Masked

CHAPTER 38 | plans

Portland, Oregon

Simon stormed into Jay and Zeke's office. "That bastard, Matheo, wrecked her house. No room was left untouched."

"We know," Clara said. She nodded toward the two uniformed police officers sitting across from her. "Alan and Mike were just filling us in on what they know."

He nodded to the two Werewolves and scanned the room to see who else had arrived. With little time to set up somewhere for them to meet and plan, they had taken over Zeke and Jay's office, housed in a separate building from Parker's main business. Now it was designated the war room.

Both Jay and Zeke were huddled together, focused on something on a laptop Zeke held. From their haggard expression and red-rimmed eyes, they weren't taking Parker's abduction well. Not that any of them were. But the two computer geeks were like rudderless ships without her.

He let out a long breath and relaxed. At least he wasn't the last to arrive. There were still two, no three missing. Daniel and Morgan hadn't returned from picking up Murphy O'Neill from the airport.

Simon took a seat near Kyle.

"Have you met him?" Kyle said.

He shook his head. "Nope."

Kyle frowned and leaned closer. "Do you know why he's coming here?"

When he declined to comment, Kyle lowered his voice. "You knew? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Need to know West Life, need to—" Simon's ears pricked at a noise outside. The alphas were approaching. Morgan was the first to enter and immediately headed over to Clara.

Simon kept his attention on the door. What did O'Neill look like? All he knew was the Werewolf had freaky eyes. He did not need to wait long. Daniel strode through the entrance, very quickly followed by an imposing man.

Similar in height and build to Daniel, the new arrival could easily have been mistaken for an alpha. From his stance and demeanor, he did not defer to anyone and made no apologies for it.

Murphy O'Neill cased the room with eyes as black as night, and he took up a position away from those gathered.

Daniel cleared his throat and addressed the room. "Most of you won't be aware that I sent Murphy to Europe to track down the Sandulf pack."

As expected, surprise erupted across the room, and questions were fired in quick succession. Simon, already aware of Murphy's assignment, stayed quiet.

Daniel held up his hand for silence. "It was on a need to know basis. I kept his mission quiet to prevent Elise from finding out."

A low murmur spread through the room, and all eyes swung to the imposing man. His expression was guarded and inscrutable. No one spoke as the stone-faced Werewolf came to stand beside Daniel.

"I found them in a small village near Saint Diè," Murphy said. His voice was deep and gruff.

Simon listened intently as O'Neill reported back to the group on his findings.

O'Neill's many years of experience working with the FBI as a consulting profiler was evident in the efficient way he delivered the information.

"Their numbers have dwindled over the years, with many of the younger members choosing to join other packs. Elise and the upper guard first left about twenty years ago."

Simon gulped. So the Sandulf Alpha had been resident in the US for two decades, and the other packs had been oblivious to it.

"They would stay away for months before returning. In the last two years, Elise has only returned for a few days at a time, but she didn't abdicate her position, and the ones who remained were too scared to bring it up."

"Who is running the pack when she's not there?" Simon said.

"In her absence, her daughter, Joséphine."

He hauled in his breath. "Daughter? Who had the misfortune to be mated to that witch?"

Murphy shrugged. "That, no one was willing to discuss with me." He continued to relay his findings. "A few months ago, Joséphine left the pack to get her mother to either return or pass control to someone else. The last they heard, she had tracked Elise down. Everything went quiet after that." His expression, as if chiseled into his striking features, hadn't varied while he spoke.

"Do they know where Joséphine found her or how?" Daniel said.

Murphy shook his head. "No, Joséphine never told anyone her location. I find it interesting that the pack is more concerned with Joséphine's loss than that of their MIA alpha."

Before anyone could voice a question, Daniel addressed the two police officers. "What's the latest development with the police?"

The older of the two spoke up. "Right now, the detectives are going on the assumption that Parker was abducted. They have no idea who the assailant was or why she or the others were targeted. They are looking into her government contracts to see if there is a possibility someone wants access to information she might have. There is no exposure for us at this point."

Daniel's questioning moved to Jay. "What about her other employees?"

"They are pretty shaken up. The two that found the bodies had to be sedated, and the rest are a bit lost. The building is still a crime scene, so no one has been able to get in, and they don't know whether to start looking for other jobs or not."

A muscle twitched in Daniel's jaw. He turned to Simon. "I want a line of credit for her business. Make sure all financial commitments are met and keep the payroll going."

He nodded.

Daniel walked the short distance to the whiteboard. Parker's distinctive writing took up half of the board. He cleared his throat and turned around. His expression was as hard and determined as his voice. "Our primary focus is to get Parker home."

"I am sure all your first responder teams will have told you, there is a nationwide Ebola panic. The authorities are working on the assumption of bioterrorism," Murphy said. He had taken up position at the back of the room.

"Murphy's right," Daniel said. "We need to tread lightly. As far as I am aware, Homeland Security is pointing the finger offshore. But it doesn't help the fact that right now we are fighting this from all angles. Once we get Parker back, we need to work out a plan to contain this. The hospitals are starting to fill up with victims, and that will only result in more public panic."

"How do we begin to work out where he has taken her?" Simon said. He closed his eyes and silently finished with, before it's too late.

Zeke, who hadn't wanted to let his mentor down, had worked through the night, despite his wolf's howling. The boy was coming apart at the seams and refused to give control over to his wolf. "We hacked into the traffic cams and tracked Matheo north out of the city. But we lost him as soon as he cleared the city limits."

Daniel rubbed his jaw. "Murphy and I are flying back to Colorado to see what we can get out of Elise's scientist. The rest of you stay here, and see if you can pick up Matheo's trail. Be ready to leave as soon as we have a location."

On his way out, Daniel stopped beside O'Neill. The two men stood eye-to-eye. "Thank you," Daniel said.

Simon rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor, and took a deep breath. What if they didn't find her alive? He, like the others, had seen the footage from the night Parker was taken. Matheo showed no mercy to either Trevor or Parker's PA. To be honest, he couldn't be sure that Parker was alive when Matheo carried her out the door like a sack of potatoes. He closed his eyes and his chest tightened. For Daniel's sake, he prayed they found her before it was too late.

Kyle tapped his shoulder. "Dude, you heard him, we have a job to do."

Simon cleared his throat and kept his eyes averted. He didn't need for Kyle to see his current emotional state of mind. "Keep your shirt on One Direction. They can't do anything without me. I have the credit cards."