Turning Payne (9 page)

Riley sat in the passenger seat and glanced at Lora nervously. The woman's mouth was drawn in a tight line, and Riley swore she could hear a faint growl coming from the smaller woman's chest.

Her chest tightened as Lora accelerated down the back roads, and swerved to miss a stray dog.

She still had no idea what had happened. She'd heard the gun shots, though faint, and the shattering of glass. But it was the fear that flashed in the other woman's eyes when the shots rang out that made her own stomach clench in dread.

Lora hadn't spoken since she ordered Riley into the SUV and tore out of the parking lot like the devil himself was following them.

The tires squealed as Lora made a quick turn. Riley had to brace herself as she slammed into the door.

"Sorry," Lora muttered, glancing in the rear view mirror. "You might want to put your seatbelt on."

"What happened back there?" Riley snapped the belt in place.

Lora glanced at her, and then quickly turned her gaze back to the road. "There was a sniper, most likely in the building across from them. They took out DuPoint. Chase is calling in the agency."

Riley blanched. She could literally feel the blood drain from her face. Her fingers went cold as the reality of Lora's words hit her. Marcus was dead. Her only hope of saving her sister was gone.

She rubbed her hands on her pants and tried to get the blood circulating. As if her brain only just registered the implications, Riley spat out, "There were three shots."

"Turner's fine." Lora reached out and patted her hand.

Riley felt the tension in her shoulders subside, but only for a moment.

Lora cursed as the vehicle pulled onto the highway. "Looks like we've got company."

Riley looked over her shoulder at the headlights that quickly approached behind them. She groaned and turned back in her seat and threw her hands up. "Of course there's someone chasing us, why wouldn't there be?"

Lora gave her a puzzled look, and then burst out laughing.

It was completely inappropriate considering their situation, but the hysteria building inside of Riley had to come out one way or another, and she found herself joining in until tears fell from her eyes.

"I think we're going to get along just fine," Lora said, through a snort of laughter. "Especially if you're going to be my sister-in-law."

Riley coughed, suddenly serious. "Excuse me?"

Lora swiped her cheek with the back of her hand and let out an exaggerated sigh. "I saw the way Turner looked at you." She gave a knowing smile. "How he kissed you. I've known him my whole life, and I've never seen him act like that. He's got it bad."

Riley shrugged and ignored the butterflies that started dancing around her stomach. "We just met. He barely knows me."

Lora frowned. "Right."

"Seriously, though. What are we going to do about the stalkers?" Riley jabbed her thumb backwards, indicating the car that was now riding their bumper.

Lora smirked, her amber eyes dancing with excitement.

She was freaking enjoying this
.

"Hold on," Lora said, a smile playing on her lips.

Riley barely had time to brace herself. Lora cranked the wheel and the vehicle skidded across four lanes, towards the off-ramp. For a terrifying moment, they seemed to hang, suspend in mid-air. Riley held her breath, which whooshed out of her as they landed with a thud.

The tires squealed, and she thought Lora did too as they left the pursuers behind them.

"Well that was fun," Lora said.

Riley placed her hand over her mouth, her stomach rolling.

"I think we have different definitions of fun," Riley muttered.

* * *

Turner watched from the corner of the room, fists clenched, jaw aching from tension, as Chase spoke to Jacob Oliver. A group of agents had already bagged the body and confiscated the computer, but Jacob had ordered him to stay.

He needed to get back to his apartment. Needed to get to Riley, before she saw the room. His lion paced, demanding that he leave, find his mate—
claim her
. But, he was still a Therian agent, and Boyd was still out there, stalking his daughters like the predator he was.

The other agents cleared out, and he was left alone with Jacob and his brother.

Jacob curled a finger, ordering him forward. His eyes glowed an eerie yellow-gold, as he looked at Turner with the forced patience and critical appraisal of a parent.

Turner bristled under his scrutiny. It was true that Jacob had risen quickly among the ranks, but he was only a few years older than himself. He clenched his teeth in order to stop the frustrated remark that was curling on his tongue.

Jacob narrowed his eyes. "It seems you were right about Boyd."

Turner nodded and glanced at his brother. How much had Chase told him? Everything most likely. But what about Riley, had he told Jacob about his relationship with her? He pushed into his brother's mind, but Chase pushed back, merely shaking his head.

