Chapter 4

Barney was packing his overnight bag, but his mind was stuck on the conversation he’d had with Heather the day before. She’d actually understood why he needed to wait, acceded to his wishes and given him a time limit he could live with.

He was still reeling with surprise. He’d thought she was going to fight harder to mate him after seeing what Chloe and Jim, her cousin’s mate, had gone through. Chloe had waited four years for Jim to claim her, suffering through the mating dreams while struggling with a traumatic brain injury that left her with a serious speech impediment. And while part of him was pleased Heather had understood his need to wait, another part of him, the Bear part, had wanted to yank her over that table and mark her right over her barbecue bacon burger.

Barney zipped his overnight bag shut. Thinking about Heather wasn’t going to get him any closer to a solution. For that to happen, he had to head to Sedona, Arizona, the current seat of the shifter Senate and home of the Leo, Sebastian Lowe. Sedona was a perfect city for the Senate to make their home, with plenty of open spaces, parks and enough tourism that people visiting from other states wasn’t anything remarkable. Barney showing up with two idiots in tow shouldn’t be noticed by anyone other than a Senate employee.

If questioned, he planned on explaining that he was there for the Leo’s business and nothing else. It was the truth, so even a Coyote wouldn’t question him, since Coyotes could smell lies like Barney could cheese fries. The knock on the door came just in time. He picked up his bag and

headed for the door, opening it to see the mercenaries who’d been sent to take out Chloe Williams. Instead, they’d wound up bonding with her, becoming her strongest allies. They were just as dedicated to finding out why they’d been sent to bring her in as Barney was.

“Hey, y’all ready to head out?” Casey Lee, his blond hair tousled, his pose relaxed, was a Fox. Upon discovering Chloe’s existence and scenting “family” on her, he’d sworn to do his best to protect her. Barney still didn’t understand what that was all about, and all Casey Lee would say was that his momma would kick his ass if he did anything to harm Chloe.

Barney let it go. When a Southern man said his momma would kick his ass, he meant it. Casey Lee was no more a threat to Chloe than a ladybug was.

His partner, Derrick Hines, was a tank on legs, with thick biceps, wide shoulders and dark hair and eyes. His body language screamed predator, the Wolf easily the more threatening of the two. He’d decided to follow his partner’s lead where Chloe was concerned, making Chloe’s safety a priority. As scary as the man was, it was Casey Lee Barney was going to keep an eye on. The Fox was swift and silent, and since Foxes could hide their scent they often went unnoticed, making them deadly assassins.

Barney handed Derrick his suitcase. “Let’s go.”

“Did you let Darien know you’re coming?” Derrick slid into the driver’s seat of a quad-cab truck.

“Do I look stupid?” Barney took his seat in the back, allowing Casey Lee to ride shotgun. “I want to see his honest reaction.”

“If anyone catches wind of this they’ll let your cousin know for sure we’re in town.” Casey Lee rolled down his window and stuck his head out. “Man, it’s a nice day.”

Barney’s cousin, the Bear Senator, was Darien Shields’s boss. The orders

that sent Casey Lee and Derrick to Halle, Pennsylvania, were supposedly from him, but Darien had told them that no such orders came through Carl’s office. Yet the orders bore Darien’s signature. It was just another part of the mystery that was driving him crazy. “Don’t worry about Carl. I’ll deal with him. Worry about Darien.”

“Has Francois found any hint of Vaughn Clark?” Derrick’s voice matched his looks. Deep and kind of grumbly, the man probably made kittens piss in fear when he spoke.

“Not yet, and that worries me.” Francois was another Hunter who’d been sent after Chloe and was now working with them. They’d forced him to acknowledge that the unique Hunter ability to detect rogues wasn’t activating around either Chloe or her mate, Jim Woods, making the Hunter’s orders suspect. He’d agreed to help them figure out what the fuck was going on, and had taken on the task of hunting down the Hunter liaison to the Senate. The Cheetah hadn’t found any sign of the missing man. Barney was beginning think Vaughn was dead. “We’ll need to inform the other Hunters soon.”

“They must know he’s missing by now.” Casey Lee pulled his head back in as Derrick began to speed down the road out of town. “Y’all are Hunters, after all.”

Barney shook his head. “I’m not Miss Cleo. I can detect rogues, but not whether or not Vaughn is dead or hiding in Cleveland.”

Casey Lee turned in his seat. He stared at Barney with a dumbfounded look on his face. “Why Cleveland?”

Barney rolled his eyes. “Turn back around, dumbass.”

Casey Lee did, still muttering. “I’d hide in Reno. Or Vegas.”

“I’d hide in New York,” Derrick added, turning onto the highway.

“You gonna go to Coney Island and join the circus sideshow?” Barney

hid his smile. “You can bill yourself as ‘The Man Without a Brain’.”

“Nah.” Derrick tilted his head. “The burlesque show, on the other hand…”

Casey Lee laughed. “No way I want to see your hairy ass in a bikini, jiggling all over the place.”

“You should be so lucky.” Derrick pushed at Casey Lee’s arm when the other man started gagging. “Seriously, though. If Vaughn had to hide he’d go somewhere where he wouldn’t be noticed. Somewhere with either a shit- ton of shifters or none at all.”

“Vaughn’s also a Hunter. He’d know how to hide.” Barney rubbed his chin. “I’ll pass that along to Francois. The feelers he’s put out haven’t returned anything he can sink his teeth into.”

