VIVIANNA
“What makes you think I have what you’re missing?” I taunted, refusing to give into his game.
Vadik let out a harsh laugh. “Oh, little wolf, you really think you can play with the big wolves, don’t you?
I know it was you and the rebels that destroyed my lab and the only way that could happen is if you had our missing scientist. His wife has been most helpful in sharing information with us up until the last few days when they all disappeared.
Now, Violet is gone too, and the only person who would be willing to go to such lengths is you, her mother. ”
“You’re not getting her back no matter what you do, so what else you got?” I challenged.
Christian didn’t agree and tried to lunge for the phone, but Orion and Tristan held him back, dragging him into the front room.
Vadik was looking for a reaction to see just how much power he had in his hands right now with Diane and Kate.
I couldn’t give a flying fuck about Diane.
She did this to herself. Kate, on the other hand, was a different story, but he had no idea what kind of connection we had.
Diane wasn’t around for our first meeting that sealed our friendship.
“So cold you’ve become. Just when I didn’t think you could be more perfect,” Vadik said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“You are turning out to be so much like Sasha, the great and most ruthless Dama of the Dark Moon Pack. I guess that is to be expected since we did use her DNA to create you, the last viable part to be exact. I’ll call you back soon with a better offer, since it seems I misjudged the value you put into human life.
” With those parting words, the line went dead.
Part of me didn’t really know what to do with that parting statement but the other half saw it as a good thing.
Vadik didn’t do anything unless it benefited him, so if we could trace where they took Kate, we had a chance to save her.
I doubted that Vadik was close; he wouldn’t be until something he really wanted was offered up.
I stepped out of the bedroom to find Christian passed out on the couch, causing me to look at Orion with a questioning brow.
“I couldn’t think of another way to get him to settle down,” he answered simply. “What did Vadik want besides the obvious?”
“He knows that we did the hit on the lab, and we have Violet. It seems that Diane has been feeding him information up until we got ahold of them,” I shared as I tossed the phone to Darius. “Can you do whatever it is that you do to find where he called from?”
Darius caught the phone and plugged it into his computer.
“I got the footage of the grocery store. It looks like they did a drive-by grab-and-stab before they drove away. Everything happened so fast, it took a while for anyone to notice Mike bleeding out next to the car with the groceries. Before they pulled out on the street, they tossed something out the window. My guess, it’s the tracker. ”
“Is there a way to follow the van through traffic cams and such, or is that just for television?” Bentley asked.
By the way Darius was typing and the look of concentration on his face, he was about to prove what a badass he really was.
“Looks like they didn’t stay on main roads long but headed off through back roads that don’t have any kind of coverage so to speak.
I am sending the information to Chad so he can have the team keep an eye out, but the chances are high they would change the plates or vehicle to something else.
With Grayson Industries backing them, they have more than enough skills to fall off the face of the earth.
Too bad for them that I created most of those systems and know what to look for. ”
“Darius, stay here and work on whatever you need to. I’m going to head out with Rik and Tristan to get something for all of us to eat.
I should probably fill Neveah in on what’s going on too.
I’m a little surprised she doesn’t already know and come to hunt me down,” I mused as I headed back to the bedroom to get some proper clothes on since I was still in my pajamas.
Ready to head out, I stopped by Neveah and Nick’s room, knocking on the door. Nick answered, looking as if he’d been asleep with his hair all mussed and no shirt on.
“Viv,” he greeted, looking a little surprised at my appearance. “What can I do for ya?”
“Is Neveah still sleeping?” I questioned, peering into the space to find the bed empty.
Nick frowned at me as he walked over to the nightstand where he left his phone.
“No, I was up all night, watching Diane so she could talk to you and get some sleep. She was supposed to wake me up when you guys surfaced so we could talk about what went down. Wait, there’s a missed call from her and a voicemail. I must have slept through the call.”
“Nick, they took Kate and Diane. I’m following them but you need to call me as soon as you get this. We might have a bigger problem.”
Right away, Nick hit the speed dial for Neveah, but it rang once and went right to voicemail.
He tried again but it did the same thing, causing a sense of dread to churn in my stomach telling me something was wrong.
I told her to trust her gut and to do what she thought was the right move, but I didn’t account for the risk taker that she was.
Snatching the phone out of Nick’s hand, I ran back to our room and tossed it to Darius.
“You need to see if you can trace Neveah’s phone.
She followed after Diane and Kate, but she isn’t answering,” I said in a rush.
“Goddamn it, we can’t even track the cars because they made sure they couldn’t be tracked or traced.
” Now Vadik had two people that meant something to me, but would he know that?
“How the hell does this keep happening to me? I knew Diane was a risk and tried to do everything I could to keep that contained, and they still managed to fuck me over. We should have separated them right from the start and put them away from us so we could manage this properly.”
Tav stepped up into my space and grabbed my shoulders.
“Love, listen to me. Vadik and Jason are master manipulators. This is what they do. They get inside people’s head to fuck with them.
Don’t give them that power. You escaped, got Violet back, and stole a shit ton of their research while blowing the lab sky-high.
