Raising Innocence: A Rylee Adamson Novel (Book 3) Read online

  I waited another ten seconds before slowly opening the door and allowing the agent to step in. I didn’t share my personal space well at the best of times—and this night certainly wasn’t that.

  Agent Valley made his way further into the room, selecting the same chair he’d sat in last time he’d shown up unannounced, his feet not quite touching the floor.

  “Are you going to sit down, so we can speak?” He opened the folder and drew out sheets of paper clipped together.

  I folded my arms over my chest, tucking my bandaged hands away from sight. “No, I’ll stand.”

  “So be it. But I will warn you, this is going to be a long conversation.”

  Snorting, one corner of my lips lifted. “I doubt that very much.”

  He seemed unfazed by my rudeness. One by one he laid out the paper-clipped piles on the table in front of him. “These children were all stolen from hospitals, all within the last two years.”

  I couldn’t stop my ears from perking up. Why hadn’t I heard about this? Something like this would have been all over the news. Bending, I scooped up the papers closest to me, thumbing through them. Six months old, in the hospital for not even twenty-four hours before going missing. Youngest of three. Sophia. That was almost a full two years ago; she must have been one of the first.

  “There seems to be a strong correlation between the illnesses that the children came in to have treated and whether or not they get kidnapped,” Agent Valley said, leaning back in his chair. I crouched to the ground and flipped through another pile. Age, four years. Oldest of two. Benjamin. There was nothing about why he was in the hospital.

  Age, two and a half. Only child. Jasmina.

  Age, three weeks. One of two twins. Elana.

  Age, five years. Middle of seven. Kent.

  The list went on; there were over twenty children missing.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me what the correlation is?”

  I spread the papers out, unable to stop myself from caring, even knowing that Agent Valley was manipulating me. “I suppose you’ll tell me eventually. If not, it doesn’t really matter. I can find them.”

  “So sure of yourself,” he said softly.

  I lifted my eyes to his. “It’s one of the few things I’m sure of in my life.”

  Alex came trotting in from the kitchen, Giselle clinging to his collar. Neither one said anything to Agent Valley. They just went back to sitting on the window seat, staring out into the night sky.

  The agent watched them, shaking his head ever so slightly. “I don’t know how you can live with a werewolf.”

  My eyes narrowed, anger surging. What would he think if he knew O’Shea was a werewolf now? “Easier than living with some asshole with an overbite.”

  His face flushed from his head down to his collar, his lips tight, and a vein bobbing in the side of his face. For a brief second, I wondered if all FBI agents were required to have a vein in their face or neck that reacted when pissed off; like a mood thermometer.

  Fuck, I really knew how to make people hate me. Was it just me or were all Trackers like that?

  Maybe I should mellow out a little. At least, I could try. “What’s the connection between all these kids?” I brushed my finger along the edge of their names, wishing I had a picture of one of them so I could Track them right now.

  “They’re terminal.”

  My brain froze, and I slowly lifted my head. Agent Valley was sombre, his eyes full of grief.

  “You mean like as in cancer?”

  “Amongst other things.”

  I quickly scanned the papers and picked up the first one, Sophia. I held it out to him. “How long did she have?”

  The agent took the paper and glanced at the name, not even consulting with another sheet before he answered. “Three months. Even if whoever took her had all the medical supplies they needed, she’d be dead by now.”

  Rocking on my heels, I looked at the papers with a new angle. “So you’re telling me that not one of these kids is living? That they’re all dead?”

  “That’s what I’m telling you.”

  I stood up and backed away from the agent and his piles of papers. There were times I went after a child and they were already dead, or they were killed before I could find them. Just one downside of being a Tracker. But going after these kids, this many dead? Shit, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that, to put myself through seeing that many parents grieving, to feel the depth of sorrow that only a child’s death brought on. Besides, it wasn’t like they didn’t know the fate of their children. They knew they were dead, long past. Harsh, but true. A shiver ran through me and I could almost see the group of parents clinging to one another, crying, begging for mercy on their babies. No, this was not something I wanted to do.

  “I think I’ll pass. You know their fate. You don’t need me.”

  Agent Valley leaned down and scooped the papers up one by one, slipping them back into his file folder. “I thought you might say that.”

  Moving back, I crossed my arms again, feeling like a fucking heel. But, there were times that even I wasn’t strong enough. Weakness, hadn’t I just bitched at myself over being weak? But this was different. The body I could conquer, the mind . . . all I could see in my mind were the parents, their sorrow, and then perhaps their condemnation. In my mind, they looked like my own parents as I was accused of murdering Berget, my little sister. They’d believed the worst of me and that had etched itself in my soul.

  Agent Valley stood, but paused mid-step. “Have you heard anything from O’Shea?”

  “No, he hasn’t contacted me.” That, at least, was the truth.

  “But you could Track him, couldn’t you?”

  “I don’t Track adults.” Well, that was fudging it a little, but I owed Valley nothing.

  He nodded. “I don’t suppose I can ask you another question?”

  Agent Valley was about to drop something on me. What, I could only guess; most likely something he thought would push me into a corner. Right then, I should have just said no, escorted him out and locked the door. But no, I had to nod and say, “Yeah, sure.”