They rode in silence after that. Barney texted Francois, who texted him back with Heading to NYC now. Francois would probably check in with the New York Coyote Pack. Their Alpha, Nathan Consiglione, was a friend of the Poconos Pack Alpha, Richard Lowell. No doubt he’d give Francois the assistance he needed to find Vaughn.

“How’s Heather doing?”

Barney grimaced at Derrick’s question. “She’s fine.”

“She sure is,” Casey Lee drawled. “I wonder if all the women in that family are just as fine as your mate?”

Barney shrugged. “Dunno. Haven’t looked.”

That was a blatant lie, but the only women he knew were Chloe, Heather and the assorted aunts. Heather shared her bright red hair with her father, Raymond, and her Aunt Laura—Raymond’s sister and Chloe’s mother. But she got her petite frame and bright blue eyes from her mother, Stacey. Barney knew her older brother and sister, Keith and Tiffany, were still out west, working on moving the offices of Bunsun Exteriors to Halle from

Oregon. He had no doubt they’d arrive in nanoseconds if they thought Heather was in any danger. The clan just seemed to work like that. “She has an older sister, but I’ve never seen her.”

“Almost there.” Derrick pulled off the highway, following the signs for the Departure section of Philadelphia International Airport. “Do you have anyone watching Heather? Chloe’s covered by Apollonia and Artemis, but Heather could be used against them.”

“I know. Ryan and Alex Bunsun are going to keep an eye on her.” Casey Lee frowned. “Not real acquainted with Mr. Bunsun.”

Barney’s grin was evil. “Alexander ‘Bunny’ Bunsun might seem like a teddy bear, but the man beat the shit out of seven men who harassed Heather when she was ten. Crippled one of them, in fact. Trust me when I tell you Heather’s safe with him.”

Casey Lee whistled low. “Dayum.”

“Why would seven men go after a ten-year-old?” Derrick was scowling as he parked the truck in the short-term lot.

Just remembering what he’d learned had him clawing at the seat in anger. “They tried to force her to shift.”

“At ten?” Casey Lee’s face twisted into a disgusted grimace. “That’s sick.”

Barney nodded, barely holding back his own growl. “When I found out about it, I tried to get Alex to tell me the names of the men. He wouldn’t. He said they were on the other side of the country and weren’t a threat to her anymore.”

“Do you agree?” Derrick pulled his overnight case out and handed it to Casey Lee before grabbing Barney’s.

“No.” Anyone who tried to use shifting to force a child into puberty wasn’t simply playing around. They were after something else. But unless

Barney saw them for himself, there was no way to know if they were rogues or were telling the truth. “Without more information there’s nothing I can do.” Barney grabbed his bag. “Let’s focus on the Senate and what they’re up to.”

“For now,” Derrick grumbled.

Casey Lee nodded in agreement.

Shit. Barney was beginning to like these guys. “You read the info I gave you on Darien Shields?”

Casey Lee responded first. “Male Black Bear, twenty-nine years old, five foot ten and weighs a hundred and seventy-five pounds. Lives alone in Sedona, Arizona. Owns one cat and two goldfish.”

Barney blinked. “That’s a bit more than I told you.” Casey Lee merely smiled. “I know.”

Barney shook his head and followed the two mercs into the airport. Working with them was going to be interesting. Casey Lee had access to information not even Barney could get ahold of easily. “Remember, when we get there, I do all the talking.”

“Got it. You’re the official honcho, the man with access, yadda yadda.” Derrick pulled onto I-76 heading east. “What’s the plan other than interrogating Shields?”

“Wing it. I have no idea yet what we’re walking into, but if it comes down to it you two are now working for me. Anyone gives you grief you send them my way.”

“I like that.” Casey Lee leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head. “I stick my ass out, you cover it.”

The visual had Barney smacking Casey Lee on the back of his very hard head. “Damn, your skull is made of concrete.”

“That’s what his mama always says.” Derrick grinned at his partner.

“Speaking of which…” Casey Lee lowered his arms. “You okay leaving Heather behind?”

“Nope, but it has to be done. She understands, thank God.” She would be a good mate eventually. She’d never once backed down or showed fear of his size, something that made him surprisingly proud of her. Anyone else giving him that kind of sass would have been on the wrong end of his claws, but his itty bitty mate just made him laugh.

Maybe it was the itty bitty part. Who did she think she was she kidding? She couldn’t beat up the Pomeranian he’d compared her to, let alone a full- grown Grizzly shifter. But she still stood up to him, her little shoulders thrown back like she was daring him to start something.

Derrick sniffed, his lip curling in disgust. “Can you stop thinking about your mate?”

Casey Lee rolled the window down. “Some days I hate being a shifter.”

Barney snarled. “Dickheads.” It was considered somewhat rude to mention another shifter’s arousal, but he doubted that mattered to these two. “Please don’t mention dicks right now.” Casey Lee stuck his nose out the

window and breathed deep. “Ah, Philadelphia funk at its finest. Still better than what’s in the car right now.”

“Wait until you find your mates.” Barney smiled, making sure his fangs showed. “I’m going to torture you two.”

“Aw, we love you too, brother.” Casey Lee winked and turned back toward the open window.

“Can you close that?” Derrick winced and put one hand over his right ear. “I feel like one half of my head is a drum and your open window is the drumstick.”

Casey Lee rolled the window up, grumbling about dick smell the entire time.

“Fuck off.” Barney closed his eyes and prayed they hit the airport before he killed the Fox in the front seat.