55. Tanner

Lily's boyfriend AJ was a skinny runt. I was no expert on teenage girls, but something told me the fact her father disapproved was a big part of the attraction. He stunk of weed with underlying notes of stale sweat.

The kid backed up when he saw me walk into the deserted auto repair shop where he worked for his uncle. I'd waited until the two other guys that worked there left, leaving AJ to lock up.

Personally, I wouldn't have made him responsible for anything. He looked flaky as fuck. I'd expected some nervousness - most humans had a natural wariness of us, even if they didn't know exactly what we were - but this kid practically pissed his pants when I walked in.

"I don't know nothing," he stammered, his eyes flicking from side to side, pupils blown wide, which suggested he was on something. Weed, possibly, but he didn't seem chill enough, so I had a hunch he'd graduated to the stronger stuff.

"Yeah, Rufus told me." I took a step closer, trying not to heave at the stench. "Problem is, I don't believe you know nothing. So how about you think a little harder to see if anything pops into your head, eh?"

I pulled out the hunting knife I always carried and used the tip to clean my nails. I had no intention of torturing this kid, but he didn't know that. Urine trickled down and pooled on the floor around his scuffed sneakers. Gross.

"Did you know what Lily was?"

From the lack of confusion on his face, I guessed Lily had told him.

"She…she explained, yeah."

"And did you tell anyone else?"

The kid hyperventilated, his eyes flicking from me to the knife. Any minute now and he'd be shitting himself, just to make my day even better.

"I…I…I may have told my uncle," he blubbered, tears rolling down his gaunt cheeks.

"Why?"

I took another step closer and AJ's eyes rolled back in his head before he dropped to the floor like a stone.

For fuck's sake. I'd not even touched him! If only all my targets were this easy to intimidate.

I slapped him around the face a couple of times before grabbing a cup of soda from a nearby bench and tipping it over his head. He came around, spluttering and coughing.

"I don't know why!" he cried. "I heard them talking about shifters and I wanted to…I dunno…impress him! He asked me about Lily and I said she was my girl. That's it!"

Something didn't add up. "Who was he talking to and what were they talking about exactly?"

My booted foot pressed down on AJ's concave chest. He sniffled and wiped his runny nose with a grimy hand. God, he really was a horrible little human. If I found Lily, I'd be tearing her a new one for hanging out with such a pathetic specimen.

"I dunno, some cop he hangs out with. I've seen him around a bit. They drink together. I just caught the end of the conversation. The cop said they were looking for shifters. I told them my girl was a shifter and maybe she could help introduce them to some of her friends. I thought I was being helpful!"

"If you thought that, why didn't you tell Rufus this when he came to see you?"

"I forgot." Lying little shit.

I rolled my eyes. "Really. It's amazing how much your memory's already improved with some additional motivation."

"She dumped me anyway," he sniffed. "Said I was too clingy."

He was pathetic. Was I ever that pathetic? I doubted it.

"Well, let's hope I find her and then you can try getting her back." I didn't foresee that happening, but the kid had been helpful, so he deserved a bone. "Now go clean yourself up, you reek."

I left him sitting in his piss and sniveling. At least I'd learned something useful. AJ's uncle and his cop friend were now persons of interest in the missing girls' case. But first, I wanted to talk to Carlos.

If girls were going missing, he had to be aware, if not directly involved.

"I'm looking into the disappearance of some shifter girls."

Carlos sat behind a huge teak desk, watching me with a faint smirk. I couldn't stand the guy on a personal level, but he had his uses.

I wasn't afraid of Carlos. Yes, he was the mafia in these parts, but in this room, I was stronger than him. If I pulled my gun, at least 20 guards would come running, which would be entertaining as fuck. Not that I had any intention of going against Carlos unless he provoked me.

"And you think I might know something about this?"

"You know everything, Carlos."

Pandering to the fucker's ego always worked. The man was incredibly arrogant. He smiled and reached for the bottle of bourbon he kept in his desk drawer, refilling his glass.

"Drink?"

"Sure." Carlos liked expensive bourbon; Pappy Van Winkle was a personal favorite of mine and hard to come by. The fact Carlos had a bottle was no surprise.

"How many girls have been taken?" Carlos asked.

I noted he said taken rather than disappeared. Something told me it wasn't just semantics.

"Five that we know of. There are likely more."

He sniffed dismissively. "Trafficking is not one of my business interests. Too much hassle, and I don't want the feds sniffing around."

"I thought the local cops were on your payroll?"

"Most are, but there are still a few do-gooders watching me. Sadly, I can't kill honest cops without attracting attention." The way he grimaced told me it was an issue he lost sleep over. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead maintained a neutral expression.

"If you hear anything, I'd appreciate a head's up."

"Of course," he smiled.

I swallowed the rest of my drink and stood. Carlos's office, with its dark paneled walls and lack of a window, was claustrophobic as hell. It was secure, though. I'd give him that.

We said our goodbyes, and I left. Carlos's most trusted guards followed me as I walked down the hall toward the front door. They were all scary psychos, just like me, but his second, a big beefy guy called Enzo, was a real asshole.

Still, the way he kept his hand on his gun told me he viewed me as a threat. I smirked as I stepped through the door and inhaled a lungful of fresh air.

Carlos's estate at the foot of the valley covered more than a hundred acres. I hopped in my 4X4 and started the engine. From here, it was a short drive to the spot where I usually parked when snow blocked the road to our cabin. Just as I started the engine, my phone pinged. With a frown, I tapped the screen.

Something had triggered the cameras. As I watched, a guy I didn't recognize passed the camera with a female slung over his shoulder. My blood ran cold when I realized who that female was.

The wheels of my SUV squealed in the gravel and snow as I shot toward the gates. Two guards with semi-automatics looked up and frowned at my high-speed approach.

"Open the fucking gates!" I roared. I didn't have time for this shit. The gates slid open at a torturous rate. The moment they were open just enough, I drove through, ignoring the scrape of metal against paint.

Cole didn't pick up his phone, so I tried Silas.

"What's up? Did you find out anything—"

"Someone has our mate!" I yelled.

"What?" I heard something clatter and a door slam. "She's in the kitchen…"

"No, she's on camera being carried away by a guy. From the way she hung over his shoulder, she was unconscious."

"Fuck, she's not here and I can't hear her." He sounded as frantic as I felt.

"Where's Cole?" The SUV skidded as I careered around the bend too hard, but I managed to pull it back before I hit a pine tree. Taking some deep breaths, I forced myself to calm down. Ending up in a wreck wouldn't help Eva. She needed me strong, alert, and ready to cause mayhem and violence. That was my skill-set.

"He went to check the perimeter ages ago. Fuck, he should be back by now. Something must have happened. I'll go after him."

The line went dead.

I pressed my foot to the floor and pushed the SUV harder. The sooner I reached the base of the trail to our cabin, the sooner I could shift and get home. If her ex had taken Eva - and it had to be him, there was no other obvious explanation - then we didn't have long.

Who knows where he was heading? The guy was a cop, for fuck's sake. He had a lot of resources. Still, he wasn't a shifter. We had strength, speed, and a lust for blood on our side. I doubted he'd ever gone up against three adult wolf shifters before. Most humans hadn't.

This guy would soon be six-feet-under. I'd make sure of it. It was the last time he hurt my mate. By the time I'd finished with him, he'd be begging me to put him out of his misery.