Dark Vengeance (Dark Wolf Series Book 4)

by Dena Christy

  “Step back from the door,” he instructed, and she stepped back into the middle of the cell. He opened the door partway and looked at her in askance.

  “I need to see Cadric, it’s very important.”

  Roger nodded his head and closed the door. Simone went over to her cot to wait. She didn’t know how long it would take Cadric to get there, but she hoped it was soon, since she didn’t want to lose her nerve.

  A part of her was tempted to give up on this whole revenge quest, to make something of her new life. The part of her that longed to be human again wanted Dany to pay for her becoming a monster. And, she told herself, other women needed to be protected from him. He may have a run of bad luck but men like Dany always came out on top. Simone wanted to make sure he didn’t.

  Her thoughts continued to race through her head when the door unlocked and Cadric walked in. She noticed Roger didn’t bother locking the door behind his boss, and she knew it was because there was no way she could make it past him to escape. For a second, looking at him towering over her, she had second thoughts about this whole thing. She should want to get as far away from the Order as possible.

  “Well,” Cadric asked as he looked at her impatiently. “What did you want? You’ve been adamant for days that you’ve told me everything, so I really don’t know why you could want to speak with me.”

  “I have a proposition for you,” Simone said as she straightened her spine. She needed to appear confident in her plan, otherwise Cadric would never agree.

  “I’m listening,” he said as he folded his arms across his chest.

  “Your organization wants to capture Dany Cavanaugh before he can hurt anymore people, and I can help you do that,” she said as she looked directly into his icy eyes. He registered surprise as if he hadn’t expected her to volunteer to help him.

  “And how do you propose to do that?”

  “I have Dany’s number, and a connection with him. I’m his employee, Alicia, and I escaped the warehouse before the Order raided it. I warned him that your team was coming, and for all he knows I had enough time to run. I could get in contact with him, tell him that I’m still devoted to his cause, and bring him out into the open so you can catch him.”

  “That would work if he doesn’t see you. And if he does, what do you propose to do then?”

  “I may be his son’s former lover, but I’m no longer human, which was Dany’s one objection. I’m a werewolf now. He’s already shown a certain obsession with my sister, and I look exactly like her. If he gets skittish because of my real identity, I’ll tell him that I took the name Alicia as a celebration of my rebirth. I’ll convince him that I only want to be with him because I want other women to know the joy I have experienced in turning into a werewolf.”

  “And do you think you could say it to him without looking like you’re going to puke? You’ll need to work on your acting skills if you’re going to convince Dany Cavanaugh of anything.”

  “When the time comes, my acting skills will be Academy Award worthy. Do we have a bargain?”

  “I’ll take it under consideration. You will be under a guard of some sort, since I don’t want you taking off, and I can’t be a hundred percent certain that this isn’t a scheme to get away.”

  “I’ll agree to any conditions you impose,” she said as her heart raced. Despite his saying he needed to think about it, he would agree.

  “I’ll let you know what I decide tomorrow,” Cadric said as he turned to the door.

  She watched him go and Roger closed and locked the door behind him. She let out a laugh of pure giddy excitement as she fell back on the cot. She stared at the ceiling, knowing it would be the last night she would have to look at it. Cadric would agree, she knew it. And she would be out of here.

  Her smile faded. Leaving would mean not seeing Lee again. Perhaps it was for the best, since it hurt to be around him, knowing she was no longer what he wanted. It would be better to let the past be the past, and once she left here there would be no coming back. Despite what she’d told Cadric, she had no intention of cooperating fully with the Order. She had no intention of handing over Dany’s capture to them. And while she knew that there was no love loss between Lee and his father, she didn’t think he would want to be with the woman who killed him. Because that was what she would do. As soon as she’d gained Dany’s confidence, she had every intention of killing him herself.

  * * *

  Lee stopped himself as he put his hand on the door to the stairwell that would lead him down to the cells. He walked the same route every day and stopped himself each time. There was no reason for him to go down there, other than that the woman he once loved was sitting in one of those cells. He wanted to see her, but he was certain seeing him was not what she wanted. Why would she since he was a potent reminder of all she’d lost at the hands of his father. His father may have been responsible for sending David after her, but it was Lee who’d started the ball rolling.

  He knew his father’s prejudices well, how could he have thought his father would accept Simone. It boggled his mind to think of how naïve he'd been. Look what had happened when he’d tried to introduce her to his father. Her life had been irrevocably changed, and not for the good. Even now she sat in a cell awaiting whatever fate Cadric would determine for her. Lee vowed that if she was sentenced to death, he would get her out of here, even if it meant betraying the Order.

  He turned and made his way back to his office. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t see Nick walking toward him until he was almost on top of him.

  “Hey Lee,” Nick said as he frowned at him. “You doing okay?”

  “No, I’m not,” Lee said as he continued on to his office.

  He needed to think about what to do about Simone. He hated that the safest place for her was sitting in a cell, and he needed to think of a way for her to be safe in the outside world. He walked into his office and turned to close the door. Nick stood there behind him, startling him.

