"But your kind don't mix. You said so."
"We'll make an exception just this once."
Faith watched Leidolf's expression for any hint he was lying to her. "He really is all right?"
Leidolf smiled. "He's fine."
She frowned again and grabbed the door handle. "He should have been an Arctic wolf." Because then he would have joined Cameron and her newly formed pack. Now he was going to be in Leidolf's pack? She told herself if he was happy, she was happy, but it wasn't really sinking in. Until she realized what the matter was. She always took care of him. He'd expected it of her ever since her mother left him. And now Faith had been replaced by another woman.
Faith looked back at Leidolf. "I'm not needed anymore."
"I'd say someone else needs you more now." Leidolf shrugged. "It's just the way of things."
"He'd better be as happy as you say." Then she yanked the door open and when Cameron and Gavin saw her scowl, she figured she'd better let them know everything was all right in a hurry, and smiled. "Ready to find the killers?"
But both Gavin and Cameron looked like they'd missed one hell of a conversation, and she knew Cameron would be dying to find out what she learned once Gavin wasn't listening in.
When they reached the first of the cabins under renovation, the party climbed onto the porch where the windows were all boarded up.
"Charles said they'd had some vandals come in and break the windows and tear up the cabins, which is the reason for the renovations." Leidolf peered through a couple of slats.
"Ah, there," Faith excitedly said as Cameron lifted her high enough that she could peek between the upper slats of wood covering one of the picture windows. "There's all kinds of stuff in there."
"Renovation materials," Leidolf said.
"No, there." She poked her finger at the window. "See on the floor next to the sofa. An empty package of chips."
"I don't see anything from this angle. And besides, the workmen could have left it," Leidolf said.
Faith didn't believe it. Well, Leidolf could be right, but she didn't want to believe him. "Let's find a way in."
Before Cameron could put Faith down and use his lock picks on the door, Leidolf pulled out a set of his own.
"Standard keyset?" Cameron asked.
Leidolf gave him a warning look, then opened the door.
Both Cameron and Gavin pulled guns. Leidolf and Gavin entered first while Cameron stayed with Faith on the deck. Then Gavin shouted, "All clear."
Faith entered with Cameron, but before she checked out the potato chip bag, she smelled something else. The redhead, named Chris. She turned to Cameron, but the look on his face said the same thing. But not only him, the other two men, and the woman, and the smell of gingerbread.
"Sense anything?" Leidolf asked.
"They've been here," Faith said, barely breathing, thankful now that she hadn't gone looking for these men alone.
"How long ago?" Gavin asked.
"Not today. Maybe yesterday." Cameron looked under the cabinets.
Faith smelled gingerbread next to the couch. She looked under the couch. Nothing but dust balls. She pulled out the cushions. The second one hit pay dirt. A empty package of gingerbread cookies from Specialty Cookies, Millinocket.
"Is this a processing plant in Millinocket? Or a small business? Maybe a family-run business?"
"It might just be sold at the grocery stores. Anyone could buy it," Leidolf said.
Faith cast him a frown. "Let's ask George Roux. Maybe he'd know."
But first, they explored the other cabins under renovation. Every one of them had evidence that someone had been eating in the places. Maybe sleeping here. Watching the comings and goings of the guests and owners?
Suspecting that maybe Charles and his family were in with the werewolf culture? And that brought something else to mind. "When Charles was injured at his campsite, we thought it was Kintail or his men. What if it was Chris and his thugs instead? Maybe because he does business with Kintail and Chris and his Dark Angels believe that he's in on the werewolf business."
Gavin shook his head. "I've heard some crazy things in the police business and in our private eye concerns, but this really takes the show for the most bizarre."
Leidolf exchanged looks with Cameron as if he was warning him the trouble he could be in with keeping his friend on the mission.
They mounted their snowmobiles and headed back in the direction of the lodge, but when they reached Cameron's place, Trevor drove toward them, waving for them to stop. He seemed so agitated, she knew the news couldn't be good. And because he was here to tell them, she figured it had to do with David and Owen. Cameron's whole body went rigid. She imagined Gavin's did, too.
"They've got them," Trevor hurriedly said. "They've got David and Owen and Lila, too. And one more of our females."
She didn't have to ask who had taken them. She felt light-headed as if the knowledge Cameron's partners were at death's door delivered a blow to her brain. Instantly, her thoughts switched to the day the little neighbor girl ended up missing. About how hard they tried to find her before she was murdered. About how they were too late.
She broke the silence first. "Are they in Millinocket?"
Trevor's eyes teared up and he wiped his nose with his gloved hand. "We think so. We think they're not dead yet. But every second they're gone…"
"Let's go," Cameron said. "We'll tear the town apart."
"Wait." The men all turned to hear what Faith had to say. "Is there a place called Specialty Cookies in Millinocket?"
"Near the library. Yes," Trevor said.
"All right. We'll check the place out while we're at it."
Cameron waited for her to speak further, and she could have hugged him for believing in her. "Let's go," she said, and reached out to squeeze his hand.
His grip was gentle, but hers was not. She wanted him to know she was in this for whatever it took, damn the consequences. And he seemed to understand.
Then the five of them took off for the trailhead, first dropping by the location where she'd left her snowmobile when she'd had the urge to shapeshift—and she hoped the hell she wouldn't do that again anytime soon.
From the snowmobile rental shop, they could pick up her SUV and Cameron's rental car. Although her SUV fit five, the backseat was awfully small for three adults, so she figured they would divide up and a couple of the men would take Cameron's vehicle.
And then like Cameron said, tear the town apart.
Chapter 20
EVEN THOUGH KINTAIL AND HIS MEN WERE SCOURING Millinocket, he hoped the hell Trevor had gotten word to Cameron and the others since they were more equipped to handle investigations. Kintail, although normally in control and never rattled, felt like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off as he searched down every side street, drove past every home, but there wasn't anything to say, "Here's the house where your werewolves are being kept hostage," and he didn't feel he was getting anywhere—totally useless, at a complete loss as to what to do. But more than anything, he couldn't help worrying about Lila. She'd really gotten under his skin.
He pulled his gray pickup off to the side of the road. Even though he'd intended to leave Hilson and Whitson safely behind at the lodge, they both had insisted they come along to be part of the pack despite their injuries. Since he'd arrived in town, even Adams, suffering from his concussion, called him on his cell phone from the hospital, wanting to join in the search.
Kintail said no to that, but if Adams acted anything like Hilson and Whitson, Kintail doubted he had any control over his pack members, all of whom wanted to help save Lila and the others, and all who knew in his present state of mind, no meant maybe and that's all they needed to hear.
His phone buzzed and Kintail saw it was Trevor. Thank God. "Yes."