Dangerous Things. Amy BlankenshipЧитать онлайн книгу.
didnât know who my fiancé was and I didnât have a clue Anthony was a werewolf,â Jewel stated in a firm voice. âIt wasnât until we mated that I told him about Anthony. So, if youâre going to blame anyone for that, blame me.â
Quinn had the courtesy to look slightly chastised and Kat gave her a discrete thumbs-up.
Jewel leaned back against the bar and started chewing on her bottom lip again. Standing up to Stevenâs older brother, the alpha of the cougar tribe, had given her a little bit of a scare.
She looked over at Steven and relaxed when she saw the pride shining in his eyes for her. Something inside of her softened and she fought like hell to build the protective wall back up around it. Her heart beat faster and she wondered if she was falling in love with him.
âAnthony Valachi has been under suspicion for a while now,â Chad spoke up. âThe police force has reason to believe heâs involved in not only human smuggling, but slavery as well. Rumor has it that his men have been picking up prostitutes, kidnapping them and selling them as sex slaves, too.â
âWhy havenât the police done anything about it then?â Kat asked.
âWe were told to stay out of it because the FBI had taken control of the investigation.â Chad answered. âUnfortunately, when the FBI shows up, we have no jurisdiction and canât do anything but stay out of their way unless we want to wind up in jail beside the bad guys.â
Steven nodded figuring it was time to tell them all of it. âJewelâs father was investigated by the FBI here a while back. It was the reason Jewel was engaged to Anthony in the first place.â He gave Jewel a soft smile before turning back to the group.
âHer father was the manager of the Palm Springs Resort and Anthony wasnât happy about the search warrant they had or that Arthur allowed them to roam the property. Realizing his mistake, Arthur killed the agent and was arrested for murder. In order for Arthur to save his own skin, he handed Jewel over to Anthony as payment for getting him out of the murder wrap.â
âHeâs the one that killed my father. Iâm sure of it,â Jewel said clenching her fist at her side. âSo, when can we go after him?â
âWe donât have to go after him,â Chad informed her. âWe will form a plan, and then make it known that you are under the Wilderâs protection. When he makes a move⦠weâll get him.â
âI think this may be a bit above the law,â Trevor corrected. âKeep Jewel a secret for a couple more days and let me and Zackary make sure the FBI doesnât come in and turn everything into a clusterfuck.â
âWhy would they interfere?â Kat asked. âYouâre part of that paranormal organization⦠arenât they above the FBI?â
âOnly in certain areas,â Trevor answered. âMost of the FBI hasnât a clue we even exist. Hell, the president of the United States doesnât even know about us. We go way above their heads, and for that, we have to have proof that something paranormal is going on.â
âDoes that mean that at least a part of the government knows about us?â Nick asked not liking the uneasy feeling that came with the knowledge.
Trevor shook his head, âNot specifically each one of you⦠but they are aware of the more⦠unusual. You are protected the same as the humans are⦠maybe even more so and with more lenient rules and by a small but powerful government within and above the government.â He scratched his head hoping everyone could follow that vague version of the truth.
âMy worry is the FBI digging more into it and finding out too late that theyâre dealing with werewolves, not humans,â Chad frowned understanding and not liking what Trevor had just said. Was he to understand the paranormal had more rights then the humans? Maybe he was a bit biased but he was one of those lesser humans.
Trevor shook his head, âThe mob isnât going to go all furry and attack the FBI. Besides, if the world found out about werewolves, theyâd be next in line to become extinct and the werewolves know that. The last time they outed themselves, they were almost hunted to extinction.â
âLet me make a couple of calls and see if we have full jurisdiction over the Valachi case,â Zackary offered. âIf we do, then we have free rein and can recruit anyone we think is qualified.â He glanced around at the group knowing that would cover almost everyone in the room and give them immunity no matter how things turned out.
âDoes anyone know what Micah was driving the day he vanished?â Chad asked. âI can run a trace from my patrol car and put out an APB for it.â
âHis motorcycle,â Alicia chimed in then her eyes widened as she remembered telling Warren sheâd road that same motorcycle in last nightâs storm. Glancing over at him, she breathed a sigh in relief when he simply winked at her.
Nick added his two cents, âIâm all for staying away from Misery, but the vampires are breeding for her and we canât have that.â
âEveryoneâs on pest control duty,â Warren agreed.
âNot everyone I hope,â Trevor looked toward Envy.
Zackary discretely stepped in front of Trevor to block the heated stare Devon was giving his friend. âI think itâs also time for us to call in a couple favors and get more of the team in this area.â
âYou mean thereâs more of you running around?â Steven asked.
Zachary shoved his hands into his pockets and tilted his head slightly. The soft glow from the lights shown on his blond, spiked hair as he smirked, âSorry to disappoint you, but thereâs only one of me. Iâve been wanting to clone myself but fearful leader over here wonât let me,â he finished by jerking his thumb at Trevor.
âShut the hell up and make those calls,â Trevor exclaimed. âIf there was another you running around, Angelica would kill it just to say sheâd finally succeeded.â
Zacharyâs expression took on a glazed quality. âOh, to be stomped by those wonderful Doc Martinâs she keeps hidden in her closet.â
Trevor took an agitated step toward his teammate and Zachary immediately ran across the bar area to hide behind Kane.
âIs there a reason why youâre using me as a shield?â Kane asked.
âYeah,â Zachary exclaimed. âGive me a minute and Iâll think of one.â
Kane smirked, âGive me a minute and Iâll go home long enough to find my Doc Martins.â
Zachary backpedaled away from Kane with his hands held up. âWhoa there, Iâm straight.â
âZachary!â Trevor yelled.
âOkay, okay,â Zachary said and took out his cell phone. âGeez, surrounded by people with no sense of humor⦠Angelicaâs gonna love this bunch.â
Chapter 4
Kane leaned against the cross several feet behind Michael and gazed out over the city wondering where Misery was hiding or if she was even still in the city. There was a whole world out there for her to terrorize, but karma was a bitch and so were the instincts that were telling him she hadnât gone very far.
He made a face imagining her walking down the sidewalk as a rotting corpse then stifled a shiver at the image of the freaky little girl and decided the corpse was less creepy. Over the centuries heâd seen moments when adult vampires had turned children.
What many of them never learned was children often were more