Chapter 7
Leaving American in Paris after their delicious meal Carson’s eyes searched for Henri.
Not seeing him, he headed over to a side street, finally spotting the SUV with Henri nonchalantly leaning against the driver’s door, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Relieved that their ride was close by, Carson looked over his shoulder, catching Hunter’s eye, while pointing in the direction of the car.
Receiving a nod in acknowledgement, he hurried along the narrow sidewalk, eager to resume their journey to Chateau des Flammes.
For the first time, since the massacre, Carson felt like the heavy weight of losing his parents and younger siblings had finally been lifted from his shoulders, making his world brighter and filling him with hope for the future.
Unable to put his finger on exactly why he felt that way, he somehow knew it had to do with being in France.
Smiling to himself as he approached Henri, Carson was now eagerly looking forward to meeting Remy and finishing his due diligence for Dire Enterprises.
Once that was over and the sale completed, Carson intended to ask Maximus to consider him for the job of Managing Director of Dire Enterprises’ French Operations.
After all, he reasoned, there wasn’t anyone else who’d know more about the companies than he.
The only downside was how far away his mother and brothers would be, but he knew there were plenty of ways to stay in touch.
Eyeing the old buildings on either side of the street, Carson wondered what it would be like to live in one of them and be surrounded by the ambiance of the City of Lights.
It was a seed that was beginning to germinate in his soul.
Putting aside his thoughts, his mind shifted to his upcoming job assignment.
He noticed Henri walking to the front of the car and then turning toward the street.
Losing sight of him for a moment, Carson wondered what he was up to.
His cousin and Fionn caught up to him just as Henri disappeared.
“What’s he doing?” Hunter asked.
“I have no idea,” Carson said, walking faster.
“I hope he isn’t going to leave us…” The roar of a car passed them, going way too fast for the narrow street.
“Whoa…” he said, reflexively jumping away from the curb and bumping into his cousin.
Then Carson heard the driver slam on the brakes and saw the rear end of the car fishtailing, skidding toward the front end of the SUV where he’d last seen Henri.
Carson’s warning shout was lost in the sickening sounds of metal scraping metal, the thump of a body hitting something, the cry of a child and a car speeding away.
Shock stilled Carson for a moment as his mind registered what he heard.
Then, his adrenalin kicking in, he ran to the scene of the accident, stopping short when he saw Henri lying on the street, blood pooling under his head.
Quickly assessing the situation, he turned to his traveling companions who’d joined him.
Pointing to a crying child sitting in front of the SUV, he shouted, “Hunter, make sure he’s all right and see if you can find his parents. Fionn, you help me.”
Removing his jacket, Carson knelt down next to Henri, covering him with it. Quickly reviewing in his mind everything Colton taught him about first aid, he carefully checked for a pulse, relieved to find a weak one, then ran his hands over Henri’s limbs, looking for broken bones, finding none.
“He’s not waking up,” Fionn murmured .
“He’s got a head injury,” Carson said, taking off his t-shirt and wrapping it around Henri’s head in an effort to stem the bleeding. “This is as much as I dare do.”
“Shouldn’t we get him to a hospital?” asked Fionn.
“Yeah,” Carson replied. “But I don’t know where the closest paranormal one is in Paris.”
“What about Ian? Or maybe Mac? Wouldn’t they know?” asked Fionn.
“Possibly,” Carson replied as he dialed a number. “Dire Enterprises has a medical division. I’m trying them first since they deal with paranormal doctors all over the world.”
“The little boy is okay…just scared,” Hunter said, crouching down beside his mate. “I found his nanny who was frantically looking for him. He got away from her, searching for his red balloon which came untied from his wrist.”
“Yes, perfect,” Carson said, speaking to someone on his phone. “Text me the address and we’ll take him there immediately. Thanks.” Ending the call, he looked at Hunter. “We need to get Henri to a doctor right away. Can you help me lift him into the back seat?”
Glancing at some locals beginning to gather, Hunter murmured, “I can do it myself.” Jerking his head at the gawkers, he added, “Let’s get out of here before someone calls the police.”
“Agreed,” Carson replied, “but first I need to find the car keys. Gimme a minute.” Moving Henri’s jacket aside, he searched his pockets, finally finding them. “Got ‘em. Be careful.”
Nodding, Hunter slid one arm under Henri’s back and the other under his knees.
Then rising carefully, he lifted him from the street before moving slowly to the SUV.
