Only Witness, The (33 page)

              Together, they would face the new threat of The Hunters and they would stop them. There was no other option.

Epilogue

              Vera was sleeping. Deacon would let her sleep until she couldn't anymore. She'd been spreading herself way too thin lately. It had been almost six months since the night that he'd returned home to find she'd not only survived, she'd thrived.

              Deacon had worried that when he told her about The Hunts and The Hunters that she would be scared, or pissed that The Strays had obviously known more about the situation than they let on, but she was neither. Instead she'd thrown herself into the search for them in a way that he hadn't ever imagined.

              Even now, she was asleep on top of one of the notebooks he'd brought back. The notebooks had been a gold mine of information. They had led them on a slow journey up the food chain. Eventually, they'd reach the top, cut the head off the snake and watch the body die, and only then would they be able to resume their normal lives.

              Deacon wasn't sure what normal was anymore, or if they could ever go back to Center City.

              “Deke?” Vera stirred on the bed, sat up and rubbed her hand over her cheek. “You're home.”

              “You were supposed to be taking it easy tonight.” Deacon pointed out. In fact, when he'd talked to her a few hours earlier she'd told him she was reading in bed. “And funny you didn't mention you were reading the journals.”

              “I didn't think it was pertinent information. Besides, I think that I found something.”

              “Vera,” Deacon took the notebook she'd grabbed out of her hand, closed it and tossed it to the floor. “We've poured over those papers, and not just us. Hundreds of eyes have read every word. There's nothing left to find.”

              “I've got something that they didn't have.” Her eyes were now narrowed, he didn't need to be able to feel what she was feeling to know that she was annoyed.

              “What?”

              “Do you remember before Piper died? She told you to read her journals.”

              Deacon remembered. He also remembered forgetting about them when they'd gathered their things to leave. By the time that he'd realized his mistake, it had been too late. “Of course, I remember. The journals are in Center City, Vera. They might as well be in Siberia. We can't go back. We can't get to them.”

              “Technically, the journals are in Center City. Virtually, they're here. I had Adelaide scan them and upload them online, a very discreet site. I then went to an internet cafe an hour away and downloaded them.”

              Deacon's temper roared to life. “And you did all this without saying a word to me? You hid it from me.”

              “I didn't want to get your hopes up, in case it didn't have anything to do with The Hunters, but it does. From what I can tell, Piper never felt right about how Finn died. She never bought the explanation so she started looking into deaths in the community and she found them. She found more than we know about, but she started to start to trace the spread of it across the country.”

              “If she knew something, why didn't she say it? Why stay quiet?”

              “She was worried that no one would believe her, that you would all think she was crazy.”

              Deacon wanted to say that he wouldn't have thought she was crazy, but he wasn't sure. “Fuck.”

              “Yeah, pretty much. There's one name in common between Piper's journals and Guy's things. Orion, obviously it's some sort of alias. I think he's the one behind it all.”

              “Fuck,” Deacon ran his hand over his face. “We've got to take this to The Council. I need to make a call.”

              “I already called Lina. She's bringing Shepard with her.”

              “Why didn't you call me?”

              “I knew that you were on your way back, figured you'd appreciate being told in person. Look, I know that you're pissed but...” She stopped speaking as the alarm signaling that someone had crossed the driveway blared. “Who the fuck is that?”

              Deacon walked over to the closet, took out his shotgun. “We're going to find out. Stay up here.” He set the shotgun down, took out a handgun he knew that Vera was familiar with. She was actually a pretty good shot, they'd practiced some. “Take this.”

              “That's not going to happen and we both know it.” She was off the bed in a flash, pulling on a pair of pants she'd discarded over her vanity chair and a pair of flip flops. “Maybe it's them.” She took the handgun from him, checked to make sure that it was loaded, just like he'd taught her.

              “They would have called. They know the security precautions.” The sound of a horn honking over and over again filled the quiet of the night. Deacon heard movement on the other side of the house; Houdini and Susan were up. “Take a position in one of the front windows, if I give the signal kill anyone moving who isn't one of us.”

