Chapter Fourteen
Rayna
Asher was ready to go home the next morning, but Rev wanted to keep him at least one more night, shifter healing or not. Conrad and Regina came to visit, helping keep Asher’s spirits up. They filled Asher in on what Ripley and Glory were going through with Glory’s mother after Rayna explained about the prosthetic and wig they found in the chair.
When Regina offered to take Rayna to Asher’s so she could shower and change clothes, Asher convinced her to go. Ripley’s mother was a hoot, dressed the same way Rayna preferred in cut-off denim shorts and a rock band tee. Her arms were covered in ink. If Rayna didn’t know she was a Gryphon, she would assume Regina was a cool, young woman in her forties. She sure didn’t act like Colette. Regina was loving as well as funny. Then Rayna remembered Regina was the one who killed Glory’s father as well as Thomas, and she had an even deeper appreciation for the female. Glory deserved to have a fierce mother figure.
Rayna trusted Regina, so she explained her situation from going undercover, to leaving Haven, to hiding out with Asher, and everything happening with Spencer and her boss. When they arrived at Asher’s house, Rayna rushed through her shower, not wanting to be away from the clinic too long. When she pulled clothes out of the drawer, she picked up the burner Seth had given her and powered it on. By the time Rayna was dressed, the phone showed several missed messages. Instead of reading them then, she shoved the phone in her pocket since she figured he was calling to catch up. After slipping into her shoes and tying them, she made her way to the living room, where she grabbed one of Asher’s books in case he wanted to read later.
As Regina drove back to the clinic, Rayna read Seth’s texts.
Seth: We have a problem. Grissom wants me to bring you in from Haven.
So much for speaking in code. Rayna checked the time on the message. It was from yesterday morning at 8:22. The next one was about an hour later.
Seth: Grissom is sending me to get you, and Perkins is going with me.
“Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Regina asked.
“The deputy director sent my partner to Haven to pick me up.”
“And you aren’t there. I thought your partner knew this.”
“He does, but he’s the one who suggested I pretend to still be undercover, thus the burner phone.”
“What are you going to do?”
“There’s not much I can do considering that was early yesterday morning. I’m going to text Seth and see what went down.”
Va.nessa: I just now saw your texts. My friend is in the hospital, and I’ve been there since yesterday. What happened?”
Rayna didn’t expect an immediate reply, but her phone rang. “Hey, Seth.”
There was a brief pause, then a voice she never expected said, “Agent Bellamy?”
Fuck! What was he doing answering Seth’s phone? “Uh, yes, Sir. Where’s Seth?” Rayna covered the phone and told Regina to pull over.
“He’s working a case. Would you care to tell me why you’re texting your partner on a burner phone stating you were with a friend in the hospital when you’re supposed to be undercover at Haven?”
Regina pulled into a drugstore parking lot, put the car in park, and raised an eyebrow.
Rayna had no idea what Seth had told their boss when she wasn’t found at Haven. “Is Seth okay?”
“You need to worry about yourself, Agent Bellamy. Why aren’t you at Haven?”
“I was supposed to be there no longer than two months. The reasons for me being undercover there didn’t make sense in the first place since we all know how women are treated within The Ministry. When I had an opportunity to leave, I took it. Then I found out David Spencer is no longer in FBI custody, and that didn’t make sense either, so I remained undercover, only I was doing so outside the compound. David Spencer is still a threat to his daughter, and—”
“You and your partner seem to have differing stories, Agent. I want you in the office at oh-eight hundred tomorrow, or you’ll be written up for insubordination.”
Regina grabbed the phone and whispered, “What’s your partner’s name?”
“Seth McCauley.”
Regina put the phone to her ear. When she spoke, her voice took on that strange quality when voicing someone. “You will believe the story Agent McCauley told you. You will forget you spoke to Rayna.” She disconnected before giving Grissom time to respond.
“Thank you. The IT techs can still see my text message, but at least they don’t know— Shit.” Rayna disassembled the phone, removing the battery.
“Can they trace a burner? Is that why you removed the battery?”
“Probably. If I toss it, they may still be able to track it to New Troy.”
“Don’t panic. I have an idea. I saw it in a movie, but it might work.”
Rayna grinned despite the situation. “Yeah? What’s your idea?”
