Shifters at Law (A Complete Paranormal Romance Shifter Series) Read online

  “Joyce’s alibi is solid,” Wyatt says. “That’s why she was immediately cleared as a person of interest. She came forward and was open about her previous relationship with both Logan and Charlene.”

  “That’s right,” I shuffle through some papers and then hand Landon a copy of my initial interview with the police. “I gave a complete statement. I explained the history of my relationship with Logan, how long we were together, and any other pertinent information I could think of.”

  Landon takes the paper and looks it over briefly. Then his eyes lock with mine.

  “Can you think of any place he might have taken her?”

  “This is where things get tricky,” I tell him. “When Logan and I were together,” I hesitate, and I glance over at Wyatt. It’s weird to be talking about my ex-boyfriend in front of my new boyfriend, isn’t it? Although, I suppose Wyatt is much more than a boyfriend. He’s my mate. He’s my other half. He’s my partner.

  He’s everything I need, everything I want, everything I desire.

  He is my world now.

  Wyatt seems to understand my hesitancy because he reaches for my hand and smiles.

  “It’s okay, love. I’m not exactly the jealous type. Besides,” he taps his scar. “I’m going to dare to say I won this round. Logan’s got nothing on me.” Then Wyatt kisses me deeply in front of everyone else. Luckily, there are no groans or eye rolls this time. When he releases me, I feel a newfound sense of contentment.

  “Okay,” I tell him. I take a breath, and I nod. I can do this. “When Logan and I were together,” I try again. “He was always talking about his uncle’s cabin.”

  “I remember reading about that,” Oliver says, and he reaches for a couple of papers sprawled on the floor in front of him. We’ve all completely taken over my office and turned it into a huge mess. There are papers, photos, and notes everywhere, and somehow, we’re all crammed into the room.

  “Yeah,” Matthew snaps his fingers as he tries to remember. “A place in the woods, right? A little cabin? Maybe like, a weekend retreat or something?”

  “I told the police, but they could never find it.”

  “Maybe it’s not in his name,” Wyatt says thoughtfully. “I remember following the lead, but there were no properties that matched the description.”

  “And he doesn’t have any known relatives or associates, really,” Landon says. “So unless a random coworker is loaning him a cabin for the weekend, it seems like an impossible clue.”

  “That’s what everyone told me,” I shake my head. “But I’ve spent hours and hours looking at properties in the area. It has to be someplace close, at least if that’s where he took Charlene.”

  “We assume that if Logan was the one who took her, he’d keep her nearby. It would have to be a place close to both work and school because he’s been under almost constant watch since the disappearance,” Wyatt says.

  “You can’t watch him all the time,” Ronan points out. “Even the best cops can’t keep up with a criminal who wants to disappear. Sometimes, they sneak away. It’s just what these guys do.”

  “You’re right,” Wyatt agrees. “But I’ve had my best men on this one, and there have only been a couple of times when they couldn’t locate him. It was always for short periods of time, too. Typically, he just goes from home to work and back again.”

  “It seems like he’s been spending a lot of time at work since the disappearance,” I point out, looking at some notes.

  “He has. Is that unusual?” Wyatt looks up at me hopefully, and I know he’s hoping I’ve somehow got some hidden knowledge that will reveal the killer’s secret location. I don’t have that, though. I don’t have any of that.

  “I mean, he’s always been dedicated to his job. I don’t know how hard being an English teacher actually is, but he’s always brought work back to his place and had office hours and stuff like that.”

  “No, this is more than that,” Wyatt says. “He’s been spending hours there after his last class. There have been a few nights he didn’t leave until after midnight.”

  “Really?” Now it’s my turn to be surprised. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

  “Maybe he’s feeling stressed with the investigation and doesn’t want to be cooped up in his house,” Matthew offers helpfully.

  “Or maybe he’s keeping her somewhere in the school,” Ronan says. “Have we looked at possible hiding places at the college?”

  Wyatt nods. “The campus has been thoroughly searched. No one’s found anything suspicious or noticed anything out of the ordinary.”

  “I don’t see floor plans here,” Landon is shifting through some of the paperwork. “Have you guys look at blueprints?”

  “For what?” Wyatt shakes his head. “Look, guys, I know solving crimes and covering things up and arguing is sort of your thing, but this is a missing person’s investigation. This isn’t some mystery novel or true crime TV show. This is real life, and I don’t have the time or the resources to go dredging up old floor plans for the community college simply because Smith seems to be spending extra time at the school. For all I know, he’s sleeping with another student.”

  “I can do it,” Matthew says.

  “Do what?” Wyatt glances at him.

  “I can get the floor plans for us in an hour,” he says, and he quickly leaves the room.

  “Did I miss something?” Wyatt asks.

  “Matthew has his own connections,” Ronan shakes his head, but I smile.

  “Matthew is a good kid,” I say. I feel protective of him. Hell, he’s not really a kid. He’s only a couple of years younger than me, but he’s sort of like a little brother to me. Law school is tough and he’s been doing an incredible job of holding it together while still managing to work and keep up with his social life. I don’t know how he does it, personally. I wasn’t that put-together when I was in college.

