college, but Derrick had never cared for him. Unlike his brother, Ryan. Derrick had always liked him. Ryan was about seven years younger than Derrick, but they’d always gotten along. Probably because Ry wasn’t a hothead like Jonas. They’d wrestled, but it’d always been good-natured, a chance to blow off steam.
Jonas lifted his head in acknowledgement, a cocky smile lifting one side of his mouth. “Hey, Derrick,” he called. “I heard you need help.”
“We don’t need your help, Jonas,” Derrick reminded him, his words coming out almost in a snarl. His gaze bolted to Vic sitting next to Jonas. “You call him, Victoria?” She’d always been fond of him. Derrick always thought she’d fall for Jonas if she’d take her focus off him. Looks as though she decided that’s what she needed to move on. Derrick just wished it’d been anyone but him. Jonas was a loose cannon. Yeah he’d protected humans, but he’d also left witnesses, and that was something his family couldn’t allow. Humans wouldn’t care that most creatus protected them; they’d only see them as a threat. Michael and he agreed on that one issue anyway.
Ryan stood up. “I called him, Derrick. We needed help, and my brother is one of the best.”
Derrick narrowed his eyes at Ry. It was bad enough that he had Michael and Vic questioning his every move, but now Ryan was giving him a hard time. So much for liking the kid. Not wanting to lose his temper, Derrick walked toward his desk without responding. His father and Dean followed behind him.
Lynford raised his hands to get everyone’s attention, and the entire room fell to a hush. “In all the years we’ve lived here, we’ve never had a problem,” his father started, “because we’ve always elected an overseer, and we’ve always adhered to our rules. Nothing has changed. As head of the council, Dean, Matthew, and I will continue to stand behind Derrick and his decisions. Anyone who does not want to abide by the same rules can leave. Is that clear?” His father plopped down on a chair, waving for Derrick to continue.
Internally, Derrick wasn’t certain how he felt about his father stepping in, but he was still head of the council, even if Derrick was overseer.
Deciding to get right to business, Derrick made eye contact with Jonas. “The rules haven’t changed, Jonas. We are not going out on the street as vigilantes, looking for a fight; we are seeking a serial killer. The rogue has an agenda, and it’s personal. What started out looking like a rogue creatus now looks as though he has a plan. And I use ‘he’ only because it’s easier. This creatus could be male or female. I’ve seen his shadow and heard his voice, but he’s kept his distance. It’s clear that he knows me personally.” A murmur swept through the barn, and Derrick was grateful to see that some of his family actually cared. “The last murder was a police detective inside Kristina’s house. My guess is that he wanted to make me appear guilty. But as you know, this endangers all of us. If they start questioning me, no telling how close they’ll get to the family. And the last thing we want is to relocate.”
Collective whispers and nods traveled around the room in agreement.
Now that he had everyone’s attention, he continued, “He also attacked, but didn’t kill Kristina’s best friend, Beth. This time, though, he used our creatus seal. He pressed the red wax seal on her forehead, which as you know will have humans searching for any similar uses of the seal throughout history and leaves no doubt in our mind that this is a creatus attack. And as far as attacking Kristina’s friend, my only guess is that he’s taunting me. Which makes me believe it’s someone we banished in the last ten to twenty years or…” he paused a moment, knowing he was going to catch flack, “someone here who disagrees with my decisions.”
This time a few harrumphs shadowed the mutters of surprise. Derrick wasn’t surprised to see that the disagreements of his assertion stemmed from Victoria, Jonas, Ryan, and sadly, even Michael.
Chapter Twenty-four
Kris sat across from Sabrina, sipping a cup of hot tea. According to her new mother-in-law to be, she grew all the herbs in her garden. The creatus’ diet was so restrictive of any proteins, oils, and grains heated to high temperatures, causing high levels of toxins, that they couldn’t take a chance on any processed foods.
“So you grow everything you eat?” Kris asked.
“Practically,” Sabrina answered. “I do buy fresh fruit and vegetables from vendors, but mostly we just stay away from anything processed or pasteurized.”
