Chapter 14
Slate divided his men so he and Turk each led a team to Pablo’s house.
His team spread out across the front while the other team covered the rear.
Then Slate moved his men back; he would approach the house alone.
He walked to the front door, stopped and checked to make sure his men were in position, then knocked.
Waiting, he heard no sounds coming from inside the house.
He knocked again, no response. One more time and then he was going in. Time to roll. Slate gave the signal.
Slate and his men smashed through the front door while Turk’s team crashed through the back.
They fanned out checking every room, closet and other spaces Pablo could hide in.
But in the end, Slate admitted defeat. No one here nor any signs of Colton.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! He failed Colton, failed to keep his promise to Jackson and Steel and failed himself.
Hanging his head, Slate prayed to the gods to please protect Colton.
Now their only hope was a winning bid by Steel.
“Turk, gather up the men and let’s head back to the hospital.
Hopefully, Steel’s been more successful than we were.
” Slate looked around one more time before getting back in his jeep.
The auction should be over soon so at least he’d know whether his brother had won.
Pulling into the parking lot, he killed the engine and sat there, his hands over his face, too upset to hear the answer from Steel.
Oh my gods, what if Steel lost? How would that affect Jackson and his unborn pup?
Slate looked up to the sky before offering another prayer to the gods for their safety.
Drawing a deep breath, he jumped from the jeep and rushed inside.
It was time to find out if his brother saved Colton.
~/~/~/~/~
As he slowly regained consciousness, Colton had to blink several times before he could keep his eyes open.
Looking around, he found himself in a one room shack that seemed to be at least a hundred years old.
How did I end up here? He tried to raise his arm and couldn’t; his hands were tied behind his back.
Shit! I remember…I was kidnapped. Colton cocked his head trying to hear if anyone was outside but heard nothing.
He had to escape. His brothers would be frantic.
Not good for Jackson in his condition. Colton worked on freeing his hands but before succeeding, he heard the click of a lock.
He sniffed—a wolf was outside. Colton froze.
He watched the door open and was blinded by the late afternoon sun pouring in. All he saw was an outline of a man.
“Good. You’re awake,” growled the man.
Colton gasped, he knew that voice. “You! What the fuck, man. You need to let me go before they discover I’m missing,” snarled Colton.
“Forget it. I’ve covered my tracks. Nobody will ever find you, so you might as well get used to me as your new owner.”
“Owner?”
“Yes, owner. You’re one valuable wolf. I’ll be selling you to the highest bidder soon. The auction is taking place right now.”
“Auction?” Colton felt as though he had fallen through the rabbit hole. “What do you mean, I’m a valuable wolf? I’m nothing except a nurse in training.”
“Colton, Colton, Colton,” he said, shaking his head. “Come on. Don’t bullshit me. I know you’re a white wolf which makes you valuable even without your ability. Now you just be patient…get it, good joke, huh…I’ll be back soon with your new owner.”
“Wait. What do you mean my ‘ability’? I think you made a mistake. There isn’t anything special about me.”
“Stop it. It’s done. Get use to your new life, slave.”
Colton was afraid. No way to sugar coat the fear consuming his body after hearing those words. Stay calm, he told himself. “Can I at least have some water?”
“Sure.” The man tossed a canteen towards him.
“Hey man, how am I supposed to drink with my hands tied behind my back? At least tie them in front so I can raise it to my mouth.”
The man grunted. “Don’t try anything, or else.”
Colton watched as his hands were retied in front of him.
He grabbed the canteen, removed the cap and raised it to his lips.
In an instant, he knew—the water wasn’t pure but mixed with a sedative still he made a show of drinking it.
Lowering it from his mouth, he ran the back of his hands across his lips. “Thanks. Did you bring any food?”
“Next time. You be a good wolf now.”
~/~/~/~/~
Slate walked into the office where he discovered chaos.
Dr. Luna was shouting about Colton and waving something under Ian’s nose and his brother was yelling at Cody who had half shifted and was advancing on Steel.
His jaw dropped. What the fuck is happening?
Slate grabbed Cody and held him tightly while shouting at Dr. Luna and Steel, “Shut the fuck up!” After everyone calmed down and the noise level dropped, Slate said, “Everyone stand down. You too, Cody. Now, I’m going to ask the questions and only one person will speak at a time. Got it?”
