Chapter 12
Rolling over at the ringing of his phone, Logan swore at the early wake-up call, ready to hang up if it was Jackson. Swearing to himself, he growled, “Yeah?”
Hearing the growl, Zane checked the time to make sure it was after seven before saying, “Bro, everything okay?”
“Zane? Where the fuck are you!” Logan asked, quickly sitting up. “Your room is empty.”
“Yeah, about that. Last night David heard someone in the living room, so he and I disappeared.”
“Groose’s men have the asshole in custody but he claims he’s David’s friend.”
“Just a minute,” Zane said, muting the call as he looked at his mate. “The dude that was in our room last night was captured but he claims he’s your friend.”
“That’s bullshit! He was sent by the High Priestess to hurt me for having a Fated Mate!” David cried out, becoming agitated.
“Shhhh, babe, I believe you. I just wanted you to know what the fucker was claiming,” Zane said, reassuringly. “Babe, will the High Priestess send someone else because this dude failed?”
“I d-d-don’t know,” David stuttered, overcome by fear.
Setting the phone down, Zane scooped up his mate, settled him on his lap, and gave David another dose of his calming Alpha power.
“Babe, it’s okay,” Zane crooned, rubbing his mate’s back while holding him tight.
Picking up the phone and unmuting it, Zane said, “The dude is not a friend of my mate and was there to hurt him. What are you going to do with him?”
“I don’t know. Does David know his name?”
“No, I asked him last night.”
“Okay. Well I can’t do anything with the asshole until Jackson decides. In the meantime, he’s locked up and can’t hurt David. When are you coming back?”
“We aren’t…at least not right away. David doesn’t feel safe there so until Jackson sorts it all out, we’ll be staying somewhere else.”
“I understand, but where will you be?”
“Sorry bro, that’s confidential. Until I know who’s threatening my mate, I’m not giving out any information that could be used to track us.”
“Track you? What the fuck are you talking about? Who’s tracking you?”
“Don’t know yet, but the fewer who know where we are will go a long way toward giving my mate peace of mind.”
“Zane, at least take some enforcers with you.”
“Thanks, but no. Don’t worry bro, I’ve got this. We’ll be safe. In the meantime, you should know there might be others that come looking for David.”
“Fuck! What kind of trouble is he in?”
“I don’t know yet. You know, it’s not like we have had a lot of time to talk.”
“Zane, I have a bad feeling about this. If you came back here, there’s a lot more protection for David than you can give him.”
“Really? Bullshit! All that protection last night didn’t keep the fucker from getting into our room. Where was the protection then?”
“Zane, that’s not fair. We didn’t know someone would be coming after David.”
“Oh, right. Nope…still bullshit. I told you last night my mate was in trouble, but did you believe me? No! Otherwise you’d have put the enforcers on alert. I’m not taking another chance. From now on, I’ll do what I think is best in order to protect my mate…just as you would do for Kieran.”
His brother had him there. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to protect his mate, but Logan knew having more wolves around was always the best choice; still, he could argue this until the moon turned blue and never convince Zane.
Sighing, Logan said, “Fine, do it your way but stay in touch, okay?”
“I promise,” Zane said. “Say ‘hi’ to everyone for me.”
“Will do,” Logan said, adding, “Zane, be careful. You know we have your back, right?”
“I appreciate that. Listen, we want to get going, so if there isn’t anything else…”
“No, no. I’ll handle it on this end. Ki says ‘hi’ to David and…talk to you later.”
After ending the call, Zane handed Brian’s phone back to him. “Thanks, now if you can tell us where your cabin is, we’ll get out of your hair.”
~/~/~/~/~
“Hey, can I have some water?
“Just a fucking glass of water?
“Like now would be great!
“Hey you, I’m thirsty! Just a glass of water.
“You can’t treat a prisoner this way! Hey, I wanna talk to your boss. Now! I WANT SOME WATER.”
Groose heard the hollering all the way down the hall while he was walking toward the source of it. Stopping in front of the guard outside the room where the prisoner was being held pending a decision by the Alpha, Groose asked, “How long has that been going on?”
“About two hours.”
