Chapter Four
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The next day Connor waltzed into Devon’s temporary office and pulled up a chair. “I wonder what Ms. Vinea is up to today,” his brother said with a smug look.
Did Connor really care, or was he here to bust his chops? “I don’t know, and frankly I don’t care. Just as long as she stays out of my hair, I’m happy.”
“I thought you were going to keep an eye on her.”
“If I hear she’s making trouble, I will. As long as she behaves, I’m not giving her a thought.”
His cheerful demeanor evaporated. “You are so full of shit. You still like her, I can tell.” Connor leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “What I don’t get is why do you like her? Sure, she has a smoking hot body, but she’s overly self-confident and arrogant, not to mention a liar, a thief, and an attempted murderer.”
Devon bristled. He didn’t like that Connor had even noticed Vinea’s body. It didn’t matter that physically she was gorgeous. Her auburn hair, coupled with her long legs and stupendous tits, made his own mouth water, but to hear his brother say it didn’t sit well. He would ignore the other slanderous remarks.
“At the time I met her, I thought she was a caring person. I bought into her sad sack story about how some guy had stolen all of her possessions. I realize now that it was a lie to get me to help her. Now that I know what kind of person she is, I’m totally over her.”
You know I still want her, his wolf whined.
“Yeah, you did fall for her line,” Connor said. “I trust you’ve learned your lesson?”
Was that supposed to be a warning? Devon was doing a good job here and had only occasionally let his mind wander. “I have. I already told you, I’ll be happy if I never see her again—unless, as I said, she does something to interfere with our job.”
His wolf whimpered. Vinea might cause his animal to make these outrageous accusations about them being mates, but logic said it was impossible. Vinea was a goddess, and goddesses couldn’t mate with humans, albeit a human who could shift—or so he’d always believed.
“Good.” His brother slapped his thighs and stood. “I just needed to find out if you’re fully on board here. I don’t need you pining over what could have been. I know you said you cleansed her, but you can never be sure.”
“I’m pretty sure I failed. She even told me right after I dunked her that cleansings only worked on Changelings. I guess I was being overly optimistic at the time.”
Sure, she had attempted to kill Zane shortly thereafter, but then she tossed down her weapon and ran away, saying she couldn’t do it. Would a purely evil goddess do that? Or did she have an ulterior motive for not following through? Maybe she didn’t really need to kill Zane, and she was after a bigger fish to fry—namely him. He inwardly growled. The woman would be the death of him if he let her.
“I’m glad you’ve seen the light. We have to find out who killed the guard and robbed the armored car sooner rather than later. I want to bring some closure to Lori, Will’s wife. If the Changelings are responsible, we need to let them know they can’t terrorize our town and get away with it.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Devon shut out Vinea’s image. “What would you like me to do?”
“Help Jackson go over the security tapes. Kalan sent over a copy of the camera footage from the back of the van. The sheriff’s department couldn’t see anything, but maybe a second set of eyes will help.”
Devon pushed back his chair, happy to have a specific job. Once Connor returned to his office, Devon found Jackson in their control room where all of the video equipment was located.
Jackson looked up. “Hey, you here to help?”
“I’m going to try.” Devon pulled up a chair. “What do you have?”
Jackson made a few mouse clicks. “I’ve combined the footage from the security cameras on the armored truck with the street cams to give us some added angles.” He pointed to the screen. “This is where the black SUV pulls in front of the armored car, forcing Will to slam on the brakes.”
Thankfully, Jackson had turned off the sound. Hearing the squeal of tires and glass shattering would only make it that much more real. “How convenient that they picked a spot where there wasn’t any traffic.”
“Exactly. The SUV driver knew when and where to pull the heist. Plus, he managed to only damage the rear panel of his vehicle. It’s not easy to disable the armored car while maintaining the function in your vehicle.”
“I don’t think I could pull that off,” Devon said.
