3. Crypt Keeper
CRYPT KEEPER
The balls clacked together and rolled across the felt. Two rolled into the pockets, and I grinned. Then I lined up again and sank the eight ball.
It had been almost a week since my run-in with the sexy little demon in the swamp. I’d chosen to remain silent but vigilant about what had happened. My brothers had enough worries. Also, I’d get a big, fat, fucking “I told you so” from Boomslang before I got a major ass-chewing.
Nope. I’d handle this on my own.
“What the fuck?” Dexter muttered. “I don’t know why I ever agree to play with you.”
“You’re a glutton for punishment?” I teased.
Lily laughed from the couch where she was reading a book.
The door to the clubhouse opened, and a wave humid air seemed to fill the area. All eyes turned in that direction.
An older woman stood there looking completely out of her element. Her gaze darted around as no less than nine bikers stared her down.
Boomslang got to his feet, and Killswitch was right behind him. They approached her and her eyes practically bugged out. Nervously, she wrung her hands.
“Is there something I can help you with?” Boomslang asked her.
“I… um… I… is there somewhere we can talk privately?” she softly stammered.
Boomslang and Killswitch shared a glance. Then Boomslang motioned for her to follow, and he led her back to his office.
“What the hell do you think that’s about?” Dexter asked.
“No clue.”
“She doesn’t exactly look like the type to just happen to be out this way,” Clutch remarked.
“What is it with women just wandering into our shit lately?” Zeus asked as he scratched the side of his jaw.
Mako chuckled. “I can’t say I’m upset that Lyra did.”
“I bet you aren’t,” Zeus retorted with a snort. We all laughed.
Killswitch came around the corner, and his gaze immediately locked on mine. Something about that look made my spine stiffen. “Crypt, can you please come back here?”
“Uh oh. What did you do?” Mako asked with a crooked grin.
“Fuck you,” I muttered as I set my cue down and made my way to where my VP waited.
“What’s up?” I quietly asked.
“You’ll see,” he vaguely replied.
When we entered the prez’s office, I saw the woman sitting on the edge of one of the chairs, looking highly uncomfortable and ready to bolt at any moment. Like she was a lamb in a room full of wolves.
Perhaps not an inaccurate description.
“Ms. Yarbarrow, this is Dallas,” Boomslang introduced.
Not completely forgetting my manners, I held out a hand to her.
She glanced at it like it was a viper about to strike her. As I was about to give up, she tentatively reached out and shook my hand but quickly released it. She looked at Boomslang, then at me, then back.
“But I was told I needed to find a man named Gideon,” she explained.
Though inside I cringed at the use of a name I hated, I tried not to show it.
“That’s me, ma’am,” I drawled, tacking on what I hoped was a comforting smile. “Name’s Gideon Dallas Bourque… at your service.”
Relief drooped her shoulders. “I know this is probably not a good idea, but I don’t know what else to do. The woman I consulted told me I needed to find you, or things wouldn’t end well for my… niece.”
Now she had my attention. “Okay?”
“Maybe I should explain.” She took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “My brother… half-brother… was a bit… wild. He dated this woman for a time. She was much younger than he was. Anyway… they had a child.”
She paused and appeared flustered.
“I’m not sure what this has to do with me,” I said uncomfortably.
“They were killed about three months ago. Murdered.” Tears welled in her eyes before she blinked them away.
“We weren’t close. I’d only met their child once when she was a baby.
That was over four years ago. Since I’m her only living relative, they brought her to me.
I never had children. So it’s been a struggle to begin with. But now… well, it’s gotten… scary.”
“Scary?” Fuck, we weren’t a daycare.
“She’s… exhibiting, um, strange behavior. I thought maybe she was just rebelling because of the loss of her parents. But then something happened.” She dropped her gaze and fiddled with the hem of her shirt.
Silence hung heavy in the room. I really wanted to tell this woman to get on with things, but I didn’t want to be rude, as I could tell she was really struggling with whatever was going on. I wasn’t a complete dick.
“Such as?” I finally asked because I simply couldn’t stand it. Patience wasn’t one of my strong suits.
“She killed all my chickens,” the woman blurted out and tears broke free.
My brows shot up so high, I was afraid they entered my hairline. When I turned to Boom and Killswitch, they were trying not to laugh, and I wondered if this was a joke. This woman was clearly distraught.
“She… killed your… chickens,” I repeated as I slowly blinked at her.
“Yes,” the woman whispered. Then she lifted her gaze to me. “With her teeth and claws.”
You could’ve absolutely heard a pin drop from a mile away at that point.
“Other than that, she’s a sweet girl,” she hurried to explain. Almost as if she was trying to convince me.
“Again, not sure what this has to do with me,” I added.
“Two days ago, I had to lock her in the basement. Lord knows, I didn’t want to. I kept telling myself she’s just a child, and that was cruel and insane of me to do, but I didn’t have a choice, I tell you.” She pulled back the sleeves of her sweater. There were deep, sutured cuts on her arms.
My eyes stared. The placement of the marks. The familiarity. Something niggled at the edge of my mind.
“I told them at the ER that my knife set fell, and I foolishly tried to grab them. I don’t think they believed me, but I couldn’t tell them the truth.
I didn’t know what would happen to her, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.
