Chapter 18

18

" S o now that you're a special agent with the USF also, I was thinking I need to move back to Colorado," Kira said, turning her car down another street, following Demetria and Everett's car as they started the drive to Houston with Royce in their custody.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. That's the great thing about this job. Martin said we can live anywhere in the States because we have assignments all over. He has established a group up around Ely, Minnesota. Vaughn and Jillian live with your wolf pack. We could have our own group there. Then it's not that far for me to go to see my family in Loveland," Kira said.

Fisher smiled. "I love that idea. Though I would have gone anywhere to be with you. Being with a pack that has your back is really important. And enjoying family get-togethers is too."

"Exactly."

"The town of Greystoke has national forests, lakes, rivers, lots of places to run as wolves and raise a family. I mean, it's a nice place to live," he said.

She smiled.

He'd gotten a little ahead of himself on that one. "And you're still only about two hours from your family in Loveland."

"True. I've been giving it a lot of thought. At first, I had moved to Houston because I believed it was important to be closer to the headquarters, but we do conference calls when we need to, I'm usually somewhere else on missions, and I just really don't need to live in that area."

"Well, Bella and Devlyn, and the rest of our pack would love it if you joined us. Me especially."

"My parents will be ecstatic also. They loved that I found a job that I really enjoy, but returning to Colorado and only being a couple of hours away from home? Yeah, they would be all for it."

"You let me know when you want to get packed up and move."

"I am renting a furnished apartment, making sure I was okay with the arrangements before I did anything that was more permanent in Houston. I only really need to give notice and pack my personal items and find a place to move to in Greystoke. I spend a lot of time with the jaguars in the organization, like Demetria and Everett, but there's something to be said about being with your own wolf kind, running as a wolf with a pack, howling for joy."

"I agree. As to where you'll stay—I hope you continue to live at my place."

"I'll take you up on it."

"I have to say seeing the jaguars running was amazing though."

"They're great for situations where we have a mix of shifters we need to apprehend. Fighting jaguars is a deadly proposition for us wolves. When you do the training, they could have you fighting jaguars, just to get a feel for it. They'll be careful not to injure you, but you'll realize just how powerful they are. We're more in a reserve role when we are tasked to take down a jaguar."

"I had never considered that."

"We've never had to fight snow leopards or bears, so I don't know how we would come out on top with either. Tigers, though I've never heard of any shifters who are, could be a deadly advisory also." Then Kira frowned. "Demetria is pulling off the highway to get gas." She drove in behind Demetria and Everett at the pumps and she and Fisher got out.

Demetria said, "We realized we needed some gas. And we're going to have a bathroom break and get some snacks. We should be meeting up with the special agents from Houston in another hour."

"Does Royce need to use the restroom?" Fisher asked, getting gas for Kira's car.

"He said no, but if you don't mind taking him, we would appreciate it," Demetria said.

Everett was pumping the gas. "I'll go with you and make sure he doesn't give us any trouble."

"Yes," Kira said. "Everyone needs to make a pitstop when we're on a trip, at least try, my dad always said."

Then they saw Tanner and the others pull into another pump and Shawn started filling the car with gas.

"I'll be right out," Kira said, and headed into the service station.

Demetria joined her.

"So how are things going between you and Kira?" Everett asked Fisher.

"She's joining our pack."

"Alright!" Shawn said.

Fisher smiled at his cousin. He had every intention of being the one for Kira, not his cousin.

"Wow, she didn't tell us she was going to make that move. But we understand. She has felt homesick about not being able to visit her parents from time to time since she has been living so far away. And she misses being with wolves," Everett said.

"We'll make her feel right at home," Shawn said.

"Me especially," Fisher said, just in case his cousin didn't get that he was seeing the she-wolf, exclusively.

"So does that mean she'll spend Thanksgiving with the rest of the family?" Shawn asked.

"She might be going home to see her parents."

"Aww."

Tanner and Brock were smiling, shaking their heads, and then walked toward the convenience store.

Everett and Fisher took Royce with them to the men's room.

"You could at least remove the handcuffs. It's embarrassing to wear them into the convenience store," Royce complained, while patrons coming out of the restaurant caught sight of the cuffs and the men escorting him into the store.

"You're a prisoner because you've done some awful crimes, so get used to it," Everett said.

"Yeah, you've earned the right to wear the cuffs." Fisher got the door for them. He glanced around at the pizza shop and the mini market but didn't see Kira or Demetria. They might be in line, waiting on a stall in the women's restroom.

Then he and Everett took Royce into the men's room. Royce wanted to use one of the stalls.

When everyone was finished with their business, Royce gave them issues, spending forever in the stall before Everett threatened him with dragging him out bodily. They finally left the restroom and Fisher said, "I never thought I would be working with you and Demetria in the USF."

"I know. Vaughn tried so hard to get his brother to join, and then here you are. Though I suspect he would have had a hard time convincing you until you met the right agent in the USF," Everett said.

Fisher laughed. "You have that right. Though if I had gone on a mission with him, I might have felt differently and wanted to join right there and then."