This is a setback but it’s not the end of everything. We’ll get them back.”
“Okay, I located the last place that Neveah’s cell was pinging off a cell tower, and it’s out in the sticks with the Everglades swampland for miles,” Darius called, pulling my attention back to him.
“It’s a place to start. Doing a quick Google Earth search, there are some buildings near the area.
What they are, I don’t have a clue, but it’s better than nothing. ”
“Bentley, wake Christian up and get him to find us more men. Koit, make sure Nick is good to go as well,” I ordered. “If Vadik wants a reaction out of me, then fine—game on motherfucker.”
An hour later, a group of fifteen men stood in the parking lot of the motel, in the late afternoon sun, waiting for direction.
Christian stood to my left and Nick to my right, so the newcomers would trust me when I gave orders.
I wasn’t going into this halfcocked like we’d done everything else up to this point.
Vadik was smart and took time planning out each and every move.
If I wanted to be on his level, then following his example was part of it.
“Thank you all for coming when called. I know Christian gave you the quick rundown, but Vadik, the second man in charge of Grayson Industries, has taken two of our own and we are going to get them back. I am Dama Vivianna Beck, and the new leader of this rebel alliance, with Christian’s full support and approval.
One of the women taken was Kate, his wife, and the other Neveah, mate to Nick.
We don’t have exact information, but we have a pretty good idea of where they might have taken them out in the Everglades.
This is your chance to either step up or step out on this mission with no hard feelings,” I declared, meeting each and every one of their gazes so they could feel my alpha presence and know I spoke the truth.
None of them backed down from the challenge. Instead, it seemed to fuel them further, as they gave a rallying cry, tossing their fists into the air.
“Alright, men, follow me and we fill you in on the plan,” Christian instructed as he marched toward the office.
Koit took my hand, intertwining our fingers as we headed to the office we had set up to debrief our new recruits.
In the time we waited for them, we’d been able to get more information on that area, proving it was the best location for them to hold the women.
How we could have managed all this without Darius and his mad skills, I didn’t know, but I was thankful for his satellite images showing that spot had far more activity than it should.
“As Viv said, she is now the alpha of the rebellion and anything she says is to be followed without question,” Christian started.
“I took us as far as we can go in this fight, and I’m a wise enough man to know when to hand it off to someone better.
Especially in this matter, with it being about my wife.
I’m not objective enough to do this right.
These seven men are her mates and should be treated as if they are Viv, since they relay her orders if she cannot be present. Anyone have any problems with that?”
Stepping up, I placed a hand on Christian’s shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile.
I knew how hard it was to know a loved one was in danger and feel like nothing was moving fast enough to get things done.
“Thank you, my friend, I’ll take it from here.
” Turning to the men, I nodded for Darius to project the map of the western side of the Everglades up on the wall.
“Roughly, about an hour and a half ago, Kate and a human under our protection were taken from the grocery store, where sadly we lost Mike.
Neveah was keeping surveillance from a distance and saw the abduction happen, which is when she called Nick, who’d been up all night keeping watch.
She let him know that she was following them but when we tried to contact her, there was no answer.
Thankfully, we got a hit from her cell off a tower in this area I’m showing you now.
We are deep into the Everglades where there is a warehouse for park rangers to keep rescue equipment, vehicles, and the like.
It is off the beaten path and not used all that often, since each area has its own building, making it the perfect place to hold them. ”
Tristan stepped up to explain this next part.
“The plan is to drive in, but once we get into the area, we’ll shift and start phase one of this rescue, which is recon as wolves.
This gives us the best advantage to gather information quickly and accurately.
Viv will be able to tie us all together with a pack link, making communication instant.
We don’t know how many men or wolves we are going up against. The trees are too dense for us to get a good reading and sending a helicopter over the area would be a dead giveaway.
Until we have the best information to go off of, no one is stepping foot near that warehouse. ”
“Phase two is retreating and setting up to infiltrate the building with the knowledge that we gathered. Based on that, we will decide if it’s better to be human, wolf, or a mix thereof, to give us the best advantage.
Nothing about this rescue mission can happen without evaluating the whole situation.
Vadik is one sadistic and manipulative fuck—meaning the obvious choice is the move he wants us to make.
We’ve been dealing with this guy for almost a year now and he’s only gotten smarter, learning our moves so he can anticipate them.
He knows we’re coming for them. It’s why he took Kate and Neveah, so we better surprise the hell out of him in how we do it,” Rik explained, grunting as he saw that the men understood him.
“I’m sure you might all be wondering why we asked you specifically to come help in this fight,” I spoke up, drawing their attention.
“None of you have mates, living family, or children, and that is on purpose. If you are caught or land on their radar, you have less for them to use against you, making you stronger in this battle. Yeah, that makes me sound like a coldhearted bitch but he has my daughter, so I know what I’m talking about.
Believe me when I say, to be unattached in this fight is a blessing.
This doesn’t mean we will leave you or that you’re cannon fodder.
We did it for your protection and that of anyone who might be attached to you.
No one will be left behind. I make that vow to you here and now on my oath as your Dama. Now, let’s go save our people.”