FOUR

Haley's little brick house was strung with multicolored

Christmas lights outside. In the front yard sat two wire

deer covered in white lights. The two conical

evergreen trees at each side of the front of the house

were well lit, and there was a large fir wreath on the

door.

Inside the large living room, across from the

fireplace was a six-foot Christmas tree that glowed

with lights reflecting every color in the rainbow. An

angel perched at the top, a small light in her folded

hands, her wings spread, a serene expression on her

face.

The fireplace was laid with fresh logs and ready to

light, and four stockings dangled, two on each corner

of the mantel.

A television screen hung on one wall, a coffee table

between it and the couch, and two chairs sat to the

side.

It was a large, simple room. It led into a large

kitchen and a smaller dining room. There were two

bedrooms down a short hall, each with an attached

bath, and a cramped attic above.

The house seemed to reflect her. Gently wel-

coming, a sense of restrained excitement filling it with

all the Christmas decorations. As though someone

here truly believed in the Santa nonsense.

Noble stood in the entrance to the kitchen, his eyes

narrowed as a female breed, Shiloh Gage, checked

Haley's injuries where she sat in the living room.

Shiloh was the closest thing they had to a medic

outside Sanctuary's labs. But with Dr. Morrey still

recovering from the attempt to destroy her with the

drugs Brackenmore and Engalls had tried to develop,

that left only the council scientist, Amburg, whom

Jonas had kidnapped months before, to treat injuries.

And Noble knew he would rip Amburg's throat out

before he allowed that bastard to touch Haley.

"I think I'm okay." Haley had her head turned as

Shiloh treated the narrow gash at her temple.

The once-white blouse Haley had worn was torn

and stained with blood. There were scratches on her

arm, one of which looked deep. Her hands were red,

almost blistered. The dark pants she wore were in the

same condition as the blouse. Her bright red hair was

mussed around her face, singed in places and

darkened with her blood.

"You're fine." Shiloh patted her knee kindly, her

round face filled with sympathy as she lifted a piece of

gauze and taped it to Haley's temple. "You'll be good

as new in a few days."

Shiloh pulled the surgical gloves from her hands

and dropped them into the small waste can that sat

beside her. Rising, she adjusted her black uniform

pants and turned back to Noble.

Dressed in the enforcer uniform, her dark auburn

hair secured in a French braid, Shiloh looked more like

a playful teenager than a full-grown, fully trained

breed enforcer.

"I need to clean up." Haley came to her feet, and

Noble barely caught himself before jumping for her.

She swayed a bit, and he had to force himself to

remain in place as she moved to the hallway.

"You should rest a bit more, Haley," Shiloh warned

her, following her.

Haley held up one hand, waving her back. "No. I

have to clean up, Shiloh. Just . . . Just let me clean up."

Her voice was stronger than it had been earlier.

The shock was wearing off. He could see the anger

flickering in her gaze even before Shiloh had finished.

When the enforcer looked back at him, he nodded

toward Haley, indicating that she should follow and

cover her until Jonas, Leo, and Dane were finished

with the meeting in the kitchen. Noble then joined the

others in the kitchen.

The sheriff wasn't exactly pleased with the

information he was getting. He didn't like being

excluded from the investigation, and if Noble could

read the man, and he liked to think he could, then he

was guessing Zane Taggart wasn't going to be as easy

to control as Jonas was hoping.

"Wyatt, you're pissing me off," Taggart retorted at

Jonas's suggestion that the sheriff leave the

investigation in their hands. "A friend of mine was just

killed, and you want me to just back off?"

"Your friend has just lost one friend," Jonas

reminded him. "Let's not add to the count. The further

you stay away from this, the safer it will be for her."

There was taut silence as Noble turned back to the

meeting taking place at the kitchen table.

Jonas stared at the sheriff coolly, while Leo and

Dane watched the confrontation silently. Leo hadn't

said much, nor did his expressions show his opinion

either way as to how the meeting was going.

"Forget it." Taggart crossed his arms over his chest

and stared back at Jonas with steely determination.

"The agreement Buffalo Gap has with Sanctuary

requires you to step aside in this investigation," Jonas

reminded him.

