29. Chapter 29
Conall
As he finished reading an email from Drew, Conall’s phone rang, Owen’s name coming up on his screen.
“How’d the checkup go?”
“I’m sorry.” Owen’s usual arrogance was gone.
“What happened? Where’s Riley?” he stood slowly.
“They took her.”
Fear gripped him by the throat. “Who took her?”
“Two pissed-off ogres and a cat shifter. Freda says they’re part of Langston’s FBCI kill squad. They knocked Freda out in the waiting room.”
“Owen, do you know where Riley is?” His wolf flooded his vision, turning everything to shades of blue and yellow.
“No. She sent an ogre through a fucking window with a bolt of electricity, and I don’t know if he’s still alive. Riley told me to get Feeny out, then dove through the broken window. When I got back with the authorities, she was gone.”
Conall closed his eyes. The bond felt too distant. “Where are you now?”
“Outside the pediatrician’s office. Feeny’s with me, and thanks to Riley, she’s fine. Freda’s in the hospital. Conall, I’m sorry—”
“Just get them home. We’ll talk later.”
That fucker Langston had broken their agreement. He’d promised to leave Riley alone if she came in on her own. Conall wasn’t surprised. The man had the morals of a rabid dog.
His wolf paced beneath his skin, snarling and desperate. The instinct to find Langston and tear his throat out rose, but Conall breathed through it, forcing the wolf back and channeling his fury.
He hit Parker’s number. “What?”
“Langston’s agents took Riley.”
The line went silent for a heartbeat. “I’m going to kill that fucking whoreson this time. Where?”
“She went with Owen for Feeny’s checkup. Freda is down but alive, and Riley blasted an ogre through a plate-glass window, but she was taken. Do you still have a tracker on her?”
Parker had added one to the gold necklace Riley wore, which held the small ring her father gave her.
“Lemme check…. Yeah, she’s still got it on, thank Christ. She’s moving.” Parker was silent for a moment. “This isn’t good. I’m pretty sure she’s on the freeway, moving south and going fast.”
Conall’s jaw tightened. “They’re in a hurry.”
Parker’s voice dropped. “How the fuck do you keep losing your goddamn mate, Segerson? First there was Anna and her lies, then Roswell, and now this?”
The barb hit exactly where Parker intended. Conall’s wolf growled low in his chest, but he held it back because Riley’s uncle was right.
“Track her for me. I’m going after her.”
“Not without me,” Parker scoffed. “I’ll be there in five, and bring Ash. Knowing Riley, we’ll need a Homeopath.” The line went dead.
Conall crossed to the door, his voice carrying through the house, sharp and commanding. “Jamie, Ash! My office, now.”
Jamie came first. “What happened?”
“Langston’s agents took Riley at the pediatric office. Freda’s down but alive, and Owen’s bringing her and the baby home.”
Ash walked in as Conall was talking and moved to the massive weapons safe in the corner of the office.
Jamie’s jaw clenched. “A pediatrician’s office? With kids there?”
“Parker is tracking her movements. She’s on the I-15 heading south.” Conall glanced at Ash. “What do you think?”
“If they were taking her very far, they would’ve used air transport. My instinct says they’re headed to Las Vegas and using her as leverage against you. Maybe even Marlowe.”
Conall nodded. “Wilson’s probably also involved. The timing is too coincidental this close to the shifter legislation vote.” His Tracker instinct flared to life, and he started arming himself.
Jamie swore. “It tracks. Wilson probably also wants to know if she found anything at Mary Mountain that can identify him.”
The front door slammed open and heavy footsteps crossed the great room. Parker strode in, his light brown hair wild, his eyes hard. He was also armed to the teeth.
“Her signal’s still moving southbound. She’s in Nevada now.” Parker held up his phone. The screen showed a pulsing blue dot on a map, crawling steadily along the interstate.
Conall nodded. “How long before she’s in Vegas?”
“Not long. But we’re three hours away, and we need to figure out how to get into wherever she is.” Parker nodded to the massive weapons safe. “Bring any explosives, rocket launchers, or grenades you’ve got because I’m done with these fuckers.”
Jamie raised an eyebrow. “We have rocket launchers here? I thought they were back in Denver.”
“Flint stocked us up when you got hurt again,” Ash murmured. Flint was the Pack procurer and Jamie’s mate. If Conall or any of his Betas needed anything, he could find it.
Jamie grinned. “God, I love that shifter.”
“We’ll take two vehicles,” Conall decided. “Parker, you’re with me in the Range Rover. Ash, take Jamie in the Escalade.”
“What’s the play when we find her?” Jamie asked.
“We get her out, whatever it takes,” Conall vowed. “If you can do damage without risking her or yourself on your way out, have at it. I want to send a loud, clear message.”
They loaded the SUVs in under ten minutes and hit the interstate, the red cliffs falling away behind them. The miles peeled away, and the landscape flattened into scrub oak and Joshua trees. The sun began its descent, casting long shadows across the highway.
Parker watched the screen. “They’re near the Nellis Air Force Base in Vegas.”
Conall glanced at Parker, his aviators hiding his eyes.
“Fucking hell,” Parker muttered. “It’s the Vegas Apex Mentis compound. That means General Wilson is involved.”
Conall’s jaw tightened. Nellis was home to the Thunderbirds, advanced testing, and more black-budget projects than the current Administration probably even knew about.
The blue dot left the interstate, took an exit, and began moving east along a service road. Then it stopped.
“There.” The street view on the map showed a complex of low, white buildings surrounded by chain-link and razor wire. A helipad sat off to one side, and guard towers dotted the perimeter. The complex butted up against the Nellis property, and there was no signage or identification.
Just under three hours later, Conall pulled onto the shoulder a few hundred feet out, Ash pulling up behind him. The four of them stood in the gathering dusk, the complex visible. Lights were already coming on along the perimeter.
“Now what?” Jamie asked.
Conall stared at the compound. “Now we get her back.”