Kris shook her head. “It sounds like a lot of work.”
“It’s not so hard. We all work together. Every family specializes in something different, so the bartering system works well. And look at me; do I look seventy-three?” Sabrina said proudly, lifting her head.
Kris blinked in shock, her grin spreading wide across her face. “Actually, no. Not at all. You’re seventy three?”
A beautiful pink spread across Sabrina’s cheeks, making her appear even younger. “Yep. Lyn and I married when I was twenty-two, and we had Derrick almost two years later.”
Kris leaned in, excited that Derrick and she would be the same age as her in-laws when they married. Though she hadn’t married yet, she was ready. “How did you meet?” Kris asked excitedly, wiggling on her chair in her eagerness to hear the entire story of their romance. Her future mother-in-law’s mouth turned down, and a wash of sadness spread over her round and kind-looking face, and Kris was instantly distressed that she’d asked, since obviously it wasn’t a story Sabrina wanted to share. “I’m sorry,” Kris instantly excused her careless question. She should have asked Derrick first, knowing that it might have been a tragic meeting, as Derrick and hers had been. “I shouldn’t have pried.”
Sabrina waved her off. “It’s okay.” She took a sip of her tea before continuing, as though trying to collect her strength. “It’s actually similar to how you and Derrick met; only I wasn’t a child. My father was involved with the Irish Mob. He’d turned evidence on one of the gang leaders. In retaliation, they killed him and then came after my mother, brother, and me. Regrettably, I was the only one to survive.”
Kris pulled her fist to her mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Sabrina patted her hand that still rested on the table. “It’s okay, sweetheart. How could you have known? I know Derrick wouldn’t have said anything.” She took another sip of her tea and continued, “Anyway, after killing my mother and brother, they decided I was too pretty to kill immediately. I’d been holding a knife I had hidden under my mattress when they found me. I swung the knife at them, slashing both of them at once, but it wasn’t enough to stop them. It gave me enough time to get away from them for a few minutes, but then they caught up with me in the alley behind my house.” Sabrina closed her eyes for a second then opened them. “No one did anything while the men beat me on the street. And then, something changed, I couldn’t feel the gravel beneath me anymore. My eyes were too swollen to see, but I’ll never forget his voice as he whispered that everything would be all right.”
Kris’ eyes filled as she listened, thinking about her mother—and herself. “You would have died and no one would have stopped them?” she asked, unable to believe people would stand by and watch.
“Yes. The neighbors were afraid, and it was dark. They didn’t know I was the person they were beating up; they just knew that someone was paying for betrayal. My assailants repeated those words over and over. Perhaps so that no one would interfere.” Sabrina clasped Kris’ hand in hers. “Of course, unlike you, I was an adult, but things were different then. It wasn’t easy to find a job that paid the bills on your own. Without a family to support me, I would have ended up on the street. Luckily, Lynford took me home, which of course was against the rules, but he didn’t know what else to do with me. If he’d taken me to the hospital, more than likely the mob would have killed me.” Sabrina stared off dreamily around the kitchen as she continued, “His parents were furious when he’d announced that he’d fallen for me. They didn’t believe it was possible for a human to “fall” for a creatus, but I did. As far as they’d known, it’d never happened.”
Kris smiled. “Like us.” And then a thought occurred to her. “That’s why you wanted to adopt me? Because I was all alone, as you would have been?”
“Yes.” Sabrina smiled sweetly. “Oddly enough, Lyn was okay with it. It was Derrick who wouldn’t allow us to adopt you.”
“Why in the he—?” Kris spouted, perturbed at once, but then pulled her expletive before she offended Sabrina. She could have been living with this great family her entire life instead of a new foster home every six months. With people who loved her and didn’t think she was an imposition in their lives.
Sabrina’s lips turned up again. “I don’t think Derrick wanted to ever think of you as a sister. He was crazy about your mother, but he knew he was too young, so he never let it go beyond friendship. Although, we were
