Chapter Two

 

After landing at the small airstrip outside of Baltimore, I got in the rental car Kalkin had waiting for me then drove straight to the address in the kid’s dossier. I did a double take when I arrived. No way kids lived, much less slept, there. Calling it a shit-hole hadn’t even been an adequate description of the large building taking up most of the block. It needed to be condemned. A dingy shredded blue tarp clung to the roof for dear life. A stiff gust of wind blew from the east, lifting the light-weight material and exposing a hole the size of an HVAC unit. Damn. Three-quarters of the windows were covered by plywood, while others were cracked and worn with age.

Are there even locks on the doors?

I couldn’t believe these kids resided there. Guilt ate at my gut. Sure, I’d be saving Haley, but who’d come for the others? I hated the thought of leaving them there, but I also couldn’t draw any more attention than the kid already had.

There weren’t even any adults supervising the kids. I got out of the car and started for the front of the building. Kids of all ages milled about. Some played with chalk, drawing pictures of giant flowers and rainbows, while others skipped rope or ran free, squealing with excitement if they were tagged out. To not have a care in the world...

 “Hey, kid. Who’s in charge here, and where are they?” I stopped a ginger-haired boy as he barreled out of the front door.

The boy, who couldn’t have been more than six or seven, skidded to a halt and gave me a once over. His dark-brown gaze turned suspicious. “Mrs. Murphey is in charge. She’s dealin’ with Haley, though. It might be awhile.”

“Haley?”  

“Yeah. Haley and Nita got into it ‘bout whose turn it was to scrub the toilets again. Girls are all drama.”

Hence why at thirty-four, I was still single. “Tell me about it.”

The kid snickered. “Haley beat the shit outta Nita. She might’ve broken Nita’s nose. She was gushing blood like a friggin’ hose.” The smirk on his face let me know he was happy to see the girl get her up-comings.

An older woman stepped out onto the porch with her hands on her hips. “JP, how many times have I told you, not to talk to strangers?” Her heavy New York accent made her tone harsh, almost angry.

“Ahh, jeez, Mrs. M, I know better. Honest. This guy is looking for you. If I didn’t answer him, you’d be riding my ass ‘bout being rude,” JP smarted off before taking off down the street.

I liked the kid. Reminded me of Kalkin. But don’t tell the asshole I said as much. I’d fucking deny it. Anyway, I was burning daylight, so I headed up the stairs with my hand out. My mission was simple: get the girl and get the hell out of Dodge. Mrs. Murphey’s beady-eyed gaze watched me the entire time. “Mrs. Murphey, I believe you’re expecting me. I’m here for Haley.”

Mrs. Murphey muttered to herself as she made the sign of the cross across her chest. “Oh, there is a God in Heaven, and he’s finally answered my prayers.” She wiggled her fingers of her outstretched hand. “Give me the money, and I’ll get her immediately.”

Fuck me, I knew I should’ve stayed home asleep in my bed, in my shitty apartment instead of dealing with this. Kalkin was going to owe me.

Big time.

A man wearing a three-piece suit, looking a bit haggard as though he hadn’t slept a wink in three days, approached us. “Sorry. Yasinda, you’ve been paid. Get the girl.”

The woman huffed. “I don’t know why I deal with you, Steele.”

Once she entered the building, I turned to the man who’d joined us. “You’re my contact?”

The ex-FBI agent joined first Vigilante fifteen years ago, then Psychic Retrieval Agency five years ago. He and his mate, De Susa, another FBI agent had made their home in Window Rock, along with the three children they’d adopted from Danielle and Keeley’s orphanage.

“Yeah, sorry I’m late. Chance wasn’t keen about me being away from home.” He sighed. “Kids, right?”

The dull ache, I had felt earlier on the plane, bloomed into a full-on headache. I’d have to make a pit stop for some caffeine before heading to my parents.

The woman returned moments later, dragging the girl, Haley, by the arm. “Here.”

