The Alphas Wonder Land Phoenix Mountain Book 9

As much as I love that Damica is better now, something still doesn’t sit right. Something in my gut says there’s something off here.

After investigating her accident, they said she was speeding, uncontrollably, through traffic. That tells me she was running from something. Running from what?

If I put that with her quick exit from our date and the fear I always smell on her, I need answers. There’s something going on with Damica and it scares the shit out of her.

I ordered a Phoenix style background check on Damica. Our hackers are the best. If someone tried to erase Damica out of existence, they’ll find out.

While I waited for the background to come back, I decided to get some work done. I’m behind in a lot because Damica is starting to absorb me.

I was going through my reports when Jake knocked on my door.

I look up quickly. “What do you want?”

“Relax. I’m just here to see if you the Enforcer reports.” He says as he walks in.

I grab a file and hand it to him.

“Thanks.” He mutters and turns.

“Hey.” I stop him. “We'll find him.”

He looks at the file and nods. Clearly, he’s hurt by this.

“Yeah. I hope so.” He flips through the file. “Anything on the Enforcer that was with him?”

“Only that she’s a first year street Enforcer. She shouldn’t even have had the investigation files she did.” I provide.

“Why would they run?” Jake turns and walks to my desk.

I shrug. “Quinn says he didn’t do it. Maybe Paisley believes him.”

Jake shakes his head. “How the hell do you go from a sweet kid to murderous monster?” His voice has a touch of pain to it. I know Jake, Len and Quinn were really good friends. Living together in the pack house, but I guess it’s true, you really don’t know a guy.

I shake my head. “I don’t know man. Quinn’s a first. Even Ricky can’t predict what’s going on in his noggin. As he grows, he’s letting loose all kinds of weird shit.”

Jake sucks in his top lip. “Yeah. I just wish…he’d come to me, ya know?”

I tick my head. “When the world’s against you the last thing you want to do is ask it for help.”

He nods and holds up the file. “Thanks.” He starts to go then turns. “About the other day. I’m sorry if I upset you.”

I look at the pen I’m playing with. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have did what I did.”

He slightly smiles. “It’s OK. I was asking for it.”

I nod and arch a brow. “You were.” I chuckle.

“See ya.” He leaves my office.

Fuck. I want to hate him. I really do. But seeing him upset about Quinn like that, makes me feel almost like an ass. Almost. He cares about his friends. I get that. I’m sure, on some level he cares about me too. It’s just our politics gets right in the way. I can’t like Jake for what he represents. If I do, I might as well hand my pack over to him.

That doesn’t mean I won’t help him. Quinn's been missing for months now. It’s a cold case. He’s got to be somewhere. Where ever he is, he better be doing something to get himself out if this mess. If not, the consequences will be bad. He’ll never see the light of day again. As for Paisley, I’ll deal with her. She’ll never work in law enforcement again, but I’m sure she didn’t do this of her own free will. I’m also sure, because she’s a red wolf, Zander will make a larger stink than necessary about it.

I push Jake to the back of mind just as Carmin comes in.

“Got something.” She smirks and drops a file on my desk.

“Everything?” I ask as I pick up the file and open it.

“Think so. It took some time. Whoever stole this information was good. Real professional, but was no match for our Comms.” She leans on my desk.

I flip through the file. I see the reports of her disappearance and her return. “She was locked up?” I raise my head to her.

She nods. “Yep. Sent to an institution for the mentally challenged at six where she stayed until 15. There’s a year where we have no idea where she was, but at 17 she completed high-school and got her PhD.”

“What happened between 15 and 17?” I ask.

She shrugs. “She checked out and never seen until a year later.”

I read the file again. “What drives a 5 year old so crazy the parents have to incarcerate her?”

Carmin points the file. “Read her medical reports.”

I flip through the pages and find the doctors notes. “Patient believes in creatures called…” I stop and raise my head. “She’s seen us.” My face falls a bit. My heart skips a beat.

Carmin nods. “Not only that, she believes we live in mirrors.”

“What the hell?” I read more reports.

The fact that she’s seen us explains a lot, but not enough to fully make sense of this. I’m sure the mirror thing is some sort of coping mechanism. Her doctor suggests she made up the world to protect herself.

I need to find out more about this kidnapping. The human police don’t know the things we do and may have missed the signs. They may need a pair of shifter eyes to see what they can’t. If I can capture Damica’s kidnapper, then maybe I can help her come to terms with it.

