Chapter 16 #2
I hurried inside and then kept pace with him as he led me to the pathology lab where the autopsies were done.
It was surrounded by cold-storage lockers that held bodies.
It was an eerie place, and most people avoided it like the plague.
I hadn’t minded it too much. At times, I’d come to get samples and such from whoever was working. It was how I’d gotten to know them.
“It’s so good to see you. I was so bummed when I heard you quit. You’re missed around here,” he chatted away as he led me into the area I needed to be in.
“Thanks for this. And I miss so many of you here, too, but it was time to leave. Hey, before I look, mind showing me the case you said you got tonight?”
He was used to showing me bodies, so he didn’t think twice before going to storage cooler number three and opening it. He pulled the body from the cold storage on the sliding table and lowered the sheet.
I asked Hewie what he thought the cause of death would be. As he rattled on, I waited for the others. Three minutes later, the door behind us opened. We swung around. There were the guys. Relief filled me.
“Hey, who are you? You’re not allowed in here,” Hewie yelled.
However, before he could reach the wall where the alarm button was, he froze. He didn’t blink as Nico came to stand in front of him. I had to assume the vampire spoke directly into Hewie’s mind. I wished I could hear what he was telling him.
It was ludicrous how simple and fast it was.
Within mere minutes, the body was wrapped in the sheet and carried out the way we came.
At the back door, I went to bring the vehicle right to the back door so the body could be loaded.
Then Keir kissed me and said they’d meet me where I dropped them off.
The three of them faded into darkness. Nico came out and got into the SUV with me.
As I drove away, he was invisible until we were back to where we’d dropped off the others, then he appeared.
“You did great, Fiona,” my mate stated.
“Yes, she did,” Royal added.
“What did you tell Hewie to do?” I asked Nico.
“I told him that after he was told to wake up, he’d go erase the last twenty minutes of security footage.
Then, he’d forget he erased it, got a call from you, or let you or anyone else inside.
When the cops come looking for the body, he’ll remember that a mortuary picked it up.
They showed him the appropriate paperwork, so he handed him over.
The mortuary I gave him the name of will lead nowhere.
It’ll become a clusterfuck. And when the family is contacted to ask which mortuary they sent to get the body, they’ll deny sending anyone.
They’ll tell them that they held off because the police had asked them to wait,” Nico explained casually.
“Has anyone told the family yet what to say?” I asked.
“Banner is taking care of it while we do this. Next stop is the actual mortuary that will care for the body. Then we can all head back and get some sleep,” Brax added.
I blew out a relieved breath. “Wow, that was kinda intense but fun. Having Nico, who can do that to people, is great,” I remarked.
“Yeah, I’m amazing,” he bragged.
“Why else do you think we bother to put up with his ass?” Keir asked.
“Whoa, hang on there, friend. You keep lying like that, and I’ll go back and undo that little thing I did,” Nico threatened.
“What little thing?” I asked.
“Oh, you know, making Hewie the lovesick human think he’s a squirrel,” Nico said with a grin.
“You had better not have done that,” I warned.
“I only did what my friend asked me to do. He had to make sure you weren’t lured away from him,” Nico defended. After he finished, there was a lull. That was when another voice spoke up.
“Man, I hope the cops speak squirrel, or they won’t understand what Hewie is saying when they question him,” Royal said, acting all serious.
All of us burst out laughing. It took me several seconds to regain control.
“You’re all crazy,” I tell them.
“That’s one of the things that makes us so lovable. And you shouldn’t be calling us crazy when you are, too. How else do you explain you falling for Keir?” Brax asked.
It was another fifteen or so minutes to the mortuary where the body was to be taken care of. The drive passed merrily despite the seriousness of the task.
When we arrived, the guy’s dad was waiting there.
We sobered up and got out to greet him. I tried to stay in the SUV so they could speak to him.
He wouldn’t care who I was. Sentinels, however, were a big deal.
The guys insisted I join them. Hands were shaken.
Introductions made—condolences given. Then, we went inside for a couple of minutes to meet the owner.
The dad thanked us for our help and swore no one would ever know.
