Sedona Suspect

by Lisa Kessler

  I glanced over at General Sloan. “This better work.”

  “It will. Jett has abilities.” Sloan punched the gas. “We’ll get everything we need.”

  I hoped so. I took out my phone and stared at Dex’s messages. I wanted to answer them, to let him know I was okay, but what if he came looking for me? I needed to keep him out of this. If our plan backfired, I wanted Dex to be safe.

  That’s why I didn’t tell him about the general’s earlier e-mail requesting my help with extracting information from the judge. At least that’s what I told myself was the reason. In the darker parts of my soul, it might’ve also been that I didn’t want Dex to know that I was adept at multiple torture techniques if the job required it.

  Dex might never forgive me, but he’d be alive. I tried to focus on that and ignore the strange feeling slicing through my heart. I stared out the window into the darkness until Sloan drove through the automatic gate of the Safety Storage. This Sedona Pack owned the property and none of the units were rented to outsiders. The previous Alpha used to lock up newly bitten humans here.

  Sloan turned down the third row. A tall man waited at the end, and the light from an open storage unit behind him cast a long shadow.

  I’d never met Jett, but I’d seen him years ago. He’d come to Nero as a member of an elite unit of the military, eight men willing to endure experiments to make them even more valuable to their country. He’d entered our building with his twin brother, Jax, at his side, their heads held high, believing in their noble cause. After enduring mental torture I didn’t quite understand, Jett was the only one who walked back out. The day he’d left Nero there had been a strange shadow in his eyes. As if he were the last man on Earth, separated from the rest of humanity. Somehow, he’d convinced both Sloan and Severino to sign off on discharging him from the experiment and the military. He’d walked away, and I never saw him again.

  Until now.

  I glanced over at Sloan. “You’re sure he’s going to do this?”

  “Yes.”

  The judge grunted from the back seat. “You’re too late, General. The world is going to know that shifters have been feeding off humanity. You’ll be exterminated like the parasites you are.”

  A muscle jumped in the general’s cheek—the only outward sign of his annoyance. He stopped the car and stared into the rearview mirror. “Whatever you think you saw in a video, we do not and never have fed on humans. We coexist.”

  Feeding on humans? I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I was probably safer not knowing.

  We got out of the car, and I met Sloan at the front. My part in this plan was simple. If Jett’s “power” didn’t work on the judge, I would use my “skills.”

  Jett was focused on Sloan as he spoke. “What’s she doing here?”

  “We have an agreement.” Sloan crossed his arms. “If you can’t get the judge to give us what we need, then Natasha will extract it.”

  Jett frowned. “You brought her here to keep your hands clean?”

  “And yours.” Sloan glanced back at the car. “Shall we get started?”

  “What’s in it for her?” Jett asked.

  “I’m standing right here.” I looked at the werewolves and shook my head. “You don’t have to talk in code. If you can’t even say the word out loud, I’ll do it for you. I’m trained in extraction techniques. Do I like using torture? No. But I do what needs to be done.”

  Jett clenched his jaw and finally looked at me. “Okay so what’s in it for you?”

  “A clean slate.”

  He shot a glare at Sloan. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means her name will be removed from every database, including Arizona’s jail.”

  Jett shook his head, his eyebrows pinching together. “But guards watched her escape the other night.”

  “Vance had their security cams on a loop, so there’s no proof.” Sloan shrugged. “Glitches happen.”

  “You can do that?” Jett asked.

  “I know people who can.” Sloan focused on me. “But it only happens if I get the information I need.”

  “You’ll get it.” I walked past both of them and into the storage unit.

  My gut twisted as I entered and scanned the space. Sloan had all the equipment I’d requested in my e-mail. I wasn’t sure I could do this. Severino had forced every agent to learn the techniques, and while some jobs had required the skill, I’d never done it on my own before, and never by choice. But General Sloan had made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. The man was as cold as ice and laser-focused on his mission. He’d seen the connection between me and Dex the second he’d come inside Dex’s house.

