Touchdown Daddy (18 page)

She helped him sit up and buckled a seatbelt around his waist. "I'm sorry, Andre. I'm sorry. But we both know this was the only way."

Andre's shoulders slumped and he turned his face away, staring out the window. Mary's heart sank into her stomach. She slid to the other window seat and wrapped her arms around herself, closing her eyes.

This was the right choice,
she told herself firmly.
It was the only way we were going to survive.

Andre paced the room he'd been put into. Cell, really. A simple light fixture hung from the ceiling, illuminating a double bed, a desk, and a computer chair. No windows.

It would not be so uncomfortable if Mary was with him. She had been taken away the moment they got to the Bear headquarters, or whatever this was. His nerves chewed at his stomach, but Mary had made him promise to hear out these Bears before he made any move against them.

Waiting was his only option, and it didn't seem like much of an option at all.

Finally, the door swung open, producing the tall blond that set Andre's teeth on edge. His Bear growled, and he shifted into a defensive position, sizing up his opponent. The blond was taller, broader, and had an unmistakable air of command and power about him. A haughty, arrogant expression twisted the man's features.

"Where is Mary?" Andre balled his fists. It would probably be a bad idea to attack this Bear. Better to try to talk it out first.

"Just down the hall. Our evaluators have determined that she is not a physical threat and her care for you seems to be genuine."

Andre growled. "Let me see her."

"I think not."

Rage bubbled up Andre's throat. With difficulty, he kept his head clear. Now was not the time to lose his temper! He dug his fingernails into his palms, breathing deeply through his nose. "I want to see her."

"I'm sure you do. But you will have to take my word that we have not harmed her in any way."

Andre nearly lunged forward, but thought of Mary and reeled himself back, rocking on his heels. At the moment it was all he could do, take the Bear's word that Mary was unharmed and that she would stay that way. He closed his eyes, exhaling.

Stay calm.

"But I am being rude. My name is Grant Easton. We talked on the phone."

"What do you want from us?"

"Zoe was planning to reach out to the Wolf community Mary is from. All their children are born with Wolves. There aren't any other Shifters in the world that have that kind of vitality. We would like to know how they do it."

Andre narrowed his eyes. "If you want to talk to them… you should seek out Peter Locke."

The words were bitter on his tongue and he would have rather have told Easton to rip off Peter's head. But he couldn't. From what he knew, the Wolf was in a unique position to influence change in the community, and there was a chance that he might actually want change. What happened to turn him from the murderer that killed Isadore and Eve into a person wanting change, he didn't know.

But if he cared enough about Mary to help her escape and be with a Bear, then perhaps he cared enough about the rest of them to try to stop the cycle of violence that they perpetrated on other Shifters.

"Can you tell me about the community? I understand you observed them for quite some time."

Andre remained standing as Easton sat. He ran a hand through his long brown hair and wished he had something to tie it back with.

"They isolate themselves from the outside world. Although they have close relations with the humans in the nearest town and occasionally intermarry, the humans don't know they're werewolves. They have their own school, though it seems like most of the children are homeschooled, and poorly educated at that. They marry very young. Their daughters are usually only sixteen, their sons only a few years older than that."

Easton frowned. "All fascinating, but what are their defenses? What sort of fighters do they have?"

"Defenses?"

"We have been looking for these werewolves for years. Decades, even." Easton stood. "They have always struck like shadows, killing mercilessly. Then they just disappear again. We have a general idea of where they are now, but what town are they close to? How have they managed to remain hidden? How do we destroy them?"

Andre's eyes widened. "Destroy them?"

"Of course. Zoe wanted to talk and look where it got her. She's dead! They can't be trusted. You know that better than anybody. We are going to find them, extract their secrets, and kill all those who are a threat."

Andre's Bear roared with approval. Let all the killers be killed. Give all their victims some peace and justice. "But how will you decide who is a threat?"

Easton raised a brow. "Those who are old enough to be already indoctrinated in their ways are a threat. The young ones, eight years old or so, will still have minds that can be shaped. We'll let them live."

Eight. Andre could hardly believe what he was hearing. They were going to massacre the entire community, even children if they were older than eight? His hands clenched.

If they had attacked when Mary was there, they would have killed her, even though she was one of the gentlest people he knew. Julia, the thin, helpless Wolf he had attacked in his bloodlust, was no threat to anybody! And Mary told him about her other siblings. Her brother Matthew was only twelve.

Would they kill a child for the sins of his father?

He almost had. And Easton would not listen to Mary's pleas for him to stop.

"You can help us." Easton stepped forward. "I know what happened to your wife and daughter. Those Wolves brutally murdered them. Now is your chance for revenge. Where are they?"