              “Us like us or us like the us that lives in this house?”

              “The ones who live in this house,” Deacon reached out and pulled her to him. He kissed her hard and deep. “Stay inside.”

              He couldn't wait to see if she was going to listen, he had to go. The driveway was only so long, in mere seconds whoever it was would be at their front door. Fuck.

              “Nice choice,” he grunted the words at Houdini as the man came out of the bedroom he shared with Susan with an assault rifle in his hands. “Hopefully this is just some turned around tourist.”             

              Houdini let out a snort of laughter. “You really believe that, Prez?”

              Deacon let the title slide. He'd given up on trying to stop Houdini from saying it, in fact the more that he'd protested about it, the more that Houdini had done it. It was finally Vera who'd pointed out that technically, he still was President of the Vikings. Leaving behind the club that had given him enough strength to survive after he'd lost most of his family, and even before that, still didn't sit right with him. Hell, leaving Center City didn't sit right with him, but there hadn't been a choice.

              Houdini moved towards the back door as they reached the first floor. Deacon took the front way out. He jerked open the door, stepped out on the porch and immediately recognized the vehicle careening towards him.

              Adelaide's truck came to a screeching stop and she jumped out. “Deke! I need Susan. I need help. HELP!”

              Everything seemed to happen in fast forward then. He rushed towards his sister and saw that she was covered in blood. “What happened? What did he do to you?”

              “He didn't do anything to me!” The rage with which Adelaide spoke the words had Deacon stopping in his tracks. He recognized the look in her eye and took the smack to his face in stride. “I need the help for my husband! Please, Deke. Please, I think he's dying.”

              “I'm here! I'm here.” Susan called out. “What's going on?”

              “He's in the truck. Hurry. Please, hurry.”

              Deacon opened the back door and all he could smell was blood. He stepped back as Susan pushed her way inside. “Not good,” she muttered under her breath. “We need to get him inside, need something to hold him straight.”

              “Deke!” Vera tugged at his arm, he hadn't realized she'd come out of the house. “Get the kitchen table, break the legs off and we can hold him steady with a sheet.”

              Deacon looked to where Adelaide stood, her hands over her mouth as she stared at the truck. “Adelaide...”

              “I've got her. Go!”

              Deacon didn't move because Susan stepped out of the truck, a grim expression on her face. She didn't have to say a word, he knew. They all knew. Adelaide knew. The cry that escaped her mouth was haunting and nowhere near human.

              He had come to accept the love Adelaide had for Josiah, in his own way; seeing this raw outpouring of grief made him realize he hadn't had a clue. The bond between them had been as strong as the one between him and Vera. What would he do if he lost her?

              “I'll get a sedative.” Susan reached into the bag she'd brought with her. “Addy, I'm going to give you something to calm you down.”

              “No.” Adelaide sniffled loudly, wiped her eyes clear with her hands. “I don't want it. I want to feel this. I need to feel it. He's gone. Nothing can numb the knowledge of that.”

              “Can you tell us what happened?” Vera spoke softly.

              “Are Jake and Bug here? And Lake?” Adelaide ignored the question.

              Deacon frowned. “No, why would they be?”

              “They all disappeared, out of the blue, about three months ago. They left everything, even little Steven at Lake's mother's house. I figured that they had to travel light to get to you. Oh,” she sighed heavily. “I should have known something wasn't right. I was so stupid. I didn't see. That's what I do, I see and I didn't and everything... it's all...”

              Deacon barely reached her in time to keep her from falling flat on her face. She was out like a light, the emotional toll obviously catching up with her. “I'm going to take her inside, put her in the downstairs bedroom. We can't leave him out here like that. He deserves better.”

              “He'll get it,” Susan replied solemnly. “I do have one question, though. Don't get pissed, Deke, but how did Adelaide find us?”

