Indirect Lines: Halle Shifters, Book 5 Read Online Free PDF Page B

circus sideshow?” Barney hid his smile. “You can bill yourself as ‘The Man Without a Brain’.”
    “Nah.” Derrick tilted his head. “The burlesque show, on the other hand…”
    Casey Lee laughed. “No way I want to see your hairy ass in a bikini, jiggling all over the place.”
    “You should be so lucky.” Derrick pushed at Casey Lee’s arm when the other man started gagging. “Seriously, though. If Vaughn had to hide he’d go somewhere where he wouldn’t be noticed. Somewhere with either a shit-ton of shifters or none at all.”
    “Vaughn’s also a Hunter. He’d know how to hide.” Barney rubbed his chin. “I’ll pass that along to Francois. The feelers he’s put out haven’t returned anything he can sink his teeth into.”
    They rode in silence after that. Barney texted Francois, who texted him back with Heading to NYC now . Francois would probably check in with the New York Coyote Pack. Their Alpha, Nathan Consiglione, was a friend of the Poconos Pack Alpha, Richard Lowell. No doubt he’d give Francois the assistance he needed to find Vaughn.
    “How’s Heather doing?”
    Barney grimaced at Derrick’s question. “She’s fine.”
    “She sure is,” Casey Lee drawled. “I wonder if all the women in that family are just as fine as your mate?”
    Barney shrugged. “Dunno. Haven’t looked.”
    That was a blatant lie, but the only women he knew were Chloe, Heather and the assorted aunts. Heather shared her bright red hair with her father, Raymond, and her Aunt Laura—Raymond’s sister and Chloe’s mother. But she got her petite frame and bright blue eyes from her mother, Stacey. Barney knew her older brother and sister, Keith and Tiffany, were still out west, working on moving the offices of Bunsun Exteriors to Halle from Oregon. He had no doubt they’d arrive in nanoseconds if they thought Heather was in any danger. The clan just seemed to work like that. “She has an older sister, but I’ve never seen her.”
    “Almost there.” Derrick pulled off the highway, following the signs for the Departure section of Philadelphia International Airport. “Do you have anyone watching Heather? Chloe’s covered by Apollonia and Artemis, but Heather could be used against them.”
    “I know. Ryan and Alex Bunsun are going to keep an eye on her.”
    Casey Lee frowned. “Not real acquainted with Mr. Bunsun.”
    Barney’s grin was evil. “Alexander ‘Bunny’ Bunsun might seem like a teddy bear, but the man beat the shit out of seven men who harassed Heather when she was ten. Crippled one of them, in fact. Trust me when I tell you Heather’s safe with him.”
    Casey Lee whistled low. “Dayum.”
    “Why would seven men go after a ten-year-old?” Derrick was scowling as he parked the truck in the short-term lot.
    Just remembering what he’d learned had him clawing at the seat in anger. “They tried to force her to shift.”
    “At ten ?” Casey Lee’s face twisted into a disgusted grimace. “That’s sick.”
    Barney nodded, barely holding back his own growl. “When I found out about it, I tried to get Alex to tell me the names of the men. He wouldn’t. He said they were on the other side of the country and weren’t a threat to her anymore.”
    “Do you agree?” Derrick pulled his overnight case out and handed it to Casey Lee before grabbing Barney’s.
    “No.” Anyone who tried to use shifting to force a child into puberty wasn’t simply playing around. They were after something else. But unless Barney saw them for himself, there was no way to know if they were rogues or were telling the truth. “Without more information there’s nothing I can do.” Barney grabbed his bag. “Let’s focus on the Senate and what they’re up to.”
    “For now,” Derrick grumbled.
    Casey Lee nodded in agreement.
    Shit. Barney was beginning to like these guys. “You read the info I gave you on Darien Shields?”
    Casey Lee responded first. “Male Black Bear, twenty-nine years old, five foot