Croc's Return (14 page)

“Sweet mother of God. How did you get here?”

“Daddy brought me on account of the dinosaur.”

To her credit, Claire didn’t react to the interesting excuse as to his presence. “Yes, those dinos can be annoying. Why don’t you have a seat, and I’ll make you some breakfast. Would you like some pancakes?”

“Yes please, Grandma.”

Claire turned around to putter in the cabinets and fire on the stove, but not before Renny caught the glimmer of tears, tears that also filled her own eyes.

What have I done?

When she’d realized Caleb didn’t want her or their child, Renny had floundered. She hadn’t grown up with an extended family. Her dad, an ornery bear in real life, cut all ties with his family out west when he moved to Florida to be with Renny’s mother, a human and an orphan. As a result, Renny didn’t grow up with grandparents.

When Renny found out about her pregnancy, her first inclination was to make sure Caleb knew first. Except Caleb never replied, and given he didn’t show an interest, she hesitated telling Caleb’s mom out of fear she’d get the same reaction that she’d gotten from her father.

“Whore. Spreading your legs for that no account reptile. Your mother would be so ashamed.”

Indeed, Mother would have hung her head, just not for the reason her father thought. Poor Daddy had changed so much.

Still, though, her father’s words gave her pause. In her naïve logic, she assumed since Caleb knew about her pregnancy, he would tell his mother. What she’d not counted on was Caleb never finding out, which meant Claire never knew she had a grandson.

Four years lost because of foolish choices.

Say it like it is. Pride kept you from saying anything.

It didn’t feel good to realize that she’d made a major error. Renny had been so mad at Caleb, so mad at the injustice of the world in general, that she had ended up hurting someone who would have dearly loved her son.

But I have a chance to start making things right.

And if she could make amends, didn’t that mean Caleb had that right, too?

Speak of the devil… She felt him before she heard him. “I thought I heard a scream.”

“Our son introduced himself to your mother.”

Caleb sniffed. “Judging by the smell of bacon and pancakes, they’re getting along.”

His light tone did not assuage the heaviness crushing her chest. “I’m so sorry, Caleb. I feel utterly wretched about not bringing Luke over to meet your mom. I never meant to hurt anyone.”

“I know how that works, baby. Best we can do is move forward and try to not repeat our mistakes.”

Turning, she took in not only his serious mien but also his clean-shaven jaw, button-up shirt, and slick, wet hair. Utterly handsome and obviously planning an outing. “Going somewhere?”

“Well, it is Sunday.” At her rounded O of surprise, he laughed. “Before you think I’ve turned to religion, I’ve got a job interview.”

“You do?” She blinked in surprise. This was the first she’d heard of it.

“Yeah, I do. I’m already getting a check from the military, apparently my service and scars are worth something to them, but it’s not going to be enough for us to get a decent place.”

“Get us a what?” She took a step back from him, trying to decipher his words. “Are you talking about us moving in together?”

“After last night—”

She held up a hand to stop him. “What happened last night was…”

“Special.”

“I was going to say rash. You just got back in to town, and I feel like things are moving too fast.”

“Then I’ll slow down.”

“What if I want you to stop?” She didn’t, but at the same time, Renny felt as if she wasn’t thinking clearly. Caleb touched her, and she just melted. She forgot all the reasons for keeping him at arm’s length.

He bowed his head, a big man humbled and defeated in front of her. “If that’s what you truly want.”

No. She didn’t want him to go away. She wanted more of his kisses and hugs and…him. But could she handle the heartbreak if Caleb betrayed her again? “I can’t be with you. Not like that.” Even if just saying it made her feel as if her heart was shattering into a thousand pieces.

His shoulders slumped as her words hit him. But only for a moment. “Too bad because I’m not giving up.” His head snapped up, and his eyes blazed, one hundred percent human, but determined. “I lost you once because I didn’t fight hard enough, and I’ll be damned if I lose you again. This might not be what you want to hear, baby, but the fact of the matter is, I’m here to stay. I will be a father to my son, and”—he lowered his voice—“we will share a bed.” Even if he had to handcuff himself at night so he could sleep beside her without worry.