"Well, we'll miss having Kira around, but we'll get together with you guys on missions."

"As long as they allow us to go on missions together in the future." Fisher remembered the business of her being new and he was too.

"If the two of you pull this off together, Martin will be assured that you can work together." Everett grabbed a couple of sodas. "What do you want, Royce?"

"A pizza."

"You can have a premade sandwich."

"But the pizza place is right here."

Everett gave him a steely-eyed glower. "You are a prisoner. You can have a premade sandwich."

Royce glowered back at him. "Fine." He walked over to the case that had sandwiches and pointed to a ham and cheese sandwich. "I want that one. And two bags of potato chips. And a Coke. And a large bag of chocolates. Those."

"Okay, one sandwich, one bag of chips, and a drink." Everett grabbed the items while Fisher kept Royce in line.

Then Fisher saw Demetria and his brothers and cousin. Everyone had sacks of food. But he didn't see Kira.

"Hey, I'll take care of him," Tanner said, handing his bag of snacks to Shawn.

Brock did the same and the two of them walked Royce back out to Everett and Demetria's car. But Shawn went out too.

"Where's Kira?" Fisher asked Demetria as Everett went to the cashier to buy his snacks.

"I don't know. We went into the ladies' room together, but I figured she was either still in there or had already left the restroom." Demetria glanced around the mini mart. "Maybe she went out to her car."

Everett was checking out at the register so he didn't hear their conversation.

"Hold on. I'll check the restroom and make sure she isn't sick or something." Demetria handed Fisher her bag of snacks and then she headed to the women's restroom.

Fisher pulled out his cell phone and called Kira, but it finally went to voicemail. Now he was getting really worried.

Demetria quickly left the restroom, shaking her head. "She's not in there."

"I gave her a call, but she's not answering."

"Okay, let's check with Everett." Demetria took her bag from Fisher and when they reached Everett, she said, "We're not sure where Kira is."

Immediately, Everett shoved his credit card in his wallet and pocketed it.

"Fisher only got voicemail when he called her." Demetria sounded a little panicked.

"I'll let the others know," Fisher said, and texted his brothers and cousin. "I'm going to run out to the car and make sure she's not there." Though he couldn't understand why she wouldn't answer her phone if she was.

"We'll look over the pizza place and the mini mart further," Demetria said, and she and Everett began searching for Kira.

Fisher hurried outside but when he reached Kira's car, his heart sank. She wasn't there. Which made him think of Oscar and Reggie. What if they had followed them here, but in a new vehicle and took Kira hostage to do an exchange for Royce?

"As long as someone is here to watch Royce, I'm going to search around the building," Brock said.

"I'll stay with the prisoner. If those bastards took Kira, they could come here and try and take Royce if we're not sufficiently monitoring him," Shawn said.

"I'll stay too," Tanner said. "I thought some of Dan's people were coming."

"He said they would. It probably took them a bit of time to get organized. I'll contact Dan and see if they're on their way and tell him that we may have an issue," Fisher said.

"I'll head out," Brock said.

"Thanks, cousin," Fisher said, then he called Dan. "Hey, this is Fisher. Did you send anyone to help back us up?"

"Yeah. Leyton, Bridget, Chet, Jack, and Travis from the CSF. They should be catching up to you."

"We're having an issue. Kira seems to be missing. We're at a service station mini mart."

"Okay, relaying the message to them." Dan waited for a moment. "They said they went past the service station. They're headed back your way. If you need more help, we'll send it. Just let me know."

"Thanks." Then Fisher ended the call. "They missed us when we stopped at the service station."

"Then we've got more help coming," Shawn said.

"From the CSF. Five special agents. I'm going to check the security video and see if it shows anything." Fisher hurried off to the mini mart and went inside. As soon as he saw Demetria, he joined her and said, "We need to see the security video for the store. I don't have a badge."

"I do, but we need to get you one pronto also." Demetria waved at Everett to join them. "Time to see their security video."

When they went to the manager, he hurried to show them the security video, and in horror, the USF agents watched as two men accosted Kira as she came out of the restroom and one of them threw her over his shoulder and took her outside through a side door. That was Reggie, Fisher believed. He was angry that the bastards had gotten hold of her.

"That's Oscar leading the way and that's Reggie." Fisher asked the manager, "Do you have a security video of the parking lot?"

"Yeah, here you go for the one on that side of the store."

Fisher, Demetria, and Everett watched the video closely and then saw the men put Kira in the back seat of a maroon Volvo. "Hell," Fisher said.

"I'll see if I can read the license plate," Demetria said.

Everett and Fisher ran out of the office and were out the side door to the parking lot in an instant. In that direction, they smelled both Oscar and Reggie—Kira also. But they didn't see the car parked where it had been. Fisher felt the worst kind of dread.

Even so, they looked all over the parking lot in case the vehicle was still there, just parked somewhere else. But he didn't expect it to be. They would have been foolish to sit there once Fisher and the others realized Kira was missing.