My neighbors had some issues with something unusual a while back, and they saw this woman in the swamps.
I got her information and went to see her last night.
She told me to come here and ask for you.
” She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the tissue Killswitch offered her.
Fucking Madame Laveaux. That woman needed to quit sending people our way. Yet unease began to settle deep in my bones.
“She said you would understand and know what to do with her.” She was staring right at me, so there was no misunderstanding who she was speaking to or about.
“Me?” I asked, disbelieving. What the fuck did I know about kids, and why the hell would that crazy voodoo lady tell this poor woman that?
“Yes. You specifically. I told her she must be mistaken. I mean, you guys are… well, you know. She didn’t like that.
She told me she doesn’t make mistakes. She told me to see you, then told me to leave her home.
So here I am.” Her chin defiantly lifted, but I could smell the fear within her as she tucked a graying section of hair behind her ear.
“What do you want us—I mean, me—to do about her?” I asked.
“I need you to talk to her. See if you can help her,” she practically begged.
“Fine,” I sighed. “When?”
“Now.”
“Now?” I parroted. “Like, right now?”
“Yes. Please.”
“Fine. I’ll follow you,” I muttered as I reached for the doorknob.
She shot up to her feet and nodded.
I opened the door and we all traipsed after her.
When we got outside, I was expecting to get on my bike and go to the woman’s house. Instead, I was met with a running car parked in front of the clubhouse. She opened the back door and spoke softly as she leaned down.
A riot of dark brown curls appeared as a child, around five or six, climbed out of the back seat. She held a stuffed toy tightly to her chest.
“Zara, this is Mr. Dallas,” the woman explained to the little girl, whose golden eyes stared at me in an uncanny way.
“Hey, Zara,” I uncomfortably uttered with an awkward wave. I’d spent a shit ton of time around my brother’s kid lately, and he loved me, but I had never dealt with a girl before. They were different. Right?
She blinked, then murmured, “Hi.”
“Um, maybe you could take her inside and talk to her about what happened?” the woman asked hopefully.
“Sure,” I muttered, then shot a glare over my shoulder at my P and VP. They tried to hide their grins and quickly went back inside.
“You wanna go inside?” I asked the kid.
She peeked around me at the building and then shrugged like it was no big deal.
I heaved a sigh. Unsure of what to do, I held the door open. She went inside. When I glanced back at her aunt, the woman was staring after the little girl with guilt and sadness in the set of her mouth.
“You coming?”
“I’ll just wait here,” she replied. “She might be more comfortable if she doesn’t have to talk about it in front of me.”
“Okay, um, sure.” I went inside, uncomfortable that this woman was willing to let a small kid go inside a clubhouse full of guys. I mean, I guess Lily was in there, but still… this was a crazy world and we knew that better than most.
The little girl was standing in the middle of the room, boldly looking around at the occupants as if she hadn’t just shyly climbed out of the back of her aunt’s vehicle.
“So… umm… Zara,” I began. “You want to tell me what happened the other night at your aunt’s?”
For a moment, she looked scared. Then she blinked and shook her head.
Everyone looked worried and confused. Trust me, guys, I understand. I had no fucking clue what I was doing or what that woman expected me to do.
That’s when I heard a car door close, followed by gravel flying. Everyone jumped up and ran to the door. I wasn’t sure what any of us expected, but it sure as hell wasn’t to see a cloud of dust settling around a large duffle bag that sat in the middle of the parking lot.
Tucked into the handles was a piece of paper that I snatched out and read.
All of her things I received are in here. I can’t handle her—whatever she is. I won’t tell a soul about her or any of you. Just take care of her. One way or another.
“One way or another?” I read out loud in shock and disgust. “What the fuck?”
Killswitch took the paper from me and read it. “Hack… find this woman.”
“On it,” Hack replied and went inside to do his crazy voodoo magic with the computer. To my knowledge, we only had the woman’s last name. But knowing that motherfucker, he’d uncover everything about her.
I sniffed the bag. I didn’t smell anything except for the little girl and the woman on it, so I picked it up and unzipped it.
Inside were a bunch of clothes, a small pink hairbrush, an envelope that was from the Social Security office, and another one that I flicked the top open to see a folded birth certificate.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Are you serious?” Spook asked from where he was reading over my shoulder.
“It would appear so,” I grumbled as I held the two items out to him. “Take this to Hack.”
“What the fuck do we do now?” I asked Boomslang and Killswitch. With a troublemaking hunter out for my blood, this was the worst possible time for this.
“First, we figure out what the hell this kid is. Though I think we all have a pretty good idea,” Boomslang drawled.
That’s when everything the woman had said truly settled in. Two days ago, it was a full moon. I should know… I spent the night locked in the fortified cell I had in an old shack in the swamp.
“No.” I gulped. “No way. She’s a girl. That’s like… unheard of.”
“But not impossible,” Mako replied with a shrug. “Weirder things have happened.”
“I’ve never known a female Rougarou,” I explained.
“Just because you’ve never known one doesn't mean they don’t exist. If nothing else, maybe she’s simply a shifter. That makes more sense,” Mako added.
“Possibly, but then why tell her aunt to specifically find Crypt?” Killswitch asked. None of us replied. After all, what could we say?