Page 19 of Hammerhead (Kinkaid Shifters #4)

The burner phone vibrated in Marco’s pocket like a wasp caught in a jar. He froze. Nobody should have this number. Nobody but ghosts from the past.

Glancing around the dimly lit storage bay, Marco made sure he was alone before pulling the phone free. The tiny, disposable device was cheap, meant to be used once and tossed. He stared at the screen, the number unlisted, an unknown caller ID flashing in the dim light. He already knew who it was. A slow exhale. He pressed accept and lifted the phone to his ear.

Silence. Then…

“Marco,” came a voice, rich as old oil and twice as slick. “I was wondering when you’d pick up.”

Marco’s fingers tightened around the device. Abdul Kettering. The bastard. Marco turned toward the bulkhead, keeping his voice low.

“I don’t know how you got this number, but—”

“Come now,” Kettering cut him off, chuckling. “You and I both know there’s no such thing as an untraceable number. If I want to find someone, I find them.”

“What do you want?” Marco gritted his teeth, glancing toward the stairwell.

“A favor.” The word dripped with amusement. “And to offer you an opportunity.”

Marco forced himself to stay neutral. “I don’t work for you anymore.”

A beat of silence. Then, a soft, knowing hum. “Ah, but you see, I don’t believe that. You may have walked away from our prior agreement, but I know a man like you doesn’t waste his talents playing oilfield handyman for a bunch of bleeding-heart lions. You were always meant for more.” Marco stayed quiet, but Kettering continued. “Tell me, does it bother you? Taking orders from seals and lions? Pretending that sharks can ever truly integrate with them? With their rules, their righteousness? You were an apex predator in the deep, and now you’re a fish in a tank, waiting to be fed.”

Marco’s jaw clenched. “I made my choice.”

“No, you made a choice. But you haven’t yet made the right one.” Kettering’s voice darkened.

“And what, exactly, do you think that is?” Marco felt a cold chill creep up his spine. He hated Kettering. Hated that he’d ever agreed to a private deal with this snake in an Armani suit.

Kettering chuckled again, low and knowing. “It’s simple, really. The world is changing, Marco. You feel it, don’t you? The old balance is breaking. Those in power won’t be in power much longer. The tides are shifting.”

“What are you talking about?” Marco frowned.

“You think the Kinkaids will always be on top? No, my friend.” Kettering’s voice was smooth as glass. “Something bigger is coming. A reckoning. And when it does, those who stand on the wrong side of history will be swept away.” Marco swallowed, the weight of those words settling into his chest. Kettering continued, voice lighter now. “But I’m offering you something better. A place on the right side. You were always smarter than the rest of them. More practical. More…ambitious.”

Marco’s pulse quickened. A test. This was a test. Had to be. Kettering wasn’t just fishing—he was looking for leverage.

“You’re wasting your time,” Marco said, forcing steel into his voice.

“And yet, you haven’t hung up,” Kettering murmured. “That tells me you’re at least curious. That’s good. I like curiosity.”

“You still haven’t told me what you want.” Marco exhaled, his mind racing.

“For now? Nothing difficult. Just watch. Keep your ears open. Pay attention to Miguel and the others. When the time comes, I may need a small favor. And in return…” The voice dipped lower, coaxing. “You’ll have your reward. A real one. Not this temporary forgiveness the Kinkaids have given you. I can offer you freedom. Power. A place in the new world order.”

Marco’s grip on the phone tightened. A place in the new world order. The words echoed in his skull, laced with both promise and poison. Those were Venifucus promises. Venifucus words. They whispered of dark things cloaked in pretty language.

He should shut it down. Say no. Walk away. But instead, he hesitated. And Kettering caught it.

“Ah,” the man sighed, triumphant. “There it is. That glimmer of doubt.”

Marco gritted his teeth. “I’m not giving you an answer.”

“Not yet.” Kettering’s voice was soft now, almost indulgent. “But you will.”

The line went dead.

Marco stared at the phone for a long moment before slowly lowering it. The Gulf whispered beyond the steel walls, endless and dark. And for the first time since he had left the mercenary life behind, Marco felt truly, deeply unsteady.

He wouldn’t forsake his pod for the devil, even if he’d never thought of himself as a truly good man. He had darkness in his soul and wasn’t proud of some of the things he’d done in his past career and life. But Miguel was giving them an opportunity to change. The Kinkaids were, as well.

Marco had to think long and hard about what he wanted from life and how he would go about getting it. Kettering—as they had all agreed—was an ongoing problem. Perhaps there was a way to turn this situation around and use it for good. Maybe then Marco could redeem himself for some of the terrible things he’d done in his life.

Or not.

He had a lot to think about.