"What are you going to do?"

"First, we're going to bring his daughter in." Jacob said. "She'll be safer at the agency."

"Safe among your scientists, so that they can poke and prod her?"

"He's not talking about Kiera," Chase said, his expression tight. "She's gone. Marcus was right. Boyd knew where she was. They must have taken her soon after we left to come here."

"Shit." Fear flashed hard and heavy in the pit of his stomach. Riley would never forgive him if something happened to her sister, he'd promised to protect her, keep her safe. If Boyd had her, there was no telling what the man would do, even to his own daughter.  "We're you able to track them down?"

Jacob nodded his head, watching him carefully. "Your brother was smart enough to put a tracking device on her. We have agents closing in on the building they took her to."

Turner slammed his first into his hand. "So we have him, we have to go–"

"No." Jacob leaned close to him; his lip curled displaying elongated canines. "Both you and Chase are on probation until further notice. I don't want you anywhere near this investigation. Not Boyd or his daughter."

The muscles in his neck and back were taut with tension. "You can't be serious. I'm the one—"

Again, Jacob interrupted him, his lion bristling under his skin, so close that Turner smelled it. "You're the one who has defied my orders at every turn. I've covered your tracks more times than I can count." Jacob straightened and took a deep breath. "This time, only the Council can decide your fate."

"He was right, though." Chase's eyes flashed with sympathy. "Boyd was alive all along."  

"And that will work to your benefit when you stand before the Council. Until then, your badges."

"This is bullshit and you know it." Turner's voice was a harsh, uncontained snarl of fury. "You know how fucking hard I've worked to bring this bastard in."

He tossed the badge at Jacob's feet and pushed past him. He didn't need a fucking badge to go after Boyd. Maybe it would be easier this way. No one to watch over him, to make sure he followed protocol.

"Turner." Jacob's voice was a low and dangerous growl. "There's another reason I want you off this case. We uncovered something that both you and Chase need to know, something that could be a danger to both of you."

He didn't stop to listen to Jacob's warning. What he wanted was in hands reach. All he had to do was take it. The trouble was he didn't know which one to take.

Revenge or Love.

Riley glanced up at the white stucco, executive-style apartment building and frowned. "I thought we were going to Turner's place."

"We are. Didn't you stay here last night?" Lora punched in a code and the parking garage door slid open. She turned back to Riley, her brows drawn down.

Alarm bells rang in Riley's head. What was going on? Was Lora taking her somewhere else, or had Turner lied to her? Neither made sense, but this was definitely not the apartment she'd stayed in last night.

Lora didn't seem to notice her confusion as she got out of the car. "Hopefully Turner has something to eat. I'm starving."

"Did Chase tell you when they'd be back?" Riley rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and followed Lora across the parking garage to a high-tech elevator pad.

Lora scrunched her face as she typed in another set of codes. The elevator door opened. She shook her head, not meeting Riley's gaze. "They'll be a few hours at least. Chase will have to call my brother on this one."

She hesitated before getting in. "Your brother?"

"Jacob." Lora shrugged. "He's the Director of Therian Affairs."

There weren't any floors listed on the wall keypad. Lora punched in another series of numbers and the elevator jerked.

"Do you have to punch in all those numbers every time you come and go?" Riley asked, anxiety crawling beneath her skin.

"Just coming."

The elevator opened to a large foyer. Riley stepped out and swallowed past the lump in her throat. Holy crap, the place was enormous.

"How long has Turner lived here?"

"Two, maybe three years." Lora walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge door. She sighed and shook her head. She pulled out two beers and handed one to Riley. "This will have to do for now."

Riley stared at the bottle, a sense of foreboding eating at her. She popped the cap and took a long swig.

"I guess our options are Chinese or pizza."

"Pizza is good," Riley said, forcing a smile.

Lora made the call, giving Riley the chance to explore. The living room was spotless, as if someone came on a regular basis to clean. Floor to ceiling windows lined one wall with patio doors leading to a large balcony, overlooking the city. Hard, black leather furniture formed a semi-circle around a ginormous flat screen TV hung over a gas fireplace.

A solitary, silver framed picture sat on one of the side tables. Riley picked it up, and ran her fingers over the cold glass. The photo was a candid shot of an attractive dark-haired woman, holding two young boys. The youngest was obviously Turner, his big, silvery blue eyes looked up at the woman with the adoration only a child has for a parent. 