I held my hand out to the girl. She appeared smaller than the five feet three marked in her folder. Most Raven shifters, like their animal counterparts, were bigger, bulkier in human form. She needed a good meal or twenty, of heavy on protein, to put some meat on her too-thin frame.

“Fix the damn roof, replace the windows, and try cleaning up the place. If you have any money left over, cut the damn grass and buy some toys for the kids. I’m going to ask friends I have in the area to keep an eye out. I don’t see the repairs, I won’t be happy.”

Mrs. Murphey lifted her chin in defiance. “Haley is a tough kid, but she’s one of mine.”

What the hell did that have to do with the price of tea in China? “What’s your point? You have all these kids living in squalor for what?” 

“Donations are in short supply this year, and I’ve already used my allotted funds to repair the plumbing,” she stated. “I still have little ones to feed, clothe, and keep warm this winter. Haley will age out of the system soon. She knows the score.”

Is this how she gets her money? Guilt people? I shook my head, biting back every caustic retort forming in my mind. Most days, I was glad my mother and father taught me manners, days like this, not so much. So, I asked the only question I could without sounding like an asshole. “And?” Okay, maybe I didn’t do a good enough job.

She gestured to the building, and said in a calm voice, “More than half of these kids will never get adopted. This will be the only home, the only family some of these kids will ever know.”

I found it odd to feel protective of a group of kids I haven’t even met, but I did. It pissed me off, making me snap. “I get it, Haley is collateral damage. Sell the oldest to pay for your shit, instead of doing what’s right to begin with.”

Tears welled up in Mrs. Murphey’s eyes. “Anything but. Selling Haley provides for the rest of the kids for a year.”

Now it sounded to me like she was making excuses for her shitty actions. Whatever worked for her. I wasn’t going to ever agree with her, and I wasn’t going to argue. Instead, I simply demanded, “Don’t you even give a shit about where they’re going?”

Maxwell Steele grabbed my arm. “You should go.”

Fuck. Great. Here I was supposed to be keeping my cool, and I was running off at the mouth. Nothing like putting a target on my and Haley’s back. “Yeah, you’re right.”

I waited till the woman walked away, then introduced myself. “Midnight Poe.”

Haley laughed, scowling at my hand like I had a rabid case of cooties. By the way, I don’t. Shifters don’t carry human diseases. “Whatever. Your parents must really hate you or be mental to stick you with not one, but two Edgar Allen Poe references.”

“Good luck,” Steele said, with a wave as he walked away.

“Yeah. Thanks,” I muttered.

I’ll admit, growing up with my name wasn’t always cool. That being said, Midnight is a badass name if I say so myself. No way would I let Haley know her dissing my parents pissed me off. She didn’t even know them, and normally, people figured out they were a can shy of a six-pack. Which meant, I’d enjoy imparting her with the truth of this situation.

I crossed my arms over my chest, and did my very best Kalkin Raferty imitation stance—including his facial expression, when he was dealing with anyone other than his immediate family.

“Wouldn’t laugh considering as of this morning your last name has been changed to Poe, and my parents are technically now your grandparents. Haley Poe. Kind of has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” A smug sense of satisfaction filled me.

Haley’s face scrunched. “Eww. No, it doesn’t, and I’m not taking your last name.”

I snorted. “Too late, kiddo. I’ve already got a new identification for you. Anything with your last name on it will be burned. From here on out, you can call me dad.” I smiled and then gestured to the waiting SUV, parked nearby. “We need to move.”

She rolled her eyes and grumbled, “I’m not calling you dad.”

I placed my hand on the small of her back in order to move her along. We were burning daylight. “Yeah, you are. It’s part of our cover. Blow yours, and it’ll be the PBH will be snatching you faster than you can say help.” I didn’t have to say shit about the Paranormal Bounty Hunters. Any person, shifter or human, who had psychic abilities, heard tales about the PBH.

Her chin went up. “We’ll see.”

“Yeah, we will.” I opened the door for her. “Now, get in the car. We need to get on the road and table this conversation of who, what, and why for later.”

