He reached for the bundle with jerky movements. He was angry at himself. As he ripped the remains of the torn shirt off his body, I crossed my arms over my chest.
“That’s the last time I’m ironing a shirt for you,” I muttered out the side of my mouth.
Kane paused, flashed me a quick grin, then pulled on the sweatpants.
I shot Landon a quick look as he moved to his chair on the other side of the desk. Despite the businessman’s unruffled exterior, I could see the worry in his expression, his eyes alert like he expected Kane to lose it again. And if he did, he would do what was required to stop him.
The calm Kane and I had achieved between us told me that wouldn’t be necessary.
The moment I’d laid eyes on Landon, he’d given off an air of authority and self-importance. His short brown hair was thick, a light dusting of scruff on his jaw, and his coloring was different than Kane’s, more olive-toned, perhaps from some Mediterranean ancestry. He’d changed from Kane’s last memories of him, become stronger, maybe even a little taller, if that was possible. While Kane’s strength was bulky, Landon was lanky and hidden expertly beneath an expensive suit. Everything in the office was designed to exude wealth and power, and that was echoed in Landon’s demeanor.
Kane straightened. The clothes were a bit tight on him, highlighting his muscular form. I took his hand.
Landon gestured to the two chairs across from him at his desk, and we sat, keeping our hands joined. Some of Landon’s pompous air had melted away. Instead, he stared at us with speculation, assessing.
“I think we need to start at the beginning,” he said, his fingers steepled together in front of his chest. “I understand whatever brought you here is important.” He tilted his head toward Kane. “I’m not going to pretend that you popping up after five years isn’t significant.” Then he stared at me, his eyes missing nothing. “With him being on edge like this, I need to ask, are you in danger?”
I swallowed. “Yes. My sister and I.”
“American?”
I nodded once and he made a motion with his hands for me to go on. My lips were dry and I pressed them together. “Some people abducted us and used these collars. I got free. My sister didn’t. I need to find her.”
He kept my gaze, and I had the impression of multiple wheels turning in his head all at once. Whether that was a good or bad thing remained to be seen.
He looked at Kane. “Tell me more.”
Kane began to sign, slowly at first, then faster as he sank into the story of us. I only caught some of the words, but understood he told Landon about the animals on the plane with me, that I came from Detroit and, with the flight path, was probably headed somewhere even more northern. He told him about the cougar shifters, the helicopter, and the tactical guys. There was anger in his movements, but he didn’t lose control.
When Kane finished, Landon stared at us for long minutes. “It’s not my plane, but I know someone who could track flights from that day, find out where it was headed.”
Hope speared inside me, and I realized then that I’d tried not to hope too much ever since landing in Vancouver.
Landon reached for the collar on his desk. Picking it up, he balanced it like he considered its weight. “And this isn’t our design. It isn’t what we did with yours,” he said, nodding at Kane. “There might be some similarities, but there are also major differences.”
Kane twitched. I stroked my thumb along the back of his hand. “I don’t know if we can believe you,” I said, my gaze unflinching as I stared at his cousin.
Landon watched us, his eyes lighting on our joined hands, then our faces, bouncing back and forth like a tennis match. After a long minute, he stood with my collar in hand. “Come with me.” His smooth gait took him around the desk and to the door.
Stooping to pick up the briefcase I’d set on the floor, I snatched the remote off the desk and popped it back inside. Landon held the door open, allowing us to proceed ahead of him. When we passed the receptionist’s desk, he said, “Clear the rest of my day.”
We stopped at the elevator, and once the car arrived, we all got inside. Landon pressed the button for the seventeenth floor.
I tucked myself into Kane’s side. His arm circled me, pulling me close. Our emotions ebbed and flowed within our bond while my mind raced. In a way, I was relieved if Landon didn’t turn out to be the one behind our abduction. I didn’t want that permanent scar between the two cousins. But if he wasn’t the one behind it, then this trip might have become a dead end.
My breath caught in my throat. To come all this way for nothing… I didn’t know what I would do. I needed to find Sabrina. When I leaned my head against Kane’s chest, he rubbed a hand up and down my back.
The elevator doors opened. Landon stepped off first and we followed. This level didn’t have the polished “office” feel the other had. This floor was more sterile with florescent lights and a tile floor.
A heavy metal door with a narrow window closed off the space ahead of us. Landon swiped a card, and we entered a long, narrow hallway lined with more windowless doors, unmarked. When we reached the end, he swiped his card on another keypad and the door opened into a lab.
A half dozen people stared as we entered. There was one “clean” area behind glass, but otherwise, the people working there were wearing lab coats over semi-casual attire.
With a jerk of his head to the side, Landon led us over to a workstation where collars like mine were lined up on the surface. Some hung from hooks on the wall, each one a little bit different from the next.
A low growl emerged from Kane’s chest. I tightened my grip on his hand.
“This,” Landon said, taking the last collar off its hook, “is what we’ve done with the design. There are similarities—I see them too—but what you showed me isn’t the same.”
