Cloaked in Secrecy Page 7

  “I’ll ask Father if he can speed things along, but it’s tricky. The police are everywhere at the circus, watching us.”

  Nicolai wiped his cheeks, streaking dirt and tears across his skin. He kept silent for a moment, his gaze lowered. When his head lifted, so did his shoulders. “How long?”

  “Several days.” My voice quivered.

  He licked his dry lips and slouched into his seat. “You’re cutting it pretty close to my next change.”

  “Father promises to have you out.”

  Leaning closer, I confirmed the Gestapo were a fair distance across the room and whispered, “Another body was found. That makes it eleven. Father is convinced it’s the Varlac, especially now that one of their clan has arrived at the circus to supposedly check in.” I rubbed my palms up and down my thighs until I felt the friction and sagged back in my chair.

  “Shit,” was all Nicolai said.

  “Double shit.” Triple that if you included the way I couldn’t keep my damn libido in check near Enre.

  “I’ve screwed everything up, haven’t I?”

  “No, don’t say that.” I reached for his hand, but he pulled away.

  “If I hadn’t tried to save the man from Mila, we could have already moved across the border.” When he spoke, his voice was barely audible. “I tried to run away, but I couldn’t. So much blood. I wanted to save him.”

  An invisible fist tightened around my throat. “I know you did. We’ll get out of this, you’ll see.”

  “But,” Nicolai began, “you could break me out. Because if I die, so do you.”

  Ignoring his reminder of our linked souls and predicament, I said, “Where do you think the police will check first?”

  “I won’t return to the circus. I’ve got places to hide. Maybe I’ll cross the border, make my way into Romania, and wait for the pack to arrive.”

  “The moment you escape, they’ll put a manhunt out on you and send your photo to every law enforcement office and border in the country.”

  His shoulders hunched forward, our faces inches apart. “I’ll hide out in the national park. No one will find me. Then I’ll cross the Danube River into Romania when things quiet down.”

  “You’re not making sense, Nic. That’s reckless and stupid.”

  “Swap places with me and see what it’s like in here, then tell me you wouldn’t do anything to get out.” The dip in his trembling voice terrified me.

  “I’d swap with you in a heartbeat.” And honestly, I wished I could.

  The creases on the bridge of his nose softened, and his mouth opened, but his words were lost to the loud bang of a baton striking metal.

  “Time’s up.”

  “What? No, it’s only been fifteen minutes at most. You said forty.”

  Nicolai stood, the meat parcel clutched in his hand. His mournful expression said more than his words ever could. Get me out, please.

  The creepy prison guard grabbed my brother by the arm and heaved him toward the back door.

  “Hurry along.”

  I was on my feet and ready to rip the man’s hand off, but the Gestapo yelled my way, drawing his baton. “Седни.” Sit. He gestured to my chair with his weapon.

  Nicolai’s jacket lay on the ground near my seat. I grabbed it. “Wait, he forgot his jacket.”

  The guard nudged Nicolai inside, but not before my brother peered over his shoulder with a look belonging to someone being escorted to a guillotine. The door smacked shut. My free hand rose to my chest, and my heart ached.

  For a few seconds, my legs refused to move. They’d frozen on the spot, and the lingering thoughts of rescuing Nicolai chiseled inside my mind. If the guard hadn’t prodded me to leave the room, I might have done something stupid. That’s all Father needed. Both of us locked up.

  By the time I’d picked up my handbag from reception and emerged into a day that had no right to be glorious, I’d made up my mind.

  Nicolai had a point. He could hide out in the national park, and who said Mila couldn’t join him? She appeared to listen to him. The police could check the circus, and when they found nothing, Father could organize our transfer into Romania. All part of the circus business—moving from place to place.