  And that had given him all the bait he’d needed. He’d sensed my weak spot. If I wanted to stay in Arizona, I had to find a way to vanish from the state’s wanted fugitive list. At this point, even if I could prove my innocence, it wouldn’t excuse that I’d escaped prison, and I didn’t want Dex pulled into the mess for breaking me out.

  I was in a lose-lose situation, and Sloan had offered me a way to win—a dirty, disgusting, soul-sucking choice. And I’d taken it without hesitation, which showed I either had no soul left or was willing to risk it for a chance at a new life, a life that might include a man who saw more in me than I did.

  Would he still feel that way after he found out what I’d done here tonight? Maybe he’d never find out. I looked at Jett as he dragged the judge out of the back of the car, and my heart sank.

  No. Jett would tell him. He’d want to be sure his pack knew what I was capable of.

  I shoved the worry aside. One problem at a time.

  There was an inversion table, a towel, and a bucket of water in the center of the storage unit. Waterboarding usually worked, but just in case, there was also a car battery and jumper cables off to the side. I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth. In my experience, missions that required these tactics were worse than a straight hit. With the latter, I didn’t have to listen to someone cry or beg or scream. I was an efficient killer, usually from a distance, or I’d stage something so it looked like an accident. Either way, I didn’t have to witness the aftermath.

  This was intimate and difficult to distance myself from. Yes, this judge had to die. He was too dangerous now that he’d taken the serum, and he could have information that would put every shifter in the world at risk. Ending his life would end the misery of the poison in his veins that was already polluting his mind. It would end his suffering.

  But torture would only add to his torment.

  I wasn’t sure I could do this. I had to hope Jett could his part.

  “Have a seat, Justice Jones.” Sloan shoved the judge into a chair while Jett stood off to his right like a silent sentinel, his gaze locked on the judge.

  The judge glared up at Sloan. “The police will be here any minute. I’m wearing a GPS tracker on my ankle. They’ll find me.”

  Sloan crouched down next to the judge and patted down his ankles. “Liar.” The general gave him a tight smile. “That ends now.”

  He nodded to Jett, and the werewolf’s eyes narrowed.

  Sloan straightened. “Tell me how you found out I’m a werewolf. Does Senator Hanson know?”

  The judge squeaked, wincing and squirming as if he was in pain. I glanced at Jett, then back to the judge. What was happening here?

  A tear rolled down the judge’s face as he blurted out, “Yes. Senator Hanson has the video footage from Operation Moonlight. He saw what you did.”

  I blinked. Operation Moonlight had happened before I’d gotten to Nero. The files were sealed, even from me. I stared at Sloan, wondering what they’d done to him.

  The general crossed his arms. “When did he get this information?”

  The judge clasped his hands together, his entire body shaking. I glanced over at Jett. A tiny line of blood dripped from his nose, but he didn’t seem to notice. All his attention was on the judge.

  The judge’s voice took on an emotionless drone,
as if he’d lost the final shred of his free will. “My brother, Burt, tried to warn him about you at a fundraiser dinner. He told him we had proof of the research the Department of Defense was funding, but Burt was killed before he could deliver it. His brake lines were cut. My brother-in-law, Joel Holland had the files. He sent the senator the FTP link. The wolves killed Joel too, but not before he got the information to the senator. He knows.”

  Jett wiped the blood from his nose without taking his eyes off the judge. His voice was tight. “Can’t hold this…much longer.”

  Sloan crossed his arms, and his aura crackled with red and black. This man who spent his lifetime controlling his emotions was on the verge of losing the facade he’d so carefully constructed.

  “Which videos?” he shouted at the judge. “What did you see?”

  “Killing me won’t stop this.” The judge closed his eyes, keening with pain.

  Whatever Jett was doing to this man hurt more than any of the techniques I might use. And I couldn’t take anymore.