*

The High Priestess Betina sat down to dinner with her apprentice, Allie, and the twin Lords of all were in North America, Tim and Rafe. They were identical twin werewolves and were both mated to Allie. Together, the three of them were in charge of every shifter that followed the Light on this continent, and they took their responsibilities seriously.

The surprising news from the Gulf had caught them all a bit unaware. Even Betina. Which wasn’t a common occurrence. But then, her old friend Mirabella had never done anything the easy way. The expected way. No, Mirabella was a law unto herself. Always had been.

Especially since the breakdown of her family…

“What can you tell us of Lady Mirabella?” Allie asked quietly as they ate the hearty meal set before them.

Betina always felt a little out of place in the mortal realm, but less so than she felt in faerie these days. Even so, being with Allie and her mates was the most comfortable place in this realm for her right now and she valued their friendship, and their leadership. They all had important roles to play in the coming conflict and Betina wanted them to be as prepared as possible. Which is why she told them more than she’d told anyone about her past in a very long time.

“Mirabella is truly ancient. Even for one of us,” Betina began, sipping the very fine wine they’d served with the steak they’d grilled.

A Maxwell vintage, she surmised, glancing at the bottle. Young Atticus, who was a bloodletter with several centuries under his belt as a vintner, had really come a long way in perfecting his craft.

“Does she live on that island that kept appearing and disappearing?” Allie asked when Betina got momentarily lost in thought about the vampire and his delicious wine.

“Oh, no. I don’t think so. But her chosen place of exile is along a rocky coast, so I assume the island is part of her lands.”

“Exile?” Tim asked, pausing in his consumption of the rare steak he was enjoying to look at her. “Why is she in exile?”

“Well, it’s a long story, but suffice to say, Mirabella has not had an easy time of it with her family. Her husband…” Betina shook her head. That was a story they didn’t need to know. “No, the important part for you to know is about Mirabella’s daughter.” Betina took a deep breath. Even after all this time, it was hard to say this out loud. “Elspeth is Mirabella’s daughter.”

“ The Elspeth? The Destroyer of Worlds?” Allie breathed, her eyes going wide.

“That would be the one,” Betina confirmed, taking another sip of the hearty wine. “Ellie didn’t start out the way she ended up, but a thirst for power combined with what I think was more than a bit of mental instability turned her into what she is now. What she has been for more than a thousand years by your reckoning.” Betina sighed. “It just about destroyed Mirabella to discover the path her beloved daughter was taking and when Elspeth went on her rampage, Mirabella retreated to her tower and gave up her position.”

“What position did she hold before?” Allie asked after some time had passed as the three mortals absorbed the new information.

“Mirabella was our queen. She went off the rails for a while and earned a rather bloodthirsty reputation that’s carried even here into the mortal realm.” Betina paused before delivering the final bit of information that would make it all click into place. “They used to call her Mab.”

“Elspeth is Queen Mab’s daughter?” Rafe finally asked, putting it all together.

Betina nodded, her thoughts sad. Elspeth had been a precocious child, but she’d grown into an absolute monster. Her mother’s reaction had earned her a terrible reputation in many realms and finally led to her self-imposed exile. It was tragic, really, but Elspeth had to be stopped before she destroyed even more lives and ended more realms.

They hadn’t given her that nickname for no reason. Elspeth had destroyed entire realms and all the life in them in her quest for power and chaos. She was truly demented at this point and her followers didn’t even realize that she was feeding off their power and would kill them just as easily as everyone else in her frenzy.

Insanity was the only thing Betina could come up with to explain why a lovely fey child had turned into a monster. And when Elspeth had gone bad, so had Mab for a time. Giving up the throne and exiling herself had been Mab’s way of trying to make amends. She’d needed to get away to help herself get sane again.

Betina hadn’t seen her in a century or more in the mortal realm, but she hoped Mab was well on her way to recovery. The fact that she was actively recruiting warriors was a good sign. Mab, for all her faults, had always been a good strategist and it would take the best to overcome her daughter this time.

For, if they failed to stop Elspeth this time, the mortal realm would be lost forever. It was make or break time. Do or die. Quite literally.

“Well that explains a lot,” Tim commented wryly. “And Queen Mab is on our side? Against her own daughter?”

Betina nodded again. “She has to be. Otherwise life as we know it could cease to exist. Not just here, but in every realm. Elspeth has to be stopped before she destroys the multiverse in her madness. Her mother knows this and although it’s painful, she also knows Elspeth has to be stopped. Mab can’t do it alone.” Betina took a deep breath. “None of us could do it alone. Elspeth is too powerful and has too many foolish allies on her side. But together, if we get things just right, we might stand a chance.”

“It sounds like we really have no other choice,” Allie observed, her expression stark.

“I’m sorry to say that you’re right,” Betina agreed. “We really have no other choice, at all.”

*

Thank you for reading Hammerhead , part of the Kinkaid Shifters series.