Emily's Captive (A Lilly Town Shifter Novel Book 2) (11 page)

Zeke had gone to see Stacy again. She always
lit up when she saw him. He liked that she seemed
to care so much for him, but he knew she was going
to be leaving soon. He just didn’t know if Richard
was going to kill her or not. He was going to try
to stop it, but he didn’t know if he could.

“Hi,” she said when he entered her cell.
“Hi. So how’s it going today?” he asked her.
“The same as it always is,” she said, rolling
her eyes.
“I brought the book. Do you want me to read it
to you?”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile, and leaned
against the bars. He started reading and let the
story engulf him, forgetting all the problems he
was having.
***

Stacy was waiting for Zeke to come back. He
had gone to get them both some food. She was
looking forward to having real food. She knew
she’d had food the day before, but having scraps of
food just didn’t seem to be enough. She needed
meat.

When he walked back in, he had a tray with two
plates and the book they were reading. She was
really enjoying the story. Stacy always liked to
read, but it was something she hadn’t had a chance
to do, being stuck in a cell and all.

“I have chicken,” he said with a smile. She
couldn’t help but smile back. He was a very nice
man. She’d never been kidnapped before, but she
didn’t think it was supposed to be like this. She
wasn’t complaining in any way, but she was
surprised to have been treated as well as she had
been by him.

“Thank you,” she said, and took the plate.

He pulled out two waters from his jacket pocket
and handed her one before he sat down in his chair
and put the tray on the floor.

“How’s everything going?” She wasn’t trying to
make conversation; she really wanted to know what
was going on.
“There was another raid,” he answered.

“Emily?” she asked.

“I think so. She’s coming after you and is
taking down everything standing in her way,” he
replied.

“What will you do if she comes here?” she
asked.
“Give you to her. I want to let you go, but in
order to do that, I have to take down Richard.”

She nodded and started eating. “I can keep
Emily from killing you and I can talk to her.
Maybe she can help you kill Richard.”

He nodded and ate his food. She could tell he
didn’t like the idea, but she didn’t want him
killed. She knew that was why she hadn’t been
released. It would do her no good if he was dead.
“So, are you going to read some more?”

“Yes, I want to see what happens to Alex,” he
said with a smile. Stacy was glad she could put
that smile there, just by making a simple
suggestion.

Zeke was reading to Stacy when a thought
occurred to him. What if Richard was right to try
to get a shifter on their side? His plan wouldn’t
work, but if he had Stacy’s trust, he might just
succeed. He might be able to convince Stacy, but
with the way she’d been treated by Richard, he
wasn’t sure if she’d be willing to stay with him.

“Stacy, you know that when you do get out of
here, you can always come to me if you need help,
right?” he asked her.

“Yeah, but I’m going to have to have a way to
contact you,” she said.

“Before you go back to Emily, I’ll give you my
cell number. You can call me if you need
anything.” He thought it could actually work. He
might have to tweak some of his mission types, at
least the ones she was on, but he might be able to
get her on his side.

“I have a good memory, so whenever you’re
ready, just let me know,” she said with a smile.

“I will.” He definitely liked her. He just
hoped that, when this was all over, he’d hear from
her again.

“Sam, I’m going back to Shenandoah Valley
tonight,” Richard told him.
“Yes sir,” he said and left.

Richard had a gut feeling they were going to
hit there next. He wasn’t completely sure, but he
was hoping his gut was right. That was their main
compound and had the most security. They could
probably take the whole group down from that one
compound. He was going to have to call in extra
help to make sure that didn’t happen. He picked up
the phone and dialed.

“Hello?” Zeke said when he answered.
“I’m coming back,” Richard said.
“Why?”
“Because I think they’re going to be there
next.”
“What makes you think that?”
“My gut,” he said simply.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a few hours then,” he
said and hung up.

It seemed like Zeke didn’t approve of his
thoughts, but he was almost certain he was right.
He could tell they were hitting ones that would be
a possible place for the girl to be, but he
couldn’t figure out why they were also hitting
places where there was no chance for her to be.
Some of them were just warehouses. Either way, he
was going to get them. He knew he would.
***

Emily was in her room looking at maps when
there was a knock on her door. She walked over to
it, expecting to see Paul, but was surprised to see
her Aunt Martha. “You got here fast,” she said
with a smile.

“Well, my girl was in trouble. Why wouldn’t I
rush to get here?” she asked and walked into the
room.

“Are you hungry? I can order something,” she
said, and sat down in one of the chairs.

“Nah, I’m good. Fill me in so I can get on
board,” her aunt said, sitting in a chair across
from Emily.

