“Fuck.” Jack glared at Quade. “Then what killed those men?”
Quade leaned closer. “Did you find any particulates on the bodies?”
Jack cocked his head.
“What? I watch Bones.”
More keys were tapped. “Yes. Several of the lacerations on the victim’s bodies held large quantities of pollen, which we also discovered in their lungs. Far more than you’d see normally, and from a great many plants, some of which should already be beyond producing those levels this late in the season. Also, wood particulates were engrained in the victim’s skin, as though they were lashed with a branch.”
“Give me the short-and-dirty version. Caden Daniels, what is he?”
“If I had to guess? I believe Mr. Daniels has latent phyllokinetic abilities. I think the plants around the area reacted to his fear and killed those men to protect him from whatever it was they were doing to him. Further, I think he was unaware of it, and he’s trying hard to understand what happened.”
Quade gave Jack a smug grin. “Now throw in a lycan….”
“Fuck.” Jack pushed away from the desk, jabbed a button disconnecting the call, and paced around the room. “We could have killed an innocent man.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
Jack grunted. “So you know, in a fight, I would beat your ass. Don’t push me, Quade.”
“Shove it up your beanstalk, Jack.”
That earned Quade a grimace-disguised grin. “We can’t let him go.” Jack kicked the desk, moving it three feet and causing it to crash onto its side, scattering papers, pens, and his precious laptop everywhere. “What the hell do we do now?”
That was a very good question indeed.
Jack bent over, put one hand on the desk, and jerked it back up. When he picked up the computer, he groaned. The screen was trashed, the cover had been cracked, and half the keys were missing from where the desk had landed on the keyboard.
“Hilda’s going to kill me.”
Hilda was Jack’s assistant and wife. A petite thing, she stood barely five foot three. Jack could cup her ass with one hand and lift her up. More than once Quade had wondered if everything about Jack was proportional and, if so, how he and Hilda could have sex. Not that he really wanted to ask. Still, it was something he was certain most people would wonder.
At least he hoped it wasn’t just him being a freak.
Sliding his cell from his pocket, Jack tapped the screen, then put the device to his ear. A moment later his voice took on a pathetic whine when he said hello.
“What the hell did you do?”
“I…. What makes you think I did something?” Jack’s lower lip quivered. It was funny to see a half giant afraid of a brownie.
Quade didn’t need enhanced hearing to pick up on Hilda’s irritation. “Because you’re not calling from your office phone.”
“The last time I called, you put it on speaker and let everyone in the office listen in!”
A snort bubbled out of him, which earned Quade a sneer. He’d been there that day, and they’d all laughed their asses off when Jack tried to plead with Hilda to bring him some coffee because his hands were too big for the tiny machine in his office.
“What did you do, Jack?” Her tone told Quade she wouldn’t brook any prevarication from him.
Jack’s voice grew soft and petulant. It was some funny shit. “I need a new laptop.”
“Again? That’s the third one this year!”
Jack sighed. “I’m sorry.”
She chuckled. “I love you, you know that, right?”
He brightened considerably. “Yeah, and I love you.”
“Okay, I’ll order you one, but we’re taking this computer out of your check.”
“But….”
Quade could imagine her with an arched brow as she tapped her two-tone nails on the desk. “Do you have a problem with that?”
Jack collapsed onto his chair. “No, I suppose not.”
“Good. I’ll have them download everything from the cloud and should have it to you within the hour.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Her tone grew less stringent. “Be more careful. Okay?”
“I’ll try.” He hung up and turned to Quade. “You tell anyone about this, and I’ll….” He groaned and carded his fingers through his already-mussed hair. “Just don’t, okay?”
“Sure, I wouldn’t, but you’re going to owe me big-time. Now, what about Caden?”
Jack’s smile was more predatory than some of the shark shifters Quade had met. He had a bad feeling about whatever Jack was going to say.
“Since you said you wouldn’t let anyone hurt him, I think that means he’s become your responsibility.”
“Wait. What?” Goddamn it, Quade never should have laughed.
Jack snickered. “You’re now in charge of him.”
Well, fuck.
Chapter 2
The harsh light had Caden blinking against it. He cracked his eyes open, wanting to adjust to it, but when he saw where he was, he closed them again. People milled around him, muttering among themselves. He did his best to control his breathing, not wanting to have a full-out panic attack. After what happened with those men….
He’d stopped at some dinky station when his car sputtered and died. The men had pulled in after he did. They were loud, belligerent. The attendant turned off the light, but that just riled them more. They threw things at the windows, shattering them. With shaky hands, Caden had tried to dial 911, until they broke down the door and a scream echoed out of the small shack of a station. Caden tried to run, but they were on him before he could get to his car.
They pummeled his ribs, his face. He remembered begging them not to hit him, to just leave him alone. The big bearded man, clad in a black leather jacket and blue jeans, stood over him, a menacing figure in the shadowy parking lot. From somewhere in the distance, another scream emanated. The big guy shouted to keep him quiet, and a moment later, everything was silent.
“You’re a pretty one.” He moved closer, reached out, and stroked Caden’s face. “Might just keep you for myself.”
Caden turned his head away, but the guy grabbed his chin and squeezed hard. Caden cried out and tried to push him away.
Just when Caden thought the man couldn’t be uglier, he sneered, and a shiver raced through Caden.
“Now, see, that wasn’t nice. When I touch you, you should be thanking me.”
He drew his hand back, and before Caden could utter a word, the guy lashed out, striking Caden on the side of the head, driving him to the ground. As soon as he was down, the kicking started. Pain seared Caden’s body as a booted foot connected with his face, a loud crack sending spasms through his jaw.
Over and over the blows rained down, until Caden wasn’t sure which direction was up.
Then the man unzipped his pants….
No, Caden needed to stop thinking about them. He was dead, so why did the past matter? Just because he’d been hurting Caden, telling him how good it was going to be for him.
People still moved around him, so Caden did his best to repress his shudder.
As much as he wished it, the memory wouldn’t let go.