Masked

CHAPTER 25 | caffeine by any other name

Portland, Oregon

Parker rubbed the back of her neck as she paced the lounge, phone pressed to her ear. "Answer, goddammit."

She threw the phone onto the couch when it went to voicemail yet again, and continued to pace, her mind in turmoil. Where the hell is he? She had repeatedly attempted to contact Daniel, but each time with the same result.

In the two weeks since Bobby's death, she had been on a renewed mission to find Elise's location and learn what she was up to. The pain of losing Bobby was still raw, but she had managed to remain focused with the help of Morgan and Clara. They instinctively knew what she needed, and when she needed it. Her circle of support increased with the arrival of Jessica and Daniel to attend Bobby's funeral. Their presence, while unexpected, was very much appreciated. Since then, she had spent every waking moment racing against the clock to track down Elise and Matheo.

She had begun to prepare dinner when her phone rang. She found it behind the sofa cushions and glanced at the caller display. Relief flooded her. It's about time.

"I've been trying to get hold of you all afternoon."

"I know. I've just gotten off the phone with Jessica," Daniel said.

Something in his tone triggered alarm bells. "What's going on? Where are you exactly?" Daniel and Alice had taken off without warning.

"San Diego." He sounded tired and strained.

Parker rubbed her eyes to ward off a headache that had been building throughout the day. "What's happened?"

The line went quiet, and Parker frowned. She was about to check if Daniel was still there when he said, "I was contacted by the local alpha. Five of his pack are sick..." Daniel hesitated. "They're all teenage kids."

She closed her eyes and sunk down on the couch. "How many of them are, um..." Her throat constricted. She could not bring herself to ask the question.

"We're going to lose one of them. Her father was born Human."

Dread spread through her chest and the rest of her body. They had stopped the supply of Wildfire weeks ago, yet the deaths were still mounting and had slowly made their way into the packs. As with Bobby's death, the source of the virus was still unknown.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "Any idea how they got infected?"

"That's what Alice is trying to work out. I'm heading back to Nederland in the morning. Alice will stay on for a couple of days to work with the pack's doctor. He needs to know how to deal with what's going to happen. The girl has a hard choice to make and depending which way it goes, Alice will need to show the pack's doctor how to either cope with seeing the disease go through to the end, or how to assist with a merciful death."

"I'm sorry." The words seemed so hollow, even to her ears. Her heart went out to Alice. Her friend had seen too many good people die from this disease. What would they do if Alice broke under the pressure?

Daniel took a deep, ragged breath and exhaled loudly. "Why did you need to speak to me?"

In the shock of hearing about the victims, she had forgotten the reason she had been desperate to contact him. "Oh, yes. We might have a lead on what Matheo is up to. Yesterday, when he landed in Atlanta, he went straight from the airport to meet with Thomas Goodman."

"Isn't he the CEO of the Goodman Group?"

She was not surprised he knew the name. "Yes, but I knew him from something else, and it nagged at me all day. I couldn't put my finger on it until I looked into his personal life, then I discovered why. Thomas has a younger half-brother, Andrew Mallory."