8. Madelyne
The next day dawned bright and dry, without even the slightest breeze. I could tell it was going to be a scorcher. I got myself cleaned up and dressed, then helped Aidan with the same, cooked everyone breakfast, and sat through a briefing while everyone sorted out what they were doing that day.
Ulf was keeping watch and keeping an eye on his new buddy Aidan, who was excited by the prospect, while Jamie installed the rest of the security measures. Nathan, Bela, and I were going to visit my best buddy Nelly at the artists’ colony to try and pry any information we could get about Matthias and his possible whereabouts from the now rather paranoid colony members.
Nathan drove one of their SUVs and I rode shotgun to give directions and talk to the gate guards. Bela sprawled in back, the only one of the three of us who seemed really relaxed.
“You know, we should pick up steaks for a barbecue when we come back through town,” he said cheerfully, his accent adding a little spice to every word. “You got a good meat place in town?”
“The grocery store has a butcher’s shop inside. Small, but unless you want a whole side of beef it should be good enough.” I stifled a yawn. I hadn’t had any more nightmares last night, but Nathan’s kiss had left me… restless. I’d kept waking up, and my frustrated desire had even crept into my brief and muddled dreams.
“I’ll have to move the grill.” It was in the side yard. I knew it was a little ridiculous, but the idea of standing maybe a dozen feet away from the site of Matthias’ carnage cooking steaks made me nauseous.
“I’ll handle it when we get back.” Nathan shot me a reassuring smile.
“So, what do you know about Tiger shifters besides what you’ve told me?” I asked them as Nathan drove us.
“Bela knows the most,” Nathan indicated. I looked back at Bela, who winked flirtatiously.
Ooh boy. I have definitely gone from famine to feast here. Not sure what exactly to do about it all, but it’s sure good for my self-esteem after the mess Matthias made of me.
Bela squinted. “Russian Wolves have had to deal with some of them, mostly in Siberia. You’d think the damn Tigers would have the sense to stay in the south, but some of them are even crazier than usual. I had to track two of them for my old boss. Just me, my rifle, some silver bullets, and a map hunting them down on the grounds of a decommissioned Gulag.
“Once they found out I was after them–guessing one of the guards ratted me out, the bastards–the Tigers ran for the nearest village and disguised themselves as some of the locals. So here I am, running around, trying to use my nose to pick these mudaki out from the ordinary folks. The boss didn’t give a fuck about civilian casualties, but I did.”
I looked back at him again. “How did you finally catch them?”
“They got reckless after a while. I guess they were bored. I’d started bedding this hot little Siberian girl, so one of them imitated her and tried to lead me into a trap out in the woods. But he still smelled like asshole. So, I played dumb and followed him out until the other guy popped out of a tree on us and tried to jump us. I shot them both before the first one could break character. He changed back once he was dead.”
“Did they hurt the girl?” Nathan was only half listening, with most of his focus on the road.
“Nah, she was home in bed like a normal person. I made sure to check in on her before I left town. I know I got lucky. Tigers normally aren’t that dumb, but these guys forgot I had a working nose.” Bela chuckled. “That”s the thing about Tigers–big egos, nasty appetites, lies and dirty tricks. Every last one of them thinks they’re smarter than anyone they go after.”
“We can use that to our advantage,” Nathan observed. “Con artists often have the same flaw. It’s one of the most common ways they get themselves caught. They get cocky, push the con too far.”
“Matthias is definitely arrogant. Him and his mother, as well. I thought it was just a rich-people thing, but it’s definitely more than that.” I didn’t like reminiscing on Matthias, and how oblivious I’d been at first to his bad behavior. But I had to.
“I don’t know how many con jobs he’s pulled before me and the colony,” I said tentatively. “But he seems pretty practiced. I wonder if Interpol or someone has a file on him.”
Nathan slowed as a jackrabbit darted across the road in front of us. “I’m having Jamie look for that online as soon as he’s done with the security system. I don’t know how much good it will do, but if it can give us some clues to how he operates and what kind of places he might hole up––”
“Posh,” I replied in a word. “Fancy. He loves luxury, and his mother loves it even more.”
“That narrows it down some,” Nathan mused. “We should check out any high-end hotels or Airbnb’s within an hour or two of here.”
“I’ll add it to the list,” Bela said, swiping something into his phone.
By the time we got to the colony gates, it was so hot out that heat mirages were shimmering all over the road and every flat surface out in the distance. They looked like puddles after a rainstorm, but as I rolled down the window to talk to the guy in the guard’s booth, the heat coming in felt like a blast from a hair dryer.
“Hey, Joe. Here to see Nellie and the gang.” He nodded, dark eyes flicking over Nate and Bela skeptically before he gave me a smile and went back to his booth. I rolled my window back up as quickly as possible as he buzzed us in, and the gate opened.
