Echoed Defiance (Jacky Leon Book 4)

by K. N. Banet

  “Then both of you will come with us,” Alexei ordered, the gun in his hand going to my sister. “Now.”

  I looked at Heath, wishing I could talk to him openly. Since I was in human form, I couldn’t telepathically talk to him. There’s no getting out of this, Heath. They aren’t going to let us drive away. This is going to get bloody. That was what I wanted to say.

  By the look on his face, I didn’t need to say the words. He knew. He had probably figured it since the beginning but, like me, had been trying to find another way—any other way.

  “Fine,” I agreed, nodding, and lifted both my hands. “Gwen, stay beside me.”

  “Okay,” my sister murmured, sticking to my side.

  Alexei gestured for us to walk around the car and come closer, so I walked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the werewolf draw closer, another coming out of the woods behind it.

  Targets. I needed to know all the targets.

  Alexei’s comrade was typing on his phone with one hand and had his other hand on a gun at his waist. As I walked, he put the phone away and pulled his gun out, turning it on Heath.

  “Don’t shoot him,” I pleaded softly. “That will get you in trouble with the North American Werewolf Council.”

  “We’ll only shoot him if you try something or he does,” Alexei said with a bite. “So, don’t try anything.”

  The werewolves were drawing closer. Alexei grabbed one of my arms and was about to spin when I looked at Heath one more time.

  He didn’t blink.

  “RUN!” I screamed at my sister as I started to move.

  In a flurry of action, I twisted my hand from Alexei’s grasp and used my other hand to grab the gun by the barrel, shoving it, so it was pointed away from me.

  A second later, two gunshots went off. When there was no scream, I prayed that meant no one was hit. My hand burned from the heat of the metal in my hand, but I didn’t stop. I kneed Alexei in the groin, causing him to drop the gun. Before he could recover, I grabbed his head on each side and twisted hard.

  A snap told me he was down for the count.

  I dove for the gun he’d dropped as a werewolf jumped on me, teeth snapping dangerously close to my neck. I held off the teeth as I reached for the gun. Those teeth grazed my cheek as I struggled. My fingers grazed the gun, but my left arm was beginning to tire. The wolf was using its body weight to hold me down. A healthy werewolf could weigh over two hundred and fifty pounds, and some of the biggest could reach four hundred.

  A shot rang out, and the wolf over me sagged. Blood began to pour over my face, and I shoved the wolf off me to see Gwen shaking, holding a gun.

  I rushed to my feet and gently took it from her. Surveying the area quickly, I saw Heath and someone I didn’t recognize fighting in human form over another gun. Alexei’s friend was already dead on the ground.

  “Where’s the last werewolf?” I asked quickly. “Gwen, there were two. Did you see where the last one went?”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head quickly. “I didn’t…I don’t know. I have no idea.”

  “Fuck. Go get in the car and lock the door. I’m going to help Heath.”

  She nodded and ran for our car. I ran for Heath and his opponent, grabbing the enemy by the back of the shirt and pushing the gun into his spine. Heath didn’t realize I was there immediately and gave the werewolf a mean right hook.

  “Heath! I’m right here. Be careful,” I ordered, looking around the now sagging werewolf.

  “Where’s the other one?” he asked, coming to his senses. He took in the bodies, and his grey-blue eyes narrowed. “Where’s the last one?”

  “I don’t know, but we need to get out of here. We need to go right now. He probably realized it was a losing fight and went to call for backup.”

  “Shit.” Heath reached out and checked the pulse of the one I was trying to hold up now. “This one is still alive. Should we take him?”

  “Yeah. Let’s see what they have in their car and hope there’s something we can use.” I dropped the unconscious werewolf and nodded to the black sedan. “They owe it to us for this fucking bullshit.”

  Heath nodded, but confusion flashed over his face. “They should have let us go.”

  “What do you think is going on?”

