21. Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Gage
“You knew!” I roared, taking three menacing steps toward Cargill. “You knew who we were.”
Cargill had the sense to back up but the expression on his face was unchanged. “Of course, I knew.”
At some point I lost my hold on Abby and the tone blazed through my head. It was louder than it had been in months, like someone turned the dial up on the noise so loud I couldn’t hear myself think. I couldn’t hear anything except the call for blood.
My wolf echoed it, demanded it.
He knew Dallas was alive. He knew who we were, what they did to us, and he was toying with me. Well, he wouldn’t find it so funny when my wolf made a toy of his head.
“Motherfucker!”
“Gage,” Ezra warned, stepping into my path. “Take a step back.”
“Dallas is alive!” I shouted. “And he’s known this entire time.” To Cargill, I said, “What’s your fucking game?”
Ezra didn’t block me this time when I came for Cargill.
“You’ve lost your edge, Griffin.” The barrel of a gun was suddenly inches from my chest.
“Wouldn’t be the first time someone poked a couple holes in me.”
He grinned at me. “Got a full mag of silver in here. Even you’re going to feel that burn.”
I wasn’t scared of a little silver. But I was scared that Abby was right beside me, caught in the crosshairs of my recklessness.
I shoved her behind me, stepping close enough that the muzzle of the gun was pressed into my sternum. “You’re going to need more than a mag of silver to take me down if you don’t stop pointing that thing around her.”
His gaze flicked over my shoulder, noticing Abby for the first time. “Your secretary?”
“Yes, mine. ”
His eyes brightened, glittering with an eagerness I didn’t understand. Lips parted, he whispered, “ Yours ? Oh. Oh. Unbelievable. Incredible.”
I had to give it to him, he had balls. Most men would buckle with one shifter in their face. Cargill had three flanking him, and his hand was steady.
Ezra moved into view, his own gun aimed at Cargill. “Put it down right fucking now.”
Mason came around my side, further creating a shield around Abby.
I bared my teeth. “You’re outgunned, Cargill. Drop it.”
“You first.”
A soft touch feathered across my back, and it was like a spell was broken. The tone dissipated to an annoying buzz. “Sit down, Gage. Mister Cargill is going to put the gun away.”
I backed up until there was six feet of space between me and Cargill. I didn’t sit, not while there were still three guns drawn.
“Ezra, Mason?” Abby murmured, her gentleness lightening the tension. “We aren’t going to shoot anyone tonight.”
They lowered their weapons simultaneously, and Cargill followed suit.
Abby tugged at my arm, and I slackened, letting her settle me onto the edge of a leather couch across from Cargill. It went against my every instinct to relax. This wasn’t a defensive position. My wolf was gnashing his teeth, my skin itching with his need for blood.
Except my mate was softly stroking up and down my forearm, and I didn’t want to scare her. What would Abby think if I shifted and ripped Cargill’s throat out?
She was already scared, her fingers trembling, heart thumping rapidly. I shouldn’t have brought her with me. I should have left her downstairs before coming up here to confront Cargill.
I would probably be dead if I had.
Mason shuffled into the kitchen, his phone raised to his ear. I heard the words “Gage” and “rampage,” and knew my time was already up.
Cargill tucked his gun into the pocket of his pajamas, dropping into the recliner across from me, and casually crossing his legs. “Took you a long time to figure it out.”
Ezra hovered between us, wide shoulders tense with unspent energy. “If there was a time to exercise prudence, Cargill, that would be now.”
It was easy to believe Ezra was the gentlest of the Silver Bullet team. He was big and broad, but he was also polite. Soft-spoken. Quick to disarm anyone with his contagious smile.
That was the real Ezra, it just wasn’t all of Ezra. He could make Cargill disappear so quickly and thoroughly even I wouldn’t find a trace of him. The things in Ezra’s past gave me nightmares.
Cargill cocked his head, that same grin still plastered across his lips. “Do you think I’m scared of you? I made you into what you are.”
I stood, lacing my fingers with Abby to anchor myself. She squeezed her palm against mine. “You have no idea what it takes to make this.”
“The point is moot,” Cargill said. “And it’s not why you’re here. Go ahead, Griffin. Tell me what you think you know, and I’ll tell you if you’re right.”
“You didn’t hire us for protection. You hired us to surveil us.”
“Bingo!” Cargill clapped. “It’s been five years since I last saw you. I had to know if you were compromised.”
“And the last time you saw us was when we were shipped off to Italy to find a weapon that doesn’t exist.”
“Oh, it exists.” He steepled his fingers. “That’s why I’m here.”
