Miles wanted to put in at a town near Juneau for fuel and supplies, which started a long argument between him and Zander.
“I don’t want Carson anywhere near land,” Zander growled. “Not until we’re well out of his reach.”
They stood in the pilot house where Miles had glued himself—he rarely came out except to use the head, and then he asked Rae to keep an eye on Zander while he did so. Miles slept in the wheelhouse, as the benches could be turned into bunks. He’d even made friends with Jake the Snake, whose favorite place was curled up on the front windowsill.
“If you run my boat dry, I’ll go back over to Carson’s side,” Miles rumbled in return. “You want us to run out of gas in a stretch of nothing? How hidden will you be if we have to be rescued?”
“I don’t trust him,” Zander said, scowling. “Carson would find a way to contact someone—he’d yell out the window if he had to.”
“Tranq him while we’re in the harbor,” Miles suggested. “We need oil and to fix a couple things. You banged things up out there.”
Zander shot Rae a glance where she stood looking out at the grandeur of the scenery. “What do you think, Rae? You have the most to lose. I’m good at keeping myself away from Shifter Bureau but I’m much more worried about you. They’ll go after your whole Shiftertown if you’re caught out here.”
Zander’s dark eyes held plenty of rage, and not a little worry, but Rae knew they couldn’t simply sail the boat until it wouldn’t go any farther.
“We could try talking to him,” Rae said.
Both men made derisive noises. Miles shook his head and said, “He can be a wall.”
“And I don’t want you anywhere near him,” Zander finished.
Zander had become extremely protective of Rae in these past few days. He would deliberately step away from her when they drew too near each other, as though having a certain amount of air between them would keep the mating frenzy at bay.
Didn’t work. Rae felt crackling sparks of need whether they were in the same room or not. That need urged her to find Zander and continue what they’d started. She’d had casual encounters with Shifters before, especially right after her Transition, but this was different. The gripping hunger wouldn’t release her—she knew it was only a matter of time before they gave up and went for it.
If she and Zander did relieve their itch, would the frenzy then cease? Letting them get on with their lives?
Rae didn’t know because she couldn’t think beyond that. Even now, when Zander included her in the conversation, she could only drop her gaze to his big hand, wanting its warmth on her skin.
“Miles,” she said, dragging her attention back to the discussion. “Let me have the key to Carson’s cabin.” Miles had taken charge of the keys once they’d been under way.
Zander’s voice took on a sharper note. “I said, you’re not going anywhere near him.”
“Not where you’ve locked him in. I mean his cabin,” Rae explained patiently. “Where he slept before you came along. Where he keeps his stuff.”
Miles seemed to understand and handed over the key ring. Rae closed her fist around it, thanked him, and started below.
“What are you up to?” Zander was a step behind her as Rae started around the deck for the door to the cabins. His warmth cut the chill and flared her need for him to life.
“Figuring out what Carson’s deal is,” Rae said as she ducked inside and headed for Carson’s cabin. “We can’t keep him tranqued or locked up forever.”
From Zander’s growls, he obviously could, but he went quiet as Rae unlocked the large room that belonged to Carson and went inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Rae wasn’t certain what she was looking for but she wanted to know more about Carson. He didn’t strike her as the same kind of hunter as the shotgun-toting men and women who roamed the world, wanting to “bag” an un-Collared Shifter. Carson was a bounty hunter, turning in Shifters breaking the rules to Shifter Bureau for reward. Some people—like Carson—were fanatic about keeping Shifters Collared and controlled.
Rae found the cabin painfully neat, lacking any personal touches. Carson’s bunk against the wall was little bigger than the cot he slept on in the storage room, the blankets and sheets tucked tightly in, the pillow stored in a cabinet above the bed.
Nothing that could possibly be moved by the ship’s motion was loose. Everything was stowed, clamped, or fastened down. Not a book or a photo was in sight, every horizontal surface bare.
The room was nothing like the messy jumble of Zander’s cabin on his smaller boat. Rae thought about the junk Zander had strewn everywhere, including the little talismans to enhance spells. She still didn’t know what he used those for.
Carson was the exact opposite. Spartan, austere, cold.
“No one is this neat,” Rae said decidedly. “No one human, anyway.”
Zander leaned one shoulder on the doorframe and watched her. “What do you mean, no one human? If you think he’s not, you’re wrong. Scent doesn’t lie.”
Rae shook her head. “I meant human in the sense of having any feelings whatsoever. I can’t imagine Piotr living like this.”
“That’s true,” Zander rumbled. “Piotr has a warm, comfy house with a wife who loves him. Lucky bastard.”
Rae sat down on the bed and began going through the cabinets nearest it. They were all locked but the keys she’d taken from Carson opened them.
Two of the cabinets held books and maps, one a laptop. All these were about the business of running a ship. Rae opened the next cabinet and said, “Aha.”
“Aha?” Zander sat down next to her, taking up all the space between them. “What aha?”
Rae drew out a photograph in a frame. It was of a woman, fairly pretty, with dark hair and eyes and a smile that held more warmth than anything in this room. If she smiled at Carson, the man had something inside him he kept buried deep.
Under the photo, which Rae handed to Zander, she found a small metal box with a lock and an electronic picture frame. The box was only a few inches on a side, the padlock tiny. None of the keys on the ring fit it.
Zander lifted the box from Rae’s hands. “What are you hiding, Mr. McCade?” he asked and broke the lock with his thick fingers.