Isadore's smiling face floated into his mind, followed by Eve's. And then their bodies, cut open by the Lockes and left to rot. "Not all of them are murderers."

"Your daughter was only six when she was killed, wasn't she?" Easton peered at him, then nodded as though he saw something he liked in Andre's expression. "That will be the age then. Six and under will live. The rest will die. Just tell me where to find them."

"Children," Andre said, "do not deserve to die."

He lunged forward, but before he could reach Easton, the blond had embraced his Bear. Fabric tore, bursting apart at the seams. Rippling white fur gleamed in the fluorescent light. A massive paw crashed into the side of Andre's head. He flew backwards, white lights blinding him. Spasms of pain jolted through his shoulder and knee.

Andre rolled onto his stomach, calling for his Bear, but Easton was on him, his massive jaws around Andre's head, his polar bear body pinning him to the floor. A low, rumbling growl vibrated from his body into Andre's, and Andre made himself go still.

Easton withdrew and suppressed his Bear. He looked down at his ruined clothes and sighed. "Well. I can see you aren't going to cooperate. I'm disappointed. Did Isadore and Eve mean so little to you?"

"Paul Locke killed them and he's dead. Killing his children won't bring my child back."

"Very well." Easton shrugged. "We'll just have to find them another way then."

Mary flinched as Grant Easton pushed a picture across the table where she sat. It was her father lying on the forest floor, his chest blown open by the bullet she had put there, his eyes were glazed over. She looked away, but there was nothing in this bleak room that could distract her from the vivid red on her father's grey fur.

"You killed your father," Easton said, circling her.

"He was going to kill Andre. I didn't have a choice. And after everything he did… to me, to Andre's wife and daughter… I… I know I did the right thing."

Her eyes filled with tears nonetheless. She didn't even like setting traps for the mice that would occasionally make their way into the house. The feeling of the gun in her hands and the taste of the gunpowder on the air still haunted her in her dreams. As much as she could tell herself it was the right thing to do, she hated that she had to do it. Grief still welled in her heart.

But after all that he had done, did Paul Locke deserve to be grieved? What did it mean to all his victims that she still wished there had been another way? Wished he hadn't had to die?

Her guilt for grieving her father was almost as strong as the guilt she felt for killing him.

"Your werewolf community blames Andre, don't they? They think he killed your father."

"I told my brother that I killed him."

Easton circled to the other side of the table and leaned over her, tapping the picture rapidly. "Look at that! Do you think that your brother or any of your community will accept that you would do
that
to your father if you weren't brainwashed? They are going to keep coming after Andre. You know that, don't you, Mary?

Mary flinched again. Her mouth was dry, but she couldn’t deny it. That was exactly what her community would do. Blame Andre, even if Peter told them the truth.

Her hands curled into the hem of her shirt, her nails picking at the threads in the fabric. "But once you get Andre and me off of the continent—"

"I want to, Mary. I really do. But." Easton let the word hang between them, as though it was all that needed to be heard. He took the picture away, staring down at it. "After what happened to Zoe, it was decided by my superiors that we can't trust you."

"I didn't know my father—"

"I told them that, but they don't believe me." Easton sat on the edge of the table. "I told them that you were unaware that you were being manipulated into giving away Zoe's position, but they just won't believe it. She was an important woman and now she is dead."

Mary flinched.

"You and Andre are going nowhere. It's just not safe for us. You understand, right?"

Mary buried her face in her hands.

"Now, I want to keep the two of you safe," Easton continued. "Even if it means keeping you locked up in here forever. Andre has already agreed to those terms. He says that as long as you're safe, he won't complain."

It was so like Andre to say that. Mary felt herself smiling despite herself, warm love swelling in her heart. "Yes. Yes, that would be fine. I don't care if we stay locked up, as long as my family can't hurt him."

Easton sighed, standing again. "Mary, you misunderstand me. I said I
want
to keep you two safe. Not that I
could
."

Cold, bitter fear doused her, and bile rose in her throat. She stared up at Easton, her hands trembling again. "Just say what you mean then!"

"I have received orders. You are considered too much of a threat. You and Andre will be turned out. I hope that you can stay safe, Mary. I really do." He paused again, staring at the picture of her father's dead body. "Maybe the Wolves of your community will give up. Maybe they'll decide you're not worth the effort."

They wouldn't. They would keep hunting her and Andre until they were dead. There was no escaping the hunt.

Unless she was to end it.

Her heart pounded as she forced herself to meet Easton's eye. "What if I wasn't here? What if Andre and I parted? Could you get him away then?"