The sheriff snorted at that. "Look, Wyatt, we both

know the city council. They're gonna talk out of both

sides of their mouths and smile real pretty for both of

us. They'll tell you they'll restrain me, they'll tell me

they'll cover for me. So let's just cut the shit here and

come to an understanding. This is my county, like it or

not, hate me or whatever. I'm sheriff, that makes it,

and the people living in it, mine. And that includes

breeds. I have two of my people dead tonight. From all

appearances, it was a professional hit. Your boy was

shot in the back of the head at close range. An

explosive device large enough to blow a hole in the

parking lot and take out the library went off no more

than half an hour later. Now you want to tell me what

the hell is going on, or do I want to find the answers

myself?"

"You want to let this go, Zane." Haley stepped into

the kitchen from the washroom.

Damn, he'd forgotten about the door that led from

her bathroom and into a small washroom, then the

kitchen that he'd found earlier while securing the

house. Shiloh was moving through the hall from

Haley's bedroom, a scowl on her face.

"Miss McQuire, this meeting can be conducted

without you," Jonas told her, his frown fierce as Noble

moved towards her.

"Like hell," she told him.

She had changed clothes and washed her face and

arms. She was dressed in soft cotton pants resembling

pajama bottoms and a long T-shirt. She looked like a

kid. A hurt, frightened, angry kid.

"Haley." The sheriff came out of his chair as Noble

passed him and shot him a warning glare. "Honey, are

you ready to talk to me now?"

Honey? Noble's head jerked around as he barely

caught the growl in his throat. What the hell was the

sheriff doing calling Haley, "honey"? She wasn't his

honey, period.

"I'm obviously in a bit of trouble, Zane." Her lips

trembled for a second before she tightened them,

seeming to ignore Noble as he moved behind her.

"No shit, little girl." Zane sighed. "Come on, tell me

about it, so I can fix it."

"You can't fix this." She shook her head. "I want

you to do what Jonas suggests. Let him handle it. I

couldn't bear it if I lost you, too."

Noble could feel his jaw tighten at the emotion in

her voice, at the statement. As though that damned

sheriff was something to her. He wasn't. Noble

watched her, he knew her. She wasn't dating anyone.

She wasn't sleeping with anyone. She was free. He

knew she was because if another man had fucked her

recently, he would have smelled the bastard on her.

Noble stared over her head at the other man, his lip

twitching as he fought to hold back a silent snarl.

"Haley." Sheriff Taggart shook his head. "You

know I'm not going to do that. And what's going to

happen when your brothers find out about this? Your

daddy? The McQuires are going to descend on Buffalo

Gap like a Scottish hunting party, sweetie, and they'll

likely bring reinforcements. Do we really want that to

happen? They'll talk to me first. If I have answers, they

might listen and stay home."

It was a bribe, and a warning. Noble heard it, but

he didn't appreciate it. He could feel the worry rising

inside her now. She needed rest. She needed to put

some distance between her and the events of the night,

to allow her to deal with the loss she had suffered.

"The boys are still in California," she said. "And

Daddy flew to France last night to help broker a deal

with the airlines. I have a few days before I have to

deal with them."

"And then?" Zane asked.

"And then, perhaps Mr. Wyatt will have the

answers you need. But I can't give them to you right

now, Zane. Right now, they aren't my answers to

give."

"But it's your life to give?" Zane suddenly snapped,

despite Noble's warning growl at the tone of his voice.

"Son of a bitch, Haley, you were nearly killed. Don't

tell me they aren't your answers to give."

"Son of a bitch, Zane." She was in his face, anger

pouring from her. "I've already lost one friend tonight.

Do you think I need nightmares of losing another?"

She pushed against his shoulders, as broad as they

were, even despite the height he had on her. "Go

home. I can't deal with you."

"I'll call your daddy myself," he bit out furiously at

that point.

"And risk his life? Or my brothers'? I don't think

you will, Zane. But you will leave this alone for now.

And so will you." She swung around to Noble. "Get

the hell out of my house and out of my life. I don't

need you here."

Silence filled the kitchen. Noble was aware of

Jonas, Leo, and Dane coming warily to their feet.