  I grabbed Sloan’s arm. “You got what you needed. End this.”

  He shoved me backward. “Stay out of this!” He fisted his hands in the judge’s shirt and shook him as he yelled, “What did you see?”

  The judge stared with wide, bulging eyes, his pulse racing in my ears as he hissed out, “Monster…” His body went limp, and his head lolled forward, two more thumps and his heartbeat silenced.

  Sloan didn’t seem to notice. He kept shaking him. “Tell me what you saw!”

  I looked over at Jett. He wiped the blood from his nose. His face was pale and shone with perspiration. I wasn’t sure what I’d just witnessed, but it had ended in a slow, painful execution. I didn’t have a high moral ground in this world, but this…this was lower than even I was willing to sink.

  I jerked Sloan off the dead man and threw him against the concrete wall of the storage unit. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I shouted. “He’s dead. He told you all he had. It’s over.”

  “It’s far from over.” He raked his hand back through his silver hair, shaking his head. “We’re fucked. I pushed too hard. As soon as Senator Hanson hears Jones is dead, he’ll declassify the research, and if he has all the video footage…”

  Jett approached from the wall. “Then we better make sure he doesn’t find out.”

  Sloan’s brow furrowed. “How do you suggest we do that?”

  Jett was onto something.

  “It could work,” I said. They both turned to face me. “Vance is better at the tech than I am, but between the two of us, we should be able to hack the judge’s accounts and get into whatever e-mail or app he might’ve been using to communicate with the senator. We can let Senator Hanson know that he had to go into hiding to avoid the werewolves. We can also alert the court that Judge Jones needs to retire immediately due to health reasons. He can drop the charges against Asher and me through his attorney.”

  Sloan paced the storage unit, pondering my suggestion. “Surely someone will want to see him.”

  “We’ll run interference.” I wasn’t sure how, but I knew it was possible. “It’ll work.”

  Jett shook his head slowly. “We won’t be able to hide his death forever.”

  “True.” I nodded. “We just need to keep up appearances until the general can be sure whatever research from Operation Moonlight that might be out there is destroyed or remains top secret.” I looked at Sloan. “That’s the ultimate goal, right?”

  “Yes.” The colors in his aura revealed his fear. What in the hell could scare a battle-worn general like Miller Sloan?

  I didn’t want to know. I looked at the judge in the chair. “We should get him out to the ranch. If someone discovers the body, our plan will be ruined.”

  Jett freed the judge from the chair and put the body over his shoulder. I followed him out, leaving Sloan behind.

  When we were at the car, I finally whispered, “Do you think he had a heart attack?”

  Jett laid the body across the back seat and shrugged. “Maybe? Could’ve been the super soldier serum or the fear. I don’t know.”

  I moved past him and searched the body for a wallet. I might need his ID for logins or to empty bank accounts. I fished it out of his pocket and slipped it into mine as I looked up at the big werewolf. “What did you do to him?”

  “You already know.” Jett wiped his chin. “You worked at Nero.”

  “I know you were part of the Codename Wolf project, and they were trying to alter brain chemistry to unlock psychic abilities.” I paused, studying his aura. Lots of dark blue and black with sparks of red. He had plenty of repressed anger and loneliness. I added quietly, “As far as I knew, it was a failure.”

  “It was.” His attention was focused on the door to the storage unit.

  I glanced at the body. “Whatever you did back there seemed to be working.”

  He shook his head. “If I could turn off what they did to me, I would.” His gaze locked on mine as he lowered his voice. “I keep waiting for it to kill me like it did my brother, but somehow I’m still here.”

  His aura flushed red with anger, and I put my hands up. “I’m sorry this happened to you, but I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

  He rolled his shoulders back. “If I find out this senator did, and now he’s using those same experiments to try to expose us as monsters, no one is going to be able to stop me from killing him.”

  It didn’t come off as an anger-fueled threat. More of a determined declaration.