"Chase has the same picture in his wallet," Lora said, startling Riley. "I think it's one of the only photos they have of her."

"What happened to her?" Riley placed the photo back on the table.

"No one knows for sure, but it's thought she may have been abducted." Lora sat on one of the oversized loveseats and curled her legs under her. "That's what Turner believes anyway."

"Abducted?" She looked back at the photo. The woman shared the same features as Turner and Chase, but there was something hard around her eyes, something that made the hairs on the back of Riley's neck stand on end.

"Chase isn't as sure. He was just a kid when she went missing, but there were things leading up to her disappearance that didn't make sense." Lora shrugged and pulled a pillow to her chest. "Either way, it destroyed their family. Their dad starting drinking soon after. Eventually killed himself, years later."

"That's terrible." She knew what it meant to lose a parent, to lose both.

"They were mates." Lora tilted her head and watched her. "I don't know if you understand what that means, but for a metamorph, we mate for life. To lose a mate is like losing a piece of yourself. It breaks you."

"So what happened to them?"

"Chase had graduated from high school by the time their father died, so he was granted custody of Turner. My mom helped. They only lived a couple of blocks from us, so she brought them into our house whenever she could. It was hard on both of them, but I think Turner's had the most difficulty letting it go. He needed someone to blame, and when one couldn't be found…he created one."

"What do you mean?"

Lora shook her head and reached for the remote control. "I've probably said too much. You need to talk to him." She turned on the TV. "Want to watch a movie while we wait for the pizza?"

"I'm just going to wash up first."

Lora nodded and began flipping through the channels.

In the bathroom, Riley splashed cold water on her face. Everything was happening so quickly and her brain barely started to comprehend one thing before she was slammed with another. Marcus was dead, Kiera was a lion, and her father had apparently been a sociopathic killer.

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and let out a rough sigh. Her face was pale, and there were dark smudges under her eyes. Nothing seemed right. Everything was topsy-turvy. She felt like Alice through the looking glass, except Alice's life made more sense.

Straightening her shoulders, she opened the door, and started down the hall. A noise, the beeping of a fax machine, drew her attention to a door that was slightly ajar. Moonlight filtered in, casting shadows across a large mahogany desk, but it was the white board, and the multiple photos that lined it, that made her stop cold.

She closed her eyes tight, feeling the world shift around her. This wasn't happening. She opened her eyes, hoping her mind had been playing tricks on her, but when she switched on the office lights, there was no mistaking the images plastered across the board.

"Riley, you okay?" Lora called out from the other room.

"Yes," her voice was a croak. She stumbled towards the board. "Fine."

A large black and white photo of her and Kiera, taken only a couple of weeks before, was placed in the center of the board. There were multiple pictures of her, some were recent, others had been taken at least three years prior. There were photos of Kiera as well, while she was shopping, at work, gardening in the front yard.

"Oh my God." Lora stood in the doorway, her hands covering her mouth. "Riley, it's not what you think."

Riley glanced back at the photos. "Not what I think?"

She ripped a sheet off the board and stared down at it in horror. It was a printout, a case report about her father, but it was the highlighted text that made her blood turn to ice.

After careful analysis, the Therian Council has dropped all charges against Turner Payne in regards to the chemical fire that killed Richard Boyd.

Riley read and reread the text. Turner had been there when her father died, and there had been enough evidence to launch an investigation as to whether he had started the fire. It didn't matter to her that the paper said he was innocent, he had been there. Why? And why was his office filled with photos of her and her sister?

She crumpled the paper in her hand and glanced at Lora, whose face was now drawn in a tight frown.

"You knew about this." It wasn't a question.

Lora grimaced and stepped in front of the door when Riley moved to leave.

"You need to talk to Turner."

"Let me go." She had to get out of there.

Riley had no doubt the woman possessed enough strength to hold her there, but Lora sighed and moved out of the way.

"I can't let you walk out of here alone. It's dangerous. We don't know who else is after you."

A hysterical laugh escaped Riley's lips. "Dangerous?" She jammed her thumb at the elevator control panel, then turned on Lora. She shoved the printout in Lora's face. "Did you know he was involved in my father's death?"

