His use of ‘we’ takes the edge off the stress that’s become my constant companion. I’m not alone in trying to figure this out, and his support means more than he knows. It also helps that I’ve seen my pack more often since the explosion at the warehouse. My cover is becoming flimsier by the day, but after the kidnapping attempt on me I can’t bring myself to care. It seems far safer not to work in isolation right now.
‘There’s more,’ I sign. ‘The Nottingham task force emailed me. They finally managed to question one of the workers at the Far Out Freight warehouse there. Jay was injured like wesuspected, but after a few hours spent recovering he left to drive back to Birchester. That’s the last time anyone saw him.’
I already called Wren to let her know because I promised to keep her updated, but seeing her upset wasn’t easy. Fortunately her husband was with her so she isn’t alone this evening.
Bryn frowns. ‘What took so long? Surely they could’ve figured that out sooner.’
If only it was that simple. ‘The fae in charge of that site refused to let the task force interview anyone, and when they tried questioning employees outside of working hours, no one seemed to know anything. Someone finally came forward today.’
‘Why now?’
‘I asked the same question. Apparently, the employees were threatened with losing their jobs if they talked, but because the supervisors haven’t been around much and the shelves aren’t being restocked, the person who came forward suspects they won’t have a job much longer either way.’
‘Seems like here, this week,’ he signs, echoing my own opinion.
‘Exactly. This potentially happening across the UK arm of the company suggests big changes are coming.’
His frown deepens. ‘It almost feels like they’re winding down the business.’
That’s exactly what it feels like, and the group chat I’m in with the cat shifters at work has been going crazy with speculation. From what Bryn told me about his night at the pub with Harley, the wolves not on the work programme are also concerned about how much longer they’ll have jobs.
‘The question is, why? I don’t think my cover’s been blown, and even if it were, I’d expect to lose my job immediately. There’s been no indication that anyone at Far Out Freight is suspicious of me, not even after Dhiren supposedly called the task force for help.’
‘Could that be it? They suspect a BSG investigation after they failed to kidnap you?’
‘It’s possible, but there was nothing to connect the fae who ran me off the road with Far Out Freight, other than their species, and we’ve been unable to find them—much to Kit’s irritation. In addition, it’s unlikely a local BSG investigation would cause a successful multinational corporation to preemptively shut down in multiple locations.’
There’s an unusual caution in his hand movements. ‘I feel like I should be pleased that suspected arms traffickers could be shutting up shop, but it pisses me off that Lance and the others might get away with it.’
‘If you’re worried I’ll judge you for that, don’t be. I feel the same way—and like I’m running out of time.’ My hand movements are a little unsteady. I hate the idea that I might not solve this case before it’s too late. I’m barely sleeping at night as it is, and I can’t bear the idea that the trail could go cold, that those shifters could be lost forever. ‘I keep coming up with all these crazy theories, like our shifters being kidnapped and taken to the fae realm the way humans used to be in the old stories. Could we be dealing with shifter trafficking? Is that why there’s no sign of them? And if that’s where they’ve been taken, how do we get them back?’
‘Is that possible? I thought only fae have the ability to travel between realms.’
I scrub a hand over my face. ‘That’s true, but what if they can take someone with them? Doc P brought us to a pocket realm through an ordinary door, not through teleportation. Assuming a fae set that up for him to activate when needed, realm travel might work differently than the ancient texts say.’
There aren’t any modern books on realm travel, and the fae are incredibly secretive about how it works, so I’m not sure how to go about confirming what’s possible. Perhaps Doc P would be willing to tell me who set up his pocket realm for him and when,and whether he knows anything about realm travel in general. I’ll email him after we’ve cleared up from dinner.
‘Even if that’s the case, doesn’t that bring us back to the same problem?’ Bryn signs. ‘There’s no evidence as to which of our theories is the correct one.’
I nod reluctantly. ‘And without evidence, we’re still stuck.’
I hate everything about this case. Missing shifters who could be dead, or alive but out of reach. Suspected arms trafficking that we can’t find any hard evidence of, not even hints on the dark web. And a global business that’s shutting down UK operations, at least visibly, effectively crushing my hope that this will have a successful outcome. The only good thing about the last couple of months has been meeting the gorgeous dragon in front of me, and I’m grateful for him every day.
He pulls me closer, encouraging me to rest my head on his shoulder as he hugs me. When we part, his eyes are full of concern. ‘I wish I could do more to help you.’
‘You’ve already done so much.’ Far more than we ever expected when we initially approached him with a contract to help us in a consultant role.
Truthfully, the best thing he can do at this point is to stay safe. I know Far Out Freight haven’t actually targeted him yet, but they still could. They’ve made no further attempts to kidnap me, and he was caught in the same explosion as I was.
My tiger and I are in complete agreement; we’ll never let anyone take him from us. We’ll keep him safe from Lance, and foreign dragons, and anyone else who dares to think they can harm him. He’s ours to love and protect.
In fact, this seems like a good time to tell him what I’ve been getting put in place for him. ‘Just to make you aware, I’ve asked Wren to put together an amendment to your employment contract to stipulate that you can’t be used to transport anything unless it’s as a driver of a vehicle you hold a licence for. I know they haven’t made you fly cargo this week, but it’ll guarantee they can’t send you out again witha sodding shipping container attached, vulnerable to attack. And if the warehouse does close down and you’re reassigned for the rest of the programme, it’ll apply to all remaining work placements as well.’
As worried as Wren is about Jay, she’s more than willing to do me this favour. It might prove to be unnecessary, but better safe than sorry.
He stares at me, his signs deliberately slow. ‘Without consulting me?’
Right. Maybe I should have done that. ‘It’s not finalised yet, so you can make changes to it if you want.’
