Read The Keepers Story 01 - The Gatekeeper for Free Online Page A

singer? I told him to leave her alone.”
    Saxon tensed, accidentally increasing the pressure on Taylor’s throat. The werewolf let out a sharp squeal and started talking again the minute he eased up.
    “I didn’t hurt her. I didn’t do anything to her. I just drove her out there.”
    “Out where?”
    “His lair in the desert,” Taylor said. “Five miles out Highway 15 there’s a big stand of cactus. You can’t miss it. His place...it’s there, but it’s underground. You—”
    Saxon heard footsteps. He pressed Taylor’s neck hard to silence him. It had to be Carl Bailey’s men, and considering the speed with which Taylor had given in, he might be someone worth keeping around.
    He spun around and saw four thugs heading his way. Two dumb human guards with no clue, along with a vampire and a werewolf. He smiled.
    “We can go at it, boys, but I think you hear the sirens. Now, here’s the thing. This young pup of Bailey’s doesn’t give the police any respect. He took a swing at me. He’s going to spend a night in jail, and then the little bastard will be arraigned and dumped back out on the streets. I think we should leave it at that.”
    “You know we have to report this incident to Mr. Bailey, Kirby,” the vampire said, assuming the lead.
    “I’m counting on it,” Saxon said.
    “You okay, Jimmy?” the werewolf asked. “We look after our own, so if you want help, just say the word.”
    Jimmy managed a nod. “Damn straight I want help. You need to bail me out. Fast!”
    “You bet, Taylor. And don’t worry none—Mr. Bailey looks after his own kind.”
    The four thugs turned and left seconds before two patrol cars, sirens screaming, drove into the alley.
    “Take him in. Assaulting an officer,” Saxon said, shoving Taylor toward the officers emerging from the second car. Then he bent to speak to Keeghan McMurtree, the driver of the first.
    McMurtree was a leprechaun. A tall one. Despite his race’s reputed ability with money, he wasn’t lucky at gambling. He was a damn good cop, though, driven by his disgust at all the killing he’d seen back in the old country—among humans and Otherworld races alike.
    “Anything going on I should know about?” Saxon asked.
    McMurtree nodded. “Just a warning. Captain is in a state, anxious as all hell. That business yesterday with the dead guy getting eaten, you know.”
    “I know,” Saxon said. “I’ve got a few things to follow up that might put him in a better mood.”
    McMurtree nodded. “Take care, buddy.”
    “Will do. Thanks,” Saxon said.
    McMurtree drove away, and Saxon stood there for a long moment, considering the state of his investigation.
    So...it wasn’t the stripper and it wasn’t the tough new wolf in town—who wasn’t so tough, anyway. And he’d never thought it was a shifter in wolf’s clothing, much less some human nutcase. Given everything he knew about the man and everything he’d learned today from Calleigh and Taylor, there was only one person—one werewolf—it could be.
    Carl Bailey.
    But that bastard was too clever by half. No way was he doing his own dirty work. Nope, Carl was definitely not working alone.
    Saxon glanced at his watch. It was time to head out to ranch country.
    He would keep his meeting with Calleigh brief, just long enough to tell her that he had what looked like a decent lead, and if she stayed home and played it safe, he had a chance of finding her sister.
    But when he got to the address she had given him, Calleigh wasn’t there.
    He knocked, and the door was opened by an awkward young man with a baby face and the look of a dreamer in his eyes.
    It had to be Dirk, human owner of the house.
    “You the cop?” Dirk asked anxiously. When Saxon nodded, the other man rushed on. “Calleigh’s been telling me about you. She said you sounded as if you really care. You have to help. I don’t know what to do. Like now. I don’t get it.”
    “What don’t you get?” Saxon demanded. He grasped the