“Me neither.” Jackson pointed to something on the screen. “It’s hard to see, but this looks like Will is leaning forward right after the crash and pressing a button to alert the cops that there was an attack.”
That was smart thinking. “At any point did you get a read on the license plate?” Devon asked.
“Yes, but it turns out it had been stolen that morning.”
“Figures.” The footage continued to roll, showing Roger jumping out of the front seat of the armored car as three armed men approached. The guard got off one shot before he was hit in the stomach. “That man closest to Roger flinched. Do you think Roger hit him?” Devon asked.
“If he had been hit, he has to be a shifter because he was able to take the bullet without collapsing.”
“That’s one reason to think the Changelings are behind this.”
“I agree,” Jackson said.
“This robber opens the door, shoots Will point blank, and then grabs the vehicle’s keys. He then rushes to the back and unlocks the door.”
“So?” Jackson asked.
“Take a look at this other robber,” Devon said.
Jackson replayed the last scene. “They all are dressed in black, and they all are wearing masks.”
“That third man has really long legs.” His mind shot to Vinea.
“What are you saying? Do you recognize him? With their bulky jackets and masks, I don’t see how you could.”
Devon waved a hand. For a moment, he wondered if the third robber could be Vinea. She was tall enough to be a man, and that person had a distinctive gait, but he couldn’t be sure if that was how Vinea walked. Too often she wore heels. “It’s nothing. Did you learn anything about the men we can use to find them?”
“I measured their bodies and compared them to the height of the armored van. I was able to calculate their heights, but that’s all.”
“It might be enough once we have suspects.”
Jackson turned up the sound. “Here comes the sheriff’s department. The thieves must have practiced what would happen if the cops showed up. They each grab two bags and then run back to the vehicle and leave. No hesitation or squabbling about wanting to take more.”
“So basically we have squat,” Devon said.
Jackson nodded. “If you didn’t see anything, then I’ll have to admit we’re at a dead end.”
“There doesn’t seem to be any witnesses either. It was almost as if the thieves had someone clear the sidewalks right before the crash. While the accident happened just outside of downtown, I would have thought someone would be around.”
Jackson held up a hand. “No one might have been on the sidewalk, but possibly someone inside that office building saw something. Maybe you can question the building occupants while I ask some of our Clansmen to discreetly ask around. Hopefully, someone heard some scuttlebutt about a heist.”
“We can only hope.”
*
Vinea was pleased that she’d timed her arrival to when Brother Jacob’s plane touched down on the tarmac. She couldn’t chance that he’d go to his meeting first and then head to his hotel. If she missed the exchange, she’d be screwed. Regardless of what he was purchasing, she wanted to get a hold of some of that stolen money. If she could prove it came from the armored car robbery, then Devon and his team could go after Brother Jacob.
Never having been in the Los Angeles airport before, she was overwhelmed by the chaos. People were swarming the gateways then jamming into buses to take them here and there. Not wanting to lose sight of Brother Jacob, she hovered above him but refused to ride in one of those trams. She’d meet him on the other end.
He was only carrying a large briefcase, so maybe he needed to stop at the baggage claim area. When he rushed outside without stopping, she declared him the lightest packer she’d ever known. Brother Jacob hailed a cab, and then Vinea snuck into the front seat just as his ride took off. She’d never ridden in a car in her invisible state before, and she rather liked it. The only issue would be if part of her appeared and the driver saw her; he’d crash for sure.
After fifteen minutes in heavy traffic, Vinea began to worry she might become visible sooner than she’d like. When she felt her body trying to regain its form, she quickly flew out of the cab. A moment later, she found herself behind a building in her fully human form. Damn.
She looked around and sighed a breath of relief that no one was around to see her. The problem with this invisibility stuff was that she had no idea how long she had to wait before turning invisible again. Losing so many of her powers sure sucked.
