the fighting,
she told herself. Remember how they’d knocked the attacking wolf
off her. At the time she hadn’t thought of it as being rescued but
now she could see that’s what had been going on. One of the wolves
must have been Rafe. And perhaps the other had been Damien? She
frowned wondering if werewolves were a plentiful species or if,
like the Fae, they were few in number. She clung to the hope that
it was the latter. They seemed less intimidating if they were an
endangered species.

Her panic subsiding, Eve decided it
was time to make her move before she lost her nerve. Arriving on a
man’s step, announcing you wanted to pursue a relationship with
him, and 'by the way, are you a werewolf' just wasn’t something she
did every day. Before she could change her mind, she opened the car
door and stepped onto the sidewalk. Slinging her purse over her
shoulder she marched up to Rafe’s house, rang the bell and waited
for him to answer.

While she waited, she tried out
several possible opening gambits, then rang the bell again when he
didn’t answer the summons. More time passed with no sound of
approaching footsteps coming from inside. Eve tried to peek through
the small window in the door. There was no sign that anyone was at
home but seeing the foyer brought back memories of her first time
with the man. Her belly quivered and a feeling of emptiness spread
through her as if her mind were reaching out, searching for some
sense of him but coming back painfully empty.

With a sigh, she decided Rafe
mustn’t be home and turned to leave. So much for confronting him on
his own turf. Rather disgruntled that her plans had gone awry, she
began to walk towards the car, only to have a vehicle pull into the
driveway before she even reached the end of the walkway.

It was Rafe and through the
windshield she could see that his face held as much surprise as she
was feeling.

Eve waited in place as Rafe parked
his SUV and climbed out. The vehicle was quite a step up from the
battered truck he’d used in Grassy Hills. Shutting the door with a
decisive thud, he stood staring at her, the epitome of a
professional in his tailored suit. It was a far cry from the jeans
and t-shirts she was used to seeing him in. A chill ran through
her; he almost seemed like a stranger—a gorgeous stranger—but not
the man she knew.

He didn’t say anything, and Eve had
a sinking feeling that he wasn’t happy to see her. Somehow she’d
envisioned something more movie-like where he’d hug her and
immediately declare what a mistake he’d made by leaving. Maybe she
was the one making the mistake. Perhaps he’d decided she didn’t
suit his professional lifestyle and that’s why he hadn’t contacted
her.

Nervously, she glanced up and down
the street taking in the neat row of houses, the carefully tended
lawns. The residents were likely all highly educated, with
manicured nails and designer clothes. Eve smoothed her bargain rack
sweater over her hips and then curled her fingers trying to hide
her blunt, paint stained finger nails.