Chapter Twenty-Three
Ewen stumbled slightly as his feet hit the hardwood floor of his living room.
He assumed the translocation business would get easier in time.
The room looked exactly as he’d left it, although it had been close to two months since he’d been there.
There was a stack of books on the coffee table, the blanket draped over the couch was still rumpled from the last time he’d used it, and the framed photograph of his mother on the mantel was dusty but hadn’t been disturbed.
“They never came here,” Ewen said, as he looked around.
“They probably didn’t know where you lived.” Lamont moved through the living area clearly checking for threats. “You’re not listed in any public databases, and isn’t your lease is under an LLC?”
“It is. I was always a paranoid journalist.”
“With smart journalist habits.” Lamont disappeared into the kitchen.
Ewen walked slowly through the living room, trailing his fingers along the back of the couch.
He tried to think of positive memories he’d had in his own living space, and yet nothing immediately came to mind.
His fox stirred, recognizing his territory, but Ewen could tell his animal spirit was feeling the same disconnect he was.
So much had happened. Lamont had happened.
What had once been his den, his sanctuary from the world, now felt small and strangely empty.
“Your refrigerator has a situation,” Lamont called from the kitchen.
Ewen found his mate staring at the open fridge in disgust.
“Hey, I left in a hurry, and I had a lot on my mind at the time,” Ewen said defensively as the scent of something vile hit his nose.
“There’s something growing in here that might have achieved sentience.”
“I would’ve cleaned it out when I got back from Egypt.”
“Well.” Lamont clicked his fingers, and the offending containers vanished. “Problem solved.”
“So much better, thank you.” Ewen shut the refrigerator door before his fox could get offended by the lingering smell. “I’m going upstairs to pack. I shouldn’t be long.”
“Take your time.” Lamont pulled out his phone. “I need to return a few calls anyway. But I promise I’ll turn this off the second we get to Santorini.”
“You’d better.” Ewen kissed him quickly and headed for the stairs. “Otherwise, I’m throwing that thing in the nearest body of water we come to.”
He climbed the stairs - not like a hotel room - smiling as he noticed his bedroom door was still slightly ajar, exactly as he’d left it. Ewen pushed it open and froze.
There was a woman sitting on his bed – definitely not something that had ever happened before. Worse, it was the woman from Cairo, perfectly composed in a dark pantsuit, her legs crossed and tilted to one side. A gun rested in her lap, the barrel pointed casually in his direction.
“Hello, Mr. Cross.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I knew you’d come home eventually.”
Ewen’s heart raced. Downstairs, Lamont was on the phone - he could hear his mate’s voice murmuring through the floor.
“How did you…”
“Get in?” She tilted her head. “Your locks are embarrassingly easy to pick. I’ve been waiting here since this morning. Very patient of me, don’t you think?”
Keep her talking. Keep her talking until Lamont realizes something’s wrong.
“Winters is in custody,” Ewen said, thinking fast. “Hardline’s finished. Whatever they’re paying you…”
“This isn’t about money anymore.” Her fingers tightened on the gun.
“This is about the fact that you cost me everything: my reputation, my career, my entire operation. Ten days I had you in that basement, and somehow you just...disappeared. Poof. No one could find you anywhere. So you’d better believe I’m here for you. You’ve made this personal.”
“Bad luck?” Or good, depending on how you look at it. Ewen wasn’t sure what she wanted exactly, so it’s not like he knew how to respond.
“I don’t believe in luck.” She stood, keeping the gun steady. “I believe in answers. So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to tell me exactly how you got out of that basement. You’re going to explain how you vanished from a locked, guarded room. And then…”
“Then what?” Ewen’s fox surged forward. “You’ll shoot me?”
“Probably. But I want my answers, and this time I’m going to get them.”
She was deadly serious, emphasis on the deadly.
Ewen thought about the last time he’d shifted near her - an act born out of desperation because he was so close to death.
The need for secrecy still applied…but once Lamont gets hold of her, and Ewen knew that he would…
“Fine. You really want to know how I got out?”