  The more I contemplated my idea, the more I liked it. Father refused to tell me much about his scheme for rescuing Nicolai and only reminded me to be patient. Anything I said to Father would fall on deaf ears while the police were involved. But I’d been brought up to take action when I believed in something strongly enough. And there was nothing more important than the life of my brother.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ENRE

  I hurried down the cracked and aged footpath that ran between train tracks on one side and homes on the other. A streetlight overhead flickered, and the stench of garbage floated on the air. My wolf, clawing at my insides, whimpered for release, urged me to find a forest, to run free, to hunt. But after three hours of limping around Ruse, it seemed this city didn’t believe in reserving woodland. The occasional park, sure, but they were close to houses and too open. I could never hide there. No wonder Maxim’s pack was desperate to leave.

  Once my wound healed, I’d have to make a call regarding Maxim. One option was to reveal my true identity with the intention of negotiating a way for both packs to share the Transylvanian land … if Maxim didn’t murder me instantly for lying and infiltrating his pack. And if he didn’t, it still didn’t guarantee he’d agree to my proposal. Then there was Daciana, who’d be furious at me for making decisions on her behalf.

  Another option was to play the Varlac card further and raise my concern of Nicolai, a moonwulf, in custody a week before the full moon. But how would that solve my issue with them not taking over Transylvania?

  Or, as a Varlac, I could announce I was privy to Maxim’s plans. But what issue would the Varlac have with them taking over territory? Alphas did that all the time. No, that wouldn’t work either.

  Perhaps I was going about this all wrong. My focus should be on convincing Alena of my plans. She might understand … Yeah, right. She’d made it pretty clear I was the devil in her eyes. I had no other choice but to make her see me as a decent wulfkin. Add to my to-do list the need to get Nicolai out of prison—and quick.

  The night’s cold chilled me to the bone. I drew the collar of my coat tight to my throat and hurried onward, despite the fire consuming the bullet wound in my thigh. The injury caused stabbing agony through my leg, and then some. With the next step, my wolf pushed forward. A half howl grunted at the back of my throat, and my body trembled from the forced change.

  “Not here.” My words were a hiss as I stumbled sideways into a shrub. Shoving my wolf back sliced at my insides. My breaths accelerated; my hands shook.

  My wolf was getting stronger. After I had accidentally attacked Daciana years ago, I promised myself it’d never happen again, but even after so much time suppressing the beast within, I was struggling with him again. The urgency to change itched beneath my skin, but I resisted the building pressure to scratch like some fleabag. Somehow, I’d make it to the strip of woodland outside the city.

  The circus lights beamed from behind the train terminal ahead. A conductor blared words I didn’t understand, and the screeching of wheels sounded. Soon enough, a train rattled down the tracks and stopped at the platform.

  Swerving around the rear of the building, which smelled of urine, I emerged from the entrance to the station, greeted by late-night commuters hurrying off the train. A whole herd of them.

  My wolf whimpered, inhaling their perspiring odors. When I sidestepped an older gentleman, a familiar scent teased my nostrils.

  I stopped amid the commuters brushing past. The air was stained with oil and burning train brakes. There it was again—wolf and lavender.

  Sniffing the breeze, I wove through the moving river of humans and nudging elbows, scanning the area. A lone figure in a jacket and hood rushed onto the platform and hopped into one of the train cars. The height and sl
ight wiggle of her backside confirmed it was Alena. What was in her arm? Looked like a rolled-up rug.

  Before I could think about it, I darted after her and slipped into the car behind hers. The door slammed shut within an inch of snagging my coat.

  Of the three passengers, only the blonde female closest to me wore a smile. I didn’t do blondes or humans, so I broke our stare and kept an eye out for Alena.

  The city train lurched forward, and I gripped the metal pole for balance. My reflection bounced off the dirty windows: stubble desperately in need of a trim, wind-messed black hair, pupils so pale one could easily mistake them for wolf eyes. Wrapped up in a coat and jeans, I reminded myself of a stalker. All I was missing was the hood drawn over my head.

  Brakes screamed as the train slowed, my body stumbling sideways. I clutched the pole tighter, and the doors squealed as they opened. Two other passengers exited. I stuck my head outside. The wind chilled my bones. No sign of Alena. I ducked back in.

