13 To Life 2 - Secrets And Shadows by Delany Shannon

Author:Delany, Shannon
Language: eng
Format: epub

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

For once, the CIA’s timing worked in our favor and Wanda drove me to the Rusakovas’ that afternoon, pausing briefly to pick up Officer Kent. I cal ed ahead to let them know our numbers had changed and the agents brought good news.

I hoped I wasn’t lying by proxy.

The car was stifling, warm and thick with an overpoweringly spicy scent. “Your car deodorizer is a bit much.”

Kent chuckled from the back seat.

“Can you even taste your coffee?” I asked, peering into the flipdown passenger mirror.

He just raised his ever-present mug in my direction in a silent toast.

When Catherine opened the door to the house, ushering us within, Wanda smiled, pausing just inside the door. “It’s a nice day,” she commented. “Let’s take a walk.”

“Take a walk? You promised good news,” I reminded her. “Do we get to see their mother today?” I asked, aware of the way the Rusakovas bristled and shifted, surely wondering.

Kent grinned and adjusted something inside his coat. Pietr and Max moved in to stand on either side of me. Cat sidled up behind, and Alexi crossed the floor to stand beside her.

“We do,” Wanda assured.

Kent opened the door again, letting the autumn breeze waft through the foyer.

The Rusakovas straightened, drawing up to their full heights, and I saw their noses wrinkle, faces pul ing into masks of absolute distaste.

“Perhaps Officer Kent needs a shower,” Max snarled, his eyes narrowing.

“Or a drowning,” Cat suggested, covering her nose.

Wanda winked and tugged a pouch from her shirt pocket, dangling it before me.

I sniffed. “What the…?” The same stink as the car’s hung from her hand.

“I guess we won’t need these,” she said, looking at Kent. “Once they know where we are, diluting our scent won’t matter. They’ll find us whenever they want.” She shrugged.

I repressed a shiver, wondering what Wanda’s group had that made them so confident about handling any unscheduled meetings with the Rusakovas.

She tossed the pouch into the wastepaper basket by the door. Kent dug into his jacket pocket and withdrew a matching pouch, shook it for sheer devilment, and tossed it away too.

The ful -blood Rusakovas sneezed.

“What’s in that?” I asked.

“An old remedy to deal with pesky tracking dogs—and werewolves,” Kent added, flashing a smile.

“Shal we go now? Times a-tickin’,” Wanda reminded.

Max stifled a growl, and the group of us, an awkward al iance, stepped onto the porch. Alexi pul ed the door shut and I was thrust into the middle of an argument.

“Why are you coming?” Max asked his adopted brother. More than a question, it was a chal enge to Alexi’s previous role in the family.

“She’s my mother, too,” Alexi said.

Catherine wedged herself between Max and Alexi, placing her small hands on Max’s wide chest and peering up into his face.

“He’s right. And Mother would want to see all her children, no matter if they’ve strayed from the pack.”

Looking over her head at Alexi, Max agreed. “I just wouldn’t want to be you when Mother learns how you betrayed us.”

Alexi sighed, shoulders slumping.

We

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