Haley reluctantly got in. Once she was situated, I joined her moments later as I climbed into driver side. I glanced over at her and frowned. She looked so lost. Tears gathered in her grey eyes, and for a minute, I had to remember she was a child, not a soldier, and most definitely, not an agent.

The abnormal feeling of protectiveness came over me again, and I touched her hand. “It’ll be okay.” I started the car and threw it in drive. “Where I’m taking you, you’ll be safe—free to be you.” After checking my mirrors, I pulled out into traffic.

She dragged her hand away from my touch and said nothing. She stared out the passenger window. Whatever emotion, I don’t think it was sadness, but something else, disappeared, leaving her completely blank.

It’s going to be a long-ass drive to Baltimore.

 

Once we got on I-95 south, I pulled into the first rest stop I could find to get the kid some food, a coffee for me and to use the facilities. I glanced at the gas gauge and made a mental note to fill up before we left. My goal had been to drive straight through to my parents’ home. It would take a little over three hours, not as bad as I worried it would be.

Haley stirred. About an hour into our drive, she had fallen asleep. At least, she felt comfortable enough with me to do so. “Why’d we stop?”

“Need some coffee. I thought we could get you a meal and fill up the car.”

“Not hungry.” She was lying, because I’d heard the distinct rumbling of her stomach filling the quiet interior of the vehicle while I drove.

Now wasn’t the time to give her a nutrition lecture or how raven shifters needed to eat smaller meals more often than not. “I’m trying here, kid. Look, your stomach says otherwise.”

She bit her lip, and her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink. Shit.

“It’s okay to tell me when you’re hungry. As far as I am concerned, you’re free to do what you want, on my tab,” I said, then added. “Within reason of course.”

“Are you always annoying?” She flipped her long, black hair over her shoulder. Her photo really didn’t do her justice. I could see why the PBH would want her. Besides her abilities, she was beautiful. Striking really. I don’t mean that in a creepy pedophile way, either.

“Worse, if you ask my boss.” I winked at her. I couldn’t even begin to imagine her life or how she arrived at some rundown prison. I wouldn’t call it an orphanage or even a foster home.

Her lips twitched, but she wouldn’t smile. “Whatever. I’ll eat.”

I found a space in front of the fast food joint inside the turn off, and shut off the car. I figured now might be a good time to lay down some ground rules. “You’re to stick close to me. Good rule of thumb, you can’t see me, I can’t see you. If I can’t see you, I’m gonna get pissed. I get pissed, you’re gonna get punished.” What her punishment would be, I had no fucking clue, and thankfully, she never asked. I saw a conversation with my mom tonight. Right after Haley went to sleep.

Haley gave me a dirty look before she volleyed back. “I’ll be out of your sight when I go to the bathroom unless, you know, you’re planning to follow me. Then you’ll get your raven-shifter ass arrested for being a pervert. Which, let me tell you, would be hysterical in my book.”

Not to be outdone, I enlightened her. “I won’t have to follow you anywhere. Rest stops like these, they cater to families. We’ll simply use the family bathrooms.”

Haley’s face dropped in defeat.

We got out and headed inside. This would seriously be a test of my patience. No, this wasn’t my first rodeo with kids, however, I’d never dealt with a teenager. My last ward had been a four-year-old. He liked trucks and superheroes. He hated naps, though, but being in a car for twelve hours pretty much took care of that problem.

Haley pointed to the bathroom sign and smirked when she opened the door. “Interesting, huh?”

Kid, one. Me, zero.

I’d been wrong about the family bathrooms. Really fucking wrong. The bathroom reminded me of a giant co-ed shower. Urinals and stalls were situated around the room. There weren’t any type of partitions to keep prying eyes out. Needless to say, Haley stayed outside while I took a piss. All things considering, she’d stayed right near the door when I exited.

After finding the biggest cup of coffee I could get and snagging Haley a meal, we made our way back to the car. I drove over to the pumps and handed the attendant my card. “Fill it, please.”