  “We know he’s a good kid,” Oliver says gently. “No one would dare say otherwise.”

  “And it’s a good idea,” Wyatt says. “It’s just that as a police officer, I still have to jump through certain hoops in order to do things like request blueprints. Oh, I get a little bit of leeway for being on the shifter squad, but even that has its limitations.”

  Wyatt sighs, and I reach for his hand. He’s getting worried and a little stressed, but that’s okay. Everything’s going to be just fine. We’re going to figure this out and we’re going to do it together. I wouldn’t have thought to request floor plans for the community college.

  Could there be a secret space Logan has been working in?

  Could it really be that simple?

  I hate this case. I hate knowing that something terrible is going on and that we’re so close to solving it, but we’re not quite close enough. I hate knowing that Charlene could still be alive, but suffering because I haven’t been able to figure out these clues.

  All I’ve done for the last month is focus on this case. Oh, I’ve gone through the motions in my relationships and at my regular job, but my mind has been consumed with thoughts of this case.

  “Tell you what,” I say to Wyatt. I kiss him on the forehead. “Why don’t I run and make us all some coffee, okay?”

  “Yeah,” he says. “That sounds amazing. I’ll come with you to help.”

  “No,” I say. “You just stay here and try to focus. I need a minute to clear my head, anyway, and besides,” I glare at the boys left in the room. “These guys are going to be nothing but kind to you. Right, guys?”

  They all murmur affirmatively, and after one more soft kiss, I leave my office and head toward the first floor kitchen. I start the coffee and then lean back on the counter. What a mess. I know we’re all stressed and anxious at this point, but this is so much more than I’m used to dealing with.

  He could have been hiding at the college with her.

  Why didn’t I think of that?

  It makes perfect sense and it would explain why the cops haven’t been able to catch him doing a
nything. I’m sure most of the squad thinks Logan wasn’t really to blame, at this point, because he seems so ordinary and so calm. He doesn’t seem like a vicious kidnapper. That’s not really his style.

  The coffee starts to brew and I head for the back door. I could use a few seconds just sitting on the back steps, breathing in the air. The weather is cool today and as soon as I sit down, I instantly calm.

  My inner cat loves to play in the cooler weather. I love to run and jump and just feel free. It’s one of those beautiful things about shifting that nobody really warns you about. Being a shifter is about more than having incredible senses. It’s about freedom.

  I close my eyes and just breathe in.

  In and out.

  In and out.

  In and out.

  Today has been such a whirlwind and I’m not sure where I’m going to go from here. I have a mate now. A mate. I can’t believe it, but joy fills my heart. I’ve never felt this excited or hopeful before. I’ve never felt this brave.

  A shadow blocks the sun from my face, and I open my eyes to see what it is, and I’m shocked.

  “Logan,” I manage to whisper his name before he jabs a needle in my neck.

  “Hello again, love,” I hear him chuckle, but then everything goes black.

  Chapter 8

  Wyatt

  “What else do we know about this cabin?” I ask, pacing back and forth.

  “Joyce says he always described it in vivid detail. In fact, I’m pretty sure she spoke with a sketch artist and described it.” Ronan scratches his head and starts to shuffle through even more papers, looking for the drawing.

  “Really? I haven’t seen that.” It certainly isn’t in any of my notes about the case, and as the leader of the shifter squad, I should have been informed of something as major as this.

  “She did it off-the-books,” Oliver says. “She confessed everything to me this morning. I knew she was interested in finding out what happened to Charlene, but until a few hours ago, I had no idea just how invested in the case she really was.” He smiles at me. “Congratulations on your darling mate, Sergeant Dixon. You’ve got your hands full with this one.”

  His eyes are twinkling, though, and I know he’s just teasing me.

  “You’re close, aren’t you?” I ask him, and Oliver nods.

  “I’d say Joyce is essentially responsible for connecting each of us with our partners on some level,” he says. “And we all admire her greatly.”

  “She’s strong,” Ronan says.

  “And brave,” Landon adds. “She’s always been there for all of us, and we’ll always be there for her.”

  “She’s lucky to have you in her life,” I tell the men, and I mean it. I’m happy to know my mate has been surrounded by people who truly understand her and care about her. I’m happy she’s surrounded by people who are brave and strong and willing to grow.

  “Speaking of luck,” Oliver stands and stretches. “Where’s Joyce on the coffee? I’m going to go check. Maybe the coffeemaker is messing up again. It was giving us a hard time last week, but I thought I got it fixed.” He strides out of the office just as Ronan holds up a piece of paper.

  “Found it!” He says, and holds out the drawing of the cabin for us to see. Sure enough, the drawing is of a small wooden cabin. It looks quaint, and it looks dated.

  “It’s small, isn’t it?” I ask, taking the drawing from him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, if it’s a hunting cabin, it would be bigger than this: maybe two or three rooms. If it’s a weekend getaway, it would still be larger than this. This drawing looks like it’s from something out of the past. It almost looks like a one-room cabin pioneers would live in.”

  “Fuck,” Landon says, and he takes the paper from me. “Could it be that simple?”

  “What?” Ronan and I both ask him, but Landon pulls his phone from his pocket and does an image search. When he turns the phone around, I’m shocked.

