Page 64 of Captive Wilderness
He balanced the two, then set them side by side on the table. The one he’d taken off the wall was segmented, like it would move fluidly with the person wearing it instead of being one immovable circlet like mine. The metal was also slimmer. It would be easier to hide under a high collared shirt.
The more he stared at the two designs, the more he scowled, the first crack in his polished demeanor.
Kane signed a question, and Landon’s eyes flicked to us then back to the collars. “We didn’t design it to be used with a remote.”
From what we saw, he was telling the truth. None of the designs were paired with remotes, and they each looked designed for comfort.
“May I see it again?” he asked me.
I set the briefcase on the work surface to open it up and give the remote to him.
“This frequency gauge?” Landon ran his thumb over the square button. “A shock element?” He asked the question to Kane, who growled and nodded at the same time. “We never did that either,” Landon said, his frown becoming fierce. “It wasn’t even remotely on our radar. We did add a tracking device, but honestly, that was a given.” He set the remote down and picked up both collars and held them side by side. “Plus, you can see another designer had a hand here. It’s like they started off with the same prototype we did but ended up somewhere completely different because they didn’t have the same goal.”
“And what was your goal?” I asked, taking the one his company designed from him to examine it more closely. I knew how much Kane had intended from his dreams, but I wanted to hear it from Landon.
His gaze went to my mate. “The same as Kane’s from the beginning.” He shook his head. “I have to admit, it’s not a priority for us to develop. It’s a small market, and the design is too expensive.” His voice lowered. “Rabid shifters aren’t a high-yield investment. I developed it as a favor to you.” Grimacing, he set the collar on the work surface. “Production on it has stalled. I get more use out of your other designs.”
I stared at the collar in my hand, then the ones on hooks on the wall. “If my collar started out with the same prototype, how did someone else get Kane’s original plans?”
Landon’s lips pressed together, his features hardening. “I don’t know.”
Kane gestured to the people in lab with a sweep of his hand.
“One of your employees betrayed you?” I asked.
Landon shook his head. “No. No way. Everyone here is loyal. There were two shifters working on it in the beginning, but anyone else who had a hand in the design thought it was for animals.”
Setting the newer design down, I took the first prototype off the wall, the one identical to the collar in the bottom drawer of Kane’s desk at the cabin. “Where did the two designs split from each other?”
Landon tipped his head side to side, thinking. “About four years ago, that third design on the wall. Those first couple of years, we worked on it a lot, but I haven’t done anything with it in a while. This version,” he said, picking up the newest design off the table, “is the final one. It’s done. It works.”
I looked at Kane, understanding the next question in his eyes because it was mine as well. “Did you have any disgruntled employees who worked in this lab four years ago?” I asked Landon.
He stiffened. That made Kane tense too.
“Who is it?” My heart raced.
Landon shook his head like he couldn’t believe it. “No. Not possible. She wouldn’t have stolen from me.” From the way he said it, it sounded like he was trying to convince himself, not us.
“She?”
His gaze became distant. “I lost track of someone, Jolyn.” He looked at Kane, his features pinched. “Do you remember her from Goldenlach Ridge?”
Kane shook his head.
“She was the one…the one you saved that day when you were kids. The one Tom was beating up.”
A fragment of one of the dreams I shared with Kane surfaced in my mind where a girl with red hair was straddled by the boy Kane hated, the one who was eventually responsible for his throat injury, the one Kane killed.
“I thought she’d left because…” Landon shook his head like he didn’t want to continue the thought. “Good news. If it’s her, then I already have someone trying to track her down. When I have answers, you will too.”
Kane twitched.
“Who do you have tracking her?” I asked before he could sign the question.
Landon crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the worktable. It looked like he was trying to appear calm, but I could tell from the way tension rolled in his body that he wanted to punch something. It kind of reminded me of Kane.
With his gaze fixed on Kane, Landon said, “I’ve got Walker tracking her. Or, at least, he’s supposed to be. I haven’t heard from him in a couple weeks. He isn’t returning my calls.”
