She was gone by the time he woke up in the morning, and the normal treatment on him that next day indicated that she made her escape successfully. He also had his scars back and looked like Peter again. Dean was treated to breakfast by Mrs. Cortez, who expressed her dissatisfaction with the black witch for taking Indigo off of the island without permission, presumably to proceed with the experiments on her.
“You have to understand that I won’t tolerate that witch’s rudeness. I don’t want him to come back here. He mentioned something about experimenting with your hag, but he didn’t say anything about taking her out of here. Are they really that unpredictable?”
“He’s a black witch,” he said smoothly. “They’re always unpredictable.”
“I want a new one, then. Someone with at least a semblance of respect for me.”
For someone who didn’t respect other creatures, this woman certainly demanded a lot of that respect.
“Don’t worry. We’ll provide one soon.”
As Dean suspected, the mention of a new one calmed Mrs. Cortez down—enough to forget about the incident and leave him well enough alone to tour the whole island. It was filled with forests and trees, with the cages somewhere in the middle and hidden well from the guests, who came in from a ferry on the opposite side. That was another thing that puzzled him—that ferries came and went easily here without detection. He’d been in SoHo for a good few years now and knew most of the ins and outs of the neighborhood, including the whole of New York, but he never heard about this supposed island that was just within viewing distance of one of the New York piers.
He never saw it, either.
Was it invisible? An invisible island smack dab in the middle of the Hudson River?
Nothing was impossible anymore at this point, but he was just going to have to trust Indigo to find a way to relocate this place for Jack and Kasper. He was pretty sure she’d do it, considering how resourceful she was. And tough.
And goddamn seeping into his system bit by bit.
He was aware of it. In fact, he was so aware of it that it kept him up with dreams, and he realized that his perception of her had changed. She wasn’t tough and rude because she wanted to be tough and rude—she had to be, for her own survival.
He hoped she got back home safe, and he hoped she would rest. He blocked the memories of what they shared out of his mind, wanting to clear it as much as possible for the surveillance he still needed to do ahead—
Someone bumped his shoulder, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked up and found a teenage boy muttering an apology before scurrying off, and he frowned in that boy’s direction before continuing his walk in the forest. Something nagged at his mind that the boy seemed familiar, but he knew it had to be lack of sleep that was making him think that.
Don’t be distracted, Dean.
The familiar voice stopped him in his tracks, and he looked around, expecting to find Indigo. But she wasn’t there, and it took him a few seconds to realize she wasn’t here.
She was speaking in his mind.
He hesitated for a little bit, unsure how this worked. He waited it out until she spoke again.
Try it out. Speak to me through your mind. Imagine sending that message through an invisible line. It’s just like the feeling when opening a portal.
Her instructions were clear, but it took him a few fumbles before he could actually send something across. Apparently, just thinking about something didn’t send it over—he had to push it through with some effort.
How are you doing this, Indigo?
There was a bit of silence on her end before she finally spoke. What happened between us last night connected us: my high energy before we had sex. It linked my magic to you. You still have a little bit of that magic in you, so we can continue communicating like this before it completely disappears.
How long?
I don’t know. I estimate a few hours. It will probably be gone sooner.
Right. He scanned his mind again for questions. Something cleared for him, and he was narrowing his eyes. Are you in some kind of disguise, by any chance?
There was a short, raspy laugh, one that sent his body tingling. You really should watch where you’re going.
Of course. So his instincts were right. You were that goddamned boy.
Why, yes. Very observant of you.
What the hell are you still doing here?
Surveillance. It’s our mission.
I told you to go back.
And I did. Now I have some equipment to help us, and no black witch on this island. And I have a disguise to help me release the prisoners when the time comes.
That’s not part of the plan.
It’s part of the plan now, Dean. There’s no way I’m leaving without those prisoners. We owe it to them.
There was something vehement in her tone, and he knew what happened. She’d grown attached. Rather than pointing it out, he answered differently.
Alright.
She probably expected an argument, because his answer seemed to surprise her. Really?
Did you expect me to disagree?
Of course. You argue with me about everything.
You didn’t hear me arguing last night.
A choking sound slid through his mind, and he stifled his smirk. But her next words had his eyes widening instead.
Why would I? There’s nothing to complain about.
Are you attesting to the fact that I’m huge?
She scoffed. I never said that.
You didn’t have to say it, sweetheart. I could tell.
Don’t call me sweetheart, she reminded.
You’ll be screaming it next time.
His own words stopped him, and something in him burned hot at the thought of that next time with her—of their bodies covered in sweat as they slid against each other, as he tasted and explored the parts of her he hadn’t yet. Something in his thoughts must have crossed to her because he heard her breathing turn shallow and felt his own arousal building up. Dean had to take a deep breath to steady himself from the onslaught of his desire, and he could practically hear her do the same.
