“It’s called desperation. It can do strange things to you.” I ignored her rib about being meek. It didn’t matter. What mattered was finding Fielding so we could get on with our life, or whatever this new version of our life was going to be.
“And you still like her?” She looked at Gage. “Even with the attitude?”
“I like the attitude.” He grinned. “Makes things more interesting.”
“I’m sure it does.” She watched me. “You might be of use to me.”
“Uh, what?” I had no interested in being of use to anyone. Hunter had wanted the same thing, and look where that got me—and Gage. Although if Hunter hadn’t wanted me, Gage would probably be dead. I shivered. Gage looked over with worry, but I shook my head. He had enough to deal with. He didn’t need anything else to worry about.
“I hadn’t realized you had that kind of strength in you.” Jocelyn touched my arm as though it were physical strength she were talking about. I didn’t have much of that kind, but I planned to fix it. I wouldn’t neglect the gym again.
“What kind of strength?”
“This.” She said it simply like it explained everything. It didn’t explain anything.
“I don’t follow.”
“You. Your personality might be useful.”
“It is. It’s useful to me.” I stepped away from her. “So enough about me. Where is Fielding?”
“He’s not going to come with you easily.”
“You’ve already told us that. That’s beside the point. Where is he?”
“I can only give you a guess.”
“Don’t oversell it.” Isaac set down his empty glass on the bar top. “You really have no idea. It’s been a long time.”
“Has it?” Gage asked. “Because I don’t think I believe you.”
“Why would you say that?” Jocelyn avoided his eyes.
“Because you’re hiding something.”
“We’ve already discussed this.”
“But this piece of information impacts us all.”
“As your secrets impact me.” She examined her nails.
“Not like this.”
“Ok. Enough fighting.” Genevieve shook her head. “Will you tell us where Hunter’s brother is or not because we’re wasting our time and need to be on our way.”
“Who are you? You never told me.”
“Genevieve. Best friend of Mary Anne. Any other questions?”
Isaac laughed. “Where are all of these humans coming from?”
“Earth. Because we live here. Now tell us or we’re leaving.”
“The last I knew he was in a small town outside Boston.”
“Outside Boston?” Where everything started.
“Yes. A small town right off of the Mass Pike.”
“Why do you sound so sure now, yet you didn’t earlier?” I narrowed my eyes.
“Because he rarely stays in the same place for long, and he was only there because of Hunter. Now that Hunter moved, he likely moved to.”
“It’s somewhere to start.” I nodded at the others. “I think that about does it. We’ll leave you to whatever it is you were doing.”
“You are going to get yourself hurt. If you were smart, you’d run.” Jocelyn’s eyes bore into mine.
“I don’t want to run. Running doesn’t help anything.”
“No, it doesn’t in the long run, but it does in the short term.”
“I’m not afraid.” I rolled my shoulders back. “I’ve faced enough since meeting the Dires that meeting another doesn’t faze me.”
“He’s not like Hunter.”
“I realize that. Hunter has his flaws, but he isn’t a blood thirsty killer.”
“He might look like him, but he’s not him at all. Remember that.”
“Got it.”
She seemed pensive. “Maybe he was right about you.”
“In what way?”
“That you will be the one to end the hunt. You definitely have enough fire in you.” She scribbled something on a piece of paper. “The last time I heard they were staying here.”
I pocketed the paper. “I will end it, but it has nothing to do with Hunter being right or any dreams. I’m doing this because it has to be done.” Before anyone could say anything else I turned and headed back out the door. I assumed everyone else would follow. There was only so much of the Sabers I could take.
19
Hunter
“What?” I asked a little too loudly as I noticed Michelle mouthing something to me through the glass outside my room.
“Shh, keep it down,” she hissed. “Do you want to get us both in trouble?”
“No.” I’d noticed her whisper something to Joseph about ten minutes before, and I hadn’t seen him since. I hadn’t thought too much about it at the time.
She opened the glass and stepped through.
“What’s going on?”
“The girl you care about, is her name Mary Anne?” She closed the glass and looked back out into the empty hallway.
“Yes.” My heart skipped a beat. “Why?” I’d been careful not to mention her name at all. If Michelle was asking about her, it couldn’t be good.
She walked further into the room. “Because I heard she and some of your guys were sent to bring in your brother.”
“What?” Panic flooded my system. Fielding would destroy her if only to hurt me.
“It was some sort of deal with Levi. I’m not even supposed to know about it, but I have connections.” She stepped away from me. I’m sure I didn’t look too friendly.
“A deal? Does he realize how much danger she’s going to be in?”
“My guess is he does, but what the hell do I know?” She shrugged. “I thought you’d want to know.”
“Why?” There had to be something motivating her willingness to share the information. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I know you care about the girl.”
“And that matters to you because?” I pressed.
“Because I’m not a heartless bitch.”
“But what good does this information do for me? I’m stuck here.” But not for long. If Mary Anne was at imminent risk, that changed everything. I couldn’t wait any longer.