  Seven platforms later, Alena exited the train and hurried along with a handful of passengers onto a shadowy footpath heading away from the station.

  I kept a wide berth. The cluster of humans thinned out until it was only the two of us. Curiosity made me focus on the rolled up object tucked under her armpit. She was up to something, but what?

  The occasional car zoomed down the lonely road, and every second streetlight was out. The trees lining the path in front of cement blocks of buildings reminded me of Romania in many ways, along with why I hated leaving the woods.

  Dimness encased this part of the city, encouraging muggers and stalkers to track their prey. I had no intention of harming Alena, but someone else might be lurking.

  Farther ahead, on the corner of the street, stood a three-story structure with the sign Police on it. Every window lit up the road. Alena was marching toward it, probably visiting her brother, except who would allow visitations so late at night?

  Another gush of freezing air shoved into me from behind, flaring the ache in my thigh.

  Alena halted and turned around. She spotted me. Fuck.

  Even from a distance, I recognized what the crease across her brow and down-turned mouth meant. Her arms tightened at her sides.

  I closed the distance between us. Wind blew the hood off her head and tossed the neat ponytail into a wild mess. She greeted me with a scowl, red blotches on her cheeks from the cold.

  “Why are you following me?”

  “What are you doing here?” My gaze dipped to the gray carpet fraying at the edges under her arm. “And why are you carrying a carpet?”

  She licked her lips. “I don’t answer to Varlac stalkers.”

  “Love it when you get feisty. But seriously”—my gaze fell to the rug again and back—“you planning on decorating someone’s place with that?”

  “Look.” She glanced down the empty street where the breeze howled. “I’m only going to say this once. Get lost and leave me alone. Go pester someone else. I’m not interested in being a Varlac’s fling.” She spun on her heel and stormed away.

  “I know what you’re doing,” I called out. “Sneaking about, dressed like a ninja, rushing to the police station.”

  She glared at me over her shoulder, her gaze tossing poison in my direction.

  “It has something to do with your brother,” I continued, intending to strike a nerve. “Something illegal.” Damn, I admired her courage, because I’d do the same for my pack family.

  Her boots click-clacked as she blazed toward me and whacked a fist into my arm.

  “Are you stupid? Don’t blurt that stuff out. Can’t you see where we are?” She glanced at the police station. Her shoulders curled forward in a classic I’m-going-to-attack-you posture. “What do you really want?” Her voice grew gruff.

  My response gushed out before I could make sense of what to say next. “I’ll help you get your brother out.”

  A nervous giggle crossed her lips, and her flickering gaze was a dead giveaway of how much this was out of her comfort zone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I wiped my mouth and moved to stand beneath a great tree stripped bare of leaves by the winter winds. The branches deflected some of the light off me. Alena didn’t follow at first; then, with a loud sigh, she trudged closer, standing the carpet roll on its end in front of her.

  “Stop pretending,” I said. “I know what you’re up to, and I have no issues with it. I won’t breathe a word to anyone. I’d save one of my pack members from the police too.” Though, in truth, I’d leave my real brother in prison to rot. Throw my father in there too.

  She didn’t respond at first. “Why would you care if I rescued my brother or not? It has nothing to do with you.”

  “You’re right, it doesn’t.” I should have walked away and tracked down a place to transform and release my wolf instead of getting involved in Alena’s business. Instead, my response spilled out. “I feel partly responsible for his capture. If I hadn’t distracted you, he might not be in this mess. I want to help.”

  “And then the Varlac would have an excuse to kill me, like … ” Her words vanished, and her gaze dropped.

  What was she about to say? Like whom? Who had the Varlac taken from her?

  “I give you my promise. This will be our secret. No one shall ever hear of it from me.”

  “A Varlac’s promise is like planting an underground mine,” she spat out in haste. “It sits there for years, until one day, it explodes, stealing your feet out from under you.”