We should get back to work, she said, voice suddenly shaky. This topic is dangerous.
It is—
Because I’m going to jump you now if you keep saying these things, and we both need to focus.
It wasn’t the answer he expected, and it didn’t help at all. But before he could state a response, she was speaking again.
Kasper said he’s researching all the information I provided, and he’s still trying to do some extra tracing on those email addresses. He’ll have reinforcements when we need it, but we must have evidence first.
Okay.
This island is invisible, Dean. I wouldn’t have found it if it wasn’t for my magic. I couldn’t see it from New York. Kasper had to put a tracker on me in case I got lost. I put a tracker here, too, so we’ll always have access.
He expected that, but that didn’t make it easy to accept. Still, the fact that Kasper put a tracker on her put him at ease.
I have to go, she said. I want to make sure I know where all the prisoners are in case things get a move on.
Okay. I have to go, too.
Then she was gone, almost like the line was cut off. He tried pushing again, but it was like she had him blocked and he couldn’t reach her anymore. The comfort he felt in that short conversation disappeared.
Longing slid inside him, caressing him teasingly.
He hardened himself and pushed it away. Then Dean started walking again to continue his surveillance of the island and everything it had: including ferry escapes and such.
*****
That night, another auction was held, and he joined the guests and feigned a cross between disinterest and hungry fascination at the proceedings. There were a mix of supernatural items in the bid this time, and he scrutinized them all quietly to check their sources later: probably marketplace finds, unless they were very rare and needed to be hunted in their original environment. He saw a few of those rare items and wondered how his enemies procured them—specifically, if they murdered just to get them.
He had no doubt in his mind that they did, and that was the worst part.
A plan formed that was beyond surveillance now, and he used his attendance of the auction as his time to think it through. He hadn’t seen Indigo since, but she checked up on him through their mind connection every once in a while to indicate her findings. Their connection was dimming and would probably be gone soon, but they already had a plan to meet up later to do more things: set up cameras, recorders, everything to make sure everything here was documented.
He shifted one of the cameras now: a ring with a gem, focusing it on the stage and turning his hand from time to time to show the guests. He wished Kasper had made this sooner, but it was the best the wolf shifter could do on such short notice, considering they hadn’t planned to do this so fast. When the auction was drawing to a close, he excused himself from Mrs. Cortez, who had taken to sitting down beside him and delighting him with tales about all the success this business had. Peter would probably have been delighted.
Dean was just disgusted and wanted this whole thing brought down.
He walked the forest to his cabin to get his phone, then slid out unnoticed and roamed the forest again, taking note of the guards and their shifting and positions. He studied the pattern and memorized it, then tried to circle back around until he found holes in the pattern that he could slip into.
It was slow, but he found them.
In his mind, he tried to call Indigo and ask how she was doing. But the connection was gone, leaving him oddly hollow and restless. He tried to brush it off as he looked for her instead, wondering if she joined the guards. They still had an hour before they needed to meet up, but he’d done his studying early—and if she did, too, then there was no point in delaying this.
What did she look like again?
He tried to recall the slight figure he bumped into earlier: brown, unnoticeable clothes, hair covered by a bonnet, and shoulders hunched instead of their usual proud stance. Her voice had been modulated, too, to fit a lower register.
Damn it. It was going to be hard to find her.
As he was thinking where to start, his phone vibrated in his pocket, indicating that there was a text. He found an isolated spot in the dark and took it out of his pocket, opening up the message sent to him by Kasper’s number. It had instructions to open an email, and Dean moved around again as he tried to locate stronger reception. He finally found it near the waters just behind a rock, where he could hide thoroughly.
He opened the email and found more information that Kasper found out: about all the other locations for delivery and the people linked to it. He’d already gathered enough evidence against them, and he’d also gathered a few more men he could trust—the same men who helped Dean and company save Xian’s people from that jungle fire caused by these monsters. They just needed his go-signal to do everything in sync, so they could arrest and take in everyone and the gathered evidence at the same time.
But it was another message that caught Dean’s attention more. His blood ran cold as he read it once, then twice.
I still need to investigate further, but you need to brace yourself. I found someone responding to one of the email requests I sent to bring in all the shifters to the island, on the reason that it would be better for them to be educated on the whole auctioning process. They will be arriving there tonight. I’ve also prepared items to capture them once they’re there, but you need to set up the traps manually.
But it was the last sentence that Dean wasn’t going to forget anytime soon.
The email response and approval were signed by your father.