Bonnie Vanak - Phantom Wolf

“A few who will turn into a mob and take away everything we love.” Colton sounded anguished. “Is this how you chose to honor the memories of your mother and brother, by associating with the Arcane bitch whose father took them away from us?”

Kelly peeked through the door. Anguish twisted Sam’s face. Her heart ached for him.

“The committee’s leader wants her dead. He said if you kill Kelly Denning, make it look...like an accident, it will prove your loyalty to your people.”

“And you, Dad? Is that what you want most? Blood on my hands, the blood of an innocent woman?”

Silence for a moment. When he spoke, Colton sounded torn. “I have no wish to harm innocents.”

“But Kelly is one.”

“Let the committee be the judge of that. I am only relaying their wishes.”

The chair pushed back. Kelly ducked behind the door.

“I must head for a meeting tomorrow. The committee needs followers. Since the council refuses to take action, we must protect ourselves. By any means possible.”

Colton paused. “I’m proud of you, son. You’ve turned into a fine soldier, the man I knew you could be. If you respect my wishes, you’ll join us.”

Kelly ducked into the shadows as the door opened, watching Colton walk down the hall. When he headed down the stairs, she ran into the library. Sam stood at the window, hands jammed into his pockets. Deep grief lined his face.

“Sam...” Lost for words, she stared at him. “You let him go,” she finally said.

“I know where he’s headed. Dakota tagged him with the same GPS security chip installed in you and gave me the transponder to follow him, just in case. He’s...lost all sense.”

Sam scrubbed his face with a hand. “And he’s not the only one. There are more who agree with him. Tiger and Stephen pinned down the location of this meeting. Farm in West Virginia at four o’clock tomorrow. They’re planning to start rounding up Arcanes.”

Her throat went dry. “Can’t your team stop this?”

“Dakota tried, but Admiral Byrne’s hands are tied because of council politics. It’s not a military matter. Until the slaughter begins, he’s powerless to stop it.” Sam looked bleak. “My whole life, I’ve looked up to that man. I damn near worshipped the ground he walked on. And now...knowing he’s aiding in the slaughter of thousands?”

Silently, she slipped into his arms. As Sam embraced her, she whispered, “What are we doing to do?”

He tilted up her chin, his eyes fierce. “You’re going to J.T.’s sister’s house. I’ve made up my mind.”

His cell chirped. Sam fished it out and walked out of the room. When he returned, his expression was tight. “I’ve been ordered back to base by Admiral Byrne. SOP for a security leak. We’ve taken care of the problem of the fake Curt.”

“How...”

“He’s dead.”

Seeing his expression, she didn’t ask how. Someone had avenged Curt. But something else shaded his expression.

“What’s wrong, Sam?”

Tensing, he shook his head. “Curt’s doppelgänger was a Phantom Elemental.”

Kelly’s jaw dropped. “That’s impossible! Why would an Elemental imitate him?”

“I don’t know and it bugs the hell out of me that our hands are tied, ordered to base while something’s going down. But yeah, he was Elemental.” Sam clenched his fists. “Dallas recognized him when the bastard died and shifted back into his true form. Good friend of Curt’s from Desert Storm.”

A chill shuddered down her spine. Betrayed by a friend and then tortured by demons. “Do you think it was personal and had nothing to do with the Arcanes’ plans to create a Dark Lord?”

“Maybe. Dallas said the guy had issues, never advanced in rank like Curt. But if it was personal, why did his doppelgänger give the kill order on us and set up the ambush?”

“Sam, I’m worried.” Kelly hugged herself. “If other Phantoms are involved, their powers makes this even more dangerous. Can you imagine an all-out war, brother against sister, no one knowing who is who, whom to trust?”

They both fell silent.

Sam rubbed his neck. “Tomorrow, I’m heading back, after I drop you off at J.T.’s sister’s house.”

“But your father...”

“I’ll figure it out later, after I’m back at base.” He stroked a finger down her cheek. “If I don’t, they’ll report me as AWOL, Kel. I have to do this. Got no choice.”

They stayed in a guest room that night. As Sam slept, Kelly slipped out of bed. Taking the flashlight, she went into his parents’ bedroom.

Sam had started to renovate the room, but stopped. The walls sported new Sheetrock, but the flooring was only partly finished. Only the brick fireplace looked the same. Emotion tightened her throat. All these years she wondered if her father was truly innocent.

Did he set the fire?

Kelly tried to envision the room as it was, the elegant furniture, cheerful fire crackling on the brick hearth...

She went to the fireplace and bent down. Workers had dumped plaster and trash into the hearth, probably in their haste to leave. No one had bothered to clean it. Kelly crouched down and sorted through the trash, looking for any small clue from the past.

After a few minutes, she started to give up when she saw something glint.

She swept the circle of light over the object.

Plaster dusted her trembling fingers as she picked up the twisted, partly melted find that she’d almost missed amid the trash. Gripping the fireplace for support, she stared in disbelief. And then everything became clear.

Colton hated her father for killing his wife and son. But the hate was misdirected. Now she understood what truly happened here. Kelly hung her head and sobbed.

Her father was dead.

Finally, she clenched the object and stood, her mind racing.

If she told Sam, it would crush him. He’d go after Colton himself, risking his career.

And maybe, if she confronted Colton before his meeting, it might snap him free of blind hatred. Sam’s father hated her, but she could protect herself.

Back in the guest bedroom, Kelly dressed in silence. She went into Sam’s pack and removed the GPS transponder.

For a moment she stood over him, watching him sleep, thrashing about on the bed. I love you, she thought in agony. I wish I had the courage to tell you.

Silently she stole out of the house.

With luck, she could catch a flight to West Virginia and be there by morning.

Kelly was gone. So was the GPS transponder.

Shay jammed a hand into his hair, glancing at the clock and cursing himself for sleeping past dawn.

In five hours, he’d be officially AWOL. But Kelly was missing.

He needed the location of that meeting, now. Standing by the desk in the library, Shay dialed Dakota. When he was done speaking, the Draicon werewolf sighed.

“Get your ass back here, Shay. The admiral has Stephen spying on that group.”

And the vampire wouldn’t be at full strength until sundown. She might be dead by then. His fingers tightened around the phone. “Screw it. I’m going after Kelly.”

“You’re throwing away your career.”

So be it. Shay leaned his forehead against the wall, seeing everything he’d accomplished slip away like dust. Logic dictated returning to base and following orders.

But logic didn’t account for a fiery redhead with a strong will, a woman who’d claimed his heart.

All his life, he’d lived according to everyone else’s standards. His father’s. And now the navy’s. Those standards had given him control in a crazy world filled with grief and pain.

No longer did he want to live by standards imposed on him by others. I make my own choices now.