“Caleb—”

He didn’t give her a chance to finish her reply, simply slanted his mouth over hers in a hard kiss that lasted but a second. Then he was walking past her and out into the kitchen, where he ruffled Luke’s hair, gave his mother a loud smooch on the cheek, and stole a piece of bacon all before heading out the door with a casually tossed, “I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t leave the house until I return.”

Of course she couldn’t leave, she thought with bemusement. He’d taken her car to go to his interview, leaving her to face the consequences of her actions. Alone.

Face your actions.

Taking a deep breath, she walked into the kitchen with a, “Good morning, Claire.”

Renny couldn’t deny she deserved the hard look Caleb’s mother shot her. “Renny. Why don’t you park yourself on a stool while I wrangle some breakfast on a plate for you? Then, I want to hear everything about my grandson.”

It took a while to tell Claire everything. Some parts were harder than others. It involved a few tears, which Claire shared with her, a comrade spirit when it came to raising a child on her own. By the time it was done—an eye-rolling Constantine having stolen Luke long before so he wouldn’t start craving dolls and a tea set—Renny knew, no matter what happened with Caleb, she wasn’t alone.

“You and Luke are family,” which, as Claire explained with a wave in the direction of the sink, meant Renny got to do the dishes. Blech.

Beggars can’t be choosers
.

That mantra did little to ease Caleb’s irritation when he realized the interview he’d set up the previous night by email was going to be with Wes Mercer, who predictably smirked when Caleb arrived at the Bittech building for his ten a.m. appointment.

“Well, look at what dragged itself into my office.” If by office, a windowless room loaded with monitors counted.

Pride made Caleb want to spin on his heel and say fuck it. Pride also made him stay because he had people depending on him. “I like this about as much as you do, which means not fucking much.”

“Pretty stupid thing to say considering you’re here looking for a job.” Wes leaned back in his seat and steepled his fingers, a smirk on his lips.

Caleb set his jaw and held his fists tight at his sides, resisting the temptation to wipe the smirk off Wes’s face. “Not stupid, honest. I’m not going to pretend I suddenly like you. Nor am I going to shove my nose up your ass for a job.”

“Keep going, although I should mention that, so far, you’re not really winning me over. As a matter of fact, I’m thinking you should probably just turn right around and
do
let the door smack you on the way out.”

“I am royally fucking this up.” Caleb sighed. “Listen, I need this position.” He really did. He’d asked around, and unless he was willing to bag groceries, wash dishes, or go bayou fishing, which would put him out of reach if Renny or Luke needed him, then, “This job is the best choice in town.”

Bittech didn’t just offer a decent wage, as his brother had explained, it provided benefits to an employee and his dependents.

And fuck me. I’ve got dependents now.

Wes spun away from him and drummed his fingers on the countertop bolted to the wall. The laminate surface formed a ring around the room under the monitors. Atop it sat a half-dozen keyboards and wireless mice. “You do realize that, by coming to work here, you’d be taking orders from me.”

Something that still surprised Caleb considering Wes was his age and seemed rather young for the position of head of security.

“I know how to take orders.” Too well, as a matter of fact. Except, this time, Caleb would do it by choice, not compulsion.

“What about breaking the rules?” The question emerged oddly, and Caleb noted Wes watching him intently.

“I’m not a rule breaker.” His mother had raised him poor, but right.

“What if you had to in order to keep people safe?”

Caleb’s brow knit into a frown. “What are you saying?”

“I’m wondering if I can trust you.”

“Depends. Trust me to hold your beer while you jump off a cliff, probably. Trust me to not call you a dickhead behind your back, probably not.”

Wes snickered. “You know, if you weren’t such an asshole, I could almost like you.”

“Dude, don’t say shit like that. It’s creepy.”

“What’s creepy is the fact I’m even thinking of telling you what’s happening.”

“Tell me what?”

For a moment, Wes didn’t reply. Then he blew out a hard breath. “Fuck it. You haven’t been around so you probably don’t know and aren’t involved.”

“Involved in what? Stop acting all mysterious like and spit it out.”

“I’m talking about the testing going on here.”

Baffled, Caleb blurted out, “What fucking testing?”

“I mean the testing happening right here in the Bittech labs.”

