Chapter 17
Major jogged to the gate, keeping his senses open to more drones.
His Gryphon had been uneasy ever since they engaged the first one.
The package was leaning against the gate, and Major was able to pull it through the iron slats without opening it.
He jogged back, and once inside, he ripped the envelope, then opened the packaging.
Something sizzled in the air fryer, and Tabitha was slicing veggies, so Major did the honors.
Instead of getting his own computer out of his room, Major used Tabitha’s, as it was on the bar.
He inserted the card into the slot, then opened the program to watch the video.
Tabitha placed the sharp knife on the counter and wiped her hands on a dish towel as she skirted the island to look at it with him.
The drone began its ascent from a snow-covered area, and the higher it got, the more of the property it showed.
Also on the ground was the man piloting the device, and he was standing outside a barn which sat back from a farmhouse.
The drone flew over the trees, not stopping until it hit the barrier outside the manor.
The drone backed up and flew forward again, hitting the barrier once more.
It returned to the man, who landed the drone, then picked it up and turned it over, checking it out.
He was young, probably early twenties; his shaggy blond hair was covered by a beanie.
His brow was furrowed as he checked the drone over, then he placed it on the ground and tried again.
This time, a large Eagle caught the drone in its sharp talons, and they knew how that ended.
Major pressed the stop icon. “That could be a coincidence.”
Tabitha tapped her nails on the counter.
“What if…?” She took off toward her room, and Major followed.
She flung open the closet and pulled out her duffel.
She retrieved the black box which contained the device that detected trackers.
“We checked Craig’s bags, but we didn’t check ours.
” Tabitha went over every inch of her belongings but didn’t find anything.
“Let’s check yours to be sure.” Major followed her to the room he was using, and he dragged his bag from under the bed.
After going over everything they’d brought with them, they were in the clear.
“Do you think we should be worried?”
Major took the device from Tabitha and tossed it on the bed. “I think if they knew where we were, they would have already tried to find a way in.”
“Okay, so no borrowing trouble. Got it.”
Major’s phone vibrated, and when he looked at the screen, someone was at the gate. “Speak of the devil.” It was the young man from the video. “Should we answer or let him think no one is here?”
“I say we ignore him.”
The man pressed the buzzer to speak. “Hello? Not sure if anyone’s in there.
I wanted to let you know I lost my drone, and I think it crashed in your woods.
It’s actually my brother’s, and if it did crash, I need to see how bad it is.
I didn’t want anyone to shoot me when I go looking for it. Uh, okay. Bye.”
“Well, shit. If he’s telling the truth, I feel bad for the guy. Let’s let him think no one is here. I’ll keep watch after lunch and make sure he really is looking for the drone and not trying to get onto the property.”
“Sounds good.” When they crossed the threshold into the kitchen, Craig was coming through the back door.
“I made grilled chicken tenders. You can either have a salad or there’s fixings for sandwiches,” Tabitha told him.
Major crossed to the sink and washed his hands before helping gather condiments, plates, and silverware.
Tabitha plated the chicken and set it aside before getting the pasta salad out of the fridge.
They worked together in domestic ease while Craig removed his cold weather gear and the prosthetic, taking them all to his room.
When he returned, Craig went to the pantry and came out with a bag of barbeque chips.
He silently fixed a sandwich, then helped himself to another soda.
It seemed he wasn’t too worried about his diet.
They were almost finished eating when Major’s phone rang. “Hey, Nikita. Tell me you have good news.”
“I have news, but I’m not sure if it’s good or not.
We located Cabretti, and he’s at his estate in Miami.
From what we can tell, he’s attending a corporate meeting he holds every year at this time.
We also managed to get the contract on Craig closed, making it appear that someone completed the task.
That gives us a little breathing room. Madsen was able to get into Cabretti’s computer system, but we’re still working on his phones.
So far, we haven’t found anything to indicate it was him that took out the contract. ”
Major stood and moved to the sunken den for privacy. “But Brad admitted that Cabretti sent him after Craig. If he didn’t, then who did?”
