Familiar Desires: 5 (Protective Affairs) (9 page)

“It would explain why no one noticed a vehicle circling the
block or waiting nearby. They had it stashed out of sight.” Alana moved down
the narrow alley.

The back of the stores was practically deserted. Only a
couple of cars sat there and there were no houses across the street. It was
open field and a park area. If they got her into the car quickly, no one would
have seen anything out of the ordinary.

“I’ve got to admit this is more deserted and would provide a
little privacy to stuff someone in a vehicle.” Kane glanced around.

“These little service alleys are almost tailor-made for
that. This was at least a two-person job. If she did run, there had to be two
people to get her into the alley fast and silently. One could be sort of a
blocker, to keep her out of sight and the other primarily in charge of getting
her under control.” She could see it happening in that way even if it was a
snatch from the edge of the sidewalk.

Really, she couldn’t be sure which way the woman had been
taken, just from looking at the pictures. She’d need a scent trail to follow
and that was long gone. The scene was too old and too open.

“If you’re finished here, we can go have lunch and then head
to one or two of the other kidnap scenes before we head back up the mountain to
Devoe.” Kane put his hand on her shoulder.

“Sounds good, but make sure it’s something substantial,
because I plan to go to the one where the girl was taken off the running trail
and we were going to walk to the point where she was taken.” Alana grinned at
them.

“You know we could get to it by going to where they found
the tire tracks off the access road that’s near part of the trail.” Michael
walked just in front of her.

“I know, but I want to try to see it the way she saw it,
before they took her. We’ll go to the spot where the tracks were found, but I
wanted to get a sense of the atmosphere, lighting and how many people might use
it. She went missing between one and three. It will be almost one when we get
there.” Alana blinked against the glare of the sunlight when they came out of
the shaded corridor.

“All right, let’s go find something to fuel us on the walk
you have planned.” Kane gave her a little nudge in the center of her back.

“We could always run.” She turned her head to flash a grin
back at him.

“We’ll walk,” Michael said firmly. “These shoes are not made
for running.”

She looked down and saw a pair of black loafers on his feet.
Definitely not made for running down a trail. She walked to the Jeep and slid
into the back.

“You’ve got to dress to keep up with me.” She buckled the
seatbelt and waited while Kane rounded the Jeep and got into the driver’s seat.
Michael sat beside her.

“Baby, keeping up with you shouldn’t be too much of a
problem since we intend to keep you right beside us.” Michael’s hand skimmed
over her thigh. “Did I tell you that I love you in a uniform? I’ve never fucked
a woman in a uniform before.”

Alana definitely liked that idea and let her eyes wander
over his body. “Maybe we’ll remedy that deficit in life experience soon.”

She had a lot of firsts she wanted to experience with them.
Many of them had nothing to do with sex. First date, holidays, a bath or shower
with them. So many things they’d never had because she’d believed that damn
letter.

They ate at local deli, filling up on thick sandwiches,
salad and fruit wedges. When they left, they grabbed a few pieces of fruit and
granola bars. Kane drove to the running trail near the college campus on the
edge of town. It led off the campus and into the trees, circling around and
coming back to end at another point on the campus.

When they began walking down the trail, Alana could tell it
was used often. In fact, she could hear someone jogging along it now. It was a
couple of people. She could make out the sound of at least two pairs of shoes
hitting the ground. Tall fir and red cedar trees grew up along the track. It
was a well-kept path with lights. She’d feel safe here if there weren’t a
series of kidnappings in the news. During the walk, they were passed by
runners. One almost fell into the dense bushes as he looked back at them.

“So what do you think?” Michael asked.

“Almost too busy for an ambush. Victim of opportunity. I can’t
be sure about victim selection in the other human kidnapping, but this one, I’m
fairly sure they took the first female who came down the path alone. Even if
she started off alone, there’s no guarantee she’d be on her own when she
reached the spot the victim was taken alone. Too many things left to chance.”
Alana frowned when she looked at the bushes, grass and trees around them.

Although there were some leafy bushes, close to the path was
mostly grass and trees. There wasn’t a good place to watch someone here, not
close anyway. She looked at the file on the victim. Her eyes locked on another
bit of evidence indicating the kidnappers had taken the first vulnerable
female. Gail, the victim, had a class with a test only an hour after she was
taken. Her disappearance was noticed almost immediately.

When they reached the spot where the kidnappers had grabbed Gail,
Alana had to admit it was a good ambush site. She’d been taken as she reached a
curve. Gail had been jerked off the trail. There had obviously been a little
struggle. The woman’s iPod had fallen. A little farther into the trees the
police had found her phone. Gail’s friends had said she kept it in an armband.
The kidnappers had probably taken the cell phone off her so she couldn’t be
tracked.

“Once you get into the bushes, you can’t be seen,” Michael
said from behind them.

