Chapter 85

“You’re going to blow them away.”

Zara beamed at Ansel.

“Seriously,” she said. “Goosebumps.”

Ansel shrugged. His brain felt cobwebby from the lack of sleep. “I used to have a knack for it,” he said. “Just keep the coffee coming.”

“Well, you got your mojo back.” Zara’s silvery eyelids sparkled whenever she fluttered her lashes. “After you get on camera today - if we don’t see your poll numbers jump through the roof, I’ll eat my hat!”

“Do you even own a hat?” Ansel smiled before leaning back in his chair.

“Totally. A beret.”

“Ooh la la.”

Zara’s laughter sounded like the jingle of bells.

Ansel’s stomach lurched. A moment from his dream last night resurfaced. He wrapped his arms around his chest.

“What’s wrong,” Zara asked.

“Nothing,” he lied. “Let’s get on with this.” He shook away the anxiety and took a drink of his coffee.

Before she could answer, Charles pushed open the door without knocking.

“I’m sorry, sir,” he said. “But I’ve just gotten word from Lady Karin’s friend, Miss Joy.”

“What is it,” Ansel asked, feeling instantly sick with dread. Jeff was already frenetic with fear.

“She’s disappeared.”

Ansel stood. He didn’t need to ask more questions to know something was wrong. “Get me Joy’s address.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Wait,” Zara said, standing. “You can’t miss the interview, Ansel. This is your chance!”

“I’ll try to make it back in time,” he said.

“But we have to leave for the studio -”

Ansel held up his hand. “I’ll be there if I can, Zara.”

Charles ran back into the room with a small slip of paper in his hand. “This is her address. Shall I call for your driver and a security detail?”

“No.” Ansel looked down at the address on the paper, memorizing it, before setting it onto his desk.

“Surely, that’s not wise, sir,” Charles said.

“I’m getting really tired of people thinking they know what’s best for me,” Ansel said, glaring at Charles.

“Of course, sir, it’s just -”

“Ansel, I was probably lucky to get here alive this morning,” Zara said. “And that’s not an exaggeration. Even with your men escorting me. What will happen when people see you around town?”

“They’d better not find out,” Ansel said darkly, starting down the hall.

“They’re rabid animals, all riled up for a fight,” Zara said, following after him. “You know how it’s been since -”

But Ansel was out the door.

The sky to the west was black with rain clouds.

That’s all we need, Jeff. Rain to wash away any scent trail.

He shifted into his wolf, letting Jeff take the lead. They raced across the property, cutting south, toward the back road that led into town - and as far as he could get from the main entrance of the estate.

He thought, for just a second, about getting Henry, or one of his gammas to come with him, but just as quickly, he decided against it again, feeling the anger from last night with Henry boiling to the surface again. He didn’t want a babysitter.

He ran hidden in the treeline along the edge of the road, following it into town.

Soon, he was there - met by heavy traffic and throngs of people. A voice in his head whispered to turn around, go do the interview, and save his own skin.

You let her go, remember? It’s over.

Yet, all his instincts were guiding him to press on. Whether it was over between them or not, whether they were in love or not, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t trying to win her and he would never take her back - but he wouldn’t, couldn’t let her die.

He scurried underneath bushes and skirted past cars until he found Joy’s house. Her neighbor’s house was blaring music and people were streaming in and out. A massive party in broad daylight on a Tuesday morning.

Great.

Ansel quickly found himself furious. He wasn’t going to go around hiding, letting everyone’s paranoia about his safety get to him.

He shifted back into his human form and knocked on Joy’s door. He looked around, but everyone was oblivious to him.

“Oh, thank God,” Joy said, when she saw him. She opened the door to let him in. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come. I know you broke up,” she said, her words flying a mile a minute.

“She said you wanted to end things, but I called the police and they brushed me off. They said she hasn’t been gone long enough to do anything, and -”

“What happened,” Ansel asked, cutting her off.

“I left to get some groceries,” Joy said, walking him into the kitchen. “She was here when I left. When I came back, she was gone. She didn’t leave a note, and she didn’t say anything about going anywhere, and don’t you -”

“I smell someone,” Ansel said. “A woman… and fear.”

Joy nodded. “That’s what I get, too. Someone was here, but I don’t recognize who.”

Ansel walked over to the kitchen table, smelling the air and looking for anything that might leave a clue.

“Nothing was taken,” Joy said. “Everything looks normal, untouched. Maybe it’s nothing, but I have a really bad feeling. It trails through the house, to the back door.” Joy shuddered visibly.

Ansel walked through the kitchen, into the living room, looking down at Joy’s wood floor, and stopping at the door.

“Did you follow it out,” he asked.

She shook her head. “I know I’m a coward, but I feel afraid.”

