Chapter 76 Prisoner One
Sage woke up slowly, alone, confused for a moment because she thought she was at home—but the windows were on the wrong side.
She sat up and looked around, remembering—she was with Canyon and Timber Wheeling at an apartment in lower Serenity, and she’d fallen asleep with Canyon wrapped around her.
They were hiding—both from the other vod and from her family, until they figured out what was going on.
Canyon thought they were mates, and Sage was beginning to believe, but every time the good feelings surged, she was overrun by negative thoughts of what would happen and how her family would react.
She covered her head with the blanket, thinking about the night before.
It had been so wonderful. Canyon had been so attentive, and sweet.
But then he’d asked her if she could shift and she’d had to admit, no, she couldn’t.
He hadn’t seemed upset, but for Sage, the question had swirled old, familiar hurts around her like flies.
She brushed the hurt away as best she could, hearing talking in the other room.
She got up and grabbed her bag, peeking at the males.
They were fully dressed, sitting on one couch, the robot on the coffee table in front of them.
She zipped by, calling, “Can I take a shower?”
“Yeah, go ahead. There’s a towel on the rack for you.”
The bathroom was steamy and the shower already wet, with two damp towels hanging to dry.
Sage found her towel, got undressed and into the shower, washing quickly.
She finished, dried herself, and dressed, then braided her hair in two Dutch braids, then got her makeup out and stood at the sink, putting on her face, listening to Canyon and Timber talk in the other room.
“Do they know his name yet?” Timber asked
:Negative—
“I want him out of the cellblock,” Canyon said.
“But still in custody…”
“Yeah, so his mark doesn’t hurt.”
Sage put a hand to her mouth, instantly captivated. She stared in her own eyes in the mirror. Who were they talking about?
“How could we do that?”
“We could tell Trevor we want custody of him and keep him in soft cuffs.”
“Sounds like a plan. He can stay at our place and sleep in Jaggar’s old bed.”
“Perfect.”
Sage shoved her dirty clothes into her bag and put her purse in there, too. She went out to the living room.
Canyon looked up and smiled at her. “Hey, foxy,” he said.
Timber fist-bumped Canyon. “Morning,” he said to Sage.
“Who are you talking about?” she asked. “Who’s in custody?”
Canyon swiveled the tablet so she could see.
It was Rhogun Van Crimson! He sat on a metal bed in what was clearly a police cell, wearing a prisoner jumpsuit, his eyes closed, his hands folded, his face serene.
He was a well-respected member of the Van Crimson clan, always willing to help, always first to get his hands dirty.
Sage put a hand to her mouth and studied the screen.
“He saved our lives,” Timber said. “We owe him.”
Canyon nodded. “He told us how to get out of the hole.”
Sage couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “He told you what exactly?”
“APHOX,” Timber said.
Sage sat on the edge of the couch, feeling suddenly weak. Rhogun had given them the code to the elevator? “Did… did somebody torture him?” she whispered.
Timber’s mouth fell open.
Canyon’s eyes went wide. “Torture?”
“I mean… not either one of you… but…” She shook her head, backpedaling, wanting to justify what she’d said—she’d heard stories… there was family legend—but Canyon and Timber looked genuinely shocked and appalled.
Maybe the vod weren’t the only ones who would have to change their ways and eat their words.
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry. I ah… I can’t understand why he would tell you that. That’s… that’s a secret. It’s a foxen secret he’s forbidden to tell any vod.”
Timber and Canyon looked at each other.
Timber stood. “Let’s ask him.”
***
Sage sat in the back seat of Canyon’s truck in the upper parking lot of the Serenity Police Department, scarcely able to believe she was there.
The plan was either to sneak her in, or to sneak Rhogun out.
Timber was inside, scouting. Canyon was in the driver’s seat, and the robot was in back with her, showing images of inside on its screen.
She’d never been this close to the police station before.
She watched the comings and goings of vod and humans with wonder.
In the front seat, Canyon twisted to watch the screen on the images on the robot’s screen, while Sage glanced at them occasionally.