“Levi was supposed to talk to you first. He didn’t, which means he’s been playing you. I’m not surprised. He’s the king and can do whatever he wants, but this wasn’t because he wanted to play a game. There’s more to it.”
“I’m listening.”
“He’s worried. He’s desperate and for some reason he thought sending them out to get Fielding was the best plan.”
“It’s a crazy plan.” I wouldn’t wish a confrontation with Fielding on my worst enemy. There was no way they could be successful.
“It is, and I have an even crazier one to fix it, but it’s only going to work if you cooperate with me.”
“What does cooperating involve?” I was skeptical of that word. Cooperating hadn’t done me any favors yet.
“Telling me everything else there is to know about Fielding. I need to know everything. What does Levi know that I don’t?”
“There isn’t much to tell.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I have to get out of here. He’s going to kill her, and he’s going to cause more trouble than Levi can imagine.”
“You said you guys aren’t as bad as we think, but why is Levi going to these lengths to get Fielding, and why in this way? None of it makes sense.” She wore a puzzled expression.
“I said that we weren’t that bad. I never defended my brother. Fielding is power hungry and willing to use violence to get what he wants. He’ll destroy The Society if he gets the chance, even if he destroys himself in the process.” Dying as a martyr would be his ideal death. “And as for why Levi is doing this, how would I know? He’s your king.”
“So? I’ve never seen him do something this illogical. He’s putting innocents in danger. That’s not like him.”
“Innocents? As in plural?”
&
nbsp; “There’s another human I think.”
“Who?” Mary Anne couldn’t have run back to her family. She wouldn’t have wanted to bring trouble to them.
“I don’t know. Like I said, I heard this second hand. I wasn’t part of the conversation.”
“I’m getting out, and it’s best you get out of here before I do.” I didn’t need to warn her, but she’d come clean to me. I owed her the chance to get lost before I brought things down.
“I’ll help you get Mary Anne, but you’re not getting out.”
“You can’t save her. Fielding would destroy you, if you could even track him down.” I needed to do this on my own. I needed to get to Fielding, and I couldn’t have anyone slowing me down.
“Seriously?” She put a hand on her hip. “Are you even going to go there?”
“I’m not saying your weak, but he’s that strong.”
“If you want help, it’s going to come through me. Did you notice I already got rid of Joseph?”
“That is convenient, but why? What’s in it for you?” There had to be something.
“I don’t like how Levi is running this. My gut was right. He’s underestimating Fielding. Innocents may get hurt, and you told me he might take us down in the process.”
“Yes.”
“But if I brought him in before that happened.” She got a gleam in her eye. “I’d prove myself once and for all.”
“I see. Looking for a promotion.” I could trust her more now that I knew her motivation. She had something personal to gain, but our current interests aligned.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“And what do you suggest we do?” I glanced into the hallway. “How much time do we have? Where’s Joseph?”
“I sent him on an errand, and Logan is on a break for the next hour, and I already told you. We aren’t doing anything. I am.”
I ignored her insistence for a moment to get to the bottom of my other question. “Why would Joseph listen to you?”
She gave me a sly smile. “He didn’t want me giving an important message to Levi.”
“My guess is there is no message?”
“Oh there was a message, but it wasn’t particularly urgent.”
“We have to get Chet and Marni out. They can help.” I couldn’t leave them behind.
“No way.” She shook her head. “I can’t break any of you out.”
“Then what do you expect me to do?”
“Sit tight after you tell me everything and anything I need to know about your brother.”
“It would be easier if I came.”
“But I’ll lose my job.”
“And you won’t lose your job for revealing Society secrets?” I appealed to her logical side. “Face it, you hate this job. You want another job. This isn’t a company, it’s The Society. You don’t have to follow the rules to get ahead. You have to prove yourself.”
“And your point is?”
“We take down my brother together, and we take the credit together. You get the promotion to the job you actually want, and I get the end of the hunt. We both win.” Apprehending Fielding might be the trick. We were all being punished for his actions. Otherwise we’d be able to come to an agreement.
“Unless you’re bullshitting me and you’re going to run off and screw me over.”
“And still spend my life looking over my shoulder?” I was tired of running. I wasn’t going back to that life.
“Or helping your brother.”
“Look at me.” I ordered. “Do you really think I’m going to help my maniacal brother?” I tried to look as innocent and harmless as possible.
Her eyes zeroed in on the scars across my face. “No.”
“Then get me out of here.” I could do it myself, but I preferred to keep her on my side. Besides, she could help me get Marni and Chet out much easier than I could on my own.
“I’m not getting the others.” She pursed her lips. “Dealing with one Dire is bad enough.”
“I’ll make it look like I escaped while he was out. You can make up some excuse about using the bathroom. Someone will believe it.”
“You will not be doing this by yourself.”
“Then we do it together.”