  “Sorry about that,” Nick said as he walked into Lee’s office and took a seat on the chair across from the desk. Lee sighed and went around to his chair and looked at him.

  “What can I do for you? I really don’t have time to talk,” Lee said, hoping he would take the hint and leave. Nick folded his arms across his chest and put his legs out in from of him, crossing them at the ankles.

  “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me about the bug you have lodged up your ass,” Nick said as he settled deeper in the chair. “And before you deny it, I can tell that something is up with you. You’re distracted, and you’re prowling the halls. Now it has hurt no one so far, but you need to be at the top of your game, otherwise you will screw up and someone will get hurt. Does this have anything to do with the woman whose sitting in the cells, the one from your father’s warehouse? Kate says she’s her sister.”

  Lee’s shoulders sagged and for a moment his body felt like a deflated balloon. He hadn’t realized his problems were so obvious, but if Nick was noticing, then the situation with Simone was affecting his work and he couldn’t allow that to happen.

  “Did Kate tell you anything else about her?”

  “No, should she have?” Nick asked as he elevated one eyebrow.

  “I’m sure you can appreciate that if she’s Kate’s sister that she was human at one time, but what you don’t know is that I was once deeply in love with her. And it’s because of me that she’s sitting in the cell right now.”

  Lee looked at Nick, expecting condemnation, but he only received a puzzled frown.

  “How do you figure that? Did you turn her into a werewolf? Did you make her get a job in that warehouse?”

  “No, but if she hadn’t been involved with me she wouldn’t be in this mess. I knew what my father was like, and yet I foolishly thought he would accept her. He didn’t, and she knew it, and rather than cause problems with my family, she let me go. That wasn’t good enough for my father, he had to send David O’Connell after her, to kill her. He
turned her instead.”

  “I guess it’s a good thing O’Connell’s dead,” Nick said, his voice grim.

  “If he wasn’t, I would have killed him myself for what he did to her. Now she has this foolish notion of getting revenge on my father, and I can’t talk her out of it. I don’t want her to get hurt, and this is a sure fire way for it to happen. My father would destroy her. Even if she was successful, how could she come back from that? It would kill every trace of the woman I once knew. She is still in there, under all the anger and bitterness.”

  “Sounds like you need to beat her to the punch,” Nick said as he straightened in his chair.

  “What do you mean?” Lee asked as his brows drew together.

  “Go after your father yourself. Or better yet, let the Order do it. Talk to Cadric, tell him that you want to help catch your father, and make sure that he is dealt with so he never hurts her again.”

  For the first time since he saw Simone being dragged into the Order headquarters, he felt a sense of hope for her. If the way to keep her safe, and to keep her from harming herself in her quest for revenge, was to eliminate his father, then that’s what he would do. Maybe then he could redeem his part in what had happened to her.

  “You’re right, I’ll go talk to Cadric now,” Lee said as he stood. Nick stood as well and clapped him on the back as he went by.

  “Good luck,” he said.

  They left the room and Lee went toward Cadric’s office. Once he got there he wiped his suddenly damp hands down the side of his pants. Everything hinged on getting Cadric to agree to his proposal. He knocked on the office door and heard his boss’ rumbling voice bidding him to enter.

  He walked in, and Cadric looked startled to see him.

  “I was just about to send for you,” Cadric said as he motioned him into the chair in front of his desk.

  Lee took a seat, wondering what Cadric could want to see him for. The bottom fell out of his stomach when he thought his boss might want to tell him personally that Simone would be executed.

  “Is this about Simone?” Lee asked.

  “Yes it is,” Cadric said. “I’ve finally decided what’s being done with her.”

  “You can’t kill her,” Lee shouted as he stood and slammed his fists down on his boss’ desk. “She’s innocent in all this. She’s as much a victim of my father as any of the other women we found in that warehouse.”

  “Sit down, Lee. I’m aware of what her situation is and I have no intention of having her killed. Why don’t you tell me why you’re here and please do me the courtesy of not destroying my office.”

  Lee felt his cheeks grow hot as he resumed his seat. He couldn’t believe his loss of control.

  “Sorry,” he said to Cadric as he looked down at his throbbing fists. He attempted to uncurl his fingers and took a deep steadying breath.

  “We’re all on edge with what’s been happening, and I’m sure seeing Simone again has stirred up things inside you. But I need you to be your usual calm and level-headed self. Now what did you want to see me about?”

  “It’s about my father,” Lee said. “Simone won’t be safe, and no human woman will be safe until he’s dealt with. I want to go after him. I know his mind, I know how he thinks, and I think I’m the best one to get to him.”

  “I understand where your coming from, but I think you burned your last bridge with your father when you confronted him when he kidnapped Kate. Your father is a vindictive man, and he would have seen your saving her as siding against him. From what I understand about him, and you are free to tell me that I’m wrong, your father isn’t one to forgive a slight is he?”

  Lee shook his head and leaned forward to bury his face in his hands. He, of all people, knew his father would think he’d been betrayed. He wouldn’t trust Lee enough to fall into a trap set by him.

  “I have a plan to capture your father, and you can play a pivotal role in that, because I realize that if anyone knows how he thinks it’s you.”

