“Jeez, why didn’t he say so? Do you have any proof they’re alive?” Lelandi asked, her face growing red.
Chester handed her a letter. “Your mother’s handwriting, correct?”
Lelandi’s eyes misted as she read the note. “It Is.” She choked up. “My mother says my father wants me to join them, and that they’re with my brother and uncle.”
“You’ll stay with me.” Darien tightened his hold on her hand. “They can live with our pack.”
She shook her head. “Knowing my father, he wouldn’t want to live with a gray pack, no offense.”
“As long as you don’t mind,” He watched her, waiting for her response.
“I want to see them. Do they know about Larissa? They must if Ural has talked to them.” She sank into the cushions, looking drained and Darien wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
Sam hollered into the house from the front door. “Sorry for the interruption folks, but there’s a Miss Carol Wood here to see Lelandi. Is she free to speak with her?”
Lelandi closed her eyes, then opened them, so not wanting to talk to the poor lady. First this business about her parents—she couldn’t be more pleased they were safe, but she knew how badly they must feel that Larissa was dead. And Carol—she must be feeling horrible about losing both Doc and Ritka, despite their deaths not being her fault.
‘I’m not hiring her at the hospital if she thinks she can win you over and try to get to me.” Darien patted Lelandi’s leg. His chin was down and his eyes were narrowed, conveying a guarded threat.
“You have nothing to worry about.” Lelandi rose from the sofa and the men all stood.
Carol and Sam remained in the chilly foyer waiting for her. Sam’s expression solemn, Carol’s even grimmer. Her vivid blue eyes, wearing a wealth of worry, watched Lelandi, then she turned her attention back to the living room that was hidden from their view in the foyer. None of the men talked and Lelandi wondered if that was making Carol uncomfortable, or if it was the way Sam, as big as he was, continued to chaperone them.
Lelandi took a deep settling breath and reached for Carol’s hand. She didn’t want to make friends with a human. Keeping the lupus garou secret precluded that, but she had to know what this was about. “Let’s go to the sunroom. Even though it’s pretty cold out, someone probably started a nice fire. If it’s not comfortable enough, we can find some other spot to sit.”
“I... I didn’t mean to disturb you after what happened, but we have to talk.”
Lelandi led Carol through the living room where the men all stood up from the couches and chairs. “Ladies,” Darien said, his expression hard.
As if he had to warn her not to get too friendly with a human. She gave him an annoyed look back. Carol noticed; her anxious expression didn’t waver.
They walked to the back of the house and Lelandi opened the door to the sunroom. Two men she didn’t know were talking inside, but as soon as they saw Lelandi and Carol they both made their excuses and left the room. Lelandi shut the door and motioned to a couch that faced the fireplace and a floor-to-ceiling window that showed the winter scene outside.
“Unusually early snow,” Carol remarked.
But Lelandi knew Carol wasn’t there for chitchat. She wasn’t sure how to approach a human about human frailties. But she could be a good listener. So instead of saying anything, she sat in the chair close to the end of the pale green couch where Carol perched herself.
Carol spoke low. “I’m sick with worry for your safety.”
Lelandi tried to hide her surprise, but she was afraid she’d failed.
“I... I felt terrible about Doctor Oliver and Nurse Ritka. I... I didn’t save their lives.” Carol quickly brushed away tears.
Lelandi reached over and took hold of her hand and squeezed. ‘You did everything you could for them. I know you did.”
“Do you believe in fate? That our lives are predetermined? That nothing we do will change our fate? Do you?” Carol pulled her hand away from Lelandi’s and pushed her fingers through her wind-tousled blonde curls. “I saw Joe Kelly shoot Doctor Oliver.”
“Yes, of course you did.”
“No... no. I saw it happen before it happened. Don’t you see? I have these damned psychic abilities, and what do they do for me? Nothing. I couldn’t save him, could I? I came to stop Doctor Oliver from confronting Joe. But instead I got him killed.”
“No.” Lelandi moved to the couch. She put her arm around Carol’s shoulders and realized how much it was like when she comforted her sister after her mate beat her. Regret filled her with a sense of loss, knowing she could never comfort her sister again. But she wanted to help Carol get through her troubles now. “Joe intended to kill Doc. He told me so.”
Carol pulled a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. “You’re not safe with them.”
“With Darien and his brothers?” Lelandi had a very bad feeling about this.
Carol’s eyes glistened with fresh tears. “You don’t know what they are. But if you stay with them, they’ll make you one of them.”
Lelandi’s heartbeat did double time, but she tried to keep the panic hidden. If a human learned the truth about the lupus garous, Bruin discretely terminated them. A car accident, drowning, whatever it took to make it appear the human had met his end accidentally. But she couldn’t be sure Carol knew about the lupus garous either.
“What do you mean?” Lelandi asked as innocently as she could manage.
Carol studied her face for what seemed an eternity. Lelandi’s hands grew sweaty.
“You’re not one of them already, are you?” Carol looked down at the floor as If she was considering something, then her head rose quickly, and she looked at Lelandi’s face again, her own filled with horror. She jumped up from the couch, then offered a fake smile, her body trembling slightly. “I’ve got to get home and feed my cat. I forgot to leave food out for him.”
Lelandi had to stop her from leaving. She had to know the truth. Did Carol realize what they were? With the gentlest of touches, she reached out to Carol. “You’re right, I’m in a lot of danger. I don’t have anyone to talk to because Darien doesn’t want me involved. But I am involved. Will you listen?”
Carol glanced back at the door like a rabbit looking for a quick escape from the little red wolf.
“Carol.” Lelandi resumed her seat on the overstuffed chair next to the couch, trying to put some distance between them so the woman wouldn’t feel so cornered. A secret for a secret? She had to know what Carol suspected. “Someone was blackmailing my sister.”
Carol hesitated.
“Maybe you can help me find out who with your special abilities.” She raised her brows. “I don’t know if this person was the one who killed her or not, but...”
Carol sat down on the couch, leaned forward, and patted Lelandi’s hand. “Do you have any suspects?”
Lelandi’s heart filled with hope that Carol might be able to help her, but she shook her head. “No one that I have any evidence on. But Ritka and her girlfriends hated Larissa. With her out of the way, they had a chance to…” She almost said mate. She wasn’t used to having a human confidant. Rubbing her arms, she let out her breath. “Darien would be available to marry again. Maybe one of them was the blackmailer. Maybe they thought he’d divorce her if... oh. I don’t know.”
“No,” Carol said with certainty.