Cody shifted back to full human after Slate released him. “Yeah, Okay.”
Dr. Luna looked at Steel and Slate and nodded.
Ian, still not totally recovered, looked at Steel and asked, “Did you save my mate?”
“Just a minute, Ian.” Slate looked at his brother, “First things first, did you make the winning bid?”
“Yes, I won Colton.”
“What does he mean, ‘won Colton’?” Dr. Luna asked Slate.
“Just a minute Doc. What are the instructions for getting him?”
“I’m supposed to transfer the funds into an offshore account and when the seller receives confirmation, I’ll receive instructions on where to find him.”
“Okay. How fast can you do that?”
“As soon as I get the bank account number. Now I have a question. Was Miguel responsible for the kidnapping of Colton?”
“No. I think it was Pablo.”
“Pablo? Kidnapping?” Dr. Luna was incredulous. “Slate, please tell me what is going on. Where’s Colton?”
“He was kidnapped sometime last night. Today, his brother Zane discovered Colton was being offered for sale. I thought Miguel was involved because I forgot Pablo was in the room. According to Miguel, Pablo was listening at the door when you and I were discussing Colton’s abilities.
Steel was bidding while I tried to find where Colton was being held prisoner. ”
“Do you know if Pablo has a house, or place he would go?” asked Steel.
“I don’t but his sister might. I’ll call her right away.” While Dr. Luna was doing that, Cody turned to Steel. “Sorry man about losing control.”
“Don’t worry about it. But I’m glad Slate came in right then because I’d hate to explain to my mate why I hurt his brother,” Steel smirked.
“Fuck you.”
“Tsk, tsk. Language. You really don’t want me telling Jackson about your lack of control do you?”
Cody burst out laughing as Steel joined in. “Well played.”
Dr. Luna hung up the phone. “Pablo has an old shack about a hundred miles from here. His sister is sending her son over with a map showing where it is located.”
“Okay,” Steel said, “as soon as we get it, Cody and Slate will head there. Ian and I will stay here to make the payment. Oh, one other thing, Slate. Send the men to Pablo’s house.
I’m betting he’ll go home to pack up before leaving after getting his money.
I don’t want him killed. Make sure they understand that. ”
“I’ll tell Turk,” Slate said, just as a faint knock sounded on the door.
“Excuse me gentleman, we have a visitor.” Dr. Luna walked over and opened the door.
“Hi Oscar, that was fast. Thank you for bringing the map,” he said as he took the paper from Oscar’s hand.
“Be careful going home,” Juan cautioned before closing the door.
Juan handed the map to Slate who spread it out on the desk.
Slate scrutinized the location of Pablo’s shack, figuring where it was in relation to them. “It’ll be a two hour drive so we better get going, Cody. Steel, hold off as long as you can before making the payment in case we find Colton first. I’ll call you when we get there.”
“Okay, before you leave, remember to tell Turk about Pablo. Oh, and Cody, be careful.”
Cody nodded as he left with Slate.
~/~/~/~/~
Colton watched as the man left, hearing the lock click in place.
He remained motionless, waiting to see if he’d come back.
He thought about what the man said. Power?
What power? He wondered what the guy had been smoking.
But then a thought crossed his mind—Jackson.
Oh gods! He knew his brother would have been notified as soon as Colton didn’t show up for his shift.
By now, there’d be an all-out search, led by Slate, in an effort to keep Jackson and Steel calm.
After fifteen minutes, he started on the ropes again.
Crap, what kind of ropes are these? His sweat made it harder as the ropes got wetter.
He looked around for something to use but found nothing in the old shack.
Finally, grabbing his t-shirt with both tied hands, he pulled it over his head, so it now was wrapped around his arms, soaking up the sweat.
Then he started to bite the ropes with his dropped fangs.
Close, closer, almost…Finally! He was free.
Bolting for the door, Colton yanked it, but it didn’t budge.
Shit, his prison was built better than he thought.
After exhausting himself with repeated tries, he sat down to take stock.
He was thirsty and hungry and still suffering the after effects of being drugged.
But he needed to escape now. Pondering his options, he spied a loose board on the far wall.
Mmm, a possibility. Maybe he could slip through.