“This isn’t a social visit.”
Oh. They were serious about these wolves. Both men sat, but only Dante appeared relaxed.
She decided it wiser if Trax went first. “Tell me what you saw.”
Dante’s lips curled up on one end as if he was enjoying this. “That’s not how this works, sugar. We’re the ones asking the questions.”
She was cold, tired, scared, and downright pissed. “Who put you two in charge?”
Trax leaned forward. “Ma’am. You have no idea who or what you’re dealing with.”
She was tired of Trax’s intense demeanor. “Okay, so tell me Mr. I-Know-Everything, just who am I dealing with?”
“The van that attempted to run you down is registered to Harvey Couch.”
Her stomach caved. No freaking way. “Why would he want me dead?”
Trax glanced at his brother. “That’s what we need to find out. What aren’t you telling us?”
A lot, but she could hardly say she’d laced his coffee with GHB because she wanted to murder the guy. Hell, they might haul her off to jail. “How do I know I can trust you?”
Dante leaned back against the couch, stretched out his legs, and placed his arms across the back. He looked perfect there.
“Go ahead, Trax. Tell her why she should trust us.”
The hard stare Trax sent his brother almost scared her. “Because we want to make sure the Harvey Couchs of the world don’t cause trouble. We’ve had him under surveillance for quite some time and believe he’s a kingpin in a drug operation.”
Drugs? “Are you with the FBI?” Regardless of their employer, she’d tried to kill someone. She would go to jail. She had no intention of confessing if she didn’t have to, and only if they gave her immunity.
“No, ma’am. We aren’t with the government, per se. Anything you tell us will be kept in strictest confidence. We don’t arrest people.”
Some of her tension eased. Not that she didn’t believe Harvey Couch was capable of being a drug lord, but his business really did bring in au pairs.
“I worked one day for Couch. As far as I could tell, he ran a business that provided nannies for American families. I never saw or heard anything drug related.” Though what did she really know? He certainly wouldn’t have confided in her if he had been doing something illegal.
“That may be true, but we also suspect he might be trafficking humans illegally. The Au Pairs for U might be a front for his other business.”
Oh, crap.
Dante removed his arms from along the back of the sofa and his happy-go-lucky charm diffused. “That’s why we need to know what you found out. Maybe you saw something you weren’t supposed to, and Harvey decided to eliminate you.”
Bile rushed to her mouth. “I didn’t see anything.” Other than his appointments for the rest of the week. She’d copied them all down. With nothing more to add, she continued, “Can we get back to these wolves?”
“Okay. Tell me exactly what you saw.” Trax seemed single minded in his determination to find out her connection to Couch and was unwilling to share.
She inhaled, praying she was doing the right thing. “I was in shock mind you, but when the dogs, I mean the wolves, ran back to the van, my vision blurred for a moment. First, I saw the pile of fur grow. Human legs replaced their short stubby ones. Next I spotted arms coming out of this mass and then a head formed. By the time those things got into the van, they were fully human.”
She studied the men’s faces but neither showed any expression. Not shock, acceptance, or confusion. Neither said anything for a while.
“Crazy, huh?”
Trax leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. She’d never seen a more alluringly powerful man. His gaze caught hers and it was as if he could see straight into her soul. “Harvey Couch and his men are what we call werewolves.”
An invisible hand seemed to punch her in the belly. “You’re pulling my leg, right?”
“No, ma’am. You said you saw wolves change into men.”
Yes, she had. Oh, my fucking God. It had been real. “No way.”
“Are you doubting what you saw?”
Yes. “Are we talking about werewolves that howl at the moon, and when they bite a human, that human is turned?”
Trax’s jaw hardened whereas Dante’s lips lifted a little.
“Ma’am. That’s all stuff from Hollywood. Couch and his men look and act like humans, albeit bad ones. They can shift into wolves when it suits their purpose. They don’t change humans into werewolves. One needs to have a werewolf father to be a werewolf.”
She slumped back. Her whole world was basically a lie. Right now, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know much more. Trax seemed to have a lock on this werewolf stuff. “How do you know so much?”