Page 31 of Kidnapping of a Myth

“Fine, but no reckless behavior.” Griffin pinned her with an‘I know you’glare. “You see anything, you call me. And don’t wander far. I want you within earshot.”

“Will do.” Bel turned toward the trees. “If there’s something, it would be close, anyway. It’s what he did with the second star clue.”

She moved slowly, eyes scanning every blade of grass, every patch of dirt, every protruding tree branch. Her mind crossed its proverbial fingers, hoping against hope that she’d spot an anomaly amidst the greenery, but with each step, her heart sank a little further. She wasn’t a tracker, but it was obvious no one had been through these woods recently. If Pann wanted them to find something, she was looking in the wrong places, but just when she considered returning to the car, her phone rang.

“What happened?” she blurted as she answered on the first ring, the number on the screen spiking her heart rate.

“Nothing…sorry,” Eamon’s deep rumble spoke through the connection, and she shut her eyes in relief. “I had an idea I wanted to run by you. I want to call Ewan. We might need him.”

Ewan Orso was Detective Gold’s boyfriend and a bear shifter. He’d been passing through Bajka during their last case, capturing both Olivia’s heart and the police’s suspicions. He’d thankfully been innocent of the murders, and because he’d helped search for Bel after her kidnapping, Eamon had allowed him to remain in town. It was uncommon for two alpha predators to exist in such harmony, but it seemed their love for Bajka’s detectives had inspired a rare coexistence.

“His size and his senses would be incredibly helpful, but the last thing we need is someone shooting him because they’re on edge and saw a massive bear,” Bel said. “How resistant to explosives are shifters?”

“More than humans, but less than me,” Eamon answered. “But his power combined with mine might be the only thingthat saves John. You always have my faith, but the police aren’t equipped for this. Even with the fire department’s help, it would’ve taken them too long to break through that welded door. One wrong step, and an officer will be blown to pieces. The Tinker is playing games with us, but in the end, this is ultimately a murder case. He wants those boys dead… Wendy too, if your theory about the IEDs is correct. I think that’s why he allowed you to catch him. He wasn’t expecting me to save Michael, and his actions were already in motion.”

“That’s terrifying.” Bel turned back toward the abandoned car. “You really think his plans can’t be stopped?”

“Why else would he hover around the flooded bunker?”

“Maybe he assumed we would never make it past the IEDs?”

“Perhaps that’s part of his reasoning, but I don’t think he cared about being caught because the game is already rigged. All that’s left is for us to step into his traps.”

“Then why get caught? Why risk the punishment when he could get away with it?”

“What’s to say he won’t still walk away from this?” Eamon asked, and sickness curdled Bel’s stomach at his implications. “Bars would only hold me if I wanted them to.”

“Is he like you? Not human?”

“I don’t know. He smelled mortal, but he may possess unnatural power. Or he has a contingency plan. I’m sure as an officer you’re well acquainted with the concept of taking credit. Criminals often crave recognition for their violence, and with a case this prolific, Pann will live on in infamy… but only if the world knows he was the one who burned the Darling empire to the ground. That’s why I think we need Ewan. We’re up against someone who doesn’t expect to lose.”

“Call him and have him on standby,” Bel said, wondering if Eamon had been a cop in a former life or if he’d been hanging around her too much. “The police won’t let him onto the estatebecause he has no reason to be here, but if push comes to shove, I want him ready to help.”

“Sounds good,” Eamon said. “How’s it going with the car?”

“There’s nothing here. It was wiped clean and is just sitting out in the open… it’s like he wanted us to find it.”

The second the words left her tongue, she froze. How had she missed it? How had she not thought of that? Everything was a game to Pann. Everything they found had a deadly purpose, a reason for existing on the playing field, and that terror forced her into a jog. She burst into the clearing just as the deputy and Gold aimed for the trunk. The officer gripped it, readying to pop it open, and Bel knew. With icy shards of fear piercing her heart, she knew.

“Don’t!” she screamed, dropping the phone into the grass as she leaped forward. Eamon’s shouts of panic echoed through its speaker, but she ignored his voice as she raced over the dirt, screaming for them to abort. But the deputy had already unlocked the trunk, already had it creeping open. She’d never reach him in time, but Gold twisted at the sound of her warning, her movements shifting her closer to Bel. The deputy raised the trunk’s lid higher, and terrified that she was too late, Bel launched herself at her partner, her chest colliding with Olivia’s as a gunshot ripped through the silence.

The detectives hitthe ground hard as the gunshot echoed off the distant mountains, and Bel scrambled off her partner, her hands frantically searching Gold for any sign of injury. But beside the grass caught in her blonde locks, Olivia was fine.

“I…” a male voice sounded behind them, and Bel twisted in time to watch the deputy collapse. His hands groped his stomach, trying in vain to staunch the bleeding, and Bel crawled to him as his panicked words jumbled together into indistinguishable sounds.

“Griffin, ambulance!” she screamed as she shoved her palms against the deputy’s wound. Blood pumped past her fingers, and for a moment, she was no longer here with him but in the woods with Eamon, his broad back flayed open as she waited for herbeast to die. “You’re going to be okay,” she shouted, pushing her hands further into his flesh as she pushed the memory of that IED blast aside, and suddenly there was another pair of hands cupping hers as Gold burst into action.

“You’re going to be fine,” Bel repeated as the man’s wild eyes met hers. “You moved at the last second. It caught you in the side. You’re okay.”

“Ambulances were on standby, so they’ll be here in a few minutes,” Griffin said as he charged for them. “You just need to hold on.”

The deputy nodded, fear emanating from his skin to poison Bel’s heart. This was the second time in twenty-four hours that she’d worn another man’s blood. The third time someone had almost died at The Tinker’s hands, and she struggled not to cry as crimson flooded past her and Gold’s fingers to stain the ground.

“Help is on the way.” Griffin took the deputy’s hand and held it tight as the women fought to staunch the bleeding. “You’re doing great.”

“I…” the deputy started.

“Don’t talk,” Griffin said. “We got you.” He glanced over the man’s body to Bel and registered the terror in your eyes. “Let me take over,” he ordered, but she gritted her teeth in refusal.

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