Twice Shy

“Something odd in town,” Ethan said when Liza asked if there was anything else. “There seem to be a lot of new people coming and going, but none of my people have been able to get any specifics.”

“For how long?” Jonas asked.

“A few days. Maybe a week.”

He looked at Liza and saw his suspicions mirrored in her eyes. “Harper's—” He cut off people. She wasn't theirs anymore. “Family?” Though he objected to calling them family also.

Liza nodded agreement. “Go check it out.”

“Anything else?”

He stood and looked around the room. When everyone either shook their head or said no, he stalked out, digging his cell phone from his pocket as he hurried to his house and his truck. He put the call through, and it was answered on the first ring.

“Yeah?”

“Mick. You got Harper?”

“She just walked in.”

“Keep her close.”

“What's wrong?” Mick snarled, low and mean. Sometimes Jonas forgot he had that side.

“People snooping around town. I'm going to check it out.”

“Watch your back.” It was as close as Mick would come to telling him to be careful.

“Always.”

Jonas got his truck and drove out the main gate, and hung a left on the dirt track to head for the closest town, which was twenty miles away. Redemption, Florida, wasn't much more than a hole-in-the-wall. Redhawke had spent generations encouraging that. Half of the town's five hundred residents were pack members, either werewolves or humans who had mated in. The other half knew exactly who owned the land they bordered, and most were the descendants of the original founders. A handful were refugees from the magical world.

Redhawke had a good relationship with the town. They depended upon each other for survival. Thirty minutes later Jonas turned onto Main Street. It was a scenic little town, mostly turn-of-the-century buildings and bungalows. He pulled into a parking slot in front of the tiny police department and strolled inside to find the man who ran the operation.

He was sitting behind a desk, leaning back in his chair with his feet propped on the edge while he juggled tennis balls in the air without using his hands. He grinned when Jonas walked in. He was one of the few people Jonas called friend, a lone wizard in werewolf territory, who'd earned respect and trust over many years.

“What brings Redhawke calling?” Harris asked.

“Heard there've been some strangers around.”

“Ah, good.” Harris's feet thumped to the floor. “Ethan found you.”

“Why didn't you call me?”

“Tried yesterday. You didn't answer.”

There was a question in that statement, but Jonas didn't respond to it. He'd been focused on Mick because of the full moon, and later Harper.

“Fill me in now.”

Harris shrugged, standing as he grabbed his hat and gestured for the door.

“There were five or six snooping around. I got wind of it yesterday morning, but a couple of the locals remember seeing them as early as a week ago. Though, looks like they've all cleared out. 'Cept for one.”

“Describe him.” The wolf was in his voice. Harris gestured him to follow.

“Let's go visit. He's staying at the McCaller place.” The last McCaller had died before Jonas was born, and left his house to the town. The town used it as an inn. Redemption was wolf territory, but they'd established it as a neutral meeting ground decades ago. Whoever the stranger was, he wasn't hiding. Jonas would lay odds on Harper's father. He was arrogant and brazen. Neutrality or not, that particular wizard had no business there.

Since it wasn't far, they walked down Main Street and then turned left to follow a lane to its end. The big house sat on a corner, porches wrapping the exterior upstairs and down. Their guest was waiting in a rocking chair when Jonas walked up the steps. It wasn't who he had been expecting, but he shouldn't have been surprised.

“Dane.”

“Took you long enough,” he grumbled.

Jonas cocked an eyebrow. “If you wanted to speak to me, you could have done it yesterday.”

Dane rolled his eyes. Jonas supposed the kid was now technically family, his brother-in-law, and maybe he shouldn't give the juvenile a lesson in manners. He was pretty damned tempted, though.

“Harper's been through enough. I did give her a phone. I figured you’d use it.”

“I was busy,” he said defensively, and that just pissed him off. He was not explaining his actions to a damned kid. “Why are you still here?” he growled.

Dane's spine stiffened until he stood at his full height, and he narrowed his eyes. Jonas studied him. The kid was tall and lanky. He hadn't filled out yet, but there was promise there, especially in the hard, determined look on his face.

“I hope I didn't make a mistake sending my sister here. You're supposed to take care of her.”

“Says who?”