Not wanting to have come all this way and not witness the exchange, she nodded and prayed. Thankfully, she was once more on her way. This time, she flew above the line of cars and taxis, believing she was safer in the sky. However, a new problem arose. Which of the hundreds of cars was Brother Jacob in?
Eventually, she had to fly low in order to search each car for him. Finally, she spotted the right one. When that taxi exited the highway she was happy, because Brother Jacob would be easier to track.
Twenty minutes later, the cab pulled in front of some loading docks, and Brother Jacob exited. He spoke with the driver and then headed into a warehouse. Given that the driver remained, Jacob must not have believed the exchange would take long. With his briefcase in hand, he strode inside. Let the fun begin! It was time to see what this man was buying.
Vinea entered the large, dark warehouse before Brother Jacob did. The air was stale, and the vast room was filled with shipping containers. Whatever Brother Jacob was buying probably wasn’t legal, or he would have insisted meeting in an office building or at his hotel room. Then again, in case of a double-cross, Brother Jacob might need to shift. A warehouse would then be perfect.
“Hello?” called Brother Jacob, his voice echoing in the vast space.
A short, thick man stepped out from behind a container. “Did you bring the money?”
While Vinea didn’t watch much television, she had sat through a few detective shows with EmmaLee, and this sounded like a script from one of them.
Brother Jacob held up his suitcase. “Yes, may I see the sardonyx?”
Aha! So she’d guessed right. The man also had a briefcase. He opened it up, and inside was a large red stone, about six inches in length and two inches in diameter. It was huge. No wonder it cost so much. Brother Jacob extracted a bag from his case and then handed it to the man.
If this had happened in the dark realm, about ten armed men would have rushed out and killed Brother Jacob as well as the man selling the stone, taking both the money and the sardonyx. Humans seemed to be a lot more trusting. Just in case the man had a small army nearby, she surveyed the warehouse. Sure enough, two men with guns were hidden near the rear.
Once the items were exchanged, Brother Jacob left, slipped into his cab, and took off. Because she knew where Brother Jacob would be spending the night, she decided to follow this buyer and his newly acquired stash of cash. She wanted to get her hands on some of the money to see if it came from the robbery. Wouldn’t Devon be pleased if she showed up with the sardonyx as well as the incriminating cash!
*
Devon was quickly becoming discouraged. He’d spoken to a half dozen employees of the accounting firm whose office faced the street where the robbery had occurred. One woman heard the crash as she was returning to her office, but by the time she glanced outside, the cops had already arrived. Yes, Will’s death was a tragedy she said, but she had nothing else to add.
Throughout the discussion, he half expected Vinea to show up either at the office building or back at McKinnon and Associates. When she didn’t, he refused to name the emotion he was experiencing.
You miss her, his wolf chimed in.
I do not. I’m becoming increasingly worried because I don’t know what she’s up to.
Well, I miss her. Her scent. Her body. Her smile.
Devon had it with his animal trying to lead him down a very dangerous path.
*
The next day Devon helped Jackson look through the database that Lexi had been creating ever since her arrival. She’d done an amazing job documenting each of their cases. Anytime someone was arrested, she attached a photo and a description. Kalan or Dalton often provided her with additional information. Now, when anyone wanted to look through a list of those suspected to be a Changeling, they just needed to ask Lexi. Unfortunately, there were only a handful of men identified as belonging to that Clan. Most were the correct height, but five foot ten was average for a man. He was slowly losing faith that they would find the men who’d killed Will and injured Roger.
Devon retreated to his office, wondering if he truly could be of use in Silver Lake any longer. Connor, Kip, and Jackson seemed to be at a dead end too, so why should he stay around when his team in Pittsburgh could use an extra hand?
Rye had known Will and his family quite well, and he kept calling the office, asking for an update. Devon hoped something broke soon.
He was just about to find something to eat and then discuss his return to Pittsburgh with his brother when Vinea appeared in front of his desk, scaring the crap out of him. He swung his legs off the desk and jumped up. “What are you doing here? And please stop just appearing.”