  “We brought in a young hacker last week. He was the source of a major leak in our department, and was caught selling information on our confidential Arcane Arts division. Of course, we stopped him before it was able to get out to the world via the black market.”

  My muscles tightened and my brain was screaming at Kyle. The little prick, after I paid him so fucking well? Now at least I knew where the print out I’d had disappeared to, the little bastard! I’d never even had a chance to go over the papers on the AA division before they’d gone missing while I was on a salvage. Kyle must have snuck out to my place, knowing that I’d be indisposed. But why wouldn’t he have just hacked in and re-printed the information?

  The next time I saw him I would have to ask; then, I would kick his ass into next year for crossing me.

  “Hmm. I don’t see what this has to do with me.” I stilled my nerves, forced myself to stand relaxed and at ease. Jail was not somewhere I wanted to end up; I’d been on the wrong end of the law once in my life. Once was enough, thank you very much.

  “Well, I just thought you’d like to know.”

  “That’s not a question,” I said, my voice even and calm.

  “Isn’t it?”

  We were in a stare off, him waiting for me to break. It would be a freaking happy day in hell when I didn’t win a staring competition. I shrugged. “You are one strange little man.”

  He glanced away. Point for Rylee. I had to give him credit. He was pretty good at trying to get what he wanted without full on asking for it. But it wouldn’t work with me.

  “Can you at least tell me if he’s alive?”

  Back to O’Shea again.

  “Now that’s a question.” I leaned one hip against the wall. “Yes. He’s alive.”

  Agent Valley nodded. “Is he coming back?”

  That was an even better question, one I’d like the ans
wer to as well.

  I took in a long slow breath, let it out as I formed words I hated to say. “I don’t know.”

  The agent nodded and then headed for the front door; he made it all the way there before turning around, a smile on his lips. He was way too happy after I’d just turned him down. I felt the first niggling of fear along the back of my neck; he’d been holding back.

  “It’s a shame you aren’t interested in the case.”

  I nodded and gave him a tight-lipped smile, but said nothing else.

  Tapping his folder against his leg, his eyes seemed to twinkle, his hand on the open door.

  Shit, here it comes.

  “The team’s main source of help is in the hospital, too sick to move anymore.”

  My eyebrows lifted, confusion flitting through me. “And this would be important to me why exactly?”

  Agent Valley smiled and I felt the hook set in mouth as he said, “Because he’s a Tracker.”

  3

  I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. Agent Valley said nothing, stepped out onto the porch, and shut the door firmly behind him.

  There had never been another Tracker that I’d known about, no one to learn from, no one to tell me how not to do things, or even what other things I might be able to do. I couldn’t let this pass by me, even if he was bluffing. Shit, shit, shit.

  Grabbing at the door I flung it open to see the agent smiling up at me. “Shall we start again?”

  Flustered and irritated that he’d played me like a freaking harp, I stepped back to let him come back inside. Once again seated in my living room, he held out his hands.

  “I thought you might turn me down, this isn’t the kind of case you typically go after. You like to find them alive, not long past their expiry date.”

  Snorting, I sat on the edge of the coffee table, the wood corner pressing into my thigh. “After finding your first half-rotten child corpse, you wouldn’t be so eager to go after them, either.”

  He blanched.

  That had been one of my earliest salvages, and it had left me with nightmares and flashbacks for weeks. Even now, I could still smell the putrid mix of decaying meat and baby powder to cover it up. No, that was not something I willingly went after. If a kid was missing, and I took on the salvage and they died before I could get to them, I did my best to bring them home. But taking on a salvage willingly, knowing that the kid was gone? Nope, not as fun as it sounds.

  Agent Valley eyed me up and down. “You are not what I expected, from what O’Shea reported, I thought you’d be more of a hard ass.”

  “Yeah, he would say that,” I muttered. “Listen, what about this Tracker, why can’t he go after them?”

  “Like I said, he’s in the hospital. Dying. Lung cancer, I believe.” He handed me a piece of paper with a name on it I didn’t recognize, stats, but again no picture.

  Jack Feen. Age forty nine, single, red hair, blue eyes. Tracker. Seeing the Tracker’s stats on paper made it more real to me for some reason.

  “Where is he?”

  “That’s where things get tricky.”

  I lifted my eyes to the agent, expecting him to squirm under my glare. I didn’t like this game he was playing with me. “What do you mean, tricky?”

  “You see, it isn’t just the FBI on this case.”

  Brilliant.

  He cleared his throat, seeming to almost choke on the words. “Interpol has asked for our help. Their Tracker is down and they want to borrow ours. You.”

  I shot up, my voice rising sharply. “What the hell? You’ve been telling your buddies that I’m on payroll? You think you can pawn off my services like I’m some sort of high-priced bird dog?”

  Alex gave a soft woof. I’d almost forgotten he was there, he’d been so quiet. A look over at him and Giselle, seeing their eyes look to me for reassurance, calmed me down. No good would come of getting riled up; I didn’t have to do what Agent Valley asked of me. But I knew I’d never find the other Tracker if I didn’t help him.

  Son of a bitch, he was a sneaky bastard.