It was good to be back, even though the circumstances sucked. ”Parking lots at the end of this road,” I instructed distractedly.
”So how do you know these guys?” Bela asked as he looked around. His nostrils flared as he smelled the air. ”A lot of potheads here.”
”Yeah, well, artists. Um, basically I used to be part of the retreat back when Aidan was little. We ended up needing more space than one of their cabins, so I bought my own place.”
”Where did you live before that?”
I pressed my lips together, remembering the old house on the hill just outside of Sedona. Ben”s house, which he”d inherited from his parents. Now, his brother James lived there with his wife and five kids. I still kept in touch, but I didn”t like going over there. Too many sad memories. ”Sedona. I wanted to go somewhere quiet to make my art. The colony has a bunch of metalworkers and its own forge, so for a while, it was a good home. We just outgrew it.”
”Seems nice. Lots of money here.” Bela peered around, all energy and curiosity, clearly eager to get out and stretch his long legs. He reminded me of a greyhound who had been penned up all day. ”So why do you figure Matthias targeted them?”
”I”m not sure why he decided to run this particular con. He was pretending to be a wealthy art collector, but I don”t know if he chose to do that and then found the colony, or if he chose the colony and then came up with the con.” I licked my lips, which felt dry and tight after that single blast of overheated air. ”All I know is, it gave him the perfect opportunity to get his foot in the door and pretend to be interested in our work, and us as people.”
”Con artists survive on their charm,” Nathan said soberly. ”I don”t know if he was sleeping with anyone else in the colony, but I”m sure he must have taken them for at least some money as well.”
”Just a few before I found him out, fortunately. He was playing the long game, trying to get us used to him. Trying to get us to trust him. Then I started figuring out what was up with him, and the first one I warned was Nellie. She”s the goddess of gossip, so she had everyone here alerted in under a day. Next time Matthias came rolling up to the gates, they refused to let him in.”
”I”m surprised he didn”t do anything to the people here for revenge after that.”
I took a deep breath, remembering those days. ”I was pretty worried that he would. So was Nellie.” We pulled into the parking lot, and Nathan found us a space quickly while I sorted through the uncomfortable details in my head. ”Nobody”s been attacked or disappeared, but he only started getting violent very recently.”
”Con artists don”t like engaging in violence, either.” Nathan turned off the engine and we unbuckled our seatbelts and got out. ”They avoid anything that would put them in danger or potentially draw law enforcement attention. But Matthias is a Tiger. He has less to fear from the law, and an awful lot more bloodthirst.”
The heat beat against my skin through my thin, sleeveless blouse and jean shorts, leaving me struggling a little for air. ”So, what does that mean long-term?”
”It means that we”ll need to warn Nellie and anyone else close to you that they may need to boost their security or even go into hiding until we can get this guy and his people.”
I felt a chill despite the heat. ”Oh, God. Okay. I”ll keep that in mind. Only family I have to warn is Ben”s brother and his family, but I”ll have to warn Nellie and the others here.” I looked at Nathan, whose expression was as grim and regretful as Bela”s was mild. ”I guess that means everyone is in danger.”
”Everyone who”s ever crossed or inconvenienced him, and possibly everyone that is close to him, as well,” Bela agreed. ”Sorry, but better to warn them than wish you had.”
”I understand.” It made me sick. ”What about folks in town?”
”Depends. If the cops had actually tried to confront him, he”d target them. If he gets blood-hungry, he could grab someone off the street. I don”t know how far this bastard will go, but I know we”ll have to be ready to come running if he fucks around in town.”
It pissed me off. I knew the reason for the Sheriff”s Department handing over everything to do with Matthias to Nathan and his pack, but they were supposed to be protecting my home, my son, and me. If they ended up having to divide their time looking after everyone, I was worried they would be gone when we needed them most.
No,I told myself. Nathan won”t allow that. We”ll find a way to make this work.
I led them to the main building, the only two-story in the place, all of its windows currently heavily shaded. The music coming from inside sounded like part of the Kill Bill soundtrack, one of Nellie’s favorites. I went up to the door and knocked, and heard the music turn down. A second later, brisk footsteps clicked up to the door.
I was startled when she simply opened it and smiled out at me. Nellie was a foot shorter than me, a redhead with more freckles than I’d ever seen on anyone else, big gray eyes, and an easy, friendly smile. “Hey, cutie!” She stepped forward to give me a hug.
“Hi, Nellie.” I gestured around. “This is Nathan, and that’s Bela. We have to tell you some stuff. And ask you some stuff. You’re the local information broker, so we’re hoping you can help us.”