“We’ve been mulling this over, and the four of us think there’s more than one player on the board.
Consider the timing. Someone put a tracker on Craig’s person, but wasn’t that before the suicide note naming Craig as the father of Carmen’s child?
And speaking of the tracker, we got in touch with Craig’s doctor.
After some back and forth arguing about patient confidentiality, he checked his records.
Craig wasn’t due for any vaccines. Also, there were cameras at his doctor’s office, but they don’t keep the feed more than a month at a time, so we have no way of knowing who the nurse was. ”
“Which means we’re stuck here.”
“Sorry, Cuz. We’re all working overtime on this.”
“And I appreciate it, Nik.”
After he disconnected, Major returned to the kitchen to find only Tabitha, who was mixing something at the counter.
He didn’t have to relay the conversation for her.
“Whatcha doin’?” Major hooked his chin over her shoulder and inhaled.
The spices from the bowl along with Tabby’s natural scent invaded his senses.
If he could bottle the two, he’d be rich.
“I found a packet of cookie mix in the pantry.” Tabitha turned her face up for a kiss, and Major obliged.
“I’m going to go check on our drone user to make sure he was telling the truth.
” Major nuzzled Tabby’s neck before heading out the back door.
He once again took off through the woods, and when he was far enough away from the manor, he opened his senses to ensure he was alone before stripping off his clothes.
He bundled them on top of his boots so they wouldn’t get wet, and then he shifted to his Eagle and flew low to the ground while in the woods, but as soon as the trees opened up, he took to the sky.
He flew in this form often since humans seeing a bird wasn’t odd.
It had been too long since he’d been able to let his Gryphon loose, but the beast understood they needed to remain hidden.
Tabitha’s Clan had come up with the idea of a shifter counsel, and her cousin Lydia, along with Lydia’s mate, Beck, were on a mission to find shifter leaders to join.
The object of the counsel was to warn others that humans, namely an agent for the Global Intelligence Agency, were convinced there were species other than humans after a debacle with wolf shifters in South Carolina.
Humans were awful to each other, so he couldn’t imagine what would happen if they ever found out they had beasts living and working closely to them.
Major flew in the direction the drone had come from, his Eagle using its keen vision to search below for the human.
He circled the trees several times, taking a wider arc with each pass.
Seeing no one, he set out for the nearest house.
It didn’t have any outbuildings, so he continued on to the next property where he spotted the barn from the drone footage.
Major landed on the roof and waited. A rusted-out truck from decades past was partially hidden by tall grass.
A tractor sat on rotted tires. The farmhouse was in good shape from what Major could tell from the outside.
The driveway leading away from the house had once been gravel, but now was nothing more than a dirt path.
Major launched off the barn and flew a circuit around the property, landing in a tall tree out front.
Winter had absolved it of its leaves, giving Major an unobstructed view of the house.
A small sedan sat on the driveway. Like most old farmhouses, a porch spanned the width of the front.
Two rockers bracketed windows on the right, and a swing hung from the ceiling on the left, all with chipped paint.
Instead of having blinds in the windows, curtains covered most of them.
The interior light bled through, indicating someone was there or had been.
Not being able to see inside, Major returned to the back of the house, using the barn as his perch.
He didn’t have to wait long for the young man to exit the back door.
In his hands was another drone and controller.
Once the drone was airborne, Major took off, following.
As he suspected, the drone flew toward the manor.
The barrier did its job, and the drone returned to the young man with Major right behind.
The drone landed close to the man’s feet, and as he bent to pick it up, Major landed a few feet away, shifting to his human form.
“What the fuck?” The man dropped the drone, backing up. “Wh-what are you? And why are you naked? Not cool, dude.”
“What I am isn’t important.” Major called on his Gryphon and asked, “What’s your name, and why are you trying to spy on the manor?”
“Shawn. I was told there’s a movie star staying there.”
“Told by who?”
“My editor. He said if I can get a photo of the actor, I’d get a promotion.”
“Your editor? You work for a gossip rag?”