  “Where?”

  Agent Valley continued to smile. “London. All the children were snatched from hospitals in London, and it’s where Jack Feen is dying. You won’t have much time. The doctors are saying he’s got weeks at best.”

  London. How the hell was I supposed to get there in a giant piece of technology that could flick off at the drop of the hat simply because I was too close to it?

  I smiled, seeing a roadblock he likely hadn’t considered. “And how would you like me to get there? Paddle boat? Swim? Click my heels together three times?”

  He continued to grin, and I knew I’d finally met someone who might outmanoeuvre me. O’Shea had been persistent, had intimidated me and never backed down. But this man, this short, dumpy, ugly little man, had an answer for everything.

  “We’ve outfitted a Boeing 747 with the proper displacement materials to keep your vibrations from setting off the equipment. You can fly out in three days, and be in London with plenty of time to visit Jack.”

  “Vibrations?” What the fuck was he talking about?

  “Our scientists have determined that it is specific vibrations that supernaturals give off that interfere with technology. I’m not going to explain it now. Suffice to say that we understand the cause and have a way to block the resulting problems.”

  This was news to me. But it made sense. I swallowed hard, my mind racing with possibilities. He wanted me to go, needed me to. I’d lay money he’d already told Interpol that I was coming. Hmm. I could use this to my advantage. Let’s see how he liked the tables being turned.

  “Then I want a few things besides the usual pay cut.”

  He nodded as if expecting this. He hadn’t seen anything yet.

  I held up one finger. “I need a care nurse here twenty-four-seven while I’m away, for Giselle. Someone who is familiar with dementia and the supernatural.”

  Pursing his lips, he pulled a phone from his breast pocket and scanned through it. “Yes, that can be managed. We have someone in our AA division that is familiar with both.”

  “I want to pick my back-up.”

  “That’s fine. I don’t have a problem with that.”

  Smiling, I leaned back. “Eve is coming with us. I can make her small with a spelled anklet that Milly left for me.”

  Agent Valley’s jaw clenched. “You want to bring a Harpy with you.”

  “She’ll be about the size of a hawk. Fits right into the plane with no problem.” I continued to smile—this was kinda fun. Almost as much fun as I had playing with O’Shea when he’d been trying to bring me down. Almost.

  The agent gave a sharp nod. “She can be controlled, I assume?”

  “Of course. She’s got all her mental faculties. She’s young, but bright.” I smiled. I was going to make him pay for twisting me around. “And Alex comes with me, too.”

  Alex jumped up at the sound of his name. “Coming?”

  “Yup, we’re going to London,” I said as Agent Valley sputtered.

  “That’s too much; you can’t bring a werewolf to London. Impossible. Bad enough that you want to bring a Harpy!”

  Grinning down at the werewolf, who rolled on his back at my feet, I rubbed his belly with one foot. “Alex is a part of my search team. He helps keep me safe, amongst other things.”

  Alex wiggled on his back, balancing on his spine with feet straight up in the air. “Alex going to London, Alex going to London,” he chanted, wrapping it all up with a howl of “Keeping Rylee saaaaaaafe.”

  Agent Valley stood, his face red. “You can’t bring a werewolf to London!”

  I laced my fingers in my lap and said quietly, “Then I’m not going.”

  His jaw went tight and I knew I had him. Still, he didn’t answer right away. We had a second stare off, and again, I won, his eyes flicking away from mine to look out the window.

  “I won’t promise you anything. There are other factors I have no control over,” Va
lley said.

  “Not my problem. Alex and Eve come with me or I’m not going.”

  “I heard you the first time. I will do my best.” Agent Valley narrowed his eyes. “You can keep him on a leash, and hide him with that collar of yours, correct?”

  Fuck, how much did he know about me and Alex? “Of course. I’m not going to go running around London announcing I have a werewolf.” What did he think I was, an idiot?

  “One more thing,” I said.

  The agent was standing back up, and I wanted to be sure we understood each other before I dove into this.

  “What is it, Ms. Adamson?”

  Ah, getting formal now, that was a good sign. Meant he was finally taking me seriously.

  “This doesn’t mean I’m working for you. Nor does it mean I’m going to do things your way. Consider this a one-time contract to find those kids.”

  His eyes narrowed, anger flitting across his face before he smoothed it away. “Anything else?”

  “I’ll be sending you an invoice through my manager.” Okay, Charlie wasn’t my manager per se, but close enough.

  Shaking, Agent Valley gave a sharp nod, turned and headed once more for the front door.

  “We’ll send a car round for you in three days; your flight leaves at noon on the seventeenth.”

  “I can’t leave until I know for sure someone is here with Giselle.”

  “I will have someone here before your flight.”

  I felt like I’d scored a major victory as the door clicked shut behind the FBI agent. Slumping against the opposite wall, I stared at the door. I was leaving for London in three days, with Alex and Eve. Better than that, I was going to meet a Tracker.

  The rush of excitement that zinged through me left me shaking with excess energy. Milly was going to freak when I . . . No, Milly wouldn’t know about this. The excitement drained and I frowned down at my shoes. Ah, fuck it. I was going to celebrate anyway.