  “They’re desperate for your sister. Alexei should have backed off with you and me here. If they had been planning on violence, they would have brought more wolves, but obviously, they just wanted to grab your sister and go.” Heath went to the black sedan’s driver seat and popped the trunk while I went to a back door and opened it to search the back seat.

  “I’m certain they’ll be more willing to negotiate once they catch wind of this little scuffle,” I said in a huff. “Now they know we’re involved, they’ll have to. Right? Maybe we can get some fucking answers.”

  “Hopefully,” he agreed. “Found something. They have handcuffs and other shit. Definitely meant for torture and taking captives. They definitely meant your sister harm.”

  “Didn’t need that confirmed,” I said with a snap. Heath looked up at me, his gaze severe. “Sorry. This isn’t your fault.”

  “It’s been a long night,” he whispered. “I understand. Just don’t take it out on me. I’m in the middle of this with you.”

  We handcuffed the werewolf and threw him into our own trunk, which he almost didn’t fit in. I checked his pockets and found a cellphone, leaving it behind before closing the trunk on the werewolf. They had my sister’s number and could call that if they wanted to talk to anyone. I wasn’t going to take a phone I knew they could track. I could only hope they hadn’t figured out a way to track my sister’s.

  “I’m getting the guns,” Heath said while I went to check on Gwen again.

  “Cool.” I opened the back door and slid in beside her. “Sis, answer me truthfully. Were you bitten?”

  “No.” She looked over her body, shaking her head. “I took cover when it started, then I saw you fighting off that werewolf, grabbed a gun near me, and—”

  “That’s all I need to know.” I was out of the car before she could continue talking and looked for Heath. “We ready?”

  “Come help me.”

  I couldn’t see him. I went around the car and saw him checking over the weapons we were taking.

  “They weren’t using silver,” he explained quickly. “They weren’t expecting anyone but your sister, which was a good thing, but it’s not going to help us.”

  “Are you really checking all of them before we go? Heath—”

  “I wanted to see what we had.” He was shoving clips back into guns and held one out to me. “Take it. Keep it on you. It won’t kill a werewolf unless you hit the head—”

  “And maybe not even then,” I muttered. There were humans who could survive a bullet to the head. Crazier shit happened.

  “Exactly, but they might have the stopping power to protect us. If we run into any more of them, they might think we’re using silver.” Before I could step back and head to my side of the car, Heath grabbed me. “Jacky, this is going to get uglier before it gets better. They aren’t telling anyone here what they’re doing. I promise you, right now, the North American Werewolf Council and the Tribunal have no idea what the Russians are doing.”

  “I know. I could change that. I could tell Hasan right now what’s going on.”

  “Do you want to?” Heath narrowed his eyes, searching for something, but I wasn’t sure what.

  “We’ll talk about our options in the car. They know you and I are a part of this now. That changes everything.”

  “It does,” he agreed.

  18

  Chapter Eighteen

  We drove away from the safehouse, leaving the bodies and the black sedan. My sister was quiet in the back, probably trying to come to terms with how this entire situation was shaking out. I had been there before, with Carey. I had moments where I stopped and was in awe of the violence around me. I was focused on my goal, but I wondered how my li
fe had turned in that direction. One day, I had been innocently living in Texas and running a tiny dive bar with a couple of pool tables. The next day, I was killing werewolves for trying to take someone from me. It took time to process through that, even though it was also a time of split decisions and deciding what convictions I held most dear.

  Twenty minutes into the drive, she finally opened up.

  “I shot him,” she whispered into the silence that surrounded us.

  “Yeah, you did. Thank you. You probably saved my life.” I tried to sound strong. I was becoming used to the violence, becoming hard to it. This was the world, and I had a place in it. I could help her adjust to her new position.

  “I killed him.”

  “He’s the second person you killed,” I pointed out, swallowing a lump in my throat. I didn’t keep count of how many people I had killed since the violence came crashing into my life.