“Rewind for a minute so I can understand because I must be missing something. You’re saying Bittech is testing folks. Isn’t that what a lab is supposed to do?”

“Yes, and on the surface, that’s fine. What’s not fine is the fact they’re not just taking samples from those volunteering. They’re bringing in samples from folks who have no idea.”

“How can people not know? I mean, I’m pretty sure I’d notice if someone was sticking me with a needle and drawing blood.”

“In some cases, they’re stealing it from employers, like the fire station, which is mandated to drug test its guys every so often. And the vet, who sends Bittech samples to check for disease and viruses.”

Again, not a huge deal, given shifter blood samples could only go to those in on the secret, like Bittech. “So they’re keeping samples sent to them. I’m not seeing the big deal yet.”

“Because there are other samples they’ve gotten that weren’t freely given. My Uncle Bob, who hasn’t seen a doctor since the summer of eighty-seven when he tangled with that nest of vipers, has a file. As does Kerry, my cousin, even though she just moved into town three months ago. There are lots of others, too. Seems like they’re documenting everyone in town.”

“But why?” Caleb asked.

At that query, Wes shrugged. “Fucked if I know. Initially, the lab was started back in the seventies so that our scientists could study our condition. It then evolved into the doctors helping the hybrid couples get pregnant”—because mixed species didn’t procreate easily—“and they’ve also been working on fabricating our own form of medicine for those rare diseases our shapeshifting genes can’t combat. When it comes to cases such as those, I can understand why they kept stuff on file. But the samples I saw numbered in the hundreds. Your brother is in there. Your mother, too. What the hell do they need those samples for?”

A valid question, but it raised others. “How do you know about all this?”

Wes smiled. “As head of security, I see lots of stuff, even things I’m not supposed to. Things that don’t make sense, like the number of humans now working here.”

“Humans?” Caleb couldn’t help an incredulous note. “I could have sworn my brother said most of the people working here are either one of us or in on the secret.”

“They used to be. A few months ago, the institute went on a hiring spree. Humans mostly. Humans who don’t start out knowing what we are but are told once they pass a few tests. The company has been giving them samples of our blood and hair to play with.”

A chill went through Caleb. Hadn’t he heard rumors while in the military of scientists messing around with their blood? The whispers at the time were frightening if true.
They’re creating an army of monsters.

And, yes, he meant create. While birth could result in the creation of new shifters, it wasn’t always the case. Look at Renny, whose ursine-based father produced an unenhanced daughter.

I don’t know that I’d call her unenhanced.
Renny might not turn into something with claws, but she was definitely special.

So special that even her father’s attempt to have her
changed
didn’t take root. See, people could
become
shifters as well. But it wasn’t simple. Nothing so easy as a scratch or a bite like the movies portrayed. The creation of a new shifter required the exchange of fluids, lots of fluids, blood being the vehicle of choice, siphoned out of a host and filtered into a human. Not that hard to do with today’s technology, but it didn’t always work. Most bodies rejected the shifter gene. Some theorized it made sure they didn’t overpopulate. Probably a good thing, given the animal within didn’t always play nice with others.

“What are the scientists looking for?” Caleb asked.

“That’s what I wanted to know, so I asked Andrew.”

“And?”

“The little prick told me to mind my fucking business. That all work conducted was being done with the full knowledge of the High Council, and that if I knew what was good for me, I’d keep my mouth shut.”

“The little prick actually threatened you? And you didn’t kill him?”

Nothing changed outwardly. Wes still wore his human guise, yet when he smiled, white teeth gleaming, it was all gator. “It was close.”

“Andrew doesn’t want you blabbing, yet here you are telling me this.”

“Sometimes a man needs allies.”

“Since when are we on the same team?”

“Since something doesn’t smell right, and as much as I dislike you, I don’t think you’d stand by and watch this town get fucked.”

No, he wouldn’t, but he also wasn’t sure what his plans were yet. “I just got back into town and already you’re trying to drag me into something. I came back for a fresh start, not to get involved in some kind of conspiracy theory. I mean, come on, so far, other than letting humans in on the secret, your evidence is pretty slim. I mean, if the High Council is backing it…” Caleb shrugged.