Flipping through the pages, I find what I need.

I stand. “I’m out. If you need me, I’ll be in Washington.”

“Why?” Carmin says to my back.

I look back. “I have to catch some bad guys.” I smirk.

She smiles. “Have fun.”

I grin back. “You know I will.”

I have to do this right. If Damica does know about us and she’s going through some sort of mental break, I can’t just approach her with it. It could send her over the edge. I need to prove that it was shifters that took her and that they are just bad guys. Us good guys are here to protect her. If I don’t, she could hate me forever. I don’t want that.

****

The next day, I pull up in front of a normal, average house. The kind with white picket fences. 2.5 kids. Dad with the office job. You know. Average.

I get out and look the house over. It sits on a bend in the road with a grove of trees behind it. A pie shaped lot. Lots of cover from the neighbors. Good place for shifters to hunt.

The house is a two story, three bedroom with white siding.

I walk onto the front lawn. The house is boarded up. The police tape still on the door. It definitely looks…creepy.

There’s a realtor sign on the lawn. The for sale sign crossed out.

From interviews I conducted in the neighborhood, the rumor is the girl got sucked into the house by a ghost. People watch entirely too many movies. I guess that’s why it won’t sell.

I walk to the right side of the house and look around the grass and yard.

There’s no fence, so if shifters entered the property, they’d come from the trees.

I walk over and step into the trunks. I’m looking for anything. Socks, a pair of boxers. Maybe even a shirt. Anything to suggest shifters shifted here. It’s possible they shifted somewhere else.

Kicking at the forest dirt, I come up with nothing. Not even a tuft of fur.

I walk out and walk to the back door. I look up as a security light comes on. Probably not coming in this way.

I walk to the side and raise my head. Damica’s window is the only one on this side and there’s a straight drop to the ground. They may have climbed in, but they aren’t getting out that way with a screaming child. Certainly not doing it without causing damage to the house.

I walk to the front door and look around. Lots of windows face this way. It would be gutsy to enter here.

I cut the tape and pick the lock. Opening the door, I get almost an eerie shiver up my spine. Jobs don’t normally put me off, but this on borders on spooky. I don’t like it.

As I walk into the house, it looks like they left everything. Everything is covered in sheets.

I see the living room to my left. The stairs to my right. I walk down the hallway and kitchen is at the back.

I look around the room and stand at the back door. It could be a point of entry, but how does a shifter get past the parents. According to the police reports, the parents were watching a movie when Damica disappeared. No way his going up and down stairs without them knowing.

I slowly ascend the staircase. When I get upstairs, I go to a bedroom door. When I open it, I can tell this is the parents room. I walk over to the window. The room is over the garage. It could be where they got in.

I took a step and floor creaks. I took another. Same thing. If this floor was the same 25 years ago, I’m sure walking around would have been heard. I don’t think so.

No windows big enough in the bathroom and no window in the spare room. I walk over and open Damica’s door.

When I walk in, my heart kind of melts. I walk over to the bed and pull the sheet off. Her double bed covered in a rainbow blanket still sits here. Her pink, plush carpet still looks clean.

I walk over to her window. No signs of forced entry or claw marks on the wood. They didn’t get in here. Shifters aren’t that clean.

I walk over to her closet and open it. I flip through the hangers. I smile as I flip through princess dresses and fairy wings. Definitely well cared for. The little princess.

I move the clothes and look for secret entrances or access doors. Nothing.

I walk to the middle of the floor. I stand there and chew on my cheek as I try and figure this out. I have my head down, looking at the floor when I roll my head to the side. There’s something tall and wide under a sheet.

I turn and walk to it.

I reach out and grab the sheet. I pull it off and almost shit my pants when my reflection scares me. Damn, I need a shave. I rub my chin.

My eyes flick to the rainbow bed in the mirror. It’s little pink pillows sitting at the head of it.

I turn and look at the bed and then back at the mirror.

“The land that doesn’t exist.” I mutter.

I slowly walk up to the mirror. Tilting my head to it like I’m trying to see through it. I reach up and go to touch its surface.

“What are doing in here?”

My head shoots up to a rather tall, slim man with graying brown hair and glasses. He eyes me from the open door.

I stand straight as the man and I lock glares.