These men were planners. They had to have some type of restraint
and gag or drug to keep her quiet. Sound would carry far enough for someone to
realize something was wrong. Alana didn’t like the picture she was getting and
she didn’t like the possibilities running through her mind about what they
might be doing with these women.

None of it was good. She knew there was a trade for shifters
as exotic pets, especially the cats. Then there was the equally bad sex trade.

They walked out to the area near the access road. Alana ran
her eyes over the area. Once they got her here, all they had to do was make
sure no one was able to see her when they drove away and they were clear. These
men had this routine down to an art.

“Ready to head back? We have a long walk there and then I
thought we might stop at the one site just off the road heading up the
mountain. By that time, it should be time to eat and then go home to rest.”
Michael walked over to stand in front of her.

“We can start back and stop by that place, but I’m not
staying with you.” She narrowed her eyes at him. She couldn’t let them start
making decisions for her.

“Yes, you are. You know it’s where you should be.” Kane put
a hand on her shoulder when he came up behind her.

“I’m not denying we’re mates, but I’m here to do a job and I
need to focus on that.” She sighed. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to stay with
them. It would be better though if they came together naturally, not because
they were thrown together by tense circumstances. She also didn’t know if she
could split her focus enough to do the job right.

“You can do that while you’re with us. Resisting the urge to
be with us isn’t going to make it go away.” Kane squeezed her shoulder gently.

“We’re not going to agree on this. I’m going to call Dillon
and give him an update while we walk back.” Alana pulled out her phone.

The phone rang a few times and she wondered if she’d have to
call back or leave a message when it was answered.

“Hello, Alana,” Dillon said.

“Hi Dillon, calling to give you a report of what I have so
far. It’s not good.” Alana sighed. “I still have no idea what they’re doing
with them, but since they seem to be keeping them and not killing them, we
could be looking at a trafficker. We’ll have to look into how someone such as
that could have come into contact with a witch and persuaded her to help supply
him with shifters.”

“Did the meeting with the chief go smoothly?” Dillon asked.
She heard him moving something on his desk.

“Overall, yes. He does have a definite grudge against
witches and wizards, but once he was assured that the witch would pay if he or
she was involved he cooperated.” Alana frowned. She couldn’t help wondering
about what was behind the attitude.

“And the kidnappings themselves? Were you able to glean
anything from the reports?”

“I haven’t gone over them all, but these guys, if they weren’t
pros before, they are now. They’re too organized and too planned. The two sites
I’ve visited seem to be plain ambushes for the humans. The shifter was set up,
but the location was still ideal for that purpose. It seemed safe enough for
her to be relaxed.” Alana wanted to discover who was behind this. They had an
idea on the witches, but the kidnappers were unknowns.

“I’ll get some feelers put out to see if someone knows
anything about shifters being sold. It’s a small market. Not many care for that
type of danger. You be careful and keep me informed.” Dillon hung up without
another word.

Alana slid her phone back in her pocket. It was typical of
Dillon. He didn’t waste much time. He was right about the trade in shifters
being a dangerous endeavor. They’d found a couple of the people involved after
the shifters they’d held had killed the people trying to hold them captive.

When they made it back to the Jeep, Kane slipped into the
backseat beside her. She smiled at him and settled back into the seat. Michael
drove them to the spot where an abduction of a shifter had taken place. Kane
hopped out of the vehicle and extended his hand to her. Her palm glided over
his and she hopped out of the Jeep. He leaned down and brushed a kiss across
her forehead. His arms closed around her in a brief hug. She didn’t even try to
stop herself from returning the embrace. She couldn’t hold back from enjoying
the closeness. It felt too good.

“Do you know how many times I’ve wanted to do this in the years
you were gone?” He rubbed his chin and cheek over her head before drawing back
and slowly released her.

Alana closed her eyes and clenched her hands to resist the
urge to hold onto him. He couldn’t know how hard that simple gesture had hit
her. The rub of his face against her head was so catlike she had a hard time
not reciprocating with her entire body in a snuggle caress that would leave her
scent all over him. Only willpower and the forceful reminder that whatever she
felt toward him and his brother, he wasn’t hers yet.

“About as many times as I wondered if I should have stayed.”
She exhaled slowly and tried to push past the urge to haul him into the cab of Jeep
and rip his clothes off. That night had gotten so out of control and in a way,
she wished for that kind of simplicity. If she couldn’t stop it, she didn’t
have to worry about it until later.

“Probably a few more. We always wanted you back. From what
you’ve said, you were kind of pissed right after you left.” Michael’s voice
came from just behind Kane. “Come on. Let’s get this done and then you can hug
me like you did him.”

She didn’t comment. He was right in a way. Anger had
overridden everything. She didn’t stop running for a while. When she had, she’d
been focused on making a life and had thought of them only in her most
unguarded moments. It had taken time to calm down.