Haley, for not being hungry, inhaled her fast food meal before the attendant even handed me the receipt. She sucked down some of her shake, then took a sip of her soda. A gross combo to me, but if it made her happy, who was I to say shit? I clicked on the radio and found an alternative rock station as we exited the rest area. Foo Fighters’ Everlong pumped through the speakers.

“Ugh, you actually listen to this shit?”

I gave her a dirty look, no one dissed the Foo Fighters in my car. “They are a classic. Their music fueled my teenage angst and rebellion, and they have been a close friend to me, through my adulthood. Dave Grohl is a rock God. Did you know Nirvana is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?”

“Nirvana?” She tilted her head.

“Please tell me you know who Kurt Cobain is.” I didn’t know if she was jerking my chain or not.

“What does this Nirvana have to do with Foo Fighters and Dave whatever-his-name-is?”

I blinked. “Are you fucking with me, kid?”

She didn’t answer.

“Dave Grohl is—was the drummer for Nirvana,” I said.

“Now you’re just fucking with me,” she replied. “Anyway, you do realize, like no one, and I mean no one, even listens to rock anymore. It’s dead.”

I snorted. Every generation claimed as much, yet new rock bands were formed and were producing music each year. So, I asked, “And what, pray tell, does your ‘hip,’ generation listen to?”

“K-pop,” Haley replied.

“What the fuck is K-pop?”

She laughed. “I’m sensing a theme here, Poe. You don’t know everything. K-Pop is Korean Pop music.”

I rolled my eyes. “Since when did they start distinguishing music by country?”

She shifted in her seat, and I could feel her glare singe my skin. “Seriously? Ever hear of the British Invasion of the sixties and the eighties.”

I snorted. “Most music of the eighties was boring. Over synthesized and overplayed.”

“I don’t even know how to respond. The eighties gave us Madonna.”

I stopped her right there. “Who is an overrated singer.”

Haley ignored me. “Prince, MJ, Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses, David Bowie, INXS, and Queen. How can you say Queen is overplayed?”

“Queen isn’t, and neither is Bowie. Technically, they’re from the seventies and just carried over to the eighties. I’d also like point out, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, and INXS are rock bands and therefore aren’t overplayed or synthesized.”

“But from the eighties.”

“Correct.”

Haley snorted.

“Don’t get offended, kid. I simply like rock,” I said.

“Do you ever listen to anything else?”

“Nope.” I grinned.

“Unfreakingbelievable,” she muttered.

“What’s wrong with liking one style of music and sticking to it?” The more I asked her questions, the more I got to know Haley. I also liked the nickname she gave me. Little did she know, only the most important people in my life call me Poe.

“It’s boring, and you’re missing songs that will one day be classics.” She took another sip of her shake.

I snorted. “Says you. I seriously doubt twenty, thirty years from now people are going to say this K-pop is classical music.”

“You don’t get it.” She sighed.

“Enlighten me.”

She got a wistful look on her face, and I had a feeling she was remembering a time when she hadn’t been so... stilted. “Music is linked to our emotions, and when certain songs play, they have the ability to take us back to a special memory. It lets us remember minute details we otherwise, would have forgotten. Music is what separates us from the animals.”

I chuckled. “I’m pretty sure it’s the fact we can make fire, have the ability to reason, and are able to have abstract thoughts that separates us from the animals.”

“You don’t get it,” she said.

“Obviously, I don’t. I’m also not an ass, and I know how to compromise. You want to change the channel.” I gestured to the radio. “Have at it.”

I would regret those words.

Deeply.

My poor ears. Haley, unbelievably, found a K-pop station. It stayed on for a long-ass time until I couldn’t take it anymore. I swear they were dripping blood. And my head? It was pounding like a jackhammer. Unable to deal with the sickening sick and some-what reminiscent music of the 90’s, I turned the radio off and released a relieved breath when blissful silence filled the vehicle.

“Dude. I gave you five—ten minutes tops before you lost it and changed the station. Blows me away you made it two hours.” Haley snickered, her words were laced with amusement.

I looked at her in surprise when it hit me. “You don’t like K-pop, do you?”