She had the nerve to laugh. “You look cute when you’re taken by surprise.”
“Surprised? I’m pissed.” He slipped his hands behind his back, hoping she didn’t spot how his nails had grown just from being close to her. And her scent that smelled of lilacs? It was driving him crazy. He could almost feel the hair on his face sprouting.
Down boy, he chastised.
I’ve missed her. Haven’t you? his wolf shot back.
He didn’t respond, not needing to enter into a discussion with his horny animal.
She waved a hand and then pulled up a chair. “Devon, sit down. I have something to show you, and I think you will be pleased.”
Please do as she asks, his wolf begged. Remember, she is your mate, his wolf reminded him for the umpteenth time.
That doesn’t mean she isn’t up to something. “What do you have?” Devon attempted to soften his tone, not wanting to antagonize her further.
Vinea looped her large bag off her shoulder and dug her hand inside. When she withdrew a huge red crystal, his heart sputtered.
She handed it to him. “I believe this is sardonyx.”
Devon had never seen such a large specimen before. “Where did you get this?”
“I kind of lifted it off Brother Jacob.”
Brother Jacob? How did she know about him? Was she working with the Changelings? “I don’t understand.”
Vinea looked away for a moment, almost as if she were embarrassed. It was an expression he’d never seen her use before. “I know you didn’t believe me when I said I’ve changed.” She held up a hand, as if she recognized he was about to interrupt. “But I have. I am nothing like the lying and deceitful potential murderer I once was. Words are only words; that’s why I wanted to show you I’m here to help. What better way to do that than to steal something precious from your archenemies?”
Devon sat up straighter. He wasn’t normally this slow, but he didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, especially when it involved Vinea. “How did you know they had this?”
“I knew you wouldn’t tell me what you’re working on, so I kind of listened in the other day.”
His pulse spiked at the implication. “Listened in to what?”
She didn’t answer for a moment. “You know how I can appear and disappear, right?”
“Yes.” He could fill in the blank. “Don’t tell me you came into the conference room and eavesdropped?” His gut churned. If she were working for the Changelings, their entire operation would be compromised. The ramification of the evil stunned him. Devon stood. “Get out.”
She didn’t move. “Don’t you want to know how I got the sardonyx?” she asked.
“I thought you said one of the Changeling council members gave it to you.”
Her mouth opened. “I said no such thing. I overheard Brother Jacob on the phone making a deal about spending fifteen thousand dollars to buy something. That number sounded familiar.”
“Yes, it was close to what was stolen.” He dropped back down onto his seat. She had his full attention now. “Go on.”
“I thought perhaps he wanted to buy some sardonyx. It’s all you people ever talk about.”
“That’s because when they get a hold of some, they use it to steal powers—powers that don’t belong to them.”
Vinea huffed out a laugh. “I know what stealing means.”
“This isn’t funny, Vinea.”
“It’s not meant to be. Since I thought you wouldn’t want those people to get a hold of the stone, I followed Brother Jacob to California.”
That wasn’t what he expected her to say. “California?”
“Yes. Brother Jacob took a plane. I kind of…well, flew there on my own, so to speak.”
As much as he wanted to ask for more details, he needed to hear what she had to say first. “Then what?”
“Long story short, I followed him to a warehouse where the exchange took place.” She stuck her hand in her purse and drew out a handful of bills. “I overheard where Brother Jacob was staying for the night, so I followed the seller instead. When he wasn’t paying attention to the wad of cash Brother Jacob gave him in exchange for the sardonyx, I helped myself to some.”
“And you’re just giving this to me?”
She blew out a breath. “Yes, so that Jackson can ask the bank to check the serial numbers.”
Holy shit, she had been listening to their plan. “Thank you.” I think.
“So do you believe me now that I’m on your side?” she asked with such innocence he wanted to say yes, but he just couldn’t.