Easton frowned. "Andre would never accept those terms. You know that."

"Then he doesn't need to know." A ball of dread settled in her chest and her Wolf shied away from her words, whimpering.
What is more important than Andre?
She would do what she had to.

"Tell me what you mean."

"If you send me back to my community, I can take responsibility for my father's death."

"And if they still blame Andre?"

"I'll say I used him to get away, to lure my father out so that I could kill him. I'll tell them that I had been planning on killing him for years."

Easton shook his head, and when he spoke his voice was far gentler than it had been when he had first come in. "And how would you explain returning, then? Think, Mary! They would never accept that."

"They might."

"No, it would be better for you and Andre both just to run away together. You might be able to get away. There are other means of getting out of Canada. Perhaps instead of going overseas you could go down south. As a Wolf and Bear, you don't even have to show your faces at customs. You could settle down in Brazil somewhere."

"We would still be hunted." Mary shook her head. "There is no other way out of this, not for Andre. I can't let him die because of my choices. If I had never run away from home in the first place, he wouldn't even be in this situation."

Her head hung, and Easton put a hand on her shoulder. It was an oddly comforting touch, and she closed her eyes, drawing in strength for what she needed to do.

"I'll tell them that I was overcome by guilt and that's why I came back. Or maybe I'll act like I expect to take over his position. I don't know. But if you get Andre overseas, then it doesn't matter. They won't be able to find him over there."

"That's very brave of you." Easton's massive hand patted her shoulder. "I thought you must be using him at first, trying to open our ranks so that your Wolves could come and kill us, but I see now that's not the case. You really love him."

She nodded, fighting tears. "I do. He's my soulmate."

"Would you like to tell him your plan?"

Mary shook her head. "No! No, he can't find out. He would never accept it. Don't tell him. Please."

Easton nodded, his expression serious. "I promise."

***

Andre's heart nearly burst with relief when the door opened and Mary entered. She looked a little shaken, a little pale, but otherwise unharmed. As soon as she saw him, a small cry tore from her lips and she rushed into his arms. Andre enveloped her in his arms, glaring at Easton as the other Bear watched.

"You have an hour together," Easton said, and the door shut.

Andre pulled back and cupped Mary's face in his hands. "Are you okay?"

Mary nodded, pushing herself to her toes. "I love you so much."

Her mouth met his and the sizzle of her demand burned through him, drawing him closer. Andre held her tight, not wanting to miss a second of having her next to him. But the thought that they might be monitored by hidden cameras crossed his mind and he drew back, shaking his head. When he told Mary the other Bears could be watching, she went crimson.

"Oh," she mumbled, looking around wildly. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

Should he tell her about the attack the Bears had planned on her community? Andre dismissed the thought right away. If she knew, she would blame herself for getting them involved, and he wouldn't allow that. If it was up to him, she would never find out about it, even after–if–the attack took place.

I'm going to get my sisters out.
Someday she would want to go back for her siblings. Would she find out about the attack anyway?

"Easton told me we're going to be sent overseas." Mary leaned into his arms, hiding her face in his shoulder. "Away from my family. We'll never come back to America. If we do, my community will kill us."

Andre closed his eyes and held her tighter. Overseas. She would never find out. There was nothing either of them could do to stop it. Zoe had found Peter's phone number, Easton would find out where the community was. But by the time the blood began to flow, they would be far away, and Mary would never know what happened to her family.

"When do we leave?" he asked.

"A few days, I think." Mary's voice was small. "Easton said they have some things to prepare. But it'll be soon." Her arms tightened around him. "I love you, Andre. And I never want you to be angry again, the way you were when you attacked Julia."

Andre frowned. "I won't—"

"We don't know what the future brings." She pulled away from him and stared intently into his eyes. "We could both die tomorrow if a brick randomly fell from the sky. But all this has made me think… I don't want you to give into your anger like that again. Ever again! If I die—"

"You're not going to die! We're going to get out of here."

"Let me finish. If I die, whether it's that I get hit by a bus crossing the road or a mugging gone wrong or anything else… promise me that you won't let revenge consume you. Promise me!"

Something was wrong. She thought Easton was lying, or else
she
was. He stared into her eyes. "Mary, what's going on?"

A smile forced itself onto her lips. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just… I just want you to be happy. It's silly, I know. Nothing is going to happen. I'm just worn to a frazzle with all this stress." She paused. "If you were to die, isn't there something you would want me to promise?"

Her explanation didn't quite sit right, but Andre let it slide. He didn't want her to be any more stressed than she already was. He smiled back at her. "If I die, just promise to remember me."

"I will," she promised, perhaps a little too fervently. "I will remember you. Forever."