After Carson opened the back-passenger door, Hunter carefully placed Henri on the back seat, tucking Carson’s jacket around him.
“I’m going to ride back here with him, and pet, you sit up front with Carson, okay? ”
“Is Henri going to be all right?” Fionn asked quietly, uncertainty in his voice.
“I don’t know, babe,” Hunter replied, “but hopefully the doc will be able to help him.”
“C’mon, Fionn,” Carson urged, “let’s get going.” Once they were seat-belted in, he checked his phone, finding the text from Dire Medical. Entering the address into his GPS app, Carson started the car. “Everyone ready?” After hearing yeses, Carson put the SUV into gear and pulled out into traffic.
~/~/~/~/~
“Have a seat, Zane,” said Jackson, waving at the chair in front of his desk.
Sitting down, Zane looked over and saw Cody and Dylon on the love seat. Turning his attention back to Jackson, he asked, “What’s up?”
“Mom asked for me this morning. She had a dream about her friend who was with her when the massacre occurred. According to the dream, Josiah found out Mom and her friend witnessed it.” Pausing, Jackson glanced over to Cody before continuing.
“He’s sent a hunting party after her friend with orders to kill her. ”
Staring in disbelief at his brother, Zane sat frozen, his worst nightmare now a reality—Josiah most likely knew his mother was alive—and that put her in danger, also.
All those hours spent searching for evidence of the enforcers were just a waste of time if Steel was correct about Josiah killing them.
His uncle wouldn’t quit; Zane knew that from the way Josiah had relentlessly hunted him and his brothers for all these years.
He had failed to protect his mother?again.
Watching the fear, anger and finally guilt crossing Zane’s face, Jackson rose and approached his brother, bending down, hugging him, murmuring, “Hey, it’s not your fault. Josiah will answer for all he’s done, but Mom needs you…right now.”
Zane let Jackson’s words seep into his heart, helping to sooth the pain there, while the physical contact brought him back to the present problem they now had to deal with. Giving a quick nod to assure Jackson he could count on him, he asked, “Do you think Josiah will send someone to kill Mom?”
Sitting back down, Jackson replied, “If our uncle was a rational person, I would say no, but…”
“He’s not,” Zane finished Jackson’s sentence. “So, what do you need me to do? See if I can find out what he’s planning?”
“Before we get to that, there’s more,” Jackson said. “Cody had a vision tonight about Mom’s friend, Willow Thatcher. She’s in New York City. I need you to find out where she is so we can get to her before Josiah does. And Zane…according to the vision, there isn’t much time.”
“I’ll get right on it as soon as I tell David where I’ll be,” replied Zane. Then, turning to Cody he asked, “Was there anything else in the vision that might help me?”
“Nothing other than she is a cat shifter,” Cody said.
“What kind?” asked Zane.
“A tiger, but I don’t know which species,” Cody answered .
“That’s okay, it’s a starting point.” Zane stood. “What about Mom? I think she needs more protection.”
“I agree,” Jackson said. “Groose is already on it and Dylon will be coordinating with him to make sure no one gets close to her without my permission.”
Nodding, Zane said, “If you need me for guard duty let me know. I can do my research anywhere with my laptop.”
“Thanks,” replied Jackson, “but right now, I think the best thing you can do is find Willow Thatcher and, while you’re doing that, also see if you can find out how Josiah found out about Mom being alive. The two things are connected, but I can’t figure out just how.”
“Will do,” Zane said, heading toward the door.
Waiting until his brother was gone, Cody looked at Jackson, “The only other person who knew about Mom was our cousins’ uncle…the one who became the Rolling Hills Alpha after Hunter bailed out…at least as far as I can figure.”
“Yeah, I thought of that too,” Jackson replied. “I’ll check with Mason and see if he knows if anyone else knew about Mom.”
“Also talk to Hunter,” Dylon suggested. “As the Alpha-apparent he probably knows more about it than Mason.”
“Good point,” agreed Jackson. “Let’s just hope it was just their uncle who spilled the beans. The last thing I need is someone else targeting us. In the meantime, while Zane is locating Willow, I need you to develop a plan to rescue her and bring her safely back here.”
“Already on it,” Dylon said, “along with a plan to protect Hope and this pack from Josiah. You should also know, I sent a message to my friend, asking him if he’s heard of any packs hiring enforcers, because according to the High Council records, Josiah doesn’t have enough men for an all-out assault on us. ”