“You have one chance to tell me everything you know, or you’re done here.”
Abby flinched. Shit. Shit, shit, fucking shit.
This was perfect first date material. Maybe next we could put some concrete shoes on Cargill and drop him in the Puget Sound while Abby looked on in horror.
“Let’s start from the beginning. You were never serving the United States government.”
“Bullshit.”
“Believe it,” he said. “There is an organization with more power and connection than any government on this planet, and they were using you to do their dirty work. Didn’t you ever find it odd that there was no ongoing conflict in any of the countries they sent you to?”
“It wasn’t my job to ask questions.”
“But you do because that’s your nature. That’s why I sought you out now.”
He was right. I had questioned it. We broke more than one international law.
“There it is.” He smiled, tapping the side of his head. “Maybe you do still have it.”
“How do you know any of this?”
“When I retired from my military career, I was approached by an organization. They were working on a weapons project the likes of which we’ve never seen. I was intrigued. Their methods were unorthodox. I was never allowed to bend the rules in the military. With The Organization? I could play God.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
“Unfortunately, there was a difference in opinions and a split happened within The Organization. One side wanted to use the weapon they created to secure their influence around the world. The other, The Scientists, believed they were only tapping the surface of the weapon’s potential. They wanted to continue their research, so they took it, along with the only working prototype.”
“What the fuck is this weapon?”
“It’s biological in nature.”
“You know more than that.”
“Yes, and I also know that information can keep you alive,” Cargill said. “You were supposed to retrieve the research and the weapon but there was a traitor in The Organization. They warned The Scientists you were coming.”
“There’s no way a bunch of scientists were shooting silver bullets and setting off bombs.”
“No, that was their hired guns, the Manchini pack.”
“Shifter extremists aren’t selling their services.”
“They had a vested interest in the project.”
“Why?” I was losing my patience.
“Have you noticed any missing shifters lately?”
Levi chose that moment to fly through the door. He was wearing wrinkled sweats, his hair mussed, and I could tell by the look on his face that I was going to get my ass handed to me.
“What the hell is going on here?” His furious gaze landed on each of us individually, and we dropped our heads under the weight of his power.
Abby was the only one who didn’t flinch, nodding to acknowledge him but keeping her head high. I wasn’t clear if she was being intentionally defiant or if she was oblivious.
“Just a friendly chat.” Cargill stood, holding out his hand as if to shake mine. I accepted the gesture, plastic sliding from his palm to mine as he passed an object to me. “I want that missing research. Find it for me,” he whispered.
I pocketed the flash drive, head still down, as Levi descended on us.
“I don’t tolerate liars, Cargill,” Levi said softly. “Nor do I tolerate threats to my pack.”
For the first time, Cargill had the sense to look nervous. He wasn’t immune to the pressure of Levi’s dominance, crushing everyone in the room.
“I prefer to call it a willful omission.”
“Consider your contract terminated. Don’t let him leave.” Then to me, Levi said, “Hallway. Now.”
I made it halfway to the hall before my jaw clenched involuntarily, pain zinging up my spine as my left ear began to ring. It stopped before I could panic, and I saw Abby cutting in front of me to meet Levi outside the door.
She positioned herself between us, arms crossed. I still couldn’t decide if she was strategic or stupid.
Thankfully, Levi was ignoring Abby, his wolf having deemed her too insignificant of a threat to give attention to.
Instead, he was glowering at me, eyes blazing with that eerie pre-shift glow, and I was almost scared.
Almost.
Some part of me wanted to take the challenge, to prove once and for all who was really the true alpha between us.
Most parts of me were smarter than that. Being stronger than my brother was one thing. Having to take on his responsibilities? No, thanks.
“Do you want to fucking challenge me?” Levi snarled.
Abby didn’t give me a chance to defend myself. “This wasn’t a challenge.”
Levi finally looked at her. “Abby, I’m sorry my brother dragged you into this— again —but this is between me and him.”
“No, it’s not,” she argued. “Gage, tell him why we’re here.”
I crossed my arms, failing to hide the smugness in my tone. “Cargill initiated this whole contract to manipulate us. He knows about Italy.”
My brother chewed the inside of his cheek, debating his response, so I continued before he thought of one.
“Dallas is alive, and Cargill confirmed it.”
Levi rubbed a hand down his face. “There’s no way Dallas is alive.”
“He’s alive.”
“I felt him die ,” Levi whispered.
“I saw him,” Abby interjected. “On Friday, outside the bar. I saw his face. Gage is right, Levi.”