Tension spiked hard and fast, thick enough to cut with

a knife as her gray-blue eyes pierced his.

Noble smiled at the demand, the angry

exclamation. He was aware that it wasn't a pretty

smile. He didn't do smiles well, unless they were the

sort that came seconds before killing.

"You must have mistaken me for someone who

obeys your orders," he told het softly. "Sorry about

your luck there, sweetheart, but it's not happening.

You're stuck with me, whether you want to be or not."

Haley stared back at him furiously before swinging

around to Jonas.

"He's your enforcer." She shoved a trembling finger

in his direction. "I don't want him in my home, period.

Get him out of here."

Jonas dragged his hand over his face, muttered

something about women and heat that made

absolutely no sense whatsoever before staring back at

her.

"It's not that simple, Miss McQuire."

"Don't you 'Miss McQuire' me," she snapped back

at him, ignoring Noble as well as Zane. "This is your

mess, now you can fix it. And you can fix it without

him being here."

She couldn't bear the thought of something

happening to Noble. For one blinding minute tonight,

she had felt the overwhelming pain of believing he

was dead, because of her. She knew what that would

have meant—a sorrow so bleak, so deep that she had

almost sunk beneath the waves of pain.

"Well, looks like you're being thrown out in the

cold too, lover boy." Zane's laughter was mocking.

"We can share a beer and discuss her stubbornness,

then we can get to the best way to protect her," he

suggested.

"Stop being a smart-ass, Zane," she ordered him

roughly, her eyes still on Jonas. "I helped you," she

reminded Jonas. "You know I did. You owe me."

"Yes, ma'am, I owe you." He nodded. "But I don't

owe you the chance to die. And Noble won't walk

away from this. He has his team, and he knows what

the hell he's doing. He's your best protection."

"And the breed that died tonight," she yelled back

at him. "Did he know what he was doing? Did you

have an untrained man watching me, Jonas? Did you

send a boy to do a man's job?" She knew better. "I

knew him. Jason Lincoln. Do you know why he chose

that name? Do you know he picked the name Lincoln

because of a president who died before any of us was

ever born? Did you know he liked comics? That he

was flirting with one of the college girls who comes to

the library?" Tears were filling her eyes. "Did you

know that he wanted a Christmas present?" she

whispered painfully. "I bought him a Christmas

present." She wrapped her arms around herself and

turned away from all of them.

Lifting her hand, she covered her lips and shook

her head.

"Patricia has a grandson. He was coming for

Christmas. Now he'll be coming to bury his

grandmother." She wanted to scream with the rage

filling her. "I have to see two friends buried because of

me." She turned back to all of them. "I won't see any

more. I won't bury more friends. Now get the hell out

of my house. All of you."

She stalked out of the kitchen, knowing none of

them would pay any attention to her, and that only

made her madder. The helplessness that rose inside

her was like a tide of red, bleak fury. Whoever wanted

her dead knew what the hell they were doing. They

knew how to get to her. How to hurt her friends, how

to make her suffer.

That bomb that killed Patricia would have killed

her if she had gotten into that truck herself. Patricia

always parked right beside Haley because she didn't

like walking to her car alone in the dark. And Jason.

She shook her head as she slammed her bedroom door

and locked it.

Jason Lincoln. And he had chosen that name

because he'd admired all he knew about Abraham

Lincoln.

Jason has asked her once if she saw breeds as

mankind. Haley had told him she saw them as the best

of what man could accomplish, and the best of

humanity. His brown eyes had lit with pleasure as he

nodded, took his books, and left the library.

And now, she would never see him again. His shy

smile would never touch her heart again, just as

Patricia's laughter would never again fill her day.

She couldn't bear the thought of never hearing

Zane give her another smart-ass comment, or of Noble

never reading another carpentry book, or never

reading another book of "mistakes" as he always called

them. Because history was filled with mistakes, had

been his reasoning. And he wanted to learn from

them.

She sat down on her bed and stared around the

neat, pretty room. The canopied bed, with its thick,

heavy curtains that she could draw around her when

it was really cold. The bedroom set, which had been

given to her by her father's parents. The writing desk

across the room, which her mother's parents had given

her. Bridges to the past, just as her precious books had

been.