She seemed to debate with herself. “Do you know where to find him?”
“Not at all, but I know someone who might be able to help.” I had no desire to see the Sabers, but Denny had to be with Mary Anne and Gage. He’d be determined to get Marni out, and he would go to the Sabers first.
“We need to make this look like a prison break. That way if we are caught you can always claim you were chasing me down.”
“There’s no way you could escape from this prison alone. No one would buy it.”
“I could as a Dire.”
“Yeah, but you can’t transform.” She gestured to my arm. “The serum.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Uh, what are you telling me?” She wrinkled her brow. “You could have shifted this whole time?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Wait outside and close the glass.”
“It’s not going to work.” She sounded skeptical, yet appeared almost fearful. She was afraid of me at my full power. The fear was unfounded. I wasn’t going to hurt her.
“It will.”
She stepped outside and raised the glass.
I eagerly welcomed the shift. It had been far too long since I’d been my wolf self. My vision tunneled, and my body pulsed with the limitless power that came with my Dire side.
Michelle’s eyes widened as she watched my transformation. She slowly backed away from the glass.
I waited until she was out of the way before I launched myself at the glass. The firm impact cracked the glass, but not enough. I backed up and tried again. This time the glass shattered as I jumped through.
“You might need these.” Michelle swept up my clothes and ran down the hall. I followed, ignoring Marni and Chet’s yells. I had no time to stop. We had no clue when Logan and Joseph might get back. The time to face Fielding was finally here, and this time I wouldn’t be the one left with scars.
20
Mary Anne
“Wow. That was intense in there.” Genevieve glanced back at the closed door.
“It was necessary. We needed to find Fielding, and we had nowhere else to start.” That was something.
“Let’s hope Jocelyn isn’t sending us on a wild goose chase.” Gage stood right by my side.
“We have to take the chance.”
“We do.” Gage nodded. “Are you up for another long drive?”
“I’ll drive.” Denny walked over to the driver’s side.
“I’m not sure I want to experience anymore of your driving.” Memories of the tight turns and high speeds flooded my mind. “I’ll drive.”
“You hate driving.” Genevieve wrinkled her nose.
“I used to.” I took the keys from Gage’s hand. “But if I’m not afraid of murderous paranormal creatures, surely I should be able to get behind the wheel.” I unlocked the car.
Gage smiled. “I’m taking shot gun.”
“You go for it. The backseat is safer.” Genevieve got in behind me, and Denny went around to the other side.
I sat in the driver’s seat. “Ok, now where are the lights?”
Genevieve groaned. “Oh no.”
“I’ve never driven this car before. Cut me a break.”
“I’ll cut you a break if you get us there in one piece.”
“I was planning on it.”
“Ignore her,” Gage reassured me. “You’ve got this.”
After finding the lights, adjusting my seat and mirrors, and getting the car into reverse, we headed back toward the interstate. “Let the cross country adventures continue.”
“Hey, at least it’s been in the continental U.S. so far. Can you imagine dealing with passports right now?” Gage asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m sure our names would flag the
system.”
“We could get fake ones.” Denny’s voice was completely monotone. He was either tired or stressed. Or both.
“From the Sabers right? Isn’t that why we stopped there on the way to New Orleans?” I asked.
“There are other suppliers.” Denny replied with just as much enthusiasm in his voice. He was lost in thought. I was sure he was going through a lot too. He may have been a nomad, but he cared about his pack, and I knew he wasn’t going to relax until everyone was released. Especially Marni. It was easy to forget, but she was his sister. “Could you maybe drive a tiny bit faster?”
“This is killing you, isn’t it?” I didn’t change my speed.
“I wouldn’t use the word killing, but it’s taxing.”
“Taxing, eh?” I teased. “I suppose I could speed up a little.”
“You’re doing fine.” Gage squeezed my leg gently. It was usually my left leg that got the attention because I was in the passenger seat, and my right leg seemed even more sensitive to his touch.
“Don’t distract her, Gage.” Genevieve ordered. “I want to survive this.”
“My driving is not that bad!”
“The way you describe it is.”
“See, that’s the problem. You undersell yourself.” Gage pointed at me.
“Hey, how many times have you teased me about driving while on this trip?”
“Only a few.”
“More like twenty.” I changed lanes.
“Not twenty. Maybe ten.”
I laughed. “No more comments about my driving. I’m going to do a shift and then one of you ‘know it alls’ can take over.”
“Can I put on music or will it distract you?” Gage reached for the radio dial but didn’t touch it.
“You can put it on.”
“Great.” Gage flipped through the stations,
“Stop!” Genevieve yelled.
I slammed on the brakes. Luckily there was no one behind us.
“Not the car! I meant the music.”
“Be clearer next time.” I hit the gas and started to get back up to speed.
“Clear or not, you don’t hit the brakes like that when you’re going seventy miles per hour.”
Dawn (The Dire Wolves Chronicles Book 3) Page 14