  “Uncle Tom’s Cabin?” I ask. “The Harriet Beecher Stowe book?”

  The drawing from Joyce’s description and the cover of the book are identical. That’s how detailed Logan was when he told Joyce about the cabin.

  “What the hell does this mean?” Ronan asks, shaking his head.

  “Smith is an English professor at the college,” I say. “He teaches literature, and I’m guessing that his classes recently read this book. Why else would he be so obsessed with it?” I look up at Landon. “How did you know?”

  He shrugs. “My wife likes books. She’s got this huge, oversized poster of Uncle Tom’s Cabin on our wall.”

  Before we can decide what our next step is, Oliver comes bursting back into the room. He’s naked, which means he recently shifted and hasn’t bothered to get dressed again.

  “What’s wrong?” But I think I already know. He looks terrified as he starts to speak.

  “Joyce is gone,” he says. “I thought maybe she’d gone to grab some tools for the coffeemaker, but she’s just gone. The back door was open, and there were footprints.”

  He took her.

  I can’t believe it, but he took her.

  Fucking Logan took my mate, and he is going to pay for this if it’s the last thing he does.

  “I shifted and scented the area. Definitely a male, but I’ve never met Logan so I can’t be sure it’s him,” Oliver says.

  “Oh, it’s him, all right,” I growl. It’s taking all of my energy not to shift into my bear form. I can’t yet. Not just yet. Soon we’ll find him and I’ll tear Logan to fucking shreds, but I have to stay in control until then.

  “I’ve got it!” Matthew comes running inside at that point. He, too, is naked, but he’s holding a cardboard tube in his hand: the kind that holds documents. It’s covered in slime and slobber, so I know he shifted to get this, too.

  “Thanks, man.” I take the documents and spread them out on the desk while I try not to panic.

  My mate.

  He’s taken my mate.

  I’ve only just found her, only just connected with her, and now it’s all on the line. How the hell am I going to get her back? There’s no doubt in my mind that I will because I have to. I have to get her back. Joyce is my everything. She’s my sun and my stars. She is my moon. I need her like I need my next breath.

  I don’t know how I’ve managed to live this long without her because Joyce?

  Joyce is incredible.

  “Where’s Joyce? Should we wait for her?” Matthew asks, looking around.

  “He took her,” I grit out. I crash my fist onto the desk, and everything shakes. I can’t control my anger for much longer. Soon I’ll have no choice but to shift. Soon I’m going to go crazy.

  He has my mate.

  That fucking maniac has my mate, and all I can think is that I should have gone with her to make the coffee. I should have been by her side and then he wouldn’t have been able to grab her.

  Obviously, he’s been watching her, waiting. He’s been looking for an opportunity to take her, to make her his. Apparently, Joyce was right all along. Logan did want her.

  What was Charlene, then?

  A substitute?

  My heart races as I realize what this means.

  Logan doesn’t need two girls.

  If Charlene really was a replacement for Joyce, why would he keep her around now? If she’s still alive, she won’t be for long because now Logan has the real thing. He’s got Joyce. He’s got her, and if Charlene has been around this entire time, we don’t have much time to save her.

  The clock is ticking.

  Chapter 9

  Joyce

  This is it.

  This is how it all ends.

  It’s best to go out with a bang, right? Well, no matter what happens, no one can say I didn’t have a flair for the dramatic.

  As it turns out, I think this is pretty much the most dramatic thing that’s ever happened to me, and that’s saying something.

  Before Logan, my life wa
s fun and interesting and strange. I had a normal job, yeah, but when I wasn’t at work?

  I was living.

  I was traveling and exploring and learning.

  I was doing all sorts of different things, like taking trips and classes. I was hanging out with new people and developing my friendships and growing as a person.

  I was moving.

  My life had passion.

  And then something happened. I got sucked into this weird relationship with Logan Smith, and everything sort of just fizzled. Everything just sort of died down a little bit. Everything just sort of stopped.

  I can’t pinpoint exactly when things changed with him. Maybe it was because I was obsessed with hanging out with him when he wasn’t teaching. I stopped doing extra stuff on the weekends because I was busy with Logan. Then after the breakup, I threw myself back into my former crazy routine. I thought everything would be fine, but it wasn’t.

  He did something.

  He took Charlene Hill, and then he took my spirit.

  I shouldn’t have lost myself after she went missing. I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have been so weak that a man could have been the reason I seemed to grow uncomfortably complacent, yet I did. I gave up on doing anything for myself and instead became obsessed with finding her.

  Well, I hope I’m happy with what’s happened to me because he’s got me. He’s finally captured me. He’s conquered his prize.

  I’m lying on the ground and my wrists are tied behind my back. I haven’t moved because I want to figure out as much information as possible before I let Logan know I’m awake. How much space do I have to move? How big of an area am I in? I can’t tell with my eyes closed. Eventually, I’m going to have to open them.

  I’m nervous that he’s here watching me. I sniff the air quietly, trying to catch a whiff of his scent, but I smell nothing. Then again, there’s a stinky gag in my mouth, so that could be affecting my sense of smell. I’m not sure.