Omega Moon Rising (Toke Lobo & The Pack) (13 page)

Chapter 13

“Luke?” Tokarz asked.

Luke backed off. Shifted to his human form. All that remained of his orange jumpsuit were scraps useful for marking the boundaries of a driveway so the plow guy would know where to go.

“Abigail?”

“Don’t call her that,” Luke snapped. “Her name is Abby.”

Tokarz nodded, one short jerk of his head.

“You have a victim?” Jasper finally sounded interested. If a man who’d pissed himself could sound like anything.

“Maybe two,” Luke said. Ancient Ones, he was going to yak a hairball. He hadn’t let himself think about Abby, about Libby from the moment he’d learned what Gary had done. He couldn’t. Because what Abby told him made him sick. Made him crazy.

“You can’t work for Jasper,” Restin said. “You’re mated.”

“Abby is not my mate. She’s my wife. Civil law only.”

“The pack recognizes her as your mate,” Tokarz said. “And there will be an examination into that once you are back in Loup Garou.”

Luke glanced at Jasper. The pack usually didn’t discuss the finer points of lycan life in front of non-lycans.

“When can we interview your wife?” Jasper asked.

“You’re not,” Luke said.

“You destroyed evidence.”

“That’s right. My wife’s privacy is her privacy, and her stinking cursed stepfather deserved a much worse death than he received. If I had gotten there first, you’d need DNA tests to identify him.”

Luke dared anyone in the room to argue with him. He hated that Tokarz and Restin knew about the kiddie porn—especially Restin—but there was no help for it. “Are there extra guards on my parents’ and grandparents’ houses? Whoever killed Gary could be after the girls.”

Tokarz nodded. “I wish you’d said something sooner.”

Luke simply stared. Maybe Tokarz wasn’t the leader he should be if he couldn’t figure out why Luke didn’t want his personal business bandied about as if it were owned by the pack.

“I’ll see what I can do about getting you on the task force.” Jasper’s voice was little more than a croak.

“You do that,” Luke said. “Or I’m going rogue—and you really won’t like that.”

Jasper procured another orange jumpsuit for Luke, who was released into Tokarz’s custody. Didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except keeping Abby and her sister safe.

He should have known the ride back to Loup Garou wouldn’t be silent.

“What exactly is going on?” Tokarz asked.

“Did someone fetch my truck from Oak Moon?”

“I’ll have someone pick it up tonight.”

“You can drop me off there.”

“Not happening.” Tokarz’s smile lacked any mirth. “You’re in my custody, and you’re not going anywhere near that house right now. We’ll let Restin drive your truck back to Loup Garou.”

“Fine.”

“Now, are you going to talk to me, or am I going to have to beat the story out of you?”

“How’s Abby?” Luke asked.

“She offered to put the Oak Moon house up to cover your bail.”

“She did?” He’d been pretty rotten to her until she’d confessed her . . . victimization. “I need to get her a guitar to replace the one that scat-eating vampire-humping stepfather of hers broke.”

He tried to remember what kind she’d played during the talent show. “A vintage Yamaha, I think. It was her real daddy’s instrument. He taught her to play. I need to stop and buy one now.”

“In your prison suit?”

“Or naked. I’m not going back to Loup Garou without a guitar for her.”

A brand new Yamaha guitar with a narrow neck in a nice hard case rested in the back of Tokarz’s SUV, on the other side of his son Daniel’s car seat. Tokarz dropped Luke off at the sheriff’s office to retrieve his clothes and other belongings, including his truck keys. Luke strolled out the front door, trying to act as if he didn’t have a care in the world in his jeans, white T-shirt, and scuffed brown boots.

Tokarz dropped Restin off at the truck and Luke climbed into the front seat.

Tokarz had barely pulled away from the curb when Luke started talking.

“That night in Nevada. I couldn’t sleep, so I got on the Internet and was surfing like I do.”

“Porn sites,” Tokarz clarified.

Luke’s stomach clenched. “Yeah.”

“And?”