Levi went pale, so painfully pale, and I felt every ounce of agony he was trying to hide. Losing Dallas hurt all of us. He was my best friend, like a brother. But to Levi, it was more than that. He was pack, under Levi’s protection, and it was his responsibility to keep us all safe.
He failed.
Or so, we thought.
“I don’t understand.”
“There’s a lot we don’t understand,” I said softly. “And we won’t until that fuck gives us some real answers. He knows about the mission, and he knows what the weapon is.”
My brother stared at the wall, processing this information with surprising calm. “I believe you. What the actual fuck.”
“The actual fuck is in that room, refusing to tell us the full story.”
Levi looked from me to Abby, his expression tired. “I was really hoping you would curb his bad behavior, not enable it.”
“Cargill is still alive,” Abby said simply. “You’re welcome.”
He laughed in disbelief. “Damn. You’re right. I’ll put a bonus on your next check.”
She glanced away for the first time, face flushed. “That’s not necessary.”
“It’s the least you deserve,” he told her honestly. Then, so quietly I barely heard, he said, “I really thought you two were doing something more exciting at the cabin…”
So, he did know. They all knew.
It was a relief, in a way. They would keep their distance while I worked on my long game. There were too many moving parts to keep track of if I had to worry about my brother and the guys telling Abby before I got the chance to.
“Go home. I can’t deal with you and this at the same time,” Levi ordered.
As much as I wanted to storm back in there and rip into Cargill, I had other plans. There was a flash drive sitting securely in my pocket, waiting for me to uncover whatever secrets Cargill decided were only for my eyes.
Except Abby was still standing between us, arms crossed, and this time she was looking at me with alpha female eyes.
“No more ‘willful omissions,’” she said with finger quotes.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She was fast, stuffing her hand in my pocket and snatching the drive before I could properly react. A jolt of excitement made me jump, hands flexing to grab her. I was going to bite the shit out of her, and I didn’t care if my brother was watching.
Somehow, I managed to control myself, pursing my lips and grumbling, “Snitch.”
“Sociopath,” she countered, handing the drive over to Levi.
I laughed. Abby frowned at me like I was proving her point.
“You are the biggest pain my ass, Gage.” He swung around Abby to punch my shoulder. Hard. “Now get the fuck out of here before my wolf decides to put you in your place.”
“What are you going to do with Cargill?”
“You’ll find out tomorrow, when I’m not so pissed I want to break your nose.”
I shrugged, taking Abby by the wrist, and tugging her down the hall. She didn’t resist me, but she wasn’t quick to follow either. That was when I realized it was three in the morning, this was her third night of little to no rest, and I hadn’t fed her since we were at the cabin.
Suddenly, all thoughts of Cargill and Dallas felt distant. I was overwhelmed with my new checklist, brainstorming all the meals I could make with the meager pickings in my fridge.
Abby heaved a tired sigh when I led her back into the stairwell, stomping wearily down three flights and dragging her feet all the way to my door. I had to nudge her inside, and even when she was through the door, she only made it two steps before she was leaning her back against the wall, sliding down onto the floor until her face was to her knees.
Dammit. I was still messing this up big time.
I shut the door, carefully dropping to my knees in front of her. Before I could say anything, she began to laugh, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes.
“Abby?”
“This is not how I expected to spend my weekends after I got divorced.” There was a hysterical edge to her voice, and I had no clue what to do.
I was afraid to know how she’d been expecting to spend them, so I said, “Me either.”
She blinked at me. “You’ve been divorced?”
“Almost. I was engaged. It ended just before we left for Italy.”
“Oh.” She frowned at her knees. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.”
“Was she your mate?”
“Thank fuck, no. She was a woman with a very particular interest in mate bonds, and I was the sucker that fell for it.”
She wanted to ask more, I could see it. This was the kind of question Abby thought was too personal. Maybe a week ago it would be. Nothing was too personal between us now.
“Her name was Jenna,” I said. “She told me she wanted love that went beyond promises of forever. A bond. What she really wanted was to have a shifter on a leash, obligated to pay for her shit and take care of her. One of the many reasons we don’t openly share about mate bonds. It’s too easy to use it against us.”
“I didn’t realize a bond could be used to control you.”
I saw my opportunity to sell this to her and took it. “Only under the worst circumstances. Between fated mates, a bond makes your life better.”
Abby stood with another heavy sigh, rubbing beneath her eyes, and outright ignoring my comment about mates. Clearly, it was still a touchy subject for her. “I need my car keys back.”
“No, you don’t. I’ll move your car into the garage.”
“Um, why?”
“You’re staying here.”