Sheppard: Marshall’s Shadow – Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance (Marshall's Shadow Book 1) Read online

  “They were sending Collier’s daughter in to hide evidence around the personal home of the president and his wife. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the drugs that were there had been stolen from evidence rooms all over the DC area. They still had the stations markings on them.” She paced more. The room that they’d rented here was in his name. They had spent last night here, and were leaving today. “I’m glad that I went over the place today and not later. There is no telling how much more stuff would have been added to the household before I got there.”

  “Did you kill Shelly?” She nodded. “You said that she was into some serious shit. Can you tell me what it was? I don’t want to be blindsided about that tomorrow when we talk to Mr. and Mrs. President.”

  “Gathering things. Like their fingerprints to use on other things, stolen things. DNA too. Things like hairs from Lily’s brush. Pubic hair from the shower that he used. There were missing pictures too. I found those at the apartment when I was there. She was cropping them with females to make it look like he was having a gang banger with prostitutes.” Harris turned and looked at him. “She had enough ammo and other guns there that she could have been ready for a war no problem. The dig is, I don’t think her dad or Maron even knew about the guns.”

  Shep didn’t even know how that sort of thing could be done with fingerprints and taking things from brushes. And pubic hair? That was just not even right. The pictures, he’d seen that done. But the rest, no.

  “What are you going to tell them when they get there?” Shep picked up the luggage when she went into the bathroom to change and gather the things she’d left in there. When she came out, she had on a pretty sun dress and sandals. Nothing like the woman she’d been when she left him earlier. “I think that is why you’re so very good at what you do. No one would suspect you of being a hit man.”

  “That’s the point, yes. I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the VP being a part of this. I’m going to have to think on this hard about what they’re planning. I mean, I’ve figured out that they’re going to take over the presidency, but after that, I don’t know. Well, I do have a clue, but I don’t want that to be it.” He asked her what it was. “War. And a huge one too. All they need to do is push the right people into the wrong places, and there will be a war that will kill everything that this country has worked for.”

  As soon as they left the hotel room, they headed for the car. Driving back and using cash left very little footprint, she’d told him. Shep had a lot of television knowledge about crimes, so knew a little about why she had him doing this. It meant that they were less likely to be traced. And even though the hotel had his name for staying there, she’d taken care of the computers so that no one would know what he looked like, when he came or went, and most importantly, if Shep had anyone in the room with him. They’d not even know that he ordered two of each meal that they’d had there. She was that good.

  The ride home was made with him doing the listening. When she talked to him, it was mostly to vent, he supposed. And when she did ask him a question, he was never sure if she was asking or venting again. Shep just kept his mouth shut.

  He was very proud of her, to be honest, the way that she worked things out in her head and then tossed them out like they were solid. They sounded that way to him. But she’d find a flaw in it someplace and start again. What he did get out of all this was that both men would have to be killed. There wasn’t any way that she could just let them go to prison over this. It would be a nightmare to get them tried, as well as sentenced. They had too many people in their pockets.

  “I have to make sure that they’re both killed at the same time, too. If I do one then the other, people will start asking questions. Questions that I do not want to answer.” Shep was sitting right next to her, listening to every word, and didn’t think he’d be able to answer anything either. “I think that if I have to do them one at a time, Benson is going to be a victim of not being able to live without his poor daughter. Maron, however, when he goes, he is going to suffer big time. That fucker makes me sick.”

  “You know something about him, don’t you?” She nodded and he waited. When nothing was forthcoming, he finally asked. “Do I want to know what you do, or can I just assume that when he goes it’s going to be justified?”

  “Oh, it’ll be justified. Right now it’s treason, conspiracy, and a whole lot of other things. He’s threatened the wife of the sitting president. Made threats against the country. Oh yeah, it’ll be justified.” Shep asked if there was something else. “Yes. He’s been dealing with drugs that come from overseas. Not like pot or other things like that, but ecstasy. So far I’ve linked three deaths with his brand. The idiot didn’t even come up with a name for it that would keep him out of it. It’s actually called Davidson’s fuck. It’s written in a different language, so it’s doubtful that anyone else caught it.”

  “I see.” He did too. The man was supposed to be taking care of our country, and here he was making money off the deaths of others. He did deserve to die. “I wish I could help you with this. I mean, even in a small way, I wish I could.”

  “You are. All the time. Because of you, I didn’t kill them both when I had the chance. And believe me, I’ve had them. But here’s the thing. I don’t want to fuck this up for Lily and Howard. I don’t know them that well, but your grandda does, and he really likes Lily. I want him to be happy with the outcome of this too.” Shep was happy that she said that. His grandda did love Lily. “We’ll be able to talk to them tomorrow, so I’ll get some answers then. If not, then I don’t know what we’ll do.”

  The rest of the drive was made with just small talk. They had fun, driving through the night and getting home. Twice they stopped for gas, and got some snacks to go with their drinks. Once home, they nearly didn’t make it up the stairs, they were both so exhausted.

  In the morning they were going to be married. Shep was glad that they’d been able to pull that off. Even with the ad in the paper, no one would know who they were. Parker was a common enough name, and he wasn’t really into the same circles as people the Parkers might have hung out with.