“I found this place. Gail’s Bedroom or something. The girl looked an awful lot like Abby, but I figured blond hair, blue eyes—they all look alike, right? Until I saw the smile. Abby has this cute gap between her front teeth.”

“And you went crazy.”

“Not crazy,” Luke argued. But he’d been crazy. “At first, I thought she was . . . posing voluntarily. I even wondered if I was the father of her baby. I mean, I know I was her first lover, her only lover, but seeing those pictures . . . of her naked—”

“You went crazy.”

“Stop saying that.”

“Luke, you were acting crazy. Mated crazy.”

“I needed to talk to her.”

“You couldn’t pick up the phone?”

“I didn’t have her phone number.” He still didn’t.

“I thought you were going to call her after you showed me her songs. Wasn’t that the story?”

Luke didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “I guess I’m a bit of a scat eater.”

It was Tokarz’s turn to be silent.

“It was ugly,” Luke admitted. “I said some stuff to her I never should have said. But I was—”

“Crazy. That’s what happens when you’re mated.”

Oh, he was so tired of explaining that he hadn’t marked Abby. That he hadn’t offered her berries. That he hadn’t done any of the traditional mating things except stick his cock in her. He let Tokarz’s comment pass.

“I smashed my laptop on the floor. And she was pissed at me, too, because I took pictures of the bruises on her stomach.”

“What bruises on her stomach?”

Luke sighed. He hated spilling everything, but Tokarz needed to know. Luke needed the pack’s help to keep Abby and her sister safe, and the price for that was telling Tokarz the whole truth. “Gary punched her in the stomach, trying to make her miscarry. From the bruising, I’d say repeatedly.”

“Ancient Ones.”

“Yeah. Well, I was documenting the bruising on her face and wanted to take pictures of her belly. You know. In case I did get to kill him, I wanted to prove I had motivation. That’s not only Abby’s baby. It’s mine, too.”

“Of course.”

“But she told me—” Luke had to stop. Remembering everything that had transpired was getting to him, and not in a good way. “She told me she didn’t like having her picture taken.” His voice cracked. Moisture gathered on his eyelashes. “So I waited until she was asleep, then took pictures. Macy set up my computer while I was gone, and Abby saw the photos. She was fit to be tied.” Luke shook his head. “It was all real ugly. So I confronted her, and that’s when she told me. About Gary threatening to sell Libby to the highest bidder if Abby didn’t pose without her clothes.”

Tokarz slammed on the brakes. The SUV nearly slid into the ditch. Tokarz opened his door and puked.

Luke knew the feeling.

After he scrubbed his face with his palm, Tokarz leaned back in his seat, but he didn’t put the SUV in drive. “So you went to Oak Moon to kill Gary.”

“Yep.”

“You told your grandfather to keep a close eye on Abby and to call your dad about Libby.”

“Yep.”

“You know, you could have come to me for help.”

I’m omega. What do omega mean to the pack?

Luke shrugged. “In the end, it didn’t matter. Killing Gary was my privilege and someone stole that from me. So now I get to kill his killer.”

“That’s why you wanted Jasper. How did you know the feds were on to Gary?”

“I didn’t, until Jasper blew his lid about the computer. Then I had to wonder. I played a hunch, and he’s as much of a chump as you and Restin have always claimed.”

“You sure you’re up to working on a federal task force?”

“Come on, Tokarz. Who better than me? I know my way around a computer, and I know my way around Internet porn sites. I’ve been using the FreeNets, DeepNets, and DeepWebs for years. Now it’s time for me to put that experience to work. Bonus is that I can work from home. I don’t need to leave Abby.”

“What made you change your mind about the porn?”

Luke hesitated again. “I always assumed those girls were posing voluntarily. It never occurred to me that some of them were being forced to do things. Coerced. Blackmailed. Until I saw Abby’s face as she told me what Gary threatened to do to her baby sister. It never occurred to me.”

“Good job, Omega.”