The thought of dying filled her with terror. The

thought of Noble dying, especially for her, filled her

with cold, bleak agony.

She couldn't bear it. He would have to leave. She

would make certain they all left. The breeds didn't

have enough power to invade her home, or her life,

without her permission. If they weren't out of her

house by dawn, she would call the state police. She

would pack her bags and leave town. And then she

would figure out exactly what it was going to take to

survive.

Because dying wasn't in her plans. At least not for

a while. Living was. And there had to be a way to live

without risking everyone she loved.

Noble stared at the closed washroom door and silently

opened it a crack to make certain Haley wasn't there.

Motioning to Shiloh, he sent her inside to watch for the

fiery little librarian before he turned back to the others.

"Well, that was interesting," Dane commented as

he turned to Noble. "She does do orders quite well.

Too bad she wasn't born a breed."

He smiled, a mocking little smile at odds with the

cold fury in his brown eyes.

"Contact the state police," Noble warned Jonas.

"Inform them we have a situation here. I want Haley

placed under the Bureau's 'persons of interest'

mandates."

Persons of interest, meaning anyone, breed or

human who might have information pertaining to or

involving an open breed case under investigation.

"That's pushing it," Jonas pointed out. "If she gets a

lawyer, she could beat it within forty-eight hours."

"Then let's not tell her that," Zane warned them

before Noble could speak up. "Listen up, boys, let me

tell you a little something about Haley. She's more

stubborn than those mountains out there, and she's

sure as hell got more fire in her than that explosion

that nearly killed her tonight. You're not going to bully

her as easily as you think you can."

"I have no intentions of bullying her," Noble

ground out. "I'll protect her. With your help."

"Noble," Jonas's voice was warning.

"Do you believe you're going to keep him out of

it?" Noble stared back at him coolly. "You're not. And

you're not going to keep him from trying to protect

her. Let's at least use him wisely."

Man or breed, sometimes one had to go with gut

instinct. Gut instinct warned him that Zane Taggart

would walk through fire for someone he cared for, and

for whatever reason, he cared for Haley.

"Smart boy." Zane's smile was hard.

"Jonas will give you details, you will stay out of the

perimeter he lays out to you. This house is fairly

sheltered. No neighbors too close, no reason for them

to be on her property. Anyone moving within her

property line is fair game. Do we understand each

other?"

Gut instinct and trust were two different things.

The sheriff might get information, but he wouldn't be

aware of the security protocols Noble intended to set

up.

Haley's home sat at the end of a block. She owned a

little over an acre, the boundary of which was fenced

and thick with trees. Across the street were several

clear lots, the street that ran by the side of the house

was an occupied lot, enclosed by a privacy fence.

Behind her property were more homes, closer

together.

Protecting her might not be easy, but at least here

he would know the breeds who should be in place. In

Sanctuary, at the moment, there were too many

suspects and not enough space to ensure no breed but

those he trusted were within sight of her.

"We'll have the information we need on this soon,

Noble," Jonas promised, his voice hard now.

And they would. Noble knew that the number of

people with the information of the witness who had

overheard that meeting was small. One of them told

someone, or had personally done the killing. Either

way, they would be found. '

"You have two weeks," Noble warned him. "After

that, she disappears." He stared back at Jonas,

knowing the director understood exactly what Noble

was telling him.

"That won't be enough time," Jonas growled.

"It's all the time you have." Noble shrugged before

turning to the sheriff. "As of tonight, call before you

arrive here. Call before your deputies arrive here.

Don't try to surprise me, Sheriff Taggart, and don't try

to piss me off. I get mean when I'm pissed off. And

trust me, you don't want to see that side of me."

The sheriff's gaze locked with his for long moments

before the other man cursed and scowled. He got the

message. He wasn't just dealing with a breed, he was

dealing with one that didn't mind killing someone for

stupidity. If the sheriff was stupid enough to try to

blindside him, then he would die. Nothing mattered at

this point but protecting Haley. No matter from whom

he had to protect her.