“We’ll send the phone somewhere else.” Regina flipped a U-turn and drove to the nearest bank where she took several hundred dollars out of the ATM. “Shit, I don’t know where the truck stop is.” Regina pulled into a spot at the bank and opened her phone, handing it to Rayna. She searched the internet while Regina got back on the road. They pulled into the truck stop twenty minutes later, and Regina parked in front of the building. “I’ll be right back.” She grabbed the phone Rayna had reassembled and got out, only Rayna didn’t want her going alone, so she followed.
Regina caught the eye of several truck drivers, but the female strode up to the closest one. “Excuse me, but I was hoping you could help a girl out.”
The burly man narrowed his eyes. “I’m a happily married man, young lady.”
Regina gasped. “I’m not a lot lizard, thank you very much.” She held out the phone. “I’m trying to hide from my ex-boyfriend, but I’m afraid he can trace my phone. He’s a cop. Would you be willing to take my phone with you and toss it when you’re out of town? I’ll pay you three hundred bucks for your trouble.”
“Hell, I’ll do that for free.” He held out his hand, and Regina handed the device over.
“You’ll toss the phone when you get out of town, and you won’t remember this conversation,” she said, her Gryphon’s voice echoing around the man.
After he repeated her words, he got in his truck. Regina grabbed Rayna’s hand, hauling her back to the car.
“Holy shit,” Rayna husked between laughs. “He thought you were a hooker.”
Regina flipped her braid over her shoulder. “Maybe we don’t tell Con that part.”
Rayna made an X across her chest. “Promise.”
“Now what?” Regina started the car after putting on her seatbelt.
“Now, I’m going to call Seth’s wife, Vanessa. Can I borrow your phone, since mine’s…” Rayna thumbed over her shoulder. Regina unlocked her phone and passed it over. Rayna dialed the salon’s number, expecting the receptionist to answer.
“Blue Rhapsody Salon and Day Spa, Vanessa speaking.”
“Vanessa, it’s R—”
“Well, hello Rachelle. How are you? Good, good. Are you ready for your touch-up?”
“Uh, yes? Is there any way I can come see you today?” Rayna asked, deepening her voice.
“No, I’m afraid I’m fully booked today. I might can get you in next week. Let me check my appointment book.” The sound of footsteps came through the phone. “Let’s see, I have Tuesday at ten or two. Would one of those work for you? Okay. I’ll put you down for two. See you then.” With that, the call went dead. Rayna pressed Regina’s phone against her forehead.
“What was that about?” Regina asked.
“That was my best friend being stealthy.”
“Which means someone was there listening in, or her phone is tapped.”
“Yep. I’ll have to go see her in person. If I wear the prosthetic Lucy gave me, I should be able to do so with Grissom being none the wiser.”
Regina tapped the steering wheel. “Or I could go. Scope out the shop and see if anyone is there. I could pass her a note if there is.”
“I don’t want you on the FBI’s radar.”
“Meh, you let me worry about that. I’ve had more action this week than I’ve seen in years. It’s kind of exciting.”
“That’s right. You were in the loft with Glory at Haven.”
“You know about that?”
“I was there, watching as everything unfolded. Asher also told me how you took care of Glory’s father too.”
“Damn. I need to have a talk with my son about spilling my secrets,” Regina chided.
“I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“I know you won’t, Rayna. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t let you anywhere near Asher. He’s special to me.”
“And to me, considering he’s my mate. Let’s get back to the clinic and regroup. I want to check on Ash before we head out of town.”
“Where exactly is Vanessa’s salon?”
“New Latham. Not too far.”
When they got back to the clinic, Sutton was there with his mate, Rory. Like Regina, Rory appeared young, when in fact, she was a great-grandmother. Rayna had only allowed herself to think about having children. She’d never considered living long enough to have grandkids. She couldn’t wait, especially knowing how much Asher wanted children.
Asher squeezed Rayna’s hand. “You were gone a while.”
Rayna blew out a breath. “Yeah. I decided to check the burner to see if I had a message from Seth.” Rayna explained the texts and the deputy director answering Seth’s phone.
“Do you think Seth’s in trouble?” Asher asked.
“I do because I called Vanessa, and she pretended I was a customer as though someone were listening in.”
“That doesn’t explain why you were gone so long.” Asher didn’t sound upset, just curious.
“Well, we had an adventure of sorts,” Regina admitted.
Conrad tugged his mate’s braid. “What did you do?”