“Okay, so don’t be mad.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Martha said
suspiciously.
“I didn’t call you because I thought I could
take care of it myself.”
“Em, just tell me,” she said.

“I’m sorry. I know I went to a former Hunter
and not you, but I wanted to rescue her myself.
It’s my job to take care of her,” she rambled on.
Emily knew Aunt Martha would be pissed and possibly
kick her ass.
“Emily Marie Kincade,” Aunt Martha growled out.

“They took Stacy,” she said really fast, hoping
it would lessen the blow.

She watched as Aunt Martha took a deep breath.
“You waited this long to tell me that my niece was
kidnapped? I would have been here a lot sooner
helping.”

“I had it under control,” Emily said.
“Well, apparently not, since you still called
me for help.”

“I called you because I was getting
discouraged. We have a plan. A plan that you
liked.”

“Yes, but I still would have been here,
fighting, trying to get her back,” she growled.
“Well, you’re here now,” Emily mumbled.
“So, where are we going next?” Martha asked.

Emily sighed. “I don’t know. We don’t have
that many more compounds left to hit,” she said,
and pointed at the map for Aunt Martha to look at.

She studied it for a minute then said, “She’s
here.”

Emily looked at where she was pointing and saw
the compound in the Shenandoah Valley. “Why do you
say that?”

“It’s secluded, a large compound, and
surrounded by woods. That would be the best place
to keep her. It’s off the beaten path, hidden from
view.”
“Okay, let me let Jason and Paul know.”

Bill was working in the bar when his cell rang.
It was Emily’s ringtone, so he knew he had to take
it. “Did you find her?” he asked.

“No, but we need more people. We think we
might know where she is,” Emily said.
“How many?” he asked.
“We have Aunt Martha here, so that’ll help, but
maybe fifteen more?”

“Okay, I’ll ask Basil if I can use some of his
guys, and maybe I can scrounge some up from
somewhere. I’ll try to have them there by
tomorrow,” he said.

He really hoped they found Stacy in the next
compound. The longer it took them to find her, the
less likely it was they ever would.

“Thanks,” she said.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.
“I’m good. Just wanting to bring her home.”

“How’s it going with Paul? Is he giving you
too many problems?”
“No, he’s just being a man,” she mumbled.
“Huh?”
“He came to see me drunk last night,” she said
with a sigh.
“Why?”
“Because he’s an idiot.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll let you handle that. Let me
know if you need anything else,” he said.

“I will, thanks,” she said and hung up. Bill
knew there was something going on with her and
Paul, but he was just going to leave it alone.
There was more to it than the occasional screw.
But he didn’t want to end up on Emily’s shit list,
so he was just letting it go.

“Hey, Bill, I need some help!” Mike yelled from
the bar. Bill looked around and saw it was packed.
Great, back to work. He’d have to call Basil
later.

***
“Paul, this is my Aunt Martha,” Emily said as
she walked into Jason’s room, which had turned into
their own personal war room.

“Nice to meet you,” Paul said with a smile.

“You’re the man,” she said to him. Emily
couldn’t hide the embarrassment. How could she say
that?

“I’m the man, I think,” he said.
“Aunt Martha!” she heard Jason yell.

“Jason, it’s good to see you again,” she said,
hugging him. Emily couldn’t believe they were
still friends, even after Aunt Martha had found out
they had slept together. “So do you and Emily
still hate each other?”

“She hates me. I don’t have a problem with
her, though,” he said with his charming smile.
Emily hated that smile. It made it seem like he
was a perfect angel, and he really wasn’t.

“She’ll get over it. Just give her time,” Aunt
Martha said with a wink.
“I know.”

“Okay, so we’re going to Virginia. We’re
leaving first thing in the morning and I want to
hit it at night,” she said.

There was a reason she was so good at her job.
“Okay, sounds good,” Paul said.

Of course Paul would agree with that. Why
wouldn’t he? He would get his chance to get
revenge on Zeke.

“Em, what’s wrong?” Aunt Martha asked.
“I’m fine,” she grumbled.

“Go, get some food,” Aunt Martha said. Emily
thought about it and realized she was hungry. That
explained why she was so cranky.

“Okay,” she grumbled, then left, heading down
to the bar.
***

Paul watched as Emily left. It was good to
know Emily got cranky when she was hungry. That
was something he’d have to keep in mind.

“So, Paul, you used to be a Hunter. Tell me
about this compound,” Martha said.

“It’s deep in the woods so it’s hard to get to.
It’s one of the largest. It’s Zeke’s preferred
one. It’s heavily guarded, so be aware of that.”