  “He is, isn’t he? I didn’t think…”

  “You would have to kill any more?” I turned back to her. “Gwen, if you come out of this and that’s the only time you have to fire a gun, you’ve gotten out cleaner than so many others. You dipped your toe into fighting for something you believe in, and this world is going to make you fight to the end. Supernaturals aren’t like humans.”

  “What do you mean?” She looked up, and I saw the hollowness of her expression.

  “Violence is the exception for most humans,” Heath said softly. “It’s the rule for supernaturals.”

  “Let me explain what he’s trying to say. From the human perspective, a mob, mafia, or gang? Those are bad, evil, and people who join them are bad, evil…or desperate.” Sighing, I tried to resist the truth for a minute, but there was no denying it. “With supernaturals…that’s the normal thing. Do you know why I made a splash with supernaturals? Because I tried to be normal for so long. I didn’t use my connections, actively avoiding them. I didn’t band with the werecat ruling family and take power as soon as I could. I did what very few do.”

  “And werecats are outliers in general,” Heath added. “Werewolves are big gangs if you think about it. Rogues who live alone are the exception. It’s expected to be in a pack and work for the pack’s benefit. Vampires have nests, where they create communities that work together. Witches make covens where they combine their power to cast spells and do magics they can’t do alone. Supernaturals are very community-oriented if you look at the big picture. And communities that have been together for hundreds, if not thousands of years, will kill for each other if threatened or just because it benefits them. We play with deadly forces, so even a small political move could turn violent.”

  “It would be corruption or an abuse of power for humans,” I said, leaning my head on my seat to stare at her. “But in our world…”

  “So, everyone bands together into good or bad organizations for…self-preservation, then if that’s threatened, or the community is attacked, violence is always the answer.”

  “Yeah. I wish I could say I was better than that, sis, but I’m not. When my family went to the hospital in February, we were dealing with a band of werecats who wanted to overthrow Hasan and the rest of my family. They came into my territory, as the youngest and weakest, and wanted to use me as a bargaining chip. Things got out of control, but my family? When we got the chance, we killed every one of them. They threatened us, and we ended them.”

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  “What good is a family if you aren’t willing to die for them? What good is loving them if you won’t fight for them?” I stared into her hazel eyes. “You loved those female werewolves when they came in. I see it. You saw them, saw their pain, and how badly they were hurt. You aren’t a werewolf. You’re a woman, just like them. I’m certain, if I had seen them, I would have gone off the deep end, too, and killed a man.”

  “I’m not like the werewolves,” she snapped. I should have been upset she couldn’t see the similarities, but I was too glad the fire was coming back to her eyes.

  “No, but the instinct is the same. The Russians feel threatened. Something is threatening to destroy the community they built that props them up. So, Gwen, think about that. You killed their leader. Now, I don’t think they know it’s murder. They would have shot on sight, right, Heath?”

  “Yup.” The ease in which he answered was impressive. “Which means they think you threaten them in a different way.”

  “Right,” I agreed. “Probably exposing them with all the evidence needed to destroy their entire community, but we’ll get to that later.” I focused again on my sister. “Gwen, you will be very lucky if you only have to kill two people by the end of this. I promise you, they are willing to kill whoever is necessary. They weren’t going to leave Heath alive after taking us. They just weren’t going to shoot him before they secured me.” I ran a hand over my face. “In the human world, exposing them and watching the world tear them apart socially is enough. In our world, if you want change, you need to be willing to fight for it. Not in a courtroom or in the media, but actually fight for it.”

  “You were always a fighter, Jacky,” she said softly, looking away.

  “Obviously, you are, too, because you pulled the trigger.” I turned back to the front. “Now, let’s figure out what to do next.”

  “Have you had any thoughts about telling your family what we’re into?” Heath asked, jumping to that idea.

  “Not really. I know Hasan won’t be okay with this. Sadly, I think I can exploit my relation to Gwen, but he can’t. He’s not related to her. My humans aren’t his humans. And he’s Tribunal, which complicates everything.”

