He glanced at where Josh stood silently watching the exchange. “I want to talk to you after you’re done reminiscing with Jazz. Evan found out some very interesting things while he was talking to some of the humans in town.”
“About what?”
“Your brother.” And the debt Tony had amassed over the past year gambling on cage fights.
Chapter 25
Rafe leaned against one of the half-finished cars in Jasmine’s garage. Josh took up a similar position across from him.
“What do you want to talk about?” Josh asked.
“Recognize this?” Rafe held up one of the dozens of bid sheets Evan had found in the storage unit Tony had shared with his neighbor.
“No.” Josh frowned. “What is it?”
Josh’s scent didn’t change nor did Rafe’s cats alert him to any questionable body language. Rafe blew out a relieved breath. Josh hadn’t been a part of Tony’s gambling life.
“A bid sheet.”
“For what?” Josh snatched the paper. “Cage fighting? Where is there cage fighting around here?”
Rafe shrugged. “These operations tend to move from place to place. Sometimes they’ll set up a fight in an abandoned warehouse or a field, other times, they’ll have a makeshift ring in somebody’s basement or barn. The people who watch these fights are there for the violence, not the atmosphere.”
Josh crushed the paper in his fist. “And you’re saying my brother went to these fights?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Evan found that in the storage unit Tony shared with his neighbor, Cindy.”
Josh crossed his arms over his chest. “Then it must belong to that no-good husband of hers. That guy is always in the bar. If I let him, he’ll drink until he passes out.”
“Look at the handwriting on the back.”
Josh smoothed the paper, stared at it for a minute, then cursed.
“Recognize it?”
“Yeah.” Josh shoved the paper back at Rafe. “And so what if Tony was bidding on fights. He had a good job. If he wanted to spend his play money on fights, he could. It wasn’t like he was neglecting Megan or anything.”
Rafe sighed. He too would be protective of his brothers if someone thought to drag their names into an illegal activity. It was possible Tony hadn’t known…at first. Shifters rarely changed forms in front of humans. The instinctual drive to protect their species stopped most accidental shifts, even when faced with danger. At some point, Tony had learned the truth, though.
Rafe handed the pamphlet back to Josh. “Read the back.”
“I did.” Josh cracked his jaw. “A grand on the Hunter’s wolf form beating the Kagan’s.”
“Tony knew what the fighters were. He’s not innocent in this. These men are brought into the ring in chains or if they’re meant to fight as animals, in muzzles.” Rafe paused, letting that sink in.
Josh’s body tensed and an enraged look settled over his face. He slid his gaze to the wrinkled paper in Rafe’s hand but didn’t speak. No matter. Rafe had made his point.
“Even if Tony didn’t realize they were shifters, he couldn’t have missed the fact they were treated as slaves. I can guarantee you none of those men want to be in there. They’re fighting for their lives,” Rafe added.
“They’re kidnap victims?”
“Or they were raised in cages for the sole purpose of fighting. The Kagan is probably a male from the Kagan wolf pack. Their territory is only twenty or so miles from here. We can contact them and see if they’re missing any members. The Hunter?” Rafe shrugged. “No clue. It might be a title he’s earned. He’s listed as undefeated against other wolves.”
Josh’s eyes’ darkened. “The guys who run these fights need to be found.”
“Agreed.” Rafe nodded. “This fight was a week ago. Think back. Did Tony mention if he was going anywhere?”
The chances of finding the operation were slim, but Rafe would pass on whatever information he could to the Shifter Affairs agents. Sometimes their tactics of following a financial trail worked better than trying to pick up a scent.
“I don’t know.” Josh held up a hand. “That’s the god’s honest truth. Tony called and said he was bringing Megan over in ten minutes. He needed a break. She’d had him up three nights in a row, and he couldn’t take a fourth night. I assumed he’d stayed home and slept. It wasn’t the first time he’d needed a break.”
“You mentioned before that Megan had nightmares. What about?”
“She won’t always tell us, but she gets worked up and won’t go back to sleep until every single light in the house is turned on. Every light, Rafe. Even the oven light.” Josh shook his head. “Other times it’s because she thinks someone is going to get hurt. Those aren’t as bad because once she sees or hears the person’s voice, she settles down.”
Rafe curled his fists. The worry over losing a loved one was common with rescued shifters, so was the fear of the dark. The knowledge didn’t soothe him, though. “Does she talk about her birth parents?”
“No. Not a word. Whenever we’ve asked her questions about the past, she ignores us or cries. We assumed she just wasn’t ready to talk about it.” Josh motioned toward the house. “You’ve seen her. Other than her nightmares, Megan’s a happy kid. She’s not fearful of strangers, and she isn’t exactly afraid to speak her mind. We didn’t see a reason to push her if she wasn’t ready to talk about her past.”
Rafe wasn’t fond of bringing up the subject either. Upsetting the little girl was the last thing he wanted.
“There’s something else”—Josh scrubbed a hand down his face—“about Megan. It might be nothing.”
Rafe waited a moment, then prompted, “What about her?”
“She talks to herself.”
“As in, she has an imaginary friend?”
“Not exactly.” Josh rolled his shoulders, then blew out a strained breath. “Sometimes when she’s alone, she talks. Well, whispers.”
Devin had mentioned the same thing. It had struck him as odd, but Rafe hadn’t asked him more about it. Securing her safety had been more important.
“What does she say?”
“I haven’t been