“What else?” she asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know if she’s going to be
there. I’ve told Emily this before, but Zeke
doesn’t touch kids. He doesn’t kill or capture
them. It has to be one of his soldiers who has
her.”

“So you don’t think she’s there?” she asked.
“It’s a possibility, but I really don’t think
so.”
“Do you think we might find some info there?”
she asked.

“If Emily can find the guy who took her, maybe.
I just don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. I want
to find Stacy, but…”

“I understand,” Martha said.
“So, what do you think?” Jason asked her.

“I think Paul has a point, but I’m all for
taking down this compound. We might find
something, so we proceed as planned and reevaluate
later,” she said with a nod.

“Sounds good,” Paul said with a smile.
“So, there are a few things you should know
about Emily,” she said bluntly.
“Okay,” Paul said suspiciously.
“She takes after me. She’s very hard, but
she’s mush deep down inside.”

“Why are you telling me this?” he asked her.
He was grateful for any advice, but if this woman
was just like Emily, she should be very happy with
Emily being single.

“Because I love my niece and I want her to be
happy. I saw the way she looked at you and she
wants you. She’s been alone for a long time, and
she seems to have screwed things up with her best
friend,” Martha said, looking at Jason.

“Thank you,” Paul said.

“Don’t thank me yet. Wait until you get in a
fight with her. She fights dirty and will do
anything to get her way.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said with a smile.

“She can also be a huge bitch on the outside,
but she’s kind on the inside. She’ll protect the
ones she loves with her life. You can see how she
is with Stacy missing.”

“Okay. Anything else?” he asked.

“Keep her fed. As you saw today, she gets
bitchy when she’s hungry. That will be your
friend. Maggie takes care of her when she’s home,
but for your sanity, carry some type of food with
you.”

“Thanks,” Paul said with a genuine smile.
“Just take care of her. I never wanted her to
be like me,” Martha said seriously.
“I will.”
***
“I can’t believe Alex did that,” the girl said
with a laugh.
“I can’t either,” Zeke said, also laughing.

Richard couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
He knew Zeke cared for her, but he never thought
he’d be laughing with her. He never thought she’d
talk to him either.

“I need to get going,” Zeke said, still
laughing.

“Why?” she asked with a little pout. Why the
hell was she pouting? She seemed to have Zeke
wrapped around her finger.

“Because it’s late and I’m tired. We’ll pick
back up where we left off tomorrow,” Zeke said,
smiling. The man really seemed to like the girl.
Richard had been hoping it was more fascination,
but now he knew better.

“Fine, but I want to try to finish it. There
isn’t too much left and I want to know what
happens,” she said with a smile.

“Deal,” Zeke said and left.

Richard was pissed. He wanted to break the
girl and now she was attached to Zeke. That was
going to create a problem. He knew he was going to
have to do something about it.
***

Emily was sitting in the bar eating a burger.
She hated that she was sitting there alone, but
Martha was right: she needed food.

Aunt Martha knew her too well. Maybe she could
think more clearly about the whole thing with Paul.
Burgers were always good for reflection. It was
something about the fat and it being really bad for
you. It always helped make her feel just a little
better.

“Can I join you?” she heard Paul ask from
behind her.

She nodded. She didn’t really want to talk to
him, but she didn’t want to have a big argument in
the bar because she said no.

“Is that good?”
She nodded again.
“What can I get you?” the bartender asked him.
“Same as her and a beer,” he answered.

“Coming right up,” he said and walked away.
“Are you feeling better?” Paul asked.
She nodded again.
“Are you going to talk to me?”

She nodded.

“Are you sure? Because all your answers seem
to consist of movement from your head. That’s not
talking.”

“What do you want me to say?” she asked.
“I just wanted to hear your voice.”

She couldn’t believe he’d said that. She
wasn’t some sappy girl who would squeal and jump up
and down over that. “Okay.”

“Do you want to know what your aunt thinks of
our plan?” he asked her.

“Okay,” she grumbled. She did want to know,
but she wanted to hear it from Aunt Martha, not
Paul. There was something about hearing it from
her that made it sound so much better.

“We’re attacking the next compound as planned,
then reevaluating,” he said.

That was it? That was the plan he wanted to
tell her? She didn’t like the sound of it, but
Aunt Martha had been a soldier for years, so she
knew what she was doing. But she could have
figured that much out on her own.

He had come all the way to the bar to tell her
that? He must really like her. And they were
reevaluating? Did that mean they thought she was
imagining things? Were they taking Paul’s word
over hers?

That couldn’t be happening. There was no way
they’d take the word of a Hunter over her. Was
there?