“Let’s watch,” Mary murmured, wondering what the hell the man was doing. If he were a threat to Jess, Mary wouldn’t hesitate to take him out.
Chapter Eight.
Loch Ness Monster/Jess
Ness paddled around the lake, trying to make sense of what she’d seen. Mitch and Diar had taken the body to an estate somewhere and dropped it off there before driving away. What on earth had that been about? There’d been a look of intense hate on Mitch’s face. How did Mitch recognise the tattoo of the Hunters? Had he recognised it? She’d caught him looking at it, but that didn’t mean Mitch knew it.
Ness plunged deep into the water. Disease was agitated, and Ness longed to drown it, but that wouldn’t work. Instead, Ness slapped Disease back hard as she dived and spun in circles in the deepest part of the lake. On land, the Loch Ness Monster was ungainly and clumpy. Here in the water, she swam with grace and poise. Water was in Ness’s blood, and here she reigned as queen, although she might have to share that title with Willow and Scylla.
Ness sailed along, diving closer to the lakebed and extending her neck and flippers in joy. This was her happiness, her world, and nobody could take it from her. Down here in the depths of the huge deep lake, Ness could be herself and be free. No need toworry about Hunters down here; they’d never find the castle or their land. Hidden from humans by powerful magic, the shifters were safe.
Once more, Ness turned her mind to Mitch. She’d witnessed the altercation from start to finish. Mitch had secrets; he’d admitted them, and they were clearly dangerous ones. Because the way Mitch moved during that attack—that was a man trained from a child to fight. Which meant what? Why was a billionaire conditioned like that? Then Ness paused in her swimming as a thought struck her.
Had Mitch always been rich? Ness knew nothing of Mitch’s family or childhood. That was a topic Mitch refused to talk about. She floated lazily in the current; clearly, there was something in his past that Mitch was hiding, and it was a big secret. They’d agreed not to pry into each other’s skeletons, but this affected not just her. This could infect the world if she were captured and kill billions this time.
Ness Monster shot up towards the surface. She needed answers.
Gargoyle
“Mitchum killed him!” Alexander shouted, and Gargoyle almost laughed. Someone was pissing his pants. “Father, I can’t believe you sent a Murtair!”
“Alexander, I won’t bow down to your ungrateful whelp!” Alfred ranted, and Gargoyle chuckled silently. Looks like the Weideman heir had kicked some ass and thrown it in his family’s face. Mitch McQuoid was making a statement, and neither his grandfather nor his father liked it.
“Mitchum dumped the body on our land!” Alexander seethed.
Gargoyle wondered what their next plot might be and was startled when he heard sirens.
“What’s that?” Alfred demanded, rising to his feet.
“The police. I warned you not to mess with Mitchum. It looks like he’s striking back,” Alexander sneered with worry in his voice.
“That boy just signed his death warrant,” Alfred threatened.
“This is on your head, Father. But I agree, Mitchum will die,” Alexander seethed. There was a pounding on the door, and moments later, the police stormed the house and arrested Alfred for murder. Gargoyle rocked back and forth, completely amused.
Mitch
“It’s all over the news,” Diar exclaimed, storming into Mitch’s office.
“It is? Are you going to tell me exactly what ‘it’ is?” Mitch asked, looking up. He had a good idea but wasn’t too fussed. Diar confirmed his guess with his next words.
“Alfred was arrested for murder. The police have the body of Alfred’s latest victim, a woman, and the DNA that was left behind. Somehow, they also have camera footage of him torturing her. An anonymous person sent them the information.”
“Such a shame. Maybe the old bastard will learn a lesson,” Mitch replied. How stupid was his family that they’d not even changed passwords to block his access to their network?
“That you won’t bend the knee and fall in line? You should see Alfred’s face on TV. He’s beside himself with fury. Who was he arrested for?”
“A Sealgair Uilebheist, Marie Crossbank. She failed in a hunt, and Alfred made an example of her. Marie’s death was miserableto say the least, and a blessing when it came.” Mitch felt guilty. There were plenty more like Marie Crossbank. Too many.
“What do you think will happen now?”
“Alfred will make bail, not take heed of my warning, and pursue me again,” Mitch said resigned. “Either that or the Ceann-Feadhna will come for me.”
Now Diar looked worried, and Mitch reached out. “They’ll send more than one Murtair next time.”
“Probably. I warned them that I had information that would bring them down. One of their leaders is now behind bars with enough evidence to put the old bastard away for life.”
“But you believe Alfred will make bail,” Diar argued.