“Fuckin’ A. Unlock the door and let’s see if he’s any more cooperative this morning.” Groose entered the room with the guard following, appraising the shifter in front of him.
“Bout fucking time! I asked for you hours ago when your man wouldn’t give me some water. That ain’t right. You have to give me water and food. The law says so.”
Groose stood there, his eyes traveling up and down his prisoner then, raising an eyebrow said, “You don’t look like you’re in any position to demand squat.
But I’ll tell you what, let’s do some horse trading.
You tell me what I want; then if it’s the right answer, I’ll give you something. How does that sound?”
“I need some water first. My throat’s dry.”
“Not dry enough to keep you from yelling for a couple of hours, huh? Now, let’s try this again.
What’s your name?” Groose watched his prisoner carefully and knew he was weighing his choices—a name for some water.
Thinking a little incentive would help, Groose said to the guard, “Go get a glass of water.” It seemed to have worked—his prisoner’s face reflected satisfaction for a second or two until he schooled his face to show anger.
Realizing his prisoner was only feigning anger, hoping it would force them to give him some water, Groose was now sure the water was an excuse, but for what?
An escape plan? Overpower the guard? And escape how?
Not through a window—too high. The hallway was guarded, and all escape routes blocked.
None of it made any sense. But Groose was certain of one thing—the prisoner had something up his sleeve.
The guard returned with a glass of water and handed it to Groose who set it on the table in front of the prisoner but out of reach. “So, you wanted some water for your dry throat and here it is but first I need your name.”
Groose watched the prisoner’s eyes flicker to the water, then back to him, then to the water, all the time twisting his mouth back and forth.
He could tell the prisoner was close to giving his name but needed a little push.
“I’m going to give you five seconds to tell me your name, or I will empty this glass. ”
The prisoner’s body twitched, his eyes blinked, he opened and shut his mouth several times, yet no sound was forthcoming.
“Your time starts now. 5-4-3-2…”
“Antonio, my name is Antonio.”
“Antonio what?”
“Just Antonio.”
“What pack are you with?”
The prisoner scoffed, “None, I belong to something better than a pack.”
“What’s better than a pack?”
“No, if you want more from me, give me the water. I answered your question.”
“So you did, Antonio,” Groose said, adding, “My guard will hold the glass for you.”
“Fine. I just need water.”
Groose watched as his guard walked over to the table, picked up the glass and held it to the shifter’s mouth. After half the water was gone, Antonio shook his head, indicating he’d had enough. Waving the guard away, Groose asked, “Why did you break in the room last night?”
Saying nothing, Antonio just smirked and began mumbling what sounded like a prayer but in an unrecognizable language. Suddenly, violent shaking consumed his body and white foam bubbled from his mouth, dripping down his chin.
“Oh shit! Get Ian! Now!” Groose ordered, reaching his prisoner in a heartbeat and removing his restraints.
Laying him down on the floor, he opened his mouth and found a black tongue.
“Fuck!” Checking his pulse and finding none, Groose began to do chest compressions, hoping they’d keep Antonio alive until Ian could administer an antidote.
Poison! Fucking poison! Unfuckingbeleivable!
Blaming himself for not thinking of that possibility, Groose continued to pump Antonio’s chest until Ian and Colton showed up and moved him out of the way.
Sitting on his heels, he watched as the two worked tirelessly to save his prisoner but, in the end, could not.
Groose looked up, seeing that Logan and Slate had joined them. “He killed himself and I don’t have a clue as to how he did it.”
Opening the prisoner’s mouth and pointing to a spot with a missing tooth, Ian said, “I do. See, right there, I’m pretty sure he had a false tooth packed with Wolfsbane and some other poison.
The tooth was probably made of material that dissolves when it comes in contact with water, freeing the poison.
It’s perfect because no one is suspicious if a prisoner asks for water. ”
“That doesn’t make sense,” said Logan. “Why would it melt this time and not any other time he drank water?”
“Because it was put in specially for his mission tonight,” Ian said. “I’ve heard of this used by groups who feared their agents would break under torture if they were captured.”
“I’ve never heard of it before,” Colton said. “Are you saying he was on a suicide mission?”