  Lee lifted his head and looked at Cadric in surprise. Could there be a way for him to save Simone after all?

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “I will put a plan into place where Simone lures him out of hiding. She will contact him and let him know she escaped before we got there. She will lure him out long enough for us to capture him.”

  Lee shook his head before Cadric finished his last sentence. “No way. There has to be another way to do this that doesn’t involve her. There is no way she can handle a man like my father.”

  “When she was human I’m sure that was true. But now that she’s a werewolf, I think you’d be surprised at what she’s capable of. We are talking about a woman who threw a chair and hit me in the face with it during her interrogation,” Cadric said as he rubbed a finger over his left cheekbone, and Lee’s mouth dropped open. “I will admit it surprised me too. I rarely find myself opposed so forcefully, but I think it’s a good thing.”

  “How can it be a good thing?” Lee asked, surprised that Cadric had taken the whole thing in stride. No one in the Order had the will to oppose him, and yet here was Simone summoning the nerve to physically assault him.

  “It shows that she’s a lot stronger than you give her credit for. There is still fight in her, and it means that this whole thing hasn’t broken her. She can still come back to you,” Cadric said as he looked at Lee pointedly, and Lee avoided his gaze. He didn’t want to entertain the possibility of him having another chance with Simone. Losing her the first time had devastated him, and he didn’t think he could come back from that a second time.

  “You realize that she intends to kill my father? I don’t think she will stand meekly by and let the Order deal with him. That fight inside her, the one that you admire so much, is determined to avenge herself. If that happens, it will destroy any shred of humanity left inside her.”

  “I know. I’m not stupid Lee, I’m well aware that she intends to kill Dany herself. Which is why you will play a role in this scheme. You will make sure she doesn’t.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “She’s agreed to have a guard when she leaves headquarters, and you will be him. You know your father, and you know her. I’m sure that you can anticipate any move she might make. She must stay with you.”

  Lee’s gut clenched, and he swallowed hard. Simone live with him? It was hard enough for him to resist being with her when she was in a locked cell, what was he going to do if she was in his house?

  “Are you sure this is the only way? Couldn’t we try to lure him out another way?”

  “This is the plan we are going with. If it will be too hard for you to have her living in your house, I suppose I could place her with someone else. Another wolf who works here perhaps?” Cadric said as he stroked his hand over his smoothly shaven chin. “Although I can’t guarantee another wolf would hold himself back from her. A female werewolf would provide a great temptation, considering that they are relatively rare…”

  Cadric’s voice deliberately trailed away. Lee knew exactly what he was doing, but was powerless to stem the flood of emotion his boss' words stirred inside him.

  The thought of Simone with anyone else had his jaw clenching and his hands squeezing together into fists. She would provide a great temptation to any wolf, and while he liked the ones he worked with, he wouldn’t trust any of them with her. And he knew Cadric well enough to know that he was not bluffing. He was more than willing to send Simone off with another wolf if it would further his agenda, which was capturing Dany Cavanaugh at all costs. Lee realized that his boss was offering to let him help because he needed his knowledge of his father’s mind, but he was also willing to do it without him.

  “There is no way you will do this without her, is there?” Lee asked, in one last ditch effort to protect her from the Order and herself.

  “Simone’s role in this is not negotiable. I take it that you are amiable to taking her in and watching out for her?”

  Lee didn’t k
now why Cadric even bothered to ask since he knew when he’d played the other wolf card that Lee would do whatever it took to protect her from that.

  “Yes, damn you,” he said. “But I want someone to watch my house and look out for her when I can’t be there. I want your assurance that she will not be harmed in this.”

  “I don't want her hurt any more than you do. I’d already planned to have someone watch your house.” A smile blossomed across Cadric’s face, and it made Lee think of a shark. It reminded Lee that to Cadric the Order was everything, and he wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice anyone if it furthered the Order’s agenda. Lee made a promise to himself, that no matter what he had to do, Simone wouldn’t be one of Cadric’s sacrifices.

  “Excellent, shall we go tell her the happy news?” Cadric said as he stood in one smooth movement. Lee fell in step with his boss as Cadric strode out of the office and down the hall.

  Chapter 4

  Simone wished she had a watch so she could check the time. What was taking Cadric so long to decide? She wanted out of here, and the sooner the better. This cell was making her claustrophobic, and she needed to stretch her legs more than the walk to the showers and back allowed her.

  The key grated in the lock of her cell door and Simone turned toward it, eagerly expecting Cadric’s arrival. Now she could finally get on with her vengeance.

  She stiffened when Cadric walked in with Lee standing behind him. What is he doing here?

  “I see you’re ready,” Cadric said as he looked her up and down. He held out her purse, and she was surprised to see it dangling from his large hand. “We cleaned out everything at the warehouse, and this was among some of the things we found. I thought you might appreciate having it back.”

  “I’m surprised you’re giving me this. How do you know that I won’t take off now that I have access to my bank account and my ID?” She clutched her purse to her, resisting the urge to rifle through it to check if her medicine was in there. Lee was focused on her every move, and would want to know why she had pills in her purse.