“So what was this all about?” He waved his index finger in a circle. “Trying to kill you was supposed to be an introduction?”
I shook my head. “I’m willing to bet McCallister saw me go after Chandler and wanted to make sure I didn’t reach the kid before he did. Get me out of the way before I could interfere with his ‘removal.’” I touched the back of my neck and winced, finding nothing but hard, tense muscles. “It worked.”
Bran put his mug down and moved closer, pushing my hand away. His fingers began to knead the sensitive skin and break down the tight knots. “Do you think he got Evan?”
“Since I didn’t get a call from Jess or Mary Chandler calling me off I’d say no.” I sighed as the knots began to unwind. “Eddie’s on the opposite side, he’s working for the Middlestons. Guess I didn’t impress Jake with my sincerity.”
“So they’re using you like a bloodhound?” The touches became lighter, more gentle.
“Makes sense in a sad, perverted way.” I twisted to one side to give him greater access. “Neither side wants to call a hunt and bring attention to their kids running away with each other. Neither side’s familiar with Toronto. Their friends and family don’t have the knowledge to roam the streets. It’d be like setting a cat loose in a mousetrap factory—they’d end up making so much noise and commotion that either the kids would split town, making it harder to find them or worse, calling attention to themselves through their efforts.”
“Threatening to expose the Felis,” Bran said.
I nodded, shifting to allow him greater access. “Enough brawling in the streets and threatening will bring in the police and we know where that could go.” I tugged my nightshirt up and off, shivering as my damp skin hit the air. “Why not let me do all the hunting and then swoop in at the end to grab the kids? I’ll get paid either way. They’re figuring I’m all about the money and when they tell me to stop, I’ll stop.” I tossed the shirt on the floor, trying hard not to obsess over the fresh bruises. I didn’t bounce well.
Bran smiled. “I suspect you disagree with that assessment.”
“Tells me they didn’t talk to Jess a whole lot before deciding to go down this trail.” I finished off the toast and reached for my tea. “Those kids deserve the right to choose what to do with their lives outside of this family crap. They might decide to go back but it shouldn’t be a forced decision. They’re almost adults, after all.” I sighed, feeling the heaviness in my arms and legs.
“So what are we going to do about it?” His eyes dragged over my nakedness. “Because I have some ideas.”
I finished off the tea and placed the cup on the table before leaning back into his arms. “First, I rest. Then we dump our trackers and find the kids.” My eyes wandered over to the digital clock. “Holy...is it really after five in the afternoon?”
The heated chuckle in my ear sent tremors down my spine. “Yep. You did spend quite a bit of time in the hospital. And don’t forget you’re supposed to be resting.” His hands rested on my hips, tugging me closer.
“We have to go find those kids.” I felt like I was made of jelly. Melting jelly.
“We’ll go out when it’s dark,” Bran whispered. “You need to give yourself a chance to recover. The kids will still be out there and we’ll find them easier at night—they tend to settle down after busking for the evening crowd and stop moving around so much.” His fingers danced down my back, bumping over the scars. “Now lie back and let me take care of you.”
His teeth nipped the back of my neck, just enough to make me gasp.
“I’m supposed to be resting.” It was a weak protest. “I’m not supposed to get over-excited or something like that.”
“That’s okay,” Bran murmured. “Just lie back and let me do all the work.”
And he did.
Chapter Six
The water in the shower was lukewarm. Bran shook his head as he stepped in behind me and placed his hands on my waist. I banged on the shower head and cursed as the temperature failed to increase.
Bran ducked over my shoulder, letting the water soak his hair. “Not too bad, but when winter comes—”
“I’ll worry about that later.” I reached for the soap, trying to shake the lethargy out of my bones. “I’ll ask Jess if we’ve got any plumbing connections. Might be able to barter something for a new heater. We’ll need it in a few months.”
His hands slicked over my soapy breasts. “I don’t mind making our own heat for a bit.”
“That’s fine when it’s warm outside. Wait until there’s frost on the windows and you’ll be wanting your hot water.” I winced as he touched my hip. “Ouch.”
“That’s going to take a bit of time to go away. Hell of a bruise.” He ran his hand along my left arm, stroking the new scar. “At least this healed over.”
I shivered and not just from the water temperature. The slash had been the result of an errant bullet fired by Bran’s mother in a fit of anger over our interference in her master plan to kidnap a baby and call him her own. The external scars might have healed but I didn’t know how well Bran’s internal ones were.
Bran leaned past me and twisted the hot water tap full open. “Let’s get finished here and see if we can find those two kids before they get into more trouble than we can handle.
Within the hour I’d extracted my Jeep from the tiny parking spot behind the house and we were on the way to Don Heights—Bran’s suggested first stop on trying to pry the kids out of the underworld.
“I’ve never been there before.” I resisted leaning on the horn as a pair of drunks staggered through the red light in front of us. “Saw pictures in the paper. Didn’t they just renovate it?”
“New playground and all the trimmings. Great place for the kids but at night it goes to the wild side. It’s a beautiful park, been there for decades. Plenty of old growth trees that survived everything being built around them,” Bran said as we raced along the emptying streets. It was well past eleven and I was invigorated by the cool night air.
The good loving a few hours earlier hadn’t hurt either.
“It’s not too far from the city core.” I zipped around a slow-moving convertible, the driver and passenger more involved in each other than maintaining a decent speed limit. “How many kids go there?”
“Depends on the night. A lot of them go to the Point if they’ve got extra cash and want to party.” Bran shifted in the seat beside me, tugging at the knee of his jeans.
“I figured that out.” I pulled up beside a late-night streetcar, the long red torpedo packed with travelers. “And they go to the Heights to sleep?”
“If they can make it. It’s a sort of neutral zone—the gangs don’t recruit there and they don’t allow drugs or booze.” Bran looked at the red light holding us in place. “Mutual respect. Makes it a safe haven for everyone.”
“Until they step off and then it’s open game.” I stomped on the gas pedal the second the light changed, jumping ahead of the slow lumbering streetcar.
Bran shrugged. “It’s a balancing act for everyone. Détente that keeps everyone going one more day.” His attention turned to the dark streets ahead of us. “Sleeping in trees.”
“I remember that.” I didn’t need to mention Angie. “What’s that all about?”
“It’s a way of keeping safe. If you’re in a tree your stuff can’t be stolen or pawed through.”
I risked a sideways glance. “I thought you said Don Heights was neutral ground.”
Bran gave me a sad smile. “For gangs and vices. There’s always going to be someone wanting something you’ve got. Easiest way to keep everything safe is to take it above ground.”