  Getting up the next morning, he found himself alone in his bed. He’d really expected that. The groom wasn’t to see his bride before the big event anyway. Shep wished that his mom were here today. It would have made her so happy to know that he was getting married, and to someone that he was proud to call his wife. She would have loved Harris too. Mom might have been a little scared of her. Then maybe not, he thought. His mom had been pretty kick ass too.

  Dressing in his tux, Shep went down the stairs to the first level of the house. It had been decorated. There were flowers and balloons everywhere. Even a wedding cake was being assembled in the kitchen for them. Also, there were small sandwiches, as well as punch. Grandda came out of the living room just as he was going through the room because all the furniture was missing.

  “I had it stored up for you. I thought that this room would make a nice dance floor. What do you think?” He hugged the older man, and then hugged him again. “I surely wish my Jill Ann was here. Your grandma too. They would have had a good time today. Showing off their new member of this family.”

  “I was thinking the same thing this morning. Mom would have been right in there with Harris, making sure that she got the bad guys. Dad would have been barred not only from the day, but ever coming around again. She’d have wanted things to be perfect.” Grandda sniffled, and Shep held him a little longer. “Grandda, I’m so very glad that you’re here with us. I don’t mean just today, but I mean here all the time. I know that the others, they like having you around too.”

  “Your little miss, she asked me to give her away. I never felt so good in my life. I had to go right over and tell the women folk about it. I have to tell you, Shep, I no longer feel like I have to stay there all day to be with her. I got all you here, and that is enough for me.” He wiped his nose with his ever present handkerchief, then put it away. “I miss them both, but I�
�m feeling better every day.”

  “Me too, Grandda.” He didn’t mention his dad. Dad wasn’t going to be allowed here, and he was fine with that. Dad had made his bed, now he had to lie in it.

  His brothers showed up and he knew that something had happened to Oakley. When Oakley told him that he’d tell him later, it was all he could do not to rip off his shirt and see why he was holding his ribs. Dad. He didn’t know why, but he knew that Dad had caught him off guard and hurt him. Other guests started to arrive—they’d not invited that many—and he had to leave Oakley to his pain. But he swore to Christ that he was going to take care of their father once and for all. Enough was enough, damn it.

  At a quarter to eleven, the Steeles, Howard and Lily, showed up. They looked so happy to be there that he found himself in a better mood simply from being around them. He had met Lily, of course, but meeting the president was something that he never in all his life thought would happen. Talking to them, he thought one would never know that they were the president and his wife.

  When the music began, he went to stand up by the beautifully decorated trellis that was just outside of the house on the lawn. When he saw Harris coming toward him on his Grandda’s arm, he nearly wept. She was dressed in an off white dress that he was sure was older than her. The closer she got, he could see that it was his mother’s dress. Someone, probably Grandda, had dug it out for her and had it fitted. Harris looked like a dream to him. He fell in love with her all over.

  Kissing her as soon as Grandda handed her off, the crowd of people laughed. As the words were said over them to make them husband and wife, he nearly forgot to say I do, he was so enthralled by the beauty before him. Before he realized it, they were pronounced man and wife, and Harrison Elizabeth Parker Marshall was his bride.,

  He spoke to Oakley finally. Dad had caught him off guard as he had thought, and hit him with a bat in the ribs before Oakley turned the tables. Oakley only had to shift and he’d be fine. Shep was glad for that.

  Chapter 10

  Harris could tell that Howard was overwhelmed by the information that she’d given him. Every time he started to ask a question, he’d just stop and not say anything. She thought what had really gotten him was the fact that they both wanted to start a war. Just when everything in the country was starting to look up.

  “That could be the reason, sir. They’re not making as much money as they would be if they were into a war. Guns to be transferred around. Then there is food and clothing that could be stolen only to be resold. These men have been at this for a while, and they know the ropes.” He looked at her with pleading eyes, and she stopped talking for a moment. At least about the two men out to get him out of office. “Thank you for the wedding gift. It was very nice of you to bring one.”

  “We didn’t bring a gift and you well know it. But I do thank you for letting me have a breather. This thing with Shelly. She was in with them, I guess.” Harris told Howard what she’d found when she’d gone to the house. “We had thought that you were the one that had somehow killed her. I didn’t want to know, as you can guess, but Lily and I had it figured out. What sort of guns did you find there?”

  After handing him the list of them that she’d stored away, Harris handed him the key to the storage locker that she’d put them in. Howard handed them back to her, telling her that she was better equipped to hide them than he was.

  “There’s more—are you ready for it?” He told her that he didn’t think so, but for her to tell him. “There are drugs and guns coming across the borders that are marked for them. I haven’t found the storage units that they’re holding them in, but I have a tag on one of the trucks that is coming in.”

  “What sort of tag are you talking about? One that we can trace from here?” Harris told him that she’d rather not mention it just yet. So she could work out the details. “I don’t want you anywhere near to these men. I don’t want you hurt.”

