Page 64 of Old Secrets

“You would never willfully endanger a child. That goes against how Greenwich operates. The instant they asked that of you, you would have begun your quest to burn them to the ground like we are working on doing now.”

That I could believe. “So, we have this air fox clan because the fire foxes vanished into legend and myth. Is that where I was as a child? It could be. Maybe they were teaching me how to be a fox the whole time, and then they taught my ma how to prevent me from becoming a fox until later? My ma would have noticed if her infant refused to grow over a period of years, Jake.”

“And she would have likely killed you like she killed her son.”

I nodded.

“It’s a sound theory. Perhaps your aunt somehow got word to this air fox clan, who tracked down your new parents to keep an eye on the situation? Then they were murdered, and they claimed you before Greenwich could kill you? At that stage, Greenwich would have finished the job they had started.”

Once again, I nodded. “I only became valuable when it became clear I was like my parents.”

“Right. Your survival would have likely led them to believe you had their trait of apparent immortality. I did not appreciate how long it took for you to recover after the London shooting. My wolf about went psycho because we couldn’t defend you properly because of the gunshot wounds.” He ate another piece of his tempura, and once finished, he raised a brow at me. “Are you convinced we’re not dead yet?”

I snagged a piece of sushi, chittered a warning at him, and devoured it. “You are an asshole, Jake Thomas!”

“I do miss those loving exclamations of my status as the ultimate asshole. Are you going to start calling me Agent Asshole?”

“I just might, especially if we do go back to CARD. Calling you an asshole is stress relieving, I do have to admit.”

“When you first started calling me an asshole, I’ll admit, I was concerned. Then I used my nose and realized you actually liked me, and as you never show affection to partners, especially male partners, I began interpreting that as you expressing your undying love for me.”

“That’s not being an asshole, Jake. That’s being delusional.”

“My delusions worked out just fine, thank you.”

Much to my irritation, it had. “Generally, I’m in agreement with you, but I think we need to take a closer look at Jacob’s case. If the autopsy reports came back as conclusively a natural predatory attack, like what foxes like me can do, why did this air fox clan, if it was them, become involved?”

“They are probably allies who have been hunting Greenwich in the United States, framing Greenwich for the killings. Those deaths were all readily verifiable as manmade, with metal tools. A lazy investigator might look at similar cases, find the Greenwich murders, and match the methods. In reality, they killed their prey, probably to give Jacob a chance to escape his situation—a situation Jacob didn’t know he was in. All they would have had to do to send Jacob absolutely fleeing across the country is chitter. The first time you came out to play as your fox, my wolf had a severe case of unnerved. Once we clued in you were you, he went from wary to overjoyed, but Jacob wouldn’t have had that reassurance, not as a puppy. He would have felt the pressure of a fox and fled without knowing why.”

Huh. That better matched what we knew of Jacob’s flight. “And what we did discover about the case through those photographs matches what we know of Greenwich, and they may have backed off Jacob because of the FBI’s involvement—and with agents who weren’t involved with their operation.”

“Right. They’re smart enough to know when it’s time to back off. The pieces all fit. His relative’s involvement with Greenwich needs to be investigated, but that’s more of a wrap up than an immediate need. We’ll be assembling the pieces of Greenwich’s history after their fall rather than leading to their fall. That’s fine, as long as the bastards fall.”

On that, we were agreed. “And they will. If I have to pick up every petty black-market op to hit the system to make certain they’re all gone, I will.”

“Petty? Karma, have you not been paying attention to how much we’re paid when we do dirty work?”

I huffed, crossed my arms, and turned my head, refusing to look him in the eyes. “I’m not giving up my side gig.”

“Nobody is asking you to, Karma. If anything, working to reorganize CARD while picking up black market work meant to clean up the FBI is going to be lucrative for both of us. But they’re not petty. We’re going to be able to buy a nice house in the mountains in cash without blinking about it. Also, there are nice mountains not far from Seattle. I’m liking the idea of moving out west more and more—and having met your parents, mountains are going to be a requirement.”

“But I’m afraid of heights, Jake,” I whined.

“Want to bet air foxes can fly and they took you on a few flights as an infant?” Jake snickered. “And thus you developed a hefty fear of heights from a very young age. If your parents can do what they can, I definitely believe in a fox that can fly.”

While I refused to look at him, I did consider his statement. Shivering, I said, “That has enough plausibility to be disturbing, because I can’t remember any incidents from my childhood that would have made me afraid of heights.”

“Explain that whole willingness to climb trees thing, though. You’re damned good at tree climbing.”

“I doubt this air fox clan was chucking an infant into trees and expecting anything other than bouncing and probable death.”

“But what if you were a baby fox and could climb trees? Perhaps they were dumping you in the tops of trees and expecting you to climb down on your own.”

“Jake Thomas, you are such an asshole.”

He laughed at me. “It’s a good theory.”

“However good it is, let’s go with the flying fox theory. That one, at least, makes sense.”