Ansel opened the door. “Don’t be. I’ll station a couple of guys to look over your house for a while.” Ansel wanted to kick himself as he said it. “I should have done that before. I’m a fucking idiot.”

“No,” Joy said. “How could you know?”

Ansel stepped out onto the porch. “Let me know if she…” As he spoke, he picked up on new smells. A very strong scent of fear, the woman, Karin, a man, and… Cherry.

Shit.

Ansel morphed into Jeff, leaving Joy behind as he ran to track the scent. It quickly weakened. Clearly, they’d gotten into a car here behind Joy’s house.

It wouldn’t be easy to find them. He focused every ounce of his attention on what he could smell, following the scents as best he could, and making quick deductions when the trail went, briefly, cold, in order to get back on mark again.

If anyone recognized Jeff or noticed him at all, he was oblivious to it. Although, he no longer cared. There was a growing sense of panic inside him about the danger Karin was in.

Please let me get there in time.

Ansel followed the scent all the way to a road that led back towards the main gate of his estate. The one that wound along the river where… where Ethan Woods had died.

Coincidence?

The scent of the unknown woman became more and more heightened. He bolted through the trees till he came to a clearing where a car was parked. The trunk was open.

A woman was crawling on the ground. He sped towards her. Her silver hair was a mess. Her face was frightened. There were shreds of Duct tape laying not far from her. She struggled to stand.

Ansel pulled her up. “Who are you - and what are you doing here?”

She gasped when she saw him. “Sir Ansel. My name is Elizabeth Schneider.”

“Why did I find your scent all over my friend’s house,” he demanded.

The woman shook her head and then she began to cry.

He didn’t have time for this.

“You’re safe,” he said. “I’m getting you help.” He took off through the clearing and mindlinked with his gammas to come to her aid - and look over Joy.

The other scents were getting much stronger now, and his ears began to pick up voices, even through the roar of the water nearby.

“Jumping’s not enough,” a man said, maybe a mile away now. “You’re going to use this, too. We have to make sure.”

Ansel charged toward the voice. Tiny raindrops began to hit his face and arms.

When he reached Cherry and the man, they were running full-speed away, having obviously picked up on his scent.

He killed the male wolf instantly, tearing his throat. The wolf fell with a soft thud onto the mud near the riverbank. Then, he lunged at Cherry.

Cherry shifted into her human form. She crouched against a tree, frozen with terror.

“What have you done,” he growled.

Cherry shook her head, her eyes spilling over with tears. “I tried - I tried to stop - to stop her,” she stammered. “She wanted to die - to be with Ethan!”

“You’re full of shit, you f -”

Ansel smelled blood. Sharp, pungent, coppery blood.

“Call for help,” he screamed at Cherry. “Do it, if you want me to show you any mercy.”

He left her crying against the tree. He flew towards the smell of blood and the smell of Karin, mindlinking with Henry as he went. He didn’t trust Cherry as far as he could throw her.

I need help. Get a medic, now!

Ansel’s chest tightened.

Karin was on the bridge, overlooking the rapids below. She was knelt over, staring down at her hands, like she was in shock.

“Karin!”

She didn’t seem to hear him. He scrambled up to the bridge, his heart pounding in his chest, slipping in mud as he went. He was struck with a sense of deja vu - the eerie mirroring of running through the mud to get to her once before. Could he reach her this time?

When he got to her, he felt his heart stop. She was ghostly white. Blood was seeping from her wrists. Fat raindrops splattered on the ground. The sky was ready to open up.

“Karin,” he said. He wanted to vomit. He rushed to her.

She glanced weakly at him, and then leaned forward to fall from the bridge.

The horror of it halted his sense of time into slow motion. He reached for her just before she tumbled out of reach and into the water below, grabbing her hand, still slick with blood. She dangled in the air for a few seconds. He gripped her hand as hard as he could to keep her from slipping, before he could yank her up, pulling her to him.

“What are you doing? Why?” Tears filled his eyes. He clamped his hands over her wrists to try to stop the bleeding. She was limp in his arms and slid into him, unconscious now.

They were pelted with a steady, cold rain. His heart wrenched in agony when he saw the slow rise and fall of Karin’s breathing.

A deafening ‘boom’ filled the air and Ansel felt a burning pain. He looked down to see a jagged hole in his own chest and red spilled out onto his shirt. Each gasp of air felt like fire.

This was the moment he’d dreamt of.

He looked ahead to see hands he knew holding the gun. He breathed in his familiar smell through the rain.

And Ansel should have known.

Because it’s almost never the stranger lurking in the dark. It’s the one you know. It’s the one you love and trust.

Henry aimed the gun, pausing, just before he fired it again.