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s the only reason why I’m here. I could’ve been sipping cocktails in Hawaii if it wasn’t for you, so yes. I want to know. Now.”
“Do you want me to show you?” The words came out with a bit of a rasp, his fox was already coming through.
She raised the gun, aiming at his chest. “Show me and move slowly.”
Ewen shifted – there was nothing slow about it, but he could hardly be blamed for that - morphing from human to fox in less than a heartbeat, his clothes vanishing thanks to Lamont’s powers. He launched himself across the room before she even knew what was happening.
The woman was screaming as Ewen’s fox hit her, his sharp teeth clamping around her wrist. She dropped the gun, the metal clattering across the hardwood floor.
He released his jaws, dropped to the floor, and lunged again, catching her forearm this time, tasting blood and some sweet kind of moisturizer.
The woman tried to scramble backward, but Ewen’s fox was faster, biting her ankle, her calf, anywhere he could reach.
Catching her knee on the bed, she fell to the floor just as the bedroom door slammed against the wall. Lamont charged through, his eyes already flickering with hellhound flames. He took in the scene - Ewen in fox form, the woman bleeding on the floor, the gun kicked under the dresser - and moved.
One moment, the woman was struggling to stand. The next, Lamont had her face-down on the carpet, one hand pressing her shoulders down while the other secured her wrists behind her back with what looked like shadows solidified into cuffs.
“Don’t move,” Lamont snarled. “Or I’ll let my mate bite you again.”
The fox yipped in agreement and showed all his teeth.
“Ewen, shift back, hon.” Lamont didn’t look away from their captive. “Please.”
Ewen shifted, his clothes reappearing as his human form settled back into place. His heart still raced, adrenaline singing through his veins. “She was waiting for me. I bet it was her that had people watching for us in Germany.”
“Yep, I’ll take that bet.” Lamont pulled out his phone with his free hand. “It’s a good thing we have Redford on speed dial. I hope he’s not too busy to take one more person into custody.”
“One more?” The woman spat blood onto the carpet. “What did you do?”
“Only put about thirty of your colleagues in federal prison with more to come.” Lamont hit a button and put the phone on speaker. “Hi, Redford. It’s Lamont. Sorry to bother you again, but we have a situation.”
Redford’s gravelly voice came through. “What kind of situation is it this time?”
“Well, we’re in New York, and the situation is the kind where the female interrogator Ewen mentioned in his story – you know, from the basement - was waiting in the bedroom of his private house with a gun.
” Lamont glanced at Ewen. “She’s currently secured and bleeding on the bedroom floor. She…er…witnessed a shift.”
There was silence for a moment, and then a long sigh came over the phone. “I thought you were going on vacation.”
“We had to come back so Ewen could pack.”
“Fine. I’ll send a team. It might take a bit - maybe twenty minutes. You’ve already given us a fair bit to do.”
“It’s appreciated, thanks. I swear we’ll buy you the best meal, anywhere of your choosing when all this shit is finished.
We’ll wait for your team.” Lamont ended the call and looked down at the woman.
“You’re lucky I don’t want to deal with either Lord Hades or the Shifter Council right now.
Technically, you threatened a shifter in his own territory.
That has to violate at least six paranormal laws, without counting the human ones. ”
She went very still. “You’re...you’re one of them.”
“One of who?” Ewen asked, crouching down so she could see his face. “A shifter? Yeah. Do you remember the fox in the factory giving your goons the runaround? Also me. Surprise.”
Her lips thinned. “That’s impossible. The fox was in the warehouse. You were tied up in the basement.”
“I was in the basement. I asked for a bathroom break, so they had to untie me. You wanted to interrogate me again, and I didn’t want to risk peeing on your shoes.
So yep. My hands were free, the door to the warehouse was open, and that’s all it took.
Me and the fox were one and the same.” Ewen stood up and stepped back.
“I can’t believe you didn’t figure that out.
Amateur. Can you take care of this, mate?
” He smiled at Lamont, who was still glowering at her. “I still have packing to do.”
“Take all the time you need, precious. She and I aren’t going anywhere.”