There were views of several hallways, plus the cellblock with Rhogun sitting calmly on a bunk, and one more of Timber talking to Sergeant Rockford at the big desk near the front door.
Sage went back to watching two vod with guns on their hips talk to a human couple near the front steps of the building.
“Here he comes,” Canyon said.
Timber strode their way, looking excited. He got into the passenger seat and the moment his door was shut he turned to them and said, “Crazy shit, going on. Guess who bit Eventine.”
Canyon’s eyebrows raised. “Bit Eventine? Better’ve been Harlan.”
“Conri,” Timber said.
Sage gasped. That didn’t sound like the Conri she knew.
“Holy sheeeit,” Canyon said. “Is he alive?”
“Harlan kicked the crap out of him but he’s still alive.” Timber looked pointedly at Sage. “Guess who he thought he was biting.”
Sage pointed at herself, suddenly panicked.
Timber nodded. Sage blew out a breath. It was confession time again.
“Uh, uh…” she stammered, not knowing what to say.
“I dated Conri,” she forced out quickly, her eyes on Canyon.
Timber reacted with a noise that Sage couldn’t tell what it meant, but she didn’t look at him.
She stared into Canyon’s eyes, watching his reaction.
“Not for long,” she said. “Just, you know, we went on a couple dates. We met at Mugshots and he asked me and I said yes and we… it… we’re just friends now.”
Canyon’s brows drew together, but he didn’t seem angry, or about to explode. He seemed… slightly confused maybe.
Timber put an arm over the back of the seat. “The plot thickens. Any idea what would make him bite some other female, thinking it’s you?”
Sage knew. They all knew. “My nana did something to him.”
“That’s what Trevor and the others think, and that’s the only reason Harlan didn’t kill him.”
Sage looked out the front window, her mind whirling. Why did she have a batshit crazy elder? What was the old lady trying to do?! Didn’t she have any decency?! Was she completely out of her mind?!
“Interesting…” Canyon said, his voice carefully neutral.
“Wulf, show the Vice Unit’s cellblock,” Timber said.
The image changed to show a single cell with a big male laying on the bunk, faced away from the camera.
Even from the back, Sage could tell it was Conri.
He had short brown hair and a broad back.
The image changed to show the sitting area around the cell, and Sage did a double take—Conri was sitting outside the cell as well!
She blew out a noisy breath, realizing that must be Conri’s twin brother, Bruin.
Bruin sat on the edge of his chair, deep in conversation with a female in the chair next to him.
She wore her honey-colored hair in a single braid and was dressed in a long brown skirt with a flowy forest green top.
Sage leaned close to the image, studying her.
“He bit her the day before yesterday, and he’s been sleeping since then.
The cat doctor says there’s nothing physically wrong with him.
He’ll carry on a conversation if you force him to, but he talks in circles and he doesn’t remember biting Eventine or what happened to him before that—where he was all those days he was missing. ”
“He was missing?” Sage asked.
“Practically all last week.”
Sage bit her lip, indecision wracking her, as she connected the man’s wallet and phone she’d seen before she’d gone to treatment. They had to have been Conri’s. Her crazy-ass Nana had really kidnapped someone.
Sage waved her hands toward Timber, suddenly frantic. “Nobody else in my family has anything to do with Nana—with Abigail White. She works alone. Completely alone. She always has. The rest of us are just trying to… survive.”
Timber nodded. “I’ll pass the message along.”
On Wulf’s screen, Bruin and the female continued to talk. He put his head in his hands, and she rubbed his arm and shoulders.
“That’s Willow. She’s got empath powers,” Canyon said. He turned away and scanned the entrance asking, “Who all is here?”
“Trevor and Wade are both off on something top-secret. Mac’s gone, too. He and Rogue are up the bluff with Beckett and Cerise and some others. Everyone else is at VF or just gone. Rockford agreed to take a walk so this is a perfect time.”
Canyon held a hand up. “Let’s do it.”
Timber fist-bumped him. Fists still touching, they both looked at Sage.
“Oh! Okay.” She fist-bumped them.
Timber climbed out of the vehicle and headed for the building.