  “It could also help us out if we tell them the Russian werewolves are killing human civilians who work for the hospital.”

  “What do you want me to do? Call Hasan, who will then get Hisao?” I huffed. “Heath, if the Assassin rolls through the Russian pack to protect Gwen and me, werewolves around the world will be forced to retaliate Hasan’s aggressive actions, even if they are justified. That’s an act of war, regardless of the reason.”

  “Doesn’t that go both ways?” My sister leaned forward. Life was back in her eyes as she put her head between the seats. “Aren’t they committing an act of war against the werecats?”

  “The powers that be might not agree,” Heath replied, sighing. “But they also might. Jacky, we could use that. The Russian pack has murdered the hospital’s staff and now tried to take you and your sister into custody.”

  “The hospital would need to report they believe the Russian werewolves are killing their employees,” I pointed out.

  “Call the Director again. Tell him he needs to go see Carlton’s dead body.”

  I liked the idea. We didn’t have Sarah’s body and no way to prove it was the Russians who did it. It was a theory and most likely right, but Carlton was right where the hospital could find him. Left there, either as a sign or a mistake.

  “What are the downsides?” I asked myself, considering the possible moves. I wasn’t sure when I grew adept at it, but sticky political situations were becoming easier for me to navigate. With the Russians learning I was with Gwen and related, the idea of using Gwen to expose the pack’s crimes was shot. They would just claim it was werecat propaganda to destroy a healthy pack. Heath would be called a traitor to his own kind and discounted because of his connection to me.

  “You were always good at this,” my sister commented, leaning back again.

  “Good at what?” I looked back at her in confusion.

  “People,” she said without elaborating.

  I didn’t know what to say, so I went back to looking at my phone.

  “If the hospital reports they believe the Russian werewolves killed their people, the Russians come under fire and have to admit why or try to deny it. It makes everything go bad for them—”

  Heath’s phone started going off, jarring me hard enough to stop talking. I had been thinking out loud. He answered while he drove, and I listened in.

&
nbsp; “Heath, just wanted to give you the heads-up the Russians just took off from a private airport in their pack jet,” a male said tensely. I didn’t recognize the voice. “They came in and took off before anyone could stop them to ask what the hell was going on. They haven’t reached out to anyone, but it looks like this situation is finally over. Whatever the hell is going on with them is going back to Russia, and we can all sleep a little easier.”

  “Did they?” Heath asked rhetorically. “Because it’s not over.”

  “What do you mean?” The suspicion was thick. “What do you know? You’re in Texas. Do you have another guy willing to spy for you who knows something the North American Werewolf Council doesn’t? Heath, you’re well respected and have allies everywhere, but you don’t have the clout you had two years ago before that shit with the werecat.”

  “I don’t know what’s safe to tell you.” Heath side-eyed me, and I shook my head.

  “You aren’t in Texas, are you? What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Helping a friend.” Heath hung up. “Jacky, call the Director. There’s going to be fallout, but the Russians just left the country, and that’s concerning.”

  I was already hitting call before he finished talking. The number I called this time redirected me straight to the Director.

  “I didn’t expect another phone call from you,” Director Johansson said. “What’s wrong?”

  “We found a dead human at one of your safehouses. Gwen called him Carlton. He was part of the surgery team for Alpha Vasiliev—”

  “I know,” The Director said patiently. “That’s what happens when people try to take the law into their own hands.”

  “Excuse me?” My heart thumped. “You’re going to let them get away with it?”

  “They called me shortly after you did. They are trying to stop this little rogue band of medical professionals from interfering in their pack. That’s the pack’s right. Once the team decided to kill Alpha Vasiliev, they lost my protection. If the death had been accidental, I would say something and protect them, but they asked for this trouble, and protecting them puts the hospital and me on a political side. I would have to condemn the Russian werewolf pack and let them expose the pack’s secrets. I can’t do that.”