Broken Trust (Broken Book 3)

1: Missing

"Isabel!" Scott McCall's voice sounded distant. "Isabel!"

"Is she dead?" Stiles Stilinski's voice sounded just as distant.

"No, she's not." Scott sounded annoyed that he had to answer that. "Come on, Isabel. Wake up."

Isabel Evans' eyes slowly opened and she groaned.

"Oh, thank God." Isabel could hear the relief in his voice.

"Derek. Where's Derek?"

Scott helped her into a sitting position and she looked around. It was day now. Isabel's brows knit together.

"What do you mean 'Where's Derek?'?" Stiles asked.

"Exactly that," Isabel answered with much more heat than she'd intended. "Please tell me he's at the animal clinic."

Scott shook his head. "You didn't show up for work," he started to explain. "Deaton called both your cell and Derek's. Neither one of you were answering."

If Isabel were a wolf, she would have growled. "Then they took him," she said through clenched teeth. "Those freaking Hunters took him knowing we knew nothing!"

"What Hunters?" Stiles asked.

"The Calaveras. They're back looking for Kate. They were here when we got home. Severo informed us that Kate was back and demanded that we tell them where she was hiding." Isabel reached behind her. "One of them shot me. They tried to kill us when we told them we didn't know. Why would they take Derek?"

Stiles had seemingly wandered off. He returned a moment later with a handful of bullet casings. "These are all over the place," he said. Both Isabel and Scott took one. A skull was stamped into the casing.

"What's with the skull?" Scott wondered aloud.

"It's the Calaveras seal. Fitting actually. Calavera means skull in Spanish."

"You know the Calaveras seal?"

"My father knew them well and warned Vincent and I to stay as far away from them as possible. In case you didn't notice from our last dealings with them, they are ruthless and will not only enforce the Code but follow it to the letter." Isabel looked at Scott. "We have to find Derek."

~~~

"The Calaveras?" Lydia Martin asked. "The South American Hunters that went after Derek multiple times trying to find Kate?"

Scott nodded. The two along with Isabel and Stiles were standing in the exam room of the animal clinic.

"They're from Mexico actually," Isabel corrected. "I'm not asking you guys to come with me. I won't ask you to come with me. It'll be Araya's territory."

"Derek is my friend, Isabel. And my Beta. He's my responsibility as much as Stiles, Lydia, and you are," Scott set the tin he was holding on the exam table. "And we need to know if he's alive at least."

Lydia sighed, knowing now why she was here. She reached into the tin and pulled out a couple of the casings.

"These were found all over the area where we found Isabel."

Lydia nodded and stuck her hand back into the tin, grabbing a handful of casings. She held them in her hand for a moment before dropping them on the table and listening.