Regina grinned at him, then told everyone about going to the truck stop.
“Does Vanessa have security cameras in her salon?” Sutton asked.
“She does, inside and out.”
“What’s the address?”
“I’m not sure of the street number, but it’s Blue Rhapsody Salon and Day Spa on Rutledge Street in New Latham.”
The elder Hound pulled out his phone. “Hey, Lucy. I need you to hack the security cameras at Blue Rhapsody Salon and Day Spa. It’s owned by Seth McCauley’s wife, Vanessa, in New Latham.” He then explained why. “Call me back.”
Regina crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, that’s not as fun as going there to snoop.”
Conrad pulled her back against his chest. “I think you’ve had enough excitement this week.”
Asher tugged on Rayna’s hand. “I have to wonder what Seth told the deputy director, since he said your stories were different.”
“That’s why I called Vanessa, so she could find out. Even though Regina voiced him, I need to know what Seth’s story was in case I run into Grissom. At some point I’m going to have to show up at the office, especially if Seth’s in trouble.”
Sutton’s phone rang. “Go ahead, Lucy.”
“There are currently no agents in the salon, but earlier, two men dressed in suits entered the building. One of them, the older one, spoke to who I’m assuming is Vanessa because she was furious. There isn’t audio, but her face and hand gestures indicated she was not happy with whatever the man said. She took a phone call, then walked to the front desk, so I’m assuming that’s when Rayna called. Afterward, she pointed to the front door, and both agents exited. The older man got in a car and drove off, while the other is parked out front, watching the building.”
“What the hell is going on?” Rayna muttered. “I need to find Seth.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Asher argued.
“Lucy, have you heard from Lachlan?” Sutton asked.
“Not yet, but he’s searching for Spencer and anything linking him to Agent Hanson.”
“Ask him to include the deputy director to his inquiries.”
“Will do.” The call disconnected, and Sutton stared at Asher.
“No,” Asher told his boss.
“I didn’t say anything,” Sutton countered.
“No, but you didn’t have to.”
“What am I missing?” Rayna asked.
“He wants you to go back to your job, and I don’t like it.” Asher sighed, scrubbing his free hand down his face.
“I have the prosthetic. They won’t know it’s me.”
“And I can go with her,” Regina offered. “They don’t know my face. Rayna and I can be two women out for a spa day.”
Asher’s hand tightened against Rayna’s. “And if the salon is wired? Lucy didn’t mention what the younger agent was doing while the older one was arguing with Vanessa.”
Regina wasn’t going to be deterred. “Then I’ll ask him when we get there. If he says he bugged the place, I’ll voice him to remove it. If not, I’ll also voice him to ignore everyone coming in and out of the shop.”
Asher looked to Conrad, who tightened his arms around Regina’s stomach. “You know what she’s like, Son. Ripley couldn’t stop her from going after Amos any more than you can stop her from helping your mate. It’s the momma Lion in her.”
Regina pushed away from Conrad’s embrace, sliding her arm around Rayna’s shoulder. “Damn straight. No one fucks with my kids.”
Wow. So this was what it was like having a mother who gave a shit. One who had your back. Rayna could get used to it.
“I could go for a spa date,” Rory added, surprising Rayna. The female had been quiet up until that point.
Instead of getting upset, Sutton smiled at his mate. “It has been a minute since you took time for yourself.”
“Oh, for Zeus’s sake,” Asher fussed. “I’m not winning this argument, am I?”
“Better to learn this lesson early on, Son,” Conrad told him. “Besides. They’re all shifters. One is a trained agent, and the other two can voice their way out of a sticky situation.”
“I thought I could voice my way out of a situation too and look where it got me.”
“And once we capture David Spencer, I’ll be taking a piece of his hide for it,” Rory said, her own momma Lion coming to the front. Literally. Her face morphed into her feline briefly before reverting to human.
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll follow them and hang out down the street,” Conrad offered.
“No. They can handle themselves.” Asher tugged Rayna down so she was sitting on the bed. “Please be careful.”
“I promise.” Rayna leaned down and gave him a chaste kiss.
“Don’t forget your mask,” Asher said.
“I won’t.” She kissed him again, then retrieved the prosthetic and wig. She entered the small restroom, donning both. Rayna walked back to where the females were waiting. “Ready?”
Regina and Rory kissed their mates, and Regina clapped. “Let’s do this.”