“Sure, no problem. Now, get in here. It feels like the inside of a kiln out there.” She stepped back to let us in, and I all but ran into the air-conditioned hall.
They had remodeled the inside of the building in the last few months. The floor was tiled, replacing the scratched and paint-spattered wood from before, and the insulated Roman blinds let light in without letting too much heat in. We went over to the square of couches that dominated one corner, near an old piano set against the wall and a sprawling padded rug for doing yoga. A few of the inhabitants were doing stretches on the rug. Nathan glanced at a particularly limber young woman for a moment, and I squashed a sudden and unexpected surge of jealousy.
Stop that, I told myself. This is not the time for that kind of drama.
Nellie sat us down and toddled off into the nearby kitchen to get us some cold bottled water. After passing them out, she plopped down across from me. ”So, spill it. How can I help?”
I didn”t know how to tell her the whole story without scaring every human in the room, so I said simply, ”Matthias. He”s stalking us, he”s dangerous, and he”s very likely to try and get in here and cause problems for you and the others.”
Nellie”s smile faded. I hated to see it, but she had to know. ”Okay. I can pass the warning around. How dangerous is this guy?”
”Deadly. Nellie, he killed my security team.”
She almost dropped her water bottle. ”How?”
”He”s a shifter,” Nathan said flatly. ”A Tiger shifter. And he has help.”
Nellie swallowed. She looked down at her bottle like she wished it was full of vodka, and then took a gulp of it. I watched her face, feeling a mix of guilt and anger. Guilt to be the bearer of bad news and for Matthias being its cause.
”I didn”t even know Tiger shifters existed. How are you planning on stopping this guy?”
Bela grinned wolfishly. ”Well, cutie, that”s the thing. Only way to fight shifters is with shifters.”
She blinked at him, and then it slowly dawned on her what he was talking about. She looked between him and Nathan, and then at me. ”No shit?” She suddenly looked a lot more optimistic–even a bit excited.
That made me smile again. ”No shit, hon. Four of them.”
Nathan spoke up. ”We have taken over security for not only Madelyne”s place but the town. If he”s sighted here, if anyone associated with him is seen nearby, you need to call us immediately and we”ll come down. But in the meantime, don”t let him in, don”t approach him, and don”t listen to anything he says.”
”What about his shapeshifting trick?” I reminded him.
Nellie”s eyes widened. ”Shapeshifting trick?”
”Yes.” Nathan looked at her for a moment, and then nodded and said simply, ”They can make themselves resemble anyone they”ve met, including voices. In order to prevent them from infiltrating by pretending to be one of you, you”ll need to come up with a regularly changing code word that you can ask for to double-check. If someone doesn”t pass that test, it”s time to call us.”
”So, Matthias... He”s not just a con artist and a horrible boyfriend, the guy”s a… I mean…”
I knew right away what she wanted to say: monster. Supernatural monster, to be specific. But there was no way she could say that without unintentionally insulting the men with us. ”Yeah, he”s a Shapeshifter and a psychopath. That”s why it was so important that I get to see you today and warn you.”
She was pale now, making her freckles stand out even more. ”I get it. That”s just… yikes. I”ll talk to the other administrators and get the word out.”
”I almost wish we could sniff test everyone here looking for the bastard first. We can always tell a shifter by scent.” Bela gulped down half his water in a few long swallows, then wiped his mouth. ”I don”t smell any around here, but we”re going to walk the grounds before we leave, just in case.”
”Okay. Yeah. I”ll get the warning out and talk with the rest of the admins to beef up security. Is there anything else you needed to tell me?”
I hesitated. I didn”t want her to know that Matthias and his people were maneaters on top of everything else. That was too horrible to share. ”Tell, no. Ask, yes.”
”Okay, shoot.” She kept looking over at Nathan and Bela, practically wiggling with curiosity. I guessed she”d never actually met a shifter before. Not knowingly, anyway.
”We need to find Matthias and his family. We”ve been able to narrow it down some, but we need to know if he or his mother let any information drop about where he was staying during his visits. Even as little as a city or town name would help.” Nathan”s tone was solemn and a touch apologetic.
”Okay. I”ll personally go around and start asking people. It”ll be a while before I can get to some of them. Some of our people sleep days during heat like this, but I”ll get them all and come back to you with what I find.”
I nodded and unscrewed the cap of my drink, taking a tiny sip. My throat was tight, my stomach unsettled, and my anger had risen to new, bitter levels.
It was one thing for Matthias to target me. But my friends? My family? Aidan? I wanted to kill him. I wanted to personally shove a bar of silver down his throat and make him choke on it.
Instead, I was making blades tonight, and coating them in silver so that they could actually kill him for good. If he actually managed to get close enough to me or Aidan to make physical contact, he was in for one Hell of a surprise.