Haley shuddered. “Eww, no way. It’s annoying, unoriginal, and has mindless lyrics. I swear it causes brain rot.”

I groaned, closing my eyes for a second. The little raven shifter silently and thoroughly out-maneuvered me. I’d never admit it to her or anyone else. Eager to change the subject, I told Haley what to expect from my parents. “In an hour or so, we’ll be at my mom and dad’s place. We’ll have a nice dinner, rest up for the night, then hit the road before sunrise.”

When Haley finally spoke, the fear in her voice was tangible. “Where are you taking me? And who are you?”

I ignored the second question and answered the first. “Window Rock, Arizona.”

“What the heck is there? Other than a desert.”

I was tempted to fuck with her for making me listen to the crappy music by telling her how a body decomposes quicker in the desert. I stopped myself, though, remembering she was still a kid. And unlike her, I had a conscience. “A life? People who’ll care and protect you.”

“Do you even know who and what I am?”

“You’re a Raven shifter, like me,” I replied.

Haley snorted, and when she spoke her voice was laden with disgust. “I’m soo not like you.”

I turned and saw the sadness in her grey eyes. Those protective instincts I didn’t recognize reared their ugly head again. “Yeah, you are. You’re just different, and not in a bad way. You’re just special, Haley.”

“Special as in if we were lost in the wilderness, and you needed me to start a fire or cook a meal, I could?” She frowned.

“I always have a box of matches.” I shrugged, not bothered by who and what she was.

“Or maybe you mean I’m special because my parents just one day decided to leave me, stranded and alone. Left me to be raised in a group home with no chance of being fostered or adopted because of what I am. Take your pick, because I’m both. And the freedom you speak of, with such relevance, it’s an illusion. None of us are free. We all have a piper we must pay at some point.”

Shit, who would have thought a teenage girl could be so deep, or blame her for being so disillusioned about life? “Kid I—”

“Are you PBH?”

My lip curled in disgust. “Fuck, no. The people who I work for, they’ve had experience with the PBH, and where I’m taking you, the PBH won’t go. Ever.”

Haley snorted, clearly in disbelief. “Says you. I can’t believe I’m seriously following you.”

“You have so far,” I countered.

“I have no choice.” Defeat filled her tone. “Don’t you get it? I never have. I’m just a sixteen-year-old, born to be used.”

I'm sure her whole perception would change once I got her to Window Rock. I highly doubt she'd believe me if I told her. A kid like her, she’d have to experience it firsthand.

We drove the rest of the way to my parents’ house in silence. Haley eventually settled and fell back to sleep. When we pulled up to my parents’ house, I left the car running and got out. I had to make contact with Kalkin. I should have called when we first stopped, but I didn’t want to make the kid anxious. “Tell me you got her.”

I could hear the unease in the older man’s voice. It’s not something I normally associated with him at all. “Yeah, I do.”

“Thank fuck. Jerome said there is a lot of chatter right now about this girl,” Kalkin stated after letting out a breath.

I glanced around my parents’ sleepy neighborhood. If people were talking, it meant PBH was getting antsy. “Might be best to arrange alternate arrival method. Flying would be faster.”

Then Kalkin confirmed my worst suspicions. “Except they’ve got all the airports on the East Coast under heavy surveillance. Safer to drive her in.”

“But longer. Leaving us out in the open, unprotected.” I hated the idea of our asses being exposed like this.

Kalkin growled. “Cool your jets, Midnight. Remember your training. Arrangements are in play to provide safe passage home. Hunker down somewhere safe, get a good night’s sleep, and get your ass on the road early. I’ll send you the route I want you to take. Jerome’s got eyes in the sky, so we’ll be watching.” And, like always, when Kalkin was done with a conversation, he hung up, no goodbyes, nothing.

I knocked on the car window, startling Haley. She rubbed at her eyes before she stepped out of the SUV. “Remember your manners.” I don’t know why I warned her before we walked up to my parent’s door.

“Sure. Whatever.”