Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

KIARA

Things were moving glacially slowly. Thankfully, because I contacted Walker first, the paranormal enforcers showed up right after Palmer's backup did. They had the documents to seize the crime scene and keep the humans out of the loop. Aiden arrived that evening, having flown straight here, and the creep factor just got better and better. Apparently, all the pictures on the wall were of dragons or dragon descendants. And I was right that all of them were gay. Why Jasper was targeting them, we still didn't know. Aiden had been on the phone for the past few days, trying to talk to any of them, but no one would pick up his calls.

I even missed Talia's return home, which was frustrating. Cal told me she looked happy and Teddy was taking care of her and Leo both, but I still wanted to be there. I wanted her to know I was proud of her for going to get Teddy, and I didn't feel like a phone call was enough for that conversation.

"Anything else from your hacker friend?" Camden, one of the paranormal enforcers on the case, asked me from his spot on the couch. We'd basically commandeered Jasper's apartment, so we didn't have to move that map and potentially lose information. The enforcers were set up in the living room with computers and people taking pictures and looking through the boxes from the room, while their boss was with Aiden in the creepy back room.

"Nothing yet. He's giving it his full focus now that he's being paid for it, but Jasper's a shifty asshole. He's hard to track, especially because he can hide his scent."

Camden scowled. "I know. It's a little freaky. You said he smelled human?"

I shook my head. "That's the thing. He was next to Cal, so I smelled human, but I'm pretty sure I was only picking up Cal's scent. Jasper didn't have one at all. He's hiding all of it."

I didn't realize it at the time, but I was familiar now with Cal's scent. Looking back, I don't remember picking up anything other than his and, faintly, Dev's.

"Cal's the human he threatened, right? Is he part of all this?"

"No. Wrong place, wrong time kind of situation. He worked at the shop, but he had no idea they were part of anything illegal. And he had no idea about shifters. If he did, he wouldn't have hit Jasper with an action figure."

Camden snorted, his eyes crinkling at the sides in his amusement. He was good looking with an edge of danger to him that I recognized in myself. He wouldn't share what his animal was, but he smelled like fur.

Camden was exactly the kind of guy I used to see before Cal. Dark hair, broad shoulders, and a general air of don't fuck with me around him. We had that in common and often were looking for the same thing. Nothing serious, nothing long term. I didn't mind repeats, it made things easier if we didn't have to play the whole get to know you game over and over, but I never saw a future with any of them. Even the last guy, who I'd been with pretty exclusively for several months, it was never serious. I didn't have time, or the inclination to spend more time with them. They helped scratch an itch, and that was about it.

When I thought about Cal, it was so different from what I'd ever expected. He wasn't like any of those guys in the slightest. And I liked it. I liked how upfront and sweet he was. He wasn't stoic or broody. He was almost always smiling and gushing about some nerdy thing or another. I loved listening to him, even when I had no idea what the hell he was on about. He literally worshiped me. I thought I'd find a guy like that smothering and annoying, but he wasn't. He made me smile, and when days got rough, he rubbed my temples and talked to me about nothing so I could settle. I could use that right about now. With how frustrating everything had been on my end, I missed his playful banter. Even if he was a serious distraction.

I pushed away the thought of him. I needed to focus on the here and now.

"Kiara? Can you come here for a moment?"

Pushing away from the window, where I'd been watching for any signs of Jasper or his guys coming back, I headed for the creepy back room. Aiden and Beckett, the leader of the crew of enforcers, were both staring at the map until I came in.

"What's up?"

Aiden looked over his shoulder and beckoned me closer. "We're discussing looking for Jasper's targets. They'll need to be warned anyway, but since they won't speak with me, an in person meeting might be best. I'll need to head back to my territory. I don't like leaving Andrew alone when there is someone searching for us both. But if you could consider finding them, I'll pay you for your efforts. I know this job has gone on a lot longer than you intended."

Letting my gaze trail over the map, I sighed. "How many are we looking at?"

"There are three who haven't been crossed off yet. Eight in total. I need to know for certain why they've been crossed off, so I'd like you to find all of them if you can. But we should start with the three who haven't been found yet."

I fought off a scowl. I was a bounty hunter, not a tracker. This was outside my expertise. But if Jasper was looking for these people, they deserved to be warned about it. It just meant a lot longer before I could get back to Cal. I hated not being able to at least let him get back to his life. I didn't think Jasper would come back here, but I didn't want to screw around with Cal's life by making assumptions.

"Alright. I'll contact Robbie, see if he can help. He's been an asset so far."

"Camden will go with you," Beckett added. "In case you run into Jasper, he has the tools to knock him out long enough for us to get there."

My eyebrows went up. "What kind of tools?"

He tipped his head toward the desk, where a small zippered bag about the size of my hand sat open. There were three pens that looked a lot like epi pens inside, fully loaded and ready to go. "We use these on aggressive shifters. It suppresses their animals long enough for us to get them to our facility and out of sight of humans. You–"

My phone ringing cut him off, and I sighed. Cal calling me wasn't unusual, especially at this time of night. He tried to at least check in before he went to bed, which I both appreciated and found really annoying. I didn't have time to talk to him right now, but Beckett raised an eyebrow at me, so I figured it was better to tell him now was a bad time than have him keep trying.

"Cal, I said I'm busy. I–"

"Jasper's here."

Aiden whipped around to face me. With his hearing, he could probably hear Cal as clearly as I could.

"Where are you?" I demanded. Aiden and I were already moving. This was going to suck, but I wasn't going to wait around for an airplane to get us back home. We darted out of the apartment and headed for the stairs to the roof while I listened to Cal's panicked breathing on the other end of the line.

"We're at the compound. I don't know how he found us. I swear, I didn't log on to anything. Kiara, he grabbed Andrew and Christian. What should I do?"

Aiden froze for a second, his head turning so damn slow it was a little creepy. I had about five seconds to get my ass out of that stairwell and cover my ears before he bellowed so loud the whole building shook.

"Kiara? What was that? Are you okay?" Cal whispered harshly.

"I'm on my way. Stay out of sight."

"Kee–"

The door to the roof flew open so hard it ripped straight off its hinges. Aiden grabbed my arm, shoving me behind a vent before storming far enough away that his magic didn't toss me off the damn roof. He was already flapping his wings when he finished and I raced for him, climbing into his claw without hesitation. I was glad I didn't have to argue about going with him. It was my mate, too.

"Aiden, wait!" Beckett shouted over the sound of Aiden's wings. Aiden growled out a warning, but Beckett waved Camden toward us. "Take Cam. He's got the serum and a tracker. We'll follow as soon as we can."

Camden's face was a mask of fury, and he didn't hesitate when Aiden dipped his chin once. He climbed into Aiden's free claw and held on tight.

Unlike last time, Aiden was in a goddamn hurry. The grip he had on us was a lot tighter, uncomfortably tight, but necessary. He was flying so fast, it was hard to breathe. I had to hide my face against his claw and cover my head with my arms just to draw in a breath. We were also a lot higher than before. It was freezing, and Aiden wasn't in the right mindset to let Camden and me huddle together for warmth. We tore through the sky like lightning, and my stomach turned over from the force of it. I had to swallow down vomit more than once, squeezing my eyes shut as I waited for it to be over.