Back in the cold February night, we rode home in a comfortable silence. It was a good save for the species. Now, if only the ones making threats would show themselves. The threats and terror caused by those faceless people needed to end.
?
Last night was intense. I felt terrible for that young shifter’s parents.
His dad explained that his mom couldn’t face seeing him brought in.
That was why she wasn’t there to greet the Sentinels and thank them.
The guys all assured him they understood.
As awful as it was, it had been rather thrilling, too.
The whole sneaking in and removing the body had made my heart pound, but in a good way.
I asked Keir and the others if they did this often.
They admitted it wasn’t the first time, but it was the first time having an inside contact like me.
Now, we were back to waiting. Today was Tuesday.
The plan was that on Friday, I’d go to the location the Sentinels found, supposedly only with my family.
It was more private and less likely to attract attention from humans who would call the cops.
The waiting was driving me crazy, but I kept plugging away at packing, sorting things out, and working on my plans for the lab setup.
The packing was going great. We had Keir, Gunnar, and Nico there to assist, so it was happening very fast. If we kept this up, we’d be ready for the move by next Monday.
Hopefully, we’d get a moving truck when we wanted it, without having to wait.
I told Keir not to schedule one, just in case things didn’t go as planned.
At the moment, I was at the kitchen table, working on the lab stuff.
Gal and all three of the Sentinels were in the attic, sorting and packing what we would take with us.
Anything to give away or thrown away was set aside.
I could hear them moving around, their occasional laughter mingling with the murmur of their voices.
As a shifter, I could tune those background conversations down or out.
If you couldn’t, you’d go mad with all the sensory input.
Granddad was in his room. I wasn’t sure what he was doing.
I was so far into my work and tuning out the noise that I didn’t pick up that someone approached the house until there was a loud, insistent knock at the door.
I jumped. My heart sped up until I told myself whoever was threatening us wouldn’t walk up and knock in broad daylight.
It had to be a neighbor, or maybe someone lost. We weren’t expecting anyone.
Chuckling to myself about my reaction, I rose and went to see who it was.
I wasn’t without common sense, though. I had my handgun tucked into my waistband. It was standard to have it with me even in the house. A weapon in another room or tucked in a drawer didn’t help when shit hit the fan. I peered out the door’s peephole.
I sighed. It was Eithan. What the hell was he thinking? His face wore an urgent expression. He pounded again and rang the doorbell. By then, Granddad joined me.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Eithan. Ignore him. He’ll eventually go away,” I said.
Like magic, Keir appeared next to me. He heard what I told Granddad. He scowled.
“I told him to leave you the fuck alone,” he muttered.
Another knock, then Eithan called out, “Fiona, I know you’re there. I saw your car. Open up. We have to talk. Please. You have to listen. I know you’re alone. You can tell me the truth.”
Keir was silent for a few moments, then whispered, “I want you to let him in. Pretend you’re listening to whatever he has to say.
Take him into the living room. I want to hear what he says.
Galen, please pretend you’re not here. The same for the rest.” He directed the last bit to my brother and the other two who had joined us.
The Sentinels nodded, grabbed Gal’s arm, and tugged him out of sight.
“Where will you be?” I asked.
“Close. If he thinks of trying anything, I’ll be near enough to stop it. You still have your gun on you?”
I nodded and patted my side. My T-shirt hung over it.
“Good. Stay alert. I know you think of him as a friend, but he wants more.”
Another knock, and Eithan, shouting my name, came as Keir kissed me and then melted away. Granddad had already left. Taking a moment to compose myself, I opened the door.
“Eithan, what are you doing here?” I asked.
“Thank God, you answered. We need to talk,” he said hurriedly.
“Talk? What is there to talk about?”
“A lot. Please let me in. I don’t want to stand out here and have the neighbors listen.”
He was dressed in regular clothes, so this must be his day off.
His hair was messy, as if he’d run his hands through it several times.
His usually clean-shaven face had stubble.
His eyes were bloodshot. I assumed it was from a lack of sleep since I didn’t smell alcohol or drugs on him.
Slowly, I stepped back to allow him inside.
He rushed inside, and then I closed the door. He glanced around. “Where’s your brother? Granddad?”