              “Vera?” Deacon looked over at his mate, waited for her to admit that she had told Adelaide where they were.

              “I didn't tell, Deke. I knew that I couldn't because it was dangerous. I don't know how she found us.”

              “Everyone inside, now.” Deacon looked at the darkness that surrounded the house. Normally, he felt a sense of peace from the forest and mountains that kept them separate from the closest neighbor, who lived three miles away, but tonight there was an ominous quality to them. Anyone could be out there.

<#<#>#>#>#

              The sun rose and the day woke, but Adelaide remained asleep. It wasn't for lack of trying; Deacon had all but slapped her across the face. Any minute now, Lina and Shepard would arrive, and he needed something to tell them as to why the Leader of his old pack was dead in his yard and his sister in a trauma-induced coma.

              At least no one had attacked them, which was something. He'd stayed vigilant, they all had. They were all still on edge. Deacon wondered if there would ever truly be peace in their lives. They'd made it six months; he'd started to think that they were in the clear, but now everything was back.

              “They're here,” Susan came out of the kitchen, a grim expression on her face. “Lina just called. I silenced the alarm.”

              “This might get ugly,” Deacon looked over at Vera. His first urge was to tell her to go and sit with Adelaide, but she wasn't going to even if it was the safer place to be.             

              “We've had ugly before,” Vera rose to her feet and slipped her hand into his. “We face it together.”

              The four of them walked out onto the front porch. Deacon was unprepared for the sight of Lina sobbing next to the SUV while Shepard looked on with a solemn expression. The man looked over, acknowledged their presence by walking towards them. “You'll have to excuse Lina. Josiah was her brother. You probably weren't aware of that, few were. It is nice to see you all again, despite the circumstances. Josiah's death isn't the last of the bad news. Center City is burning, and I mean that literally.”

              “How bad?” Deacon asked.

              “Very bad. It seems that the town didn't take kindly to the different rules The Grievers abide by, or should I say the rules they used to abide by. Josiah was listening to the people of the town, lowered the price for protection and made a sizable donation to the library. From what we've been able to piece together, his second in command, Michael, didn't agree with his choices. There was a coup, and it was bloody. Michael has taken over The Grievers, and if he is the one who killed Josiah, he will take his spot as Leader.”

              “Like hell he will,” Deacon released Vera's hand when she whimpered. His grip had tightened too much on her hand. “Sorry, Baby.” He turned his attention to Shepard. “I will not let him destroy the town and the pack.”

              “Your loyalty is to us now, Deacon. Do I need to remind you of that?”

              “Two members of the pack disappeared a few months ago, along with Bug's wife. They had a kid, just never picked the baby up from Lake's mother's house.” he heard his voice thicken with emotion and didn't try to hide it. “It was The Hunters, it had to be. There's no other reason that they'd have left that baby behind, no other reason.”

              “I agree.” Shepard replied after a moment of silence. “Well, this is an interesting situation to say the least. We'll need corroboration that these individuals disappeared as you said.”

              “Got it.” Houdini held up his phone.

              “Thank you,” Shepard took the phone. “We'll head to Center City after we take care of Josiah.”

              “Whoa, wait a second.” Vera looked over at Deacon and shook her head. “If we go back, Will is going to arrest you. You'll go to jail. That is not an option.”

              “I don't think we have a choice, Vera.”

              “This isn't a choice. This is suicide! This is insane.”

              “Vera,” Shepard stepped forward. “I completely understand your concerns. There are ways to make evidence disappear. Trust me, it will all work out. If you'll excuse me, I'll make a few calls.”

              “This is...” Vera began to protest again. Deacon wrapped his hand around her arm, pulled her back into the house. “You can not go to jail, Deke.”

              “And I won't.” He replied as he shut the front door. “Shepard is a nice enough guy, but you can't go mouthing off to him. I know that you're scared. I need you to trust me. It might be crazy but it's what we have to do. Deep down, I think that you know that. I love it here but it's...”