  “Sir, this is my job, to take out the bad guy. I’ve been doing this since before you were the president. I’m really good at it. They’ll never know that it’s me. My file has been fucked with, and once they get around to pulling it—I’m sure they will soon, if not already—they’ll see nothing that I didn’t want them to see.” He asked her what that might be. “Nothing. There is a fake picture that I got from someplace. Blank sheets of paper that are supposed to be my information. Oh, and the note that I left them. It simply tells them that I’m much smarter than they will ever be.”

  “You are. Why is it you don’t work for me?” She said she did, that he was the one that signed her paycheck each month. “I don’t think that we’re paying you nearly enough for all that you do. I’ve been going over some old newspapers, and I think you’ve been doing more for this country than I have. Thank you for that.”

  “No problem. I sort of like it here.” They both laughed, and she handed him the last of the information that she had for him. “I killed Shelly, as you are aware. And I’m going to kill the other two as well.”

  “Why not bring them to trial?” She told him. “I see. Yes, I can see where it would show me in a bad light. To have something like this going on behind my back and people thinking that they can take advantage of me. Yes, thank you for that. Do I want to know how you’re going to do it?”

  “Nope.” She didn’t say any more, and he seemed to understand. “I will need to speak to you when this is finished. I’ve set up my home as a command center, and before you leave, I’d like to not only take a look at your cell phones, but give you something that can tell you if there are bugs in any of the rooms you live in.”

  “They’re swept daily.” She didn’t have to remind him who it was he was dealing with. “Okay, yes, I’ll take that too. It’s funny how you can assume that things are going along just fine, only to find out that you have not only a knife in your back, but a gun pointed at your head too. I wouldn’t have thought this of Benson when we were first paired together. Now I’m thinking of all sorts of things that should have clued me in to what he was up to.”

  “I didn’t know Benson was in on it until Maron told me. I knew that he had a partner, but not him. It took me a while to figure it out too. If Benson becomes president, he can choose his VP. He’ll bring Davidson on board for that. With the two of them in office, it’ll be a nightmare for everyone. Including anyone that supported you.”

  “You’re talking about the house or the country.” She told him both. “I guess you’re right, but I really hate to think of anyone being that terrible. To people that pay their salary.”

  “There are all kinds of shits in the world, sir. You know that better than most.” She watched his face. He was less overwhelmed, but no less upset about things going on around him. “You need someone in your office that you can trust. Someone that can tell you when you’re being fucked over and taken to the woodshed. Not as a running mate, but someone that can say, ‘Hey, so and so is planning your death off a fifty-story building, you’d better fucking get him out of your life.’ And soon.”

  “Do you ever think about what rolls off your tongue before saying it?” He looked like he thought his question was funny, so she pretended to think about it. “I see your mind working. You’re trying to figure out a way for you to tell me to get my fucking head on straight before someone puts a bullet in it.”

  “Pretty much.” They both laughed and she stood up. “I have to mingle, and so should you. This house is safer than your rooms at home. Take the device that I give you and the man that I send home with you, and use them like you would a whore on Saturday night. You don’t have much choice in the matter, sir. Do it, or you will be killed or worse.”

  “What could be worse?” She told him that his wife could be killed and he’d have to watch. “Yes, that would be worse. Thank you for this. And while I don’t really think that I’d use a whore any night of the week, I get what you’re saying.”

  They both walked around the rooms that had been set up for the wedding party. There were gua
rds all around the rooms too. They stood out like they were supposed to, so that anyone that entered any room knew that they were being watched and that a bullet would be used to stop anything untoward going on. She had trained these men. To her, they were as loyal as she was to the Marshall family.

  There wasn’t a dinner, but finger foods had been put around the room on different tables. Her and Shep would walk by each other every once in a while and hug and kiss. They were working the crowd, and it was sort of fun to see him at work. Harris wondered if Shep had any idea how much people respected him. Doubtful. Shep was a man who didn’t care what people thought about him. He did as he pleased when he wanted. She loved that about him as well.

  Toby Wayne knew that he was going to go to the White House when the president left here. He also had a list of phone numbers to call if the shit hit the fan. Toby was the best she’d seen at seeing outside the box. He was even better at hand to hand combat, as well as using a gun. She would trust him over a great many other people when it came to thinking of ideas and plans.

  Allison Wayne, his sister, was going back with Lily to be her secretary. Allie, as she went by, was also good in hand to hand, and could use a knife like an extension of her hands. She’d be good for the first lady in that she was going to teach her things to keep her safe if she found herself alone and in trouble. It was the only way that Harris knew to keep them from being harmed while they were away from her.

  “This box was specially made for me. All you have to do is set it in a room, any room, and it will tell you if you’re being recorded or taped at any time. You already have one in every room of your place, and it’s been swept by my team. Allison will do the same every day after your guys sweep, and this device needs to be put into the oval office with you. I didn’t want to take the chance of getting in there and being trapped. It’s well guarded, but the wrong people are being let in.” Howard nodded and looked at the small device before taking it. “It will emit a sound that Toby can hear. The same with the ones in the upper levels. They’re wolves, so they’ll hear it before you will, and will tell you about it.”