Turning her attention to the area of the kidnapping, Alana took
a deep breath before she began assessing its potential. It was at a lookout
point that offered a view of some of Corona City. It was relatively open. To
the left, a stand of trees offered shelter. From the report, she knew a vehicle
had been hidden there, but it was a rocky area and no tracks had been found.

It had been another set-up meeting. They’d found a note in
her apartment about meeting J. at five at the lookout. No one knew who J. was.

These kidnappers were bold. They’d taken more risks than
before on this kidnapping. But then again it was one of the last done.

“What do you think?” Kane asked.

“I think that as long as the witches are giving these
kidnappers opportunities, people will be taken. They’re confident and this one
they used drugs and lots of them. No magic was felt here so she had to be down
and immobile quickly. The forest is too close. If she’d had any chance, she
would have run into it.” Alana took out her tablet and jotted down a note to
have Dillon begin looking into sedatives that worked quickly.

She knew of a few that would put a shifter down. The problem
with those was they didn’t work immediately. This drug would have to be
immediate or close to it.

“They could have gone into the forest after her,” Kane
offered as he stepped up behind her. His arms loosely circled around her.

“They wouldn’t. More time spent going after her means more
possibility of someone spotting them carrying her to the car. They minimize
every risk they can.” Alana turned to look over her shoulder at him.

“It’s time to go home and get something to eat. Then we can
talk about what I’m interested in investigating thoroughly.” Kane lowered his
head and nipped at the shell of her ear.

She shivered at the slight sting. A warm puff of air drifted
across her ear sending another ripple down her spine. The sensations began
pooling low in her belly and heat and desire blazed to life. She could feel her
thoughts clouding and tried to focus. Now was definitely not the time for him
to be teasing or licking her ear.

Pulling out of his arms was one of the last things she
wanted to do, but she knew it was the smartest thing she could do right now.
They needed to pay attention to everything around them. She stepped away from
him and took a long look around the area, partly to make sure she hadn’t missed
some kind of danger while in his arms. When she didn’t see or smell anything out
of place, she relaxed a little.

“You’re right. We have done as much as we can today. Let’s
go back up to Devoe and we can argue about where I’m sleeping over dinner.” She
looked from Michael to Kane. She didn’t expect them to back down from their
demand without some persuasion, but she was going to give it her best effort.
Those two men were being much too dictatorial for her comfort.

“We can argue if you like to do that kind of thing, but you
will be staying at our house.” Michael’s voice was flat and uncompromising.

“You think so? You can try to make me.” She glared at him.
She folded her arms across her chest and stared him down. They might be men and
built at that, but she was a shifter and physically stronger than them, at
least until she started the change in them.

“We don’t have to physically make you. If we decide not to
use a spell, which is always an option, we have a standing offer from your
family to do whatever it takes to ensure that you give this a real chance.”
Kane walked over to her. His hand settled at her lower back, but he didn’t put
any pressure.

“My family won’t do anything,” she said firmly, but she wasn’t
quite so sure. Her sisters could be interfering bitches and her brother had
been known to butt into things that weren’t any of his business.

“That’s not even taking into account the Council. What do
you think they would do? You know what they want.” Kane laughed softly and raised
an eyebrow. “I think you have about the same chance of staying in your hotel
room as you do leaving the mountain alone.”

Alana rolled her eyes. “Are you going to go crying to the Council?
‘She’s not cooperating’?”

“You’ve been on your own too long, Alana.” Michael ruffled
her hair. He didn’t seem to be at all upset about what she’d said. “You should
remember the hierarchy and the fact that what a wizard wants, he usually gets.
Now add in the important detail that two wizards want the same thing and I don’t
think you have a chance of avoiding it.”

She wanted to hit him, but settled for glaring at him. “Conceited
ass. Why don’t you let it be my decision? Hell, why not try asking first before
throwing out orders?”

“Because you would have said no and when we told you that
you were going to stay with us anyway, you would have gotten even angrier at us
for not listening to you.”

“That makes no sense. Both are going to make me freaking
furious, so why does it matter which one you choose?” She scowled and her
eyebrows drew together as her annoyance began to grow.

“Because we do listen to you. We simply can’t let you do what
you want this time. We don’t want you to think that what you say isn’t
important to us. So we chose the more direct route.” Michael’s shoulders rose
and descended in a slow shrug. “Time to go.”

She huffed, but the man was right. They did need to get
going. The argument wasn’t over. Not even close to finished. She didn’t know
what to say to change their minds. Several of the comments they made were true
enough. The Council would have no qualms about interfering again if they got
the idea that she wasn’t going to fall in with any of their plans. Changing
their minds probably wasn’t possible, but she wasn’t simply going to give in to
their orders.