“Don’t call me that. My name is not Omega. Omega is my rank because of your grandfather’s injustice to my grandfather. I have no last name because your grandfather took away my grandfather’s name for doing what the Ancient Ones decreed. I am Luke. Son of Marcus. Grandson of Lucien, formerly a delta male of the Loup Garou pack.”

“Uppity for a delta has-been.”

“An omega wolf has nothing left to lose.”

Luke’s grandparents’ house was quiet when Tokarz pulled up. Werewolves roamed past at irregular intervals. The sun was sinking, tossing a lurid orange hue over the landscape.

Luke hopped out of the truck, and grabbed the guitar. “Thanks for the ride, Tokarz. I’ll be talking to you soon.” He didn’t wait to see what Tokarz did, but headed inside.

Granny was cooking. Granny was always cooking.

“Luke.” He found himself enveloped in a fragrant hug.

“Granny. Have you been taking care of my bride?”

Whoa.
Where had
that
come from?

“Somebody has to,” Granny replied. “From what I can see, you’re not doing such a great job.”

Luke hefted the guitar. “That is about to change.”

“Leave her alone, if you get my drift.”

“Aw, Granny.” Luke winked. “I can’t play with my wife?”

She swatted his shoulder. “Nope, not if you don’t want to hurt that baby.”

Luke stooped to kiss the wrinkled cheek. “You’re the best, Granny.”

He gripped the guitar tighter. Squared his shoulders. Sauntered down the hall.

Abby was in bed, reading.

“Hey,” he said. This was more awkward than he’d envisioned. “I brought you a present.”

She set aside her book.

“It’s a Yamaha, with a narrow neck, like your old one. It’s the best I could do. I should have saved the other one.” He put the case on the bed, but Abby didn’t reach for it.

“Thank you.”

And that was it. No smile. No tears. No other words. Even her eyes were blank. A canvas, waiting for him to paint a reaction. He had a lot of ground to make up if they were going to make it through the next few months in any kind of civilized manner.

And she didn’t even know everything yet.

There wasn’t any point in telling Abby a thing, not about the werewolf stuff. She was full moon safe here—Granny was human, and even if she hadn’t been, older women, like pregnant women, couldn’t shift. It was a chromosome thing or something. Abby didn’t need any additional stress right now, at least according to Granny. Keeping that baby safe was Luke’s responsibility, which meant not stressing its mother. And after?

Well, Luke figured he and Abby would separate, divorce after the baby’s birth. His mom and Granny could raise the baby, and Abby would be free to get on with her songwriting career, so she’d never know the baby would turn into a hairy howler every full moon once it hit adolescence. Everything nice and neat in its own compartment.

His lack of sleep was catching up to him. He perched on the edge of the bed. His boots
thunked
to the floor. He dropped onto his back. Abby smelled nice. “Ancient Ones, I’m tired.” His eyelids drifted shut.

“What does that mean?”

“Hmm?”

“Ancient Ones. Your whole family says it all the time. What does it mean?”

“It’s our way of saying God, I guess.”

Abby shifted on the mattress.

“Whatcha doing?” he asked.

“Putting the guitar under the night stand. Are you sleeping here tonight?”

He couldn’t read her mood from either her tone or her scent. “Unless you don’t want me to. But I’d like to.”

“I don’t think we can—”

“Granny told me. That’s okay. I like holding you.” And he did. He sat up and pulled his T-shirt over his head and dropped it next to his boots. He had to stand to drop his jeans, but it was only for a moment.

In normal circumstances, he would be using the deep twilight to get ready for a night’s worth of action. But his circumstances were no longer normal. And tonight, he needed to sleep.

He crawled under the covers. Slid his arm around Abby and pulled her close. Settled her head on his shoulder. His whole body responded to being so comfortable.

“Did you kill Gary?” She asked so softly, if he wasn’t a werewolf, he might have questioned his hearing.

She deserved answers. His sleep could wait. “Somebody beat me to it. But I destroyed his computer. Nothing from his hard drives is going to be retrievable. That’s why they kept me so long. Because I destroyed evidence. The feds were on to him. Investigating him. They’re real unhappy he’s dead.”