Lora rubbed the back of her neck. "Yes, but—"

The woman's admission choked her. "You're all liars!" The elevator doors opened, and Riley held out a hand to stop Lora from getting on. "Stay away from me. All of you."

Panic gleamed in Lora's eyes. "What about Kiera?"

Riley paused. Oh God, in her confusion she'd almost forgotten about her sister. She held the door when it started to close and placed her forehead against the cool metal of the frame.

"I trusted you. I thought you were trying to help."

Lora placed her hand on Riley's arm. "We are. I promise we'll do everything we can to help her, to help you."

How could she believe her after everything she'd seen? But now, with Marcus dead, who else could she turn to?

The intercom buzzed.

Lora glanced at the screen and smiled hesitantly. "The pizza is here. Let's eat and talk about it. If you really want to leave afterwards, I'll give you my keys. No one's holding you here against your will."

Her body felt like rubber. She didn't have the strength to leave right now. And where would she go?

"Sit down. I'll pay for the pizza."

In a haze, Riley walked to the living room and sat down heavily on the couch. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, but her mind kept drifting to the weird shrine Turner had constructed in the other room. No wonder he hadn't brought her here. But why the other apartment?

Closer to spy on her.

She shivered. The printout was still clutched in her fist, the paper damp from her sweaty palms.

The ping of the elevator sounded behind her and the smell of pizza made her mouth water. Lora murmured something, and then there was a thump.

"Lora?" There was no response, just the sound of the elevator closing. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything will be fine, Riley." Her father's familiar voice sliced through her heart.

It couldn't be.

She stood slowly. Her legs shook, and she was certain they would give out on her at any moment. Time seemed to slow down, the seconds stretching out like minutes. She clenched her teeth and turned, her breath leaving her in a gush, as if she had been sucker punched in the gut.

Two dark, burly figures stood in the hallway, their weapons trained on her. But it was the man between them that held her attention.

"Dad?"

"Hello, Riley."

There were a few new lines around his eyes, his dark hair now streaked with silver, but there was no denying that the man was her father.

She shook her head, the urge to cry, to run to him, battling with the new knowledge of what he'd done, who he really was.

He put his hand up and the men lowered their weapons. He took a step forward and she started back. Through the gap between him and his men, Riley could see Lora's body laid out on the floor.

"What did you do to Lora?"

"It's just a sedative. It'll wear off in a couple hours." He smiled, blue eyes watching her carefully. His voice was calm, controlled, as if speaking to a small child. "I'm here to bring you home, Riley."

"Home?"

He nodded and held out his hand. "No one has to get hurt. Just come with me and I'll explain everything."

She took an uneasy step backwards. The two goons beside her father raised their weapons. Would he shoot her if she tried to run?

"I don't know what these…things have told you, but I'm not the enemy."

His eyes glittered with something she'd never noticed before—insanity, dark and twisted. What would he do if she refused? She glanced at Lora's unmoving body.

"If I go with you, you promise to leave Lora alone?"

His lips curved up. "Of course."

Despite his reassurance, fear continued to ride inside of her. But what were her choices?

Forcing herself to clamp down on the anger, she walked to the elevator. Lora's chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. She was alive. The pizza lay discarded on the floor beside her, making Riley wonder what had happened to the delivery boy.

The elevator opened and one the guards nudged her forward.

"I'm sorry that I had to keep things from you." The doors shut and they began descending. "But now that you know, we can go back to the way things were. Once Kiera is back to—"

She turned on him. "You know about what happened to her?"

He reached out and stoked her cheek, the touch sending a shiver of revulsion down her spine. "I'll make everything all right. Now that I have you both back—"

The elevator doors opened, and a deep reverberating snarl echoed through the small enclosure.

Turner.

Turner's eyes widened, a myriad of emotions storming beneath his silvery eyes. He looked at her, at the hand the rested against her cheek, and she swore she could see betrayal flash across his expression. Whatever it was, it was quickly replaced by rage. 

Her father's men cocked their weapons. Turner drew just as quickly.

"No." She jumped in front of Turner, blocking him from the men's aim.

"Move out of the way, Riley," Turner growled in her ear.

Her father's eyes narrowed, his lips curled up in disgust. "Let us through, boy, and I'll let you live."

She spun around and placed her hands on Turner's chest. "Please, let us go."