Chapter 30 Nico #2
Felipe and Sebastian came over right after dusk to see us off. Felipe put our bags in the back of my car and hugged Maddy and me in turn. “Be safe, guys. I’ll be really fucking pissed if you get killed over there.”
“Nice pep talk, Felipe,” I said, hugging him back.
Sebastian was uncharacteristically quiet and also hugged us both. If I didn’t know better, it seemed like he might have been on the verge of crying. I put a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. “We’ll be back soon, bro.”
Sebastian nodded, flashing a feeble smile. “Yeah, yeah. See you guys soon.”
He hugged Maddy, then we got into the car and drove away. There was a strange finality to it, as well as a nagging feeling that now that we were on our way, things would never be the same again.
I hoped I was just being paranoid, but the feeling wouldn’t leave. Maddy must have felt something similar because she sat beside me, not uttering a single word. She seemed lost in thought.
We’d barely gotten over the county line when things started to feel weird. I slowed the car, knowing something was off. I couldn’t even describe it, but it felt like someone was standing right behind me. I could almost feel the breath on my neck.
“What’s wrong?” Maddy asked, noticing I’d slowed down.
I’d chosen to take some back country roads to the airport, hoping it would throw off any tails we might have. As we crested the hill, I saw that my plan had been for shit. There were three cars parked across the road, blocking us from going any further.
“Oh no,” Maddy whispered.
“Grab my phone. Text the guys that we’ve got an issue,” I said, bringing the car to a stop.
I glanced in the rearview mirror, hoping to back up and make a quick U-turn. Instead of an open road, a massive SUV with its lights off pulled out of the woods to block our escape. Son of a bitch. I’d never even seen the car as we came through.
This was bad. I did my best to look calm for Maddy, but I was freaking out inside. I put the car in park and stared through the windshield. My fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard, my knuckles were white.
Javi stepped out of the shadows. He raised his hands, gesturing that he was unarmed, and nodded at me to get out of the car.
Maddy curled her fingers around my thigh. “You can’t. Nico, you can’t go out there.”
I sighed. “There’s not much else we can do. I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t plan this as well as I thought. At least out there I’ll have a shot. If it goes bad, I can shift and try to fight them. Give you time to run.”
Maddy’s eyes were full of tears as she shook her head, flinging her hair back and forth. “No. They’ll kill you.”
I put my hand on her cheek. “Let me see what Javi has to say. If you see me start to shift, that’s your signal to run. Got it?” The remarkable calm in my voice surprised me.
Maddy didn’t agree. All she did was loosen her grip on my leg. I took that as acquiescence. I opened the door and stepped out slowly, holding my own empty hands above my head, then stepped towards the front of my car.
“Hey, Nico.”
“Hey, Javi. Can I help you with something?”
A rustle of noise came from the right and left. I glanced around and saw more of Javi’s pack coming out of the woods. We were fully surrounded. He had at least a dozen guys out here.
I had no chance. I was an alpha, but even then, there was only so much one shifter could do. My wolf was snarling and snapping inside my head, itching for a fight. My human mind calmed him and tried to think of a way out. I wasn’t successful.
Javi put his hands down. For the first time, I noticed he didn’t look well.
His typical cockiness was missing. Instead, he looked worn-down and exhausted.
There was fear in his eyes. I could see it, but I had no idea where it was coming from.
He had me dead to rights. The guys were at least thirty minutes out, if they even got the message.
Felipe and Sebastian would never get here in time. What did he have to be afraid of?
“Well?” I asked, trying to fill my voice with as much courage as I could muster.
Javi glanced down at his boots before answering. “Nico, I’m not here to fight. I’m not here to capture you, and I’m not here for Maddy, either.”
I looked at him for a long moment and cocked my head. I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly. “Then what are we doing here?” I asked.
“I need your help.”
The words hit me, and it was all I could do to keep my jaw from dropping. Doing my best to keep the surprise off my face and out of my voice, I asked, “What the hell do you need my help for?”
Javi motioned for his guys to move into the glare of the headlights. “Come on, guys, enough intimidation, get the fuck over here.” Once all his people were in front of me, Javi shook his head. “The royals want my head. And they want my pack dead.”
Frowning, I shook my head. “Why? You’re their attack dogs, aren’t you? Do all their bidding? Try to kill innocent women?”
Javi nodded but looked pained, like the admission hurt him.
“My family swore a blood oath to the royals centuries ago. I’m the alpha now, and my father told me years ago that the time would come that we would be called upon.
We’ve always been loyal. They finally called on me months ago.
They found an heir to Hollander. Some type of online DNA test. Once they found her, they ordered us to kill Maddy.
” Javi winced and gritted his teeth. “I really thought I was protecting the world when I sent my guys there. Then, two weeks ago, they told us we had another mission. A shifter orphanage down in El Salvador. Allegedly there was a group of triplets that had connections to the Edemas line.”
As I listened to him talk, I was having a hard time understanding where the story was going. I glanced back and saw Maddy had the phone to her ear. Probably talking to Felipe or Sebastian. Maybe even one of my brothers if she couldn’t get a hold of my friends.
“We went,” Javi said. “The orders were to take out the kids and any witnesses.” Javi shook his head and wiped a hand across his face.
“Nico…I’m not going to kill kids, man. The triplets were only like eighteen months old.
Christ, they didn’t even smell like wolves.
The blood had to be so diluted, it was pointless.
I refused. The moment we got in there and saw what we were dealing with, I said fuck it, and ordered us to pull back.
I gave the nuns running the place a heads-up to get those three kids out of there as soon as possible.
“The royals found out, and now there’s a target on my back. My back, and the backs of every member of my pack. We have the same enemies now. I want an alliance with you. We have a common goal. Take down the royals.”
I blinked several times before answering, trying to get my thoughts in order. “Javi, you’re men still tried to beat Maddy to death. How can I trust your men? There’s no way.”
Javi chewed at his lip and nodded to one of his guys, who went to the back of one of the trucks and opened the back hatch.
In the light of the headlights, I saw a man’s body.
Even at that distance and with all the bruises and blood.
I could see it was the guy who Maddy had described as the leader of the gang who attacked her.
His eyes were open and lifeless. “What the fuck?”
Javi nodded. “Yeah. Some of us were more committed to the royals than others. The guys I sent after Maddy were…zealots, to say the least. It’s the main reason I sent that specific group of guys.
When I ordered us to turn back at the orphanage, they revolted and demanded we kill the kids.
So, we killed them instead. Simple as that.
I brought this one back to prove my pack’s trustworthiness. ”
I stared at the dead body for several moments. He’d killed his own pack members. That was unheard of. It should have been unforgivable, but the reason he’d killed them had been honorable.
Plus, we needed all the help we could get.
I had to ask for assistance anywhere I could get it.
After making my decision, I nodded. “Okay, Javi. I’ll give you a shot.
But you still killed an innocent man. I can’t fully trust you, but I need the help.
My pack can’t do this alone. You turn on me…
” I pointed at him. “And I’ll skin you alive. Got it?”
Javi held his hands up and nodded. “Got it.”