  “Well, it seems you have me figured out. That was exactly my plan.” I circled Alena, needing the movement to add heat to my frozen body.

  She shrugged. “Well, I’ll go home then.”

  “And I’ll follow you tomorrow and the day after.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she studied me. “Why do you care? Our pack means nothing to you. Nic will turn into a moonwulf in just over a week. Time’s running out for him. This is my problem, not yours. I’m the one who left him behind with the police.” A frozen gust blew past, ruffling Alena’s ponytail. Her eyes glistened. I considered taking her into my arms to warm her, though I figured I might be pushing my luck.

  My hands curled in my pockets, fingers frosty, and my chest tightening. “Believe it or not, Varlac don’t want our kind revealed to humans and would do anything to stop that from happening. If Nic gets caught, it’s a problem for every wulfkin.”

  Alena stared at me with narrow eyes. I knew she blamed herself for her brother’s capture. Living with guilt like that would eat anyone up. She didn’t deserve this, and neither did her brother. My whole life I’d fought to protect wulfkin from humans discovering us, and I wasn’t going to ignore someone in need of help, especially when one of them was Alena.

  “Are we going to stand outside and turn to ice, or get the job done?” I asked. “You’ll need me to keep an eye out as you rescue Nic, or as a distraction to get him away if the authorities spot us.”

  In her gray eyes, thoughts swirled, and her constant scan of the area told me she was considering my offer.

  “Why would you do that for us?”

  “We’re on the same team here. Shall I carry your carpet?”

  She responded with a frown and tucked the rolled-up rug under her arm.

  I took that as a no. “Let’s move.” I didn’t wait for her response and slid into the shadow alongside the cobblestone buildings, slinking closer to the station. Faint steps fell into a rhythm behind me.

  She brushed past me, turned, and pressed a finger into my chest. “Fine, but try anything, and I’ll rip your heart out. We’re doing this my way. And I’m going first.”

  I nodded, resisting the urge to draw her into my arms and kiss those pursed lips.

  She frowned and continued onward.

  I followed her. Before we reached the entrance to the police station, Alena sneaked down a side alley and disappeared around the corner into the dark.

  Closing in from behind, I curved right into the
murky passage, my shoulders scraping the brick enclosure. I hurried in an awkward and angled walk-hop, trusting Alena knew where she was going. Against my better judgment, we were about to break into a prison. This was the police we were dealing with. But I doubted I’d have any luck in stopping Alena.

  She halted and shifted my way. Within the cloak of the night, I barely distinguished the outline of her body.

  “We’ll scale the wall and land in a small courtyard. Stick close. There are cameras, but since it’s only a holding cell, there’s a few spots to hide.”

  Looking up, I stared at the circular barbed wire lining the top of the brick wall, and now the carpet made sense. Clever girl.

  “Use the spot here.” She tapped the stone barrier. “There are a few broken bricks that should be easy to grab and step on while climbing. Anyway, make yourself useful.” She handed me the carpet, which was starting to unravel.

  Her ascent appeared effortless, scaling the wall as quickly as a squirrel dashing up a tree. A tasty squirrel, for that matter. Reaching the top, she stuck her arm toward me. I handed her the carpet, and in slow motion, she placed it on the barbed wire. Testing her device a few times by pushing down on the carpet in several places, she climbed higher and carefully lifted one leg over and then the other. Soon enough, she’d slipped out of sight.

  Following suit, I used the irregularities in the wall as Alena suggested, but my progress was slower since my thigh quivered each time I pushed myself off it. After two attempts to get my wounded leg over the barbed wire and slicing my jeans near the knee, I took a deep breath and tried again. I clenched my jaw, ignored the pain, and threw my leg onto the other side. Straddling the wall with only an old carpet between barbed wire and my jewels, I slipped my other leg over and hopped down on the other side. The stinging pain of my injury throbbed, and I rode the wave of agony for a few seconds until it eased. Why was I doing this again?