“Only if he got caught. I believe whoever sent him knew the likelihood of completing his job and escaping was impossible, so they made sure he wouldn’t be able to say anything,” Ian said.
“Why would anyone agree to kill themselves just because they failed?” asked Colton.
“He believed in what his group was trying to do,” answered Ian.
“Enough to die for it?” asked Logan.
“Yes,” Ian said, grimly. “You have to admit, it’s an effective way of shutting down any potential investigation.”
“How do you know there was more than one poison used?” asked Groose.
“The antidote for Wolfsbane I gave him didn’t work,” explained Ian, “but I’m not surprised, actually. Wolfsbane poisoning is rare now since the antidote was discovered, so I figured there was a backup poison just in case.”
“Did he say anything that would help us discover who put him up to this?” asked Slate.
“Not really, the only thing I got was his first name…Antonio,” Groose said.
“No last name? Not even a pack name?” asked Logan.
“No, just some shit about belonging to something better than a pack.”
“What the fuck does that mean? What could be better than a pack?” asked Colton.
“The group he was willing to die for,” Ian answered. Packing up his medical bag, he looked down at the deceased shifter. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t much help…”
Colton rose, wrapping his arm around his mate before giving Ian a kiss. “Nobody blames you, babe. He was dead when we got here and even my power wouldn’t have saved him.”
“Colton’s right, Ian,” said Slate. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. Why don’t you head back to your suite and we’ll clean this up.”
“What are you going to do with the body?” asked Ian.
“Bury him, out in the countryside some place,” Logan said. “Without a name, I don’t know if he has a family and maybe it’s better they don’t know he killed himself.”
Nodding, Ian said, “You’re probably right. Let’s go, babe.”
As Logan watched his brother guiding Ian out and down the hall, he asked the guard to shut the door. Then he turned to Groose. “Can you take his fingerprints?”
“I don’t have a kit but I can jury-rig something,” Groose answered.
“Do it. I spoke to Zane this morning who warned this might not be the only unexpected guest we’ll have.
Increase the guards and lock this floor down again.
No one is allowed up here without your permission…
and that includes housekeeping and room service.
Slate, did you send Antonio’s picture to your people? ”
“Yeah, last night,” Slate answered.
“Okay, send them his name, now that we know it, and see if that helps. Groose, check Antonio over and see if you find any tattoos, marks or anything else that might help identify his group. Then wrap him up and we’ll head out tonight to bury him.
Keep this room locked and guarded at all times.
Anyone wants to know what you’re doing, send them to me,” Logan ordered, adding, “Slate, come with me, okay?”
Fucking clusterfuck! It was the only thing going through Logan’s mind on the way to his suite and it didn’t help that his spirit was telling him Zane and David were in danger.
If he knew where Zane was, he would go and haul his ass back here no matter what reasons his brother had for staying away.
Those who were after David were dangerous and playing for keeps if they were willing to sacrifice one of their own.
Unfortunately, the only thing he could do now was to wait for his brother to call him.
Fuck why did I ever agree to Zane’s plan?
Now he’s out there, just the two of them, and no way to tell them what happened. Jackson is going to fry me.
When they arrived, Logan was greeted by his mate, who hugged him tightly, and that helped him calm down. Slate took a chair while Logan plopped down on the sofa, pulling Kieran onto his lap, before briefing Slate. “This morning, Zane called me…”
“That’s great. Where is he?”
“He wouldn’t tell me. Said it’s too risky for them to return to the hotel so they were going someplace where David would feel safe.”
“He didn’t tell you where?”
“Didn’t? Ha, more like wouldn’t because he was concerned that others might find out through one of us so he refused to say.”
“So, he doesn’t know what they’re up against?”
“Nope, and I have no way to tell him until he calls me.”
“Any idea when that will be?”
“Nope, and that makes this clusterfuck complete.”
“Shit!” Slate said, as something came to mind. “Steel sent me a text saying my father is coming over to spend a few days with our mom…a long overdue vacation is how he put it.”
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I forgot all about Oracle arriving to talk to Zane about his gift. Seems I misspoke. Now the clusterfuck is complete.”