  Sloan came out of the unit, his jaw set as he approached me. “Your name will be wiped by tomorrow. Thank you for your help.” He got into the car and looked at Jett. “You’ll clean things up here?”

  Jett nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  Sloan looked at me. “Need a lift to the ranch?”

  I wanted to go. I wanted to run into Dex’s arms and surrender to the new emotions he kindled in me. But I’d spent my life looking for someone else to tell me what to do with it. This time, freedom was going to mean I took a few chances, starting with clearing out my safe-deposit box in the morning. If I saw Dex, I’d never be strong enough to do it.

  “No. I’m good.”

  He frowned, but he didn’t push. Jett and I watched the general drive away, and then we got to work.

  CHAPTER 18

  Dex

  Without Asher here to call the shots, Vance took the lead with the two jaguar shifters, and I was grateful for that. I’d been raised in the pack so I was no stranger to danger and violence. Being a werewolf had never been a quiet, peaceful existence, but the few times I’d ever had to take a life, it had either been self-defense or in defense of someone I cared about. Tonight, I understood how lucky I’d been.

  Vance and I took the prisoners out of the car and carried them to the back of the property. My shoulder hurt like a son of a bitch, but I savored the ache. It took my mind off my fucking heart and the fear that I’d never see Natasha again.

  When we got out by the pyre, we set them down. Vance clenched his jaw and snapped their necks without warning or theatrics. He did what needed to be done so that no one else in the pack had to dirty their hands with it.

  I stacked the wood bundles and added some kerosene before helping him pile the bodies on top. We lit the fire and stood in silence for a few minutes before I looked at him. “How do you keep it from affecting you?”

  Vance shook his head. “There’s no pleasure in killing, but at least now it has a purpose. I used to do it for money, but now I’m protecting everyone I care about.” He focused on the fire again. “Makes it easier to sleep at night.”

  I stared into the flames. “Natasha is my mate.”

  Vance laughed and looked up at the stars. “Fucking fate.” He glanced over at me. “Does she know?”

  “I told her. But she’s not returning my texts. So…”

  The flames crackled as Vance clasped my shoulder. “I’ve known her a long time. She’s tough, but there was always a defiance in
her that Severino could never snuff out. I’ve come to recognize that the fire that kept me from becoming the mindless killer Severino wanted me to be was hope. I think that’s in Natasha, too.”

  “She thinks being a fugitive means she’ll be on the run forever. I’m worried she already ran. And if she decides to disappear, I won’t be able to find her.” Saying the words out loud left a bitter taste in my mouth.

  Vance stared at the night sky again and shook his head. “I can’t imagine fate would Natasha in your path only for her fade into the shadows.”

  The flames blurred as a wave of emotion swelled inside me. I could almost hear Deacon’s voice in Vance’s words. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out and my fucking knees went weak. It was just an address and one line.

  Tomorrow. 7:00 p.m.

  But it was from Natasha’s burner phone.

  I bumped Vance with my shoulder. “Natasha just sent me a text.”

  He raised a brow. “Everything okay?”

  “I think it will be. If you’ve got everything handled here, I think I’m going to get home and try to sleep.”

  “I’ve got this.” He nodded and clasped my forearm. “See you soon, mate.”

  I jogged back toward the house, ignoring the pulling at my stitches.

  When I came in the back door, I froze as General Sloan’s scent hit me. I went into the living room and frowned. He looked as though he’d aged a couple of years since we’d handed over the judge.

  Sloan met my eyes. “The judge is dead.”

  Naomi stood up. “What? The FBI will be swarming the state. What if it leads the authorities to our door?”

  The general focused her. “For now, we’re the only ones who know. Natasha is going to get in touch with Vance to hack into the judge’s e-mail and apps. He’ll be taking a ‘sabbatical’ from the bench, effective immediately, for medical reasons. That will buy me time to silence the senator and destroy any evidence he may possess about shifters.” He scanned the room. “Is Vance here?”